Liu Niang was stunned, then realized these people were on her side and became smug. "Your Highness, why have you summoned these people? Do you want to hear those words again?"
As she spoke, she noticed Madam Li and the maid were not looking at her, but at Lan Yan, and felt a little flustered.
Lan Yan ignored Liu Niang's words and said to the people below, "Tell them what happened."
The maid knelt down, took out a bag of silver from her embrace, and shouted, "Your Highness, Liu Niang gave me a bag of silver and told me to spread rumors about you!"
She had truly resented the Princess when she was punished, but she feared the Princess even more. Sister Xia Lian and Nanny Qin were both the Princess's people, and she dared not cause trouble within the mansion.
"You, you're lying!" Liu Niang's eyes widened as she roared, "You were jealous of the Princess and told me these things about the Princess." Her chest pounded; the maid had clearly not been like this before.
Besides, other maids in the mansion were also spreading rumors!
In a panic, she pointed at Madam Li, "Madam Li, you are the Princess's mother, your words are the most convincing."
Madam Li looked at Liu Niang's eyes without flinching, but with a hint of determination, "I can testify that the Princess did not do those things. I know my daughter best."
"What!" Liu Niang had thought she had persuaded Madam Li earlier, but she hadn't expected it to be a ruse. Madam Li had never believed her! "You mother and daughter!"
Lan Yan smiled, "My daughter and I are of one heart, so we naturally know what you are trying to do." For Madam Li to have survived under Madam Lan for so many years and raised two children, she could not be a weak woman!
The blame lay with Liu Niang for being too blindly confident.
Liu Niang was startled and took two steps back in a panic. She looked at Lan Yan at the forefront, feeling as if she had been seen through. What should she do now!
Lan Yan said coldly, "Liu Niang has disrupted the peace of the mansion and maliciously harmed the relationship between the Princess and the Prince. She is to be expelled from the Prince's mansion."
"No, I am from the palace."
Lan Yan sneered, "Have you forgotten that you have been bestowed to the Prince's mansion and are thus a person of the Prince's mansion? Do you think you are greater than this Princess, greater than the Prince!"
At this, Liu Niang was speechless and stood frozen in place. https:/
She was dragged away and, upon reaching the门口, encountered Jun Yelan. "Your Highness!"
Jun Yelan did not even look at her and ordered, "Liu Niang has wantonly insulted the Princess and spread rumors about her. She is to be beaten thirty times and slapped thirty times! She should be left barely alive and thrown out of the palace gates."
"Tell the Noble Consort that if there is a next time, this will be the fate of her beloved eldest Prince." He, Jun Yelan, was never one to be easily bullied; he had only been enduring.
Liu Niang trembled all over, her lips and hands shaking, and was taken away in a sorry state.
Jun Yelan walked into the front hall and looked at Lan Yan, who was walking towards him, his lips curling upwards. Seeing Lan Yan's expression, he knew what she wanted and said with a smile, "You did very well."
"Hehe, it's just right to let those people know that we are not to be trifled with." Lan Yan stepped forward with a smile, pushed Jun Yelan's wheelchair, and they went to have breakfast together.
The people still in the front hall murmured, "The Princess turns from a tiger into a kitten when she sees the Prince. The Prince has also become so gentle." They all sighed.
Back in the palace, Liu Niang lay on the ground, covering her face and crying, "Noble Consort, you must stand up for me. This Third Prince's consort is too much, she doesn't give Your Ladyship any face at all."
"She didn't hit me, she was hitting Your Ladyship through me." Tears and snot streamed down her face as she looked pitifully at the Noble Consort seated on the high seat.
The Noble Consort's fingernails were painted with bright red henna. She angrily grabbed the nearby teacup and smashed it to the ground. Looking at the shards on the floor, they were particularly glaring.
"You scoundrel, how dare you bully my person like this! If I don't teach her a good lesson, where will my dignity be!" She was already vexed by the appearance of a new beautiful consort in the palace.
That beautiful consort's appearance and temperament were very similar to the deceased Consort Shu, which angered her even more.
Beside her sat another person, the eldest Prince. "Mother Consort, don't worry. She's just a concubine born of a low rank. We can't make a move in the Prince's mansion, but what about elsewhere!"
The Noble Consort narrowed her eyes and looked at the eldest Prince with satisfaction. "You mean in the palace."
"Grandmother Empress's birthday is approaching, and the Emperor will hold a grand event. At that time, Jun Yelan and Lan Yan will have to attend. Under our noses, where can they escape."
The eldest Prince smiled, "Mother Consort, this palace is your domain, and you naturally have a plan to deal with her." The Emperor had not established an Empress for so many years, reportedly due to a fortune teller's words, which gave them an opportunity.
The Noble Consort smiled smugly, "My son is truly clever." With such a capable son, how could Consort Shu's son possibly be a match for him. Consort Shu was the only naive one in the palace, truly falling in love with the Emperor, resulting in the execution of her entire clan.
"Hahaha!" In the end, it was she who survived, and she was the highest-ranking woman in the palace!
The eldest Prince also laughed along.
Only Liu Niang shivered again. After this, it would be the masters' business; it had nothing to do with her. She was dragged to the maids' quarters, with no one to care for or treat her injuries.
In the Prince's mansion, Lan Yan received news from the palace and murmured, "The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, and the Prince and I have to go?" She remembered the Prince didn't usually have to go.
Jun Yelan said from the side, "I got married this year, so by rights, I should go to the palace. This palace is filthy, and it's the place I detest the most. When we go the day after tomorrow, stay close to me, don't get lost."
Lan Yan leaned against Jun Yelan's wheelchair and couldn't help but laugh, "Your Highness, I'm not a child, I'll follow you. When the time comes, we'll make a stunning appearance and make those who mocked us bow their heads."
Speaking of this, she had already moved three or four outfits from the wardrobe and was holding them up against Jun Yelan. "Your Highness, this white is too plain, not suitable. Red is too flamboyant, and black is too dull. Let's go with this green one inside."
Jun Yelan nodded with a smile, "As you say." Actually, any of them would do, but seeing Lan Yan fussing, he couldn't help but choose along. He remembered he liked green.
After selecting Jun Yelan's clothes, Lan Yan picked a blue one, which matched the green perfectly. She then took the clothes outside the screen, intending to try them on.
Jun Yelan was outside the screen and could vaguely see a figure. His Adam's apple moved, and the thought of Lan Yan changing clothes inside made his ears turn red.
He quickly turned around, diverting his gaze, trying to cool down the heat in his body.
"Ah! What was that!" Lan Yan's startled cry came from behind, and Jun Yelan quickly pushed his wheelchair over. He arrived on the other side of the screen, and what met his eyes was a bug on the ground, and Lan Yan's fair shoulders and forearms.
The heat in his body rose again.