After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 228: Attempting to Steal a Chicken Backfires

Upon hearing Lin Rusi's words, someone slapped their thigh and exclaimed, "Hey? That's right! Why is it that Princess Lin'an immediately claims that Zhou Si and Miss Lin have an unusual relationship?"

Another person scoffed, "You're only just realizing that now? Judging from Princess Lin'an's sour tone, she's clearly jealous!"

"Maybe she's the lover Zhou Xun was talking about!"

"So, we've misunderstood Miss Lin?"

"It's clearly Princess Ming who has a special relationship with Zhou Si!"

One of the men immediately said with envy, "Both of them are great beauties. No matter which one he sleeps with, Zhou Xun is really lucky with women!"

An older woman spat and grabbed the man's ear, angrily saying, "Pah! What great beauty! Are you disgusted that I'm old and faded? Do you also want to have a few lovers, or have you already been cheating on me? You better confess!"

The man cried out in pain and quickly begged for mercy, clasping his hands in apology.

At this moment, someone added mysteriously, "If you ask me, this princess isn't any good either. Don't you think about it? Zhou Xun, that bastard, goes to brothels every day. Where did he meet the princess?"

"Oh, I see! The princess also frequents brothels!"

"That's right! Don't forget, brothels have more than just female prostitutes; there are plenty of male prostitutes too!"

"I never imagined that a princess would go to a place like that! I wonder how she and Zhou Xun could have fallen for each other?"

The onlookers spewed vulgarities and burst into laughter as they spoke.

One of the storytellers couldn't take it anymore and shook his head, saying, "That's enough, that's enough. It's just a bunch of lovelorn lovers fighting over a man. You'd be better off going to a teahouse to listen to my storytelling!"

"What's the point of listening to books? This is even better than books! This is shocking news! Princess Lin'an is keeping a gigolo outside her residence, and this gigolo is someone she met at a brothel!"

Once this was mentioned, everyone agreed.

"Too…………"

"They're not even married yet, and they're already busy having children."

"Ugh, girls these days... they're so shameless."

With so many people around, everyone was talking freely and unrestrainedly, not afraid of offending Princess Lin'an. After all, with so many people, how could anyone tell which sentence came from which person?

Lin Rusi remained silent, listening intently to the murmurs around her. Compared to the harsh words spoken about her before, these words weren't much better.

The difference is that now every word they say is a speculation about the relationship between Zhou Xun and Princess Lin'an, and every word is detrimental to Princess Lin'an, while there is no longer a single word directed at her.

Thinking of this, Lin Rusi's lips curled up slightly, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but secretly admire how timely Princess Lin'an had been.

These people, who usually gather around to comment on any strange or unusual gossip they hear in teahouses and taverns, are no exception today.

This week, Xun is usually a spoiled brat, but today he clung to her and wouldn't let go, which means he must have planned it all along to ruin her reputation.

She lost her temper and acted impulsively just now, but now that she thinks about it, it was a bit rash.

But fate was kind to her in this life. Although she failed to escape the schemes, she was given a tool to prove her innocence—the Princess of Lin'an.

If it weren't for Princess Lin'an's exaggerated expression upon her first appearance, which successfully attracted a lot of attention, she wouldn't have been able to successfully shift the blame.

It's truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

Sure enough, a fool is a fool; she couldn't even seize such a good opportunity.

Lin Rusi found it funnier the more she thought about it, and her beautiful eyes narrowed into slits with laughter, making her look like a cute little fox at first glance.

Princess Lin'an was in a bad mood. She heard the people around her talking more and more outrageous. They said they wanted to leave, but the crowd kept growing.

Princess Lin'an stood there, gritting her teeth in hatred, her face flushed red. At this moment, all she could think about was ruining Lin Rusi's reputation. This thought strongly supported her, making her shout shrilly, "Ah! You lowly commoners, shut up for me!"

"Lin Rusi, you bitch! You and Zhou Xun were childhood playmates! Don't talk nonsense, I don't know this Zhou Xun at all!"

Zhou Xun was so frightened that he dared not breathe. His body stiffened for a moment, and he could only nod blankly.

The onlookers were taken aback. The storyteller's eyes darted around, and he stroked his beard, about to lead the conversation, when Lin Rusi forcefully interrupted him.

She said with a smile, "Princess, please don't be so temperamental. This misunderstanding is really big. I would never admit to knowing this young master."

She cleared her throat and raised her voice a few decibels: "Gentlemen and ladies, please be the judge! This young master Zhou, I don't know what went wrong, suddenly popped out from the roadside and slandered me. Everyone saw it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly nodded in agreement.

"We all saw it!"

"Correct!"

“Yes! I can testify that this young master Zhou is clearly not a good person. He stopped Miss Lin as soon as he appeared. Who knows what bad things he might be planning.”

…………

Princess Lin'an, seeing Lin Rusi about to turn the tide again, wanted nothing more than to rush up and tear Lin Rusi's mouth apart. Overwhelmed with rage, she couldn't think straight, only shouting hatefully, "Pah! You think you can just call it slander? You and Zhou Xun clearly know each other!"

"You've known each other since you were little, I saw it with my own eyes!"

Lin Rusi's lips curled up, and her voice immediately lowered a few decibels. This foolish princess had taken the bait again.

To dare say something like that, isn't that exactly what she wanted?

She shook her head helplessly and laughed, "Look at your words, they're full of holes. If you say you don't know Zhou Xun, how come you immediately said that we've known each other since we were kids?"

"How could you say that you witnessed such a thing?"

Princess Lin'an was trembling with anger and was about to start cursing at Lin Rusi.

Lin Rusi skillfully pinched her fingertips and said, word by word, "This shows that your relationship with Zhou Xuncai is not ordinary."

"Let me make a bold guess: you two have known each other since childhood, and you've always been close friends. Unfortunately, fate was not on your side and you were separated. When you finally reunited, you happened to see him on the street who mistook you for someone else."

"Your Highness, who always nitpicks, how could you let your beloved be taken away by someone else?"

"But you couldn't bring yourself to criticize your sweetheart, so you pretended to be passing by casually, and angrily turned your anger towards me."

"Unfortunately, you underestimated the sharp eyes of the onlookers. They all saw long ago that you and Zhou Xun had a close relationship."

While fabricating a plot that was detrimental to Princess Lin'an, Lin Rusi didn't forget to praise the group of onlookers who believed everything they heard. Sure enough, seeing the approving expressions on their faces, she knew that everyone's hearts were completely on her side.

"Miss Lin is right!"

"That's right!"

"This princess doesn't want to admit it, but she didn't expect us to see through her sharp eyes, did she?"