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

"Sister, you really won't give up." Lu Zhiyuan smiled ambiguously. "The servants of the Marquis's mansion have just been moved to a different place, they haven't been dismissed. Don't you feel particularly embarrassed when you tell these lies? Living in a separate courtyard and harboring resentment? Yes, I do harbor resentment... If I harbor resentment, why would I cook for them? Does the Marquis's mansion not have a cook, or do you not know how much my mother loves me?"

"Lu Jinyao, is it? Don't speak recklessly without evidence." The Emperor spoke with a headache: "If I remember correctly, you are the concubine that the Empress assigned to Yue'er. What is a concubine doing at this banquet instead of staying in her own room? Yue'er is young. Didn't your mother, your mother concubine, teach you these manners?"

"Your Majesty, I am no longer a concubine." Lu Jinyao knelt on the ground: "After I left the Marquis's mansion, I was adopted by the Grand Tutor as his goddaughter. The Noble Consort felt that my status as a concubine was not worthy of the Grand Tutor's mansion, so she promoted me to the rank of secondary consort."

"Grand Tutor Wei, is what Lu Jinyao said true?"

Despite the commotion in the hall, Grand Tutor Wei remained seated without even opening his eyes. Only when the Emperor asked his question did he slowly rise to his feet, as if waking from a daze.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has a special connection with this woman, and given her pitiful background, I took her in as my goddaughter out of pity. As Your Majesty knows, my son and daughter passed away long ago, and I am now in my seventies. I only hope that after my death, someone will burn paper money for me. Jin Yao is a straightforward girl, and I hope Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and His Highness the Crown Prince will not hold it against her."

Having said that, he glared at Lu Jinyao and said, "What do you think this place is? Apologize now!"

Lu Jinyao's heart trembled, and she quickly said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please forgive me. I come from a poor family and am unaware of the rules of the palace. I spoke without thinking. I deserve to die!"

The Empress said sternly, "If you know you can't keep your mouth shut, then shut it! Yue'er, your mother isn't here today. When you get back, tell her everything that happened in the palace. Not just anyone can be the Prince Yue's concubine!"

Having made things worse, Lu Jinyao clenched her clothes tightly.

The King of Yue said yes, ignored her, and returned to his seat with a hint of annoyance.

Grand Tutor Wei snorted, his dissatisfaction with Lu Jinyao growing even stronger than before. He knew she was foolish, and had repeatedly warned her before she entered the palace. He thought she had learned her lesson after entering, but he hadn't expected her to cause such a huge blunder at the palace banquet. If there was a next time, for the sake of the grand plan and the Wei family, she could not be allowed to live.

Liu Ying was right. With heavy snow falling, the sweet and sour fish chunks with star anise couldn't have been made in any other palace; the only possibility was in the Imperial Kitchen. They summoned the Imperial Chef's young apprentice, but before they could even ask him anything, his legs went weak.

He didn't reveal who was behind it, only saying that something went wrong when making the fish pieces, and fearing the master would find out and the supervisor would scold him, he made another batch while the master was busy. He thought this wouldn't be discovered, but unexpectedly, the adult who ate this plate of fish pieces was allergic to star anise.

When asked why he added star anise, he replied...

His answer was that he used leftover fish that hadn't been marinated in scallion and ginger water. Worried that the fish would be too fishy, ​​he added powdered star anise and pepper. He tasted it and found the flavor similar to the other fish pieces, with the sweet and sour taste masking the original star anise flavor. He hadn't anticipated that the gentleman was allergic to star anise.

The young apprentice's words were not the truth. Since he had said so, he seemed to be taking the blame for the person behind it all, and further questioning would yield no further information. The Emperor intended to settle the matter as an accident, but Lu Jinyao suddenly burst into tears. The Empress glanced at her with annoyance and asked, "Lu Jinyao, crying and sobbing at the New Year's Eve banquet, are you trying to offend Northern Liang and His Majesty?"

"This humble woman dares not presume. This humble woman merely feels that this official died unjustly. This humble woman just remembered, this seat was mine." Lu Jinyao pointed to the seat: "This humble woman came with His Highness Prince Yue, but I haven't officially entered Prince Yue's residence yet. It was only because of the Noble Consort's favor that I had this seat at the entrance. His Highness Prince Yue felt sorry for me and allowed me to sit with him. Seeing this, the official next to me gave up his seat for me. And so it was, that official ended up sitting at the entrance. Originally, I thought that the dishes at the palace banquet were all the same, so changing seats wouldn't matter, and the officials didn't take it to heart. I never imagined that it would cause this official to lose his life for me."

Lu Jinyao lay prostrate on the ground: "This humble woman is allergic to star anise, just like this gentleman. If it weren't for His Highness Prince Yue's mercy, and if it weren't for the mercy shown by all of you gentlemen, I would be the one dying here today. I heard that an assassin tried to shoot my sister with a bow and arrow. I think that the assassin was probably after both my sister and me."

The Crown Prince walked up to Lu Jinyao and said, "Tell me why this assassin wanted to kill you? You are just a distant relative of the Lu family."

"I wonder if Your Highness has heard of those rumors circulating in the capital?" Lu Jinyao looked up: "My mother is Marquis Lu's mistress, and I am Marquis Lu's eldest daughter."

The Crown Prince said, "Have I heard of you? Are you the eldest daughter of Marquis Lu?"

Lu Jinyao lowered her head: "Your Highness, I am not the eldest daughter of Marquis Lu, but my mother, Ji Wanwan, was Marquis Lu's childhood sweetheart and grew up with him. If my mother had not been of humble origin, she would have been the one to marry Marquis Lu. My mother was once betrothed to the Zhu family, but this marriage was opposed by Old Madam Zhu. When my mother was all alone, it was the Marquis who was on his way to take up a post in Weinan who took her in."

Lu Jinyao took a deep breath: "My mother was indeed the Marquis's mistress, but it's not like what's being said. It wasn't that she had an affair with the Marquis while my wife was pregnant with my younger sister. I am not the Marquis's eldest daughter, but my younger brother is his legitimate son. My wife divorced the Marquis because of my brother. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this is a family scandal, and I originally didn't want to talk about it. However, if I don't, some people will misunderstand. For example, the assassin who committed the crime probably mistook me for the Marquis's offspring."

Lu Zhiyuan narrowed her eyes: "Does Sister mean that the assassins are targeting my Lu family?"

"And the Xie family too," Lu Jinyao whispered. "Sister, have you forgotten? The assassin used a specially made bow and arrow that Madam took to the border. You are not only a child of the Xie and Lu families, but also Madam's only child. That assassin must hate Madam and the Xie family to target you. Your Highness's maids, the allergic adults, and even I, a commoner, have all been innocent victims. The assassin's intentions are malicious. For your safety, I implore Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and Your Highness the Crown Prince to capture him as soon as possible."

The Emperor, with a stern face, ordered Xie Yubai to do everything in his power to apprehend him.

As the New Year's Eve bells rang, the Emperor officially announced that Lu Zhiyuan had become the Crown Princess. She was also the first Crown Princess in the history of Northern Liang to be appointed before reaching the age of marriage.

After the palace banquet came the family banquet, a time when civil and military officials would stay up late with their families to celebrate the New Year.

The Crown Prince did not return to the Eastern Palace, but instead went to Ronghua Palace with Lu Zhiyuan, where they ate hot pot with Lu Yun, who was guarding the bronze stove. Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Xiao Yebai and A'luo mingled among the civil and military officials and their families, successfully leaving the palace. The moment they stepped out of the imperial city, A'luo lifted the curtain and looked in the direction of the palace, asking softly, "Will we still be able to see Miss?"