Spring Rippling Villa was originally a royal villa. A stream from the back mountain flowed through the villa. In spring, when the ice and snow melted, the gurgling sound of the stream added a unique touch of poetry, which was how it got its elegant name.
The emperor, noticing that the Second Prince loved books and poetry and liked to host banquets for literati, bestowed this villa upon him.
The Crown Prince's carriage stopped at the entrance of the villa.
As the most honored guest, no one dared to keep him waiting. Everyone had arrived early and gathered at the entrance.
The moment the carriage curtain was lifted, the Crown Prince took Cheng Simian's hand. "Mianmian, I'll fight side by side with you."
Cheng Simian's heart skipped a beat. It was as if a gentle spring breeze had caressed her heart, and the warmth slowly spread.
The Crown Prince didn't say, "I'll protect you." In his eyes, she wasn't a weak woman.
This feeling of being respected, trusted, and appreciated made it impossible for Cheng Simian not to be touched.
For the first time, she had a special feeling.
The Crown Prince was gradually getting to know her, not in the old - fashioned way of a hero rescuing a beauty and blindly loving her.
She also held the Crown Prince's hand in return.
Everyone saw that Cheng Simian was personally helped out of the carriage by the Crown Prince.
The two walked hand in hand, looking extremely intimate.
"All rise."
Following her mother's instructions, Qin Xuanyan dressed simply and low - key today.
Wearing a light beige dress, it failed to bring out her good complexion and wasted her beautiful appearance.
But her mother had said that she must not be too eye - catching today.
When she saw Cheng Simian looking dazzlingly beautiful, her eyes turned red with anger.
"Humph, pretending to be a high - class and cold fairy. After getting the Crown Prince's favor, she finally shows her true colors. Dressed so flamboyantly, she's even more seductive than a fox spirit!"
Her muttering wasn't very quiet, and many people glanced in her direction.
Qin Ziqi nudged her and whispered, "Have you forgotten what mother told you? Behave yourself!"
Whether she could outshine Cheng Simian and gain the Queen's favor depended on today.
There mustn't be any mistakes.
Suddenly, the siblings saw a familiar face following behind Cheng Simian.
Qin Ziqi's heart tightened, his heart pounding, and his shoulder began to throb faintly.
Unable to contain herself, Qin Xuanyan pointed at Qiluo and shouted, "You little bitch who knows how to curry favor! Our Qin family treated you well, yet you go to flatter Cheng Simian!"
Cheng Simian didn't expect Qin Xuanyan to come looking for trouble so soon.
Was she afraid that the scandal of the Qin family wasn't spreading fast enough?
With her shout, the gazes of all the men and women focused on Qiluo's face.
The swelling on Qiluo's face hadn't completely subsided. Although she had applied skin - nourishing powder, if you looked closely, you could still tell that she had been severely beaten.
She looked at Qin Xuanyan fearlessly, her eyes full of coldness.
Qin Ziqi was stabbed by her gaze, and his body involuntarily trembled.
This little girl was too ruthless and too smart. She had stabbed him and still managed to save her own life. He was actually a bit scared of her.
Cheng Simian let out a soft laugh and blinked in confusion. "I don't understand what Miss Qin means. Qiluo is a maid I bought from Mama Lin of the Red Rouge Courtyard for two hundred taels of silver. How can you say that Qiluo is currying favor with me?"
She deliberately emphasized the words "Red Rouge Courtyard".
No one present didn't know what kind of place that was.
Someone whispered, "The Rongxiang Duke's Mansion, a noble family for hundreds of years, actually heartlessly sold a maid to the Red Rouge Courtyard?"
The noble families in the capital cared most about their dignity and reputation.
They could do whatever they wanted behind closed doors, but if news of mistreating servants spread from any family, they would be gossiped about and criticized.
Buying and selling servants was common, but selling them to brothels was equivalent to ruining a good - family girl's life and would be despised by others.
Even the stupidest person like Qin Xuanyan understood this principle.
