Chapter 278: So What If I Slapped You in the Face?

Suppressing the anger and adjusting her expression, Consort Li said to the palace maid beside her, “Call Feiran over. I haven’t seen her for a long time. We can take this opportunity to talk.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Not long after, the girl in red walked over and bowed respectfully. “Lin Feiran pays respects to Your Graces.”

Looking at her up close, Shen Ninghua couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. This young girl was indeed blessed by the heavens. Her brows were long and dark, and her eyes were like clear water. She had a refreshing smile on her face, and her eyes were clean and flawless, giving people a good impression at a glance.

Consort Li beckoned for her to come forward. She took her hand and patted it before introducing her to Bu Yunqing. “Sister Xian, this is my niece. Her father is the Assistant Minister of Justice, Lin Qu. She is his only legitimate daughter. Her father, mother, and elder brother all spoil her very much. Fortunately, she is a girl with a sense of propriety and has not developed a domineering and willful personality.”

As she spoke, she involuntarily looked at Shen Ninghua and met her half-smile. However, under the stare of Shen Ninghua’s cold and dark eyes, she felt a little guilty and quickly retracted her gaze.

Lin Feiran looked in Shen Ninghua’s direction with curiosity in her eyes. “Greetings, Princess Yi. I’ve long heard that you are beautiful, but now that I see you in person, I find that the rumors outside are far from being sufficient to describe your beauty.”

Facing such a pure smiling face, Shen Ninghua did not appear indifferent. She smiled back and said, “It’s just a false reputation. Miss Lin is also outstanding.”

Lin Feiran’s cheeks suddenly turned red, and her fingers could not help but pinch the silk handkerchief as if she was extremely embarrassed. “No, sister princess, I don’t deserve your praise.” As soon as she said this, she hurriedly explained, “I really feel that you are particularly amiable and made a slip of the tongue. Please don’t blame me, Princess Yi.”

The moment she uttered these words, the pavilion immediately fell silent.

Lin Feiran lowered her head and blushed, but she was actually proud in her heart. She had met Baili Junyi once and had been sad for a long time after he became the imperial son-in-law. Who would have thought that he would suddenly become a prince? This way, she had a chance. She was the legitimate daughter of the Lin family’s second branch. She was more than enough to be a royal prince’s side concubine.

She had uttered those words after careful consideration. Think about it: a cheerful young girl called Shen Ninghua sister because she was amiable. How could people blame the girl for that?

However, if Shen Ninghua didn’t blame her, it meant that she accepted being addressed as sister by her. In the future, she could use this relationship to get close to Baili Junyi. If Shen Ninghua got angry, it would make her seem especially unreasonable and petty. This way, she could also alienate Shen Ninghua and Baili Junyi.

Shen Ninghua suddenly smiled and looked up at the girl in front of her. She only felt that it was extremely funny. The girl was the legitimate daughter of the Lin family’s second branch and her father was the Assistant Minister of Justice, a first-rank official. These seemed to be her advantage, but they were nothing in front of Shen Ninghua.

Consort Jing, who was at the side, looked down indifferently. She sighed for Lin Feiran in her heart. Did this girl think that she could talk to Shen Ninghua on equal terms just because she had Consort Li backing her up? She really thought too highly of herself.

Lin Feiran noticed that Shen Ninghua was silent for a long time, and the joy in her heart turned into apprehension. She could not help but raise her eyes to look at Shen Ninghua. When she met her slightly contemptuous gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly bent her knees and bowed. “Princess Yi, it’s all my fault for overestimating myself. Please forgive me.”

Shen Ninghua slowly picked up her teacup and took a sip. She watched Lin Feiran maintain her bowing posture until her legs were trembling. Then, she slowly said, “Miss Lin, you cannot easily address others as your sister. In the future, don’t speak like this without thinking. I won’t bother about it today, but if it were someone else, I’m afraid they would have you dragged down and beaten to death.”

Lin Feiran’s face paled, and then a strong sense of humiliation rose from the bottom of her heart. She bit her lips and looked at Consort Li.

Consort Li was already full of anger, and at this time, she felt that Shen Ninghua was deliberately making things difficult for her. She immediately spoke up to defend Lin Feiran, “It’s just a form of address. She didn’t do it on purpose. Princess Zhaohua, you are too…” Before she could finish her words, she suddenly stopped and her expression changed greatly.

Princess Zhaohua! She actually forgot about this!

Shen Ninghua looked at her with a half-smile. “Too what? Consort Li, why didn’t you finish your sentence?”

“I misspoke. Please do not blame me, Your Highness.” Consort Li hated Shen Ninghua very much in her heart, but she had no choice but to admit defeat. She had only thought that calling a prince’s wife ‘sister’ was not a big deal, but she forgot that Shen Ninghua had another identity, Noble Princess Zhaohua. In the case of an ordinary official’s daughter who addressed a royal princess as sister, wasn’t she courting death? Who gave her such a big face?

Shen Ninghua was already lenient by not accusing Lin Feiran of disrespecting the royal family! This time, not to mention the surrounding girls who were listening to the drama, even the imperial concubines sitting in the pavilion felt that Shen Ninghua was magnanimous.

Lin Feiran lost her face and Consort Li was also a little embarrassed, so Consort Jing began to make peace in the middle. She gestured for the palace maid to call another young girl dressed in lotus-colored clothes over.

