Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 407 - 404

As soon as Lan Yue spoke, the faces of all the ladies present changed.

Liang Yanli raised her hand to hide the smile that she couldn’t help but let escape with a handkerchief.

Mrs. Liu looked dreadful!What was going on with the wife of the First Prince? It was her husband’s birthday today, but she began by stirring up trouble, blaming their family for such a big offense, how had they offended her?

Mrs. Liu suppressed her anger and responded calmly, "Madam, your words are mistaken. Among the ladies here, some were granted their titles by decree while some were born into noble families. If anyone wanted to curry favor, they would not do so with our family."

After Mrs. Liu had finished speaking, Xiao’er smiled faintly and said, "In the face of adversity, can’t a family find its way out? When a body is unwell, can’t it recover? Refusing the First Prince’s Consort’s invitation was to keep our sickness from her. How did this become a lack of respect in the eyes of the First Prince’s Consort? As if we do not respect the First Prince? Is an invitation from the First Prince’s Consort a prestigious imperial edict that we cannot refuse? In the First Prince’s Consort’s view, she seems even more esteemed than the Empress! Just a few days ago, the Empress invited me to play chess with her in the palace. I had to decline due to an indisposition, and the Empress didn’t blame me for not respecting her."

"Also, First Prince’s Consort, do you think the ladies visiting our mansion are currying favor with us? Then, is it your intent for them to curry favor with you when you invite them over to the First Prince’s Mansion? Trying to form factions for personal gain is not allowed under the law. Are you openly forming factions for the First Prince, or is this his intent?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yue’s face grew pale. How could the lady of Rui’an County treat her this way? Weren’t they supposed to have a good relationship? If she treated Lan Yue this way now because she was unhappy at not receiving much attention at the First Prince’s Mansion, Lan Yue would be nothing more than a joke.

With this thought in mind, she couldn’t hold back her bitterness: "Lady of Rui’an County, how could you do this to me! You’re accusing me of forming factions for personal gain! And even dared to put an enormous hat on me, saying I regard myself as more esteemed than the Empress. If this gets out, how can I show my face? How could you become so venomous? Weren’t we on good terms before? Are you now looking down on me like them?"

Was she being venomous? They were all venomous! It was clear that Lan Yue was the one who first placed the burden of being more esteemed than the First Prince on their shoulders. Weren’t they supposed to fight back?

When did they have a good relationship? Did she not know about it?

And what on earth was with her face? Guilty?

"How would I dare to look down on the First Prince’s Consort." Seeing Lan Yue’s expression, Xiao’er immediately thought of the scene at the Guofu Temple, and her skin began to crawl!

Liang Yanli cursed ’idiot’ under her breath. She hadn’t needed to intervene as long as Rui’an County was talking about Lan Yue. However, now that the First Prince was involved, she was compelled to speak up, "The lady of Rui’an County is being too serious. There’s no way the First Prince would form factions for personal gain. The First Prince’s Consort invited a few ladies over to enjoy tea, which is just a trivial matter. The First Prince isn’t even aware of this."

"While I understand this, I am speaking based on the First Prince’s Consort’s words that ’Is Marquis Shengping’s rank more esteemed than the First Prince?’ If the First Prince’s Consort does not understand, I will explain it so she does. After all, we can’t bear such a huge status."

They are just treating her by her own methods! So, don’t try to cause a scene here, otherwise, it would prove embarrassing on their part.

Xiao’er looked at Liang Yanli with intent.

The look made Liang Yan Li’s heart race.

Lan Yue was trying to say something, but Liang Yanli leaned in quickly, whispering in a voice only they could hear, "Don’t talk nonsense, otherwise, don’t expect me to help you get out of trouble!"

There was no need to squabble over words now, as there were more important things to address.

Who needs your help! Lan Yue pursed her lips but didn’t dare to speak further.

She had originally intended to teach these bandwagon women a lesson on behalf of the First Prince, but it seemed that she screwed up as soon as she opened her mouth.

She even dragged the First Prince into the controversy of forming factions and acting for personal advantage. It was not a joke.

Liang Yanli observed the decorations in the room and said, "The decorations in the lady of Rui’an County’s house are lovely and cozy, and they show discerning taste. The journey here was also like walking through a painting. Could we request the lady of Rui’an County to show us around?"

"Yes, I would like to see it too. It’s so beautiful." The wife of the Minister of the Revenue immediately agreed and nodded. She had been hoping to say so for a while now.

The other ladies and young ladies also expressed their interest in seeing it.

The atmosphere in the room finally eased, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Mrs. Liu and Xiao’er stood up upon hearing this request and led everyone to the garden.

Mrs. Liu guided the group, explaining the origin of each plant in her home.

As the wife of the First Prince, Lan Yue naturally took the lead.

In Xiao’er’s back garden, there was a huge glass greenhouse for growing flowers.

The First Prince’s Mansion did not have a greenhouse, and before she was married, she was just the daughter of a county magistrate and her family was not particularly affluent. Hence, this was her first time seeing a greenhouse.

"Wow! What a big glazed room! Your family must be very rich, lady of Rui’an County. How many silvers did it cost to build this glazed room? Isn’t it a bit wasteful to use it for growing flowers?" Lan Yue walked over as she spoke.

The rest of the ladies were also shocked by this glass greenhouse, but they scoffed at Lan Yue’s words.

People from smaller families tended to lack sophistication, being easily amazed by a greenhouse.

If a glazed house isn’t used for growing flowers, is it meant for people to live in?

Furthermore, even if glazed bricks were expensive, they could still be obtained, whereas many rare and famous flowers were truly priceless.

Xiao’er heard her words but didn’t have any contempt for her. Every family had different, unique backgrounds. She saw this as quite normal.

Xiao’er replied: "I enjoy cultivating flowers, some of which can only survive in a greenhouse during the winter. It’s worth the cost for the flowers I love."

In truth, she owned shares in a glazed brick shop and bought the glazed bricks at cost, so it wasn’t expensive!

But there was no need to explain this to her.

"If the First Prince’s Consort likes flowers, we can go in and have a look." Mrs. Liu signaled Zijing to open the door to the greenhouse.

Zijing stepped forward to open the door.

The group entered one after the other.

Most women liked flowers, and none of those present disliked them.

The daughter of the Honglu Temple’s Commissioner couldn’t help but ask her mother: "Mother, can I pluck a flower to wear in my hair too?"

Lady Rui’an and Miss Yun’er both have fresh flowers in their hair, she found it so beautiful and wanted one too.

"No, Jiejie, it’s impolite. These flowers are precious, and once plucked, they would wither very fast, doesn’t that seem unfortunate?"

Xiao’er, hearing the conversation, smiled and asked, "Little miss, which flower would you like?"