If Xiao Jinghui and the others had stood up in time to clarify her identity, or if she herself had been a bit braver and loudly argued with those who mocked her, perhaps what followed wouldn't have happened.
Xiao Bao'er let out a bitter smile and slowly followed the crowd to the place where she had met the Princess of Lin'an in her previous life.
On both sides of this place were planted with flowers and plants. For aesthetic purposes, the road surface was decorated with cobblestones forming different patterns. Precisely because of this, the road was uneven and not easy to walk on. Moreover, someone had sprinkled water on it, making it feel like stepping on slippery ice when her embroidered shoes touched the cobblestones.
As Xiao Bao'er walked, she observed the surrounding environment. When she reached a place with mud on both sides of the road, she quickened her pace to get through. Just then, the voice of a maid came, "The Princess of Lin'an is coming..."
Hearing this, the noble ladies in front immediately stopped in their tracks, crouched down, and began to pay their respects. Seeing this, the noble ladies behind also followed suit.
At this moment, Xiao Bao'er suddenly felt someone approaching from behind. So she quickly reacted, first took a step backward, and stamped her embroidered - shod foot hard on the ground. Then, not knowing whose foot she had stepped on, she heard a muffled groan. Without hesitation, she crouched down to pay her respects.
When Xiao Bao'er crouched down, her butt directly bumped the person behind her. This person's foot was stepped on by Xiao Bao'er and was suddenly bumped. With a slip of the foot, the body tilted, and just like Xiao Bao'er in her previous life, this person plunged head - first into the mud pile.
The crowd let out surprised gasps at this unexpected incident and all looked behind Xiao Bao'er. Xiao Bao'er held back her laughter and pretended to be as surprised as everyone else as she looked back. She found that the one who had become a mud - covered mess was Xiao Jingwan.
In her previous life, before Xiao Bao'er fell, she vaguely felt that someone had pushed her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen directly into the mud. At most, she would have been a bit wobbly while paying her respects.
Looking at Xiao Jingwan's embarrassed appearance, Xiao Bao'er felt a sense of relief in her heart. The corners of her mouth under the veil couldn't be held back. But her voice was full of concern, "Oh, Fourth Sister, how did you fall into the mud? Are you okay?"
The people around were afraid that the mud on Xiao Jingwan would splash on themselves, so they all moved away from her. Facing the disdainful or mocking looks from the crowd, Xiao Jingwan was on the verge of a breakdown. She covered her face and let out a scream, but the mud on her face fell into her mouth as her cheeks moved. While spitting out the mud in her mouth, she made "Pfft, pfft, pfft" sounds.
This scene looked both comical and funny. Someone couldn't help but let out a low laugh, and then the people around followed suit. But they were afraid that Xiao Jingwan would see them, so they all turned their backs.
The Princess of Lin'an approached and disdainfully covered her nose and mouth lightly with a handkerchief. "Whose girl is this? How can she be so rude? She's really not fit to be in society."
In her previous life, it was because of this remark from the Princess of Lin'an that the noble ladies tried their best to make Xiao Bao'er look bad and confirmed that she was the kind of person who was not fit to be in society. And this time, the target had become Xiao Jingwan, and this sentence still came out of the Princess of Lin'an's mouth. Xiao Bao'er suddenly felt a bit of anticipation. She wondered what would happen to Xiao Jingwan?
When she heard the Princess of Lin'an's words, Xiao Jinghui, who had been motionless just now, turned pale. She quickly walked up to the Princess of Lin'an and whispered a few words in her ear.
The Princess of Lin'an's expression changed several times. It changed from disgust at first to surprise, and her eyes lingered on Xiao Bao'er and the fallen Xiao Jinghui.
Then, the Princess of Lin'an ordered the maids behind her, "What are you all standing there for? Don't you see that Miss Xiao Si has fallen? Hurry up and help her to the guest room. Prepare warm water to serve Miss Xiao Si for washing. This cobblestone road is slippery, and it's normal to lose one's balance for a moment. Miss Xiao Si, don't take it to heart. Hurry up and change your clothes."