She got anxious all of a sudden and shouted at that person, "What do you know? This little bitch was restless. She tried to seduce my brother. Such a low - class thing even wanted to climb up the social ladder. It's already a mercy of our family that we didn't beat her to death!"
Qin Ziqi wished he could cover Qin Xuanyan's mouth right away. He gritted his teeth and hissed, "Stop talking!"
Outside, he was a noble young man with a gentle and elegant demeanor and great literary talent.
It was difficult to maintain a good reputation, and his reputation might be ruined by just a few words from Qin Xuanyan!
"Is that what Miss Qin heard? But Qiluo told me a different story."
Cheng Simian's words were vague. She didn't say anything specific, but this kind of ambiguous expression seemed to say everything.
The Crown Prince added fuel to the fire in a timely manner. "Prince Qin's left shoulder seems a bit stiff, and his walking is a bit uncoordinated. Did you get injured?"
Qin Ziqi forced out a couple of dry laughs, his voice tense. "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I accidentally bumped into a candlestick last night. It's nothing serious."
Qiluo's being sold by the Qin family was related to Qin Ziqi.
Coincidentally, Qin Ziqi had injured his shoulder last night.
Everyone looked at Qiluo's charming face and then at Qin Ziqi's slightly panicked expression.
They seemed to understand something.
However, most of the people present today were elegant scholars. They saw through but didn't expose it.
They gave Qin Ziqi some face and didn't want to ruin the elegant mood of the Crown Prince and others for appreciating paintings because of the romantic affairs in the inner courtyard of the Qin family.
But Qin Ziqi clearly felt that the attitude of the crowd towards him had changed subtly.
The young masters who were usually on good terms with him had unconsciously kept a distance from him.
Qin Ziqi glared at Qin Xuanyan and really wanted to scold her for being a fool.
Qin Xuanyan was completely unaware that her brother had made a fool of himself. She whispered venomously, "Cheng Simian is just good at sowing discord..."
"Shut up!" Qin Ziqi growled. "Do you know what 'too many words will surely lead to mistakes' means? Why do you have to have a verbal showdown with her? You can't even argue with her, and you're not as good as her in terms of temperament and appearance. If you also lose in terms of grace and character, what can you do to catch the Queen's eye?"
Qin Ziqi was already a bit desperate.
Without comparison, he didn't know. Once his sister was compared with Cheng Simian, she was crushed in every aspect.
Before the real confrontation even started, they had already lost most of the battle!
While the siblings were in a mess, Cheng Simian was elegant and graceful, like a snow lotus standing alone in the world. Everyone admired her but didn't dare to have the slightest thought of desecrating her.
Qin Xuanyan's face looked extremely ugly, but she had no choice but to shut up.
Cheng Simian, just you wait. I will surely make you make a complete fool of yourself in front of everyone and ruin your reputation!
Lu Siming was the host. He led the Crown Prince all the way into the villa.
He also gave Qin Ziqi a warning look inadvertently.
Reminding him to keep his sister in check!
In the garden, a living spring was led onto the rockery, forming a small waterfall. The gurgling sound of the water, accompanied by the singing of birds, made the place quiet and elegant.
Mr. Mingxi's painting, titled "Early Spring in the Capital Region" (the capital region refers to the area around the capital), was already hanging on the rockery.
The painting showed a pastoral scene. There was a quiet village. Residual snow still remained in the fields. A few families were scattered in the valley, with cooking smoke rising and floating towards the budding branches.
There were no people or animals in the painting, but one could feel the coming of spring.
As one looked at it, endless hope would arise in the heart.
Everyone praised it.
Lu Siming's gentle voice sounded. "Miss Cheng is excellent at both calligraphy and painting. I wonder what you think of Mr. Mingxi's work? We're all ears."
The Crown Prince also wanted to hear Mianmian's opinion on this painting.
Cheng Simian said leisurely, "This painting has many flaws."
Qin Xuanyan sneered. "How arrogant! Mr. Mingxi is famous all over the world. All the literati and scholars admire him, yet you say this painting is not good. You're really ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!"