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

"What happened at the Marquis's mansion today is more exciting than a theatrical performance. A legitimate daughter of a Marquis's mansion and the granddaughter-in-law of a Duke's mansion actually gave her own maternal aunt a pair of fake items as a birthday gift. This is unprecedented."

"This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. It's truly an eye-opener for me. Even a poor family wouldn't go so far as to send counterfeit goods to save face... No wonder they were raised in a humble family; their behavior is far from befitting a proper wife."

"I was wondering why the Marquis's family didn't bring their second daughter to the banquet. Turns out she's not presentable enough."

“Mrs. Zhao, you must keep a close eye on her. Don’t let the noble reputation of the Duke’s mansion be ruined in her hands.”

They giggled a few times while talking, and said to the First Madam beside them, "Madam Zhao, you have always been a blessed person. Your husband doesn't take any concubines, and your son has married a virtuous wife. We all envy you."

The First Madam rolled her eyes, ignoring these opportunists.

The second wife's face turned pale, furious that Shen Mingzhu had bought counterfeit goods and made her lose face.

Shen Mingzhu's face turned deathly pale. One person said she was unworthy to be the principal wife, which implied she was only fit to be a concubine. Another said she was a source of trouble and would ruin the reputation of the Duke's mansion.

On the contrary, they were all praising Shen Qingtan, saying she was lucky and virtuous.

These words were like sharp knives cutting into her heart, but then she thought about her next plans and felt a little better.

She wanted to see if these self-important people would still lower themselves to befriend Shen Qingtan, who was the daughter of a lowly merchant.

Once Shen Qingtan loses her status as the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Chengen, she will fall into a quagmire, and we'll see how smug she can still be.

Shen Mingzhu calmed herself and slowly walked out of the inner room.

Everyone in the room turned to look at her, and those gazes felt like needles pricking Shen Mingzhu.

She gripped her handkerchief tightly, suppressing the urge to flee, and approached Lady Yongyi.

"Aunt, I was blind and was cheated by the shopkeeper. Giving you a pair of fakes on this joyous occasion has spoiled your mood." Shen Mingzhu apologized sincerely, "Zhu'er will find a pair of real luminous pearls to give to you as a replacement."

"No need." Lady Yongyi suspected that Shen Mingzhu looked down on her and deliberately gave her a pair of fake luminous pearls to fool her, and said coldly, "I can't accept such a generous gift from you."

Shen Mingzhu tightened her fingers, fighting back tears, and stood aside.

Lady Yongyi was still angry and also disliked Madam Shen. She decided not to cooperate with them in dealing with Shen Qingtan today.

If she causes any more trouble, she'll definitely become a laughing stock.

She stood up and said to the guests, "I've made a fool of myself in front of you all today. Let's go to the back garden. There's a stage there, and we've invited some famous actors to perform."

The guests left with the Earl of Yongyi.

Madam Shen walked out side by side with the Second Madam and the First Madam, her face stern.

Shen Qingtan and Zhao Wan walked behind.

Shen Mingzhu stared at the place where the esteemed person was, her eyes filled with longing, wanting to greet the esteemed person and make an impression on him.

But she didn't have the guts, afraid of offending the important person again, so she suppressed her disappointment and left with the others.

Liu Ruojiao ran over, rolled her eyes at Shen Mingzhu, and said sarcastically, "Second cousin, my mother doesn't covet your things. If you can't afford something expensive, don't try to impress her. Luckily, we have an official's wife who knows what's good for her, otherwise people would think my family is benefiting from your influence."

Shen Mingzhu bit her lower lip hard, not bothering to argue.

Liu Ruojiao scoffed dismissively, looking down on Shen Mingzhu even more.

She used to flatter Shen Qingtan with sweet words and get a lot of good things from her. But she was very jealous of Shen Qingtan and envied her for being born into a powerful family like a marquis's mansion.

It wasn't until she learned from her mother that her older cousin wasn't her aunt's daughter, but a lowly merchant's daughter, that she felt a secret pleasure.

But now that she has seen how much Shen Qingtan is valued by her in-laws, she has other plans in mind.

"Big cousin, I was ignorant of the rules and offended you today." Liu Ruojiao said coquettishly, "Second cousin said that you have received many rewards and will prepare rare items for my mother. I was so curious that I snatched your box just now."

Shen Qingtan knew Liu Ruojiao's intentions; she simply wanted to please her and gain benefits from her.

