The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

The Prime Minister's residence was reached in no time. Jian Yue got off the sedan chair and found that the main gate of the residence was indeed magnificent.

Besides the brightly colored sedan chairs, there were also many tall horses, standing in rows at the main gate of the Prime Minister's residence. At the gate, the young masters of various noble families who had just arrived had gathered, queuing up one by one to hand out invitations to the steward of the Prime Minister's residence who was welcoming guests at the gate, and then entered the Prime Minister's residence one after another.

The arrival of Jian Yue and the Qiu family caused a minor commotion in front of the Prime Minister's residence. Many young masters from prominent families stopped and looked in Jian Yue's direction, wanting to see who had suddenly transformed from the Qiu family's daughter into the Shangguan family's young lady.

Jian Yue calmly walked out, heading straight for the main gate of the Prime Minister's residence without glancing to either side. Her elegant and refined figure caused many young men to gasp slightly.

Then, Qiu Lingfeng also got out of the sedan chair, which once again drew gasps from the crowd.

Qiu Lingxue got out of the sedan chair and, seeing this, bit her lip in annoyance, but reluctantly followed behind Qiu Lingfeng.

Fourth Miss Qiu Lingmin also came over and carefully approached Qiu Lingfeng, asking, "Eldest sister, shall we go in now?"

Qiu Lingxue sneered: "Why are you sitting here instead of going in? You're just a country bumpkin in the city."

Qiu Lingfeng frowned immediately, looked coldly at Qiu Lingxue and scolded, "Shut up! Today is different from the past. You know why I brought you here. If you really cause trouble, don't say I won't help you."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingxue pouted and said, "Alright, big sister, do you think it's appropriate to lecture her here? That little bitch has already gone in, let's hurry up so she doesn't get ahead of us."

As she spoke, Qiu Lingxue was about to rush forward, but Qiu Lingyun grabbed her arm. Qiu Lingyu, who had appeared behind her at some point, said quietly, "Second sister, this is not the Qiu residence. You can't be so presumptuous in front of eldest sister. There is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. Don't let others say that the daughters of our Qiu family don't know the rules."

Qiu Lingxue's eyes widened immediately: "What are you doing? Let go!"

Qiu Lingmin shook her head and said, "Lingxue, you should calm down! This opportunity is rare and hard to come by. If it weren't for our eldest sister pleading with our mother, we wouldn't be here. We can't cause our eldest sister any trouble today."

Qiu Lingfeng also looked over and said coldly, "If you are not behaving yourself, turn back now. Today, we represent the face of the Qiu family, and we will not allow you to be presumptuous."

Qiu Lingxue was still somewhat unconvinced, but seeing everyone else looking at her like she was a troublemaker, she swallowed her anger and said, "Fine, I won't do anything, I'll just follow you guys, okay? Stop nagging and hurry up and leave."

As she spoke, she retreated to Qiu Lingfeng's side and pushed Qiu Lingmin behind her. Qiu Lingfeng gave her a warning look before turning and walking towards the gate of the Prime Minister's residence.

"May I ask, are you the eldest daughter of the Qiu family? The most beautiful woman in the capital?"

A frivolous voice rang in her ears. Qiu Lingfeng stopped and frowned as she looked toward the source of the voice. She saw a slick-haired young man standing in front of her, smiling broadly at her. When he saw her looking over, his eyes widened in surprise, and he bowed to Qiu Lingfeng, saying, "Indeed, you are the most beautiful woman in the capital. Seeing you up close, we are truly impressed."

Qiu Lingfeng was already feeling unwell, but in front of everyone, she could only maintain her gentle and graceful demeanor, observe proper etiquette, take two steps back, nod to the person, and say, "I am too kind for the praise you have given me. The Prime Minister's daughter is still waiting, so please go inside quickly!"

Upon hearing this, the young man smiled and began to introduce himself.

He clasped his hands and said, "I am Bai Haitang, son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. This is my younger brother, Bai Haiyu, and the other is Tong Jin, the eldest son of the Imperial Censor Tong."

Qiu Lingfeng didn't speak, but Bai Haitang smiled and continued, "This banquet won't start so soon. There are still many people who haven't arrived yet. Even if they go in, they'll just sit on the side. Why don't we chat here and let us catch a glimpse of the most beautiful woman?"

Qiu Lingmin stepped forward, smiled at Bai Haitang, and said, "Young master, you are mistaken. We are all unmarried young ladies. It would be unbecoming for us to chat with you here. Please forgive us."

After she finished speaking, Qiu Lingfeng added, "My fourth sister is right. Gentlemen, please forgive us. We cannot stay here any longer, so we will take our leave now."

With that, she took the lead and headed towards the Prime Minister's residence. After they walked away, Bai Haitang tapped her palm with her fan and said unhappily, "Hmph, what are you pretending to be so pure and innocent for? In the end, aren't you just a man's plaything?"

