Upon hearing the Princess’s question, Jiang Li lifted her head abruptly.
If she recalled correctly, the Princess was referring to the second young masters of the Prince of An’s estate and the Prince of Kang’s estate.
She remembered that it was this year—though not necessarily at the Princess’s flower-viewing banquet, perhaps another event—that both young masters became smitten with the same young lady.
Originally, that young lady had favored the second young master of the Prince of Kang’s estate, but she was “snatched” by the second young master of the Prince of An’s estate.
The Prince of Kang’s estate suffered a loss of face because of this.
It was rumored that the two estates had animosity dating back to the previous generation; no one knew the specifics, but they were definitely rivals.
Furthermore, after this flower-viewing banquet, the Prince of An’s estate targeted the Prince of Kang’s estate at every turn, causing the sons and daughters of the latter to struggle with finding marriage partners for a long time.
If not for that, in her previous life, Jiang Li would not have had the opportunity to help Yin Ranshuang marry into the Prince of Kang’s estate.
Indeed, the second young master of the Prince of Kang’s estate was none other than Yin Ranshuang’s husband in her previous life, Wei Zhaoheng.
The young lady who had developed mutual feelings with Wei Zhaoheng this time was Xia Shiwei, the fourth miss of the Marquis of Yongning’s estate.
Wei Zilang, the second young master of the Prince of An’s estate, interfered and ended up marrying Xia Shiwei, yet he did not cherish her.
Perhaps Wei Zilang had viewed Xia Shiwei merely as a tool to spite Wei Zhaoheng from the start; winning was enough for him.
Less than two years after they were married, Xia Shiwei went mad.
She hadn’t thought about it much before, but now, reflecting on these past-life events, Jiang Li felt that perhaps there could be a different outcome.
She had heard that Xia Shiwei possessed a gentle and quiet temperament; if she could marry the virtuous and upright Wei Zhaoheng, perhaps it would be for the best.
If Wei Zhaoheng were to marry, it would completely eliminate the possibility of Yin Ranshuang marrying him in the future.
Worried about unexpected complications, Jiang Li wanted to facilitate the marriage between Xia Shiwei and Wei Zhaoheng.
After all, they already held mutual affection for one another.
However, Jiang Li could not be certain if she could truly change the course of events.
Jiang Li scanned the flower hall. She had never met Xia Shiwei and did not know what she looked like, making it difficult to identify her in the crowd.
Just then, she heard someone call out, “Fourth Miss Xia.”
Looking toward the sound, she happened to see a young lady with a sweet and innocent appearance.
At a single glance, Jiang Li understood why Wei Zilang would insist on competing with Wei Zhaoheng.
Beyond the old feud between the estates, it was likely due to Xia Shiwei’s beauty.
The young girl wore a moon-white ru-skirt, which set off her skin as being fairer than snow. Her features were delicate upon her oval face, and when the corners of her lips curled up slightly, two shallow dimples were revealed.
Let alone a man, even Jiang Li was nearly mesmerized.
At that moment, the matron beside the Princess walked over and summoned Jiang Li.
Jiang Li stepped forward and paid her respects to the Princess.
Seeing her, the Princess smiled broadly; she respected Master Tingshan, and naturally felt fond of his granddaughter, especially since the girl had saved her own daughter.
Although Jiang Li had hidden some details, capturing those human traffickers was a good deed.
Princess Baoqing blinked her eyes, scrutinizing Jiang Li, and then looked at the “painted butterfly” behind her: “Was it not said that the Jiang family daughter has a substantial dowry? Why is Sister Jiang dressed so plainly, while the maid beside her is dressed so garishly?”
Yin Ranshuang, being misidentified as a maid, felt her face twist in indignation. She dared not vent her anger—after all, the one speaking was a Princess.
Yin Ranshuang smiled bitterly to speak up, but was scolded by the matron.
“Vile maid, when the Princess hasn’t asked a question, who gave you the right to speak?”
Terrified, Yin Ranshuang fell silent, keeping her head low and not daring to raise it.
The Princess cast a glance, and the matron immediately ceased.
The Princess laughed: “Miss Jiang is remarkably sharp and well-read, yet she is perhaps too indulgent toward the maid by her side.”
How could the Princess not see that this “painted butterfly” was clearly not a maid?
It was not hard to guess: Jiang Li had no sisters, so the person accompanying her to the banquet could only be a young lady of the Yin family.
The Princess had long felt sorry for Jiang Li; as an orphan of the Jiang family who had to carry a spirit tablet to marry into the Yin family, she could deduce from their respective attire that Jiang Li’s life in the Yin household was difficult.
The Princess spoke on purpose; she did not want to show a pleasant face to those who bullied Jiang Li.
Jiang Li glanced at the pale-faced Yin Ranshuang, finding it extremely laughable.
In her previous life, with her guidance, Yin Ranshuang had never broken etiquette in such settings, nor had she ever been labeled a maid.
Compared to what Jiang Li had endured in her previous life, the indignity Yin Ranshuang was suffering now was nothing.
However, not wanting to leave Yin Ranshuang in such an awkward position for too long, Jiang Li explained for her: “Your Highness, she is the daughter of my husband’s family, not a maid.”
The Princess snorted coldly: “So she is a young lady of the Yin family. I remember not sending an invitation to the Yin family.”
She looked at the matron, who understood immediately and replied: “The invitation was sent to the Yin family, but it was addressed to Miss Jiang.”
With that said, everyone present understood that Yin Ranshuang had come by tagging along on someone else’s invitation.
Such occurrences were not uncommon, as invitations were often sent to the household rather than the individual, and people would bring close family members along.
But having this exposed publicly made Yin Ranshuang’s face look very unsightly; she kept her head low, unable to bear the pointing and scrutiny of the others.
The Princess said: “Enough. I wasn’t speaking to you; go back and sit down first.”
This was directed at Yin Ranshuang.
As if granted amnesty, Yin Ranshuang hurriedly bowed and withdrew.
Immediately after, the Princess pulled Jiang Li to sit beside her to engage in small talk.
The female guests present were all shrewd; even those who did not know of Jiang Li’s connection to the Princess could see that she was favored, and realized that befriending her would surely hold no downsides.
Jiang Li conducted herself appropriately before the Princess. Having learned etiquette from her grandmother since childhood, she sought only to avoid bringing shame to the Jiang family, and now she appeared composed and at ease.
Seeing this, the Princess felt even more pity for her.
She feared the child had learned rules since she was small and did not know how to protect herself, leaving her vulnerable to being bullied by the Yin family.
The Princess took Jiang Li to a side hall, offering her some words of advice, telling her not to be too foolish and let the Yin family swindle her out of her wealth.
Once the Princess had finished, Jiang Li knelt before her.
“This subject thanks Your Highness for your concern. It is this subject’s fortune to have the opportunity to meet Your Highness.”
Seeing her act this way, the Princess felt even more pity and hurriedly signaled the matron to help her up: “You are mistaken to say that; if you had not saved A-Wan, I truly do not know what might have happened.”
Princess Baoqing, recalling that day, still trembled slightly: “I never expected that a little girl of five or six would actually deceive me.”
The Princess realized something was amiss; the person who deceived her daughter was a little girl, so why had Jiang Li not mentioned what that little girl had done?
Jiang Li quickly explained: “Agua is a pathetic creature. She said that after her own mother died of illness, she was taken in by those people. They forced her to trick others; if she did not obey, they would not feed her and would beat her. The child is still young; if she is taught with care, she can be set on the right path. I request that Your Highness impose a light punishment as a warning and please do not be too harsh on her.”