After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Upon hearing the words "Princess's Residence," Zhao Yuwan hesitated for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"The Princess's residence?"

She sized Shen Jingque up and down, her tone full of disdain, "Could it be that you're jealous because your sister entered the Marquis's mansion, and you're trying to climb the social ladder too?"

She reached out and touched the rabbit fur trim on Shen Jingque's cloak, flicking it with her fingertips.

"The fabric of this dress is quite nice; is it borrowed?"

Shen Jingque pulled her cloak back up and didn't reply.

The girl in blue beside her spoke up at the opportune moment, her round fan half-covering her lips, her tone disdainful: "You say you're from the Princess's residence? What are you in that residence?"

She tilted her head and looked at Shen Jingque with a smile.

"A servant girl?"

Several noble ladies around them covered their mouths and laughed.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it was extremely jarring.

Like a flock of carefully dressed crows, they perched precariously on the branches, cawing loudly.

Shen Jingque's gaze gradually turned cold.

She remembered who the girl in blue was.

Wen Qianrou is the second legitimate daughter of Wen Shengbao, the Earl of Changning.

In the original book, he was Zhao Yuwan's most loyal follower, always flattering the powerful and belittling the weak, and causing the protagonist a lot of trouble.

Shen Tingyun stood behind Zhao Yuwan, her handkerchief clenched tightly in her hand, her face growing increasingly pale.

But she remained silent, not saying a word in support of Shen Jingque.

Shen Jingque originally wanted to let the matter drop.

Her goal tonight was to check in with Xiao Jingchen at Baiyu Bridge and protect the Shennong Illustrated Manual; she didn't want to waste her time on this group of people.

But Wen Qianrou's use of the word "servant" enraged her.

She was walking along the street without bothering anyone, yet she was inexplicably summoned and humiliated like this.

Even if she really was a slave, does that give them the right to bully her like this?

What kind of noblewoman?

They're just a bunch of bullying girls dressed in gold and silver.

Shen Jingque looked up at Wen Qianrou.

"You are all ladies from noble families, so I imagine your family education is quite good."

"Do you know that the sages said, 'Respect the elderly as you would your own parents, and care for the young as you would your own children'? This teaches people to respect the elderly and cherish the young."

She looked around, her gaze finally settling on Zhao Yuwan's face.

"You bullied me, a twelve-year-old child, in the street, mocking and ridiculing me. Is this the upbringing of the Marquis of Yong'an and the Duke of Fuguo?"

A low murmur could be faintly heard from the crowd of onlookers.

"Yes, it's really going too far for several young women to bully a little girl."

"To call someone a servant is such an offensive thing to say."

"The Marquis of Yong'an's mansion? Didn't they marry a daughter from a scholarly family as their second wife? How can they be so arrogant?"

She cared most about the reputation of the Marquis's mansion.

From a young age, her grandmother taught her: You are the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion, and your every word and action represents the mansion.

Therefore, she can be arrogant, picky, and make things difficult for Shen Tingyun in the inner quarters.

However, one cannot allow someone to point fingers at one's face and say that the Marquis's family is ill-mannered.

Especially being humiliated by someone as down-and-out as Shen Jingque.

Wen Qianrou's smile faded, and she raised an eyebrow: "Such arrogance! You dare to drag the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion and the Duke of Fuguo's mansion into this so easily? Who gave you the guts?"

She took a step forward and reached out to grab Shen Jingque's wrist.

"So quick-witted."

"Since no one will teach you, I'll discipline you for Tingyun, so you won't embarrass her in the future."

Shen Jingque took half a step back, but the crowd of people watching the lights behind her was pushing in, blocking her way out.

Her heart skipped a beat.

isn't it?

Are you really going to get started?

Do all young ladies love physical damage output this much?

Shen Jingque's mind raced, and she began to assess the chances of successfully staging an accident if she lay down on the ground on the spot.

Wen Qianrou's hand was already outstretched in front of her.

"Wait a moment!"

Shen Tingyun finally spoke.

From the moment Shen Jingque appeared, Shen Tingyun felt like he was being roasted over a fire.

But when Wen Qianrou reached out to grab Shen Jingque, she still instinctively spoke up.

That's her sister.

Back when they lived in the Shen family, they had shared half a cake together and huddled together under a quilt for warmth.

She may have been jealous of her, resented her, or even stolen the wealth and glory that belonged to her in this life.

But she never intended for her to be humiliated in the street.

He forced himself to give a curtsy to Wen Qianrou.

"Sister Qianrou, Jingque is young and spoke a bit harshly. I apologize on her behalf."

After she finished speaking, her heart was pounding so hard that she didn't even dare to look up at Zhao Yuwan.

