Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

The person who spoke was dressed in a light red palace gown and walked slowly towards the palace maid, holding her wrist.

When Liu Wenying saw the appearance of the person who came, her breath stopped.

Her face was covered with the latest peach blossom pink, her lips were stained with bright red rouge, and there was a gold foil flower between her eyebrows.

Her figure was draped in luxurious palace attire, and the ornaments in her hair and on her wrists were all the most exquisite items in the palace.

She is actually... Lin Zhiyao!

He Lian'er, no, Lin Zhiyao, seemed oblivious to Liu Wenying's surprised expression, and smiled as she curtsied to the Empress.

"It is only right that Her Majesty the Empress teaches manners."

Lin Zhiyao smiled radiantly, but her words were laced with barbs.

"But the so-called kneeling ritual is something I've never heard of before, even though I'm well-versed in palace rules. Could it be a new rule Your Highness has established?"

"Is the Imperial Concubine questioning me?" The Empress's voice turned cold.

"Your Majesty, I dare not."

Lin Zhiyao gave another curtsy, but her back was straight as a pen.

"His Majesty has issued an imperial edict specifically requesting that Lady Bu Ning enter the palace to serve him. If Her Majesty the Empress were to send her away, wouldn't that be asking His Majesty to retract his decree?"

She sighed softly, "How dare I bear the crime of disobeying the imperial decree?"

He deliberately downplayed the words "disobeying the imperial decree," but to the Empress, they carried immense weight.

Yes, that wretched woman is now the apple of His Majesty's eye, and that imperial edict was most likely whispered in his ear by her.

After a brief standoff, the Empress smiled and said, "I was just asking a few questions. Since the Consort thinks it's appropriate, then let's keep it."

The imperial carriage resumed its journey, and as it passed by Lin Zhiyao, she casually uttered a remark.

"However, Your Highness should also remember that the prince is of noble birth; if anything goes wrong... ha!"

After the imperial carriage had gone far away, Lin Zhiyao looked at Liu Wenying, and the fake smile on her face suddenly disappeared.

"What are you still standing there for? Come back to Jade Hibiscus Palace with me."

Inside the Jade Hibiscus Palace, luxury was on full display, with soft, cloud-like brocade carpets and shimmering pearl curtains from the South China Sea.

Lin Zhiyao leaned against the chaise lounge, her posture languid.

Before she could move an inch, three palace maids from the west stepped forward.

Some massaged her shoulders, others served her tea, taking meticulous care of her and not daring to neglect her in the slightest.

"What? Don't you recognize me? You're now my only remaining old acquaintance in the palace."

Lin Zhiyao spoke in a mocking tone, carrying the arrogance of someone in a high position.

Her eyebrows and eyes were still the same, but the imperious air emanating from her was completely different from that of the Second Madam in the Duke of Yu's Mansion.

After calming down from her initial shock, Liu Wenying performed a proper palace ceremony.

"This humble woman, Liu Wenying, pays her respects to Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine."

In the deep palace, it is most taboo to ask too many questions or speak too much. Why did Lin Zhiyao transform into the current Consort He? If she wants to say, she will naturally say so. If she does not want to, further questioning will only bring trouble upon herself.

"Get up," Lin Zhiyao said indifferently, waving her hand.

Liu Wenying got up as instructed, and subconsciously supported her waist.

That's a position that pregnant women often do; Lin Zhiyao, having given birth herself, knows it all too well.

"You really are pregnant...whose child is it?"

When the last two words were asked, the last syllables were trembling.

Liu Wenying lowered her head and said, "I am no longer a member of the government. After leaving the government, I ran a manor and took in a husband who lived with me."

Lin Zhiyao was taken aback, then understood.

"A live-in husband?" she repeated, chuckling softly.

"How could someone as noble and proud as Pei Zeyu become a live-in husband?"

"After all the arguing, it turns out the child you're carrying isn't his."

Lin Zhiyao looked at Liu Wenying, her eyes red with tears.

"Liu Wenying, you're truly ruthless, aren't you? You've crushed all his pride, haven't you?"

Her eyes held not only hatred, but also mockery and a twisted sense of pleasure.

Liu Wenying remained silent.

