Shang Rui was furious but couldn't vent his anger, and had to thank her: "Your Majesty, I will. Thank you for reminding me, Your Majesty."

Shang Changge generously said there was no need to thank her, and after revealing Shang Rui's true colors as a womanizer, she began to reveal her real purpose for the day.

Their expressions change faster than turning the pages of a book.

She smiled warmly at her younger brother and invited Shang Rui to watch the opera together, and asked Mi Chan to bring Shang Rui a cup of tea.

Mi Chan couldn't understand why the princess would sometimes warn her not to get close to the Third Prince, and other times ask her to serve him tea.

But she was very obedient and obediently accepted the tea that the shopkeeper had personally brewed and brought over, and handed it to Shang Rui:

"This humble servant greets Your Highness the Third Prince. Your Highness, please have some tea."

Mi Chan always spoke with captivating charm when she was at the Drunken Flower Pavilion, but after leaving, she no longer spoke in that way.

She's usually normal, but she'll deliberately use a high-pitched voice when she's being affectionate.

Now, Mi Chan no longer uses a seductive, high-pitched voice.

However, Shang Rui was extremely familiar with Mi Chan in his previous life and immediately recognized her.

Staring intently at the beautifully made-up woman before him, he was shocked and reached out to grab Mi Chan's wrist:

"Manniang? What are you doing here!"

Mi Chan was confused and also a little wary.

Looking up at Shang Rui, she was certain she had never seen a prince so much younger than herself before.

A sharp pain shot through her wrist. She wanted to curse, but hesitated to pull her hand back because of Shang Rui's status as a prince.

He could only pretend not to understand, looking at Shang Rui with a blank, fearful, and aggrieved expression, and whispered:

"Your Highness, you've hurt me."

"My name is Mi Chan. I only resemble Man Niang from the Drunken Flower Pavilion in appearance, but I am not her."

He tried to pull his hand back, but Shang Rui's grip was too tight; he couldn't pull it back without much effort.

Mi Chan already had a bad impression of Shang Rui because of what she heard, and now her favorability towards him has dropped to negative numbers.

On the surface, she looked at Shang Changge with a pleading, fearful gaze, but inside she was cursing like a shrew:

Damn, he looked like a handsome and noble young prince, but I never expected him to be so frivolous.

She was so smitten at first sight, she must have been blind!

Still not letting go? This is never going to end, is it? If I remember correctly, this third prince isn't even twenty yet. Oh ho, you brat!

Wow, so young and already so adventurous! He's barely grown up yet, and he's already got one woman on each arm.

You're still taking advantage of me? Don't you know that if I had been born a few years earlier, I would have been old enough to be your mother?! Stop it now!!

"cough."

Shang Changge didn't miss Mi Chan's pleading look, and he coughed lightly, his hand clenched into a fist near his mouth.

While his suspicions were confirmed and he felt strangely conflicted, he spoke up to help Mi Chan out of her predicament:

"Third brother, this is one of my people."

"As she said, her name is Mi Chan, and she is a female musician in this palace."

She's been in this palace for quite some time; she's not the Man Niang from the Drunken Flower Pavilion you speak of."

"Quickly loosen your grip, lest you hurt or damage my Chan'er's hand."

Chan'er plays the pipa beautifully; I must listen to a piece every day, otherwise I can't eat or sleep well.

"If you damage her hands and she can't play the pipa well in the future, it won't be easy to find another empress to compensate for that."

After saying this, he instructed Qingyao: "Qingyao, go and bring Chan'er back."

Qingyao: "Yes."

With her goal achieved, Shang Changge would no longer allow her people to be harassed by Shang Rui.

Her beautiful eyes swept over Chu Yue, whose face had turned pale behind Shang Rui, and she said teasingly:

"Third brother, if you don't let go, your confidante will be heartbroken and sad."

"It's not that I'm criticizing you, but there's a limit to being a flirt. You should know when to rein it in so you don't hurt the heart of your beloved."

