Cold-faced Empress

Fu Siying accepted the lustrous jade bracelet from the old palace maid and expressed her gratitude.

"Thank you for your kindness, Empress Dowager."

Seeing such a gentle, obedient, and sensible girl made of jade, the Empress Dowager liked her more and more.

Fu Siying and her mother, Madam Li, followed the others out of the main hall. Madam Li was very pleased: "It seems that the Empress Dowager likes you very much, which is wonderful."

Fu Siying disagreed: "It's just passing the test, it's not like I'm liked. But I will try to win the Empress Dowager's favor."

When she returned to Langxuan Garden, no one dared to challenge Fu Siying's influence.

No matter how old-fashioned and dull her clothes were, with the jade bracelet bestowed upon her by the Empress Dowager on her wrist, no one would dare to utter a single word of mockery towards her, especially with the lesson learned from Hu Lingjing.

Seeing that only Rong Chen was there and Yun Zhi was nowhere to be seen, Fu Siying's heart tightened, and she asked Rong Chen, "Where is Yun Zhi? Didn't I tell you two to make sure you traveled together?"

"Elder sister, Second sister is going to the restroom with her friends, can I go with her?" Rong Chen said, feeling quite aggrieved.

Madam Li comforted Fu Siying, telling her not to worry: "This is the palace, and there are palace servants everywhere. Yunzhi will be fine. You stay here, and I will go look for her."

As a court lady, Li naturally had more freedom of movement than Fu Siying.

Only Fu Siying was summoned by the Empress Dowager and received a reward; soon, she was surrounded by people. Fu Siying was not reserved and generously displayed the jade bracelet, allowing others to praise it.

Someone said sourly, "Even with the title of Princess Mu, the Empress Dowager only bestowed upon her a jade bracelet."

Fu Siying glanced at it, gave a cold laugh, and ignored it.

A girl of similar age explained to her, somewhat displeased: "The Empress Dowager praised Miss Fu in public for her beauty, diligence, and elegance. She only bestowed a jade bracelet because Miss Fu's attire was simple today. The Empress Dowager said that she would choose more pieces of jewelry to bestow upon her when she has time!"

This girl was clearly the one who had been summoned by the Empress Dowager earlier. She spoke forcefully and was not the meek and mild-mannered type. She rebuked, "So you know that Miss Fu has the title of Princess Consort Mu? Judging from your tone, I thought you could be compared to Consort De and Consort Mei!"

The girl, her face flushed with embarrassment at the mockery, turned and walked away, saying, "Hmph, you sycophant!"

Fu Siying smiled at the girl who spoke up for her: "You look familiar. Which family's daughter are you?"

Unexpectedly, the girl who was raising her eyebrows and looking angry just a moment ago suddenly became reserved and demure: "My name is Luo Qiansu, and my father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

“Luo Qiansu…” Fu Siying murmured a few words, and when she looked at the girl again, her eyes and brows were filled with complicated emotions.

This girl seemed to be a good friend she had in a past life.

As time went by, the initial infatuation gradually faded, and the affection slowly dissipated, until they became like strangers.

She considered Wei Lanling as family, so naturally she couldn't tolerate her friend slandering her family.

Only the outcome can prove who was right and who was wrong. And...

She was wrong.

Besides Luo Qiansu, how many friends and beauties did she miss in her previous life? She ended up living a life of anxiety and never made any close confidantes.

Carefully examining Luo Qiansu's appearance, and comparing it to the blurred image of her friend from the depths of her memory, Fu Siying felt a heavy sense of emotion. She smiled and invited Luo Qiansu to sit down beside her.

"So you're Lord Luo's daughter. No need for formalities, just call me Siying, and I'll call you Qiansu, okay?"