The villainous female supporting character becomes a heartthrob, and the powerful man successfully r

In the main hall of the East Palace, Rong Xuanzhou, dressed in bright yellow, sat at a table, looking at the person below him, concealing his complex expression.

"Zizhang, today the Emperor praised you highly in court. I noticed that Minister Li of the Ministry of Revenue and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion both look at you differently. You must hurry up with your marriage to Miss Xia and not let these old fellows ruin it."

Upon hearing Rong Xuanzhou's words, Xiao Nanzhou's expression changed repeatedly before he finally managed to force a smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Xin'er is still recuperating, so there's no rush."

After hearing this, Rong Xuanzhou subtly observed Xiao Nanzhou, not missing the struggle on his face.

Sure enough, the other party still hasn't given up on Yingying. Even though he's already chosen Xia Yanxin, he refuses to honor the marriage agreement, wanting both—how greedy!

He chuckled and said, "Then I will take charge and ask my father for an imperial decree to grant you two a marriage. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"

"Your Highness, please don't!"

Xiao Nanzhou's tone was excited. After shouting, he realized his rudeness and immediately apologized, explaining, "Xin'er and I are mutually in love, and things naturally progressed. I feel really bad for troubling Your Highness."

"It's nothing, just a matter of saying a few words. Zizhang, there's no need to be so polite with me. After all, we are close friends, how could I stand by and watch your marriage be hindered? So it's settled."

Rong Xuanzhou spoke politely, yet his words carried an undeniable air of authority. Xiao Nanzhou could no longer utter a word of refusal, and could only force a smile as he rose to express his gratitude.

Although he knew he had chosen Xia Yanxin and was going to marry her, at that moment, he felt as if he had lost the most important thing.

*

At the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the Duchess greeted the guests with a beaming smile.

Her eldest daughter was engaged to the second son of the Xia family, and this banquet was specially organized. Another purpose was to help her son, the heir of the Duke, Jiang Shize, choose a suitable future wife.

Xia Yanxin's health was still not good, but she still dressed up and attended the banquet, joining the ranks of the noble ladies.

Because of Xia's father's lowly status as the Grand Secretary and Xia Mufeng's future marriage to the emperor, even if the other noble ladies looked down on Xia Yanxin, they still maintained a facade of decorum.

At this moment, five or six noble ladies had gathered in the pavilion, enjoying the flowers, sipping tea, feeding the fish, and chatting.

"Miss Xia, I heard that the eldest daughter of the Xia family has returned. Why can't we see her today?"

Princess Changning of the Dingyuan Marquis family was the first to make a move; she loved watching a good show.

As expected, with her question, all the noble ladies turned their gazes to Xia Yanxin, eagerly awaiting her answer.

"My sister just came back from the countryside and is not good at etiquette. I'm afraid she might offend someone important, so... cough cough..."

Xia Yanxin looked sad and coughed occasionally, appearing very weak, which reminded people of the fire at the Xia family home a few days ago. Everyone present had different thoughts.

"Yan Xin's health is already weak. If that jinx comes back, won't he offend you first? Why did he come back at all!" the young lady from the Ministry of Revenue's family flattered.

As a result, Princess Changning scoffed first: "Isn't she supposed to have an extremely noble destiny? If she's so easily offended, then her destiny isn't all that great."

Xia Yanxin swayed, looking pitiful, and said, "It was my fault, it's not my sister's fault. Please don't look down on her, she had no choice."

"Yanxin, don't blame yourself. She's now the daughter of a concubine, not worthy to be compared to you. Besides, she's unattractive and vulgar, so she probably won't be able to get married."

"Ha, a cuckoo has taken over the nest."

The words of the Princess of Changning silenced everyone present, and no one dared to respond.

"This is boring, you guys chat."

Princess Changning rose to leave when she saw Rong Yunfei approaching with someone not far away. Upon recognizing the person, she finally showed a look of joy and sat back down.

"Greetings, Princess."

After the noble ladies paid their respects, their eyes were involuntarily drawn to the girl beside Rong Yunfei.

Someone mustered up the courage to ask, and Xia Ying stepped forward a few steps and nodded slightly: "My name is Xia Ying."

"What?! You're Xia Ying?!" The young lady of the Ministry of Revenue exclaimed in surprise, clearly flustered.

Her performance reflected the sentiments of those on the field, especially Xia Yanxin.

In the past few days, whenever she saw Xia Ying, the other woman was either wearing a veil or a hat, seemingly confirming the rumors that her appearance was marred.

But who would have thought that she would be so radiant today!

She wore a pink, waist-cinching, cross-collar long dress made of Xiangyun yarn, which shimmered in the sunlight. Combined with her tall figure, she looked like a fairy from a painting gracefully arriving.

Xia Yanxin could no longer laugh; her nails dug into her flesh, and the pain could not quell her jealousy and anger.

There is also the panic and malice that arise from inferiority complex.

Princess Changning spoke first: "Xia Ying, welcome back."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Xia Ying smiled gently at her, her demeanor as warm and pure as a gardenia on a branch. The others present suddenly snapped out of their daze and stepped forward to welcome her, exchanging pleasantries.

Finally, only Xia Yanxin was left. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Xia Ying turn to Rong Yunfei and start a new topic, completely ignoring her!

She clenched her fists and spoke again, forcefully interrupting their conversation: "Sister, why did you go out? Didn't Father tell you to stay home? There was a fire a few days ago; if others find out..."

Xia Yanxin hesitated, her implied meaning quite clear.

She hoped that everyone would avoid this jinx and hate Xia Ying!

"Who are you calling 'sister'? I don't have a younger sister."

Xia Ying showed no mercy, exposing Xia Yanxin's hypocritical facade and almost causing her to lose her smile.

"Sister, although you don't acknowledge my identity, I am registered under Mother's name and am the legitimate daughter of the Xia family."

"So, you stole all the rewards the princess gave me? The legitimate daughter? You certainly have quite the airs."

When Xia Ying brought up these matters of the inner quarters, the other noble ladies looked at Xia Yanxin with meaningful glances.

Seeing this, Xia Yanxin wanted to argue even more.

She said, "Sister, are you so desperate to slander me that you've even disregarded the Xia family's reputation?"

"The Xia family's reputation? What is that? When they abandoned their own daughter and adopted a fake, did they not think about the Xia family's reputation? It's truly—worthless."