Tong Jin smiled and teased, "Don't be a sour grapes. Everyone knows that the eldest daughter of the Qiu family is reserved for the Empress. She might even become the Crown Princess or something. You should put your mind to it."

Bai Haitang immediately said disdainfully, "Come on, who doesn't know how the third daughter of the Qiu family died? It's all over the capital. Everyone's talking about it behind her back. The disappearance of General Shangguan's daughter fifteen years ago was related to the Qiu family."

So what if they don't admit it? This kind of thing, if you talk about it too much and for too long, even if it's not true, it will seem true. Besides, there are a lot of shady dealings involved.

And then there's the third daughter of the Qiu family. Her demeanor clearly indicates she's not someone who can grace a formal occasion. She's also the eldest daughter of the main wife; think about it, they're from the same mother. How much better could the eldest daughter be?

Upon hearing this, Tong Jin nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. But no matter what, she is the most beautiful woman in the capital, and she is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Moreover, the Crown Prince has not yet made any announcements, so you should not get involved in this mess."

If you are truly interested, it's best to wait a while and see what the Crown Prince's attitude is before making any plans.

Upon hearing this, Bai Haiyu asked, "Brother, do you really want to marry the Qiu family's daughter?"

Bai Haitang burst out laughing: "Marry? Do you think I'd take just anyone? You just want to taste the most beautiful woman, didn't you ever think about that?"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Tong Jin, who immediately chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Brother Bai, I am truly defeated by you."

Bai Haitang nodded naturally: "That's right, that's just the truth. But when choosing a wife, one should choose a virtuous one, not just a pretty face. Look at the Qiu family's daughters, they're all so arrogant and their eyes are darting around. It seems like only the one who spoke just now had some restraint. Tell me, what's the point of marrying a woman like that? To raise her as an ancestor?"

While the group was talking, the Qiu family members had already arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. Qiu Lingxue's eyes widened as she searched among the crowd for her target for the day: Bai Jianan.

However, after looking around, she couldn't see anyone wearing a mask. Instead, several good-looking people looked over and gave her frivolous smiles. Naturally, she took this as a testament to her beauty and immediately glared at them arrogantly, raising her chin haughtily.

This behavior clearly angered everyone, so the young masters, not wanting to make a fool of themselves, watched from the riverbank and started chatting and laughing with those around them.

After passing through the courtyard, you arrive at the backyard where the women reside. Many young ladies from prominent families have already occupied most of the backyard. Today, the Sun family's target, Shangguan Jianyue, is sitting by a pond, sipping tea and smiling as she watches the fish in the pond.

Qiu Lingfeng looked to the side and quickly found her two cousins, Sun Bilian and Sun Bihe.

When Qiu Lingfeng looked over, her cousin Sun Bihe gave her a subtle nod. Seeing this, Qiu Lingfeng nodded back with relief, then pretended nothing had happened and calmly walked towards the ladies of the elite circle.

Seeing their interaction, Jian Yue smiled and waved. Xiao Cui lowered her head and leaned close to Jian Yue's ear.

"There's going to be a good show soon. See those two young ladies over there? They're from the Sun family."

Xiao Cui nodded and asked with a soft laugh, "Miss, shall we go over and say hello?"

"No need, they'll come on their own. What you need to do now is keep an eye on the man outside. Keep a close eye on whoever disappears first."

Xiao Cui nodded, sat up, and saw that the two young ladies she had just been talking about were already walking towards Jian Yue.

"Big sister, is this girl really as strange as Auntie said?"

Sun Bilian frowned as she looked at her eldest sister, Sun Bihe, with disbelief on her face.

At this moment, Jian Yue, who was quietly watching the fish in the pond, was just an ordinary little girl. How could she possibly kill her proud and arrogant cousin, Qiu Lingrong?

Sun Bihe glared at Sun Bilian and whispered, "Keep your voice down. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Think about Lingrong, she's dead. You should understand that the one in front of you is not an innocent flower, but a poisonous snake."

Sun Bilian immediately laughed, covering her lips and saying, "Then today, let's get rid of this poisonous snake, which can be considered as eliminating a scourge for the people."

"It must be eliminated, but be careful not to get bitten by a poisonous snake."

As Sun Bihe spoke, she transformed into a loving older sister, walked over to Jian Yue's side, sat down opposite him, and smiled, "Little sister is really enjoying herself, being able to find a place like this."

Jian Yue smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course. As soon as I entered, I saw this place. It's so quiet and beautiful, like a fairyland."

As she spoke, she broke off a piece of pastry from the plate, crushed it, and scattered it into the pond. Many fish began to scramble for it, making Jian Yue giggle.

"Sister, look at them, they're fighting so fiercely, the little ones can't get any, it's so pitiful. Should I throw in a little more?"

Sun Bihe looked over, shook her head and laughed, "Why are you making such a fuss, little sister? Big fish are definitely stronger than small fish. These small fish are just floating around. Even if you throw more of them here, it's just a death throes."