Transmigrated into the body of the vicious first wife of a fallen prime minister

Qi He glanced at Hu Ying's gold-embroidered, upturned shoes and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Why are you wearing such high heels? Aren't you afraid of twisting your ankle?"

Hu Ying retorted confidently, "What do you know? Who wears flat shoes when they're arguing with someone? I knew those little hussies would be sarcastic towards you, so I specially changed into these combat boots to intimidate them from the start!"

Qi He was amused and exasperated: "You came all this way just to argue with someone?"

Hu Ying muttered, "To give you face."

"Did you see those two just now? I get angry just looking at their faces. They used to fawn over you, calling you 'Second Miss' all the time, but now they dare to step on your head. If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll really think you're easy to bully."

As she spoke, a pang of sadness welled up inside her.

Her child used to be such a spoiled and willful person, but ever since that heartless man Shang Jue left, she has never left the house and lives like a little widow.

Now that I've finally managed to get out for a banquet, I'm being humiliated and treated like dirt by these scoundrels.

Hu Ying just couldn't swallow this insult.

"We didn't say anything, why did you have to curse at us so rudely? I think you're just taking advantage of our gentle and easy-going nature!"

One of the gossipy girls was complaining sweetly to Liu Cheng.

Hearing the beauty's coquettish words, Liu Cheng's heart softened a bit. He also thought that Qi He was no longer as glamorous as before, so he decided to let the matter drop.

He said with a forced smile, "Sister Hu Ying, Second Miss, it's all my fault for not being attentive enough. Today is the Liu family's home turf, so why don't you let it go for my sake?"

"Forget it?" Qi He asked with interest. "When have you ever seen me consult a fortune teller for anyone?"

Qi He originally intended not to hold it against Hu Ying, but since Hu Ying had stood up for her, it would be disrespectful for her not to show some appreciation.

Hu Ying understood and chided in a sassy tone, "I said, you, Liu Cheng, are so eager to climb the social ladder, but you don't have to turn on me so quickly, do you? The Qi family is going through a rough patch, but everyone has their day. You've gone too far today, aren't you afraid of running into ghosts in the future?"

"If you won't give Liu Cheng face, can't you at least give me some?"

The scene was tense when a young man at the end of the long table spoke up with a smile.

It was none other than Liu Yan, the eldest son of the Liu family.

Hu Ying whispered, "No wonder Liu Cheng was so assertive today. It turns out he's climbed up to Liu Yan."

She deliberately raised her voice and added, "She's not even half as pretty as my Xiaohe, yet she insists on copying her style of dress. She's a complete copycat."

Everyone on both sides of the long table heard it, and Liu Yan's lips curled into a smile.

Qi He looked Liu Yan up and down and realized that she actually remembered this person.

It wasn't that I'd seen him before, but I'd read Liu Yan's name in that storybook.

Although Qi He is just a cannon fodder character in the book, as Shang Jue's first wife, even with her bad character, her appearance is one of the best in the book.

The Qi and Liu families are both long-established families in Jinling. The two patriarchs were old friends, and their businesses overlapped considerably.

The old man had two sons each, and they had been secretly competing with each other since that generation.

By the time it came to Qi He and Liu Yan's generation, they had been compared to each other since birth.

Liu Yan was superior to Qi He in every way—she was better at studying and more diligent in her work—yet everyone's attention still fell on Qi He.

A thorn gradually took root in his heart. On the one hand, he looked down on this good-for-nothing, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but imitate her in every way.

Even her clothing style is modeled after Qi He's.

To put it nicely, it's androgynous; to put it bluntly, it's neither male nor female.

It wasn't until recently, when the Qi family was in turmoil and the Liu family suddenly became the most powerful family in Jinling, that Liu Yan finally felt triumphant.

Qi He didn't mind these things, but she felt a little uncomfortable being imitated by someone in such a way.

"Why should I give you face?" Qi He felt baffled.

Liu Yan's expression darkened.

Liu Cheng then realized he had made a huge mistake. He couldn't afford to offend Qi He, and he couldn't afford to offend Liu Yan either, so he could only take his anger out on the two girls: "You two, hurry up and apologize to the Second Miss!"

The two men's eyes were brimming with tears, but Liu Cheng ignored them: "Apologize now!"

"I was wrong..." the two girls said, choking back tears.

Qi He glanced at her fingertips and remained silent.

Liu Cheng scolded again, "Haven't you eaten?! Your voice is so soft, the Second Miss can't hear you. Speak louder!"

Upon hearing this, the two burst into tears, their faces streaked with tears: "We're so sorry, Second Miss, we'll never do it again!"

Qi He remained standing there, cold and indifferent.

Hu Ying crossed her arms and said sarcastically, "Oh, this is the first time I've ever seen someone stand there like a statue apologizing. Can't you bend over?"

The two men trembled and bowed deeply to their companion: "We are so sorry, Miss, we were wrong, we really won't do it again, we are so sorry!"

Qi He then raised her eyes slightly, and walked past her lightly without giving her a single glance.

Liu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, then said coldly, "Someone, escort these two out. This place is too small to accommodate these two big shots."

"snort."

......

After that day, those short-sighted people finally restrained themselves a bit.

As the weather gets warmer, the Southern Merchants Summit was held in Nanjing as scheduled.

Qi Zheng led a team of eleven people to handle various tasks separately.

On the morning of the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, the venue for the summit was ready, with thousands of people performing their respective duties.

Qi He sat in the carriage, idly resting her chin on her hand, waiting to enter. This was her first time attending such a large gathering, and Qi Zheng, fearing she wouldn't be used to it, specially assigned her a few helpers.

At the stroke of dawn, the heads of each business took their seats on time. All of them were prominent figures, and various painted carriages filed in one after another.

Liu Yan sat down and silently read his speech again.

His father said with satisfaction, "This is your first time hosting a summit. Don't embarrass the Liu family. Merchants from the capital have also come. If you can establish a relationship with their current leaders, you won't have to worry about business in the north."

Liu Yan had also heard that Jingyu Trading Company had a new young leader, who was only in his early twenties. After disappearing for two years, he suddenly returned to the capital and seized power in just six months.

"Yes, we should not underestimate the young people of today. In the past, it was the lady of the Shang family who was in charge, but now things have changed. We must seize the opportunity and not let the Qi family take advantage of the situation to turn the tables."

Liu Yan scoffed, "What can the Qi family possibly do? Aside from Qi Zheng, who can hold on a little longer, Qi He is nothing but a dumped woman. Do you think Qi Zheng can remarry her off to the head of Jingyu?"

The father and son exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with arrogance.

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the copper bells in the guild hall jingled in the wind, creating a peaceful scene.

No one noticed that a familiar figure was slowly stepping out of the blue-curtained carriage at the entrance.