The season was serene, with a genial springtime scene—precisely the time in the second lunar month when nature awakens. The spring garden party at the residence of the Duke of Qi was a scene of bustling activity.
By the gurgling streams, amidst the lush vitality of the distant spring, the young ladies from noble families, radiant as a bed of flowers in bloom, had gathered by the willow-fringed pavilion overlooking the pond. They were sipping tea, listening to the zither, and engaging in light conversation and laughter.
"Is that Nie Xiangyi? What is she doing here?"
Whispers,mingling with the gentle strains of the zither, reached their ears as curious glances fell upon a distracted young maiden not far away.
The girl under their scrutiny sat with her chin propped in her hand, seemingly gazing in abstraction at the blooming peach blossoms by the waterside pavilion.
In contrast to the delicate, refined beauty currently favored in the capital, Nie Xiangyi's loveliness was strikingly bold and utterly captivating—a beauty without equal.
Her skin was like white jade, her features exquisitely painted. Particularly striking were her slightly upturned, cat-like eyes, lively and sparkling. A tiny red mole at the tip of her small, delicate nose added an indescribable touch of lazy charm.
"I heard Nie Xiangyi was confined to her home by the Marquis of Yongyi for offending the Lady Mother?"
As someone spoke,she gently nudged the arm of a graceful girl beside her, "Yuanwei, how did she get released?"
The girl addressed bore some resemblance in features to Nie Xiangyi not far away.
However,compared to Nie Xiangyi's dazzling brilliance, Nie Yuanwei appeared more delicate and elegant, her every movement considerably more dignified, possessing the composed demeanor befitting a noble lady.
She offered the group a soft, tight-lipped smile, a note of helplessness in her voice, "Elder Sister holds a distinguished status. How could Father bear to confine her for long?"
With these words, everyone understood.
It wasn't so much that he couldn't bear it,but that he didn't dare.
Everyone knew that the current Yongyi Marquis Nie household was a dilapidated noble family, possessing only an empty title.
However,Nie Xiangyi's late mother, the former primary wife of the Marquis, had been the most beloved daughter of the General of Anxi.
After the Lady of Yongyi passed away in her prime, the General of Anxi, pitying Nie Xiangyi for losing her mother so young, took her back to Shanzhou to raise her personally, indulging her greatly.
Thus, she was spoiled into a willful and unbridled temperament, quite different from the other noble young ladies of the capital.
"So that's Nie Xiangyi?"
Suddenly,a girl with refined and elegant features cast her gaze upon Nie Xiangyi, looking her up and down with disdain, "Indeed, she looks rather brazen."
Her voice was just loud enough to reach Nie Xiangyi's ears.
Nie Xiangyi finally turned towards the sound and recognized the girl as Miss Pei Lang of the Pei family.
The Pei family was a renowned lineage of scholar-officials in the capital.Pei Lang's grandfather was a Grand Master of the Palace with the Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon, having once been the teacher of the current Emperor and now instructing the Imperial Princes, wielding significant prestige at court.
Sure enough, someone chimed in, "Isn't it so? She's utterly audacious! The most ill-tempered and willful of all—just ask Yuanwei!"
Seeing herself brought into the conversation again, Nie Yuanwei looked as if she found it difficult to speak, merely offering a bitter smile and remaining silent.
"No need to ask her," another added, "In the capital, I'm afraid she's already notorious. The other day, at the welcome banquet for her return, she publicly praised the Fifth Young Master of the Wang family for his handsome looks, making him blush crimson!"
"Not just that! A few days ago, at the literary gathering, she caught sight of the Third Prince and went chasing after him with single-minded fervor."
At the mention of the Third Prince, the girls' eyes widened.
The Third Prince they referred to was the current Third Imperial Prince,Xie Zhi, son of the Noble Consort. He was as elegant as a jade tree in a forest of fine trees, with a divine, lofty purity, akin to the cold moon in the sky—the most aloof and dignified.
Many noble young ladies in the capital admired him.
Someone asked curiously, "Did the Third Prince blush too?"
"How could he? The Third Prince is the epitome of self-restraint and propriety; he paid her no mind at all. It was Nie Xiangyi who ended up tripping and falling, returning home with her skirts soiled."
The crowd couldn't help but sigh, "How utterly shameless, without a trace of a maiden's modesty. As if she's afraid people don't know she returned to the capital to seek a marriage arrangement."
Their tones were laced with scorn.
