Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"Empress Dowager, may I sing a song for you all?" Shen Jingwan stood up and said.

Old Madam Shen tried to pull her under the table but failed.

Everyone's eyes turned to Madam Shen's table. Most of them showed curious expressions, while others looked like they were waiting for a good show. Everyone was talking in low voices.

After looking at Shen Jingwan, someone looked towards Shen Chuning with a sympathetic look. Shen Chuning sat in her seat, keeping her expression unchanged.

Princess Nan Yan gently squeezed Shen Chuning's hand under the table. Shen Chuning shook her head slightly and whispered, "I'm fine."

When Xiao Jinhuan saw Shen Jingwan stand up, she chuckled, "You're so young, and you're so eager to get married."

The ladies sitting next to her all showed mocking expressions.

Shen Jingwan seemed not to feel the gazes of others, nor to hear the mocking words of others. She just looked at the Empress Dowager firmly.

The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Today is just a family dinner. There aren't so many rules and regulations. Go if you want to."

Shen Jingwan took a deep breath, walked up to the platform, and began to sing: "When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky. I wonder what year this evening is in the palace of heaven. I want to ride the wind home, but I fear the jade buildings and jade palaces are too cold up there. I dance with my shadow, it feels so different from being in the human world. It circles the red pavilions, lowers the beautiful windows, and shines on the sleepless. There should be no hatred, why does it always appear full when we are apart? People have joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, the moon waxes and wanes, this has always been difficult to achieve. I wish we could live long, and share the beauty of the moon together, even though we are thousands of miles apart." (Quoted from Su Shi's "Water Melody")

After Shen Jingwan finished singing the song, the Imperial Garden fell into complete silence.

It was the Empress Dowager who clapped her hands first, and then warm applause came from the audience.

"Good, good, good, good. A person has joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, the moon waxes and wanes, it is impossible to have everything in life. Is this a poem you wrote yourself?" The Queen Mother said three good words in a row.

Shen Jingwan bowed and replied, "To answer the Empress Dowager, this is a song that Wan'er composed especially for today's Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Okay, the lyrics and the music are great, and paired with the moon-white dress you're wearing today, you look like a fairy about to ride the wind away."

Hearing the Empress Dowager say this, Shen Jingwan showed a protesting expression towards Xiao Jinhuan.

Didn’t Xiao Jinhuan say that she was dressed like she was attending a funeral? But the Empress Dowager said she looked like a fairy.

Xiao Jinhua's fingers dug into the tabletop in anger.

"Empress Dowager, the Shen family is about to produce another talented woman." Concubine Qin complimented.

The Queen Mother was allowed to enter the palace to accompany the Emperor because of her talent.

The Empress Dowager thought of Shen Jingwan's identity, and looked at Shen Chuning with regret, thinking, how great it would be if such talent was in Aning, then the Shen family could continue its glory.

Old Madam Shen looked at Shen Jingwan with pride. This granddaughter brought her quite a few surprises.

Shen Chuning was upset. This song had appeared in her previous life as well, but it was after she got engaged and before her marriage. Shen Jingwan had used this song to seduce the third prince Xiao Yuanlang, but it was accompanied by the sound of a piano at that time.

In this life, Shen Jingwan had just started learning music and couldn't even play a complete tune on the piano, but she could already compose music. This was too incredible.

But when they first met at Wanbaoxuan, Shen Chuning had tested Shen Jingwan. She was not living a second life, so had she been hiding herself?

So will her plan succeed?

"I drank too much fruit wine and have a headache. I want to go for a walk." Shen Chuning whispered to Princess Nan Yan.

Princess Nan Yan cast a concerned look at him, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Shen Chuning shook her head. "No, I'll just take a breath nearby and be back soon."

Princess Nanyan nodded, "Then be careful and don't go too far."

Shen Chuning said "hmm" and walked out of the imperial garden.

She had spent most of the past six months in the palace, so she was familiar with every place in the palace.

It’s just that today the moon is round and big, and it shines much brighter than usual.

Shen Chuning leaned against a rockery and looked up at the moon in the sky.

"The Imperial Garden is so lively, why did you come out?"

Shen Chuning looked in the direction of the voice and said in surprise, "Brother Zhou Er."

Zhou Lin walked towards Shen Chuning and asked, "Why aren't you watching the show inside?"

"It's always the same performances, I'm tired of it. But Brother Zhou Er, didn't you say there was a competition at Wenhua Hall? Are you participating?" Shen Chuning asked.

"What are you participating in? A competition? I'm a joke now when it comes to martial arts competitions. I have all the kung fu skills, but I can't fight on the battlefield with real guns and swords. Participating in martial arts competitions will only add to other people's jokes. As for literature, I've just started to study seriously and systematically. I can't compare with those who have received traditional education since childhood, so I won't join in the fun." Zhou Lin said self-deprecatingly.

"Brother Zhou Er, don't underestimate yourself. The teacher praised you for your quick learning. You will be able to take the exam next autumn. After passing the provincial exam in August next year, you will take the metropolitan exam after the New Year. You may even be able to take the top prize in the palace exam."

After Shen Chuning finished speaking, she looked at Zhou Lin carefully again, shook her head and continued, "Not necessarily. Brother Zhou Er is so handsome, maybe the emperor will choose you as the third place in the imperial examination."

When Zhou Lin heard Shen Chuning say this, his face turned red all the way to his ears, "You little girl, you actually teased me."

Shen Chuning laughed.

At this time, footsteps were heard in the distance. Zhou Lin pulled Shen Chuning's arm and entered the cave next to the rockery. The enclosed cave was small and the two stood face to face, and could even feel each other's breathing clearly.

Shen Chuning grabbed Zhou Lin's sleeve tightly and asked in a low voice, "We haven't done anything wrong, why are we hiding?"

Zhou Lin used his free hand to put his fingers in front of his mouth and made a gesture of silence.

"The song Miss Shen sang just now was really beautiful."

"It's more than just beautiful. Didn't you hear what the Empress Dowager said? The lyrics are also very well written."

"This has caught the Empress Dowager's eye. I'm sure I'll be able to climb up the social ladder in the future."

"I'm so envious. I heard she was just a concubine."

"Keep your voice down. If someone hears you, you'll be punished again. What's this about a concubine? I'm a legitimate Miss Shen now. Didn't you see that she was the only one sitting next to Old Madam Shen today? Even Miss Shen's ninth daughter couldn't sit next to her."

"Well, it's just that I'm a little young. If I were the same age as the Crown Prince, or at least a marriageable one, I might be able to pick the moon in the sky."

"Stop talking, the moon in the sky is not something we can even dream of..."

The voices of the two people talking outside the cave gradually faded away, and Shen Chuning and Zhou Lin left the cave.

Shen Chuning slowly loosened her grip on Zhou Lin's sleeve. A piece of thread had gotten wrapped around her finger at some point, with a button hanging from the other end. Shen Chuning quietly held the button in her palm.

Zhou Lin looked up at the moon in the sky and asked, "Everyone wants to pick the moon in the sky, what about you?"