I swept the harem by pretending to be weak

"While you are still at home, you should get together with your sisters and sisters-in-law. Once you enter the palace, it will be difficult to have such an opportunity again." Liu Ming said with a sigh.

Liu Zhirou instinctively wanted to refuse, but she swallowed the words back when they came to her lips, and just replied with a crisp "OK".

Although after entering the palace, there probably won’t be much relationship with these so-called family members, it’s still better to understand some things.

What's more, it's better to get along with sisters and sisters-in-law of the same generation than to get information from this old man with ulterior motives.

Even if Liu Ming didn't suspect her, he wouldn't necessarily have any good intentions towards her. He was a very cold man.

Liu Zhirou believes this very much.

She bowed and then withdrew.

While the father and daughter were talking, all the servants were standing guard outside. After Liu Zhirou went out, she called Qiuju several times before she came over.

"Where have you been? Why are you so late?" Liu Zhirou asked with some confusion.

"Sister Yulian from the eldest young lady's side came to see me, so I went over to talk to her." Qiu Ju replied respectfully, "By the way, the eldest young lady said she wanted to invite you to a gathering, Miss, should we go?"

"Why not go?" Liu Zhirou asked back.

Qiuju probably didn't expect Liu Zhirou to say that, and was stunned.

"Look at you, you're so silly. What are you going to do when you get to the palace?" Liu Zhirou laughed dumbly. "Come and help me up. I've been busy for a long time and I still feel a little dizzy."

Qiuju quickly took two steps forward and gently supported Liu Zhirou.

Liu Zhirou's sister-in-law, Gan, was not born into a merchant family. Gan's father was a minor official in the Ministry of War. Although he was a minor official, he was still a scholar, and the people in the Ministry of War were always close to Duke Deng.

If Duke Deng really fell, her sister-in-law would probably not have a good life either. Liu Ming was a super snobbish guy. Liu Zhen was Liu Ming's only child, and Liu Ming would never allow him to marry a worthless woman.

"The third young lady is here, please come and sit down." Gan looked very happy when she saw Liu Zhirou.

"Sister-in-law." Liu Zhirou also called her obediently.

Liu Zhirou stepped in and saw that except for her, almost all the unmarried women had come here.

The second sister, Liu Zhijing, is two years older than Liu Zhirou. She is the only daughter born to Aunt Bai. She is not good-looking, has average abilities, and is not very well regarded by the outside world. She is also a little timid and cowardly, but overall she is okay.

The fourth sister, Liu Zhijin, is considered the best-looking daughter of the Liu family except for Liu Zhirou. However, her biological mother's lowly status lowers her evaluation. Her mother is just a prostitute who was redeemed by Liu Ming.

Liu Ming's training direction for Liu Zhijin was to let her learn some secret techniques of singing and dancing, and then become a concubine of a rich man.

But Liu Zhijin herself was very proud. Unlike Liu Zhijing, she did not follow Zhao all day long. Instead, she got along surprisingly well with Duke Deng's illegitimate son.

The fifth sister, Liu Zhilan, is Liu Zhirou’s half-sister. She is just 13 years old and has not fully grown yet, but judging from her facial features, she is probably not as good as Liu Zhirou’s.

At first, the conversation between the girls was quite polite, and several people gathered around to congratulate Liu Zhirou.

But not long after, Liu Zhijin started to act up.

"Although Third Sister is blessed, I heard that the palace is not an easy place to stay. Several concubines of lower rank are beaten to death every now and then."

"Really? I didn't expect that fourth sister is so well-informed just sitting at home. She even knows what's going on in the imperial palace." Liu Zhirou replied with a smile.

She felt a little conflicted now, as her memories told her that this fourth sister was not someone to be trifled with, but what she showed was completely different from what she remembered.

Generally speaking, anyone with a brain would not mess with Liu Zhirou at this time. The matter of entering the palace has been decided and cannot be changed. How she can survive after entering the palace depends on her own ability. At this time, when everything is in chaos and uncertainty, it is not a rational thing to suddenly jump out and launch a threatening attack.

If Liu Zhirou was really frightened by her, the first person who would not forgive her would be her father Liu Ming.

Fortunately, Liu Zhirou has a good psychological quality and will not be frightened by such a simple sentence.

"Shut up. What do you know about what's going on in the palace? You're just like your mother. You know a little about men." Liu Zhilan started to mock without hesitation.

Liu Zhijin's face suddenly turned ugly.

"You - who do you think you are! How could you insult my mother?"

"How can this be an insult? This is the truth! Don't you know who I am right now?" Liu Zhilan jumped up and slapped the fourth sister in the face.

Liu Zhijin was stunned for a moment.

She stood there for a while with her face covered, stomped her feet twice, then turned around and ran away without a trace.

"This child is really something. Zhirou, Zhilan, don't take what she said to heart..."

"Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? We are sisters from the same family, how could I possibly resent her?" Liu Zhirou looked very calm and tolerant.

Compared to their two legitimate daughters, Gan was obviously closer to Liu Zhijin, a daughter of poor origin. This actually had nothing to do with right or wrong, it was just a matter of stance.

"Sister! When did you become so cowardly? In my opinion, you should teach her a severe lesson!" Liu Zhilan was very angry.

Liu Zhirou remained silent.

She saw her energy bar rising again, almost filling up the entire bar.

Seeing what she was most interested in, how could she care about Liu Zhilan?

"I originally wanted to get together with my sisters before entering the palace, but I didn't expect such an unpleasant thing to happen. Let's forget it. Zhilan, let's go back first. Mother wants to see you."

Liu Zhirou declined Gan's invitation.

She had never talked to anyone about or heard anyone talk about other people's miserable lives before, but the energy bar still increased a lot, so this one factor could basically be ruled out.

So what are the basic factors for the increase in energy bars?

Liu Zhirou already had a rough idea of ​​the answer in her mind.

It's a sign of weakness.

Almost every time the energy bar rose, she showed weakness to a greater or lesser extent, or others thought she was weaker. Although she had just ridiculed Liu Zhijin, according to her past practices, she would never let it go so easily. She would have to advise her parents and punish Liu Zhijin by making him kneel in the ancestral hall for a few days.

The next step is to determine whether the energy bar changes due to other people's reactions or her own reactions.