Yun Zhao feigned shock. “Miss Jiang, we only met for the first time today. Why would I deliberately trip you?”
With that, she deliberately flashed a dazzling smile. “Or could it be that a few words of well-intentioned advice from a physician have made you hold a grudge against me to this day?”
“This Little Medical Immortal said earlier that Miss Jiang suffers from liver stagnation and a deficient heart, making it unsuitable for her to bear children…”
“Really? Good heavens, then wouldn’t that mean…”
The crowd’s attention swiftly shifted from whether Yun Zhao had deliberately tripped her to the gossip about whether Jiang Wanxin could bear children!
Jiang Wanxin’s face flushed crimson on the spot. “You—!”
Yun Zhao sighed. “Perhaps that’s truly the case. Otherwise, why would Miss Jiang have struck me with her fan just now? I merely dodged lightly, and the fan ended up slapping that innocent maidservant in the face.”
Jiang Wanxin said urgently, “That’s absolutely not what happened! Xin’er has been wronged!”
“Enough!” the Princess Royal cut in coldly. She was not one to be easily fooled, but the damage to her precious hairpin remained an indisputable fact!
“Even if the cause did not originate with you, the destruction of the hairpin is still a fact! This hairpin holds extraordinary significance to me—how could mere verbal wrangling make up for it?”
“Your Highness,” Yun Zhao spoke again, her voice steady as a mountain, “what if I said this hairpin can still be salvaged?”
Under everyone’s astonished and uncertain gaze, she stepped forward slowly, bent down, and picked up the broken feathered hairpin.
“I may not be exceptionally skilled, but I could perhaps attempt to restore this hairpin for Your Highness.”
“Miss Yun.” Jiang Wanxin bit her lip gently and spoke in a soft, coaxing tone. “This hairpin is made using the diancui craft. The feathers of the azure bird are soft and easily damaged—I’m afraid it won’t be so easy to repair.”
“Xin’er, why bother with her?” A noble lady in a goose-yellow dress nearby laughed. “Some people, it seems, have never seen such fine things. They probably think it can be mended with paste!”
Another noble lady chimed in, “Maybe next she’ll say it needs to be sewn together with needle and thread. How utterly ridiculous!”
The Princess Royal’s expression turned slightly cold, and her gaze at Yun Zhao carried a hint of doubt.
“Aunt, since someone has volunteered, why not let her try?” A man’s clear, cold, and authoritative voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned to look.
The newcomer wore a dark brocade robe embroidered with faint golden chi-dragon patterns, striding with the bearing of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.
His features bore a kind of aggressive, striking handsomeness—pale, cool-toned skin and deep phoenix eyes that made one feel as if standing before a frigid pool. It was none other than Xiao Qi, the Prince Qin, who had not attended any banquets for years!
“How extraordinary! Prince Qin… he’s actually left his residence?”
“He does look in better spirits than in previous years. Could this Little Medical Immortal truly possess some remarkable abilities?”
Whispers rippled through the gathering before quickly fading under his imposing presence.
Among all the nobles and titled ladies seated there, who did not know that the “Jade-Faced Yama” was cold and fierce by nature, with no fondness for socializing?
Not a single person present dared to be the first to offer their greetings.
A genuine smile of delight spread across the Princess Royal’s eyes, and she quickly gestured for a seat to be added. “Yuan’er, come sit by your aunt.”
Once Xiao Qi was seated, the Princess Royal turned her gaze to Yun Zhao and fixed her with a stare. “You say you can repair the feathered hairpin. How confident are you?”
“Eighty percent.” Yun Zhao’s gaze was clear and steady, neither flinching nor avoiding. “Please allow me to attempt it, Your Highness.”
With the Princess Royal’s silent approval, Yun Zhao steadied her mind, and with a light flick of a golden needle—
A glimmer of golden light flowed, as if a hidden connection passed through the air.
Everyone watched as the broken feather seemed to be drawn together by invisible threads, slowly fusing back together at a visible pace.
In but a moment, the feathered hairpin was restored to its original state, its azure-blue luster even more brilliant than before.
A wave of stifled gasps swept through the hall.
The noble ladies who had earlier accused Yun Zhao stood closest, all utterly dumbfounded.
Even Jiang Wanxin’s eyes widened slightly, her fingertips trembling imperceptibly, her delicate face turning faintly pale.
She instinctively looked toward the Princess Royal—but the Princess Royal’s gaze had already drifted past her, her full attention fixed on Yun Zhao.
Nanny Zhou hurried forward, her hands trembling slightly as she received the feathered hairpin. After careful examination, she presented it to the Princess Royal in disbelief.
The Princess Royal stroked the feather, smooth as it had been before, shock and delight intermingling in her eyes, her face filled with the relief of having recovered something precious.
“Put it on for me.”
Nanny Zhou stepped forward, pinned the hairpin in place, and discreetly gestured to the injured maidservant.
The maidservant cast a grateful glance at Yun Zhao, then lowered her head and hurried away.
