Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“Is this the new wife of Crown Prince Lu of the Loyal and Courageous Marquis Estate?”

The Lian family of the Dukedom had for generations guarded the northwestern frontier, far removed from court disputes. Even when Noble Consort Huo and Regent Huo Guang held sway, they sought to win over the Lian family. As true founding heroes, the Lian family had been loyal and righteous for generations, standing as one of the few noble houses to remain steadfast through over a decade of turmoil.

After Emperor Wei ascended the throne, to secure the Lian family’s allegiance, he betrothed Empress Zhang’s younger sister, Zhang Wan, to the Lian family heir, Lian Cheng.

The marriages of the Lian-Zhang and Lu-Shen families were both decreed by the emperor simultaneously—the only two imperial marriage decrees since his enthronement. Thus, Zhang Wan, the third daughter of the Zhang family, and Shen Anning, the daughter of the Shen family, became the two most prominent women in the capital for over a year since the new emperor’s ascension.

Their weddings coincidentally took place on the same day, a remarkable twist of fate.

The one speaking now was none other than Zhang Wan, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lian family.

However, today marked the first time these two had met, by sheer coincidence.

As Zhang Wan was the younger sister of Empress Zhang, she often attended banquets during festivals and holidays, and many noblewomen in the capital had seen her a few times. In contrast, Shen Anning, the other lady, had lived quietly since marrying into the Lu family. The only time she had appeared in public, she was mistaken for a maid, becoming a laughingstock throughout the capital.

Amid the public ridicule, Zhang Wan had assumed that Lady Shen was a country woman too plain to be presented in public, hence why the Lu family kept her hidden away.

But upon seeing her today, she was struck by Shen Anning’s radiant beauty—exceptionally lovely. She moved with graceful, swaying steps, the gold hairpins in her hair and the delicate earrings swaying gently in rhythm with her movements, exuding the demeanor of a well-bred lady from an aristocratic family.

Before her marriage, Zhang Wan’s elder sister, Empress Zhang, had specially sent a palace instructress to teach her how to walk, speak, and smile. She had practiced diligently for half a year, yet her poise didn't compare.

Instantly, she could not help but feel deeply impressed.

Shen Anning smiled slightly and looked toward Lady Zhang, replying, “Yes, that would be me.”

As she spoke, she smiled warmly at Lady Zhang and said, “Although I have not been in the capital long, I have long heard of you, madam. During the last banquet at our estate, I thought you might attend, but by chance, we did not meet until today.”

Shen Anning responded to Lady Zhang’s inquiry gracefully and confidently.

Her words showed neither unease nor timidity, nor any hint of flattery.

Moreover, Shen Anning had a naturally pleasant demeanor and now expressed a clear intention of goodwill.

Coupled with the shared circumstances connecting them, Lady Zhang responded gently as well, “During the last banquet at the Marquis Estate, it coincided with my mother’s birthday, so I was unable to attend. Who would have thought we would miss each other on several subsequent occasions? Meeting you today, I feel as though we should have met much earlier.”

Although the Zhang family was honored as the imperial affinal family, when Empress Zhang, Zhang Zhen, was betrothed to the then Crown Prince, the Emperor of Wei, the Zhang family held only a minor fourth-rank vice minister position and was far from prominent. Later, when the crown prince was confined to the imperial ancestral temple, the Zhang family not only failed to benefit but were implicated, suffering even more severely than the Lu family over the past decade.

Thus, now that the Zhang family had been restored to favor once more and Lady Zhang had married into a high-status family, her circumstances and experiences were remarkably similar to Shen Anning’s, and the two found much in common.

“Younger sister, where have you been spending your time recently?”

As they spoke, the two walked together, conversing comfortably.

Influenced by the crown prince’s situation, Lady Zhang had not been able to marry smoothly and was only betrothed to the Lian family until nearly twenty, making her three or four years older than Shen Anning.

Yet, surprisingly, she found common ground with Shen Anning, who had lived a previous life.

“Having just arrived in the capital, I’m still a stranger to the capital. Not to mention leisure activities, in the more than half a year since I arrived, I’ve rarely left the estate. Don’t laugh, sister, but I still can’t tell east from west.”

Shen Anning laughed self-deprecatingly.

