"Girl, the second girl is here to see you."

Jingzhe looked a little worried: "You came at this time, the girl is not well yet, and you are not afraid of catching a cold."

Guyu pushed Jingzhe's arm, but looked very worried.

Shen Miao saw this and breathed a sigh of relief.

The four maids around her were all personally selected and trained by Shen Xin and Madam Shen. They were loyal and smart. She was too young to see what was going on in the Shen family and what the second and third branches were thinking, but the maids could see the clues.

Before he could say anything, he saw a young girl walking in. She looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a pale pink chrysanthemum-patterned top, a moon-white pleated Ruyi skirt, and a tasseled bun. She had a fair complexion, elegant features, and a strong scholarly air, appearing decent and dignified. Seeing her, he quickly walked over to the bed and asked worriedly, "Fifth sister, are you feeling better? I've been worried for a long time since I learned you fell into the water, but the people at Yujiao Garden said you needed to rest, so I didn't dare disturb you. I only came here today after hearing you were awake."

Shen Miao looked at the girl in front of her. This was Shen Yue, the legitimate daughter of the third branch of the Shen family.

Among the three legitimate daughters of the Shen family, Shen Qing is cheerful and generous, Shen Yue is famous for her talent, but Shen Miao is the only one who is dull, timid and has no talent. Outsiders praise her as "chaste, quiet and virtuous", but in fact everyone knows that she has no strengths and is the most unpresentable daughter of the Shen family.

In her previous life, before Shen Miao got married, she had the best relationship with Shen Yue. Shen Yue was gentle and considerate, and often helped Shen Miao with ideas. However, Shen Miao couldn't tell whether these ideas were good or bad at the time, and was simply grateful for her cousin's dedicated help.

This time Shen Yue came here probably to plead for Shen Qing.

As expected, Chen Yue opened her mouth and said, "Fifth sister, I also made a mistake that day. Now that things have come to this, I hope you can forgive her. I heard that you had a fever, and I blamed myself very much. After you recover, can you forgive me this time? She didn't mean to embarrass you in front of His Royal Highness Prince Ding."

It would have been fine if she hadn't said that, but she had to mention the name Ding Wang in front of Shen Miao. Everyone knew that Ding Wang was Shen Miao's beloved. Shen Miao was a person who could endure grievances, but when it came to Ding Wang, she would not give in even a little. If she hadn't mentioned Ding Wang, Shen Miao might have just let it go. This time, Shen Yue deliberately brought up Ding Wan, wasn't she trying to stir up a dispute between her and Shen Qing?

It was the same in her previous life. Shortly after she woke up, Shen Yue rushed to "plead" for Shen Qing, a plea that infuriated Shen Miao. Normally a submissive person, for the sake of her beloved, she accused Shen Qing of pushing her into trouble in front of the old lady. Shen Qing denied it, and those around her also said they hadn't seen Shen Qing push Shen Yue. The old lady, who favored the second and third wives, naturally took the opportunity to lecture her, saying, "You're so young and don't know how to respect yourself, yet you're trying to slander your eldest sister," and punished her with house arrest.

Later, the story spread to the Imperial College, and Shen Miao became the laughing stock of her classmates. Shame and angered, she stopped going to the Imperial College. Later... she gradually faded out of the circle of noble ladies in the capital.

Thinking about it now, her vision had always been confined to the world created for her by the people in the General's Mansion. She thought she was virtuous, but she didn't know that outsiders saw her as cowardly and ignorant. She thought she was brave and straightforward for loving Prince Ding, but she didn't know that outsiders called her shameless.

The result of these deliberate teachings led to a terrible impression of her in the early days. Although she later successfully married Fu Xiuyi, she was still considered unpresentable. Even when people compared her to Madam Mei, they would only call her stupid and ignorant.

What a foolish past!

Shen Yue patted Shen Miao's shoulder worriedly, a hint of a smile appearing calmly at the corner of her lips.

She knew that with Shen Miao's temperament, she would fly into a rage as soon as Fu Xiuyi was mentioned. But after waiting for a long time without any reaction, Shen Yue looked over suspiciously, and saw the girl in front of her looking at her with a smile.

The girl's face was still very pale and her lips were dry, but her dark eyes were as bright as grapes.

Shen Miao's eyes were the most beautiful, large almond-shaped, naive, and timid like a newborn puppy. However, her expression was usually dull, which wasted the vitality of her eyes.

Those almond-shaped eyes were still round, but the look in them was completely different. They were cold and emotionless, not dull, but rather... condescending.

Chen Yue shuddered. For some reason, she felt an indescribable fear in her heart. It was as if she was not facing a stupid fool, but someone in a high position.

Why does this feeling come about?

She naturally didn't know that the Shen Miao in front of her was no longer the same Shen Miao. The Shen Miao in front of her was the Shen Miao who had experienced the struggle for the throne, wars, vying for favor, the loss of her son, and the extinction of her clan.

It was Empress Shen, the Mingqi Empress, who once ruled the harem and possessed supreme power over the six palaces.

She was stunned for a long moment until the girl in front of her rubbed her forehead and said softly, "Second sister, you are too serious. This matter has nothing to do with eldest sister. I fell down on my own."

“Fifth sister…” Shen Yue didn’t expect Shen Miao to say that. She was stunned for a moment before reacting. She shook her head and said, “Fifth sister, don’t let yourself be wronged.”

"How could I put myself in such a difficult position?" Shen Miao interrupted her with a smile, "It's just a small matter. I'm still a little dizzy and want to rest for a while. If you have anything to say, let's talk to Grandma tomorrow."

Having said that, Shen Yue didn't know what to say anymore. Although she was surprised that Shen Miao wasn't very warm to her today, she attributed it to Shen Miao's embarrassing behavior in front of Fu Xiuyi, which made her unhappy. After a few more words, Shen Yue left.

After Chen Yue left, Gu Yu said, "Our girl was pushed into the water and nearly died, yet you come to plead for the eldest girl? You can plead for her, but it doesn't sound like that." Gu Yu was implicitly reminding Chen Miao that Chen Yue had bad intentions.

"When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. She probably wants to be the 'fisherman'." Shen Miao said lightly.

Gu Yu was surprised that Shen Miao could finally see Shen Yue's true face, but he was a little confused about the meaning of Shen Miao's words. He looked up and saw that his girl's pleasing face was cold. He felt an inexplicable sense of solemnity, which made him look up involuntarily.

Shen Miao looked at her fingertips.

Why did Shen Qing push her into this? It was because she had said at the time, "When Dad returns victorious at the end of the year, I'll let him decide and ask him to marry me to His Royal Highness Prince Ding."

She said it naively, and she felt that they were her family, so she had no scruples. Shen Xin was a general in the court, and it was not impossible for him to marry his daughter off if he wanted to.

Why did Shen Yue want to sow discord between her and Shen Qing?

Of course, it was because Chen Yue also admired Prince Ding.

In her previous life, when she was about to die, Shen Yue and Shen Qing told her that they had long admired Fu Xiuyi. Thinking about it now, she had already seen the first signs of it at that time.

Since these two sisters are both infatuated with Fu Xiuyi, wouldn't it be a pity not to let them get what they want in this life?

She will definitely make their wishes come true. The second and third wives owed the Shen family a blood debt in their previous life, so they should start repaying it from now on.