When Side Consort Chen brought Shen Jin over, she discovered that not only was Princess Consort Rui present, even Prince Rui was sitting upright in the room. Shen Zi was lying in Side Consort Xu’s arms crying, while Shen Jing stood silently to the side, tears falling.
Shen Qi sat beside Princess Consort Rui. When she saw Side Consort Chen and Shen Jin, she nodded slightly. Prince Rui frowned when he saw Side Consort Chen. After Side Consort Chen brought Shen Jin forward to pay their respects, Princess Consort Rui said, “Lady Chen and Third Girl, sit down first. Cuixi, serve tea.”
Prince Rui did not say anything either. Although he doted on Side Consort Xu, he rarely interfered in the affairs of the inner courtyard and usually left them for Princess Consort Rui to handle. Moreover, Princess Consort Rui had never disappointed him.
Shen Jin sat beside Side Consort Chen, keeping her head lowered and not taking the initiative to speak. Although she was also Prince Rui’s daughter, there were very few times when she truly got to see Prince Rui. More often, she only heard about him from Second Sister Shen Zi: today Father had given her this, tomorrow Father had rewarded her with that. At first, Shen Jin had been jealous, but later she simply thought, Oh, Father went around handing out wealth again.
Princess Consort Rui’s voice was very gentle as she asked, “Third Girl, His Highness and I called you here to ask you about something.”
“Yes, Mother Consort.” Only then did Shen Jin raise her head and look at Princess Consort Rui.
Princess Consort Rui asked, “Tell us what happened in the garden today.”
“Yes.” Fence-sitters never came to a good end. Thinking of the news she had heard in the garden today, Shen Jin lowered her eyes slightly and recounted the matter. She did not exaggerate or embellish anything, merely honestly repeating what she had seen and heard. However, there was also skill in speaking. If the order of certain words was shifted slightly, the effect could become different. Shen Jin merely leaned ever so slightly toward the Princess Consort’s side.
Shen Jin looked somewhat worriedly at Shen Zi, who was crying beautifully, like pear blossoms in the rain, and continued, “After that, I went back first.”
From the very beginning, Prince Rui had guessed that the cause of the trouble was probably Shen Zi seeing Shen Qi wearing that set of coral jewellery. Back then, when Shen Zi wanted it, Prince Rui had not refused because he was reluctant to part with it. Rather, as soon as the reward had been bestowed, Princess Consort Rui had told him that she intended to leave it for Shen Qi. After all, Shen Qi had already reached the age where she should begin going out into society, so not only her dowry but also the things she would wear outside had to be prepared.
And although Prince Rui doted on Shen Zi, in the end, Shen Qi was the legitimate daughter of the manor and also the eldest daughter. Naturally, everything should place Shen Qi first. Still, Prince Rui had already sent people south to purchase goods and had specially instructed them to buy more of the things Shen Zi liked.
But now that things had already blown up, on one side was his dignified main consort, and on the other was the gentle, considerate, and beautiful Side Consort Xu. Prince Rui knew in his heart that if this matter were truly investigated, it was Shen Zi’s fault. Yet she was still the daughter he had doted on for a long time. Prince Rui directly frowned and said, “Lady Chen, how exactly have you been teaching your daughter?”
This was truly an undeserved disaster. Side Consort Chen did not defend herself at all. She hurriedly rose and knelt down. Shen Jin’s eyes filled with tears, and she quickly got up and knelt beside Side Consort Chen.
Princess Consort Rui shot a glance at her daughter, who had been about to speak. Shen Qi pressed her lips together but ultimately said nothing. Shen Jin forced back her tears and said, “It is all Daughter’s fault.”
Prince Rui coughed and looked toward Princess Consort Rui. “Princess Consort, what do you think?”
Princess Consort Rui gave Prince Rui a reproachful glance and said gently, “Lady Chen and Third Girl, get up. It is only a small matter between sisters in one family. There is no need to speak of who was right or wrong.”
