The cannon fodder heiress trembled with fear after being recognized as a member of her family.

After entering the palace, Princess Jinghe changed to a sedan chair and took them directly to the Empress Dowager's palace.

One after another, noblewomen and their daughters came to pay their respects at Cining Palace.

Princess Jinghe and her entourage did not linger at the entrance to wait for an announcement; they were directly welcomed inside by the nannies of Cining Palace.

In her previous life, Han Cuiyin had never been here.

That year, the Empress Dowager did not return to the palace.

Back then, she served as a maidservant, accompanying Han Yueshi to pay her respects at the Empress's palace, where she stayed for half an hour.

Now, she is actually accompanying the Grand Princess in and out of Cining Palace, and the maids and servants around her dare not openly mock her appearance.

Such are the benefits of power.

Han Cuiyin wasn't curious about the surrounding scenery; she just pretended to like it and her eyes darted around, thinking about what she would do next.

This behavior was observed by the maids and servants, who inwardly despised it but outwardly remained silent.

Emperor Chu Yuan made an unprecedented move by intervening in the family affairs of his ministers, and this abandoned woman's daughter made her first public appearance in the palace.

Just now, a lady of high rank mentioned some interesting things happening in the capital, and this Miss Han was ranked first.

Those of them standing in front of the palace gates were the first to witness this "peerless beauty".

This person's appearance is indeed as those ladies described, as astonishing.

Han Cuiyin took in all their little actions and didn't miss the disdain in their eyes.

She had never seen the Empress Dowager in her previous life, let alone the people around her.

Princess Jinghe guessed her intentions and did not stop her, letting her act as she pleased.

However, Granny Chu was a little anxious and whispered a reminder: "Miss, pay attention to your appearance."

Han Cuiyin pretended not to hear, and her movements became even more exaggerated.

The old woman leading the way saw the mistress and servants acting this way, but said nothing; only her contempt deepened.

Upon arriving at the main hall of the Empress Dowager's palace, the joyful atmosphere instantly froze the moment they entered.

The laughter abruptly stopped.

Looking at this scene, Han Cuiyin knew that her outfit today was indeed "stunning".

Sure enough, even these worldly ladies found it difficult to maintain their composure when they saw her in this attire.

"Jinghe, come to my side." The Empress Dowager's eyes flickered slightly when she saw them enter.

"Your Majesty, I won't squeeze in with you." Princess Jinghe lowered her eyes slightly, flicked her sleeve, and sat down in a spot to the left of her.

The ladies who had been sitting there quickly made room for them.

People kept glancing over here, and some were already whispering when no one was looking up.

"Why is this Han family girl dressed like this? She doesn't look like a proper young lady at all! How can someone like this participate in the princes' selection of concubines?"

"So what if he's like that? Don't forget that his father is a cabinet minister and his mother is the Princess Consort of the Prince of Xiaoyao. Although he can't rely on either side, his status is still quite high."

While no one else heard what the two ladies said, Han Cuiyin heard it clearly.

She had intended to eavesdrop, but instead overheard people talking about her.

She had anticipated this situation; the more attention these people paid to her, the better.

Especially Emperor Chuyuan.

She refused to believe that she could still catch the eye of Emperor Chu Yuan in this state.

The emperor of Yun Kingdom was no pushover either.

If Emperor Chu Yuan had been sloppy in choosing a marriage partner, the other party might have launched a large-scale southward campaign and broken the alliance after exchanging the hostages.

The Great Ye Dynasty has been plagued by natural and man-made disasters in recent years, and even with its strong foundation, it is not enough to squander its resources.

The grain stored in Changjizhai was only a temporary measure to alleviate the immediate crisis, as there had been no rain in various places for the past two years, and the crops had failed to yield any harvest.

On the way to Beijing, she taught Luo Jingqian the art of rainmaking. It is said that the cultivators who learned it on Fuguang Mountain have already gone to various parts of the Great Ye Dynasty to make rain.

As for the specifics, we'll have to wait and see.

Han Cuiyin was momentarily distracted and failed to notice the exchange between these important figures.

She sat with the two Luo sisters. Luo Tianyun nudged her arm and whispered, "Sister Han, Lin Jiabao has looked at you several times. Her eyes are like knives that could cut you to pieces."

Luo Tianyun and Luo Tianxia are twins. The sisters have some similarities in their eyes and eyebrows, but one looks more like their father and the other looks more like their mother.

Luo Tianyun was a free spirit. After she came to the palace to pay her respects, she kept an eye on the Empress Dowager.

Back when the Empress Dowager and Princess Jinghe, the two sisters-in-law, had a good relationship, the two sisters often visited the palace together.

After all these years, the Empress Dowager is not as approachable as before.

Sitting next to the Empress Dowager, Princess Jialuo and her daughter Lin Jiabao said something that made Da Yechao, one of the most honored women, smile.

"Let her see! I bet she's envious of my outfit today." Han Cuiyin smiled, the provocation beneath her smile clearly conveyed to Lin Jiabao.

She's not afraid of trouble now, but she's afraid that people won't dare to provoke her in order to leave a good impression on the Empress Dowager.

When Lin Jiabao saw her smile, she recalled the quarrel with the Han family girls in the woods a month ago, as well as everything that happened at the royal estate that day.

Originally, Han Cuiyin and Princess Mingxia were not biological mother and daughter, and there was even a grudge between them. Lin Jiabao had thought about befriending Han Cuiyin.

Later, because this dark-skinned girl meddled in other people's business, she almost ruined her plans.

Fortunately, the outcome was good; she became engaged to the eldest prince, which also caused a rift between her father and maternal grandparents.

Her father went to the village and ignored his daughter.

When she returned to the capital, her father stayed at the estate.

Her father stayed on the estate for nearly a month, showing no kindness to his future husband, but instead showering attention on the second and third princes.

Lin Jiabao was unhappy when she learned about this.

Since the two Han sisters weren't present, he naturally vented his anger on Han Cuiyin.

"Your Majesty, didn't you just want to see the Han family's daughter? The one who's the darkest down there is her."

Lin Jiabao is engaged to the eldest prince, so she is now practically a member of the royal family.

Her words naturally caught the attention of the Empress Dowager.

When the Empress Dowager was forced to leave the capital to worship Buddha at a temple, it was undoubtedly orchestrated by many parties.

The Xu Prince's Mansion is one of them.

In order to clean up the mess that Princess Mingxia had made, the old prince united many forces to drive the Empress Dowager out of the capital.

Princess Jialuo's heart skipped a beat when she heard her daughter's words. She hoped that the Empress Dowager would not fall for such a simplistic provocation.

She couldn't help but glare at her silly daughter, anxiously watching from the side.

Princess Jialu cursed inwardly, "This silly girl! It's not the right time to deal with someone! Didn't you see who this dark-skinned girl came with? Back then, Grand Princess Jinghe played a huge role in driving the Empress Dowager out of the capital. If Grand Princess Jinghe loses face, who knows what crazy things she'll do next."

Her powerful backer mustn't be driven away by her silly daughter.