Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

"Perrin!"

Ling Xi was still furious, staring hatefully at the departing figure.

"Princess?"

Only then did Pei Lan dare to step forward. She felt that the aura of Prince Xiao was truly terrifying, and she dared not get close at all, as if she could not breathe if she did.

"Tell me, both being princes, why is my brother so approachable, while Xiao Ce always acts like everyone owes him money?"

"Your Highness... Your Highness, I don't know. All I know is that this Prince Xiao is truly terrifying. I'm scared."

Ling Xi withdrew her gaze from Xiao Ce's retreating figure, looked at Pei Lan with disappointment, and sighed deeply.

"Wushuang, you speak."

Wushuang carefully recalled Heng Shizi's appearance and frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, in my memory, the young master doesn't seem to smile much. Perhaps he only smiles when he's in front of Your Highness."

Ling Xi sighed even more heavily, wondering why her brother had kept such an unromantic female guard like Wushuang by his side.

……

A few days later, rumors began to circulate in Jinling City that the princess from Chu who came to marry into the royal family was jealous and plotted to murder the newborn son of the Prince Rui's heir.

When she first arrived, there were some rumors that she had a seductive appearance and was a pawn sent by the Chu Kingdom to bewitch men and make them lose their minds. But their cold-hearted Prince Rui was not buying it.

Now, after a full moon celebration, she's been branded with the crime of being heartless and cruel.

In an instant, her reputation as a Chu princess, which was already deeply rooted in the rumors of Jinling City, was further damaged.

"Have you heard? At the full moon celebration for the young master of Prince Rui's mansion, that princess from Chu actually tried to lay a hand on the newborn baby in front of all the guests! How ruthless!"

"It seems that the Crown Prince's wife must have failed to win the favor of the Prince Rui's son, which is why she harbored resentment out of jealousy."

"I've heard she has a foxy look, with incredibly alluring eyes and brows. It's a pity, our young master doesn't fancy such an empty shell of beauty."

"I've also heard that... the Prince Rui's son has never been to the princess's room, and even on his wedding night, he stayed in the concubine's courtyard."

"Tsk tsk tsk! No wonder the Crown Princess would lay a hand on a baby who's only a month old; she must be insanely jealous, right?"

"Isn't that right? I also heard that when the child was still in the concubine's womb, this vicious Crown Princess tried to harm Consort Mu many times. Once, she almost pushed her off a high place, and later she even poisoned her, nearly causing the death of both mother and child!"

At the climax, all the tea drinkers gasped in unison, their faces instantly filled with contempt and resentment, as if they had witnessed the heinous act firsthand.

"The people of Chu are truly all vicious!"

"The poor concubine is frail and has a young child to care for. How will she survive in the future, facing such a vicious woman every day?"

"How could the Prince Rui's mansion have married such a femme fatale!"

……

Whispers gradually spread, drifting from one table to another. Everyone was talking to each other, and the foul language never stopped, sparsely filling the entire teahouse lobby.

Sifang Teahouse, the largest teahouse in Jinling City, is also a popular place for people to watch plays. Ling Xi has been there several times.

At that moment, she was sitting by the window of a private room on the second floor, resting her chin on one hand, listening to the gossip about her.

There used to be a stage in the middle of the hall, but there was no performance today. Ling Xi could clearly feel that the men and women tea drinkers were even more excited and enthusiastic than when they usually listened to operas.

"Princess... those people are talking nonsense. We can't just let them throw dirty water on us."

Perrin's face had already turned red and then green, then red again. Wushuang, on the other hand, was much calmer, though her delicate eyebrows suddenly arched slightly.

"What can we do? People can say whatever they want; we can't exactly ask Wushuang to beat them all up, can we?"

"Peerless only takes a quarter of an hour."

Wushuang swiftly drew the short sword from his sleeve, as if he were truly ready at any moment, his face still cold and indifferent.

Ling Xi twitched her lips and suddenly felt that Wu Shuang might actually be capable of doing it.

"You two are seventeen and fifteen, can't you be a little more composed? Using force to stop war is the worst possible solution. Besides... you can't silence public opinion."

Ling Xi's serious expression seemed to be a warning to the two of them, but in the next instant, she frowned to herself.

"But...but how can we stop these rumors?"

Perrin truly couldn't stand seeing her princess being gossiped about like this.

Ling Xi picked up the cheese on the table, gently scooped up a spoonful, and slowly put it into her mouth. The chilled cheese was refreshing and delightful. Then, she slowly spoke:

"Stop what? There's no need to suppress public opinion. In any case, even if these rumors spread throughout Jinling City, it's the Prince Rui's Mansion that will lose face. I don't know these people, so why should I care what they say?"

"But......"

Perrin scratched his head, feeling that what the princess said seemed wrong, but he couldn't refute it.

"But these people are really..."

Perrin immediately became serious again, probably because he felt that the princess was still angry.

"I don't know how they spread the rumors. I didn't push Mu Wanning back then; she was the one who wanted to make the first move! They even know that Xiao Ce has never been to my courtyard. Those people from Daliang love to gossip even more than we people from Chu..."

Ling Xi casually popped some iced cheese into her mouth while muttering to herself.

Perrin was completely speechless. They hadn't expected the princess to be so composed.

After all, in Pei Lan's memory, their princess was someone who would always seek revenge. But now, after being slandered like this, she could actually swallow her anger. Their princess must have suffered too many grievances since coming to Daliang to become like this. Thinking of this, Pei Lan's eyes instantly reddened again.

Even as Ling Xi descended the stairs, holding onto the handrail, the hushed conversations continued throughout the hall.

Ling Xi looked around, trying to see who these people were who were judging a woman they had never met before, and who were condemning her for heinous crimes based on a few hearsay rumors.

Sure enough, they were all uglier than her. People who love to gossip can never be good-looking!

However, her inner complaint seemed somewhat superfluous. Not to mention Jinling City, even if Daliang and Chu were combined, it would be difficult to find someone as beautiful as her.

Such beauty quickly attracted the attention of those around her.

She had just reached halfway down the stairs when, seemingly lost in thought, someone exclaimed aloud:

"So beautiful!"

The lobby, which had been buzzing just moments before, seemed to freeze in place. Those who were whispering and gossiping about her still had their mouths slightly open, but their eyes were already fixed on her.

All eyes in the room turned to her, and Ling Xi stopped abruptly, not daring to move for a moment.