The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

While things were going well on the other side, Xiao Ran wasn't having such a good time. She had a few words of argument with Zhou Yurong, who also got angry and disappeared somewhere.

As soon as she sat down, her maid, Lüqi, looked around and then leaned down to whisper a few words in Xiao Ran's ear.

Xiao Ran slammed her hand on the table in anger.

"You bastard, Zhou Yurong!"

Lüqi's eyelids twitched, and she quickly advised, "Madam, please don't get angry. We don't know if this matter is true or false yet. We need to investigate to find out whether the master did it or not."

Xiao Ran glared angrily: "I'll go ask him. I doubt he'd dare lie to me."

Lüqi sighed.

"It's not that simple."

Xiao Ran was puzzled. This girl beside her was always decisive and never made a mistake. She might as well listen to what she had to say.

"This kind of thing can only be investigated privately. We can't let outsiders or adults know about it. If it gets out of hand, it will not look good for the Guangning Marquis's Mansion or for you, the County Princess."

Lü Qi specifically reminded Xiao Ran of her status as a county princess, and Xiao Ran indeed became more sober and her anger subsided somewhat.

"Heh, near Xinei Street, right? Lvqi, go investigate this matter. I want to see which arrogant little bastard dares to play tricks under my nose."

Lüqi quickly wrote it down.

Having just dealt with this matter, Yang Yueying arrived with her men in a menacing manner to confront Xiao Ran.

Upon seeing the person, Xiao Ran did not get up, her tone impatient: "I already said I would send an apology gift, what is Madam trying to do?"

Yang Yueying sneered: "The Lady of Guangning has certainly put on quite a show of power with me. I didn't hold the child's injury a matter of urgency, but I won't accept that little bit of apology. If the Lady of Guangning doesn't give me a satisfactory answer today, just wait and see how I make a scene."

Xiao Ran stood up, pointed at Yang Yueying and cursed, "Yang Yueying! I am a county princess personally appointed by the Emperor! My father is a meritorious official of the Great Yong Dynasty. What are you, Yang Yueying, to dare to act so presumptuously in front of me?"

Yang Yueying remained calm and was not intimidated by Xiao Ran's words; she simply found them laughable.

“If you want to discuss this, then I have no choice but to go and argue with the Emperor. It’s not like I’m the one who suffers a loss. I’ve heard that people outside say you’re jealous and vicious. This incident will only confirm your reputation.”

Hearing Yang Yueying's words, Xiao Ran was furious. She tried to reason with Lü Qi but was pulled back from doing anything so as not to make a fool of herself.

She sat down, still not feeling that she had done anything wrong.

“She, Shen Hanyu, seduced my husband in order to climb the social ladder. I only gave her a minor punishment as a warning, and she wasn’t hurt at all.”

Xiao Ran rolled her eyes. Putting aside the matters near West Inner Street for the time being, the matter between Shen Hanyu and Zhou Yurong had now come right up to her.

"Do you have any evidence?" Yang Yueying asked her in return.

Xiao Ran snorted: "The news has reached me, so how can it not be considered evidence?"

Yang Yueying felt even more disgusted with Xiao Ran after hearing this. Not only was she arrogant and domineering, but she also made false accusations without any basis. She would start making trouble whenever a girl was close to Zhou Yurong.

Such things had happened before, especially when Xiao Ran had just gotten married; she made a huge scene and wouldn't allow any woman to be near Zhou Yurong.

Finally, because she caused too much of a commotion, she was summoned to the palace. It is unknown who gave her a lecture, but Xiao Ran stopped causing trouble and calmed down.

Now the old problem has relapsed.

"You're ruining someone's reputation without any evidence. Did Shen Hanyu or Zhou Yurong admit to it themselves? It's just that you're thinking this way and have already made a prejudice against the girl."

Yang Yueying was speaking the truth, but Xiao Ran didn't like to hear it.

"At the flower-viewing banquet and at the princess's residence, in which of these events did I wrongly accuse Shen Hanyu?"

"Then summon all those people from that time and question them one by one to see if you did something wrong."

Xiao Ran was speechless; she couldn't bear to lose face like that.

Seeing that Xiao Ran was speechless, Yang Yueying made a demand: "If you don't make a useful apology today, I'll say it again, don't blame me for making this a big deal out of this."

Xiao Ran's face was gloomy. It wouldn't matter if Shen Hanyu made a big fuss, but it would damage her reputation.

Because of what happened before, those guys were already calling her a tigress behind her back. If she makes a scene again today, being gossiped about will be the least of her worries; she'll probably be reprimanded by the people in the palace.

Recalling the past, Xiao Ran felt a terrible headache.

Zhou Yurong appeared at this moment, sat down next to Xiao Ran, and gently patted the back of Xiao Ran's hand.

“Madam Yang, please don’t make things difficult for my wife today. I will personally apologize to Miss Shen and make the attitude of the Marquis of Guangning’s mansion clear.”

Zhou Yurong was much more sincere than Xiao Ran, but Yang Yueying still waved her hand, not buying his act, and her eyes revealed scrutiny.

"Don't you think you've caused that girl enough trouble? Whoever did this should be held accountable."

Xiao Ran slammed her hand on the table: "What do you mean? Does Zhou Yurong really intend to scheme against a mere woman from Suzhou?"

Zhou Yurong's eyes flickered, but he remained silent. He did indeed intend to scheme, and he also wanted to use this incident to convince Xiao Ran that he had ulterior motives towards Shen Hanyu.

Since Xiao Ran has already discovered the truth, he might as well play along and make the most of the charade. He will have his own way of persuading Xiao Ran to carry him into the Guangning Marquis's mansion in a bridal sedan chair.

Hearing Xiao Ran's words, Zhou Yurong continued, "Madam Yang, you're putting me in a difficult position. I've already promised to apologize, so why are you being so pushy?"

He remained indifferent, and in his heart he didn't care to apologize. He really didn't know what Yang Yueying was insisting on.

The commotion attracted a lot of attention, and Xu Ying naturally saw it too.

"What a troublemaker."

Xu Ying was referring to Shen Hanyu.

Shen Hanyu appeared now, supported by Wei Ming. She didn't hear what Yang Yueying and Xiao Ran were talking about, but she could tell that it must not have gone very smoothly.

Xu Zhun moved closer to Pei Du: "Aren't you going to help?"

Pei Du shook his head: "If I go, I'll really muddy the waters. Madam Yang can handle it."

Xu Zhun sighed. This Pei Du is eccentric. He had just secretly met with him, which showed that he cared. Now he was acting like he was detached from the matter, which was hard to understand.

Yang Yueying faced two people alone without any fear, and her constant concessions were truly infuriating.

They suffered in silence last time at the Princess's residence, and now they're trying to shut her up again with this.

Seeing that Yang Yueying remained silent, it was clear that she was dissatisfied with their actions.

Xiao Ran was about to lash out when Zhou Yurong held her back.

"Madam Yang, is there really no room for negotiation?"

"What do you want to discuss with my wife?"

A deep male voice sounded from behind Zhou Yurong. Zhou Yurong turned her head and met Wei Zhengting's dark face.

Zhou Yurong: "..."

Seeing Wei Zhengting, Xiao Ran was also a little scared. She really didn't dare to reason with a martial artist; she had learned her lesson from past mistakes.

Wei Zhengting sat down with an air of authority. He had already learned what had happened on the way here, and he knew exactly who was right and who was wrong.