Prince Er, Xiao Yujin, quickly spoke up, disagreeing. "Alas, Miss Duan, you're wrong. Since this maid has said so, it means she has grievances in her heart."
Princess Heyuan's face darkened. "Prince Er! So, you think this princess is in the wrong?"
"Heyuan, that's not right! Since this king has just said that I'll uphold justice, I must get to the bottom of this matter and not wrong anyone!"
"What do you think, Brother Four?" Xiao Yujin then turned to Xiao Hanzhi, who had been silent by the side. "Brother Four, who do you think bumped into whom? And whose fault is it?"
Xiao Hanzhi glanced at Princess Heyuan's face and then shifted his gaze to the maids and servants present. "Replying to Second Brother, I wasn't there for what just happened. But it's not difficult to find out the truth. We just need to ask some of the servants who were there at the time."
"Brother Four's idea is excellent. This king didn't even think of it!" Xiao Yujin's tone was filled with regret.
What he regretted in his heart wasn't the method Xiao Hanzhi mentioned, but the two choices he had given Xiao Hanzhi just now. Was it Duan Chuchu or Princess Heyuan in this matter?
Whichever of the two weighed more in Xiao Hanzhi's heart, he would naturally side with that person. Xiao Yujin could also take this opportunity to peek into Xiao Hanzhi's thoughts.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Hanzhi's answer was flawless, leaving him unable to make up his mind for a moment. He couldn't tell which one Xiao Hanzhi preferred as his princess consort.
Then, Xiao Yujin casually pointed at a maid standing at the back of the crowd. "You, did you see who bumped into whom just now?"
"R-replying to Prince Er... this maid..." The maid was obviously very panicked when suddenly pointed out by Xiao Yujin in the crowd. She knelt on the ground and couldn't say a complete sentence.
"This king is asking you one more time. Did you see or not! If you dare to lie, this king can have you beheaded right now!"
Threatened by Xiao Yujin like this, the maid became even more frightened, but still nodded and said, "This maid... saw! It was... the princess!"
As soon as she said this, everyone was in an uproar. They didn't expect that the noble Princess Heyuan would actually deliberately bump into a maid and make things difficult for her. Those with a discerning eye, thinking about how Princess Heyuan had deliberately made things difficult for Duan Chuchu just now, could guess a thing or two.
Princess Heyuan looked at the skeptical and mocking expressions on the faces of the people around her. Immediately, with a face full of anger, she pointed at the maid and shouted, "She's lying! Don't listen to her. How could this princess deliberately bump into a vulgar and lowly maid!"
"Heyuan!" Seeing Princess Heyuan like this, Xiao Hanzhi immediately spoke up to stop her. "That's enough. Don't make a scene anymore!"
When Princess Heyuan saw the disappointed and helpless expression on Xiao Hanzhi's face, the person she cared about the most, she was a bit on the verge of collapse and said, "Cousin! You look at me like this too! You think I'm bad, don't you?"
"I'm your cousin! Instead of helping me, you believe the words of a maid! Fine! Fine!"
"Heyuan! Go back!" Xiao Hanzhi frowned and looked at Princess Heyuan. "If you keep making a scene, it'll only make you look bad!"
Princess Heyuan remained unmoved. With tears in her eyes, she looked at Xiao Hanzhi. "It's me who looks bad! They're just waiting to see me make a fool of myself! I don't care what these people think. Cousin, I only ask one thing. Do you... "
"Do you have me in your heart? Between me and her, who's more important in your heart?"
As Princess Heyuan spoke, her voice choked with sobs. She pointed at Duan Chuchu with her finger, but stared at Xiao Hanzhi without blinking, forcing him to make a choice.
"Heyuan!" There was a hint of anger in Xiao Hanzhi's voice. "It's up to you how you want to make a scene, but don't involve others! If you keep being so unreasonable, I won't bother to care about you anymore!"
Ignoring Princess Heyuan's affectionate gaze, Xiao Hanzhi turned around resolutely and left.
Princess Heyuan closed her eyes sadly. Her face, which was always full of pride, was now full of disappointment. Her body swayed a bit as if she could hardly stand. Her two maids stood behind her, wanting to support her but not daring to step forward.
The noble ladies present also pretended to be like wooden statues, standing still and not daring to say a word. It was Prince Er who coughed twice and asked the servants to take Princess Heyuan down to rest. Princess Heyuan let the maids support her and leave.
As soon as the princes left, the atmosphere around gradually became more lively.
Some scheming young ladies walked up to Duan Chuchu to flatter her.
A young girl in green was the first to walk up to Duan Chuchu and said with a smile, "Fortunately, Prince Er and Prince Four upheld justice. Otherwise, Sister Duan would have been wronged today!"
Duan Chuchu's expression remained unchanged. "This young lady is joking. Chuchu doesn't feel wronged about today's matter! This young lady should not say such things in the future, lest they reach the ears of those with ulterior motives and cause another ruckus!"
After saying that, Duan Chuchu nodded to the other young ladies around her, then left with her maid.
Shen Li took a look. These noble ladies were mostly concubines' daughters or daughters of minor officials. They had no status or position, so they rushed to flatter others. Most of the noble young ladies just watched and then dispersed.
Of course, there was an exception. When Shen Li was about to turn around and leave, she noticed a woman saying disdainfully, "Humph! The competition hasn't even started yet, and there's already such a good show. I wonder what interesting things will happen tomorrow?"
Out of curiosity, Shen Li glanced in the direction of the woman and found that it was an acquaintance, Wu Qihuan.
Wu Qihuan noticed Shen Li's gaze. She rolled her eyes impatiently at her and then turned away.
Wu Qihuan had a pointed oval face with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned. She had rare peach blossom eyes.
She was wearing a water - blue ruqun today. It was a solemn and elegant color, but on her, it exuded a charming and alluring aura. The ruqun was slightly cinched at the waist, making her waist look even slimmer. As she walked, she was graceful and charming. She was truly a charming beauty!
Shen Li didn't mind Wu Qihuan's cold looks at all. After all, they were acquaintances from their past lives.
In her past life, when she married Xiao Hanzhi as the principal princess consort, Wu Qihuan was Xiao Hanzhi's secondary princess consort. The two of them got married into the prince's mansion together and naturally fought for Xiao Hanzhi's favor for four years.
Wu Qihuan was the legitimate daughter of General Wu Moshang of Huaihua in the current dynasty. She had a noble status. Influenced by her father since childhood, she also had good martial arts skills. Her looks and figure were among the best among the noble ladies in the capital. But since she became Xiao Hanzhi's secondary princess consort, she was naturally not convinced.
In her past life, Shen Li was the principal princess consort of Xiao Hanzhi and had the support of the Night Ghost Division. But she still didn't gain much advantage over Wu Qihuan. In Shen Li's view in her past life, Wu Qihuan was a vixen who knew how to charm men and was good at scheming for favor.
Before Shen Li was deposed in her past life, Wu Qihuan had already given birth to a son for Xiao Hanzhi and was named a noble concubine.
Shen Li thought to herself: I wonder what kind of fight these two will have in the harem after Shen Miao is named the queen?
Shen Li was determined that no matter what, she would not get involved in the affairs of Xiao Hanzhi's harem in this life.