Shen Yue pouted, feeling wronged.

But the thought of eating made her hold back her tears, and she looked at Qu Jingyun with her big, red, watery eyes.

For a fleeting moment, Qu Jingyun's heart softened at the sight of her.

“Mother,” Yin Xue reminded her, “we still need to go through with this. We need to teach Yue’er manners.”

Qu Jingyun calmed down instantly.

"You're right, she needs to learn more."

After saying that, Qu Jingyun stood up. "Xue'er, you sit here and keep an eye on things for your mother. I'm going out for a bit."

Qu Jingyun then left again.

——

In Empress Wang's palace.

Empress Wang frowned upon learning that Shen Yue had been studying etiquette for the past two days.

She looked at the trusted female official beside her.

"Go and say a few more words to Madam Zhang. Make sure everyone knows that Shen Yue is going to attend the banquet. Since Qu Jingyun doesn't care about losing face, let's make her lose face to the fullest this time, and then marry her idiot daughter off to a beggar."

"She wants to be matched with the Fifth Prince? In my opinion, even a stinking beggar is too good for her."

The lady-in-waiting smiled and agreed, then got up and left.

Soon the day of the Zhang family banquet arrived.

Shen Yue followed Qu Jingyun awkwardly into the Zhang family home.

When Zhang Hu saw Qu Jingyun from afar, he immediately grinned maliciously.

He walked towards Qu Jingyun.

"Madam Shen, you've finally arrived! I heard your second young master has joined the Divine Machine Battalion? That's a very promising and lucrative position."

Qu Jingyun didn't mince words and nodded frankly.

"Lord Zhang is right, it is indeed very beautiful, and ordinary people cannot get in."

Zhang Hu was taken aback, and his face instantly darkened.

He snorted coldly and said with a stern face, "Since Madam Shen is here, please come in and take a seat."

After saying that, he gave his wife a wink.

Madam Zhang immediately led the person inside.

When they reached a fork in the road between courtyards, Madam Zhang suddenly stopped.

She glanced thoughtfully at Shen Yue, then smiled and said to Qu Jingyun, "Madam Shen, the Fifth Prince and others are in that courtyard, you can't go there."

As she spoke, Madam Zhang glanced at Chen Yue, seemingly unintentionally.

It's quite obvious who this is aimed at.

"Don't worry, Madam Zhang. I still have a young, unmarried woman in my family. We definitely need to stay far away from places like this."

"Mother, I..."

Before Shen Yue could speak, Yin Xue suddenly said, "Yue'er, I'm a little bored. Will you come with me and show me around?"

"But……"

Shen Yue gazed reluctantly at the courtyard that Madam Zhang had mentioned earlier.

She also wanted to see the Fifth Prince and explain things to him.

These past few days she has been learning manners from the nanny and has realized that what she did before was wrong and had a great impact on the Fifth Prince.

Yin Xue didn't give Shen Yue a chance to explain at all and simply pulled her away.

Unexpectedly, Yin Xue was so clever, and Madam Zhang let out another cold laugh.

Then Madam Zhang said sarcastically, "Madam Shen has found a good daughter-in-law; it's so enviable."

“That’s right,” Qu Jingyun replied again.

Seeing that Madam Zhang's face had changed color because of her anger, she laughed even more happily.

"So you see, people should do more good deeds. Look, good things have happened, haven't they?"

Mrs. Zhang gave an awkward smile.

"I still have to entertain other guests, so I must neglect Madam Shen."

Qu Jingyun also seemed unconcerned, "It's alright, I know the way to the Zhang family. As long as Lord Zhang doesn't take a few more concubines and cause a commotion like there aren't enough rooms in the courtyard, I still know where your banquet hall is."

This person...

Mrs. Zhang rolled her eyes and quickly left.

Qu Jingyun gave a cold laugh.

With such limited skills, you think you can compete with her?

Qu Jingyun skillfully navigated several roads and successfully arrived at the gathering place for the women.

Her appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Some were curious, others were envious.

"Five years have passed and he's still alive. I wonder if he's been cheating on me with other women during these five years," someone muttered under their breath.

Qu Jingyun looked over and smiled knowingly.

"I went to your house to steal someone."

"Qu Jingyun!" The woman who was being addressed stood up, her face flushed with anger. "How can you talk such nonsense!"

She shrugged helplessly.

"There's no way around it. I can't stand being wronged in the slightest. If someone dares to talk nonsense, then I naturally have to retaliate. You agree, Madam Zhao, right?"

After speaking, Qu Jingyun looked around.

A smile returned to her face. "Ladies, it's been five years since we last met. We should have a good get-together today."

Seeing that she could still smile, and knowing that the other ladies had all said bad things about her, they all felt guilty and lowered their heads, not daring to look at her.

Qu Jingyun was not angry about this.

She went to her seat and leisurely began to drink her tea.

Seeing that she didn't seem to care about the strange atmosphere at all, the lady sitting next to her asked curiously, "Madam Shen, where have you been for the past five years? Everyone is quite curious."

"I was adopted by a kind female doctor. A few days ago, I vaguely remembered some memories about my origins, so I came back."

After saying that, Qu Jingyun sighed again.

"Who would have thought that things would have changed so much in five years? I became a laughing stock as soon as I got back. I almost thought my family members had gone mad."

Hearing Qu Jingyun bring up the past without any attempt to protect her, the lady next to her felt awkward.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Qu Jingyun raised her glass to toast her.

"Ask me anything else you want to say, and I'll tell you everything. You have no idea how stifled I've been these past five years, not having anyone to talk to."

"Hehe..." The lady laughed awkwardly.

Noticing a suspicious person in the crowd, Qu Jingyun sighed again.

"Speaking of which, my husband is also a heartless man. His wife has been missing for five years and he hasn't said a word, acting like he doesn't know anything. When he comes back, I will definitely teach him a lesson!"

Now no one dared to speak.

Everyone knows who is keeping it from General Shen.

Qu Jingyun, however, seemed oblivious, continuing to recount how difficult her life had been over the years.

Just then, a maid rushed in in a panic.

"Oh no, Miss Shen has gone missing!"

Upon hearing this, a lady immediately spoke up: "I heard before that Miss Shen likes the Fifth Prince. Could it be that she went to see the Fifth Prince again?"

"Yes, Madam Shen, you'd better go and call Miss Shen over quickly. It's not proper for a young lady to be running around with a man all the time, isn't it?"

"If it were me, I would cut off both legs of that slut so that she could never go out and seduce men again in her life."

Qu Jingyun looked sharply at the person who spoke.

The man was immediately frightened and lowered his head.

Then Qu Jingyun looked at the maid who had come to announce her arrival.

"My daughter has disappeared from your manor? Then listen to me carefully, if she loses even a single hair, I will have Lord Zhang find her for me!"