My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

"Where is the hairpin that the second young lady wanted? Find it quickly!"

Ruyi's face was unpleasant, and she impatiently shouted at the maids around her.

Inside the room, Wen Yitong's expression was even more unpleasant.

When I looked at my makeup box today, it was almost empty, with nothing inside.

She had been holding her anger in for days, and she unleashed it all on the maids around her. But since she was the mistress, a single word from her could cost someone their life. The maids dared not be angry or speak out, and they all began to search high and low.

Ruyi had a worried look on her face. Even if she turned the place upside down, she still couldn't find the hairpin that Wen Yitong wanted.

Because that hairpin was taken away by Madam Wen when she was preparing the dowry for Wen Shuyao. The hairpin was a gift from the palace and was part of Chu Wanqing's dowry. Over the years, Madam Wen had kept it for Wen Yitong to use.

However, when it came time to gather the dowry, Madam Wen was short of money and could not leave any for Wen Yitong. She had no choice but to use her to complete the jewelry on the dowry list.

Wen Yitong knew this, but she wanted to take this opportunity to make trouble.

—Because Wen Shuyao is coming back.

Wen Yitong looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Her face was still pure and lovely, untouched by the vicissitudes of time, and she had never suffered the hardships of life.

But why can't she be happy?

Thinking about all the changes that had happened in recent days, she hated Wen Shuyao to the core.

"Where's the hairpin?"

She glanced coldly at Ruyi and rebuked her sharply.

Ruyi immediately knelt on the ground: "Miss, the hairpin is missing."

"Open your mouth and say fifty!" Wen Yitong sneered, casually tossing out these words.

Ruyi's heart sank. She knew that Wen Yitong was not only venting her anger, but also taking revenge on her for tipping off Madam Wen on the day of her wedding.

But if she didn't tell Madam Wen and let Wen Yitong do those things, she would lose her life.

Between this mother and daughter, everything they do is wrong.

She harbored resentment in her heart, but still knelt on the ground: "This servant accepts the punishment."

Fortunately, at that moment, Madam Wen strode in with Granny Lin.

Upon entering and hearing Wen Yitong's words, she frowned: "Fifty slaps? Who are you trying to impress? Me? Or are you making an example of me? Am I next?"

As soon as she said that, Wen Yitong immediately retorted angrily, "You know perfectly well that's not what I meant!"

"Then what do you mean?" Madam Wen said coldly, "Today is Princess Jing's homecoming banquet, and you must attend."

“There are quite a few important people outside,” Madam Wen said, her tone carrying a hint of warning. “Madam Chen is also there.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Yitong was stunned.

The next moment, she anxiously called out to Ruyi, "Come quickly and help me check if this hair bun is neatly combed?"

Since Madam Chen was coming, she naturally had to make thorough preparations.

She had to handle the future mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship well, so that Chen Che could focus on his studies without any distractions.

Seeing her actions, Madam Wen closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"What's so good about Chen Che?" She really couldn't understand it. If Chen Che had any outstanding qualities, she wouldn't have chosen him as Wen Shuyao's fiancé.

Granny Lin was also quite helpless and whispered, "Now that things have come to this, we can only let her be. You've done everything you could."

"But..." Madam Wen's words were on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed them back.

Just as Granny Lin said, this was the only result she could achieve despite using all her methods.

……

After all that effort, Wen Yitong's makeup was simple, and her clothes were plain.

When Madam Wen saw her, she could hardly recognize her as her daughter who loved gorgeous clothes the most.

"Why are you doing this?" Madam Wen said in a low voice. "Haven't you always wanted to compete with Wen Shuyao? That new dress in your room was sent by your aunt and made by a palace embroiderer. It will never let you be overshadowed by her."

She knew her daughter's little thoughts better than anyone.

However, Wen Yitong shook her head: "The Chen family is poor, so our daughter naturally cannot dress up in a grand manner."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wen's expression became complicated.

"But as for other people's mothers..." she mumbled, and Wen Yitong didn't hear her clearly.

At this moment, Wen Yitong no longer had any intention of competing with Wen Shuyao.

All she could think about was how to make a good impression on Madam Chen.

Seeing her hurried steps and the hidden excitement on her face, Madam Wen felt increasingly uneasy.

"They say that once a daughter is married, she's like water spilled from a cup, but even before she got married, I already felt that she was growing distant from me."

Hearing this, Lin Mama had no choice but to whisper a word of advice: "Perhaps the Second Miss's choice is right. A person like Prince Jing is indeed not easy to get along with."

"Beneath that glamorous facade, Miss, lies a great deal of grievance," Lin Mama advised. "For any woman, it is a disgrace to have her husband absent on her wedding night."

Madam Wen shook her head with a bitter smile: "I'd rather my daughter cry in a golden palace than see her like this..."

As they were talking, the group had already reached the door.

Things are different now; Wen Shuyao is now the Princess Consort of Prince Jing.

Given Princess Jing's noble status, when she came to the Duke of Wen's mansion, the entire family had to stand at the gate to welcome her.

Duke Wen was always arrogant, and the thought of him waiting for his daughter's arrival was enough to make him turn cold.

However, the others were secretly excited.

This is a golden opportunity to establish a relationship with Princess Jing!

The reason they came to the Duke of Wen's mansion was precisely to establish a relationship with Princess Jing, and thus to get closer to Prince Jing.

Simply being on good terms with King Jing was enough to keep them going.

As Wen Yitong watched these scenes unfold, even though she was somewhat prepared, she still couldn't help but feel angry.

She had never been treated like this before, and no one had ever wanted to use her to curry favor with Xie Jinghan!

It's simply because everyone knows she and Xie Jinghan are at odds, and Xie Jinghan utterly despises her as his princess!

Now, everyone knows that Xie Jinghan dotes on Wen Shuyao to the core, and would rather move up the wedding date than let Wen Shuyao marry him without proper status.

A fire of anger burned within her, but when she saw Granny Qi following behind Wen Shuyao, she let out a cold laugh.

She remembered.

The position of Princess Jing seems glamorous, but who knows that even her desire to inspect the estates within the manor would be thwarted by an old woman?

Even this old woman's words were more effective than those of Princess Jing!

Inspecting the estate was something the mistress of the house should do, but everyone in the Prince Jing's mansion sided with Granny Qi and criticized her.

She's a princess!

With a temperament like Wen Shuyao's, if she met Granny Qi, she would be at her mercy and easily manipulated.

Nothing more than that!

Wen Yitong scoffed inwardly.