Shang Changge found it outrageous, and even more so when she noticed her stepmother's reddened eyes. She sincerely offered her concern and greetings.

Are you alright?

As people get older, they crave attention from their children, especially when they are sick. This is exactly the situation the Empress Dowager is in now.

Holding her chopsticks, she had lost all appetite. Seeing Shang Changge still looking so indifferent, her heart was broken. She questioned him sharply:

"You've been burning incense, praying to Buddha, and copying scriptures for over ten days, but not a single day has been for your mother?!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning sour and her mother and elder sister were about to start arguing, Shang Changze tried to mediate and find an excuse for Shang Changge:

"Mother, my elder sister..."

"Don't worry about Ze'er's matter, just eat your food." The Empress Dowager was in a bad mood and wouldn't listen to anything. She interrupted Shang Changze, and her expression and tone softened, which was completely different from how she treated Shang Changge.

Shang Changge raised an eyebrow, having lost her appetite. She put down her chopsticks, leaned back in her chair, and adopted a languid, relaxed, and nonchalant posture.

"You know what, there really isn't one."

The Empress Dowager slammed her chopsticks down on the table with a loud bang, her chest heaving with anger as she shouted, "Shang Changge, I am your mother who gave birth to you and raised you!"

Shang Changze felt a throbbing pain in his temples and regretted sending someone to invite his elder sister to the palace for a meal.

"Mother, please don't get so angry that you'll harm your health. My sister only said that because she was angry with you; she didn't mean any disrespect..."

The Empress Dowager slammed her hand heavily on the table, interrupting Shang Changze once again:

"Ze'er, don't speak. Today I'm going to teach this unfilial daughter a lesson. Look at how lawless she is now..."

Shang Changge stood aside, arms crossed, watching her stepmother's performance like a spectator.

Having looked around enough, she parted her red lips and uttered a mundane sentence:

“My father is still my father.”

The dining hall quieted down. Whether the palace servants could understand it or not was unknown, but the Empress Dowager and Shang Changze certainly could.

Seeing her stepmother's expression gradually change, Shang Changge's mood suddenly brightened, and she pressed her advantage, adding insult to injury:

"Putting everything else aside, in the past twenty-odd years, Father has shown more care and affection for his daughter than Mother has."

Looking at Shang Changge's unrestrained smile, the Empress Dowager recalled what her son had mentioned to her: if it weren't for Xiao Ji on the night of the coup, her daughter would have really killed the emperor with her own hands.

Looking at Shang Changge again, Empress Dowager was startled, but her strong personality prevented her from backing down despite her fear. Maintaining her motherly demeanor, she coldly said:

What are you trying to say?

Shang Changge had cultivated a good eye for people's hearts. She laughed and mocked her cheap mother-in-law for being all talk and no action.

"My daughter doesn't want to say anything, she just wants to tell you not to make unreasonable demands on her for no reason. I won't take it."

Qingyan is quite particular about filial piety, especially in a public way.

It was really inappropriate for Shang Changge to speak to the Empress Dowager like that in front of so many palace servants. Shang Changze coughed lightly, reminding her:

"Sister."

It only made one call, and then nothing more.

Shang Changze is now like the heart in a sandwich, caught between his mother and his elder sister, which is quite a dilemma.

Shang Changge knew that her beautiful younger brother was in a difficult position, and having said what she wanted to say, she didn't want to make things difficult for him any further.

She got up, pretending to be a sensible, obedient, and filial daughter, and apologized to her stepmother while saying a few perfunctory and nice words.

Then he made up some excuse to say goodbye and left Cining Palace with Qingyao and Zhuque without looking back.

I was supposed to be having a happy day, but now I'm so unlucky!

I won't come next time.

As for whether offending her stepmother would cause trouble for her marriage to Xiao Ji later, she wasn't worried about that at all.

As long as Xiao Ji can return, and as long as Xiao Ji still controls one-third of Qingyan's military power, the Empress Dowager will have no way of preventing her from marrying Xiao Ji.

Thinking of all this, Shang Changge rolled her eyes, scoffed, and was utterly speechless. She didn't hold back in her criticism:

“If you’re going to stick to the persona of putting profit first, then stick to putting profit first. Why are you suddenly playing the emotional card?”

Qingyao/Zhuque: ...

The two little girls silently hypnotized themselves, saying they heard nothing at all.

However, the princess is absolutely right. They have always noticed the difference in how the Empress Dowager treats the princess and the emperor.