After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

The day of the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet finally arrived.

Lu Huai rarely showed his fatherly love, carrying the elegantly dressed Lu Zhiyuan to the carriage in front of the Marquis's residence. She was still very thin, her small face pale. Perhaps knowing that Lu Jinyao was not his biological daughter, Lu Huai no longer disliked her for her frail health when facing this biological daughter, but instead felt more heartache for her.

He repeatedly instructed Lu Zhiyuan to be careful with her words and actions after entering the palace and not to stand out. As for Xie Chaoyun, he only said, "Take good care of Yuan'er."

Lu Jinyao stepped forward with high expectations, but was ignored by Lu Huai.

Today, she was dressed exactly like Qingzhi, clearly Lu Zhiyuan's maid. Seeing Lu Huai turn around, she clenched her fist tightly, lifted the hem of her skirt, and prepared to get into the carriage.

Qingzhi stopped her and said calmly, "This carriage is for Madam and Miss."

Lu Jinyao glared at her, a hint of resentment in her voice, "A noble family like ours wouldn't dare make us walk into the palace, would it?"

Qingzhi gestured for her to look behind her: "The Pingnan Marquis's mansion is not so destitute that you and I have to walk. However, the master has his own carriage and the servants have their own servants. We must not disrupt the rules of hierarchy."

Lu Jinyao stamped her foot, turned around, and walked towards the gray carriage.

Lu Zhiyuan lowered the curtain: "Did Mother do this on purpose?"

Xie Chaoyun glanced at Lu Jinyao and said, "A maid should always act like a maid."

Lu Zhiyuan rested her chin on her hand: "It's because I've dragged Sister Qingzhi into this, having to ride in that broken carriage with her."

Standing in front of the carriage, Qingzhi smiled and curtsied, saying, "Miss, you don't need to worry about me. I am a rough woman and have followed Madam to the battlefield. I don't like riding in carriages. The chestnut horse next to the carriage is my own."

Lu Zhiyuan first widened her eyes, then burst into laughter.

Lu Yun was driving the carriage; Han Ting and Leng Ru had already set off for Weinan. The Song sisters were being taught shop management by their eldest uncle, while the Xie brothers were being sent to their youngest uncle's place by their second uncle. It was said that the youngest uncle had traveled the martial arts world and knew many heads of martial arts families, and was determined to train the Xie brothers into unparalleled masters who could protect her and their mother.

The female spy's identity has been confirmed; she was indeed from an enemy country and had indeed worked as a spy, investigating the Xie family's shops. Due to her incompetence and the death of her superior, she was abandoned by her organization in Beiliang.

To make a living, she started selling tofu on the street. She was harassed by thugs, but her husband rescued her, and in the cliché way, she married him.

After finding out the truth, her second uncle used his connections to help her find her husband and children.

Everyone has found their own place in the world, and she has done a good deed by accumulating good karma.

A number of carriages had gathered in front of the palace gates, presumably carrying noble ladies from various families. Lu Zhiyuan peeked through the curtain and saw Lu Jinyao limping over. The carriage she was riding in was extremely dilapidated, with severely worn wheels, making it a miserable experience to travel on the rough road.

Lu Zhiyuan touched her own buttocks, looking at her with sympathy.

A group of eunuchs dressed in purple filed out of the palace gates. One of them approached the carriage and asked, "Is this the Lady of the Marquis of Pingnan and her daughter?"

Xie Chaoyun stepped out of the carriage and bowed, saying, "Eunuch Xu."

Xu Rui, the head eunuch in the Empress's palace, was not originally required to be here.

Eunuch Xu returned the greeting: "It was Her Majesty the Empress who sent me. She said that the Lady has not been to the palace for a long time and may not be familiar with the palace roads, so she asked me to personally greet her."

"Thank you for your help, Eunuch. This is my daughter, Zhiyuan. She used to live in the other courtyard." Xie Chaoyun introduced Lu Zhiyuan to Eunuch Xu: "I hope you can guide my daughter when she enters the palace this time, so that she will not offend any noble people."

