The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 2)

Chapter 157 - A Complaint

The Ninth Princess had never endured such humiliation. Born as nobility, she had been pampered her entire life. Now, having lost so much face in front of so many people, she couldn't bear to recall the event. In her rage, she smashed everything within reach in her room.

Her personal attendant could only stand far away outside the door, helpless and praying for divine intervention. She knew she couldn't escape responsibility for the princess's misfortune and dreaded the consequences she might face.

Finally, Chen Mingyu gathered her courage and knocked before entering. Ignoring the mess, she knelt by the Ninth Princess's bedside, gently holding her hands and speaking soothingly. "Your Highness, you are nobility. Why lower yourself to compete with someone like Sixth Miss Song?"

Initially, she had seen Sixth Miss Song as someone formidable. But now she realized that Sixth Miss Song lacked basic discretion—she didn't know whom to avoid, nor could she exercise restraint. Not only had she crossed paths with the Ninth Princess, but she had dared to publicly humiliate her, oblivious to the trouble she'd bring upon her family. Did Sixth Miss Song think she could risk the Emperor's wrath without consequence?

Despite her words, Chen Mingyu didn't hold back, adding fuel to the fire: "Miss Song has always held her head high, flaunting the favor of her titled aunt and the attention of her grandfather, Old Master Song. She's simply spoiled. Why bother holding a grudge against her, Your Highness?"

But was the princess supposed to swallow such humiliation? Her jaw clenched, anger etched across her face as she clutched her blanket, snapping, "Silence!"

Chen Mingyu had successfully provoked her to the limit. Hearing this, she bowed her head submissively, her face flushed, tears brimming as she sighed. Nonetheless, she carefully adjusted the princess's blanket.

From outside came the sound of an announcement. Chen Mingyu caught a glimpse of a robe adorned with blue patterns and immediately saw a palace-dressed woman, wearing a coronet of purple-gold roses and a hairpin of five phoenixes, stride briskly to the bed and embrace the Ninth Princess.

It was Noble Consort Xian. Chen Mingyu quickly bowed to the ground, her movements graceful and precise, even in such a moment of flustered haste, ensuring her bells didn't make a sound.

Noble Consort Xian cast a satisfied glance at Chen Mingyu, nodding for her to rise, and then focused her attention on the Ninth Princess, examining her with worry. "Why on earth were you racing horses? When I heard you'd fallen into the pond, and the palace maids couldn't explain anything, you nearly scared me to death!"

The Ninth Princess's eyes instantly reddened, and large tears began to fall, one after another, as she nestled against Noble Consort Xian's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Noble Consort Xian's heart ached. She had two sons and one daughter; the sons had been sent to their fiefs early on, and she was lucky to see them once a year. Sometimes, if there were disasters and no imperial decree was issued, it might be three to five years before she could see them again. Her daughter, being the only one allowed to stay close, was her treasured jewel, cherished and protected.

Seeing her daughter crying so pitifully, with scratches on her arms and face, Noble Consort Xian was both hurt and distressed. She asked repeatedly, "What happened? Why are you crying so hard?"

In front of her mother, the Ninth Princess, usually so arrogant before others, reverted to a childlike state, sobbing without forming a single complete sentence. Noble Consort Xian grew anxious, glancing around the room, then pointed to the Ninth Princess's personal attendant. "You tell me—since you look after her daily, how did this come about?"

The Ninth Princess was naturally lively and favored by Emperor Jianzhang, so racing horses at the hunting grounds was nothing new. But she had never ended up in such a sorry state before. Who could she have raced against to end up like this?

The attendant nervously glanced at the Ninth Princess, then dropped to her knees, trembling. "Reporting to Your Highness... Her Highness was racing against Sixth Miss Song. In her eagerness to win, Miss Song used her whip to hook the horse's leg, causing Her Highness and the horse to tumble into the pond..."

Sixth Miss Song?! The same Sixth Miss Song who had once rejected the position of study companion to the Ninth Princess, whom her son had spoken about with caution? Noble Consort Xian laughed coldly, repeating, "Well, well, well."

How audacious, daring to humiliate someone of royal blood! Did Noble Consort Song truly think that having a son made her untouchable, that everyone else would yield to her?

Grinding her teeth, Noble Consort Xian let out a cold chuckle, then looked thoughtfully at her daughter. "Why did you decide to race with Sixth Miss Song in the first place?"

She knew her daughter's temperament well. The Ninth Princess, overly indulged since childhood, was the most lively and spoiled of all the princesses. Aside from being meek in front of the Empress Dowager Rongxian, she never considered others. Even if she disliked Sixth Miss Song, she knew her brother already had plans to make things difficult for both Sixth Miss Song and the Eleventh Princess. So why had she chosen now to pick a fight with Sixth Miss Song?

The Ninth Princess instinctively glanced at Chen Mingyu. If it hadn't been for Chen Mingyu constantly feeding her stories about Sixth Miss Song, she wouldn't have been so fired up to cause trouble.

But things hadn't gone as planned—she hadn't managed to trouble Sixth Miss Song; instead, Sixth Miss Song had turned the tables, leaving her humiliated and bruised. Now, everyone likely knew about her defeat and fall. After this embarrassment, how could she continue with the hunt alongside her father? How could she show her face in public?

Her face flushed with frustration, she refrained from venting on Chen Mingyu and instead looked away, lowering her head as if bearing a great injustice. "If it weren't for the Eleventh Princess boasting about her abilities, I wouldn't have lost my composure..."

Just like Noble Consort Song, they appeared mild and harmless on the outside, while secretly harboring countless schemes.

Noble Consort Xian lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable, before breaking into a dark, sinister smile. She stood, lifting her gown. "To Yanbo Zhishuang Hall!"

Chen Mingyu, who had been demurely playing the part of an obedient, well-bred lady, couldn't help but secretly feel a surge of glee—Noble Consort Xian was clearly going to lodge a complaint with Emperor Jianzhang. Given the Ninth Princess's favored status, Song Chuyi would surely suffer the consequences this time.

The Ninth Princess seemed to think the same, a cold smile on her lips and a dark glint in her eyes.