Lin Zhiyao then got off the chaise lounge and walked to her side.

"Liu Wenying, I have to say, I really hate you, but I hate Pei Zeyu even more."

"If it weren't for his scheme, how could I have been caught in the act of having an affair with my cousin on the day of my sister's wedding?"

"He clearly set me up! I haven't had anything to do with Zheng Tangli since I married into the Pei family."

People tend to say what benefits them, so Lin Zhiyao naturally wouldn't mention that on her wedding night, she was still having an affair with Zheng Tangli.

After a pause, Lin Zhiyao said disdainfully, "Zheng Tangli is stupid too. My child isn't his, yet he still rushes to acknowledge it."

She casually fiddled with the jade beads on her wrist, making them jingle.

"If I hadn't been so young and unmarried at the time, and hadn't been seduced by him, would someone from his family background have been worthy of me?"

Liu Wenying's eyelashes trembled slightly, and all her confusion suddenly became exceptionally clear.

"Back in the Lin family mansion, wasn't you pregnant with Zheng Tangli's child?"

Lin Zhiyao spread her hands, looking bewildered, and asked, "Otherwise what?"

They were all deceived. They originally thought that Lin Zhiyao's child was Zheng Tangli's, but they didn't expect it to be Xiao Chenlin's.

Unbeknownst to Lin Zhiyao, she had secretly become pregnant with Xiao Chenlin's child.

While Liu Wenying was still in shock and deep thought, Lin Zhiyao leaned down and said to her, "If I didn't have a child, how could I have risen to the position of Imperial Concubine by virtue of my son? Even the Empress has to give me some respect."

The two were very close, and Liu Wenying looked at the light in her eyes that had been nurtured by power.

She was certain that Lin Zhiyao had truly changed—not to become bad, but to revert back to being herself.

The once gentle and soft-spoken second wife of the Duke of Yu's mansion was disliked by her husband, harassed by her mother-in-law, and suppressed by her sisters-in-law, and could only endure her fate.

But now that she has sunshine and rain, and space to stretch her branches and leaves, she has blossomed into the form that was rightfully hers.

Lin Zhiyao stood up and brushed the red-gold hairpin at her temple.

"I was so stupid back then, trying to kill myself for a man who never loved me. Now, what don't I have?"

She looked at Liu Wenying, her gaze sharp and unwavering.

"So, do you know why I begged His Majesty to let you enter the palace?"

"Without me, given what you've done in the past, His Majesty would have executed you long ago by the time he realized what was going on."

Liu Wenying lowered her eyes. "I understand. I will take good care of the Fifth Prince."

"You're smart to know what's good for you."

Lin Zhiyao turned and sat back on the couch, her skirt billowing and then gathering again, unwilling to say anything more to her.

Liu Wenying curtsied and was about to leave.

"etc."

Lin Zhiyao's voice drifted from behind.

"Back in the Lin residence, you saved me and my unborn child. I remember that. As long as you do your best, I am not unable to let you go."

Liu Wenying turned around, looked at the graceful figure behind the beaded curtain, and nodded, saying, "This humble woman will remember."

In midsummer of June, Zhiyun Manor was enveloped in lush shade and the chirping of cicadas.

The old locust tree in the corner of the yard spread its huge canopy, enveloping half of the yard in a cool shade.

The children at the orphanage weren't bothered by the heat and ran around barefoot in the yard.

The leader of the children led several boys in a cricket fight under the locust tree.

Several girls gathered under the eaves, playing cat's cradle, the colorful threads twisting and turning between their fingers, creating all sorts of patterns.

The youngest children sat on the doorstep, munching on watermelons, juice dripping down their chins.

When the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the fence, no one paid any attention.

In times of chaos and with many refugees, the almshouse would take in some desperate people every few days, and the children were already used to it.

The sound of horses' hooves stopped outside the fence. Someone dismounted, their footsteps rustling on the gravel path.

One of the boys, with his hair in a topknot, looked up and peered through the fence.

A man was standing outside the fence leading a horse.

The dark-coated horse snorted, and the man leading it was dressed in a dark red outfit, looking travel-worn.

His cuffs were worn white, but his wrists were tied with a faded light green bracelet.

…………