Across Deep Space: Four Men and a Play

As soon as Xia Jiumeng entered the palace, she was taken by a maid to the palace garden where the tea party was held.

Chunqing was taken to another place to wait.

Originally, Li Shen, the "black cat", was also going to be taken away. The tea party was attended by young ladies from various families, and it would be bad if the princess or other young ladies were hurt.

But the Duke's daughter was famous, and no one dared to offend this great goddess. Seeing that she insisted on taking him, they could only play dumb.

Walking on the winding core-carved cobblestone path, you can see from afar the warm golden sunlight pouring into the blooming garden, with all kinds of colorful flowers competing for beauty.

The emerald green vines climb and spread along the fence of the white European-style pavilion in the center of the garden, as if giving it a vibrant green edge.

Exquisite large tables and chairs were placed in the center of the pavilion. The tables were filled with many exquisite snacks. The three-layer cake in the middle was so exquisite that it looked like a carved work of art, and the fruits exuded an enticing aroma.

Wisps of hot steam rose from the celadon teapot, and the fragrance of tea mixed with the scent of flowers filled the air.

Xia Jiumeng raised her eyebrows. It was indeed worthy of being a royal family, so luxurious.

Many noble ladies had already arrived not far away. They were standing in groups of two or three, chatting with their heads down. From time to time, there were a few conversations and giggles.

However, after seeing the people brought by the royal maids, they all fell silent tacitly.

There was no other reason, because the person who came was the person that all the noble ladies hated and feared the most, the unruly and vicious Duke's daughter Xia Jiumeng.

[Oh my god, why is she here? Hasn't she always been at odds with the Fourth Princess?] A young lady in light green looked at the newcomer with some surprise.

Although everyone knew that the Fourth Princess had invited her, no one expected her to come. After all, the discord between her and the Fourth Princess was known to the entire aristocratic circle in the capital.

"How would I know? But I heard she started acting a little strange after she realized her illness wasn't terminal." The woman in the yellow dress glared disapprovingly at the woman in the green dress who had nudged her.

[Strange? Why is it strange?]

"Isn't it obvious? Every time she's appeared before, she's always dressed extravagantly. Even more extravagant than a peacock spreading its feathers." The lady in the yellow dress gestured to the other girls, "Look, she's wearing something really plain today. It's beautiful, but don't you think it's a little unusual?"

The fact that the person who used to be the most flamboyant was now so low-key naturally aroused the curiosity of many people.

After all, everyone knew the moral character of this duchess.

[It's a bit unusual. Look, she's actually holding a cat.]

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to these words.

Xia Jiumeng stood there and looked at the women not far away with curious, inquiring, and scrutinizing expressions, but she was very calm.

"My Lady, I will take you here. Her Royal Highness the Princess will be here soon."

The maid spoke respectfully to Xia Jiumeng, bowed, and left.

The reason why she is called Miss Duke is that although Xia Jiumeng is the only owner of the Duke's Mansion, she cannot be directly called Duke since there is no successor.

"Ah."

Xia Jiumeng ignored those looks and walked calmly to one of the soft seats and sat down.

Everyone: “............”

"This young lady is still so arrogant. Nothing has changed."

"She actually sat down?"

Seeing Xia Jiumeng sitting down, the other ladies looked like they were waiting for a good show. Didn’t they see that no one in the entire garden dared to sit down?

However, it was not surprising that Xia Jiumeng sat down as soon as she arrived. After all, she was always arrogant and domineering, and even the king turned a blind eye to her most of the time.

As everyone was whispering, someone noticed a man and a woman appear from behind a bush and whispered, "Look, look, the Fourth Princess and the Third Prince are here together."

"I didn't expect the Third Prince to be here too..."

"Oh my god, he's so handsome and elegant!"

The attention of the ladies who were originally waiting to watch the show was instantly diverted.

After all, how could an arrogant and domineering 'Duke's daughter' be more attractive than the handsome and noble Third Prince?

Shen Qingqing, who had just walked into the garden, looked at everyone's gaze, and immediately a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She walked over with the elegant posture unique to a royal princess, arm in arm with the third prince.

"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

"As for the Third Prince, we actually just arrived~"

"Yeah, I didn't expect to see the Third Prince today. I'm really lucky."

"Your Highness the Princess is still as elegant and beautiful as ever."

"Oh my God, is Her Royal Highness the Princess wearing the Star Sea dress from Vandis? This is a one-of-a-kind dress." The noble lady who knew the goods exclaimed in surprise.

When Shen Qingqing heard this, her already straight back straightened even more.

I didn’t expect that there are still some knowledgeable people among these crazy fans. To be honest, she has been waiting for this skirt for more than half a month.

