On this day, Ah Chen was invited to admire the flowers.

After all, she was the most favored Princess An Ning of Nan Qi, with many people fawning over her.

She didn’t refuse all invitations, going if she found any interesting.

The main reason being people in the shadows were watching her, and it wasn’t good to keep them waiting. According to the information gathered by Lu Zhu and Hong Zhu, those people should be from Consort Li’s family, arranged by the Su Family.

Upon arrival, she found that quite a few princes and princesses had come today, even Cui Jing was there. When Cui Jing saw her, her face turned sour, completely lacking the vigor she had when she obstructed Ah Chen’s convoy previously. It seemed her spirit had been greatly diminished after last time.

Nan Qi had five princes.

There were nine princesses, with Cui Jing being the youngest.

Though Song Chong adored his eight daughters, he was prepared to send them to Bei Qi, but Bei Qi didn’t want them at all, firmly set on having his most beloved.

Today was the flower viewing festival, and while many princes and princesses came, not all were present.

Cui Jing was among the princes and princesses, seeming to integrate smoothly and quickly.

These princes and princesses weren’t fond of the Ninth Princess, accepting Cui Jing not because they liked her, but for two reasons: Ah Chen didn’t like Cui Jing, and Cui Jing was supposedly blessed.

If they knew Cui Jing was indeed the Ninth Princess, they wouldn’t expose it outwardly, but they certainly wouldn’t be as close to her as they were now.

Ah Chen’s appearance immediately drew everyone’s attention, especially Cui Jing and the princes and princesses.

Standing together in harmony, Ah Chen was apart from them, creating a scene of disharmony that left the spectators in deep thought. Despite Princess An Ning’s favoritism, she wasn’t well-liked, having a reputation for a bad temper and bullying Cui Jing since childhood.

"Has the Ninth Princess arrived too?"

Ah Chen raised her eyes toward the speaker, the Fifth Prince of Nan Qi, Song Li. He had subtly blocked Cui Jing, seemingly afraid of what Ah Chen might do to Cui Jing, causing laughter.

"Fifth Imperial Brother, don’t block her, I’ve already seen Cui Jing there," Ah Chen remarked with a smile. "Afraid I’ll bully her? I neither call her to serve tea nor physically hit her, yet rumors spread that I can’t tolerate her and bully her daily. Why are palace affairs being carried outside anyway?"

"A few years back, two servants from the Fifth Imperial Brother’s residence were beaten to death. It was certainly their fault as they stole and sold a vase from the residence, but usually, thieves are not beaten to death, just sent to the Government for punishment."

Song Li’s face stiffened.

"Second Imperial Brother looks so wary of me, it’s as if he’s convinced I’m some terrible beast, making it appear as though I’m going to hit her," Ah Chen tilted her head and looked at Cui Jing, though she was addressing the Second Prince, Song Wei. "Aside from sending her to Bei Qi, I haven’t done anything to her, yet seeing your expressions, it’s as if I’m set on hitting her at sight."

"My reputation is gone, barely returning, the whole city knows I bullied Cui Jing, I wonder who spread this. Why is it that when you exercise some princely or princessly rights, no one says anything, yet when I do, it becomes known citywide, with everyone criticizing?" Ah Chen questioned with curiosity. "It’s so peculiar."

"Remember last time a young gentleman accidentally blocked the Second Imperial Brother’s path and suffered a whip lash that left him bedridden for three months, yet nobody spread rumors of the Second Imperial Brother bullying that gentleman."

Song Wei’s face turned sour too. How did she know these things? It had been several years.

"Third Imperial Sister, you seem to detest me as well? That look in your eye can’t hide it," Ah Chen turned to see Song Shu whispering something to Cui Jing, occasionally glancing at her, only to shift targets immediately.

"And that Miss Li was stolen by the Third Imperial Sister from her fiancé, yet no word of criticism toward her outside."

The Third Princess Song Shu’s face turned noticeably. Before she could think more, Ah Chen continued, "I hear Miss Li is still sick, convalescing at the estate."

Whether convalescing or simply avoiding causing trouble for Song Shu, only they knew.

Ah Chen had arranged for someone to contact Miss Li, not knowing if she wanted to leave there to do something else.

What was supposed to be a lively flower festival was dampened by Ah Chen pointing out these matters, and everyone was put off.

But the truly shocked one was Cui Jing, who couldn’t dare to look at those she was friendly with on regular days. Was there this much hidden behind the bright, gentle exterior? Song Chen must be speaking nonsense.

Yet they didn’t refute.

"That time I lost control for a moment," Song Wei said.

Song Li stated, "Originally, I only meant to teach them a lesson; the heavy-handed actions were by those under me."

"The Prince Consort wasn’t interested in Miss Li, their families agreed to break off the engagement," Song Shu said, "Without interest, being together wouldn’t have resulted in anything even without me. They wouldn’t have been together regardless."

Only after the three spoke did they notice Ah Chen admiring a flower as if she had casually mentioned these things without caring, leaving them all awkward, hurrying away while people weren’t paying attention.

"You haven’t spread rumors about this princess bullying you, have you?"

Ah Chen’s voice suddenly sounded beside Cui Jing, startling her.

She replied, "I haven’t."

"I know you haven’t, you wouldn’t do such things,"

Ah Chen added, "But others will help, you don’t even need to do anything."

Successfully witnessing the previously bold Cui Jing turning suddenly pale brought Ah Chen joy, and she strolled away.

Cui Jing clenched her fists. Yes, she knew someone would help spread these words, with just a bit of wounded performance, many would speculate.

How did Song Chen become so clever?

Today’s flower viewing left Ah Chen happy.

On her way back, she picked a large bunch to place in the carriage, initially planning to send some to Consort Li, but they were so beautiful, she couldn’t bear parting with them.

Suddenly, the sound of something tearing through the air echoed, an arrow pierced into the carriage, too fast for anyone to react.

Ah Chen gently shifted, and the arrow lodged in the carriage.

Lu Zhu and Hong Zhu were initially stunned but didn’t panic, quickly calling for protection.

In the past two years, they had practiced martial arts, but still far from proficient.

Your Majesty had his own plans, likely avoiding action today, yet he had "hired" several experts nearby, handling these assassins shouldn’t pose a challenge.

Outside came the clashing sound of swords, soon followed by silence.

Lifted the curtain, Ah Chen stepped out, seeing the ground littered with corpses, only one living person remaining, she said, "Well worth spending a hefty sum to hire you."

The experts were embarrassed, feeling unworthy of such praise, knowing they couldn’t withstand two moves before Your Majesty.

These people were seeking death, it seemed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ah Chen returned to the carriage, contemplating.

Curious what further tricks they had.

"Ensure that survivor is protected, don’t let anyone silence him, he must be thoroughly interrogated," she directed those outside, although whether they could extract information didn’t matter to her, as long as he stayed alive.

Whether or not interrogation yielded results, wasn’t it up to her?

In the palace, Consort Li quickly learned of the Su Family’s failed attempt, shocked by the capture of a live target.