Chapter 100: The Young Ones’ Fun

Chapter 100: A Lively Gathering of Young Nobles

The Empress waved her hand, signaling her to be seated, then proceeded to receive the other titled ladies. Lady Min, unable to suppress her pique, shot a withering glance at Lady Xu, letting out a low, derisive snort before turning her gaze away.

Jiang Wan subtly exchanged a glance with her mother, then quietly slipped out of the main hall with the other eldest daughters of prominent families. They made their way to an anteroom, gathering with young ladies from other households, awaiting the palace banquet to begin before taking their seats.

"Sis!"

Jiang Han was the first to dart over.

"Are you alright?"

She had been waiting anxiously in the anteroom, worried that her family might have suffered some slight.

Jiang Wan reached out and gently patted her younger sister's head.

"Everything's fine. Where’s Third Brother?"

"Fifth Prince came earlier and took him to Qianyuan Palace to pay respects to the Emperor."

"Mm."

Jiang Wan nodded.

With their father away, it naturally fell to Third Brother to kowtow in gratitude on his behalf.

As the two sisters quietly exchanged updates, in another corner of the room, a verbal skirmish had already erupted.

Chang Yuning sat there fuming, watching as Song Ziying—that hypocritical woman—approached her with a saccharine smile to greet her. Chang Yuning immediately retorted with a sharp, sarcastic tone.

"Don’t you dare gloat in front of me; it’s utterly repulsive. You may have gotten ahead this time, but nothing is set in stone. We’ll see who has the last laugh!"

Song Ziying continued to smile benignly, unperturbed.

"What’s wrong, Yuning? Today is a joyous occasion with the palace banquet. Who has upset you so?"

She skillfully laid a trap, and the simpleton promptly stumbled right into it.

"Pah! Who are you calling 'sister'? Don’t try to claim kinship with me. My Chang family isn’t as shameless as some, chasing after one brother then the next, willing to stoop to any level to climb higher without a shred of dignity!"

"Please watch your words, Yuning. My marriage to the Crown Prince was imperially decreed—it is honorable and aboveboard. It’s not that I, I…"

Song Ziying’s eyes flickered, welling up as if on the verge of tears, yet she bravely held back her sorrow. The fleeting glimmer of tears in her eyes made others feel a pang of sympathy for her.

"Yanxiu isn’t even here. Who are you putting on this act for? You’re so hypocritical and disgusting!"

"I’m not, Yuning. You’ve misunderstood. I truly wish to get along well with you in the future. If only you would stop targeting me, couldn’t we become good sisters?"

"Ha! Dare you try something new for a change? Your words are sweeter and more virtuous than anyone’s, yet behind the scenes, you resort to the most despicable tricks. How dare you even consider becoming the Crown Princess? Utterly preposterous!"

From a distance, Jiang Wan couldn’t help but click her tongue. It was the same old story—when an expert makes a move, you know immediately what they’re capable of.

Chang Yuning wasn’t inherently foolish; she was simply afflicted with a toxic obsession with love. But when compared to the clear-headed and steady-handed Song Ziying, she was instantly outmatched, needing to stretch her intelligence to the limit just to keep up.

In this kind of love triangle, where the seemingly innocent female lead had her reputation tarnished by the malicious supporting female character, it was almost a given that the other involved party would arrive on the scene in mere moments.

"Chang Yuning, if you dare continue senselessly attacking people like this, don’t blame me for stripping you of all dignity!"

Sure enough, conforming to all expectations, the Crown Prince, Li Yanxiu, appeared instantly. Oh, and following behind him were the Second Prince, the Fifth Prince, and others.

"Brother Yanxiu…"

This time, it was Chang Yuning whose eyes welled up with tears.

"Please show some self-respect, Miss Chang! My youngest sister is not even nine years old. Do not casually claim relation to me."

Oh, it seemed Li Yanxiu was a stickler for propriety—he didn’t just acknowledge anyone as his sister.

"Greetings, Crown Prince! Greetings, Second Prince! Greetings, Fifth Prince!"

The crowd hurriedly bowed in respect.

"No need for formalities. My brothers and I came to pay respects to our mother, the Empress. We apologize for disturbing you, young ladies. We will take our leave now. Please, carry on as you were."

Li Yanxiu spoke modestly, using his eyes to reassure his fiancée while also managing to exchange a glance with Jiang Wan. Then he turned back to glare fiercely at Chang Yuning before leading his brothers toward the Empress.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Good thing his eyeballs are still young, or they’d be cramping from all that activity."

"What’s up, Big Sis?"

Third Brother Jiang and the other sons of officials, who had been tagging along behind Li Jingxiu, did not follow them into the main hall.

He leaned in close to his sister, curiosity piqued, eager to snoop. But Jiang Laoer, unable to stand it, shoved him back.

"This is girls' business. What’s a guy like you doing prying? Weren’t you supposed to go to Qianyuan Palace to pay respects to the Emperor? Why are you back already?"

"We already went and kowtowed. The Emperor praised my recent progress in riding and archery and even rewarded me with a jade archer's ring. Here, take a look."

Third Brother Jiang boastfully pulled a green archer's ring from his pouch, showing it off to his sisters before strutting over to his friends to flaunt it.

"Sun Qingqing, look! This is a reward I earned from the Emperor for excelling in riding and archery. It’s not something an amateur rider like you or my second sister could ever achieve. Heh heh!"

"Jiang Yaozu!"

The plump Sun Qingqing, now older and more conscious of her dignity, couldn’t start a fight with so many people watching in the palace. She could only grit her teeth in frustration.

"Just you wait!"

"Mm, I’ll be waiting. What are you going to do about it?"

Third Brother Jiang was clearly itching for a beating today. Ever since the plump girl stopped attending classes at the palace, he’d felt somewhat lonely without their daily squabbles.

Sun Qingqing pouted in frustration, lifted her skirt, and dashed over to her second sister—or rather, the Jiang family’s eldest sister.

"Eldest Sister Jiang, Second Sister Jiang! Your Third Brother Jiang is bullying me again!"

The summoned allies arrived at the scene immediately. The eldest and second sisters each grabbed one of Third Brother’s ears and twisted.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Third Brother Jiang whined in pain.

Sun Qingqing giggled gleefully.

Ji Jingshu, standing nearby, discreetly elbowed Sun Lanlan, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Hey, Little Sun, don’t you think Jiang Wan and her sister dote on your sister an awful lot? They give her whatever she wants."

"What nonsense are you talking? How old is my sister, anyway?"

Sun Lanlan arched an eyebrow and snorted.

"That's because the eldest sister knows her own little fat brat deserves a beating—she's dishing out justice, even to her own kin!"

"Hmm, that makes sense."

"Hey, yes, hit him just like that, give him a good kick in the pants! Let's see if he dares to laugh at me next time!"

Qing Qing happily skipped around giddily, waving her handkerchief.

"Qing Qing, keep your voice down. We’re in the palace—we can’t make a scene here!"

Shen Yutang glanced at her carefree second cousin and could only pull her younger cousin closer with a sigh of exasperation. The eldest Sun brother, observing etiquette, stood at a distance with the other young gentlemen, watching with smiling eyes.

The children’s lively banter made time fly. In what felt like no time at all, the Empress led the inner and outer court noblewomen out of the main hall, and everyone followed behind to head to the banquet hall to be seated.