The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Lady Guiping arranged tea seating in a lakeside pavilion and even set up a stage for performing excerpts from traditional operas.

The pavilion was built over the water, and colorful silks hung all over its exterior, turning the pond water next to the pavilion into a dazzling array of colors, creating a breathtaking scene.

To the surprise of the ladies of the court, the Murong family, one of the five great clans, also sent representatives.

The Murong family never attends banquets held by any family in the capital, so it's unclear why they've come today.

Having finally found an opportunity to curry favor with the Murong family, the officials' wives should have been surrounding Murong Yan.

But everyone was focused on Gu's skincare secrets, so they all turned their attention to Gu.

Lady Anguo, the wife of the Duke of Anguo, also came to the Marquis's residence to attend the banquet.

She was determined to protect Su Qianqian; the eldest daughter in the palace was able to maintain her favor with the emperor thanks to Miss Su.

As soon as they met, the Duchess of Anguo began to praise Gu Shi incessantly, showering her with compliments as if they were free.

"Miss Su is exceptionally talented and beautiful. I had long suspected that Madam Su would also be remarkably elegant, and seeing her today confirms it..."

"Madam Su is quiet and elegant, with a refined and graceful demeanor; she is clearly a clever and intelligent person..."

Madam Lu muttered to herself: "Clever? She's like a block of wood, not uttering a single word for ages. Anyone who didn't know better would think Miss Su's mother was mute."

Madam Lu's son also worked in the Ministry of Works and was under Vice Minister Luo's command, so he came prepared this time, eager to find an opportunity to humiliate Madam Gu so that his son would be looked at with new respect by Vice Minister Luo.

Lady Anguo, the wife of the Duke of Anguo, held the highest rank in the waterside pavilion, so everyone handed her the program list of excerpts from operas, allowing her to choose the first piece.

To everyone's surprise, the Duchess of Anguo sent the program list to Madam Gu.

"Mrs. Su, please choose whichever play you'd like to watch first."

Ms. Gu was very nervous. She didn't know anything and just pointed to something on the program list without even knowing what she had selected.

Madam Lu was furious. Why should this country bumpkin, who had never seen the world, be allowed to order first?

She complained to her granddaughter-in-law in a low voice, "Among the ladies present in the waterside pavilion, who isn't of a higher status than Madam Su?"

Madam Lu disagreed, saying, "Although Madam Su's status is not high, she is Miss Su's mother. I heard that Princess Zhaohua of the Duke of Anguo's mansion has a very good relationship with Miss Su, so it is normal for Madam Anguo to give the first program to Madam Su."

Murong Yan was also very angry. She was a young lady of the Murong family, a family with a great reputation. She should have been the center of attention at the banquet, but she wasn't.

If the Duchess of Anguo doesn't want to be the first to choose a song, she can simply let her choose it.

Murong Yan stormed out of the waterside pavilion.

The person she most wanted to see was Prince Gong. Knowing that as long as she could find Miss Su, she could find Prince Gong, she wandered around looking for him.

To avoid getting so angry that you die while staying in the waterside pavilion.

I wonder what the secret is to Miss Su's mother's ability to stay so young?

In the waterside pavilion, when Madam Lu saw that the Duchess of Anguo had gotten up to go to the restroom, she knew that this was a great opportunity.

Without the protection of Lady Anguo, this honest and simple-minded Lady Gu would have been easily humiliated.

Old Madam Lu was brewing many harsh words in her heart, but just as she was about to say them, Qin Shi beat her to it.

Qin was praised for her good skin by the lady next to her. She stroked her face and explained, "Qian gave me this skin care cream, which she said was called a skin care mask. I'm almost fifty years old, and after using it twice, all the spots and wrinkles on my face have disappeared."

The ladies' eyes lit up when they heard this. See? There really is a secret recipe.

It turned out to be a recipe made by Miss Su herself.

But Miss Su is too high a catch. Looking at Madam Gu's honest and simple appearance, maybe I can get the prescription from her.

What woman doesn't love beauty? Especially since these women's husbands have worked hard for many years to achieve high-ranking positions, and they are all getting on in years.

At this age when aging accelerates, everyone is secretly doing their utmost to maintain their appearance. How could they not envy Gu Shi's youthful beauty?

Everyone was eager to find out the secret recipe for that skincare cream, completely forgetting about their husbands' instructions to humiliate Madam Gu.

The ladies all fawned over and flattered Madam Gu, pushing Old Madam Lu, who wanted to cause trouble, outside.

If it weren't for Mrs. Lu's quick thinking and intervention, Mrs. Lu would definitely have fallen.

The opera excerpts were still being sung in the waterside pavilion, but no one cared what they were singing.

The ladies surrounded Madam Gu, showering her with compliments.

"Madam Su is elegant and noble; she looks like someone who is very wealthy and powerful."

"Madam Su is dignified, elegant, and exudes a noble air; she seems like an easy person to get along with."

"Madam Su's skin is so radiant, like a lotus emerging from water. Would you be so kind as to share your skincare secrets with us? Maybe we could all look a few years younger!"

After everyone had been complimenting her for a while, they noticed that Madam Gu blushed and couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

So everyone crowded around Qin Shi, their eyes burning with fervor, asking about the skincare cream.

Even Mrs. Lu looked hopeful.

Qin Shi rattled off a string of trivial remarks, "...If you apply the skincare cream to your face and then wash it off after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, you'll find that your face is much fairer and smoother."

Old Madam Lu finally caught Gu Shi alone and sat down next to her. She had just opened her mouth, but before she could say a word, the Duchess of Anguo returned from the restroom.

Lady Anguo took Gu's hand and said, "Lady Su and I hit it off immediately. Why don't we go for a walk by the lake?"

As Madam Lu watched Gu walk away, unfortunately, she was too old and frail to keep up.

Even if she did catch up, she wouldn't dare to humiliate Gu Shi in front of the Duchess of Anguo, because she could tell that the Duchess of Anguo was very protective of Gu Shi.

It's infuriating! Such a great opportunity has slipped away like that. The Duchess of Anguo is so biased towards a lowly peasant woman; doesn't she care about lowering her own status?

While they were chatting, Madam Qin noticed that Madam Gu had left with the Duchess of Anguo, and she felt relieved.

She was still surrounded by a lively crowd, with enthusiastic women gathered in the center—

Qin thought it best to handle these talkative ladies herself, so as to prevent them from bothering Gu and making Gu nervous.

"How should this lady be addressed?"

"My surname is Qin, and I am Qian's maternal aunt. My husband's family name is Gu."

"My apologies, my apologies. So you are Miss Su's aunt. No wonder you have such a wealthy appearance."

"Madam Gu is composed and elegant, truly possessing the demeanor of a lady of high birth..."

"Madam Gu possesses an elegant and refined air, making one forget worldly concerns upon seeing her..."

"Madam Gu exudes a scholarly air; she must come from a family of scholars."

Qin's lips twitched. She was hardly from a scholarly family!

I only have a basic understanding of a few words.

Qin never imagined that one day she would be surrounded by a group of noble ladies showering her with compliments because of Qian'er's skincare cream.