Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 61 Making Things Difficult

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Making Things Difficult

The eldest princess, Yuwen Huazhen, wore a deep purple palace gown. Her features carried a heroic quality, and her voice was frank and lively. "Mother Empress, your daughter, along with Feng Wan and Feng Shu, are considered the three beauties of Ningzhou. How could we possibly forget?"

These words amused Emperor Jianming, who chuckled, "The bond you share from childhood is strong. If you miss them in the future, you can summon them to the palace often to keep you company."

"Thank you, Father Emperor. Your daughter was just thinking the same." Princess Huazhen replied.

Feng Wan felt the weight of Emperor Jianming’s gaze, her palms sweating from nerves. A royal summons could not be declined. In such settings, Fengyu behaved like a quail; if her name wasn’t called, she wouldn’t utter a single word.

The Crown Prince looked at Fengyu, a fleeting shadow passing through his eyes as he drank in silence. The Third Prince stared at Fengyu and Feng Ling, asking, "Which one is Fengyu?"

Fengyu turned to the Third Prince and curtsied, "This humble daughter, Fengyu, greets the Third Prince."

"So the little snot-nosed crybaby turned into a great beauty?" The Third Prince blurted out in a mix of surprise and admiration, his eyes fixed on Fengyu. "Back when we left Ningzhou, you chased my carriage while crying incessantly for a whole mile. I didn’t expect you to have grown up like this."

Xie Xun, standing nearby, heard every word clearly and smirked derisively. A girl crying while chasing a carriage? Fengyu?

Fengyu maintained her composure. "This humble daughter was too young then and does not recall."

The Empress laughed and said, "Old Third always had the best relationship with the Third Miss of the Feng Family. She used to chase him around calling him ’Brother,’ refusing to take her medicine unless Old Third coaxed her into it."

The nearby madams stifled ambiguous smiles upon hearing this remark. The Marchioness Zhenbei’s face darkened slightly. She thought to herself: Before the banquet, though the Empress hadn’t entered the hall proper, she must have seen the Third Miss and decided to support her. This was undoubtedly intentional—a calculated attempt to humiliate the Third Miss and, in turn, disgrace the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion.

Feng Wan also picked up on the daggers hidden behind the Empress’s smile. Breaking out in a cold sweat, her tense body trembled slightly. The divide between sovereign and subject was akin to an unbridgeable chasm. Even in the face of insults, there was no room for rebuttal.

"Born with such a fox-like face—it’s no wonder she’s so alluring."

"As they say, you can see their character by age three. No wonder she’s earned herself such a reputation in the capital."

Lin Xiao felt a pang of bitterness. So Fengyu and the Third Prince were childhood companions who once shared innocent affection. No wonder the Third Prince was staring at her the entire time.

Fengyu already carried a poor reputation in the capital. By reintroducing her childhood association with the Third Prince, the Empress appeared to be drawing her closer, but it was, in reality, another veiled humiliation. Fengyu understood her position as a chess piece. The Empress’s real target for disgrace was the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion—if one sister’s reputation was irreparable, could the other’s truly be pristine?

The Marchioness was just about to speak when Xie Xun poured her a cup of fruit wine, his tone icily commanding, "Mother, drink your wine."

Fengyu spoke softly yet composedly, "This humble daughter recalls that when I was three, the Empress brought the Crown Prince and two Princes to visit our home. Because the two mansions were close, the Empress said that my sisters and I could treat the Princes as elder brothers and play together on normal days. Being unfamiliar with Ningzhou at the time, we were grateful for their warm hospitality. My elder brother was often studying in the private academy, and I took the Empress’s words quite literally, treating the Princes as elder brothers. I can only blame my childish ignorance and failure to recognize the boundaries, which led to such unwitting silliness. Being frail from an early age, my memories are scattered. I cannot recall anything the Empress mentions from when I was four, but I feel deeply ashamed that the Empress still remembers."

The smile on the Empress’s face stiffened slightly; she hadn’t anticipated that the once-quiet and overlooked little girl who trailed behind Feng Shu would display such eloquence now. Her measured words framed youthful folly as mere innocence and emphasized the sibling-like bond of past interactions.