Lady Zhang found her candid and amusing, and with a smile, she seized the moment to invite her, “I also don’t have many places to go. If you have some free time one day, let me host you at my estate for a gathering.”

Shen Anning immediately agreed happily, “Then I’ll gladly take you up on that.”

In such settings, most exchanges are formal and conventional, but due to their shared experiences and similar fates, Shen Anning and Lady Zhang shared a special rapport. Moreover, both the Lian and Lu families were distinguished noble families. Additionally, Empress Zhang had mentioned the Shen family to Lady Zhang on several occasions, lending their interaction more sincerity than usual.

The two directly became friends at the banquet and arranged a time for their next meeting.

The elders, seeing this, approved of this development.

At that moment, Mrs. Pei of the Pei family also brought her youngest daughter, Pei Qingying, to pay respects to Madam Lian. When she saw Shen Anning, Mrs. Pei proactively summoned her over for a closer look.

Noticing this, Xiao-shi pointed to Mrs. Pei and said to Shen Anning, “Ning’er, this is Mrs. Pei, your Aunt Shu, a dear friend of your late mother.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Anning immediately bowed to Mrs. Pei, saying, “Aunt Shu.”

Mrs. Pei’s eyes reddened slightly. She took Shen Anning’s hand and studied her face intently, looking again and again. Her gentle expression revealed a mix of complex and heartfelt emotions, before her eyes finally settled on Shen Anning’s brows and eyes, full of tender affection. “You look so much like your mother,” she said softly.

“Especially these eyes.”

As she spoke, Mrs. Pei suddenly removed a jade bracelet from her wrist and slipped it onto Shen Anning’s, saying, “This is a meeting gift from your Aunt Shu.”

Before Shen Anning could react, the warm, smooth touch of the jade was already against her skin. Looking down, she saw a fine jade bracelet now encircling her wrist.

The bracelet was exquisitely crafted, the jade pure and translucent, with a deep, serene green hue—clearly a piece of exceptional quality.

Shen Anning was both flustered and touched, about to immediately decline and remove it, but her hand was gently pressed down. Looking up, she saw Mrs. Pei shaking her head slightly. Shen Anning then turned to glance at Xiao-shi, who smiled and said, “Since it’s a gift from an elder, it comes from the heart. You should accept it.”

Just then, Pei Qingying behind Mrs. Pei raised her own wrist and said with natural familiarity, “Sister Ning, I have one just like it!”

Shen Anning looked toward Pei Qingying. The girl, about fourteen or fifteen, was charming and lively, waving and blinking at her.

She then noticed an identical bracelet on Pei Qingying’s wrist.

Mrs. Pei had actually given her a keepsake shared between mother and daughter—something so significant. Shen Anning was temporarily at a loss, unsure how to feel.

She was briefly distracted.

A sudden pang of emotion rose in her chest.

In her previous life, she was adopted. Although her adoptive father favored her, he was utterly dominated by his wife and dared not openly protect her. Her adoptive mother, meanwhile, was shrewd, harsh, and mercenary. Though Shen Anning gave as good as she got in their conflicts, the Wu family was poor, and survival was struggle enough—there was little room for deep affection.

Later, after marrying into the Lu family, her husband was cold, her mother-in-law ruthless, and her sisters-in-law each had their own schemes. Only Xiao-shi was relatively close, yet even she harbored hidden motives.

In both her past and present lives, Shen Anning had rarely encountered anyone who treated her with genuine sincerity. She did not know what it felt like to be carefully cared for and cherished.

She had no father or mother, but at this moment, the faint image of a mother took shape in her heart—no longer Xiao-shi from her previous life, but Mrs. Pei before her now.

This must be what a mother feels like.

If her mother were alive, she would probably be like Aunt Shu.

For a moment, Shen Anning felt a warmth in her heart.

With a sense of closeness, she suddenly stepped forward and gently embraced Mrs. Pei, saying, “Thank you, Aunt Shu.”

Mrs. Pei was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this gesture.

But after a moment’s surprise, she recovered and, full of tenderness and affection, pulled Shen Anning into a warm embrace. “Good child, no need for thanks. We are family.”

