With a wave of his hand, the Prince's Mansion's fortune exploded throughout the entire cap

Following the sound, Xiao Jingjing saw a lady dressed in magnificent palace attire stand up from her seat, which was second only to the Empress. Her face was ashen, and her eyes were filled with anger and resentment as she stared intently at her.

The eldest prince beside him also stood up, his face equally grim, his eyes filled with displeasure and surprise as he stared intently at the shattered jade pendant on the ground.

They clearly hadn't expected that a mere princess of the Jingwang Mansion would accidentally break the jade pendant bestowed upon her by Consort Shu.

Consort Shu, as the emperor's concubine, completely disregarded the etiquette of the palace banquet, burning with anger, and utterly forgot that the emperor and empress were still in the palace.

[It's her!! She's the one who gave me this broken jade pendant. She deliberately wanted to harm the young prince, and now she's trying to yell at me. How annoying!!]

【I'm not afraid of her at all. By smashing her broken jade pendant, I helped the young prince. I didn't do anything wrong!】

Little Jingjing looked up, showing no fear, her eyes filled with anger and determination, yet she still pretended to be innocent and naive, tightly clutching Lu Wenshu's clothes, and whispered, "Mother, that lady is so fierce... I didn't mean to."

She used her innocent appearance to conceal her anger, which also made it difficult for Consort Shu to find any further reason to criticize her.

Consort Shu strode up to Xiao Jingjing, looked down at her, and spoke in a sharp tone, tinged with questioning and anger:

"Princess Jianing, I ask you, why did you break the jade pendant I gave to the Fifth Prince? That jade pendant was made of the finest white jade, which I carefully selected. It is warm and translucent, and can ward off cold and evil spirits. It was a token of my affection. How dare you be so presumptuous as to break it in public? Do you have any respect for me or for the royal family's rules?"

[White jade? What white jade? It's clearly a black jade pendant with malevolent energy, and there's even black energy inside! She's lying!] She

[She deliberately gave me the damaged jade pendant to harm the young prince, and now she's trying to deny it and even yell at me! How wicked!] Shu

[Your Highness, you're lying! You didn't genuinely want to give the young prince the jade pendant; you wanted to kill him! Luckily, I smashed it, otherwise the young prince would have been in danger!]

Lu Wenshu immediately shielded Xiao Jingjing behind her, her face still showing a gentle yet firm expression, her tone natural as she pretended to defend Xiao Jingjing:

"Your Highness, please calm down. Jingjing is still young and mischievous. She accidentally fell today and tore off and broke your jade pendant. It was not intentional. Please forgive her and don't hold a grudge against a child. We will definitely find a fine jade pendant to compensate the Fifth Prince and make up for today's mistake."

As she spoke, she subtly winked at Xiao Jingjing, signaling her to continue feigning innocence, while she herself stood firmly in front of her, neither revealing Xiao Jingjing's thoughts nor showing any awareness of the jade pendant's malevolent aura, perfectly feigning ignorance.

Xiao Mingzhu quickly spoke up, her tone respectful yet gentle: "Your Highness, I also believe that Princess Jianing did not do it intentionally. She is usually obedient and docile, and today she must have made a mistake due to carelessness. I beg Your Highness to be magnanimous and forgive her this time."

She also pretended not to know, simply defending Xiao Jingjing without mentioning anything unusual. Her three older brothers also spoke up, with Zhou Rui speaking gently: "Your Highness, Jingjing is young and ignorant, and accidentally broke the jade pendant. Please forgive her, Your Highness. We will take care of the compensation."

Gu Feng said calmly, "Please, Your Highness, don't hold a grudge against a child." Xiao Yu tugged at Xiao Jingjing's sleeve, looked up at her innocently, and said, "Your Highness, please don't scold my sister. She didn't mean it. We'll get you a better jade pendant, okay?"

They worked in perfect unison, pretending throughout that they were unaware of Xiao Jingjing's true feelings and the evil energy hidden in the jade pendant. They simply assumed that Xiao Jingjing had accidentally broken the pendant, and while defending her, they offered to compensate her.

His tone was natural, his expression was frank, and he didn't reveal the slightest flaw, successfully deceiving everyone else present and secretly protecting Xiao Jingjing.

Little Jingjing leaned against Lu Wenshu, feeling a warm glow in her heart as she listened to her mother and brothers' words.

[Thank you, Mother! Thank you, Aunt! Thank you, my three brothers! I knew you would help me! Even though you didn't know, you were all protecting me. I will not let you down. I have destroyed the broken jade pendant; my little uncle will never be hurt by it again.]

Gao Jin quickly spoke up, saying to Consort Shu in a slightly stiff tone, "Your Highness, it's alright. It's just a jade pendant; it's not worth getting angry about."

Jingjing is still young, it's inevitable that she'll fall accidentally, so don't blame her. There's no need for compensation either; it's just an ordinary jade pendant, no need to make such a fuss.

He hadn't noticed anything unusual at first, assuming it was just an accident. He was so doting on Xiao Jingjing that he didn't want her to suffer any injustice. But Consort Shu's reaction made him wonder about Consort Shu's intentions in giving him the jade pendant.

He overlooked the changes in himself—the fatigue that had been lingering lately was gradually dissipating, and his breathing had become much smoother. However, his mind was focused on Xiao Jingjing at the moment, and he did not notice it.

Consort Shu trembled with rage, her face alternating between pale and flushed. Pointing at Xiao Jingjing, she glanced at Lu Wenshu and the others, her tone becoming even sharper:

"You! You're all protecting her! A jade pendant is a small matter, but for her to break my reward in public shows she doesn't respect me and disregards royal rules! Today, I will teach her a lesson and show her what the difference between superior and inferior is!"

As she spoke, she raised her hand, intending to slap Xiao Jingjing across the face, her eyes filled with resentment.

She was not only angry because the jade pendant was broken, but also because her carefully planned scheme had been ruined. The jade pendant, which was imbued with evil energy, was one she had deliberately chosen to harm Gao Jin. If Gao Jin wore it for a long time, his vital energy would be drained, and his health would only deteriorate until he eventually died of illness.

This way, the Crown Prince's power can be reduced, increasing her eldest son's leverage!

But now, the jade pendant has been smashed by Xiao Jingjing, and her plan has completely failed. Blinded by anger, she completely disregards the fact that the Emperor and Empress are in the main seat and attempts to punish Princess Jianing in public.

"No! Don't touch me! You bad person! You deliberately gave me the broken jade pendant to harm my young uncle, and now you want to hit me? I'm not afraid of you! My mother and brothers will protect me, and my young uncle will protect me too!"

Little Jingjing looked up at Consort Shu without fear, showing no sign of backing down, but still pretended to be innocent and naive, tightly clutching Lu Wenshu's clothes.

She knew that her mother and brothers would protect her, and she also knew that Consort Shu wouldn't dare to really lay a hand on her, but she still had to pretend to be afraid in order to better conceal her true feelings.

Just as Consort Shu's hand was about to touch Xiao Jingjing, an extremely majestic voice rang out.