Remarrying Chun Yuan

Liu Yuechu didn't know whether this was a compliment or an insult, so she could only smile and say, "I just want to live freely. There's no need to worry about right or wrong, good or bad. As long as I'm comfortable, that's enough."

Fang Ziqing smiled bitterly, "That's true." She only understood this after entering the palace, but it was too late.

The palace maids were then given Liu Yuechu some newly made palace snacks and the finest tea.

After all, she came from the household of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Although her monthly salary in the palace was not much, her family would not let her down.

Huang Wanwan noticed that her best friend was in low spirits. "Uncle Fang is a very influential figure in the court. You should have been favored after entering the palace. Why do you look like a bitter cucumber? You look even more bitter than a bitter melon."

Liu Yuechu wasn't familiar with Fang Ziqing, so she just listened without interrupting.

Actually, she sensed something was wrong when she saw Fang Ziqing today. It felt like she was in her past life, with a heart full of grievances that she couldn't express and no one could understand.

Fang Ziqing glanced at Liu Yuechu and said, "No, I was just bored in this courtyard. Besides, it's only early spring, and people are always tired."

"Alright, Yue Niang isn't an outsider. Just say what you want to say. It won't cause a big fuss." Huang Wanwan knew her too well.

Liu Yuechu rubbed her nose. "Otherwise, I'll go wander around somewhere first..." She looked around, but there didn't seem to be anywhere to hide, giving the two of them some time to whisper to each other.

"Where are you going? Sit here!" Huang Wanwan grabbed her and looked at Fang Ziqing. "You specially summoned her to the palace, not just for tea and a couple of snacks, right?"

If that's all they're doing, they won't come again.

Fang Ziqing pursed her lips; her once radiant beauty had faded with decay.

"Since she's already here, how could I not know why? Actually, I should thank you. If His Highness the Crown Prince hadn't known that I knew you through Wanwan, he wouldn't have paid any attention to me." Fang Ziqing smiled bitterly.

Liu Yuechu was dumbfounded. "Ignore him? A woman as beautiful as you, he married you and then ignored you?" Does this Crown Prince have some kind of problem with his sexual orientation?!

Huang Wanwan was also stunned, but then she thought of her cousin from the Fang family, "Your Highness still minds your cousin's matter?"

Fang Ziqing nodded. "I don't know who told him, but he's forgotten about it ever since."

Liu Yuechu knew that the Crown Prince was narrow-minded and mean, but she did not expect that he would still harbor resentment towards Fang Ziqing.

Huang Wanwan wanted to complain, but before she could open her mouth, Liu Yuechu stuffed a snack into her mouth and said, "...Try this, it's delicious!"

This is the Eastern Palace.

Standing here and criticizing the Crown Prince? Her father, the Minister of Justice, is about to lose his official position!

Huang Wanwan gasped, only able to chew her pastries. The sound of her chewing, however, was so loud it made her teeth clench and crackle, as if the Crown Prince himself wanted to bite her to death!

Fang Ziqing smiled, a rare occurrence for her. Her gaze lingered between Huang Wanwan and Liu Yuechu, filled with envy. "It's a pity I met you so late, otherwise I would also be willing to be best friends with a smart woman like you."

“My reputation isn’t good. People are criticizing me these days. If someone becomes my close friend, their reputation will probably be ruined.”

Liu Yuechu didn't care at all, because she had the confidence to disdain outside opinions in this life. "But this woman is also fine, after all, she has a reputation as a shrew, and no one has proposed to her yet." She was referring to Huang Wanwan.

Huang Wanwan snorted coldly, "Anyway, I won't go to other mansions to suffer. Take it or leave it. My father said that at worst, I'll find a son-in-law to live with me. Maybe he'll be the next top scholar."

"Pfft!" Liu Yuechu almost choked on her tea.

Fang Ziqing finally burst into laughter, something he rarely did.

"Hey, you're having a lot of fun together!" An untimely voice rang out, startling the three of them.

Soon, several faces appeared at the entrance of the side hall, with Princess Fuyao naturally being the first to appear.

Princess Fuyao rushed to the East Palace as soon as she learned that Liu Yuechu had entered the palace. After all, this was the East Palace, and she needed to see the Crown Princess first.

After listening to the Crown Princess's rambling for a while, she turned the topic back to Liu Yuechu and Huang Wanwan, and hurriedly ran over to see her.

This was the first time she had seen Liu Yuechu.

She had assumed that Liu Yuechu, being a merchant's daughter, would be just an ordinary woman, but she hadn't expected that Liu Yuechu's appearance would be like a lotus, pure and ethereal, with a hint of restraint and allure that outsiders couldn't understand. Even she couldn't help but praise her beauty.

Princess Fuyao didn't consider herself ugly. She and Qin Muyan both resembled the Imperial Concubine, making them rare beauties among people.

But in front of Liu Yuechu, she couldn't help but feel inferior.

But this feeling of inferiority made her even angrier, and she couldn't help but raise her chin.

Princess Luoyue also came along. She smiled and stepped forward to greet Fang Ziqing before explaining her purpose: "...That day, Sister Fuyao heard about Lady Liu and wanted to invite her to the palace for a chat, but Lady Liu declined because she was busy. Sister Fuyao has been thinking about it ever since."

"We came here today after learning that Lady Liu was coming to meet with my sister-in-law. We didn't tell her in advance, so we apologize to her."

As she spoke, she first bowed to Fang Ziqing to apologize.

Fang Ziqing could only offer a few perfunctory words upon seeing that the visitor was ill-intentioned. He then instructed the palace maids to bring chairs and stools and serve tea.

Princess Fuyao had no intention of staying long. She looked at Liu Yuechu and said, "I heard that you made Lord Yuan's subordinates move out of the courtyard because of a few private words, or else they would have to pay a high rent. How can you be so greedy?"

She started by questioning me, as if she were interrogating me.

Liu Yuechu already had a plan in mind, so she wasn't surprised to hear this. "They are not relatives or friends. I have already done more than enough by allowing them to live in the courtyard for free for half a year. Besides, they are all adults and should have been able to support themselves. I don't think there is anything wrong with this action."

"You don't think you're wrong, because all you see is money." Princess Fuyao said arrogantly and aggressively.

Liu Yuechu did not deny it, "As the daughter of a merchant, I naturally only care about money. What else could I possibly have? But when the Great Qi was in trouble, I also donated silver, so what's wrong with that silver?"

"How...how can you be so shameless and brazen? How can you be a sixth-rank lady? You are not worthy of Yuan Cuo at all!"

Princess Fuyao finally spoke her mind, no longer caring about propriety, "I think you should learn some manners and how to be an official's wife. So I kindly invited a nanny to teach you. The tutor's fee is not much, just ten taels of silver per hour."

“If you can’t learn it, you’re not worthy to be Yuan Cuo’s wife. You should ask Yuan Cuo to divorce you as soon as possible and leave him far away.”

"But if you can learn something useful, I, the princess, will not be so cruel as to drive you away and will allow you to become my concubine."