Marrying a playboy? She turned the tables and used a magical talisman to become famous throughout th

Before he could finish speaking, a slender finger poked his shoulder, pushing him back.

Yin Liuli raised an eyebrow slightly. "I'm not going."

Gu Jinyan persisted,

"Going back to the manor is pointless anyway, so I might as well go to my villa and have some fun..."

"Sir, the lady has sent a note requesting your review."

Just as he was pestering Yin Liuli, Yin Ju brought in a card, interrupting him.

Yin Liuli took it and looked at it, frowning as she said...

"The Empress summoned my mother and me to the Imperial Garden to attend a lotus-viewing banquet?"

I don't even know the Empress, what am I supposed to do?

Gu Jinyan glanced at it and said, "Now is the time when the lotus flowers in the palace are just beginning to bloom. Every year, Her Majesty the Empress invites the concubines of the harem and some prominent ladies of the court to come and admire the lotus flowers, and they hold banquets on boats."

"Now that you are a first-rank noblewoman, and you are the first female assistant envoy, Her Majesty the Empress will naturally invite you to meet her."

Yin Liuli said with a bored expression, "Can't I not go?"

"It is naturally impossible for Her Majesty the Empress to extend an invitation."

Gu Jinyan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll be there too."

……

Three days later, Yin Liuli was dressed up by Zhen Shi and Jin Mama and entered the palace to attend the flower appreciation banquet.

The carriage slowly drove into the deep gate, where vermilion walls stood majestically, enclosing the imperial city within a small area.

Countless towering palaces are situated within, with checkpoints every three steps and restrictions every five, naturally exuding an air of royal majesty and solemnity.

The carriage stopped in an empty courtyard, where maids and servants dressed in brocade robes were waiting to lead them to the inner palace within the walls.

With her head adorned with pearl hairpins and wearing three or four layers of elegant and luxurious clothes chosen for her by her mother, Yin Liuli walked through the oppressive palace walls, entering and exiting countless doors, her heart filled with unease.

Why haven't we arrived yet?

Why didn't I just tell her a place earlier, and she could have just drawn a teleportation talisman and gone there directly?

After passing through an arched doorway, her eyes were suddenly drawn to a vast lake.

At the end of the lake lies a green mountain, with an island in the middle, adorned with pavilions and towers that dazzle the eye.

Upon seeing the people approaching from the island in the middle of the lake, someone rowed a painted boat to pick them up.

The old woman bowed slightly and said in a gentle tone,

"Please wait a moment, Madam and Envoy Yin. Her Majesty the Empress has sent someone to fetch you."

"Thank you for leading the way, Granny."

As soon as Yin Liuli spoke, a middle-aged woman dressed in colorful brocade robes, exuding elegance and nobility, arrived in a small sedan chair, surrounded by a group of maids and servants.

"This servant greets Your Highness!"

The old nanny hurriedly stepped forward with a smile, "Her Majesty the Empress was just saying why the princess hasn't arrived yet; she's been waiting anxiously."

Yin Liuli then took a closer look at her; it turned out she was Gu Jinyan's mother.

"Some things have been delayed, and I have kept Mother waiting."

Princess Chengyi nodded, her condescending gaze sweeping over Yin Liuli and Zhen Shi, and casually remarked, "Who's that over there? They look like complete strangers."

She could tell at a glance that Zhen Shi and Yin Liuli were doing this on purpose.

In the past few days, the nanny has found out about Yin Liuli's background. It turns out that she is indeed cursed by an ominous star, and a very fierce one at that.

When the betrothal was arranged, the birth chart of the Phoenix Fate used by the Yin Marquis's family was actually the birth chart of Yin Yuzhu, the second daughter of the Yin family, who was used as a substitute!

The old woman added fuel to the fire, telling her that as soon as Yin Liuli returned, she caused a huge scene at the Yin Marquis's mansion, leaving Wang and her daughter in a terrible state. She also told her that Yin Jingtang had been reprimanded by the Emperor, dismissed from his official post, stripped of the hereditary title of Marquis, and forced to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion.

Princess Chengyi gasped, increasingly convinced that her son's accidental injury was caused by this ominous star!

She arranged a marriage for her son to avoid a political alliance with the Tartars, not to bring bad luck upon him!

So when she saw Yin Liuli, she naturally didn't have a good attitude.

……

"Your Highness, these two are Lady Zhen, who was recently granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady by His Majesty, and her daughter, Yin Liuli, the Assistant Envoy."

The old woman replied.

A hint of displeasure flashed across Princess Chengyi's dignified face.

"Who did we think it was? They've only gained some face. What does Mother want with them?"

Although it was a light sneer, everyone present could hear the arrogant mockery.

Zhen blushed even more.

Princess Chengyi is, after all, her future in-law, her daughter's future mother-in-law.

It's one thing for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to be polite on their first meeting, but why speak like that in front of all the servants?

It's really embarrassing.

Embarrassed, she pulled Yin Liuli forward to greet them.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhen, greet you."

Yin Liuli immediately saw the ill intent in her eyes and calmly followed her mother in a curtsy.

"Um."

Princess Chengyi gave a casual snort, looking at Yin Liuli with displeasure, "You're the eldest daughter of the Yin Marquis's family?"

Yin Liuli said calmly, "Yes."

Princess Chengyi looked her up and down with a disdainful gaze, her mockery undisguised.

"I heard you've been living away from home all these years, and this is the first time you've come back? No wonder you look so rustic, not like someone from a respectable family..."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter, echoing her words.

"Exactly! From afar, he looks adorned with jewels, but up close he looks more like a monkey trainer..."

"It can only be said that even wearing a dragon robe doesn't make him look like a crown prince. A young lady raised in an official family doesn't have this kind of air about her."

"How can someone raised outside the home be called a prostitute?"

……

"You're wrong about that."

Yin Liuli raised an eyebrow and retorted without any politeness.

"Your Highness is born into the royal family, a noblewoman of heaven, and is more than just a member of a high-ranking family."

But His Highness spoke sarcastically and harshly to me the very first time we met. Is this what a leftist from a noble background looks like?

Originally, Yin Liuli would have been more polite because she was Gu Jinyan's mother, but now that's no longer necessary.

Cheng Yi's face immediately darkened. "How dare you speak so disrespectfully to me!"

"Liuli, no..."

Mrs. Zhen was startled, not expecting her daughter to offend someone so easily.

Yin Liuli said calmly,

"If Your Highness doesn't like me, you don't need to look at me. Let's go our separate ways."

"I have come to attend Her Majesty the Empress's banquet, not by His Highness's invitation. Am I to swallow my anger after being offended by His Highness?"

"What a sharp tongue!"

Princess Chengyi was truly taken aback by Yin Liuli's audacity in humiliating her to her face. She retorted angrily, "So what if the Empress Dowager invites you? I can still throw you out! Guards..."

"Ruri...hey!"

Before the words were finished, Gu Jinyan's voice came from the boat on the lake. He waved to Yin Liuli from afar.

"I'm here! I've come to pick you up! Wait for me..."

Princess Chengyi's face darkened.

Yan'er entered the palace early, apparently to welcome Yin Liuli!

That good-for-nothing son of hers!

"Whoosh..."

Before she could get angry, the pleasure boat suddenly made a muffled sound and began to rock violently in the water.

The lake water churned like a boiling pot, as if something below was violently crashing into it.

Gu Jinyan was standing at the bow of the boat, completely unprepared, when the boat rocked violently and he plunged into the lake.

"Yan'er!"

Princess Chengyi was horrified and jumped up from her sedan chair with a scream, "Quick! Save him! Yan'er can't swim..."