"Who dares to cross her? Her maternal grandfather holds great power and dotes on her excessively."
Someone clicked her tongue, "She's so ill-mannered and frivolous, with such a spoiled, willful temperament. Even the Lady of Yongyi can't control her! Here! Yuanwei herself told me that just the other day, she made the Lady so angry she took to her bed."
Nie Yuanwei still only offered an awkward smile and remained silent.
All these discussions, bit by bit, found their way into Nie Xiangyi's ears.
She had always been a bold character. Hearing such commentary on her character, she couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"So, the esteemed gatherings of the capital are no different from the street markets. With all this chatter, I thought it was village gossips exchanging idle talk."
Her voice was lively and light, and even such sarcastic words sounded playful and mischievous when she said them, as if she were merely jesting.
She covered her mouth with a tinkling laugh, not concealing the contempt in her tone in the slightest.
It only made her seem all the more disagreeable.
Hearing her sarcastic remark, the others' expressions changed.
Nie Yuanwei's face also shifted slightly. She stepped forward with a gentle smile to smooth things over, "Elder Sister, please don't be angry. The young ladies are merely unfamiliar with you and spoke a few extra words. They meant no harm."
Her words prompted a light laugh from Pei Lang, who said meaningfully, "Indeed. We've only ever heard of Yuanwei as the Eldest Young Lady of the Nie family. How is it that suddenly, out of nowhere, there's another Nie Eldest Young Lady? It rather confuses us."
Nie Xiangyi couldn't miss the sarcasm in her tone and rose to the challenge.
"Naturally, you wouldn't know. I am the legitimate daughter born of the primary wife of the Marquis of Yongyi. I've simply not lived in the capital all along."
She lifted her chin and glanced disdainfully at Pei Lang and Nie Yuanwei, emitting a light snort from her nose, full of arrogance and pride, like a kitten puffing out its chest.
"When my mother was still alive, the Second Young Lady's mother was merely a concubine."
Among sisters, it was customary to use affectionate pet names. Her use of "Second Young Lady" here and her public reminder of Nie Yuanwei's mother's status as a secondary wife was undoubtedly a slap in the face.
The composure on Nie Yuanwei's dignified and gentle face stiffened. She lowered her head slightly, using her handkerchief to cover her embarrassment.
Nie Xiangyi couldn't be bothered to waste more words on them.
She had just returned to the capital from Shanzhou and was unfamiliar with these noble young ladies. Only the wife of the heir to the Duke's household, Zhong Lingyu, was her cousin and knew her well.
But her cousin had been called away to attend to important guests in the front courtyard, leaving Nie Xiangyi alone.
Today, at her cousin's residence, she couldn't cause unnecessary trouble for her.
So, Nie Xiangyi simply stood up by herself and walked to the far edge of the pavilion. She reached out and broke off a branch from an elegantly slanted peach tree limb, holding it in her hand to admire, ignoring the others.
It was a scene of spring trees in glorious bloom. Seeing the gorgeous petals, a few noble young ladies, hand in hand, rose and approached the pavilion's edge, looking up to admire the clusters of peach blossoms.
"The color of Eldest Young Lady Nie's attire today rather matches these peach blossoms."
Though she sought distance, someone wouldn't let her off, scrutinizing her clothing again.
Though the words sounded complimentary, there was an undeniable sarcastic undertone.
Today, she wore a peach-pink, gold-sprinkled pleated gown with horse-face skirt panels, which accentuated her slender yet curvaceous figure and skin like congealed cream, making her resemble the radiant peach blossoms. Holding a peach branch in her hand complemented the effect perfectly, as if she were a fairy from a painting.
She glanced down at her skirt, finding nothing amiss.
Pei Lang, standing nearby, heard the comment and scoffed lightly, following the girl's lead, "It's merely a garish person matching garish flowers, needlessly spoiling the elegance of this pavilion."
She walked gracefully closer to Nie Xiangyi, glanced at the peach blossom, and covered her mouth with a laugh, "Eldest Young Lady Nie's flamboyant peach-red color is like something a country girl would wear to a village fair."
Her tone was mocking, her expression contemptuous.
Returning the sarcasm Nie Xiangyi had earlier directed at them about"village gossips."
After these words, the surrounding young ladies couldn't help but cover their mouths and titter.
Even Nie Yuanwei couldn't suppress a slight upturn of her lips, though she seemed to think it improper and quickly hid it behind her handkerchief.