These words struck a chord with Shang Rui.

He wouldn't have hesitated with any of his other women today, but not with Yue'er.

Yue'er was the indelible mark on his heart in his previous life. He had lost her and then regained her in this life. How could he not cherish her?

Furthermore,

During this period, there was Xiangrong's marriage, and now Ge Yunshu is living in the mansion and pestering him all day long, which has already made Yue'er feel wronged enough.

Thinking of this, Shang Rui loosened his grip.

Qingyao pulled Michan back, perhaps using too much force, or perhaps Michan wasn't prepared.

Anyway, Mi Chan fell solidly into Qing Yao's arms, and both of them were stunned.

Qingyao felt something was off, and after pulling Michan to stand properly, she looked away uncomfortably.

Mi Chan stood still, but she clutched her chest, her heart pounding, unsure whether it was from fear or something else.

He glanced at Qingyao casually and was taken aback when he saw her ears turn red again. He realized what was going on and wanted to laugh.

They're all girls, yet they don't know what's with all the shyness. They really are just naive young girls.

The little commotion between the two went unnoticed and unnoticed; the play on the stage continued.

Shang Rui stared at Mi Chan, who was standing next to Qing Yao, scrutinizing her as if he suspected that Mi Chan was Man Niang.

It was as if he recognized Mi Chan as Man Niang and was considering whether it was worth it for him to go to great lengths to get Mi Chan back.

Shang Rui's scrutinizing gaze was like that of a hunter eyeing its prey in the jungle.

Let's see if this prey is plump and juicy enough to warrant our jumping out to hunt it.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable being stared at like that, and Shang Changge noticed it.

Just as she was about to speak up and deliver another sarcastic remark to Shang Rui, she caught a glimpse of Qing Yao turning to the side to block Shang Rui's view for Mi Chan.

Shang Changge laughed.

I have to admit that Qingyao is indeed stubborn but soft-hearted; she can't stand Michan for anything.

In critical moments, they will still step forward to protect their fellow travelers who are on the same boat as them.

Half an hour later,

Shang Rui made an excuse to leave.

Shang Changge didn't try to stop her, after all, she still needed to process the 'surprise' that Shang Rui was a reincarnated person.

On Shangrui's side,

On the way back to the manor, Shang Rui kept thinking about how Man Niang had transformed into Mi Chan, a female musician in Shang Changge's manor.

It wasn't because he couldn't let go of Man Niang, just a woman from a brothel.

If he hadn't been able to use pipa music to bewitch people's minds in this life, it wouldn't have been worth the trouble of finding him again.

In the previous life...

Recalling the memory of Man Niang, whom he had grown tired of and abandoned in the cold palace in his previous life, now old and faded, Shang Rui frowned, his eyes filled with disgust.

A woman of humble origins who used her beauty to please men and who was much older than him, actually dared to dream of bearing his child—how utterly ridiculous!

In her previous life, Man Niang unknowingly took the tonic given to her by Shang Rui but was unable to conceive, despite seeing the imperial physician to no avail.

Man Niang then secretly sent someone to bring back a doctor from outside the palace. The doctor discovered the problem with the medicine but assumed it was the other concubines who had harmed her.

Unfortunately, being of low status and influence, I could do nothing but recuperate in private.

Three years of recuperation,

Finally, after serving the emperor, she became pregnant, and the pulse confirmed it was a double pregnancy. Overjoyed, Manniang told Shang Rui the news.

In return, he received only Shang Rui's cold treatment and a bowl of abortion soup sent in the name of Empress Yun Xiangrong.

Man Niang refused to drink, so the nanny forced her to drink it.

The child is gone, and the person has been abandoned in a cold palace.

Manniang stayed in the cold palace for two whole years, waiting for Shang Rui day and night.

She hoped that Shang Rui would remember their past relationship and come to see her once more. She didn't expect him to change his mind; she just wanted that one glance.

In the end, I didn't get to see it.

Heartbroken and disillusioned, Manniang threw herself into a well and died.