Eunuch Xu had a big smile on his face, but the smile was too perfect, even the curve of it seemed to be trained.

“Madam is too kind. Miss is as intelligent as you were back then.” Eunuch Xu stepped aside: “Madam, please. Miss, please.”

Men were not allowed to enter the palace, so Lu Yun stayed in the carriage.

Lu Jinyao looked around and was bumped by Qingzhi's arm.

“Miss Jinyao, if you don’t want to die, you’d better behave yourself.” Qingzhi reminded her, “Once you enter that gate, you will be in the imperial city, which has the most rules and the heaviest punishments in the world. You must remember your identity and obediently follow the young lady. If you do something wrong, you will be punished with a beating at the very least, and beaten to death at worst.”

Lu Jinyao was startled and swallowed hard.

As they spoke, they arrived at the palace gate. Although Eunuch Xu was leading the way, the necessary checks still had to be performed. When it was Lu Jinyao's turn, the guard gave her a few more glances: "Miss Lu's maid?"

Lu Jinyao nodded nervously, but before she could get up, the guard pulled the hairpin out of her hair.

“A mere maid dares to bring a hairpin into the palace.”

The eunuch Xu, who was walking in front, turned around, frowned, and glanced at Lu Jinyao, reminding her, "This maid is too scheming. Madam, you must not keep her. Keeping her will only bring trouble."

Xie Chaoyun glanced at Lu Jinyao and nodded, saying, "Thank you for the reminder, Father-in-law."

The mother and daughter went to the Queen's palace first.

The Empress was as dignified and elegant as described in the book, and much younger than she had imagined. As the previous champion of palace intrigue, every word the Empress spoke was loaded with hidden meaning. Fortunately, she was young and only needed to sit obediently below and listen.

Although Xie Chaoyun came from a military family, under the tutelage of her two elder brothers, she was able to handle the palace affairs with ease.

Seeing that all the noble ladies had arrived, the Empress took Xie Chaoyun's arm and stood up: "It's rare to see the palace so lively. Chaoyun, come out with me."

As she passed Lu Zhiyuan, the Empress looked at her with loving eyes: "Are you feeling alright? If you feel tired, there are places to rest in the palace. Don't be shy here with me. If you need anything, go to Xu Rui. If he doesn't handle things well, feel free to complain to me."

Lu Zhiyuan first gave a polite curtsy, then looked up and said, "This humble woman thanks Your Majesty for your concern. With Your Majesty here, this humble woman feels no discomfort."

The Empress gave a soft "oh" and asked, "Why is that?"

"Because Your Majesty is a phoenix maiden destined by heaven, blessed with abundant fortune. It is because of Your Majesty's blessing that I have met you, and all my illnesses and calamities have disappeared." Lu Zhiyuan spoke very seriously, her eyes full of admiration. Although some of her words were inappropriate, they still made the Empress very happy, and she immediately rewarded her with a pair of gold bracelets.

As they stepped out the door, the Empress had one hand on Xie Chaoyun's arm and the other on Lu Zhiyuan's hand. Even the most obtuse person would understand that the two were of different statuses.

As a maid, Lu Jinyao was not allowed to enter the room to pay her respects to the Empress, and instead stood guard outside the door like Qingzhi. Seeing Lu Zhiyuan emerge in such a blaze of glory, her hatred surged. When she saw the significantly larger gold bracelet on Lu Zhiyuan's wrist, her hatred reached its peak; she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

This respect and honor originally belonged to her.

Catching sight of the cat in the corner, Lu Jinyao had an idea. Her mother had told her that the cat belonged to Princess Ping Le. In her mother's dream, Princess Ping Le disliked her because she had outshone the princess at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. It was only after Lu Jinyao went to great lengths to please Princess Ping Le's cat that the princess changed her opinion of her, and then spoke well of her to the Empress, which led to the later arranged marriage with Prince Yue.

This time, she still had to please Princess Ping Le, but not by pleasing her cat, but by creating a common enemy.