But she could feel Zhao Yuwan's gaze as a cold needle piercing her.

Zhao Yuwan laughed, a hint of amusement in her smile.

Isn't Shen Tingyun always pretending to be sensible?

Don't you always call her "sister" when you see her?

These days, she's been meek and obsequious, trying to please everyone. Even when she deliberately had her maid deliver the charcoal half a month late, Shen Tingyun could still smile and say she wasn't cold.

Zhao Yuwan initially looked down on this spineless person, but seeing her behavior, she realized that she did have some sense of responsibility.

However, after only a few days in the Marquis's mansion, he has already lost sight of his place.

She shouldn't have lost face in front of so many people.

Zhao Yuwan spoke softly, "Tingyun, you want to protect her?"

Shen Tingyun felt a lump in his throat. "Sister Yuwan, she is, after all, my sister."

"Sister?" Zhao Yuwan smiled gently. "You now live in the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, eat the mansion's food, wear the mansion's clothes, and carry the mansion's name card when you go out."

"If you side with her today, you won't need to call me 'sister' anymore after you return home."

These words were spoken casually, but when Shen Tingyun heard them, his blood ran cold.

She knew the weight of Zhao Yuwan's words.

Before Du Yuerong entered the Marquis's mansion, she repeatedly warned her that the old lady of the Marquis's mansion doted on Zhao Yuwan the most, and that a single word from Zhao Yuwan would be enough to make it impossible for her to move an inch in the mansion.

She fought tooth and nail to get this position in this life.

She can never go back to the way things were.

Wen Qianrou chuckled softly from the side: "Tingyun, if you can't bear to hand the person over to me, you can give him a good scolding yourself."

Everyone present understood the meaning behind those words.

If Shen Tingyun doesn't personally teach Shen Jingque a lesson today, his future days will likely be difficult.

Shen Tingyun looked at Shen Jingque and met her gaze.

Those eyes were bright, but there was no plea for help or resentment in them, only a kind of calm scrutiny.

It was as if they were waiting for her to make a choice.

Shen Jingque didn't really want to hate Shen Tingyun.

Shen Tingyun's act of rushing to the Marquis's mansion after her rebirth was indeed selfish.

When people are struggling to survive, who can guarantee that they will always be upright and honest?

Shen Jingque could understand her fear.

When Shen Tingyun stopped Wen Qianrou just now, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At least, this older sister isn't completely bad.

But the next moment—

Shen Tingyun gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and swung it down.

The crisp sound of the slap was particularly jarring in the night wind.

Shen Jingque's face was slapped to the side, the rabbit lantern slipped from her hand, its frame hit the ground, the paper tore open, and the candle went out.

A red mark quickly appeared on her left cheek. She raised her hand to touch it, her fingertips lingering on the side of her face, before slowly raising her head.

"Sister, do you really think I was wrong?"

Shen Tingyun's lips trembled, and her eyes reddened, but she stubbornly held back her tears.

She dared not look at Shen Jingque's face.

"Jingque, just admit your mistake, and this matter will be over."

Her voice was very soft, as if she were pleading with her.

Shen Jingque smiled, but her eyes reddened.

"They're clearly using bullying me to humiliate you, can't you see that?"

Shen Tingyun swayed.

Of course she could tell.

Humiliating Shen Jingque for being unruly was actually a reminder of her humble origins.

Criticizing Shen Jingque for being ill-mannered was actually a way of saying that this newcomer to the Marquis's mansion was not respectable enough.

But she had no choice. She thought that maybe if she could just endure it a little longer, and wait until her mother had a firm foothold in the Marquis's mansion, she could also have some dignity.

Seeing her on the verge of fainting, Shen Jingque suddenly understood her choice and then smiled with relief.

"Sister has indeed grown up. She has only been in the Marquis's mansion for a few days, and she has already learned to be unable to distinguish right from wrong and to betray her own sister."

Shen Tingyun opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Zhao Yuwan watched this scene from the side, a slight smile playing on her lips, extremely satisfied.

Just then, a figure squeezed out from the crowd.

Green Calyx rushed breathlessly to Shen Jingque.

She had been separated from her by the crowd and her heart was still in turmoil. Although Miss Shen was clever, she was still young and it was her first time at the lantern festival. If something had really happened, how would she explain it to His Highness when she returned?

As I searched, my heart pounded with increasing anxiety, until I heard the commotion here and pushed my way through the crowd.

Upon seeing the slap mark on Shen Jingque's face, Lü'e's expression immediately changed.

She stood in front of Shen Jingque, coldly saying, "Who gave you the audacity to harm someone from the Princess's residence?"