Qiao Ruoshui rushed over, extending her hand, signaling Qiao Jinniang to give her that hairpin.
If it were an ordinary gold hairpin, Qiao Jinniang would just give it to her. She had a jewelry shop in Lin'an, so she had no shortage of these things.
But this was a reward from the Queen, which had to be kept very carefully and couldn't be given to others. How could Qiao Jinniang give it to Qiao Ruoshui?
Seeing that Qiao Jinniang ignored her, Qiao Ruoshui simply sat in front of her and said, "Her Majesty meant to give the golden hairpin to me. It was for the sake of me that she gave it to you!"
Qiao Jinniang scooped out a spoonful of snake broth and savored it casually. It was delicious. Why did Princess Fulu and Qin Miaomiao not like it?
Seeing that Qiao Jinniang was still ignoring her, Qiao Ruoshui was furious. "Come, search her!"
Hongling, Yuyan and other maids hurriedly stepped forward to stop Qiao Ruoshui's maids.
Qiao Jinniang put down the spoon and said, "Sister, what are you talking about? How come the golden phoenix hairpin that Her Majesty gave me is yours?"
Qiao Ruoshui said proudly, "Her Majesty was just afraid of rewarding me too much, so she rewarded me with this gold phoenix hairpin through you!
"Otherwise, how could Her Majesty give such a grand reward to you who just came from the countryside and met her for the first time?"
At the gate, Princess Fulu looked awkwardly at Qin Miaomiao and suddenly said, "Actually I feel that snake broth is quite delicious."
Qin Miaomiao couldn't deny her words.
Fulu said, "I, Princess Fulu, am brave and invincible. How can I be afraid of snake broth like a delicate little girl like you?"
"I must be out of mind if I choose to attend the royal banquet in the palace instead of enjoying that delicious snake broth!"
It was undeniable that the imperial meals were delicious, as the best cooks in the world were in the imperial palace, but royal banquets were another story.
The dishes in the royal banquet were prepared in advance because they were used to entertain the ministers and their families, so most of them were cold by the time of the banquet. And although they looked exquisite and the ingredients were very good, their taste was in fact plain and dull.
Fulu turned around and went back to the manor of the Duke Mansion. Seeing this, Qin Miaomiao hesitated and followed. She certainly couldn't let Princess Fulu hog all that the delicious snake broth.
After the two went back, they heard Qiao Ruoshui's voice.
Qiao Ruoshui continued disdainfully. "Do you really think you are favored by Her Majesty? Who the hell do you think you are? You're just a slave-raised lowly b*tch! Mother is being too kind, letting you return to ruin the Duke Mansion's reputation!
"If it weren't for you, I'd definitely become the crown princess.
"I'm the one who Her Majesty likes. How dare you take the golden phoenix hairpin and not return it to me?"
When Qiao Jinniang heard this, she got up and suddenly slapped Qiao Ruoshui hard. "I am the real eldest daughter of the Duke Mansion. Just like you, I'm the owner of the Duke Mansion too!
"If Her Majesty really likes you, why did she bother to give you the golden phoenix hairpin through me?
"As His Majesty's beloved wife, if she has to do that, what's the point for her to become the Queen?
"I came from the grassroots. When the people of the Qiao family came to harass me, I would drive them away with a broom, and when my restaurant was blackmailed by gangsters, I would fight with them.
"You look down on me, saying that I have no manners of noble ladies. Yes, I came from the grassroots.
"But if you keep insulting me, I won't just swallow it."
Princess Fulu clapped her hands and walked over, saying, "Good point. Now I like not only the dishes you make, but also your personality. Qiao Ruoshui, Jinniang is my good friend. You're insulting me, Princess Fulu, if you insult her again!"
Qin Miaomiao used to be good friends with Qiao Ruoshui. After all, her brother and Qiao Ruoyun had a marriage engagement ever since they were young.
Before their marriage, when his elder brother invited Qiao Ruoyun out, he would ask her to bring Qin Miaomiao and Qiao Ruoshui too. Qin Miaomiao didn't know when childhood friend had become such a person.
