A lucky little peasant girl is reborn and brings prosperity to her entire family.

But Wei Yinyin never expected that the little maid Xie Youchang kept on the estate was actually Song Yanyan's cousin, this country bumpkin!

Wei Yinyin couldn't help but recall how Xie Youchang had protected Song Yanyan before.

She felt a mixture of frustration and a sense of satisfaction.

Xie Youchang, do you really think you've got your eye on something amazing?

Her cousin wanted to kill her!

Huiyi raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Oh? This is Miss Song's cousin? That can't be right. Miss Song is General Huaiwei's niece. How come her cousin is a dancer in my household?"

The moment Song Yanyan saw Song Pan'er's face clearly, she understood everything.

Song Pan'er is a fool. How could she have the connections to infiltrate Huiyi's mansion and become a dancer, and even abandon everything just to assassinate her in public?

—Of course, someone is helping Song Pan'er.

She helped Song Pan'er, who was not very coordinated, become a dancer in Huiyi's mansion and got her into the plum blossom viewing banquet—all for the purpose of having Song Pan'er, her cousin, assassinate her in front of everyone!

Song Yanyan stood up and said neither servilely nor arrogantly, "Your Highness, this is indeed my cousin, but we haven't been in contact for a long time. I don't know why she became a dancer in Your Highness's residence, or why she attempted to assassinate Mi Nu in full view of everyone?"

Song Yanyan's face showed just the right amount of suspicion, her face turning a little pale. "I have no grudge against my cousin, why is she doing this?"

She asked the question frankly.

This is clearly a statement of having a clear conscience.

When everyone saw that Song Yanyan was completely unashamed and even just as clueless as they were, they began to sympathize with her more – it must have been tough for that young girl, coming to the banquet only to be assassinated by her cousin!

Huiyi's face was expressionless, she simply said "Oh," and asked Song Pan'er, "So, why did you kill her?"

Song Pan'er lay prostrate on the ground, trembling all over, yet she still managed to finish her sentence: "...The Song Yanyan family knew that I, their cousin, was also in the capital, but they ignored me completely. I almost ended up in prostitution!...If it weren't for Miss Luo's compassionate heart, who rescued me and gave me a place to stay, I'm afraid I would have been worse off dead long ago! Your Highness, I hate her! She's so narrow-minded, treating me like this over such a trivial matter as our past disagreements! When I heard she was also coming to this plum blossom banquet, I naturally wanted to kill her!"

"Is that so?" Huiyi looked at Song Yanyan, her eyes narrowing slightly with a hint of reproach. "Miss Song, a woman should be virtuous and gentle. How could you be so vicious?"

Many of the young ladies who came to the banquet looked at Song Yanyan with a different kind of gaze.

Vicious!

This is a very strong adjective.

If Huiyi's "vicious" words were to get out today, Song Yanyan's life would be completely over!

Ruan Qin showed a rare hint of panic.

She knew that such a comment from someone in a high position would be a devastating blow to a young lady in the capital!

Song Yanyan remained calm and composed. She stepped over the low seat, walked to the center, and bowed in the direction of Consort Hui: "Your Highness, she is the perpetrator. Why did you condemn me based solely on her testimony? And why did you use words like 'vicious' to describe me? I am also somewhat bewildered... Shouldn't you also listen to my explanation?"

The young ladies then came to their senses.

Yes, what Song Yanyan said makes sense.

It seems that Huiyi made a definitive judgment on Song Yanyan based solely on the assassin's one-sided account.

If this happened to me, I'd be furious just thinking about it.

Before he could even say anything, he almost got stabbed for no reason, and now he's being labeled "vicious"!

That's terrifying, absolutely terrifying!

Many people felt a sense of empathy.

We still can't offend His Highness. It's obvious that His Highness is going to take his anger out on Song Yanyan!

Huiyi lowered her eyes and sneered, "Very well, then speak. I'm listening."

Song Yanyan bowed again before straightening up: "Your Highness, as everyone knows, I come from the countryside. It was my second uncle who found my mother and brought our family back to the capital. There's nothing to hide about that."

Song Yanyan spoke with grace and poise, without a trace of timidity, which earned her the approval of many young ladies.

Although Song Yanyan came from the countryside, her humble yet dignified demeanor was quite similar to the "unyielding spirit" that was currently sought after in the capital.

Of course, such "lofty character" was seen as laughable and pretentious by Huiyi.

A dark glint flashed in Luo Jinyu's eyes.

“My cousin Pan’er had already run away from home and left our hometown a year before we went to the capital. I don’t know where she went. When we met again in the capital, she was already a maid in the Changxin Marquis’s mansion.” Song Yanyan said calmly, “Since she was a maid in the Changxin Marquis’s mansion, and our relationship was not good before, why should I care about her?”

Huiyi raised an eyebrow: "Sharp-tongued. As far as I know, your cousin was kicked out of the Marquis of Changxin's mansion."

Song Pan'er couldn't help but shout at Song Yanyan, "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been kicked out by Young Master Xie—"

Everyone gasped at Song Pan'er's ferocious, desperate cries.

Song Yanyan nodded: "Everyone can tell. My cousin is getting a bit stuck in her own head. She blames me for running away from home and disappearing; she blames me for being kicked out of the Marquis of Changxin's mansion; and now that I'm here at this plum blossom appreciation banquet, she blames me so much that she wants to kill me—but actually, none of this matters."

Song Yanyan stared intently at Huiyi, "What surprises me is that I was the victim who was nearly assassinated, yet Your Highness, based solely on your word, you've portrayed me as a vicious person. It's as if I was the one holding the dagger and about to kill someone in public... Your Highness, how unfair is your handling of this? If you hold such a grudge against me, why did you even send me an invitation?"

The warm room fell silent instantly.

Huiyi's ambiguous smile, which had been on her face, turned completely cold at this moment. In fact, those who knew Huiyi well knew that she was angry.

"How dare you speak to Her Highness like that!" a maidservant beside Consort Hui shouted angrily. "Who do you think you are, daring to question Her Highness!"

Song Yanyan bowed deeply and said calmly, "I am just an ordinary commoner. I went out to a banquet at the invitation of Your Highness, and was assassinated there. Before I could even defend myself, I was labeled as vicious. I beg Your Highness, if you do not like me, you don't need to beat around the bush. Just say it directly. I will definitely stay far away from you."