Inwardly displeased, the Empress thought to herself: so sharp-tongued and quick-witted, able to hold her ground even on her first audience with the Emperor. It seemed she had underestimated Fengyu.

Consort Xie hid a smile behind her sleeve and remarked, "For children who played so well together, it’s amusing that the Third Prince didn’t even recognize Miss Feng San now. It proves that relationships endure over time. As for Miss Feng San herself, her beauty stuns all. She must’ve been adorable and ethereal as a child. Who wouldn’t have adored her? Even I can’t help but feel fond of her."

The Third Prince, oblivious to the verbal sparring between the Empress and Consort Xie, reminisced about carefree days. He fondly recalled taking Fengyu and Feng Ling on mischief-filled outings and bragging to his peers about his two fairy-like "little sisters."

"Fengyu was always so irresistibly cute. The neighborhood kids all loved playing with her. I once fought Commander Li’s eldest son over who could buy her candied hawthorn sticks." The Third Prince’s tone turned lighthearted.

The Empress exhaled deeply, her gaze toward the Third Prince filled with frustration. Yet the Third Prince was entirely immersed in staring at Fengyu and Feng Ling. During his youth, he favored Fengyu more—Feng Ling had a bit of a temper, whereas Fengyu was meek and obedient. Who wouldn’t like an affectionate and well-behaved "little sister?"

Xie Xun knew full well that Fengyu required no one’s protection; she could handle herself gracefully under pressure. If the Marchioness intervened on her behalf, Fengyu’s situation would have only worsened. The Empress viewed her as a pawn, but she didn’t realize that Fengyu was a pawn that didn’t abide by orders.

Duchess Marquis An Yuan sighed, "Had I known Ayu and Jiang Yang’s marriage would face such complications, I would’ve delayed my eldest son’s betrothal for another year. A daughter raised by Old Mrs. Feng—truly the model of a noble family’s ideal daughter-in-law."

Marquis An Yuan asked tentatively, "To be matched with Er Lang then?"

The Duchess’s face darkened, "What part of him is worthy of Ayu?"

Princess Xue Lan lowered her head with a faint laugh. An Yuan hurried to placate his wife, not daring to press further.

The Empress returned to pleasantries while Feng Wan, as the eldest sister, responded to each question formally. Fengyu reverted to the demeanor of a silent quail. The Empress’s gaze lingered on the top of Fengyu’s head, her smile indistinct yet disinterested. She gave up probing further and rewarded each Feng sister with a jade hairpin, allowing them to return to their seats under Feng Wan’s lead.

Fengyu noticed a barely discernible gaze directed her way. Glancing up, she found it belonged to the Crown Princess Consort, Lin Yushu. Her bulging abdomen stood in stark contrast to her pale and angular features, but her strikingly beautiful eyes caught Fengyu’s attention. Surprised by Fengyu’s audacity in meeting her gaze, Lin Yushu smiled. The Crown Prince noticed the exchange and also glanced over, but remained silent. Fengyu, however, felt a peculiar tension in the air.

From afar, Feng Changlin and the First Madam couldn’t hear the palace conversation clearly. Seeing that the daughters had returned with imperial gifts, the First Madam felt relieved yet wistful. When Emperor Jianming had been based in Ningzhou, his status was low, and the Empress’s family was not illustrious either. Back then, the Feng Family had been close to the Imperial family, with children playing together and frequent visits that made the women like sisters. The First Madam, whose lineage was even more distinguished than the Empress’s, had felt a kinship as fellow sufferers of circumstance in Ningzhou. But when the Emperor rose to power, the Empress’s attitude shifted, opening an ever-increasing distance. The First Madam had once harbored hope of renewing their closeness in the palace, yet even at the Imperial banquet, she hadn’t had a single word of conversation with the Empress. This realization left her wistful and melancholic. Life’s fortunes, she mused, remain uncertain until one’s final moments.

Twice now, Fengyu had drawn attention during the palace banquet. She dared not risk standing out again. It was as if the heavens had heard her prayer as the Emperor’s soon-to-be-announced betrothal decree became the focal point of the evening.