Pin Shanhe

In terms of family background, her father was the prime minister.

Their Shen family merely inherited their ancestral titles; how could they compare to the Prime Minister, the head of all officials?

Her father, Jiang Yue, was just a poor scholar when he went to the capital to take the imperial examination.

He was fortunate enough to pass the imperial examination with top honors and received help from a benefactor, which propelled him to great heights.

Later, the former prime minister retired to his hometown, just as Jiang Yue made great contributions to flood control and was appointed prime minister.

Although the Prime Minister's residence is prestigious, the foundation of a family cannot be maintained by just one person.

Shen Fu's grandfather was a founding hero and was called "Duke Zhenguo" by the late emperor.

His father, Shen Ting'an, inherited the title of Duke and concurrently served as the Minister of Personnel, a second-rank official.

The eldest brother, Shen Xiuyuan, was the commander of the Palace Guard, in charge of the capital's patrols and criminal investigations.

My second elder brother, Shen Xiuwen, was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, known for his strict and impartial judgments and incorruptible character.

My third brother, Shen Xiuyan, is a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a scholar-official with a very promising future.

Although the fourth brother, Shen Xiuzhe, did not pursue an official career, he spent many years doing business, specializing in restaurants, silk, and money shops. He was extremely wealthy, with riches comparable to those of a country.

Fifth Brother Shen Xiu has become a major general in the army. He made great contributions in the recent battle in the Northwest and has a bright future ahead of him.

Both the Shen father and son held important positions in the imperial court.

Most officials in the imperial court vied to befriend the Shen family.

In terms of family strength, the Prime Minister's Mansion is no match for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

At today's palace banquet, upon seeing Shen Fu's appearance, even though everyone felt contempt and disdain, they only dared to whisper among themselves.

Jiang Ruoyao is the first person to be so disrespectful and provoke someone so directly!

Shen Fu wasn't angry; instead, she coldly curled the corners of her lips.

"Who's got such a temper? Oh, it's Miss Jiang! Even if you're upset about being rejected by the Second Prince, you can't take it out on others."

These words clearly struck a nerve with Jiang Ruoyao, causing her face to flush bright red instantly, like a cat with its fur standing on end.

Everyone knows that Jiang Ruoyao has been in love with the Second Prince for many years.

Ignoring the woman's modesty, he pursued her passionately, relentlessly begging Prime Minister Jiang to go before the Emperor to request a marriage decree.

The Emperor was willing to grant the request, but Jun Jingyan refused.

The reason given was that he was engrossed in poetry and literature and had no interest in women.

Jiang Ruoyao instantly became the laughing stock of the capital, but she still refused to give up and seized every opportunity to create chance encounters.

She was dressed up in her finest attire today, hoping to leave a good impression on the Second Prince.

Before they even met, they were already arguing with Shen Fu.

Hearing the other person's mockery, she could no longer hold back and screamed.

"Do you think you're so smug? Playing both the Prince Xuan and the Fourth Prince between you is utterly shameless."

"Ha...that's much better than some people who end up with nothing, all their scheming going to waste, isn't it?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw Jiang Ruoyao's furious expression.

Shen Fu felt a pang of unease. Why did she feel like her words had become increasingly sharp lately?

It seems she's been corrupted by some man.

"One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black."

Jiang Ruoyao hated Shen Fu to the core and wished she could rush over and tear her to pieces.

And that's exactly what she did!

Shen Fu's eyes turned cold, and she was just about to retaliate when she suddenly caught sight of two figures approaching from the corner of her eye.

Her eyes flickered, and she pretended to be frightened and fell to the ground.

"Miss Jiang, if I said anything wrong, I can apologize, but you really shouldn't have hit someone in the palace!"

"You bitch, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

Jiang Ruoyao's raised hand was still in mid-air when a cold, sharp voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"stop!"

She was startled and turned around.

Facing that hideous and terrifying black iron mask was like encountering a demon crawling out of hell, sending chills down one's spine.

Throughout the entire Dayong Dynasty, no one was unfamiliar with this mask, let alone had not heard of his formidable reputation.

"Mysterious...Mysterious King..."

But that wasn't the worst part, because she then encountered another gentle and refined face.

Second Prince!

Oh no, did he see her being so arrogant and domineering just now?

Jiang Ruoyao's first reaction was not to examine herself, but to glare at Shen Fu.

She did it on purpose!

Knowing full well that the Second Prince was coming, they deliberately plotted to embarrass her!

Upon seeing this, Jun Jingyan couldn't help but frown.

Tonight's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet will be hosted by his mother, Consort Ning.

To avoid any chaos before the banquet began, he came early to check on the situation.

They encountered the Xuan King on the way, which was a bit strange, as they never usually attended such palace banquets.

When he strode towards the woman who had fallen to the ground, he immediately understood.

Xiao Xuanjin helped Shen Fu up and looked her up and down.

Only after confirming that she was alright did he feel like questioning her, his cold gaze falling on Jiang Ruoyao standing to the side.

"How dare you harm someone in the palace?"

Jiang Ruoyao was already intimidated by the mask on his face, and when she heard his terrifying tone, she trembled with fear.

"I... she humiliated me first, and I only retaliated because I was angry."

"Tell me how she humiliated you!"

"..."

How could she say such a thing?

Especially with the Second Prince right there, was she really going to tell him that she had been rejected in marriage?

Jiang Ruoyao stammered for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.

Jun Jingyan frowned slightly as he looked at the onlookers.

"What exactly happened just now?"

The noble ladies who were watching the spectacle exchanged glances, none of them daring to utter a single word.

joke!

One is the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, and the other is the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister.

Offending either side will only lead to bad consequences!

Surprisingly, there really is someone who isn't afraid of death.

"It was clearly someone who spoke rudely first, then became enraged and tried to assault someone in public, and now they're trying to play the victim and accuse me of the crime!"

who!

Jiang Ruoyao immediately glared at her fiercely.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, he could no longer muster any momentum.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, with a face as radiant as a peach blossom, yet her eyes held a touch of aloofness.

It is none other than the Seventh Princess, Jun Anning!

Jun Jingyan raised an eyebrow slightly: "I was wondering why I couldn't find you. Turns out you'd already arrived ahead of time."

"Heh... If I hadn't come, how would I have been able to see this good show?"

It turned out that Jun Anning was bored in the palace, so she wanted to come out and see what was going on.

Upon arrival, they overheard the noble ladies gossiping about the recent mix-up of brides in the bridal sedan chairs, calling it the biggest joke in the capital.

These people are all contemptuous and bored, gossiping behind people's backs.

They're such a bunch of gossipy women!

She immediately lost interest and went to a quiet pavilion not far away to admire the moon.

As a result, we witnessed Jiang Ruoyao making things difficult for Shen Fu.

She has always disliked such superficial and arrogant people, so naturally she had to step forward to uphold justice.

Upon learning the truth, the man's gaze instantly darkened, and he exuded a terrifying aura of malevolence.

"How dare you insult my people? You're courting death!"

When her lie was completely exposed, Jiang Ruoyao was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground.

Seeing the Second Prince's displeased gaze, filled with obvious disappointment and disgust, she suddenly felt that she might as well be dead.