Chapter 16: Drowned
lowered her eyes: "These years, my daughter has been studying medical books. The properties of the auspicious grass were learned from an ancient medical text...""You're saying that all these years, yo..."Ge'er, why don't you stay with Her Majesty the Empress for now I'll wait for you by that small bridge over there." Xiao Yufu finished speaking, bowed her head in deference, and retreated to the side.
The Empress only glanced at her lightly, without speaking. Instead, she affectionately took Xiao Yuge's hand and walked towards the pavilion: "Ge'er, you are simple-minded, some things, you can't just look at the surface, you have to keep your eyes open, don't let some people with ulterior motives take advantage of you..."
To speak frankly, the Empress still had some connection with the Xiao family. Otherwise, she wouldn't have arranged for her son to be betrothed to a member of the Xiao family from a young age, nor would she have allowed him to move freely in their home. Of course, she was also eyeing the Xiao family's power within the court.
Looking at the back of the Empress and Xiao Yuge, Xiao Yufu unconsciously clenched her hand hidden in her sleeve, bit her lip, and tears of grievance once again swirled in her eyes. Just because she was a foster daughter, she couldn't marry the man she loved, and even coming to this banquet was only possible because of Xiao Yuge. She was so unwilling.
"Well, well, if it isn't Miss Xiao, the eldest daughter of the Xiao family How is it, feeling wronged" At that moment, Jiang Zhiyi, the bewitchingly beautiful daughter of the Minister Shangshu, sashayed over, twisting her waist: "It seems flattering only the Crown Prince wasn't enough, you need to win over the Empress Dowager as well. Your silly sister isn't so stupid today." As the niece of Consort Shu, she was naturally showered with adoration and didn't take Xiao Yufu seriously. She approached her on purpose today, clearly with ulterior motives.
Xiao Yufu pursed her lips, not speaking. In fact, her face was turning pale and red in turns. She had carefully dressed herself up just to please the Empress, but unexpectedly, Xiao Yuge directly wore the dress bestowed by the Empress, instantly stealing her spotlight. She even felt that Xiao Yuge did it on purpose.
Jiang Zhiyi took in Xiao You's expression with a smile playing on her red lips. "Miss Xiao, watching your beloved man marry another woman must be quite upsetting, wouldn't you say Or perhaps sharing a man with your own sister, as his concubine, feels particularly unfair I've never liked Xiao Yuge anyway. If Miss Xiao is willing to team up with me, I wouldn't mind avenging both you and myself."
Xiao Yu Fu's face turned cold: "She is my sister, if you dare to harm her, don't blame me..."
Before she could finish, Jiang Zhiyi interrupted her: "Hmph, stop it. You're putting on a show of sisterly affection here Haven't you considered that if Xiao Yuge disappeared, you wouldn't just be the only young lady in the Prime Minister's Mansion, but also no one would compete with you for your heartthrob anymore, wouldn't that be a win-win"
Xiao Yufu glanced at Xiao Yuge, who was happily chatting with the Empress in the gazebo. She said coldly, "She will always be my sister and always the second Miss of the Xiao family. I absolutely won't allow anyone to harm her!" After that, she walked away with her maidservant.
Jian Zhiyi curled her lips and let out a cold snort. "You're good at making things sound convincing, we'll just see! You managed to dodge a bullet just now, but I hope you can be that lucky today!"
Xiao Yu Fu heard this, her figure stiffened abruptly: "You're saying that the honey just now was yours..."
“I’m not that stupid to use poison or honey. Bah! Naive! But I’ve long disliked you lot, so every one who goes against you is my friend. Hmph! You, a mere adopted daughter, think you can catch the Prince’s eye And Xiao Yuge, that idiot, besides being the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister, is utterly useless. She actually wants to be the future Crown Princess How ridiculous!”
Xiao Yufu noticed that there weren't many people passing by, so she let go of her concerns and sneered: "Even if we are nothing, His Royal Highness the Prince still has to marry us. Miss Jiang thinks so highly of herself, but the Prince just doesn't look down on her. Isn't it infuriating!"
“Xiao Yu Fu!” Jiang Zhiyi was so angry that her face turned red, her teeth bared like she wanted to eat Xiao Yu Fu alive: “You bitch! Don’t get too cocky, one day I will make you pay!”
"Let's just wait until that day then!" Xiao Yu Fu tossed out those words, turned around and left. Talking to someone so mindless was utterly boring, she thought.
She strolled all the way to the bridge, lazily leaning against the railing, gazing blankly at some point in the distance. It seemed that even the vast expanse of lotus flowers before her couldn't capture her attention. Her slightly furrowed brow hinted at her troubled thoughts. Occasionally, she would lift her gaze and meet someone's eyes, only to offer a polite smile in return.
She unconsciously kicked a railing, and she found one of them seemed a bit loose. She just glanced at it thoughtfully, then pretended nothing had happened and walked aside, gazing at the lotus flowers under the water, as if lost in thought.
“Miss Xiao, what a coincidence! In such a large lotus garden, we keep running into each other. Seeing your gloomy face just makes me feel irritated!” A arrogant voice came from beside her, it was Ning Hua.
Xiao Yu Fu slightly frowned, pursed her lips, and did not answer. She turned around and was about to leave.
"Xiao Yu Fu, what do you mean At least I am a county princess, you are just a adopted daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion, how dare you be so rude to me, a county princess, you have such guts!" Ning Hua saw that she didn't take herself seriously, and was furious.
"Didn't the county princess say she felt unlucky seeing me Then shouldn't I leave If the county princess is truly bored, there are many noble ladies over there. She could go find them instead of coming to me, a foster daughter, to look for a sense of existence. I wonder what the county princess is thinking" Xiao Yufu didn't have the meekness she appeared to possess.
“A wild girl who popped out of nowhere actually dares to speak to this Miss like this! Come here, slap her for me!” Ning Hua was so angry that she lost her mind for a moment. No one had ever dared to contradict her since she was little. She had been bullied by Xiao Yuge and wanted to get revenge on Xiao Yufu, who seemed like an easy target. However, she didn't expect that Xiao Yufu wasn't a pushover either.
"This is the Empress's banquet, you dare!" No one around seemed to notice, and Xiao Yufu also hardened her heart. Even the maid who was about to step forward was startled by her gaze.
"I'm going to dare!" Ning Hua's anger surged, she went up personally and slapped Xiao Yu Fu's face.
And Xiao Yufu instinctively dodged to the side.
Ning Hua stumbled and lost her footing, bumping into the railing. With a loud crack, the railing broke, causing her to lose her balance. She let out a shriek as she fell straight down with a splash into the lotus pond!
"Help! Save me..." Unable to swim, she was terrified and flailed about in the water, swallowing several mouthfuls as soon as she opened her mouth.oming flower, is truly wonderful. In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed." Even Shufei beside her couldn't help but sigh with emotion.The Empress happened to see Xiao Yuge and her companions...