She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

The carriage stopped at the gate of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. The old lady said, "You've all been up to no good for most of the day. Go back to your rooms and rest. There's no need to see me off to Shian Hall."

Shen Mingzhu quickly replied, "Grandmother, Second Brother is recuperating at home. Second Sister-in-law can go back and take care of him first."

She said gently, "Since I don't have anything urgent to do, shall I take you back to Shian Hall?"

The old lady originally planned to summon the second wife to Shian Hall and instruct her to properly teach Shen Mingzhu a lesson.

Now that Shen Mingzhu wanted to send her back to Shian Hall, she did not refuse.

The old lady gently instructed, "Tan'er, go and keep Yi'er company."

Shen Qingtan replied, "Yes."

The old lady, leaning on her cane, went to Shian Hall.

Shen Mingzhu diligently helped the old lady up, feeling resentful that she had not received special treatment from Consort Ling.

Today, her answers in the palace surpassed Shen Qingtan's in every way, but in the end she did not win the favor of Consort Ling. This was all because Zhao Yi was on good terms with Prince Yu, so Consort Ling was very kind to Shen Qingtan.

A feeling of disgust rose in her heart. Apart from being physically better than Zhao Yi, Zhao Jue was inferior to Zhao Yi in every other way.

If Zhao Jue hadn't been so incompetent in failing to establish a connection with Prince Yu, she would have already overshadowed Shen Qingtan at Yanxiang Palace today.

Who gave Shen Qingtan the right to be smug in front of her?

The two men led the maid along a path paved with bluestone bricks, and when they arrived at the moon archway, they heard a conversation.

“Xiaoyue, you’ve given me all the money you painstakingly saved for your dowry. What will I do if I can’t pay you back? And you helped me complete the tasks assigned by the master, but you didn’t do your job well and got punished… I owe you more and more.”

"What's the big deal? If you get punished, how will you take care of your parents? Besides, this amount of money isn't much. If you can't pay it back, so be it. If my parents get sick, you'll empty your savings to help me."

Xiaoyue said with a trusting look, "Besides, with your personality, you would repay two grains of rice if you were kind enough to receive one. Even if you have to tighten your belt, you don't want to owe anyone anything. What do I have to worry about?"

Xiao Tao said with emotion, "My parents gave me life, but Xiao Yue understands me."

When Xiaoyue saw Xiaotao make a sarcastic remark, she chuckled and said, "Who told us to be such close friends?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It was one thing for an illiterate maid to only be able to parrot a few elegant phrases.

The problem is that he tried to imitate his master's speech, but he didn't do it well, making him a laughingstock.

Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya admired him, and the term "friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya" was used to describe them.

This term clearly refers to Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya...

Suddenly, Shen Mingzhu's expression changed drastically, as if she had just thought of something.

The friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya... the close bond between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya...

But she said it was Guan Baohao.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Shen Mingzhu carefully recalled the expression on Consort Ling's face when she praised the relationship between Consort Ling and Empress Yuanrong at Yanxiang Palace...

It should be just like how she looked at the maid just now, right?

The glance Shen Qingtan gave her wasn't out of jealousy, but because she had said the wrong thing.

Ironically, she thought it was the maid making a fool of herself, but it turned out she was the one who embarrassed herself.

She was not even as good as a maid.

This realization dealt a huge blow to Shen Mingzhu.

Especially after she carefully discerned Consort Ling's attitude, she was horrified to realize that when she praised Consort Ling for being the head of the harem, Consort Ling was not being modest, but was angrily refuting her words.

At the time, she was thinking that Consort Ling held the highest position in the harem, and she was deliberately flattering Consort Ling...

The more Shen Mingzhu thought about it, the more she felt like she had been struck by lightning. She really wished that God would send down a bolt of lightning and kill her.

Her face turned deathly pale as she looked at the old lady, only to see the old lady's stern face and cold glance at her. That one glance sent chills down her spine, chilling her to the bone.

Without saying a word, the old lady returned to Shian Hall, sat down in the main seat, and then instructed Wei Mama to summon the second madam.

"Grandmother—" Shen Mingzhu knelt down at the old lady's feet with a thud and admitted her mistake, "Granddaughter-in-law knows she was wrong. She shouldn't have made a fool of herself in front of Your Majesty."

The old lady's face darkened, and she quickly dismissed the maids serving in the room.

“My granddaughter-in-law was separated from her family when she was a child and was sold to a mentally challenged man for three taels of silver to be his child bride. That family treated me like a mule and made me do all the chores inside and outside the house.”

Shen Mingzhu cried pitifully and said, "If I didn't do well, they would punish me by making me go hungry for a day. I was often hungry in that house, so hungry that I had no strength and my head was spinning. Not to mention that they would teach me to read and write."

"And whenever they were unhappy, they would curse me with vicious words and beat me with fire sticks to vent their anger. That idiot... that idiot also followed suit and beat me with fire sticks all day long. When Third Master found me, my body was covered in bruises, and there wasn't a single patch of skin that was unharmed."

With tears streaming down her face, Shen Mingzhu said, "After I was recognized by my ancestors and returned to my clan, I witnessed the wealth of the Marquis's mansion and the excellence of my eldest sister. I was afraid that my parents would despise me, refuse to acknowledge me as their daughter, and then send me back. I tried my best to learn to read, learn rules, and learn etiquette, for fear that I would bring shame to the Marquis's mansion."

"I have worked really hard in the past six months, trying my best to do my best. I hope I can be as talented as my older sister, and I also hope my parents can be proud of me." At this point, Shen Mingzhu almost burst into tears: "This was my first time entering the palace. I wanted to do well, but I didn't expect that because of my lack of knowledge, I would offend the Empress by showing off recklessly."

Seeing her crying pitifully, the old lady recalled her background and also remembered how she deliberately tried to steal Shen Qingtan's thunder while imitating her speech.

The old lady's heart softened halfway, but hardened again: "Didn't the governess hired by the Marquis's mansion teach you to 'be careful with your words and actions' in front of noble people?"

Shen Mingzhu sobbed.

“Ignorance is not terrible; what is terrible is ignorance without knowing it.” The old lady said sternly, “Many troubles are caused by being competitive and ambitious. Today, you are the one who has brought trouble upon yourself by your words.”

"Your granddaughter-in-law already knows her mistake." Shen Mingzhu knelt on the ground, taking the opportunity to beg for a favor: "Please assign a governess to teach your granddaughter-in-law how to behave."

The old lady was genuinely afraid that Shen Mingzhu would continue to cause trouble outside and implicate the Duke of Zhao's mansion: "Go back first, and I will arrange for a nanny to teach you manners tomorrow."

Shen Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the old lady did not punish her.

She wiped away her tears and thanked her, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Grandmother."

Shen Mingzhu got up and left Shian Hall. Just as she stepped out of the main house, she met the Second Madam who was rushing over. She quickly bowed her head and greeted her.

The second wife was oblivious to Shen Mingzhu's unusual behavior, her mind preoccupied with the old lady's visit to the palace that day to see Consort Ling. The fact that she was summoned upon her return must mean the matter of requesting Zhao Jue to be named the heir apparent.