"Really? No wonder I was wondering how beautiful this dress was."

"It's actually Vandis's skirt!"

"I heard that they only make one of each type of skirt, so each one is unique. Besides being beautiful, the skirts also have special functions!"

Everyone gathered around Shen Qingqing and started discussing something. Shen Yiming smelled the strong fragrance and frowned slightly. He gestured to Shen Qingqing and walked away.

The smell was so bad that he couldn't stand it.

"Please take your time chatting, everyone. I have official business to attend to, so I'll take my leave now." After saying this, Shen Yiming bowed slightly, performed a gentleman's salute, and left.

The ladies just thought that the Third Prince was a real gentleman and gave the ladies space to chat.

"The Third Prince is so gentle!"

"Yeah, no wonder he's the dream lover of all the noble ladies in the capital."

Although everyone was crazy about the Third Prince, they also knew whose home game it was today. After exclaiming in admiration, they began to chat and compliment Shen Qingqing.

Shen Qingqing is also very happy to be sought after.

While chatting, someone pretended to mention Xia Jiumeng unintentionally.

Shen Qingqing heard them talking about how unreasonable Xia Jiumeng was, and how she brought it with such fanfare even though she knew she didn't like furry animals. She even did it without caring that she, the princess, hadn't arrived yet.

She came and didn't even come forward to greet him, and his face immediately darkened, and he felt dissatisfied.

Following the guidance of a noble lady, Shen Qingqing's gaze swept towards Xia Jiumeng, and disgust flashed in her eyes, especially when she saw the black cat in her arms.

Did Xia Jiumeng do it on purpose?

Knowing that she hates furry animals.

Shen Qingqing suppressed her restless emotions and walked towards the sitting Xia Jiumeng with a smile.

"I heard that Miss Xia took sick leave some time ago. Is she okay now?"

Xia Jiumeng looked at Shen Qingqing, who was looking at her with a look of pure concern, and politely responded, "Thank you for your concern, Princess. I'm feeling much better now, but I'm still a little weak."

"Then Miss Xia, please sit down and rest."

"Thank you, Princess. This is a small gift. I hope you will accept it."

Xia Jiumeng stood up, held Li Shen in her arms, walked forward a few steps, and handed a black velvet box to Shen Qingqing.

"Miss Xia is thoughtful."

Shen Qingqing tried her best to resist the urge to step back and signaled the maid beside her to take it and put it away.

Although Xia Jiumeng's reputation is not very good, she has the financial resources and the things she gives are not bad.

Moreover, Shen Qingqing's special ability is to detect. The moment she saw the box, she knew that there was a rare high-level core inside, and her ugly expression improved a little.

"Miss Xia, please have a good rest. The tea party will start soon."

After Shen Qingqing finished speaking, melodious music slowly sounded around the garden. After she sat in the main seat, the other noble ladies also sat down in turn.

Xia Jiumeng was originally sitting next to the main seat, so there was no need to move.

The tea party was nothing more than the noble ladies chatting with each other. Xia Jiumeng was not interested in it. She came only to give the royal family a signal that she was fine.

The maids came in one after another, carrying cakes and tea made from various rare ingredients and placed them on the dining table.

A noble lady looked at the bunch of fiery red grapes that were served and couldn't help but ask, "Is this, Extreme Flame Grapes?"

"Extreme Flame Grapes? This is a rare fruit!"

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it, and it turned out to be true.

The Extreme Flame Grape is a fire-attributed supernatural fruit that can greatly enhance the abilities of fire-attributed supernatural users!

However, because it appears in places where high-level fire-attribute wandering bodies gather, it is difficult to obtain and is therefore very precious.

This thing is worth a fortune on the black market, but Her Royal Highness the Princess actually has a whole plate of it!

They are worthy of being the royal family.

Feeling everyone's envious eyes, Shen Qingqing raised the corner of her mouth proudly, "Miss Li has good taste. These are indeed Extreme Flame Grapes. The Royal Knights brought back a lot of them a few days ago, and they were specially brought out to entertain everyone at this tea party."

"You're welcome."

Miss Li, the noble lady who had just recognized Grape, immediately laughed and thanked the princess, "Thank you, Your Highness."

She is a person with fire-attribute abilities, and these grapes will bring her infinite benefits!

He immediately took a few and ate them without hesitation.

While the girls were tasting the Ji Yan grapes, Xia Jiumeng remained calm.

Seeing this, Shen Qingqing pretended to be concerned and asked, "Why isn't Miss Xia eating? Is she not feeling well yet?"

Xia Jiumeng curled her lips and smiled lightly: "Princess, it's kind, but I don't like to eat this fruit."