Qiao Ruoshui didn't dare to really offend Fulu, but how could she endure this slap.
She covered her face and ran to complain to her parents. She must make everyone in Chang'an know that Qiao Jinniang was a shrew.
After Qiao Ruoshui left, Jinniang said, "Sorry for the embarrassing scene, but I'm not a fair lady in the first place, and I can no longer put up with Qiao Ruoshui."
If it weren't for the fact that she needed the Duke Mansion to help find Tuan'er for her, she wouldn't have tolerated her for so long.
Qin Miaomiao said, "Ruishui was not like this before, but she has become crazier and crazier ever since the Crown Prince came back."
"The position of the crown princess really drives many girls in Chang'an crazy."
Princess Fulu sneered coldly. "Are you talking about me? My imperial cousin is so handsome and in such a high position that any decent woman would want to marry him! Don't play the holier-than-thou card!"
Qin Miaomiao said, "I won't be as shameless as you anyway."
Qiao Jinniang: "…"
"Third Miss, not good." A mammy of the Duke Qin's Mansion rushed in. "Your eldest sister-in-law had a miscarriage at home. The masters are all in the palace, and we servants can't go in…"
Qin Miaomiao glared at Fulu bitterly. "This is all your fault! Mammy, I will go to the palace to find my mother and Duchess Anyuan to see what to do."
Fulu's face was slightly pale. "I didn't mean it…"
Although Qiao Jinniang had never suffered from a miscarriage, she knew that miscarriage was extremely hurtful for women, not to mention that Qiao Ruoyun was a person easy to be psychologically burdened.
"Miss Qin, I want to visit my elder sister." Qiao Jinniang said, "I am afraid it's not easy for your mother and my mother to leave. No offense, but I heard that your other two sister-in-laws are not easy to get along with. I'm more suitable to take care of my sister than the servants."
Qin Miaomiao knew what kind of person her other two sister-in-laws were. And just as Qiao Jinniang said, his mother and the Duchess might not be able to leave here for the next two days.
"Okay, take my name card and go."
Princess Fulu said in a small voice, "I'll go too."
Qin Miaomiao snorted. "Are you going to anger my sister-in-law to death?"
"I really know that I was wrong." Fulu was so anxious that she almost cried. "I only meant to ridicule you, but I didn't expect she would hear it."
Qiao Jinniang said, "Let's be quick. It's not bad that Princess Fulu wants to go with me."
After all, Qiao Jinniang didn't know what was going on in the Duke Qin's Mansion and whether the people there were easy to deal with. With Fulu with her, they wouldn't dare go too far.
Princess Fulu told her maid to deliver a message to Princess Shou'an, and then followed Qiao Jinniang to take the carriage back to Chang'an.
It took them nearly two hours, and it was already dusk when they rushed to the Duke Qin's Mansion.
The setting sun was shining, dyeing everything golden, and the concierge ushered Fulu and Qiao Jinniang in after checking Qin Miaomiao's name card.
Qiao Jinniang entered the courtyard of the Duke Qin's Mansion. It was even bigger than the Duke Anyuan's Mansion and was more exquisitely decorated.
Qiao Ruoyun's nanny came out and saluted, saying, "Second Miss, Princess Fulu, Miss had no appetite these days, so she didn't even go to the palace on the North Mountain. This morning, she was provoked by that damn bitch again, I mean her husband's concubine maid, so as soon as she went back to her room, she..."
Qiao Jinniang felt that it was really inappropriate for the nanny to say these foul words to them, two "unmarried" girls.
Why did the Duchess give Qiao Ruoyun such a dumb mammy?
When Qiao Jinniang entered, she saw Qiao Ruoyun, who was lying in her bed, looking extremely haggard. She didn't see Qiao Ruoyun for only a few days, but the latter looked skinny now.
Her appearance reminded Qiao Jinniang of her foster mother when she was seriously ill. And she died when she was only thirty…