"How elegant you are!" Nie Xiangyi retorted sharply.
Having been spoiled by her grandfather into a willful and headstrong nature, she was unwilling to swallow this unjust provocation after being repeatedly targeted and not let off the hook.
Holding the peach blossom, she narrowed her cat-like eyes slightly and looked Pei Lang up and down with her customary haughty gaze, emitting a derisive snort.
"Dressed so plainly, it's as if you're in mourning for a family funeral!"
The esteemed scholarly families of the capital traditionally favored a delicate, refined beauty, disdaining bright, dazzling colors.
Most of the noble young ladies present, striving for an elegant grace akin to "azure robes sweeping the ground," wore light, subtle colors like moon-white or pale green. Even their hair ornaments were mostly made of jadeite.
Nie Xiangyi's comment about "mourning" caused everyone's expressions to change.
"You!"
Pei Lang was rendered speechless by this retort. Clenching her handkerchief tightly, she glared at Nie Xiangyi for a long moment before finally saying indignantly, "Exactly as the rumors say! Ill-tempered, arrogant, unruly, and utterly vulgar!"
Nie Xiangyi merely lifted her chin proudly, glanced at her, and snorted.
Seeing her so audacious, the others gossiped even more.
"How utterly rude! To speak of mourning and such curses so casually!"
"They're both Nie family young ladies. How is the Second Young Lady so dignified and polite? Could it be that the Lady of the Marquis household never taught her manners?"
Hearing this, Nie Yuanwei gave an embarrassed smile, even showing a somewhat troubled expression, "Mother she... Elder Sister's status is ultimately different from mine..."
Her tone actually revealed a hint of unspoken grievance.
"How could the Lady of the Marquis household teach her?" Pei Lang snorted coldly, "I'm afraid even her own birth mother failed to teach her properly. The flaw lies at the very root."
Nie Xiangyi's face suddenly turned cold, "What did you say?"
She abruptly threw the peach branch in her hand into the pond, letting it drift away with the current. Then she stepped closer to Pei Lang, her upturned eyes darkening slightly, carrying a sharp, fierce intensity.
Pei Lang felt a tremor of fear under that gaze, inexplicably sensing a压迫感 from her eyes.
But, unwilling to show weakness, she looked at Nie Xiangyi advancing on her and scoffed, "What? Do you intend to strike me? Truly, a long stay in the borderlands has tainted you with barbaric customs."
No sooner had her words fallen than a tremendous force shoved her hard on the shoulder.
"And what if I do?"
Pei Lang staggered back two steps, and only with the support of her maid beside her did she manage to stop awkwardly at the edge of the pavilion.
Astonished that Nie Xiangyi actually dared to lay hands on someone, the noble young ladies stared wide-eyed, momentarily at a loss.
Only Nie Yuanwei pressed her lips together slightly and went forward with the others to offer soothing words.
As soon as Pei Lang steadied herself at the pavilion's edge, Nie Xiangyi's slender, jade-like finger was pointing right at the tip of her nose.
"Spout nonsense again, and I'll rip your mouth shut! See if I don't!"
"You!"
Nie Xiangyi stared coldly at the mix of shock and anger on Pei Lang's pretty face, shot her a sidelong glance, and, not wishing to entangle herself further with them, turned to leave.
But before she could fully turn around, a forceful shove from behind, from who-knows-who, pushed her hard in the back.
Losing her balance, she lurched forward uncontrollably towards Pei Lang.
Pei Lang was already at the pavilion's edge and hadn't yet recovered her composure. Knocked into by Nie Xiangyi, her feet caught on the low railing of the pavilion.
With a loud "splash," cries of alarm erupted around Nie Xiangyi, and for a moment, there was chaos.
Water sprayed everywhere in an instant.
Pei Lang had fallen into the water.
The young ladies panicked and shouted, "Oh no! Miss Nie pushed Miss Pei Lang into the water!"
Servants in the residence, seeing this, jumped into the pond to rescue her.
The incident was sudden. Nie Xiangyi stood wide-eyed at the pavilion's edge, watching the suddenly submerged Pei Lang, her cat-like eyes showing a hint of bewilderment as she instinctively reached out to pull her.
Hearing their accusations, she gritted her teeth, "I didn't push her! Someone..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Nie Xiangyi heard the flustered sounds of people saluting behind her.
"Your Highness, Third Prince."