Her hair was cloud-like and beautiful! She opened her eyes and found herself back in the third year

Emperor Jing'an's wedding was the year after next.

At that time, Emperor Jing'an was only a fourteen-year-old boy, but in order to announce that the emperor of Eastern Qin had come of age, appease the people and deter other countries, Empress Dowager Cheng chose an empress for his wedding.

The chosen one was Zhao Yutong, the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Wu'an.

However, Qin Yizhen had no dealings with this empress.

With an empress, there must be consorts to maintain balance. At that time, Fang Shixin also wanted to enter the palace. Qin Yizhen couldn't resist Fang Shixin's pleas and recommended her to enter the palace as one of the four consorts. The empress thought that she wanted to support Fang Shixin, so she naturally kept her distance from her.

Qin Yizhen felt somewhat guilty towards Zhao Yutong, recalling the many troubles Fang Shixin had caused both openly and secretly after entering the palace.

"I remember you, daughter of the Marquis of Wu'an. Although you are young, you are dignified and generous. There are few girls of your age in Qin Capital who can compare to you."

"Your Highness flatters me." Zhao Yutong smiled sincerely. "If we're talking about elegance and poise, I am far inferior to Your Highness. If I have the opportunity, I will certainly learn more from Your Highness."

Qin Yizhen shook her head: "You're mistaken about that. I'm living a muddled life myself, so how could I possibly give you any advice? If you'd like, you can come to the Marquis of Pingxi's residence often. It's not about who gives advice to whom; having tea in your free time is a refined affair."

Zhao Yutong smiled and agreed: "Yutong will certainly obey and thank you, Princess."

Another lady, who had also brought her daughter, saw Qin Yizhen and Zhao Yutong chatting happily and, feeling anxious, quickly pushed her daughter forward, saying, "Princess, my daughter also wishes to meet you."

The little girl in the pale yellow dress with gold embroidery was pushed, her face full of reluctance, but being pushed by her mother, she had no choice but to stiffen her expression and step forward to pay her respects: "Greetings, Princess."

Qin Yizhen glanced at her, didn't recognize her, but didn't hear the other woman introduce herself either, and nodded: "No need for formalities."

Upon receiving this greeting, the little girl awkwardly said "Thank you, Princess," and then quickly returned to her mother's side to sit down.

The lady pinched her in anger, but she just sat there without saying a word.

Qin Yizhen found it strange, but since people's attitude towards her was passable on the surface, she didn't want to investigate further.

Afterwards, several more noblewomen came to Xingning Palace to pay their respects, and Qin Yizhen entertained them all, offering them tea and chatting with them for a while.

After noon, when Empress Dowager Cheng had taken her afternoon nap, she came to greet the ladies and then led everyone toward the Taiping Palace.

Singing and dancing filled the air, and the world was at peace.

This is the Taiping Hall.

It was the palace where the Eastern Qin Dynasty held its banquets on a regular basis.

When the group arrived, there were already many noblewomen in the hall. Because of their low status, they were not qualified to go to Xingning Palace to pay their respects to Empress Dowager Cheng, so they could only wait here. When they saw Empress Dowager Cheng leading the group in her ceremonial carriage, they all knelt down and paid their respects.

"Greetings, Empress Dowager! May you live a thousand years and enjoy peace and prosperity!"

The layout of Taiping Hall differs from other palaces. There are no walls separating the hall, and the vast hall has a five-tiered platform where people sit according to their rank.

The first tier was for officials of the fourth rank and below, and their families; the second tier was for officials of the second and third ranks; the third tier was for officials of the first rank and dukes; the fourth tier was for close relatives of the royal family; and the highest tier, the fifth tier, was for the emperor, empress, and empress dowager.

Empress Dowager Cheng had Qin Yizhen help her up to the high seat. Once seated, facing the kneeling female relatives, she raised her hand and said, "Dismissal—"

An accompanying official announced, "Exempt—"

"Thank you, Empress Dowager." The crowd bowed in gratitude before rising and taking their seats.

Qin Yizhen got up and walked to her seat. As soon as she sat down, several ladies came forward to greet her.

The banquet had not yet begun, and everyone was free to move around and chat. Naturally, the eyes of these noblewomen were fixed on the few dignitaries at the top. The Empress Dowager dared not disturb them, but she would dare to disturb the princess.

Qin Yizhen observed the crowd and saw that they were all dressed in fine silks and brocades, their hair styled in elaborate buns adorned with dazzling ornaments, clearly of immeasurable nobility.

Qin Yizhen greeted the people who came up with a smile. She was gentle, quiet, and approachable, and almost every lady who came up left satisfied.

"Make way, make way, make way—"

Just then, Fang Shixin squeezed through the crowd and plopped down next to Qin Yizhen.

Because of her somewhat large movements, she bumped into a table, causing the wine glasses on the table to wobble and almost fall to one side. She quickly bent down and grabbed both wine glasses, thus saving them from falling.

She sighed, set down her wine glass, and said to Qin Yizhen, "Yizhen, this place is so much better. The view from this vantage point is completely different..."

Qin Yizhen saw that her expression had changed and scolded, "Get out."

Qin Yizhen had never thought Fang Shixin's unconventional nature was bad before; on the contrary, she thought she was carefree, genuine, and unpretentious. But now, seeing her disregard for the occasion and etiquette, she was truly disgusted.

Moreover, she had several disagreements with Fang Shixin, but he acted as if nothing had happened, like a stubborn leech that she couldn't shake off.

"Get down, this is not a place for you to sit."

Being kicked out in front of so many people, Fang Shixin's face stiffened slightly.

She probably didn't expect Qin Yizhen to be so disrespectful to her.

She tugged at the handkerchief in her palm and asked Qin Yizhen, "What's wrong with you? I've noticed you seem to have some issues with me these days. Did I do something wrong and offend you?"

"If I did something wrong, I'll apologize to you, Yizhen. I was wrong..."

"Sister?" Before Qin Yizhen could speak, someone sneered, "I don't remember having such a sister? Who are you, daring to be so insolent?"

Qin Yizhen and Fang Shixin looked up and saw Princess Huizhen standing behind them with her arms crossed. They didn't know when she had arrived.

Princess Huizhen, dressed in a magnificent purple robe, looked at people with an arrogant and domineering gaze. She glared at Fang Shixin and said, "Get out of here! Or should I throw you down?"

Fang Shixin's face turned extremely ugly in an instant.

She naturally recognized this legitimate princess and knew of her arrogant and domineering reputation. Although she was annoyed, she was also afraid that Princess Huizhen would abandon her, so she had no choice but to leave awkwardly.

Princess Huizhen sat down next to Qin Yizhen, gestured for the ladies to leave, and said speechlessly, "Qin Yizhen, you're supposed to be a princess, how come just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can ride roughshod over you?"

"If you ask me, if I tell her to leave and she doesn't, I'll just throw her out and send her on her way."

Qin Yizhen smiled: "Thank you for coming to my rescue, Your Highness. You are right to teach her a lesson. If she doesn't understand human language next time, I will throw her out and let her know that no matter how good-natured I am, I am still a princess of noble birth."

Princess Huizhen looked down at her nails, which were painted with henna, and then said, "Thanking me isn't something that can be done with just a word. If you really want to thank me, then help me write a letter to Xie Zhan, how about that?"