Only then did Side Consort Chen speak. “Yes.” In her heart, she felt that she might as well have died of illness after giving birth to her daughter back then, so that her daughter could have been sent to be raised by the Princess Consort. They were clearly both the prince’s concubine-born daughters, so why were only she and her daughter trampled on like this?
At this moment, Side Consort Xu spoke. “Younger Sister Chen, do not blame me for being long-winded and saying a few extra words. Third Miss is clearly the younger sister. When she saw two elder sisters quarrelling, she did not even know to persuade them. And they are all His Highness’s daughters, so how could she see something and immediately want to pull it onto herself? Thankfully, this happened at home. If it happened outside, the one losing face would be His Highness.” As she spoke, she sighed faintly. “Zi’er only said a few more words because she could not bear to see it. This girl has been clumsy with words since childhood, unable to speak properly and always worrying too much. She simply values Eldest Miss, this elder sister of hers, too much.”
These words were only short of directly saying that Shen Jin was shallow-eyed and greedy, that she had seen Shen Qi wearing something good and wanted it for herself, while Shen Zi could not stand it and cared about Shen Qi as her elder sister, which was why she had said a few words. Unfortunately, because she was bad with words, people found her speech unpleasant. Side Consort Xu pushed all the blame onto Shen Jin. She was practically pointing at Shen Jin’s nose and calling her a cunning troublemaker.
Side Consort Chen’s expression changed. No matter how many grievances she herself suffered, she was willing to endure them, but she could not tolerate someone speaking about her daughter like this. However, before she could open her mouth, Shen Jin stepped forward on her own.
Side Consort Xu’s eyes flashed. As long as Shen Jin dared to talk back to her today, she would be able to firmly pin the blame on Shen Jin. She absolutely could not allow her own daughter’s reputation to be tainted in the slightest.
Who would have thought that Shen Jin would not pay Side Consort Xu any attention at all? Instead, she turned to Shen Qi and said, “Today’s matter is all my fault. Eldest Sister only gave me this bracelet because she dotes on me. Who knew it would cause so much trouble? Eldest Sister, since this bracelet now belongs to me, can I decide what to do with it?”
Shen Qi looked at her third younger sister, whose eyes were filled with tears, and nodded. “This matter cannot be blamed on you. I only wanted to give it to you because I thought Third Sister was adorable. Since it is yours now, naturally you can decide what to do with it.”
Shen Jin smiled at Shen Qi, revealing a small dimple on her face. Yet it made people feel so heartbroken that they almost wanted to cry. They also felt distressed by how sensible and lovable she was.
Even Prince Rui, sitting to the side, felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, the most innocent person in this matter was Shen Jin. No matter how much he disliked Side Consort Chen, Shen Jin was still his daughter. The matter had clearly already been resolved just now, yet Lady Xu insisted on pressing on relentlessly. Prince Rui also felt somewhat displeased.
Shen Jin slid the coral bracelet from her wrist. Her fair, tender fingers brushed over it once before she looked at Side Consort Xu and Shen Zi beside her. “Second Sister, please don’t cry anymore. I didn’t know Second Sister liked this bracelet so much. I’ll give it to Second Sister. Father and Mother Consort usually care for us sisters the most. If they see you crying, they will also feel distressed.”
When Prince Rui heard this, he was visibly stunned. Just now, several times, he had thought this third daughter of his was about to cry, but she had stubbornly held it back each time. Could this be the reason? Wasn’t she too foolish? Did she not know that crying children got sweets?
Princess Consort Rui also sighed softly from the side and murmured, “This silly girl.” No one else could hear her voice, but Prince Rui, who sat beside her, heard it clearly.
Shen Jing already felt that things were going badly. She quickly said, “Third Sister, don’t misunderstand. Second Sister is not crying because of this bracelet.”
“Mm, that’s good.” Shen Jin did not refute her. Instead, she took a few steps forward and directly stuffed the bracelet into Shen Zi’s hand. “Then let this be a gift from younger sister to elder sister.”
