The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

This gift is quite substantial.

Miao Cui's eyes widened in surprise; she had never seen such a sincere gift given as a greeting.

"Please accept these." Old Master Yu smiled and placed many more gifts on Shen Hanyu's carriage.

Pei Du looked helplessly at the heavy box of gold, thinking how his grandfather could have come up with such a thing.

Before coming, they mysteriously said they had prepared a gift for us, and it turns out it was this.

Having already received a large dowry, and now receiving so many more gifts upon meeting her, Shen Hanyu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

But seeing Pei Du's gaze, she didn't say anything to refuse.

After Old Master Yu finished talking with Shen Hanyu, he looked at the old lady on the side.

The old lady maintained her smile.

"How have you been lately?" The old lady spoke very politely to Old Master Yu. After seeing the Yu family's attitude towards Shen Hanyu, the old lady had something else on her mind.

“He’s doing well. He can probably support my grandson for many more years. His father is useless; he can only rely on me.”

Old Master Yu snorted softly, just as Pei Mingjian and his wife and children happened to pass by and overheard what Old Master Yu said.

Unfortunately, Pei Mingjian couldn't say anything, lest he anger Old Master Yu and Old Master Yu say a few words to the Emperor at the palace banquet, which would allow him to return home early.

Han Yueru lowered her head, not daring to meet Old Master Yu's gaze.

"Oh, isn't this the Duke? The Duke has been very busy lately."

Old Master Yu said something sarcastic to Pei Mingjian.

Pei Mingjian forced a smile; after all, Old Master Yu was still his father-in-law.

"Father-in-law, you jest. I—"

"Who's joking with you? Your son is engaged, and you don't even offer a dowry, yet you're doing everything you can to stop it. There are very few fathers like you in the world."

Pei Mingjian was speechless.

He did indeed look down on Shen Hanyu's family background and wanted Pei Du to choose someone better. Wasn't this for Pei Du's own good?

As a result, Old Master Yu didn't appreciate it at all; Pei Du must have said something nonsense to him.

Old Master Yu only needed to glance at him to know what Pei Mingjian was thinking; he was truly a stubborn fool.

He looked down on Han Yueru and Pei Xingzhi even more.

"Alright, everyone go inside, don't block this area."

Old Master Yu led Pei Du inside, and Shen Hanyu followed along with the Marquis's residence.

After entering the palace, many palace maids walked past the square vermilion palace walls.

Following the eunuch who led the way, they arrived at the place in the palace where guests were received.

Before Shen Hanyu could sit down, a young palace maid came over.

"Miss Shen, Her Highness the Imperial Concubine requests your presence."

The people of the Marquis's residence all turned to look. The Imperial Concubine was the birth mother of Crown Prince Li Jing. What was she trying to do by inviting Shen Hanyu at this time?

But I've never heard of any connection between the Imperial Concubine and the Pei family.

Since the Imperial Concubine had invited her, Shen Hanyu could not refuse and could only go with the palace maid.

Pei Du glanced in that direction and saw that Shen Hanyu was about to leave. He was about to go over to check on her when he was stopped by a palace maid.

“Young Master Pei, Her Majesty only said that she invited Miss Shen over to have a private chat, so it would be better if you didn’t go.”

Pei Du looked at the palace maid and pushed her aside.

"They can talk to me privately. I'll just wait outside and won't go in to bother them."

As Pei Du spoke, he gave Jin Chui a wink.

Jin Chui was quick-witted and left from there soon.

When Shen Hanyu arrived at the Imperial Concubine's palace, she could smell the fragrance of cosmetics through a screen.

"Daughter of the Prefect of Suzhou".

A person emerged from behind the screen, dressed in magnificent palace attire, with exquisite makeup, adorned with jewels, and captivatingly beautiful. One could even discern a resemblance between her and Li Jing in her features.

"Originally, with your family background, you were not a good match for the eldest son of the Founding Duke's Mansion."

The Imperial Concubine chuckled softly: "However, Pei Du is so deeply in love with you that he actually asked the Emperor for a decree."

The key point is that Pei Du made the suggestion, and the Emperor actually agreed. Doesn't that prove the Emperor's current attitude towards Pei Du?

These words were hardly pleasant to hear. Shen Hanyu lowered her head and remained silent, wondering what the Imperial Concubine wanted to do by summoning her this time.

The Imperial Concubine sat down, the screen was moved aside, and Shen Hanyu knelt obediently. The Imperial Concubine had heard many rumors about Shen Hanyu, most of them from the Marquis's mansion. It was hard to say how much of those rumors were true and how much was false.

“Lift your head up and let me see.”

Shen Hanyu looked up and heard the Imperial Concubine speak softly. She was young and beautiful, with a good appearance. She had heard that she was doing well at the girls' school and would soon be participating in the imperial examination.

Li Jing had mentioned Shen Hanyu to her once, and the Consort thought at the time that Li Jing wanted Shen Hanyu to enter the Crown Prince's residence, but now it seems that this is not the case.

"I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on your engagement to Pei Du. Please accept these small gifts as a token of my appreciation."

A palace maid brought over a wooden box, and Shen Hanyu squinted her eyes.

The Imperial Concubine has no relation to Pei Du, so she can only do this for the sake of the Yu family.

Everyone knows that Pei Du has broken ties with the Duke's mansion, and that the majority of the betrothal gifts this time were provided by the Yu family.

The Yu family is neutral and has not taken sides. If the Crown Prince wants to win over the Yu family, then this gift must not be accepted.

In just a few seconds, Shen Hanyu had figured out the pros and cons.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness..."

"Your Majesty, the matron from Fenghua Palace has arrived."

Fenghua Palace is the Empress's residence.

"Please come in."

Shen Hanyu shut her mouth; the arrival of this nanny from the Empress's side was just in time.

The old woman came in and said, "My lady heard that Miss Shen has come and wants to see her. She is very anxious. Your Highness, could you please let her pass?"

Since Empress Wang had come looking for her, the Imperial Concubine naturally couldn't refuse to release her.

"Then Miss Shen, please go ahead. Please accept this gift."

"Miss Shen, please go in peace."

The old woman helped Shen Hanyu up, pushed her out a little, and then took away the things that the Imperial Concubine had given her.

The imperial concubine looked displeased, but did not lash out on the spot.

This thing is useless if it's not given to Shen Hanyu.

After leaving the Imperial Concubine's side, Shen Hanyu saw Pei Du.

"Did you summon the nanny who serves the Empress?"

Pei Du nodded. He immediately sent Jin Chui to Fenghua Palace to report the news. He could roughly guess what the Consort was thinking.

Shen Hanyu certainly didn't want to get involved with the Crown Prince, so she wouldn't accept the Consort's gift. However, this would offend the Consort. It would be better to use Empress Wang's help to make this matter a small matter and then let it go.

"Her Majesty the Empress does indeed wish to see you. Her Majesty and my mother were close friends, so she is very concerned about my marriage."

Hearing Pei Du's words, Shen Hanyu sighed inwardly and became even more nervous.

When they arrived at Fenghua Palace, there were already quite a few people there, mostly ladies and young women from aristocratic families. Xu Ying and Lin Lihua naturally stayed there with their daughter as well.

The only one who seemed out of place on the field was Liang Fangrong.

Liang Fangrong held a cup of tea with trepidation, trying her best to minimize her presence.

Upon seeing Shen Hanyu and Pei Du appear together, a group of people's faces were filled with smiles, some genuine and some not.