The Empress has always doted on the Third Princess, and she would never fight with her daughter for a mere handsome young man. If the Third Princess says she can't bear to part with him, then the young man certainly won't enter the palace.

His eager eyes fell on Shen Wangshu.

Shen Wangshu raised her eyes and smiled, then stood up and said with a smile, holding a gold-threaded pouch around her waist, "My mother has always cherished me like a treasure. In my heart, my mother is the most important person. Your favor is what makes me happy. I am just a lowly servant. Besides, in my heart, I feel that the most beautiful servant should be you. I am more happy than if I had won a beauty by giving me a few of the treasures that were recently presented as tribute from foreign countries."

She always spoke her mind, and a smile appeared on the Empress's face.

"Alright, later, you can go to the inner treasury and choose for yourself!" The Empress laughed, beckoning the young man to her side and nodding in satisfaction.

"Besides, even if I said I couldn't bear to part with it, Your Highness wouldn't agree. You didn't know just now, your eyes were practically bulging out of your sockets," Shen Wangshu continued with a smile.

Lin Guijun's still-distorted expression was immediately seen clearly by the Empress.

She smiled and said to him gently, "I know your feelings."

Lin Guijun saw her pat her hand and felt a bitter taste in her mouth, wondering how she had ended up in this situation.

It was clearly his intention to give the Third Princess a beautiful woman, because he had heard that the Third Princess had absolutely no interest in the handsome young men in the palace, keeping them only as pets, and so far, no one had been able to serve her in bed.

Hearing that the Third Princess had declared that her first love would have special significance, and therefore must be a peerless beauty, he knew that although women valued a man's chastity, they would always look at their first lover with special favor. Therefore, he sought out this exceptionally handsome young man, thoroughly slept with him, and intended to send him to the Third Princess's bed.

If the Third Princess truly favors him, then the young man's words will certainly carry more weight in front of her. The Third Princess is muddle-headed, and it won't be long before she's easily fooled.

Of course, the same was true in the previous life.

If the Third Princess hadn't later met her nemesis, the young man she loved so much she was willing to offer up her entire royal palace, he would now be able to make decisions for her.

This young man was one of the culprits in his previous life for sowing discord between the Third Princess and the First Princess.

However, Shen Wangshu felt that now that the young man had come under the Empress's control, even if he had obeyed Consort Lin in the past, he would probably not respect his former master once he gained favor.

fine.

Go and harm the Empress!

.

She was very satisfied.

Although the Empress always doted on the Third Princess, Shen Wangshu did not have any further feelings for the Empress.

If it weren't for the Empress's neglect and tacit approval of Consort Lin's arrogance in the harem, Consort Feng wouldn't have died of depression.

If Feng Jun were still alive, the Third Princess would have had someone to guide her, and perhaps the tragedy that followed would not have happened.

But who can really say for sure what's right and wrong in all of this?

Shen Wangshu simply smiled as she watched the Empress order the young man to sit beside her and pour wine before returning to her original seat.

Her features were delicate and charming. When she looked up, she saw the eldest princess looking in her direction with a complicated expression.

She raised her glass to the eldest princess, who seemed to sense her rare closeness and raised her glass in return to Shen Wangshu.

In the Third Princess's hateful memories, she always lectured her with disappointment and frustration, but in Shen Wangshu's eyes, she was a very good elder sister.

She struggled to protect herself and her sister after the death of the Emperor, surviving countless plots against Consort Lin and enduring many difficult years without a father. What kind of life could a princess without a father lead in the harem? When the Empress favored Consort Lin and the entire harem was controlled by Consort Lin, even if the Empress had two princesses in her heart, there were too many things she couldn't pay attention to.

Therefore, while protecting her younger sister as she grew up with difficulty, the eldest princess became a steady and strong person.

The third princess enjoyed a life of ease and comfort, which led her to become willful and muddle-headed.

Shen Wangshu only hoped that, at the very least, she wouldn't hold the eldest princess back in this lifetime.

She just couldn't understand it. If her own sister became empress, was it not as good as her half-sister becoming empress?

Surely her older sister wouldn't harm her?

However, the Third Princess had long since disappeared without a trace. Shen Wangshu simply smiled and ate some candied fruit in front of her, watching the countless beautiful concubines twirling and dancing before her. Their long, flowing sleeves and flower-like skirts bloomed before her. Shen Wangshu was quite satisfied with having resolved a small problem and incidentally annoyed Lin Guijun, so she kept smiling.

Seeing her focused on those handsome men, the eldest princess frowned again, but remembering that her younger sister had suddenly become more sensible, she refrained from lecturing her.

She disliked her sister's infatuation with beauty to the point of being obsessed.

My sister is a princess, capable of establishing her own power base in the court. How can she be so obsessed with beauty?

However, the eldest princess still knew she had to save face for her younger sister, and she tried her best to suppress the torrent of words in her heart.

Moreover, the Empress was in an even better mood, and the music and dance below were even more enchanting, so the eldest princess did not want to spoil the Empress's enjoyment.

They have no fathers, and now their every move depends on the emperor's favor.

It wasn't until the banquet ended that the eldest princess caught up with Shen Wangshu, who was adjusting her cloak, and sighed as she walked beside her.

Her brows held a resolute quality that Shen Wangshu lacked. Shen Wangshu looked at his own slender, snow-white hands, then at the eldest princess's calloused hands, and knew that the eldest princess was truly a woman of both literary and martial talents.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!