The people in the Yongyi Marquis's mansion are all snobbish and have no sense of kinship whatsoever.

They fawn over whoever offers them favors.

Shen Qingtan wanted to use Liu Ruojiao as a pawn to sow discord between the Marquis of Chengen's mansion and the Earl of Yongyi's mansion.

She deliberately ignored Liu Ruojiao's words, only making her anxious would make her take the bait.

Liu Ruojiao panicked and reached out to take her hand: "Big Cousin, I really know I was wrong, please forgive me this time."

Shen Qingtan dodged Liu Ruojiao's hand and said coldly, "Jiaojiao, you grew up with me. Don't you know what kind of person I am? Making me look bad in public today has really broken my heart."

Liu Ruojiao was still unwilling to give up and wanted to say something to please Shen Qingtan, but then a female official from the noble lady's side hurried over.

The lady-in-waiting stood before Shen Qingtan and respectfully presented her with an exquisite invitation card: "Second Madam Zhao, His Highness invites you to the Princess's residence for a chat tomorrow."

Shen Qingtan looked at the post in her hand in surprise.

The lady-in-waiting smiled and said, "His Highness greatly admires your embroidery skills."

Shen Qingtan said, "Thank you for coming, Aunt. I will visit Your Highness at your residence tomorrow."

After receiving the message, the female official turned and left.

Shen Qingtan handed the invitation to Liu Yue, wondering why a princess would attend the birthday banquet of the Marquis of Yongyi.

Could there be some other hidden story behind this?

Shen Mingzhu, standing to the side, was pale, her heart burning with jealousy. The influential person she longed to climb up to was someone she couldn't reach.

Shen Qingtan did nothing, yet she gained the favor of a nobleman.

Shen Mingzhu bit the tip of her tongue and tasted the blood, which cleared her mind a little.

But the more lucid she became, the more heartbroken she felt.

If she hadn't schemed to make Shen Qingtan display her embroidery, Shen Qingtan wouldn't have been treated differently by the nobleman.

As she thought of Shen Qingtan's embroidery, the questions in her mind gradually began to form.

Chun Jiao appeared to have been coerced into betraying Shen Qingtan, but in reality, she deliberately pretended to betray Shen Qingtan and leaked information about the embroidery to her.

Shen Qingtan had long anticipated that she would be restless, and had already set up a game of chess, waiting for her to enter the fray.

From the moment she approached Chun Jiao, she fell into Shen Qingtan's trap.

Why is the pattern embroidered by Shen Qingtan the same as the one she replaced?

Because Shen Qingtan had already been eyeing her and knew that she had bought such an embroidery piece, she secretly asked an embroiderer to embroider the same one, thus turning the tables on her and staging this whole thing.

But why did Shen Qingtan choose to play along?

Shen Mingzhu understood everything. Shen Qingtan also knew that Shanji was the aunt's sore spot and guessed that she would use it as an excuse. So she went along with it and made the aunt dissatisfied with her.

Shen Qingtan succeeded, because her use of the word "pheasant" did indeed displease Madam Bo.

Shen Mingzhu felt uneasy, sensing that this was only Shen Qingtan's first step and that she had more tricks up her sleeve.

Liu Ruojiao, standing to the side, also felt very regretful. Seeing that Shen Qingtan had climbed up to the Princess, she became even more determined to please her.

The eldest princess is the current emperor's elder sister. Although they are not born of the same mother, she grew up under the care of Empress Xiao'en, the birth mother of Emperor Jing'an.

Even though Emperor Jing'an had been a hostage in another country, the relationship between the two never faded, and they remained as close as siblings.

After the princess's fiancé passed away, she remained unmarried for the rest of her life, living alone in the princess's residence and rarely interacting with others.

Families like theirs wouldn't dare invite the Eldest Princess; it was the Eldest Princess who took the initiative to send someone to say that she would come to the Earl's residence to attend the birthday banquet.

This move was too sudden; no one could guess what the princess was thinking.

She had a strange feeling that the eldest princess was after Shen Qingtan.

The group, each with their own thoughts, arrived at the back garden and took their seats.

Shen Qingtan led Zhao Wan to sit down next to the First Madam, and looked up at the stage, where the female lead had already taken the stage to sing.

Shen Mingzhu glanced at Shen Qingtan subtly, a slight smile playing on her lips, and watched the show with complete relaxation.

Once this scene is over, Shen Qingtan's good days will be over.

With a crash, someone overturned the table: "Stop! No more singing!"