The crowd was a bit confused by the Princess of Lin'an's sudden change. How could she first say that the girl was not fit to be in society and then say that it was just because the road was slippery? It was really strange.
Xiao Jinghui gritted her teeth and watched Xiao Jingwan leave. If her own sister's loss of propriety spread, it would damage their family's reputation. The first one to be affected would be herself as Xiao Jingwan's older sister. But if it was Xiao Bao'er who lost face, it would be different. After all, they were not from the same branch, and the impact on her would be smaller. Xiao Jingwan was really a fool. She couldn't even handle such a simple thing well!
When Xiao Jingwan was being taken away, she glared at Xiao Bao'er resentfully. It should have been Xiao Bao'er who fell into the mud pile and lost face. If she hadn't suddenly taken a step backward, her plan wouldn't have failed!
Seeing this, Xiao Bao'er understood everything. The Princess of Lin'an thought it was her who had fallen into the mud pile and thus made the sarcastic remark. Now, after being explained by Xiao Jinghui, her attitude had changed. Xiao Bao'er just couldn't believe that the Princess of Lin'an was unaware of this matter.
In her previous life, after she was taken away, the maids from the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion only brought her a plate of cold water and perfunctorily told her to wash herself. At that time, she was afraid that others would discover the black spots on her body, so she only changed her outer clothes. After she went out, she was continuously harassed. Her inner clothes were soaked with a mixture of sweat and muddy water, and a strange smell began to emanate from her body...
Thinking of this, Xiao Bao'er couldn't bear to recall the past and sighed helplessly at her own stupidity in her previous life.
Seeing the skeptical looks on the noble ladies' faces, the Princess of Lin'an quickly greeted everyone, "Ladies, please follow me. The Flowing - Cup Banquet is already prepared. Please don't stay here. There are still many activities for today's flower - viewing banquet. I hope all of you ladies will enjoy yourselves."
Seeing that the person involved had been taken away, the crowd didn't discuss it any more and all echoed the Princess of Lin'an's words and left.
After everyone was seated, Xiao Jinghui exchanged a look with the Princess of Lin'an. Then, the Princess of Lin'an clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention.
"All of you ladies come from noble families. Your talents and looks are impeccable. I'm currently facing a difficult problem and would like to ask all of you ladies for help. If any lady can solve it for me, I will offer a hundred taels of gold as a reward."
As soon as the Princess of Lin'an said this, the noble ladies below were quite surprised. Their fathers and brothers served as officials in the court, and everyone knew how much their salaries were. So even the wealthy families in the aristocracy didn't dare to show off their wealth, for fear that the emperor would suspect them of corruption.
Only a princess from the royal family would dare to offer a reward of a hundred taels of gold. Most of the people present had never even seen that much gold.
"Your Highness, what difficult problem have you encountered? Even if it's not for the hundred taels of gold, we sisters are willing to go through fire and water to help Your Highness solve it," Xiao Jinghui wouldn't miss this opportunity to curry favor and show her loyalty. She quickly spoke up to express her attitude.
Facing the eager and obsequious looks from the noble ladies, the Princess of Lin'an proudly lifted her chin and motioned for the maids to take out two identical paintings. "These are the birthday gifts I've found for my grandmother, the Empress Dowager. But one is the original and the other is a copy. I'm really in a dilemma. You ladies have sharp eyes. Please help me pick out the original."
Seeing this, the eager looks in the noble ladies' eyes faded. Maybe they could paint, but they really didn't know how to distinguish between real and fake paintings. They didn't want to make a fool of themselves in public, so they all shut up.
Xiao Jinghui scanned the crowd below and subtly glanced at Xiao Bao'er.
When Xiao Bao'er saw Xiao Jinghui suddenly looking at her, her eyebrows twitched. Sure enough, the next second she heard Xiao Jinghui's voice.
"Your Highness, my eldest sister has a deep understanding of famous paintings at home. Even my Uncle, Prime Minister Xiao, has highly praised my eldest sister's accuracy in appreciating ancient paintings. Why not let my eldest sister have a try?"