Chapter 8: 008 作践名声

Princess Gong's words served two purposes: first, to inform everyone that Shangguan Yunzhu frequently caused trouble by wearing Shangguan Erya's clothes; and second, to make her stance clear—even if they dressed identically and looked exactly the same, having personally raised Shangguan Yunzhu, she could naturally distinguish between the two!

She was deliberately pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, intending to make everyone mistakenly believe that the woman before them with bandages wrapped around her head was lying!

In Shangguan Erya's view, the fact that Lady Li dared to dig her nails into her flesh was a blatant threat to watch her words.

If it were the old Shangguan Erya, she would certainly have remained silent, but she would never allow Lady Li to have her way.

Seeing the coldness in Princess Gong's eyes, Shangguan Erya suddenly sighed and said, "I know Mother finds it disgraceful that I have caused you to lose face. However, even if I, Shangguan Erya, am disliked by the world, I will never resort to impersonating someone else just to survive!"

The crowd, who had regained some clarity, were once again thrown into confusion. Logically speaking, the Princess would not mistake the two sisters, but even if Shangguan Yunzhu were joking, the Princess refused to back down despite her fury. Furthermore, given Shangguan Erya's reputation, it would be even more disgraceful for her to impersonate someone else.

Speaking of Shangguan Erya, almost no one in Southern Liang was unaware of her; she was a highly controversial and extraordinary woman.

The word "extraordinary" held many meanings here, implying both brilliant talent and eccentricity.

Shangguan Erya had been meticulously taught by the Queen Lord since childhood. She could write at three, compose poetry at four, learn the sword at five, and by six, she had already inherited the Queen Lord's world-shaking talent for observing celestial phenomena. In the twentieth year of Longwu, at the age of seven, Shangguan Erya entered the palace to play and inadvertently mentioned to Emperor Wulong that an earthquake would occur in the north. Sure enough, within half a month, an earthquake struck the Taihang Mountains at the border of Southern Liang and Northern Liang. It was precisely because of Shangguan Erya's words that the northern regions were prepared, sparing the common people from disaster.

Emperor Wulong was overjoyed. Not only did he jokingly suggest pairing the Imperial Grandson with Shangguan Erya in the future, but he also specially permitted her to participate in the Martial Venerable Tournament at such a young age. Shangguan Erya did not disappoint the Emperor; at only eight years old, she won first place in the team category of the Martial Venerable Tournament. At the time, people thought she had simply ridden on the coattails of others, but the following year, she won first place in the women's individual competition. By the age of ten, Shangguan Erya had swept the team, individual, and challenge categories, becoming the only person to win the championship for three consecutive terms—a record that remains unbroken to this day.

This silenced all doubts; no one ever called Shangguan Erya "lucky" again.

At that time, every word of praise in the world was bestowed upon her. She was worshipped by the masses, and all royal and noble families—regardless of legitimacy, gender, or status—faded into insignificance before her. However, in the year Shangguan Erya turned eleven, the Queen Lord, Shangguan Changsheng, suddenly passed away. Her reputation plummeted instantly. Not only was she accused of misreporting celestial phenomena, but she also failed in the Martial Venerable Tournament for three consecutive years. The public suddenly felt deceived, believing she had relied entirely on the Queen Lord's help and used trickery to win her matches. After the Queen Lord's passing, Shangguan Erya's true colors were revealed; they cursed her for being a fraud, for having a reputation that didn't match her abilities, and called her a complete waste!

Therefore, impersonating Shangguan Erya was considered a despicable act.

Seeing the Princess digging her nails into the Eldest Miss's arm until blood seeped out, Qingwei, who was standing nearby, immediately stepped forward to support Shangguan Erya and said urgently, "Princess, this is the Eldest Miss!"

Seeing Qingwei meddling, Nanny Zhou barked angrily, "You little wench! You dare lie in front of the Princess? I'll skin you alive!"

This was clearly a veiled insult directed at Shangguan Erya.

Seeing Nanny Zhou attempting to strike Qingwei, Shangguan Erya grabbed her arm and gave a cold smile. "Nanny Zhou, you dare to be so insolent in front of the Old Matriarch of the Duke's Manor? Are you a servant who has forgotten her place, climbing over the Princess to act like a master? Who gave you such audacity?"

Being hit with such a heavy accusation, Nanny Zhou was so terrified that she forgot everything else and immediately knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring from her forehead. "Old Matriarch, Princess, this old servant only saw the little girl speaking recklessly; I had no other intentions."

Princess Gong was so furious she could only grit her teeth to maintain her composure. Shangguan Erya was truly rebelling!

"Old Matriarch, I have made a spectacle of myself. It is truly due to my lack of proper upbringing; I do not know why Yunzhu is being so disobedient today." Princess Gong looked at the Grand Duchess of the State Protectorate with difficulty. "Perhaps I should take the two children back to educate them properly first, and visit you in person to apologize on another day. As for the marriage of the two children, we shall discuss it later."

Princess Gong made no mention of Nanny Zhou's insolence, instead repeatedly blaming her two concubine-born daughters for causing shame. Anyone could see that the status of these two daughters was lower than that of a mere nanny.

Grand Duchess Wang of the State Protectorate saw everything clearly. With a cold expression, she said, "Since they are servants of the Princess, the Princess may return and punish them personally. I have no objection, but I cannot sit idly by regarding the matter of your household's true and false Eldest Miss. One of them is involved in my grandson's marriage."

Her gaze swept across the two identical women in the room, and she spoke with an innate authority: "I can overlook your nonsense, but I must know exactly who it is that intends to be my granddaughter-in-law!"

Grand Duchess Wang's words carried absolute authority. Currently, among the one Prince and two Dukes, only the Duke of Feng'en and the Grand Duchess of the State Protectorate remained; even the current Emperor respected her. What junior would dare to be insolent toward her? If the Emperor found out, the entire clan would surely be held accountable.

Grand Duchess Wang's words were an invisible slap to Princess Gong's face, leaving her face flushed with rage.

Fine! Since Shangguan Erya wanted to tear all pretenses away and face her, then she would let her watch with her own eyes as her biological sister impersonated her and trampled upon her reputation!

Princess Gong shot a cold glare at the woman with her head bowed in the innermost room. Just then, as if only just noticing the woman who looked exactly like herself, Shangguan Erya said in surprise, "Yunzhu, why did you change into the same clothes as me? No wonder Mother mistook me!"