My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Chapter 369 Garden Party

After all, it was a palace secret, and even if the aristocratic families knew about it, they dared not discuss it openly.

But life always goes on in a routine.

The second sister continued to work every day, constantly reminding her younger brother of what was happening, but the other side seemed to have no intention of continuing to make a move.

Lai Qian came to the Marquis's residence again, saying that the settlement of the estate was roughly in place and asked Si Muyan to come and take a look.

Si Muyan handed over the management of the household affairs to her younger sister and Aunt Jin, and then she went to visit them.

It must be said that getting things done with money is indeed quite effective; everything on the estate is done according to her plan, meticulously.

Lai Qian said, "I have already discussed this with two wealthy merchants in Kyoto. One is a restaurant and a theater, and the other is an inn. I have also explained to them that the furnishings should be arranged according to our preferences."

"So fast?" Si Muyan nodded. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

Lai Qian scratched his head sheepishly: "They only agreed to my conditions because they knew that the owner behind the estate was the Marquis's Mansion."

"Your contribution is also significant. With you here at the estate, I can rest assured."

Si Muyan decided to stay at the estate for a few days.

The day after she left Kyoto, Du Shangge sent a visiting card and brought a large number of gifts, all of which were little trinkets that children like.

Xiaoxia was overjoyed and wouldn't let go of the gift.

He kept shouting, "Aunt Du is the best."

Du Shangge's heart melted. She kissed Xiaoxia'er's cheek and sighed, "Xiaoxia'er is so good. She doesn't blame her aunt at all. But her aunt feels so guilty. It's all because her aunt was too playful and lost Xiaoxia'er."

The younger sister had someone serve Du Shangge's favorite milk tea and snacks, and said with a smile, "After the Lantern Festival, you've been sending things home every few days. Xiaoxia'er's little storeroom is almost half full of your gifts; it's overflowing."

Du Shangge said, "Even if you moved everything in my yard here, it wouldn't be too much."

The younger sister shook her head helplessly, not saying anything, but just curiously observing her.

She usually prefers to wear short-sleeved shirts with fitted sleeves and trousers for ease of movement, never wearing skirts that restrict her movement, and her hair is always braided. Today, however, she is wearing a long skirt, her hair is up, and she is adorned with a lot of jewelry.

"What's wrong with you today? If you hadn't sent a visiting card, I would have thought you were someone else's daughter."

Du Shangge pouted: "It's all because of my aunt. She said I don't look like a girl and won't be able to find a husband, so she insists I dress like this. Besides, she said I've been in Kyoto for several years and don't have any close sisters except for you guys, so she wants me to make plans to go out with you tomorrow."

The younger sister laughed and said, "I thought it was better to have quality friends than quantity, but the princess is right. It's still good to be a little more sociable, even if it's just pretending."

Du Shangge lay on the table, pouting, "Tomorrow is a banquet hosted by the Left Prime Minister's daughter, is it you going?"

"The Hu family?" The younger sister's eyes darted around, and she lowered her voice, saying, "Consort Rong just lost her child, shouldn't the Hu family be grieving? Why are they setting up this mess?"

Consort Rong is Lord Hu's adopted daughter. Logically speaking, the Hu family wouldn't organize a gathering at this time to take care of Consort Rong's feelings.

But Du Shangge didn't understand any of this. Her trouble was having to stay with those pretentious young ladies, listening to them recite poems, compose couplets, or discuss music and calligraphy.

These are all things she doesn't know how to do.

At most, I could play pitch-pot with her, but looking at all the girls in Kyoto, who could match her accuracy?

The victory was achieved without any real impact.

"Will you come with me? I can't talk to them!" Du Shangge grabbed her younger sister's arm. If her sister said no, she would drag her away right now.

Since it was Princess He Ji who was doing this favor, the younger sister was naturally too embarrassed to refuse. She tapped Du Shangge's nose and agreed.

Miss Hu organized a garden party this time, going to a garden in the capital to play. Just as Du Shangge had said, it was mostly about elegant activities such as guessing riddles, poetry recitals, and playing the zither.

When the younger sister arrived at the garden, it was still early, and there weren't many young ladies there. Du Shangge was not there either.

She was about to go in when she heard a woman's shrill voice coming from not far away.

"That's hilarious. Someone like you can come to the amusement park? If we had known you were here, we wouldn't have come."

The younger sister glanced at the film and recognized the speaker: Zhu Qingtang, a young lady from the Zhu family.

The one who deliberately framed the sisters and caused them to be scratched by monkeys in the hunting grounds was Zhu Qingwei, Zhu Qingtang's half-sister.

She remembered that Zhu Qingtang had a bad temper, wasn't very bright, and always liked to follow Zuo Xiangwan around.

In comparison, although Zuo Xiangwan was arrogant and looked down on everyone equally, she wasn't the type to cause trouble. Sometimes, when the noble ladies were together, if Zhu Qingtang had a conflict with one of them, Zuo Xiangwan would mediate and take her away.

Now that Zuo Xiangwan is no longer in charge, Zhu Qingtang is back to making things difficult for people?

I don't want to cause trouble, but I'm curious who Zhu Qingtang is cursing.

"Your sister is shameless, blaming others and causing Princess Zhao Ning to remain unconscious, and even causing Young Master Feng to break his leg! You and your sister are siblings from the same mother and have been together since childhood. If your sister is that kind of person, then you are obviously no good either!"

It turns out they were referring to Gui Shan.

Gui Shan was stopped and humiliated, her face drained of color, but she did not back down. She calmly said, "Miss Zhu, my sister suffered a mental breakdown after being traumatized, which is why she did those things. My father and uncle resigned from their official posts because of this, and the Princess's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion have also testified on our behalf. I don't know why Miss Zhu is still bothering us?"

"What a joke! We all know the truth! Besides, even if your sister has gone mad, who knows if you might go mad yourself today? Or if we might be in danger too?"

The ladies around Zhu Qingtang also covered their mouths and laughed.

"That's right. The younger sister has mental illness, so it doesn't make sense that the older sister is normal."

"We'd better stay away, lest we end up like Princess Zhao Ning, suffering innocent harm!"

Gui Shan took a deep breath. She really didn't want to argue with them, but they blocked her way, so she had no choice but to stand against them.

Just when I was at my wit's end, I heard applause from the side.

The younger sister walked over, laughing and clapping, saying, "What a show!"

Zhu Qingtang frowned upon seeing that it was her younger sister. Because of the Si family, their Zhu family had been stripped of their titles and demoted, suffering a severe blow.

However, the Si family was deeply favored by the Emperor, so she had no choice but to avoid their sharp edge.

However, the second young lady of the Si family was also troubled by rumors because of Gui Yuan.

The younger sister continued, "After listening to Miss Zhu's remarks, I wholeheartedly agree. I imagine that the older sister will be just as good as the younger sister."

Gui Shan was taken aback. She privately thought that even if she and Si Muwan weren't exactly best friends, they still had some connection. Si Muwan wouldn't offend someone for such a small relationship, but she also wouldn't kick someone when they were down.

how……