Yan Jinsi knew very well that her younger sister had lofty ambitions and naturally wanted to become empress.

Even if she marries a prince, does that guarantee her the position of empress?

No, she can't.

Because even if she had the chance, she wouldn't let it go.

Since she didn't have this opportunity, then none of the women in the Yan family have this opportunity.

She finally relented and married into the Meng family.

The scene was grand enough. The Meng family, as expected, dared not mistreat her in the slightest.

But she was still angry with herself, so even though Meng Junxian was quite good-looking, she couldn't feel any affection for him.

She dreamed of marrying the Seventh Prince! What kind of appearance and demeanor did the Seventh Prince possess? How could this man before her possibly compare?

On their wedding night, they both had a bad impression of each other.

Meng Junxian, after all, wasn't getting married for the first time, so he could tell what the woman under the veil was thinking.

Hmph, the first one was an idiot, and this one is arrogant.

Since he's seen through it all, let's all put on an act together.

Among those who served Yan Jinsi, there was one named Xiangsi, who was not from the Yan family.

Instead, she was a member of the Meng family, so of course she couldn't get close to serve him right now.

But she was extremely clever and grasped the resentment Yan Jinsi harbored towards the Princess. She successfully sowed discord between them.

Indeed, most of Yan Jinsi's maids were trained by the eldest princess.

Xiangsi quickly rose to power.

And this longing, naturally, is another nail planted in the Meng family by the wild geese returning south.

Getting someone into the Yan family isn't easy, and bribing the Yan family isn't easy either, at least not at this stage.

In the eyes of the Yan family's servants, she was still incompetent.

However, the Meng family was different. She had already intimidated them enough, and then she bribed Du Juan.

It's so easy to feel lovesick again these days.

Xiangsi was still young, only fourteen years old. It was a pity that she was also someone no one loved, and naturally she also wanted a future.

Naturally, they seized the opportunity without hesitation.

See, it's all arranged.

The Meng family's drama has only just begun...

In the Crown Prince's residence, one heavy snowfall hadn't even begun to melt before another began to fall.

Su Liangdi served the emperor for two consecutive days, and Ye Liangdi hated her so much that she gritted her teeth.

During the greetings, a fierce fight broke out.

Unfortunately, Consort Su was clever and never said anything harsh, which only made Consort Ye seem like a jealous shrew.

The Crown Princess simply watched the show; she actually wished the two of them would fight.

Of course, no one wanted to mediate; everyone felt the same way.

For Ye Liangdi, others were one thing, but Su Liangdi was a major concern.

Even the Crown Princess didn't find her as irritating.

This Su Liangdi is the woman my cousin likes!

Admittedly, nowadays women don't believe that men, especially men in high positions of power, would only like one woman.

Judging from the time she spent with him in bed, she knew very well that her cousin preferred Su Shi.

This is a big deal!

So how could she possibly find Su Liangdi pleasing to the eye?

However, they were of equal status, and Su Liangdi was clearly a woman with high emotional and intellectual intelligence.

Unless Ye Liangdi completely breaks off relations, she has no way to deal with Su Liangdi.

After making a scene all morning, Ye Liangdi grew angrier and angrier, and in the end, she left without even saying goodbye.

The Crown Princess frowned and snorted coldly, clearly feeling only disgust towards her cousin.

On the way back, Yan Nangui got playful and instead of going across the Magnolia Bridge, she went behind the Bright Moon Pavilion and into the garden.

The paths in the garden have been swept clean, but since it's still snowing, there's still a layer of snow. Be careful when you walk.

Otherwise, it's easy to slip on the pebbles.

The lake had long been frozen over, and now it was covered with snowflakes, making it look exceptionally beautiful.

But amidst this beautiful scenery, a discordant sound could be heard: a head eunuch was beating a maid.

Although the snow fell softly, you could still hear the sound.

Upon seeing this, a serving eunuch hurriedly said, "This is a maid who has made a mistake and is being disciplined. Please take a detour."

"Where is it from? Call it over so I can take a look," Yan Nangui said.

The eunuch didn't make things difficult; it was clear that Yan Nangui was favored.

Yan Nangui, supported by Chanyi, walked up to Bibo Pavilion, where gardeners laid out thick cushions.

"Let's decorate this place a bit. Since I'm here, I'll watch the snow for a while. I'm afraid of the cold," Yan Nangui said.

As they spoke, Jiangxiang handed over the purse. Inside, of course, was silver.

The servants were delighted and quickly arranged the pavilion, bringing over a six-fold screen that perfectly enclosed the back.

Then they brought over a brazier, placed hot tea on it, and boiled water.

These things are the family's share of the profits, meant for the masters to use in the garden.

However, not every master can use it.

A respectable woman is fine, but if you don't pay them, they won't be willing to serve you properly in this cold weather.

It's just a matter of spending a few taels of silver; Yan Nangui wouldn't be so stingy.

Once everything was settled, the girl who had been beaten had been taken away to get herself cleaned up and brought over.

She knelt down and said, "Greetings, Consort Yan. This servant is Zhang Chenghui's maid."

"Since you're one of Zhang Chenghui's men, why were you beaten here? Chenghui doesn't have any eunuchs, so who beat you up?" Yan Nangui asked curiously.

If even the concubines didn't have eunuchs to serve them, then the imperial concubines certainly didn't either.

"Replying to Lady Zhang, it was the steward in the garden, it was my fault... I... I knocked over the food box and spilled it on the road... Steward Zhang slipped..." the little maid said pitifully.

"A lunchbox? You're going to pick it up for lunch?" Yan Nangui raised an eyebrow.

Looking closer at this girl, wow, she's not bad looking.

She just looks a bit too thin and small.

"Replying to Lady Liang, it is breakfast. This servant...this servant..."

Yan Nangui clicked his tongue and didn't ask any more questions: "Get up. You've already fought, get up and go back."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." The maidservant quickly kowtowed again. She then rose and took her leave.

After she walked away, Yan Nangui smiled and said, "I almost forgot, the kitchen can be quite busy this early in the morning."

Both Chanyi and Jiangxiang were intelligent people, so they naturally understood the implied meaning.

Liangyuan is saying that it's perfectly normal for the kitchen staff to serve different dishes to different people.

"Zhang Chenghui has actually been in the household for quite a while, even before His Highness the Crown Prince's wedding. However, she has never been favored. She is also not very good at speaking. Her family is just a minor official family. Even Ding Zhaoxun's family background is not as good as hers. Oh, and of course, it is not as good as Xia Fengyi's either. The reason she was able to become Chenghui is because she entered the household early. She was never favored to begin with, and in the past year or so, she has completely fallen out of favor."

"Naturally, her subordinates also stopped valuing her."

"So, it seems that to have a good life, one must first be favored, isn't that right? Go, go to the front courtyard and tell His Highness the Crown Prince that I am enjoying the snow here."

Although there may be snow disasters in the north, the crown prince currently has no real power on the surface, so what can he say?

All we can do now is enjoy the snow.