Holding Shen Anning for a moment, she then took Pei Qingying’s hand and placed it together with Shen Anning’s, saying, “Your mother and I were close friends in our youth. From now on, you two must also get along well.”

As Lady Pei finished speaking, Pei Qingying took the initiative to hold Shen Anning’s hand with a friendly expression and said to Lady Pei, “Mother, don’t worry. I will certainly get along well with Sister Ning. After all, without Sister Ning, there would be no me.”

Pei Qingying and Lady Pei were exchanging cryptic remarks that Shen Anning couldn’t understand. Seeing Shen Anning’s puzzled look, Pei Qingying winked at her playfully and said, “Sister Ning, I’ll tell you the secret another day.”

Just as she spoke, a eunuch outside announced loudly, “His Highness Prince Ning has arrived—”

Prince Ning was the cousin of Emperor Wei, one of the few surviving members of the Wei clan who had managed to survive by playing the fool. Though not the emperor’s own brother, he was one of the few remaining relatives whom the emperor held in high regard. Since his cousin ascended the throne, Prince Ning had continued his old ways, no longer pretending to be a fool but still indulging in frivolous behavior, spending his days frequenting brothels and doing everything except his official duties, living a life of carefree ease. The world called him the Prince of Leisure.

The moment Prince Ning appeared, it signaled that the emperor and empress were about to arrive, so everyone quickly took their places.

When Shen Anning returned with the Xiao family, she found the atmosphere at the seating area to be strange. Lifting her eyes, she saw Chunqi approaching with a deathly pale face, clearly on the verge of tears, and said anxiously, “Lady—”

But before she could finish, Fang Siyan suddenly raised her voice to interrupt her, gently warning, “One can eat anything, but one shouldn’t speak recklessly.”

Hearing this, Chunqi instantly turned to glare at Fang Siyan with fury. Fang Siyan then coughed lightly and stood up, addressing Shen Anning across from her, “Ah, Elder Sister, it happened like this: after you left, Aunt wanted to take a look at the gift you presented to Her Majesty the Empress. Unexpectedly, when she opened the embroidery, it was damaged. Fortunately, we noticed it beforehand; otherwise, presenting such a damaged gift to Her Majesty would have been disastrous.”

Fang Siyan calmly turned the tables.

Chunqi, hearing this, clenched her jaw, her face turning green with anger, ready to speak. At this moment, Fang Siyan added, “Could Aunt possibly damage your things? If you don’t believe me, here is Sister Ran. Why don’t you ask her?”

Lu Anran, upon hearing this, only stood up and glanced at Fang Siyan, then looked at Shen Anning with difficulty, giving an awkward smile without offering any testimony or contradiction.

She seemed unsure of how to respond.

Desperately wanting to retreat into her shell.

Seeing this, Chunqi stiffened, about to argue, but Shen Anning gave her a meaningful look, shook her head slightly, and whispered, “Let me see it.”

Chun Qi held back tears as she carefully opened the brocade box. The embroidery was rolled up and wrapped, but before it could be fully taken out and unfolded, it was clear that a thread had unraveled from one of the rolled ends. The silk thread stretched extremely long, cutting directly across the center of the entire piece and rendering it into two separate pieces.

This was an embroidery she had spent a full four months painstakingly hand-stitching. Yet, even before it was completely unfurled, it was evident that the piece was severely damaged.

Although Shen Anning had anticipated this, she still felt a keen disappointment.

Once an item is damaged, it can no longer be presented—this piece was now ruined.

However, in her previous life, the damage to this embroidery had nothing to do with Fang Siyan. According to Bai Tao’s hurried account at the time, it seemed that the eldest young lady, Lu Anran, had taken a look at it midway. Unfortunately, after the birthday banquet ended in her past life, Bai Tao was dragged away by Fang Shi, and Shen Anning never got the opportunity to confront her about it.

Unexpectedly, this lifetime brought a slight change.

Lu Anran was now remaining detached from the situation.

With this in mind, Shen Anning slowly raised her eyes and swept her gaze over everyone present. Lu Anran kept her eyes downcast and remained silent, Fang Siyan looked arrogant and aloof, while Fang Shi shot her a sharp look and retorted, “What? Are you going to tattle to the Marquis again?”