This young girl had an introverted personality. She behaved in a normal manner in the crowd. Most of the time, she listened to the surrounding girls talking and occasionally spoke a word.

However, when this girl walked to the front of Consort Jing, Shen Ninghua’s heart suddenly trembled. Looking at her beautiful face, she almost couldn’t help but cry out, “Si Qin!”

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Although her fate in this life was completely different, she often remembered the maids Si Qin and Si Qi who followed her in her previous life, especially Si Qin, who died during her pregnancy after being tortured to death by Shen Linghan…

Seeing the girl finish saluting, Consort Jing smiled and said, “What a sedate girl. Just looking at her makes me like her.”

Consort Li was angry and did not want to talk. Bu Yunqing nodded coldly and the atmosphere was a little stiff.

At this moment, Shen Ninghua spoke up, “Your name is Rouqin and your surname is Xia?”

The young girl Xia Rouqin quickly replied, “Yes, my name is Xia Rouqin and my father is the magistrate of Linjiang City.”

Shen Ninghua nodded, but she was particularly excited. When she took Si Qin in, she heard that her hometown was in Jiangnan and that her father was originally a county magistrate. Later, her father was executed because of the salt corruption case in Jiangnan and she was reduced to an official slave. By chance, she came to serve Shen Ninghua and changed her name to Si Qin.

In this life, she had also sent people to Jiangnan to look for her but failed. Who would have expected that her father was promoted and sent her to the capital to participate in the annual selection?

Xia Rouqin raised her head to look at Shen Ninghua, feeling a little overwhelmed. She had long heard of this legendary princess. She had originally thought that the princess with peerless looks and talent would definitely be high and mighty, but she actually seemed especially cordial.

Shen Ninghua smiled. “This younger sister looks particularly amiable.”

Consort Li’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot when she heard this. Lin Feiran called her elder sister and was humiliated. But now, Shen Ninghua took the initiative to call a little magistrate’s daughter younger sister. She was simply slapping the Lin family in the face!

She couldn’t help but coldly say, “Princess Zhaohua, if this girl has a higher status, she could be a side concubine for Prince Yi and you can call each other sisters in the future. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter. Although her status is low, she can be a concubine. You two can also be sisters.”

Xia Rouqin’s face turned pale and she quickly kneeled on the ground. “I come from a lowly background. How do I dare to call Princess Yi sister? If Your Highness does not mind my lowly background and allows me to serve you as a maid, it is already my greatest fortune.”

Bu Yunqing looked at Shen Ninghua, not understanding why she was so impulsive today. That girl from the Lin family was interested in Junyi, so there was nothing wrong with her targeting Lin Feiran, and she had also successfully taught her a lesson. Why was she still slapping Consort Li and the Lin family in the face now? After all, the Lin family was not easy to provoke.

Shen Ninghua stood up and held Xia Rouqin’s arm to pull her up. “Mother, I like this girl at first glance. Although I can’t recognize her as my younger sister, in my heart, she is the same as my younger sister. I have a presumptuous request. Please give your consent.”

“What are you doing, you naughty girl? What presumptuous request?” Before Bu Yunqing could say anything, Baili Qingcang, who was striding over, said with a smile.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Xia Rouqin got up and quickly knelt down. She looked at Shen Ninghua’s orchid embroidered dress and her heart was full of anxiety. If Shen Ninghua angered the imperial concubines and the Emperor because of her, then she really should die ten thousand times.

After Shen Ninghua saluted, she stood up and pointed at Xia Rouqin who was kneeling on the ground. “Father Emperor, didn’t I tell you before that I know medicine, but I haven’t found a suitable disciple? Isn’t there one in front of me?”

Baili Qingcang looked at Xia Rouqin for a while. “This girl?”

“Yes, although the smell on her body is very light, I can still detect the faint smell of medicinal herbs. This smell is left behind from long-term contact with medicinal herbs. Moreover, her fingertips are slightly yellow and there are scars left on the back of her hand made by thorns grass. It is a mark left behind by wrapping the thorns grass with yellow hemp. With one look, I can tell that she is familiar with medicinal herbs. Moreover, I felt that there was a special affinity between me and this girl at first glance, so I want her. Please agree, Father Emperor.”

Baili Qingcang laughed. “I’m afraid I can’t find a second person as meticulous as you. I’m afraid that even Chen Yun’s medical skills are not much better than yours. Well, since you like this girl, she’ll be your disciple.”

“Yes, thank you, Father Emperor.”

Bu Yunqing looked at Shen Ninghua with a complicated expression. She really did not expect that Shen Ninghua, whom she had saved as a tool of revenge, had grown to such an extent. Shen Ninghua liked to study. Back in the valley, she had mastered more than half of the medical books and poisoning skills she had collected. Now that such a long time had passed, she was probably even more experienced. Bu Yunqing believed that even she herself wasn’t a match to Shen Ninghua in terms of medical skills.

Xia Rouqin was overjoyed. She had planned to participate in the selection as a mere formality. But she had not expected that she would actually pass the preliminary selection and enter the second round. She had thought of making some mistakes and leaving the Palace, but now she got such a big surprise.

She first came in contact with herbs because she heard that when Princess Zhaohua went to Jiangnan to relieve the disaster, she personally treated the people. She admired Shen Ninghua to such an extent that she asked her father to find a master for her. Now she was extremely glad that she had decided to learn medicine. Otherwise, how could she have the chance to stay by Princess Zhaohua’s side?

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