The concubine, a former cannon fodder, becomes pregnant, and the childless prince spoils her rotten.

The invited guests arrived one after another, and they all gave Lin Zhizhi ambiguous smiles when they saw her.

"These are the new sisters that Sister Dan introduced to us. They are so lovely."

"I'm very happy to see it. If I had it by my side and looked at it every day, I would feel happy."

"The Prince's mansion is truly blessed; the place is so nurturing. Unlike us maids, who are all big and burly from doing rough work, we don't look good at all."

These words implied that she was just a pretty face, but Lin Zhizhi responded without changing her expression, "The other ladies are also very beautiful, and they must be very favored and pampered."

Upon hearing her say this, some people blushed and looked at Li Dan with a hint of reproach, "You're talking badly about us again. How could you be so lucky?"

"Exactly, if we could really win people's favor, why would we have time to gather here and laugh and joke with our sisters?"

Li Dan chuckled, "I don't think Sister Zhizhi was exaggerating. You all look radiant; who wouldn't think you've just received special favor?"

"Your mouth is getting more and more vulgar; you just love to spout these embarrassing things."

Lin Zhizhi lowered her head, feigning shyness and awkwardness, but she knew exactly what was going on.

If she wasn't favored, how could she have the chance to associate with Li Dan? Just like in her previous life, she was trapped in that world, and even if she was fortunate enough to attend a large gathering, Li Dan wouldn't even glance at her.

Perhaps because they had just met, these women didn't make any jokes about Lin Zhizhi and instead exchanged pleasantries with each other.

The key figure at the gathering arrived late, and she said apologetically, "Something came up, and I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."

"Not long ago, we just arrived too." Li Dan quickly stood up to greet him and personally helped him to his seat.

The others also stood up one after another. Lin Zhizhi and the others looked at the woman, who was wearing a light blue dress and had only a rough wooden hairpin on her body. The white jade bracelet on her wrist was quite smooth.

She exuded an air of nobility, and the touch of red on her lips made her complexion look much better, but it couldn't hide her fatigue.

Even when he quickened his pace, his body remained steady, as if he had undergone strict training.

She was Dou Xiuchan, a concubine in the Crown Prince's residence. Her father was a third-rank official, and her brothers and sisters had many children and grandchildren, each with their own duties and deep ties to their respective families.

Many of the women gathered here are her sisters-in-law.

The fact that such a person could appear at Li Dan's party was already a great honor, so how could she dare to be negligent?

The main seat was immediately given up, and Li Dan sat in the side seat. She then grabbed Lin Zhizhi and pulled her to her side.

Dou Xiuchan then noticed Lin Zhizhi, and nodded with a slight smile as a greeting.

Lin Zhizhi was flattered and hurriedly bowed, raising her hand slightly, "Sisters, there's no need for such formalities."

The atmosphere relaxed after she spoke.

Li Dan was very talkative, and she always managed to steer the conversation toward Lin Zhizhi in just a few words. The dozen or so concubines from various mansions present all had their own agendas in mind.

This was Lin Zhizhi's first time attending such a gathering. With Li Dan leading the way, she felt more at ease and answered questions from others.

"Did you know that Yuyi Workshop has run out of embroidery patterns? I was planning to buy a new dress, but I found that it's still the same two or three styles over and over again," said a concubine from the Junhou Mansion, somewhat dejectedly. "I noticed that the new silver ornaments are quite different from the ones before; they're all conventional and lack any novel ideas."

If things continue like this, she will lose one of her bargaining chips to secure the emperor's favor, and she is now worried about what to do.

Lin Zhizhi spoke up at the opportune moment: "I recently acquired some embroidery patterns, which I'm carefully preparing for the ladies. They're just small trinkets, so please don't find them too shabby."

After speaking, she took out the neatly folded handkerchiefs and offered them to Dou Xiuchan first.

She glanced at them, selected a pattern of green bamboo, and said softly, "Sister, you're so thoughtful. I noticed that none of these patterns are the same; you've clearly put a lot of thought into them."

"Thank you for your appreciation, Auntie." Lin Zhizhi still retained the habit she had when she was a maid. She stood there to express her gratitude for her mistress's praise. She seemed to have just come back to her senses and lowered her head again.

She wanted to use her naivety to cover up her true thoughts and avoid attracting the attention of these people.

Li Dan quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "This isn't your royal residence, so there's no need to be so formal and call us 'aunts.' We're all familiar sisters, so just call us 'elder sisters.'"

She casually picked out a handkerchief that caught her eye from among the others. "I was wondering why you brought such an exquisite package with you. The fabric must be quite valuable. It turns out you were thinking of us sisters and prepared this as a gift."

"What are we going to do? We haven't prepared anything."

Li Dan's words never really came to fruition; someone would always seize the opportunity to continue, keeping the atmosphere on the ship harmonious.

After circling around, Lin Zhizhi approached Aunt Zhou with a troubled expression: "I didn't expect that when Sister Zhou came back today, there was one less dish prepared. This was originally for me, but the pattern doesn't quite suit Sister Zhou's style. I hope you won't blame me."

Aunt Zhou insisted on coming along, and Li Dan did not write her name on the invitation.

The two had a quarrel earlier on the shore. Everyone present knew that Lin Zhizhi was not careless, so why would she not prepare two more sets in case of emergency?

This week, Auntie, taking advantage of her pregnancy, brought up the fact that the Prince's mansion had no heir in public.

Lin Zhizhi's lack of action is what makes them suspect that she has ulterior motives.

This wasn't considered being difficult, and Lin Zhizhi's attitude was humble and polite.

Aunt Zhou found her words extremely grating, and looking at the picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water on the handkerchief, she felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Her words were incredibly sharp, almost as if she were pointing at Lin Zhizhi and cursing, "You and that wretched maid, what are you? How dare you call me sister?"

Lin Zhizhi fluttered her eyelashes, took a step back, but said nothing.

Her aggrieved yet silent demeanor only fueled Aunt Zhou's anger.

She immediately stood up and chased after him, yelling, "Don't look at me like I'm bullying you, you slut! Are you using this picture of mandarin ducks to mock me?"

"I wouldn't dare, please calm down, Auntie."

Lin Zhizhi wanted to retreat to the other side of the boat. Seeing her evasive manner, it seemed as if she was afraid of being extorted by Aunt Zhou.

The surroundings fell silent; the laughter and chatter ceased instantly, and everyone's gaze turned to Aunt Zhou.

Some looked down on her, some had strange expressions and gloated, and some even expressed hostility and glared at her.

Aunt Zhou then realized something was amiss. She had felt good scolding Lin Zhizhi, but the maidservants were indeed even more lowly than concubines.

But it was only after Dou Xiuchan called Lin Zhizhi "sister" that the other sisters accepted her.

Aunt Zhou's previous words showed that she looked down on Lin Zhizhi, and at the same time she put down those who called her her sister, completely offending Dou Xiuchan.

Upon closer inspection, those who showed signs of anger were all members of the princeling faction.