After Mrs. Zhao left, Shuang'er finally couldn't contain her inner doubts anymore and asked Li Jingshu, "Miss, have you considered reporting to the Empress on the Eighth Princess's current condition?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jingshu's lips curled into a cold smile, her eyes gleaming with determination and resoluteness. She responded coldly, "Did Chu Caiwei ever consider me her cousin? Did she ever offer me even the slightest bit of care and help? Instead, she brought me endless humiliation and hurt! She even tried every possible means to prevent me from becoming the Crown Princess! Now she wants me to save her from hell? It's simply wishful thinking!"

At this point, Li Jingshu's voice deepened, as if she were suppressing years of accumulated resentment. Biting her lip, she continued, "Watching her suffer in that so-called hell is a comfort to me. I would rather witness her torture myself than offer a helping hand!"

Shuang'er couldn't help but shudder all over, her teeth began to chatter, and she stammered, "But...but Miss, you are going to be the Crown Princess in the future. If the Crown Prince finds out that you didn't save the Eighth Princess, wouldn't that be..."

Li Jingshu sneered as she replied nonchalantly, "Humph, how could the Queen and the Crown Prince not know Chu Caiwei's current situation? They know it better than anyone else! Chu Caiwei has already brought shame upon the Queen and the Crown Prince, and has become a laughing stock. To them, her continued existence is nothing but an indelible disgrace!"

At this point, Li Jingshu's eyes widened with anger, and she glared at Shuang'er fiercely, warning in a stern tone: "Listen to me, both of you, and keep your mouths shut! If anyone dares to leak a word about this, don't blame me for punishing you severely!" After that, her beautiful but cold eyes swept over Shuang'er and Bing'er in front of her again.

Shuang'er and Bing'er hurried out of the front hall, crossed the garden in the front hall, and finally arrived at a quiet and secluded rockery.

Bing'er tried to persuade Shuang'er helplessly, "Why are you so foolish? Don't you know what kind of temper the young lady has? Besides, the Eighth Princess has always suppressed the young lady. Why would the young lady risk rescuing her and offend the Minister of Justice?"

Shuang'er gently wiped the tears from her eyes and sobbed softly as she responded, "I simply feel that the Eighth Princess is so pitiful! As a woman, even if she's the emperor's daughter, she can't escape the fate of suffering and torture! How sad!"

Bing'er said to someone solemnly, "Don't ever say these boring things in front of our young lady again! The young lady is very intelligent and will have her own opinions and decisions! As servants, we only need to serve the master wholeheartedly and don't talk nonsense about other matters!" After that, Bing'er pulled Shuang'er and turned to walk towards the back courtyard.

At that moment, two identical, beautiful women emerged from behind the rockery. They were, it turned out, the twin sisters born to Li Mingfu's concubine, Xian Ge.

Back then, Li Mingfu was just a small-time assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue. Although the Li family was still a prominent family in the capital, it had already declined by Li Mingfu's generation.

Li Mingfu, relying on his father-in-law, Gu Zhong, the Minister of Revenue, rose to prominence. He obeyed his father-in-law's orders and left all household affairs to his wife, Gu Manqing. He was a true henpecked man.

However, times changed. Later, Li Mingfu, leveraging his sister's connections as the empress, rose to prominence, eventually ascending to the position of Prime Minister. As his status rose, Li Mingfu's long-dormant desires gradually awakened. He began frequenting brothels, seeking new excitement and pleasure.

One day, while Li Mingfu was indulging in his sensual pleasures, a woman named Xian Ge caught his eye. Xian Ge's graceful figure and light dance steps were full of charm, like a blooming flower, alluring and alluring. Her graceful figure and light, elegant steps captivated Li Mingfu.

From then on, Li Mingfu could not forget Xian Ge and was determined to take her under his wing. Although this move was strongly opposed by his father-in-law and wife, Li Mingfu was so blinded by love that he had no time to care about others' feelings. He insisted on marrying Xian Ge as a concubine, completely ignoring the advice and opposition of his family.

Xian Ge gave birth to two illegitimate sons for Li Mingfu in succession, which made Li Mingfu's love for her even deeper, even surpassing his feelings for his legal wife Gu Manqing.

However, good times didn't last. Just a few years later, the old lady of the Li Mansion suddenly fell seriously ill and was bedridden. Anxious, Gu Manqing searched far and wide for a way to help the old lady escape disaster and eventually met a mysterious immortal through various channels. This immortal was said to possess extraordinary abilities and unfathomable magic, allowing him to see into the heavens and predict the future.

After some divination and calculation, the immortal pointed out that there was a person in the Li Mansion who was incompatible with the old lady. If she was not sent away in time, it would bring greater disaster to the old lady. And this person who was in conflict with the old lady's fate was Xian Ge, who was pregnant!

At this moment, Xian Ge was immersed in the joy of welcoming a new life, but she never expected that a sudden disaster was quietly approaching her.

Just when she was off guard, Gu Manqing stormed into her room with a group of servants, and forcibly took the pregnant Xian Ge to a remote farm in the countryside belonging to the Li family and placed her under house arrest.

After a thrilling childbirth, Xiange gave birth to a pair of lovely twin sisters, Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan. However, fate was so cruel that she passed away without even having the chance to see her children, filled with endless regret and resentment.

From then on, Gu Manqing harbored a grudge against the twins, refusing to allow them to return to the Prime Minister's residence, citing the claim that the twins were "collecting debts and bringing misfortune upon their parents." Poor sisters Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan were left to live a lonely life in their rural village.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed. When the twin sisters were only half a year younger than Li Jingshu, an unexpected turn of events occurred. Li Mingfu had hatched a plan: to use these two stunning sisters to curry favor with powerful military commanders, thereby consolidating his own and the Crown Prince's positions at court.

Thus, Li Xuemei and Li Xuelan were finally taken into the Prime Minister's residence. However, for them, this unfamiliar home was now full of power struggles and calculations, and they were nothing more than pawns in their father's hands...