My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

After a while, Murong Zhi made a pertinent comment on Qiu Yao, and then sighed with regret.

Qiu Yao looked up, somewhat confused, her brows furrowed slightly, "I don't understand, please explain clearly, Princess."

Murong Zhi picked up the tea bowl on the table, skimmed off the foam on it, and did not directly answer Qiu Yao's question. Instead, she asked:

"I gave you the title of a humble concubine. Do you feel wronged?"

Qiu Yao was startled at first, then half-closed her eyes and replied insincerely, "I dare not."

Murong Zhi laughed and said, "You said you didn't dare, so then I admit it. I heard that you won the prince's favor by singing a quiet little tune. Is that true?"

Facing Murong Zhi's questioning, Qiu Yao felt quite embarrassed as if she had been seen through, but when she thought about the purpose of coming to the palace, she wanted to gain a foothold and squeeze out the princess.

Now it seems that this wish will be difficult to achieve in the short term, after all, we are still not free from slavery.

But there is only one concubine in the mansion at present, so it would be a good idea to find a way to make her the concubine first, and then make plans slowly.

Thinking of this, Qiuyao replied, "I just played it casually, not worthy of being performed in a formal setting. It just happened to be heard by the prince who was passing by, and he took it to heart. It's Qiuyao's good fortune."

After a pause, he continued, "Compared to the princess's talent and fame, Qiuyao has only learned the superficial aspects of her studies. Her talent and learning are shallow, like a firefly compared to the brightness of the bright moon."

In reality, Qiuyao was very confident in her piano skills. However, she knew she had to be humble and try to gain the princess's favor.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Murong Zhi at the head seemed quite satisfied and nodded, saying:

"You know how to advance and retreat appropriately, without being ostentatious. As long as you can keep this up, stay quiet in the backyard, and don't cause trouble, when the time is right, I, the princess, will speak well of you in front of the prince and elevate your status."

When Qiuyao heard this, she felt quite favorable towards the princess. She was about to thank her when she suddenly heard a loud and bright voice coming from the yard.

"Sister is truly kind and benevolent. She's willing to help anyone, no matter what, and isn't afraid of being bitten back by those ungrateful people in the end."

Qiuyao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman dressed in luxurious clothes, with a lazy air all over her body, walking in from the door. She had a slender waist, a beautiful face, and a look of arrogance in her eyes. She was very different from those law-abiding and well-behaved ladies from wealthy families.

After Su Wan'er entered the room, she first bowed gently to Murong Zhi who was sitting at the top of the table. Without waiting for the other party to call her to stand up, she walked straight to the embroidered stool beside her and sat down, waving a round fan in her hand again and again.

Murong Zhi, who was sitting at the top, seemed to be accustomed to this scene and her expression did not change.

It's just that the maids and old women serving her looked unhappy.

At this time, Murong Zhi put down the teacup in her hand and said, "Concubine Su came earlier today than usual."

Su Wan'er stretched out her slender, snow-white hand, lazily smoothed the hair on her forehead, and said nonchalantly, "Sister, if you say that, I'm really wronged. If I hadn't served the prince all night yesterday and got up early and was personally detained by the prince to have breakfast, I would have been a little late. I hope you won't blame me."

What does it mean to use the most teasing tone to express the most sharp sarcasm to the enemy and hit the target with one blow?

This is!

Qiuyao guessed Su Wan'er's identity as soon as they met.

This is Su Wan'er, the woman most beloved by Prince Yong Xiao You.

As Su Wan'er finished speaking, all the maids and servants in Murong Zhi's room changed their expressions, looking like they were enduring but not daring to explode.

Murong Zhi, on the other hand, still had a neutral expression. Her face couldn't even show any emotion, as if she was used to it.

She opened her red lips slightly and said, "Since my sister has worked so hard to serve the prince, then I will tell the prince later that I can spare my sister the greetings, okay?"

Su Wan'er paused fanning herself for a moment, then regained her bright smile. "Sister, you're embarrassing me by saying that. You're the princess, in charge of the entire backyard. Let alone coming to pay your respects, I'd be willing to serve you personally if you asked. How could I possibly break our ancestral rules?"

After saying that, Su Wan'er glanced around casually and soon found Qiu Yao standing beside her.

She looked Qiuyao over with scrutiny and asked first, "This must be the one the prince just took into the courtyard yesterday. Her name is..."

The maid behind her hurriedly stepped forward and whispered in Su Wan'er's ear, "Your Majesty, it's Qiuyao, the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Yuan Qiu."

"Oh, yes. Look at my memory. Miss Qiu, who was once very popular, was said to be such a good zither player that she could even attract hundreds of birds to sing. Is that true?"

Seeing this, Qiu Yao had no choice but to step forward and greet Su Wan'er: "Greetings, Concubine, it is you, my maid."

"Alas, fate is truly unpredictable. Who could have imagined that a talented woman who was once famous in the capital would end up becoming a concubine in the royal palace?"

When Su Wan'er said this, the sarcasm in her eyes was obvious and she didn't hide it at all.

"I heard that you were so arrogant before that you even rejected the Second Prince, and the Prince of Ruyang also looked down on you. Now that you're like this, do you regret it?"

Qiuyao's face suddenly turned ugly.

This kind of verbal attack and humiliation was something he had never experienced before in the Sinfangsi.

She had initially rejected the Second Prince's marriage proposal because she felt he was mediocre, unfit for the task, and his mother's family wasn't particularly influential. In the future, he would at best be a powerless, idle prince.

As for the Prince of Ruyang, she disliked him because he was short and fat. Qiuyao felt disgusted even when she looked at him for a second, so how could she be willing to marry him?

But she didn't expect that her past disdain would make her unable to reach him now.

It really proves the saying: Things change over time!

Then I heard Su Wan'er say:

"Even if you regret it to death, I'm afraid it will be of no use. As everyone knows, the Prince of Ruyang is the most vindictive. Now that you have entered the palace as a concubine, who knows, the prince might even vent his anger on you, accusing you of stealing someone else's love.

Alas, this is truly a troublesome matter. Furthermore, your current status is sensitive, and the prince had to bear the pressure to get you out of the palace. From now on, you must stay by the side of the princess and learn how to cultivate your character."

Su Wan'er's words not only satirized Qiu Yao, but also implied Murong Zhi.

As everyone knows, Murong Zhi is not favored. Prince Yong only visits her courtyard on the first and fifteenth day of every month and never sets foot in her courtyard on other days.

This time, when she said that Qiuyao should follow Murong Zhi to learn how to cultivate her character, wasn't she telling everyone not to covet things that don't belong to them?

Qiuyao opened her eyes wide and looked at Su Wan'er in shock.

She didn't understand why Su Wan'er showed such deep malice towards her right from the start.

She clearly didn't know Su Wan'er, and had never even met her.

But no matter what, Su Wan'er can only be her enemy for the time being.

If he wanted to survive in this huge backyard of the palace, he had no choice but to seek refuge with Murong Zhi.

Qiu Yao thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty is teaching me that I am willing to follow the princess and learn how to manage the household and take care of the harem. After all, as a woman, relying on beauty to please a man is not a long-term solution. As beauty fades, love fades. My beauty cannot compare to Your Majesty's, so I must diligently cultivate myself so that I can better serve and assist the prince."

silence!

Deathly silence!

As Qiuyao finished speaking, the surroundings fell into deathly silence.