“Someone, bring a seat—place it right beside me.” The Princess Royal’s temperament was brisk and forthright, making no effort to hide her admiration and curiosity toward Yun Zhao.
“It seems this Little Medical Immortal that Yuan’er found truly possesses some remarkable skill.”
The Crown Prince Xiao Jian, seated on the other side, also clapped his hands in admiration. “Marvelous! Truly miraculous skill!”
Only Prince Qin gave the barest, almost imperceptible upward twitch at the corner of his lips, then resumed his usual cold severity.
As the noble ladies took their seats, the Princess Royal seemed to finally notice that Jiang Wanxin was still standing alone in the middle of the hall.
Her gaze swept over her lightly. “Miss Jiang has also had a fright. Go back and rest well.”
Jiang Wanxin softly acknowledged the order, her nails digging fiercely into her palms, her gaze covertly drifting toward Yun Zhao, who sat beside the Princess Royal.
Unexpectedly, Yun Zhao was also looking steadily back at her, her gaze deep and intent, resting on the vermilion coral earring at Jiang Wanxin’s cheek.
In my past life, Jiang Heng said he was sent by his father Jiang Shian to search for someone in Qingzhou, while his mother, consumed by longing, wept at home day and night.
But just now, she heard it clearly—on Jiang Wanxin’s birthday, her mother gifted her the coral earrings she treasured most.
She desperately wanted to see her own parents with her own eyes, to ask them directly: Jiang Wanxin was only an adopted daughter, so why did she receive their endless doting?
And she, their true-born daughter—why was she cast aside like a worn-out shoe by everyone?
In her past life, they imprisoned her in a dark chamber, tormenting her day and night, offering up her blood and even her life as a sacrifice for Jiang Wanxin. Were her parents truly ignorant of all this, or were they accomplices—or even… the masterminds?
It happened to coincide with the Princess Royal’s birthday banquet, where noble ladies from various families presented their congratulatory gifts, each showcasing their talents—
For rumors had already spread that this year’s spring banquet prize was the first incense offering at Biyun Temple’s Buddha’s Birthday celebration one month hence.
Song Baiyu, daughter of the Grand Chancellor, was the first to present her “Hundred Longevity Chart.”
A hundred “longevity” characters in different calligraphic styles cleverly converged into one magnificent large character, each stroke bearing elegant and vigorous bone structure, earning successive nods of praise from the Princess Royal.
Afterward, noble ladies skilled in needlework presented Suzhou-embroidered pouches, while a general’s daughter offered a thousand-year-old ginseng she had dug with her own hands…
Before long, it was Jiang Wanxin’s turn. She rose gracefully and slowly unrolled the scroll in her hands.
Upon the paper, peonies bloomed in full glory, a swing swayed gently, and atop it sat a delicately carved little girl holding a “Wei Purple” peony, glancing back with a soft smile, her features bright and radiant.
It was unmistakably the missing Princess Jiale, who had vanished three years ago!
The hall fell into instant silence, then erupted in waves of astonished exclamations.
The Princess Royal’s fingertips holding the glass cup trembled slightly.
Her body leaned forward involuntarily, her eyes fixed on the painting, clouding over with a dazed look.
Even Song Baiyu, known as “the capital’s foremost talented woman,” felt humbled:
“Sister Xin’er’s painting shows remarkable ingenuity and deep sentiment. Baiyu concedes defeat.”
The noble ladies around exchanged glances—envy, jealousy, and understanding mingled together—
For who among those present didn’t know the fortune of the first incense at Biyun Temple?
Master Wenkong divines once every ten years, and only bestows the Phoenix Destiny.
Those who had received this honor before were none other than women destined to be mothers of the realm or those with supremely noble Fate Alignments.
This year’s spring banquet prize was clearly destined for the Jiang family!
A plain white figure suddenly stepped forward!
Yun Zhao picked up the cup of still-warm tea from the table, flicked her wrist, and without a moment’s hesitation, splashed the entire cup of tea onto the painting!
“Splash—” The tea soaked through the rice paper, the ink bleeding and spreading.
On the painting, the little princess’s lively smile, along with the lifelike blooming Wei Purple, blurred in an instant into a chaotic stain, its original form no longer discernible.
The guests in the hall drew in sharp breaths, shocked gasps rising one after another.
Three years ago, Princess Jiale had disappeared during the Lantern Festival. The Princess Royal had searched everywhere for her, driven nearly mad, and had even been repeatedly impeached before the Emperor by the purist faction led by Minister Jiang!
Her precious daughter, the jewel of her heart, had been missing for three years. It was rare to see such a finely crafted portrait, and now it was suddenly destroyed—one could well imagine how furious the Princess Royal would be!
“How dare you!”
The Princess Royal’s expression changed drastically as she slammed the table and rose to her feet!
She pointed at Yun Zhao, her fingertip trembling from extreme rage:
“How dare you—! Guards! Seize her for me!”