The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 17 Pitch-Pot Competition

Suppressing her anger, Princess Yongning said to Liang Ruoyan, "Go and play with your sisters."

Liang Ruoyan sensed something was wrong and, upon receiving orders, quickly left.

She bit her lower lip tightly, not daring to turn around and look.

Will the Third Prince abandon Princess Yongning because of her opposition?

After everyone left, Princess Yongning dismissed the others.

"Have you made enough of a scene?" Princess Yongning's face turned cold. "You're not stupid. I don't believe you didn't realize this was aimed at you. When they saw you, they were all about crystal hairpins and playing the zither. Even if you say Liang Ruoyan is innocent, her mother and that Madam Sun are not innocent."

Princess Yongning hates nothing more than using the deceased to cause trouble. Now, Liang Ruoyan is using the deceased Third Prince's wife to seduce Li Jun, which has crossed her bottom line.

She didn't object to Li Jun remarrying, but she absolutely couldn't allow him to marry someone with a deep and scheming mind.

Li Jun sat down; how could he not have had doubts?

“Sister, I’ve investigated. At least Miss Liang was indeed unaware of the situation; she has a good heart.”

Princess Yongning rubbed her forehead, as if she had just remembered something. "Since that's what you think, then stay here today and see what that kind-hearted Miss Liang does."

Li Jun was puzzled, but she stayed anyway.

Liang Ruoyan had just breathed a sigh of relief when she ran into Chu Yue, who had been waiting for her.

Chu Yue scrutinized Liang Ruoyan's expression and couldn't help but laugh at her: "Could it be that the princess doesn't like you and called you in to give you a lecture so you wouldn't have any unrealistic dreams?"

Liang Ruoyan naturally couldn't admit it.

“The princess is kind and would never do such a thing. Besides, didn’t Sister Chu see that the Third Prince went in as well?”

As she spoke, Liang Ruoyan gave a shy smile, which made Chu Yue feel genuinely disgusted.

Liang Ruoxue, who was behind, heard everything Liang Ruoyan said. She couldn't help but feel anxious. She had come today to make a good impression on Princess Yongning, but she hadn't even seen the princess yet.

Liang Ruoyan didn't linger with Chu Yue and headed towards the back garden. Since everyone was there and the princess didn't like her, she could only think of other ways.

On her way to the back garden, Liang Ruoyan overheard people talking about Shen Hanyu and Pei Du.

She stood there and listened for a moment before realizing that Shen Hanyu had met with Pei Du again.

A calculating glint flashed in Liang Ruoyan's eyes. She didn't want to make a move, but Shen Hanyu always had to get involved with Pei Du, so she couldn't be blamed.

She couldn't just stand by and watch Shen Hanyu actually climb up Pei Du's back. Besides, her own relationship with the Third Prince wasn't settled yet. In other words, if things didn't work out with the Third Prince, she would have no choice but to go through Pei Du.

Therefore, we must get rid of Shen Hanyu in advance and ruin her reputation.

Shen Hanyu already knew that Liang Ruoyan was going to target her. After calming down a bit, she began to think about where Liang Ruoyan would start.

Things happened so suddenly that Shen Hanyu narrowed her eyes, thinking that the Third Prince's side might not be able to succeed, so she set her sights on the Founding Duke's Mansion.

Now that she has changed her mind and become involved with Pei Du because of her own choices, Liang Ruoyan naturally wants to deal with her.

"Miss Shen, let's play pitch-pot."

Lin Rushuang's voice interrupted Shen Hanyu's thoughts. A number of people had gathered around her and were all looking at her.

"I'm not good at pitch-pot."

Having not practiced for a long time, Shen Hanyu was a bit rusty and thus declined.

Lin Rushuang persisted and grabbed Shen Hanyu.

"Miss Shen has come from Suzhou. She can't just stay and play with her sisters at home all the time. She should also try to integrate into our group. It's just a casual competition, nothing to worry about."

He said it was no big deal, but he was actually looking forward to seeing them make a fool of themselves.

An arrow was shoved into Shen Hanyu's hand. Shen Hanyu sighed, realizing that there was no way to dodge it.

Having lost both hands in her previous life, she had never touched these things again. Now she was truly no longer good at pitch-pot and didn't know how much of her skill she had left.

"How can pitch-pot be completed without a prize?"

Someone mentioned it, and Lin Rushuang clapped her hands. A maidservant brought over a wooden box.

"This golden sparrow holding a pearl hairpin is my prize." Lin Rushuang said, looking at Shen Hanyu. "If Miss Shen loses, how about granting me a favor?"

Shen Hanyu gripped the arrow; since she couldn't dodge it, she might as well face the challenge head-on.

She knew that Lin Rushuang's pitch-pot skills were among the best, and she dared to agree because she had confidence in her past self.

"Okay."

Shen Hanyu glanced at the hairpin in the wooden box. The hairpin was exquisitely crafted, and Lin Rushuang had clearly spared no expense.

"What are you doing?"

Liang Ruoyan walked out of the crowd and saw Shen Hanyu and Lin Rushuang facing off.

Someone recounted what had just happened, and Liang Ruoyan looked worried: "Cousin, I've never seen you play pitch-pot before. If you don't know how, we should just admit defeat now. Miss Lin, please give my cousin some face for my sake."

Lin Rushuang snorted coldly. If it weren't for Liang Ruoyan's status, she would have said something like, "Who do you think you are, that I need to give you face?"

"Since Miss Shen has already agreed, it's up to her to decide."

Lin Rushuang crossed her arms. Even if she had to admit defeat, she wanted Shen Hanyu to say it herself.

Shen Hanyu smiled. "Wasn't my cousin just talking to the princess? Why did you come out so quickly?"

Liang Ruoyan's expression showed embarrassment for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

"The princess didn't want to keep me there, so she let me out to play with everyone."

Lin Rushuang interrupted the two: "Alright, are you still going to compete or not?"

Shen Hanyu flexed her wrists and glanced at the distance between herself and the bronze kettle.

"Shouldn't we have a practice throw before the competition? After all, Miss Shen just said that she is not good at pitch-pot. We should let someone try it out first to get a feel for it. Otherwise, it would be unfair for Miss Lin to win."

Shen Hanyu looked at the person who spoke and recognized him as Wei Ming, the daughter of General Weiyuan.

Shen Hanyu was genuinely surprised that Wei Ming would speak up for her.

Although Lin Rushuang was somewhat displeased, she still agreed to try throwing, and she also took the opportunity to get a feel for the shot.

Holding two arrows, Shen Hanyu threw one first. The arrow landed next to the bronze pot. With just that one shot, she knew how much force to use next time.

The feeling from before slowly returned, and Shen Hanyu smiled sincerely, turning to Wei Ming and saying, "Thank you, Miss Wei."

Wei Ming was stunned. Shen Hanyu was beautiful, and her smile was dazzling. She was so captivated that she couldn't help but feel her ears burning when she came to her senses.

She just couldn't stand them bullying others. She thought that Shen Hanyu's cousin would help Shen Hanyu when she arrived, but she didn't expect her to be a peacemaker. That's why she spoke up and gave Shen Hanyu some time to prepare.

Lin Rushuang was relieved to see that Shen Hanyu's arrow missed its target.

The two officially began their contest, each taking four arrows. It was a windless day, and the warm sunshine made it very pleasant.

"Me first."

Lin Rushuang seized the initiative and went first, aiming at the bronze pot. The first arrow landed steadily inside the pot.

The girls behind him immediately cheered.