After becoming pregnant, the cold-hearted nobles all went mad.

The carriage was filled with a delicate fragrance, and a whole fox fur blanket was spread over the legs to dispel the chill.

Lively voices drifted through the curtains, but the atmosphere inside was utterly cold and tense.

Madam Jiang's gaze remained unwavering. "As the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion, you are not lacking in food or clothing. Why do you always dress so plainly?"

Shen Su treated his two daughters equally, giving them neither too much nor too little.

Shen Lingyi is not one to compromise herself, but her older sister is different; she always prefers to wear plain-colored clothes.

The two sisters standing together looked as if Shen Lingyi was bullying someone.

Jiang had wanted to say it for a long time, but both her children were her flesh and blood, and it always seemed biased for her, as their mother, to say such things.

Tears welled up in Shen Tingjiao's eyes, and she lowered her head, too afraid to speak: "I will listen to my mother and always give in to my sister."

Jiang immediately lost interest in speaking again. She clearly didn't mean it that way, but Shen Tingjiao always misinterpreted it, just like when she had just brought Shen Tingjiao back from the old lady's place.

She was fourteen years old at the time. Mrs. Jiang wanted to ease her relationship with this daughter, so she reached out to hug her.

"Madam."

Shen Tingjiao, however, retreated several steps as if avoiding a plague.

That cautious yet wary look stung Jiang, a mother.

Since then, she has been unable to get close to her eldest daughter.

The palace maids led the women inside. Shen Lingyi noticed that Madam Jiang was not in high spirits, so she tried to cheer her up along the way.

"Mother, look there." She pointed to a eunuch who had accidentally dropped his hat, revealing his bald head.

Madam Jiang chuckled and poked her forehead: "Don't let your true colors show just because your father praised you. You should be more discreet in the palace. Who knows if the palace servant you mocked might save your life someday?"

Shen Lingyi suppressed her laughter, nodded, and said in a serious tone, "I'm just afraid that Father will end up like this one day. I'm wondering if there's a miracle doctor who can come up with a clever way to turn back his hair."

The mother and daughter chatted happily, while Shen Tingjiao watched from behind, her eyes gradually turning venomous.

Why is she the only one who was raised by her grandmother from a young age?

Shen Lingyi took everything from her, it's all her fault!

The banquet was held in the Imperial Garden, a place used to receive foreign envoys. It was temporarily repurposed to entertain the ladies, which can be considered making the best use of the space.

By chance, Shen Lingyi overheard people talking about her.

"Everyone says that Shen Er is arrogant and rude, and even my elder sister is suppressed by her. But seeing her today, she doesn't seem as bad as the rumors say. She seems like a normal person." A woman whispered.

"Hmph, she's definitely faking it. Everyone knows Shen Lingyi loves to steal her sister's things. Didn't you see how she pestered His Highness the Crown Prince before? If you ask me, her coming to have the Empress Dowager look at someone's fortune today is a pretense; she's really after His Highness."

Shen Lingyi was bored and secretly plucked a chrysanthemum petal. Upon hearing this, she was speechless.

Just as he was about to speak, a spirited female voice beat him to it.

"Those are all outdated almanacs from so long ago?"

The newcomer had a long ponytail and upturned phoenix eyes; without any extra adornment, he appeared exceptionally dashing.

Shen Lingyi was genuinely surprised.

Xie Chichun noticed her looking and immediately glared at her fiercely, as if to say, "What are you looking at?" She then continued, "The Empress Dowager summoned you here to select concubines for His Majesty, not to have you perform in a play. You talk non-stop all day long, it's so noisy!"

The noble ladies' expressions changed, and they walked to the side.

You could faintly hear them muttering under their breath, "Country bumpkins..."

"You call me a country bumpkin? Anyone have the guts to come up to me and say that!" Xie Chichun raised her two fists, ready to go up and fight them, which frightened the crowd into scattering.

She patted her clothes and muttered, "These are clearly new clothes, how do they make me look like a country bumpkin?"

"Thank you so much, Miss Xie, for standing up for me just now," Shen Lingyi said, picking a flower. "I hope you don't mind if I offer it to you?"

"You dare pick flowers from the Imperial Garden? Are you out of your mind?!"

She thought to herself, "What's so special about this? I'd even sleep with the emperor."

Xie Chichun gave her a complicated look, then said awkwardly, "Anyway, I'm not doing this to help you, and you don't need to thank me. I just can't stand you clinging to His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Then you can rest assured."

"...What?"

Shen Lingyi smiled slightly, holding the chrysanthemum in her hand, her expression nonchalant.

The next second, the girl's sweet voice reached someone's ears: "Just like this flower in my hand, it is said to be a rare variety that was presented as tribute from another country. There are only a handful of such flowers in the entire Great Wei. And I happen to be someone who doesn't like to share with others."

"I only want the most prestigious one; I don't care about the others."

Hearing such audacious words, Pei Heng stopped in his tracks, his dark eyes sweeping across the crowd, where he immediately spotted Shen Lingyi.

The girl smiled, completely unaware of how astonishing her words were; her almond-shaped eyes were mischievous and lively.

She looked exactly like the woman from that night.

But Pei Heng couldn't be sure based on this alone, since he couldn't see anything that night.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager also said she would be coming," the Grand Eunuch Fuquan whispered in his ear.

Pei Heng remained motionless: "Who's that over there?"

Fuquan looked over in confusion and saw the brightest spot of color, but hesitated for a moment.

"Your Majesty, that is... the second young lady of the General's Mansion."

The image of the audacious words he had overheard outside the door one night flashed through his mind, and even Pei Heng couldn't help but find it amusing.

He also said that overnight, several reckless women suddenly appeared in the capital.

It turns out it was the same person.

Not surprising then.

"Oh dear! Why did Miss Shen pick the Empress Dowager's favorite flower?" Fu Quan finally saw what Shen Lingyi was holding and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will be furious if she finds out!"

Pei Heng glanced at him sideways, his thin lips parting slightly: "What are you yelling about? It's just a flower, besides..."

He paused, then shook his head: "She's just a little girl."

Even so, he still secretly kept Miss Shen in his heart.

Unfortunately, Shen Lingyi had her back to him, so he could never see her face. Otherwise, based on the little impression he had left, he might have been able to recognize whether she was the woman.

His eyesight is naturally better than average, so even in the dark, it doesn't affect his vision.

Shen Lingyi never expected that even though she had clearly blindfolded Pei Heng that night, he still managed to find an opening to exploit.

Before leaving, Pei Heng remembered something and said to Fu Quan, "By the way, if we can't give the Empress Dowager the marigolds, then let's send her the new pot of Zhao Fen flowers from the flower room instead."

Pei Heng has always admired ambitious people.

He wouldn't mind giving Shen Lingyi a boost, allowing her to rise to prominence.

However, only an empress, who is the mother of the nation, can have Yao Huang. Giving Zhao Fen as a gift is not overstepping the bounds and is also suitable for her.

They are all equally charming and beautiful.

Pei Heng gave the order casually, but Fu Quan almost thought he had misheard.

Whom should he give it to?