After Princess Qingyang finished speaking, Lady Wei was already trembling uncontrollably. Looking at Princess Qingyang in front of me, my heart was filled with mixed emotions. I never expected that someone who appeared to be around the same age as me would be so formidable. With just a few words, Princess Qingyang silenced Lady Wei, who was always eloquent, leaving her unable to utter a word.

As if sensing my gaze, Princess Qingyang smiled at me, and then she signaled to the maid behind her. The maid quickly came forward and refilled my tea. I suppressed all the questions in my mind and picked up the tea cup in front of me, drinking the tea in one gulp.

Having dealt with Lady Wei, Princess Qingyang turned her gaze to Yu Zhu and asked with great interest, "You must be the talented young lady from the Shangshu Mansion who excels in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Do you have any objections to this princess's decision?" Caught off guard by Princess Qingyang mentioning her name, Yu Zhu trembled slightly and accidentally dropped the pastry in her hand. She quickly stood up from her seat and respectfully bowed to Princess Qingyang, saying, "Princess, your wisdom is unmatched. This humble servant has no objections."

After she finished speaking, Princess Qingyang, who was sitting beside me, suddenly burst into laughter. After laughing, she reached out and grabbed the teacup in front of her and smashed it towards Yu Zhu, saying, "So, you are Yu Zhu. You have such audacity, yet you don't kneel down." Along with the princess's words, not only me, but almost everyone present focused their gaze on Princess Qingyang. I don't know if it's an illusion, but I even felt a pair of eyes from behind the bright yellow curtain looking over. However, the feeling disappeared in an instant. I knew that almost everyone didn't understand what mistake Yu Zhu had made. For a while, the whole Chongyang Terrace became terrifyingly quiet, as if everyone was waiting for the princess to provide an answer.

Princess Qingyang seemed to have not noticed the gazes that fell upon her. She calmly descended from the elevated platform and stood in front of Zhu. After glancing at the pearl hairpin on her head, Princess Qingyang spoke unhurriedly, "Since you know you are a low-ranked daughter, how could you not know where you went wrong? Has the Shangshu Mansion been disregarding hierarchy and rules for too long? Now, don't they even distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children? I remember clearly that when I extended invitations to the various estates, it was only for the wives and legitimate daughters. The Shangshu Mansion only has one concubine in its backyard. It would be understandable if she came in place of the wife. But for a low-ranked daughter like you to dare replace the legitimate daughter and attend the banquet, to play such a cheap trick in front of me, who gave you and your mother the audacity? Servants will always be servants, even if they perch in trees, they can never become phoenixes. At best, they are just mountain chickens. Do you think my princess's mansion is a place where any cat or dog can enter?"

After the princess finished speaking, the young noblewomen below finally understood. They looked at Lady Wei and Lady Yu with contempt and disdain in their eyes. The primary wives of these official families despised the concubines who caused disturbances in their own households. Lady Wei usually relied on the backing of the Minister's Residence to make connections with them. Although they disliked her in their hearts, they were constrained by the Minister's Residence's reputation and would definitely not say anything. However, now that Princess Qingyang had made such a statement in front of everyone, they naturally would no longer tolerate Lady Wei. For a moment, the entire terrace was filled with discussions and mockery, as if everyone had forgotten about the emperor sitting at the head.

Princess Qingyang disregarded the noisy voices below and strode up the high platform, declaring loudly, "The Lady of the Shangshu Mansion has gone too far. She not only brought her daughter to replace the legitimate princess and took over the legitimate princess's carriage to slander her, but her daughter, Yu Zhu, not only failed to stop her but also supported her wrongful actions. Both should be expelled from the princess's residence and will never be invited again. The Great Yan will absolutely not tolerate such behavior that disrespects hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate daughters."