Feng Mingzhu helped Chu Qianli to walk.
She accidentally bumped into Chu Qianli's shoulder.
Chu Qianli immediately winced in pain.
"Is your shoulder injured?" Feng Mingzhu was startled.
Chu Qianli nodded, "My bone is broken."
"Heavens! I just saw Yu Linglong hit that very spot on your shoulder!"
Looking at Chu Qianli's face, which had turned instantly pale from the pain, Feng Mingzhu gritted her teeth in anger.
"That wicked woman Yu Linglong is truly evil! She did it on purpose!"
Of course, it was on purpose. Chu Qianli knew how wicked Yu Linglong was better than anyone.
However, she wasn't keen on speaking ill of others behind their backs.
There was no need.
She would just beat her back once she recovered.
At any time, fists were more effective than tongues!
... Feng Mingzhu brought Chu Qianli to the banquet.
As soon as they arrived, Feng Mingzhu was pulled away by a group of girls to catch up.
Chu Qianli walked into the venue alone. Wherever she went, curious glances followed.
In fact, the original owner rarely attended such banquets.
Firstly, she had no literary talent, and every time she attended a banquet, she would be ridiculed.
Secondly, Chu Huaiyu always stole the spotlight, and over time, the original owner became reluctant to attend.
But tonight, the Empress had issued an oral decree, insisting that all unmarried young ladies from the Duke's mansion attend.
And she, the formerly "divorced" Princess of Xuan, was now considered a single young lady.
In ancient times, divorced women were actually looked down upon. The Empress, for some unknown reason, insisted on inviting her.
The young ladies of the Duke's mansion sat together.
Chu Qianli didn't know where to go, so she thought of finding an empty seat to sit down.
However, before she could sit down, her steps were blocked by several voices:
"Oh, isn't this the seventh young lady of the Duke's mansion... no, the fifth young lady!"
"That's not right, she has another identity, she's the abandoned consort of Prince Xuan."
"An abandoned consort is no longer a consort. Now that she's single again, she considers herself a young lady. Otherwise, why would she attend a banquet specifically for unmarried young ladies invited by the Empress?"
"Exactly. She considers herself a young lady. I've never seen someone so shameless."
"She doesn't expect to sit with us, does she?"
When someone raised the question, the others immediately looked disgusted.
"No way, a divorced woman wants to sit with us? Doesn't she even consider if she's qualified!"
"If she touches this chair, we can't sit on it. What if we bring bad luck upon ourselves?"
"Exactly. If we sit with her, how will others see us? They'll probably think we're like her."
"Sister, hurry up and chase her away. I don't want to sit with her, she's disgusting!"
Several young ladies stared at her.
The leader walked up to Chu Qianli, her face darkened, and said, "Get lost! This is not a place for you to sit!"
A young lady beside her rushed forward and kicked over her chair.
"This chair has been touched by this abandoned woman, it's unlucky! Someone, carry this chair away and throw it away for me!"
Chu Qianli didn't know which official's daughter this was, but she seemed to have quite an air about her.
She probably came from a distinguished family.
As a young lady of the Duke's mansion, her status in the palace had clearly declined due to the Duke's serious illness.
Not to mention Chu Qianli, even the young ladies of the Duke's mansion were assigned seats in a more obscure location.
From the memories left by the original owner for Chu Qianli, when her grandfather was healthy and strong, the young ladies of their mansion would always have eye-catching seats at any banquet.
When one is down, everyone pushes.
Once the Duke fell, Chu Hongtao, a mere Grand Tutor, had little status in the court.
A group of young ladies surrounded Chu Qianli, each with a mocking smile on their lips.
Chu Qianli pursed her lips, unconcerned, and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, the young lady who had kicked over the chair rushed directly in front of her.
"You want to leave after dirtying my place? It's not that easy!"
"Then what do you want?" Chu Qianli had just been injured, and her shoulder still ached terribly.
She didn't want to deal with these spoiled and willful young ladies.
She just wanted to leave quickly after the Empress arrived.
Consider the task completed.
But the young lady in front of her clearly didn't want to let her go easily: "I want you to kneel down and apologize to me!"
The surrounding people immediately fell silent.
They watched Chu Qianli, giggling.
Prince Xuan was a peerless handsome man that over ninety percent of the young ladies in the imperial city wanted to marry!
This Chu Qianli dared to monopolize him and marry him.
Even though she was divorced now, she had been close to Prince Xuan, making her everyone's enemy!
Seeing Chu Qianli being bullied, who wouldn't feel pleased?
"Why aren't you kneeling down quickly?" the young lady said, glancing at Chu Qianli with an arrogant expression.
"Your Duke's mansion's status is precarious now. If you anger me, I'll go back and complain to my father, and your Duke's mansion will be in trouble!"
Chu Qianli still pursed her lips and looked at her calmly, "Then, may I know who your father is, Miss?"
"She is the daughter of the Minister of War, Miss Mo Rushan. Her grandfather is the Prime Minister!"
The young ladies beside her seemed to be fawning over the Minister's daughter, showing off their connections.
"You abandoned woman, how dare you disrespect Miss Rushan? Why don't you quickly kneel and beg for mercy?"
"Fine, tomorrow I will have my grandfather write a letter to ask the Emperor what crime I have committed that requires me to kneel and beg Miss Mo."
"You!" Mo Rushan glared at her, but her mind was already contemplating Chu Qianli's words.
Wasn't the Duke seriously ill and unconscious, his life hanging by a thread?
Everyone in the court was discussing that the Duke was bound to die this time, and the Duke's mansion would not be able to recover.
How could Chu Qianli still obtain a personal letter from the Duke?
She was probably just trying to scare her!
Mo Rushan's face darkened, and she said angrily, "You dare to scare me! Guards, seize this abandoned woman! I want to see her kneel and beg for mercy!"
At Mo Rushan's command, two maids quickly stepped forward.
One on each side, their fingers formed claws as they attempted to grab Chu Qianli.
These two maids were not weak in martial arts!
Just as Chu Qianli was about to defend herself, she couldn't help but feel the qi in her chest, injured by Feng Yexuan's internal energy, suddenly become chaotic as she tried to gather her strength.
As her qi became disordered, her arm suddenly felt weak.
The injury on her shoulder felt like burning fire.
She could no longer exert any strength!
The two maids firmly grasped her shoulder. Chu Qianli's face turned pale from the pain, and she almost lost her balance.
Seeing this, Mo Rushan's face lit up with joy!
"So your shoulder is injured? That's great!"
The smile on her lips instantly vanished, and her expression turned ferocious.
"Relying on your good looks to scheme against Prince Xuan? Once I scratch your face, let's see what ability you have to seduce men!"
She raised her hand, her sharp fingernails slashing fiercely towards Chu Qianli's face...