The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 23 Your Highness, that's mine.

It is a threat.

This Lord Zhang is quite shrewd. At this critical moment, he quickly turned his attention to using the Si family of Jiangnan to pressure Si Ning!

The Si family, a wealthy and powerful clan in Jiangnan, should be upright and respectful, and must not engage in favoritism, corruption, or bias.

He wanted to use this to threaten Si Ning, warning her not to ruin the reputation of the Si family in Jiangnan for the sake of a princess in name only!

"Mr. Si Ning, do your words today represent the Si family of Jiangnan?!"

Si Ning sat upright in the guest seat, his appearance handsome and refined.

Hearing Lord Zhang's threat, he remained unmoved, merely glancing back indifferently: "Now that we have attended the banquet at the Princess's residence, Princess Zhaoming is the host."

"Whatever Your Highness wishes to do, I, Si Ning, will fully support you. If anything goes wrong, I, Si Ning, will take full responsibility."

After a pause, Si Ning looked calmly at Lord Zhang, speaking clearly and deliberately.

"This is what I said, and I speak on behalf of the Si family of Jiangnan."

The implication was that he unconditionally supported Princess Zhaoming.

Upon hearing this, all the guests present were horrified.

In other words, a powerful family like the Si family of Jiangnan has actually chosen to support Princess Zhaoming!?

Princess Zhaoming's status and importance are now incomparable!
"Mr. Si Ning—" Lord Zhang wanted to say something more.

Jiang Jinshuang impatiently raised her hand: "Guards, gag him and throw him into the cold spring!"

Several servants stepped forward again and dragged the pot-bellied Lord Zhang toward the cold spring!

The peach blossoms in the backyard seemed to be awakened by the sound; their petals fluttered and fell into the cold spring, creating ripples.

Seeing the man's panicked expression, Jiang Jinshuang rested her chin on her hand and watched, quite pleased with herself.

Just as the servants were about to throw him into the cold spring, a low, trembling voice entered Jiang Jinshuang's ears.

"Your Highness."

It was Pei Du.

Jiang Jinshuang frowned and turned to look at Pei Du, who was sitting in the guest seat.

Pei Du was really drunk.

The corners of his eyes were tinged with crimson, and his beautiful eyes were fixed on her. Even the knuckles on his knees curled up unconsciously.

His back remained ramrod straight, but the look in his eyes held a stubbornness and...grievance that Jiang Jinshuang couldn't decipher.
Wronged?

Jiang Jinshuang felt like she was going crazy.

How could she possibly see any emotion of grievance on Pei Du's face?

What is there for him to feel aggrieved about?
"What does the Grand Secretary want to say?" Jiang Jinshuang asked coldly.

The man's lips were pressed straight, his words were slightly slow, and his voice trembled: "That's mine."

what?
Jiang Jinshuang frowned, momentarily stunned.

Pei Du looked at her and enunciated each word clearly: "That is my cold spring."

She would not allow the cold spring to be tainted by any dirt.

—She promised.

She clearly promised.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang chuckled lightly, seemingly unconcerned.

"Puff-"

Behind him, the burly Lord Zhang was dragged by three or five servants and thrown into the cold spring!

The cold spring is not deep, but the water temperature is icy cold and not pleasant at all.

The man only touched it briefly, but then, like a rat scalded by lava, he screamed and thrashed about in the spring. The once clear and pure spring water was now filthy and unrecognizable, the mud at the bottom stirred up by his entry.

Jiang Jinshuang smiled with satisfaction, then turned to look at Pei Du, whose eyes were red and whose knuckles were curled.

She raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Excellency is mistaken. This is my Cold Spring, and it has nothing to do with you."

Then she said to Jingmo, "Young Master Jingmo, your master is drunk. I will send someone to take you home."

—The real show is about to begin, but he's not around.

All sounds are silent.

Throughout the banquet, apart from Lord Zhang, who was still screaming and splashing in the cold spring and occasionally cursing Jiang Jinshuang, there was no other sound.

All the guests lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to even look Jiang Jinshuang in the eye.

Now that the atmosphere had reached this point, Jiang Jinshuang felt it was time to move on to the next step.

She smiled gently: "Ladies and gentlemen, the stage outside the mansion has been set up. Since you have all eaten your fill, please come with me to enjoy the performance."

At this point, who would dare to disobey Jiang Jinshuang's words?
The Si family of Jiangnan has made their stance clear: even if they had eight hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to oppose the Si family of Jiangnan!
Hearing Jiang Jinshuang say this, everyone had no choice but to pretend that nothing had happened and follow Jiang Jinshuang and Si Ning out of the princess's residence.
-
Outside the princess mansion.

When Xia Yurong and Qingshan arrived at the Princess's residence with a group of female relatives, they saw the carriage of Wenshan Pavilion leaving the Princess's residence from afar.

Qing Shan's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly tugged at Xia Yu Rong beside her: "Yu Rong, look, that's the Grand Secretary's carriage!"

Xia Yurong looked closely and nodded: "It really is Brother Pei's carriage..."

Qing Shan's smile widened: "Hmph! I knew it! Princess Zhaoming must have angered the Grand Secretary, and he couldn't stand it and left the banquet to return home!"

Hearing Qing Shan say this, Xia Yurong's face brightened up: "Really? Really?"

"How could that be false? Lord Pei is so well-mannered; he would never have left the banquet halfway through if he hadn't been truly angered!"

As she spoke, Qing Shan pulled Xia Yu Rong forward, saying, "Come on, let's go see what kind of joke Princess Zhaoming has made this time!"

Upon hearing this, a group of women followed and walked towards the princess's residence.

Outside the princess mansion.

When Jiang Jinshuang arrived outside the mansion with her guests, she happened to see Xia Yurong and her entourage also walking over.

"I have met Her Highness the Princess."

The women all bowed and greeted Jiang Jinshuang.

Jiang Jinshuang raised her chin and glanced at Xia Yurong, who was standing in front of the group of women.

Seeing this, Xia Yurong stepped forward and gave Jiang Jinshuang a slight bow: "Sister, why did you come out?"

Jiang Jinshuang didn't bother to understand the purpose of Xia Yurong and the others' visit. She simply pointed with her chin to the stage set up outside the mansion and said, "Watch a play."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yurong bit her lip slightly: "Sister, I...I just saw Brother Pei's carriage..."

Jiang Jinshuang smiled and said, "So what?"

Xia Yurong's voice was soft, and she looked troubled: "Did you and Brother Pei have another fight? Don't be angry, I'll explain everything to Brother Pei..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinshuang couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Xia Yurong, which eye of yours saw me having a falling out with Pei Du?"

"Sister, I'm sorry, Yu Rong misspoke..."

Qingshan, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward and curtsied, but there was not much respect in her manner: "Your Highness, Yurong is just worried about you. You don't need to be so sarcastic to her."

Jiang Jinshuang's gaze shifted to Qing Shan: "Miss Qing Shan, the only daughter of General Zhenyuan."

Qing Shan was surprised that Jiang Jinshuang recognized her at a glance. She was stunned for a moment, then straightened her back and said, "This humble woman, Qing Shan, greets Princess Zhaoming."

"If I remember correctly, none of your names seem to be on the invitation?"

After being rebuffed, Qing Shan snorted coldly, "This humble woman and her sisters were passing by the Princess's residence when we heard that Her Highness was inviting people to watch a play, so we dared to come and have a look."

(End of this chapter)