Because of what Shen Jin had just said, Shen Zi could no longer keep crying, as that would make it seem as though she were deliberately making Prince Rui feel sorry for her. But immediately after, a bracelet was shoved into her hand. In that case, it looked exactly as if she really had been crying because of the bracelet, and once it was in her hand, she stopped crying. Shen Zi suddenly realised this possibility, and when she saw that Prince Rui’s expression had indeed turned ugly, she abruptly loosened her hand and said, “I don’t want it.”
The bright red coral beads fell to the floor with a clatter. Shen Jin’s body trembled, and she crouched down. She was still young, and her frame had not yet grown out. There was still baby fat on her body, so when she crouched down, she looked like a small little bundle, especially pitiful and lovable. She reached out and picked up the string of coral beads, but did not immediately stand. She secretly wiped her face with her sleeve, as if trying to hide something. However, Prince Rui and Princess Consort Rui sat in higher positions. Although they could not clearly see Shen Jin’s face, they saw her small movements clearly.
Shen Zi hurriedly stood up and said, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Just now… just now, I was too surprised and accidentally let go.” This barely counted as an explanation.
“Mm.” Shen Jin stood up. The coral bracelet lay on her handkerchief. After wiping it clean, she once again handed it to Shen Zi. “For Second Sister.”
Shen Zi looked toward her mother, but Side Consort Xu was also secretly resentful. She had not expected that that dull gourd Lady Chen would raise such a sly daughter. It was also because she had never taken the mother and daughter seriously that she had suffered such a loss today. She could only say, “Why haven’t you thanked Third Miss?”
“Thank you, Third Sister.” Shen Zi gritted her teeth, accepted it, and spoke.
Shen Jin shook her head and returned to Side Consort Chen’s side, lowering her head and saying nothing more.
“All right, everyone withdraw,” Prince Rui said.
Side Consort Xu first brought her two daughters forward to salute before leaving. Side Consort Chen took Shen Jin and walked behind Side Consort Xu. When they reached the entrance of the main courtyard, Side Consort Xu said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “In the past, I really underestimated Younger Sister Chen.” After saying this, she turned and left.
Side Consort Chen held her daughter’s hand. At this moment, Shen Jin no longer had the composure she had shown earlier. Not only was her face deathly pale, even her little hands were ice-cold. “You child…” Side Consort Chen’s heart ached terribly, and she could only hold her hand and quickly walk back to their residence.
After everyone had left, Princess Consort Rui looked at her daughter and said, “Today, as punishment, copy the *Nüjie* three times.”
“Yes.” Shen Qi did not dare to say anything more and agreed.
“Go,” Princess Consort Rui said.
After Shen Qi saluted Prince Rui and Princess Consort Rui, she withdrew. Princess Consort Rui looked at Prince Rui and said, “Your Highness handled the matter today too partially. It was unfair.”
Prince Rui also felt regret in his heart, but he was too embarrassed to admit it. Princess Consort Rui, however, merely said this one sentence and did not mention it again. “Lady Xu has taught Second Girl to be too petty. She is not even as sensible as Third Girl.”
“Why not bring her to your side, Princess Consort?” Prince Rui also felt this was true. Although Lady Xu was gentle and attentive, her birth was low, and she did not know how to teach a daughter.
Princess Consort Rui sighed. “Recently, I have to busy myself with Qi’er’s matters. Where would I find the time? Besides, if I bring Second Girl over, should I bring Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl too, or not?”
“How about sending Brother Hao to your side?” Prince Rui then thought of the young son born to Lady Xu. If his little son were badly taught, that would be what he truly regretted.
Princess Consort Rui had two sons of her own. No matter what, she would never take on this trouble. However, she could not say this outright. She merely said, “My good prince, please let me rest a little. Brother Hao is still so young. This is precisely the time when he cannot be separated from his mother. When he is a little older, he can be brought to the outer courtyard. At that time, with Your Highness and his teachers personally instructing him, he will not turn out badly.”
Prince Rui thought this made sense and said nothing more.
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