Chapter Ninety-Four: Point Against Point

Hearing the voices outside the pavilion, everyone turned to look. Beneath the pavilion stood a young lady with a soaring celestial coiffure, dressed in a silver-red skirt and wearing gem-studded bracelets, with several noble-born girls beside her.

Gu Ruoning’s brows drew together slightly. She thought to herself that she would have to be especially guarded today, or else the two sides would be difficult to handle.

“Elder Sister is here as well.”

Smiling, Gu Ruoning stepped forward. She first greeted the young lady at the front, her elder half-sister Gu Ruolan, and then went on to greet the noble girls behind her one by one.

“County Princess Hehui’s gracious presence truly honors me, Ruoning is beyond delighted.” Gu Ruoning curtsied to Zhao Mingyao.

Zhao Mingyao lifted her chin with haughty pride. “Ruolan sent the invitation. I had nothing better to do, so I came. As long as you don’t find me annoying, that’s fine.”

Still smiling, Gu Ruoning said, “The county princess is too kind. Your coming is more than I could hope for.”

Zhao Mingyao did not care whether her words were sincere or not. She nodded to her maid Xiuhua, who stepped forward and handed over the box she had been holding.

“This is a birthday gift from my county princess for Second Miss Gu.”

Gu Ruoning took it and handed it to her maid Qiuxiang. Then she curtsied again. “Thank you, County Princess. You are very considerate.”

After that, the others also presented their gifts one after another.

When Gu Ruolan saw that everyone had finished, she said, “Let’s go sit in the pavilion.”

To someone who did not know better, one might have thought she was the one at the center of attention.

Once they entered the pavilion, An Yan and her group of noble ladies also came over to pay their respects to Zhao Mingyao. There was nothing to be done about it—after all, she was a county princess with an established title and rank.

“Second Sister?” Song Ruwei tugged at her second sister’s sleeve.

Song Ruqi had originally been leaning against the railing. Remembering what Song Ci had said, she muttered an unkind curse under her breath, then strolled over at an unhurried pace and gave Zhao Mingyao a perfunctory curtsy.

“Well, well, Second Miss Song is here too.” Zhao Mingyao raised an eyebrow.

Song Ruqi said with a fake smile that did not reach her eyes, “This is my maternal grandmother’s house. If the county princess can be here, why can’t I?”

Zhao Mingyao was momentarily speechless.

Gu Ruolan hurried forward to smooth things over. “The county princess didn’t mean it that way. She simply didn’t notice Sister Ruqi for a moment.”

Song Ruqi gave her a cool glance, with the air of asking who are you, as if to say no one asked you to explain.

That made Gu Ruolan clench her hands in fury.

“Hm? Aren’t you that little girl from last time who put on such a show of generosity? What was your name again?” Seeing that she could not find fault with Song Ruqi, Zhao Mingyao shifted her target to the Song girl standing beside her.

Song Ruwei: “...”

She only wanted to be an invisible little presence. Why was that so difficult?

“County Princess, my name is Song Ruwei.”

“Right, right.” Zhao Mingyao then said to the noble girls behind her, “You don’t know her, do you? She’s Song Ruqi’s cousin, from her concubine-born uncle’s household. I think she only just came back from Shanxi.”

When the others heard this, a trace of contempt appeared on their faces. So she was only a daughter from a concubine-born branch.

Song Ruwei was always good at reading people’s expressions. How could she fail to see what was written plainly on their faces? Her smile wavered at once, and she looked a little wronged.

Song Ruqi was furious and immediately snapped back, “The county princess is a noble lady with important affairs to attend to, yet you still remember my sister, whom you only met once. I wonder, when you last chose a birthday gift, what exactly did you end up buying for your own concubine-born younger sister? Since you cherish your concubine-born sister so much that you even tried to snatch the flower ornament my sister had her eye on, you must have chosen something both valuable and perfectly to her liking!”

Come then—let us wound each other in turn.

You mock my sister for being the daughter of a concubine-born branch, yet are you not just as fond of your own concubine-born sister, enough even to seize what another girl had taken a liking to?

Zhao Mingyao flew into a rage. “Song Ruqi, you—”

Gu Ruoning’s heart lurched hard. Here it came, here it came—the point and counterpoint had finally met.