General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Jiang Qiqi originally just came out to find some peace and quiet and enjoy the flowers, but she ended up chatting with this Miss Lü for so long for no apparent reason.

Now that everything is clear, I can finally relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Seeing that the person opposite her had fallen silent, Lü Shuyi also remained silent and sat back down.

Now she can stay in the pavilion in peace.

Since the Emperor ascended the throne, Prime Minister Lü has remained a powerful figure in the court.

As the only legitimate daughter of the Lü family, Lü Shuyi was always approached by many people who racked their brains to strike up a conversation with her, no matter where she went. Having heard so many flattering words since childhood, she gradually became more and more silent and disliked crowded places.

She had originally intended to decline the invitation to today's banquet, but the Second Prince's wife was so enthusiastic that she couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to come.

However, after arriving, she did not show herself in the crowd, but instead found a small pavilion in a corner where no one paid attention and stayed there quietly.

Jiang Qiqi rested her hand on the side railing of the pavilion, watching the ripples on the lake, the lotus flowers in the lake, and the dragonflies that rose and fell on the lotus flowers. She couldn't help but sigh, "The ancients were right."

Xiang'er, standing to the side, asked upon hearing this, "Miss, what did the ancients say?"

Jiang Qiqi replied, "As the ancients said, 'A tiny lotus bud has just emerged, and a dragonfly has already alighted on it.'"

Xiang'er blinked and looked at Lin'er beside her in confusion: Did the ancients say that?

Lin'er shook her head: I don't know.

A breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of flowers from the nearby garden, which put everyone enjoying the scenery in the pavilion in a good mood.

No one spoke; everyone silently enjoyed this moment of peace.

But some people just have to disrupt this peace.

"Oh dear, Shuyi, we've been looking for you for ages!"

A woman dressed elegantly and with a full figure walked over with a group of young ladies and wives, instantly filling the already small pavilion.

Jiang Qiqi frowned.

The woman walked up to Lü Shuyi, pulled her up, and, half-jokingly speaking to the others, said, "My daughter's grown up now, she doesn't like staying with her mother anymore."

It turns out she is the wife of Prime Minister Lü.

Jiang Qiqi, standing to the side and behind the two, clearly saw Lü Shuyi stiffen when the Prime Minister's wife embraced her.

Lü Shuyi chuckled twice: "No, Mother. I just thought the lotus flowers here were pretty, so I unconsciously came over to look at them for a while longer."

"Is that so?" Madam Lü asked. "Then Shuyi, come with me now to chat with the ladies."

“Mother,” Lü Shuyi said with a troubled expression, “I’m afraid it’s not appropriate for me to participate in your conversations with the ladies.”

“Madam Prime Minister, it seems your daughter is unwilling to speak to us, the families of lowly officials, not even for your sake,” a woman said.

Another woman then spoke up: "It's alright, Madam Prime Minister. We are already very honored to be able to speak with you and Miss Lü."

This sounds magnanimous, but in reality, it means two things: first, that the Prime Minister's wife has lost face because even her own daughter doesn't listen to her; second, that Lü Shuyi is even more noble than the Prime Minister's wife and the second young lady of the Lü family, so if you can't talk to Lü Shuyi, you can settle for talking to the other two.

Madam Lü understood the subtext in their words and was somewhat displeased.

"What are you saying, everyone? Children shouldn't be so ignorant; they should learn from adults. She's about to get married, so how can she just do whatever she wants? Don't you think so, Shuyi?"

Jiang Qiqi saw the Prime Minister's wife pinch Lü Shuyi's lower back with her hand behind her back.

Lu Shuyi flinched slightly, but her expression remained impassive, still bearing her standard smile.

“Mother… is right. Shuyi should learn more from the ladies.”

Upon hearing this, the group of women exchanged glances and smiled as if they had finally achieved their goal.

They praised the Prime Minister's wife one by one, showering her with compliments, many of which Jiang Qiqi found outrageous.

Finally, when someone said, "The Prime Minister's wife has a slender waist and graceful figure," Jiang Qiqi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pfft, hahaha... Oh my."

Dozens of eyes immediately fell on Jiang Qiqi, their uniformity startling her.

The plump Prime Minister's wife then noticed that there was someone behind her, and that while she was standing, this person was sitting with his legs crossed, and she immediately looked displeased.

A woman beside her understood and stepped forward, saying, "Whose new bride are you? How can you be so ill-mannered? Don't you know how to greet the Prime Minister's wife?"

Jiang Qiqi's smile hadn't completely faded when she heard this, so she said, "Mrs. Lü, hello. I..."

“How dare you!” another woman interrupted her. “What an ill-mannered girl! You should perform the full ceremony when meeting the Prime Minister’s wife. How dare you greet her while sitting down?”

Jiang Qiqi's expression hardened. She had no parents and hated it most when people said she was ill-mannered.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously, sneered, and looked at the woman who had spoken, asking each word clearly: "I'm ill-mannered? And who are you relying on to dare spout nonsense at me here?"

The people around him chuckled softly.

"You, you actually called me a dog!" The woman realized what she meant and shouted angrily, "Guards, grab this shameless wretch and slap her!"

Lu Shuyi wanted to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she saw Jiang Qiqi glance at her.

She told her not to speak.

Upon hearing the woman's words, the two burly maids beside her immediately pounced on Jiang Qiqi to grab her.

"Ouch!" "Ouch!"

The maidservant went up, and then the maidservant flew away.

As everyone stared in disbelief, Lin'er stepped in front of Jiang Qiqi and slowly withdrew her outstretched fist.

"You! How dare you!" The woman's eyes were bloodshot, but her two maids were already lying motionless on the ground. Although she was angry, she couldn't do anything to Jiang Qiqi.

So she turned and knelt down beside the Prime Minister's wife: "Madam, this wild girl is so disrespectful, you can't let her get away with this."

Ignoring her anger, Jiang Qiqi crossed her arms and leaned against the railing, asking, "Who else dares to come?"

Jiang Qiqi was truly angry this time. She narrowed her eyes, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on the Prime Minister's wife's face.

The crowd was stunned by her gaze. Not a single person in the bustling crowd dared to utter a sound, and some timid ladies and young women even turned around to sneak away.

The Prime Minister's wife also got goosebumps from her gaze, and suddenly felt a natural fear, like that of a lower creature facing a higher predator.

After she realized what had happened, she felt extremely embarrassed. As the wife of a prime minister, a woman who had experienced countless battles in the inner quarters, she had actually been intimidated by the aura of this young girl in front of her.

Suppressing her unease, she made up her mind to teach this arrogant wild girl a lesson.

She knew that recently, because the Prime Minister was in a coma, some people were no longer as respectful to her as before. If this continued, and the Prime Minister was replaced in the future, wouldn't she have nowhere to stay in the capital?

Today she's going to make an example of them, to show those opportunists that the Prime Minister's wife will always be the Prime Minister's wife.

She wiggled her hips and sat down on the other side, showing no fear in the face of Jiang Qiqi's imposing aura.

"Logically speaking, since it is the Second Prince's Consort who is hosting the banquet today, we should not stoop to your level. However, our Nanyue has always governed the country with etiquette. It is one thing that you do not know etiquette and do not bow to me, but you also condoned your servants to injure her maid when Madam Gao kindly taught you. It is really unacceptable."

"Oh," Jiang Qiqi replied lazily. She thought he was going to say something more, but it was just a few words.

The Prime Minister's wife, no longer bothering to pretend, said, "No matter who your husband is, I'm going to teach you some manners today."