Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

The people sent by the Sun family were met with a cold shoulder by Aunt Sun and were kicked out, but they did not give up.

They thought that Aunt Sun was just an ignorant concubine who dared to act arrogantly now that she was up to something. They decided to go directly to Jiang Sese!

So the Sun family went straight to the princess's residence.

Not long after the visiting card was handed in, someone came out.

The steward said, "The princess said that you have all come from afar and have had a long journey. She appreciates your kind intentions, but she is busy these days and cannot receive guests. Please go back." He then turned slightly to the side and gestured for you to leave.

The leader of the Sun family was Sun Wang from the eldest branch. In recent years, he had been doing quite well in the Yangzhou business. He had never been treated so coldly before. His face turned pale and then red. He wanted to say something more, but the guards behind the manager had already moved forward half a step without making a sound.

Sun Wang swallowed his words, gave a dry laugh, and led a few clansmen away in a dejected manner.

Back in Yangzhou, seeing that the emperor was far away and Yangzhou's words couldn't reach the capital, the Sun family started cursing and swearing.

"We are her maternal grandparents! We've traveled a long way to claim kinship, but that brat won't even let us in the door? There's no justice in this world!"

Sun Quan from the third branch of the family gritted his teeth and spat angrily, "Does she really think she's a golden phoenix? She doesn't even recognize her own maternal family! Ungrateful wretch!"

"Exactly! If it weren't for our Sun family, would she be where she is today? Now that she's climbed up the social ladder, she's turned her back on us! Bah! Ungrateful wretch!"

The Sun family had been eagerly awaiting good news from the capital, but instead, they saw Sun Wang and his entourage return looking disheveled. Sun Wuyai, the head of the Sun family, felt his heart sink.

"How did it go? Did you see the princess? What did she say?"

"See you? Bah!" Sun Wang gulped down some cold tea and began to pour out his grievances. "They wouldn't even let us in the door! That little slut, she's really got herself together now, acting all high and mighty! Aunt Sun is heartless too, she gave us a real dressing down!"

"What?!" Sun Wuyai's face turned ashen with rage. "She...she really dared to do this?!"

Sun Quan, standing to the side, also said with a mournful face, "We've said all the right things, but that little brat thinks she's all that. She doesn't even recognize us poor relatives anymore! She clearly looks down on us because of our lowly social status; we've embarrassed her!"

The clansmen present looked extremely grim after hearing what the two men said.

Sun Wuyai trembled with rage, pacing back and forth in the main hall: "Fine! Fine, Jiang Sese! Fine, ungrateful princess! Her mother is dead, and she came to the capital alone, while our Sun family... our Sun family..."

He wanted to say that the Sun family had once taken care of her, but he couldn't find any concrete example of kindness they had shown, so he could only vaguely say, "Now that she's achieved great success, she's just kicked us aside! What kind of logic is that!"

"Listen to me! You all get out of here in a minute and spread the word about how she turned her back on us in the capital and how she humiliated the Sun family!"

"I want to see if she still cares about her reputation as a princess!" Sun Wuyai said angrily.

Soon, the news spread throughout Yangzhou.

"Have you heard? That newly appointed princess is incredibly ruthless towards her maternal relatives..."

"That's right! The Sun family came to the capital to visit her out of good intentions, but they weren't even allowed in the door, and were almost beaten up!"

"Tsk tsk, people really do change their attitude once they get rich!"

……

Jiang Sese received several baskets of fresh hairy crabs from Jiang Lai and enthusiastically hosted a crab feast, inviting several close noble ladies, including Chen Yi, Chen Pei, Zhang Fumeng, and Chen Shixuan.

Xie Jue didn't want to spoil her mood, so he didn't tell her about the trouble the Sun family had caused in Yangzhou.

He only instructed Xie Ping: "Have someone give the Sun family a heads-up, and send someone else to Yangzhou to inform the local prefect that Princess Chenjia is grateful to Lady Jiang and has specially sent someone back to her hometown to visit her. There's no need to mention anything else."

Xie Ping understood.

The Sun family needs to be reprimanded, but the princess's reputation cannot be ignored.

The warning was directed at the Sun family, while informing the prefect was for the benefit of everyone in Yangzhou. Since the princess is grateful for past favors and hasn't forgotten her roots, the Sun family can no longer use the accusation of ingratitude against her.

Xie Ping bowed in agreement and then said, "There is one more thing. The case of Tianxiang Tower has been closed recently. The madam and several pimps involved in the case were all imprisoned for forcing women into prostitution. The girls in the tower who wanted to go home were given travel expenses, and those who did not want to go home were re-registered as instructed by the young master. They are now learning embroidery and spinning, learning a skill to make a living."

Xie Jue nodded slightly after listening.

Jiang Sese left Tianxiang Tower safely, but that didn't mean Xie Jue had wiped the slate clean. Afterwards, Xie Jue personally questioned the Qianlin Guards of Tianxiang Tower and learned that Shuangmei had covered Jiang Sese's departure that day.

This is why Shuangmei and others were able to renounce their citizenship and re-enter the nationality system.

Just as Xie Ping was about to leave, Xie Jue called him back: "Have someone keep an eye on the Jiang family as well."

Xie Ping responded with a "yes" and went out.