Fang Shi’s tone was laced with sarcasm.

As the atmosphere grew tense, Lady Xiao stepped forward after surveying the scene, attempting to mediate. She picked up the embroidery, examined it, and sighed regretfully. “Since the piece is damaged, it’s no longer suitable to be presented. Fortunately, the Marquis’s estate has already offered a gift. Even if you don’t present one separately, it won’t be considered impolite.”

Seeing that Shen Anning had remained silent all along, Lady Xiao offered some words of comfort.

A moment later, her expression turned stern, and she addressed everyone, “Enough. Whatever issues there are, we’ll discuss them after returning home. Anyone who says another word can leave right now.”

With Lady Xiao’s command, Fang Siyan and Lu Anran obediently took their seats one after another.

Only Chun Qi was left standing there, swamped with resentment and self-reproach.

At that moment, a eunuch outside announced loudly, “The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!”

Upon hearing this, the Lu family members quickly returned to their positions. Everyone knelt in unison, facing the imperial couple at the head of the hall, and chanted in unison, “Long live the Emperor! May he live ten thousand years!”

“Long live the Empress! May she live a thousand years!”

Only Fang Shi was stunned, staring blankly into space, frozen, having completely forgotten to react. It wasn’t until Xiao Shi coughed as a reminder that she jolted back to reality and hurriedly knelt along with the others.

As she lowered her head, her heart was pounding like a drum, as if it were about to leap from her throat.

Fang Shi desperately clutched her chest, her face a mixture of shock and eager anticipation.

...

After the Emperor and Empress took their seats, the Emperor of Wei personally offered a toast in Empress Zhang’s honor. Then, civil and military officials took turns toasting the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor of Wei singled out several local officials for inquiries. Following that, dancers took the stage, and music filled the hall. The entire Qinian Hall was filled with joyous celebration, a rare and lively scene.

Once the dance concluded, following the sequence of events from her past life, Empress Zhang would speak up and specifically summon Shen Anning for an audience.

Since the gift was damaged earlier, Shen Anning had remained silent, not uttering a single word. Though she showed no outward anger toward anyone, it was clear to discerning eyes that her mind was elsewhere.

Just as the dance ended and people were preparing to leave, Lu Anran gently tugged at Shen Anning’s sleeve from behind. Shen Anning turned her head slightly and saw Lu Anran quickly hand her something, whispering softly, “I made this myself. If you don’t mind, sister-in-law, you can offer it to Her Majesty later. It should be an appropriate gift.”

With that, she opened her palm, revealing a small phoenix-flower-patterned perfume ball resting quietly in her hand. The perfume ball was about the size of a walnut, crafted from fine gold filigree, engraved with a phoenix design and inlaid with tiny rubies. It was both elegant and exquisite, a small, spherical object, shaped like a top, with a tiny lock in the middle. When the lock was opened, a red scented pill was revealed inside. Though the small object was not particularly valuable, its delicate and ingenious craftsmanship made it utterly charming. The moment her palm opened, a unique, warm fragrance instantly wafted through the air.

Anyone who saw it would inevitably exclaim: Such skillful hands! Such a clever and thoughtful idea!

In her past life, Shen Anning had regarded this item as a lifeline, accepting it without hesitation and feeling deeply grateful to Lu Anran.

However, in this life, faced with the same damaged embroidery and the same perfume ball, a strange smile flickered across Shen Anning’s face, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. When she looked up again, her expression was calm as she stared into Lu Anran’s hypocritical eyes and said word by word, “In that case, thank you, sister.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Anning turned away abruptly.

Lu Anran looked down and realized the perfume ball had already disappeared from her hand.

At that moment—

“Has the descendant of my teacher arrived today?”

The music stopped, and the dancers gradually retreated.

The Emperor of Wei at the head of the hall, watched the festive scene before him and was reminded of the hardships he had endured at the imperial mausoleum just a year ago. Overwhelmed with emotion, he suddenly thought of his former mentor and asked aloud.

Hearing this, Empress Zhang scanned the hall, her gaze settling on the Lu family’s location. With a gentle smile, she asked, “Has the young lady from the Shen family arrived?”

In an instant, hundreds of eyes in the hall turned toward the Lu family’s direction.