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"But," Chen Leyao suddenly bit her lip, looking somewhat distressed at the two people in front of her, her voice as frail as the buzz of a mosquito, "I just thought about it carefully, and he, he seems to have never mentioned that he is the Third Prince.

He always asked me to call him Third Young Master. "

At this, Chen Ruochu couldn’t help but laugh out loud, looking at Chen Leyao as if she were a big fool. "Then how did you confirm that he was the Third Prince? Wishful thinking? Fancying yourself in love?"

"It was, it was Matchmaker Taohua who said so." Chen Leyao’s face couldn’t hold up to such words from Chen Ruochu, but her rebuttal lacked any persuasive power, "Moreover, everything he said hinted that he is the Third Prince."

"Hinted? Did he ever personally admit to being the Third Prince?"

Chen Leyao pursed her lips and lowered her head, her voice so soft it was like the ripples in still water, "He never said so."

Foolish!

If it weren’t for the fact that she felt sorry for Chen Leyao, Chen Ruochu really wanted to scold her outright, saying she deserved to be deceived; who else should they deceive if not such fools?

However, now wasn’t the time for scolding, first and foremost, they needed to deal with those swindlers.

Chen Ruochu looked at Chen Leyao, utterly disapproving of Lin Wei’s approach, "We can’t make a big fuss about dealing with those people, or else her reputation will be completely shot!"

After he said this, Lin Wei also realized the situation.

Chen Leyao had already met with that man a few times, and they were unclear about how far things had developed, but if this matter were to spread, Chen Leyao’s reputation would be ruined unless she went back to Jiangnan.

Otherwise, she could forget about mingling in the Capital city.

So, what should they do?

The sisters glanced at each other, both setting their sights on Chen Ruochu.

In the Chen Mansion.

Seeing that it was getting very late and Chen Leyao had not yet returned home, Lady Jiang became worried and sent someone to inquire at the Red Smoke Pavilion, only to become more anxious when they reported that Chen Leyao had left early.

Just as she was considering sending someone out to search, a maid hurriedly ran in to report that the young mistress had come back.

Lady Jiang’s heart finally settled, but after the worry, anger took over.

This child, after leaving the Red Smoke Pavilion, didn’t hurry home but ran around aimlessly instead.

If the Third Prince found out about her undisciplined behavior, would she still have a chance to enter the Prince’s Mansion?

Thinking this, Lady Jiang went huffing towards Chen Leyao’s courtyard, complaining about her all the way.

"Yaoyao! Where have you been? Why have you come back so late! Don’t you know? The royal family values a woman’s virtue the most. Running around like this, what if the Third Prince thinks you’re not behaving like a proper lady?"

The moment she stepped in the door, Lady Jiang started scolding loudly, not even noticing that her own daughter’s eyes were red.

Chen Leyao, who was sulking at the table, felt her resentment rise upon hearing Lady Jiang’s reproach, her eyelids lifted slightly, "The royal family? Ha, Mother, which royal family are you talking about?"

Lady Jiang was stunned, discerning something amiss in her daughter’s tone.

She sat down and asked, "What’s wrong? Did you have an argument with the Third Prince?

Ah, my child, you’re just too pampered. Where is it seen for one to be angry with a prince?

Listen to your mother, first thing tomorrow morning you must hurry to apologize to the Third Prince.

You’re not allowed to be willful anymore! "

Lady Jiang was still lost in the sweet dream woven by Matchmaker Taohua and had yet to wake from it. Chen Leyao sneered coldly, "Ha! Apologize? Where do you expect me to find him to apologize? The Palace? Mother, your daughter does not possess such abilities to enter the Palace and find him!"

Right, Lady Jiang patted her own palm, her brows knitted slightly before smoothing out again, and her smile returned to her face, "Don’t worry, isn’t there Matchmaker Taohua? Just let her go find the Third Prince and say a word, wouldn’t that be enough?"

Watching Lady Jiang trust Matchmaker Taohua so implicitly, Chen Leyao was practically beside herself with anger.

"Mother, what kind of magic potion did that Taohua give you for you to trust her so much? I already told you, the Palace isn’t a place anyone can just enter. What makes you think a mere matchmaker like Taohua could easily enter the Palace to seek out the Third Prince?"

When confronted so directly by her daughter, Lady Jiang was at a loss for words. Indeed, during the previous competitions held by the Imperial Merchant, only men had participated; even she, as a family member, was not permitted to enter casually. But how could Taohua know the Third Prince?

"Perhaps, perhaps she knows someone close to His Highness, and then got to know the Third Prince through them?"

Lady Jiang ventured a guess hesitantly, but even after speaking, she herself felt the possibility was too slim. Even if she knew someone close to the Third Prince, it was unlikely she could so easily recommend a stranger, was it?

Lady Jiang, after all, was a woman with some intellect; seeing her daughter questioning this way, she naturally sensed something was amiss and hurriedly moved beside her daughter, urgently asking, "What? Have you discovered something? Could it be..."

Chen Leyao closed her eyes in resignation, hugged her head with both hands, and nodded silently, "Yes, mother, we’ve been deceived by that Taohua. Not just her, but also that fake Prince, we’ve been fooled by both."

Deceived?

Lady Jiang’s body suddenly stiffened, feeling as if her scalp went numb in an instant, "How could it be? How were we deceived? Impossible, I can’t believe it. Taohua took nearly one thousand taels of silver from me, how could she deceive me?"

One thousand taels of silver!

Chen Leyao sighed bitterly in her heart; she was tricked by a false Prince in terms of affection, while her mother was conned by Taohua in terms of silver. No wonder Chen Ruochu always called them foolish women, what else could they be but foolish women?

As she was contemplating, Lady Jiang’s hand suddenly grabbed her arm with such force that it made her grimace in pain.

"How do you know they are impostors? You haven’t even met the Third Prince, how do you know this Third Prince is fake?"

Chen Leyao’s arm hurt unbearably from Lady Jiang’s grip. She gasped in a breath of cool air, pried Lady Jiang’s hand off first, and then rubbed her own arm before saying, "I certainly do know because I just went to see the Third Prince!"

Lady Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her daughter, anxiously saying, "You met the Third Prince? How do you know this Third Prince is definitely the real one and not an impostor?"

"Of course, the one I met is real, I saw him at Dong Tian. Have you forgotten Lin Yuan? She is the Third Prince’s sworn sister! If even she can misrecognize the Third Prince, then how could she run her tavern?"

Seeing Lady Jiang still doubtful, Chen Leyao repeated all the suspicions Chen Ruochu had shared with her—how the Third Prince was known for his clean lifestyle devoid of women, how Taohua’s behavior was driven by sheer greed for silver, and most importantly, when she interacted with the fake Third Prince, that man had never once uttered a word claiming he was the Third Prince.