Rebirth: Find a General as Your Backer

Upon hearing this, Li Siqian's eyebrows shot up, and anger surged within her. She abruptly stood up, her almond-shaped eyes wide, and angrily exclaimed, "What nonsense are these people spouting! Utter rubbish!" She was about to rush out to confront them. But she had only taken one step when Zhong Siya stopped her with a gesture. Zhong Siya, with a calm expression, gently shook her head and said serenely, "What's the big deal? Let them say what they want."

"But these people don't know anything about this!" Li Siqian's face turned red with anxiety, her eyes filled with resentment. "You have no connection with the Third Prince at all, so how did this rumor of your defeat spread?" Li Siqian was really angry. She couldn't understand how this baseless rumor came about.

In reality, everyone knew that the one with the affair was Miss Su. As for Zhong Siya, she had never been alone with the Third Prince, nor had she ever explicitly stated that she wanted to compete for the position of the Third Prince's consort. She really couldn't understand why these rumors had dragged her into them for no reason, as if she had already lost this "competition" that didn't even exist.

Seeing this, Su Lianxue frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, she whispered a few words to Xiao Tao beside her. Xiao Tao understood immediately, quickly went outside, and shouted loudly at the people who had just spoken, "How dare you! You dare to slander the reputation of a young lady!"

The men were initially intimidated by the voice, but their arrogance returned when they saw it was just a young maidservant. One of them scoffed, "Who gives a little girl like you the right to speak here!"

Xiao Tao, fearless and head held high, said, "I am the personal maid of Princess Rui, and our Princess is in the inner room. I cannot bear to hear you so wantonly ruining the reputation of a young lady. I ask you, what is the basis for your claims?" Xiao Tao's gaze swept over the crowd, and she continued, "Miss Zhong is the daughter of the Minister of Rites, and has always adhered to proper etiquette. When has she ever acted in any way that would cross the line with His Highness the Third Prince? What are your intentions in making such baseless accusations against a woman?"

Xiao Tao's voice was clear and resonant, like a booming bell, making it audible to everyone in the shop. Her stern rebuke was meant to make it clear to everyone present that there was no inappropriate relationship between Zhong Siya and the Third Prince.

Upon hearing that this was Princess Rui's maid, the group could only quickly apologize and then hurriedly left.

Hearing the sounds outside, Zhong Siya was filled with gratitude. If these rumors were allowed to continue spreading, it would undoubtedly cause great damage to her reputation; she was truly an innocent victim.

The reason is simple: the Third Prince is still unmarried, and there are only a handful of women in the capital who are a suitable match for him. As a result, rumors began to circulate that these women were competing with each other.

In truth, deep down, Zhong Siya had no desire for the royal family. She had met the Third Prince, but what she longed for more was to find a man who shared her heart and spend her life with him.

Her father, Minister Zhong, also did not want to have too much involvement with the royal family. After all, the royal family had always been rife with power struggles and intrigues, like a bloody battlefield. Moreover, the current emperor had not yet established a crown prince. Although the third prince was deeply favored by the emperor, the future situation was unpredictable, and everything was uncertain. Minister Zhong naturally did not want to marry his daughter to someone with an uncertain future.

"Thank you, Princess Rui." Zhong Siya raised her glass with gratitude and toasted Su Lianxue.

Su Lianxue smiled and looked at Zhong Siya, saying sincerely, "I believe that Miss Zhong deserves better." In her eyes, Zhong Siya, a true lady of high society, gentle and dignified, with outstanding talent, should not be matched with a two-faced person like the Third Prince.

“That’s right, that’s right,” Li Siqian quickly chimed in. Ever since the news of the secret rendezvous in the palace broke, Li Siqian’s impression of the Third Prince had plummeted, and she had grown to loathe him.

Zhong Siya remained calm, her tone tinged with a hint of melancholy, and slowly said, "But since the Third Prince has already solemnly requested the Emperor to bestow a marriage upon him, it seems that the Third Prince is indeed in love with that Miss Su." Her eyes were clear and frank; in truth, she had never felt the slightest attraction to the Third Prince, and these words came entirely from her heart.

“By the way, Your Highness,” Li Siqian asked as if she had suddenly remembered something, “that Miss Su, she must be your sister, right?”

Su Lianxue nodded gently and replied, "Yes, she is my older sister."

Li Siqian frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but say, "For some reason, there are rumors in the capital that you went back to your parents' home to steal their belongings." She looked helpless and puzzled when she mentioned this.

“Yes,” Zhong Siya frowned, her face showing confusion and indignation. “How could such vile rumors spread from the Su family? Don’t they understand how damaging this can be to a person’s reputation?”

Zhong Siya grew increasingly angry as she spoke, continuing, "This is enough to show that the people in the Su family are not simple. How kind and generous can a stepmother be? It's perfectly normal for the princess to want her mother's dowry back. Any reasonable family would have returned the dowry to the princess. But unexpectedly, the Su family not only didn't do that, but also spread the absurd rumor that the princess went back to her parents' home just to steal things." At this point, she clenched her fists, her face filled with righteous indignation.

Looking at the two young ladies before her, whose faces were filled with indignation, Su Lianxue felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She smiled slightly and gently comforted them, "Alright, my two sisters, there's no need to worry about me. Ever since I returned to the capital, there have been some unpleasant rumors spreading everywhere. But I firmly believe that as long as we act uprightly and behave properly, what do we have to fear from these rumors?"

"Yes, yes!" The two young ladies nodded emphatically upon hearing this, their eyes full of agreement.

Looking back, they too had initially misunderstood Princess Rui due to unfounded rumors. However, after getting to know her, they realized those rumors were baseless, and their previous thoughts completely changed. They firmly believe that as time goes by, more and more people will discover Princess Rui's beauty and kindness.

Just then, Ling Lin, who was patrolling outside, heard about what had happened at the restaurant and hurriedly came in to pay his respects to the Princess. There were two unmarried young ladies inside, and to avoid unnecessary suspicion, Ling Lin respectfully greeted the Princess from behind the screen.

When Ling Lin's clear voice rang out in the room, Zhong Siya's expression instantly changed.