Immediately afterwards, all the servants got busy preparing a sumptuous lunch.

After a satisfying afternoon meal, Su Muyao lay on a rocking chair to digest her food when someone from the palace arrived.

It was said that the invitation came from the palace, that an envoy from the Yan Kingdom was visiting, and that the emperor would host a banquet tomorrow to welcome the envoy.

Officials of the third rank or above were invited to bring their families to the palace banquet. Su Muyao, as a princess and the national advisor, was naturally among those invited.

Looking at the gold-embossed invitation, a playful smile appeared on his lips.

It's obvious without even thinking that the Yan envoy's visit at this time was definitely not for pure purposes.

Considering how the great dynasty had been controlled by the Yan state for so many years, it was only in the last year or so that things began to improve.

I mentioned it to my family at dinner, originally intending for my grandmother or mother to go along, but they both waved their hands repeatedly and refused to go.

Grandma Su felt that as a country woman of such advanced age, she wouldn't be able to connect with the old ladies in the capital.

Even with all those complicated etiquettes, I don't fully understand them myself. What if I say something wrong and offend someone?

Su Laosan looked excited, but Su Muyao pretended not to see him and finally fixed her gaze on her aunt.

Although Qin Meijuan can be a little selfish at times, it's all for the sake of her family. When it comes to matters of principle, this aunt can still be open-minded and willing to make sacrifices.

Moreover, she's fiercely protective of her own, and if they were to argue, no one could possibly win against her, making her a suitable candidate.

My second aunt works with my second uncle at the factory and they haven't been home lately.

The final decision was made to let the eldest aunt go. After dinner, Qin Meijuan started tinkering with the clothes she should wear the next day in her room.

After much deliberation, I finally chose a long dress that complemented my skin tone.

My niece also gave me a lot of gold and silver jewelry. I picked out a few that I liked, and tomorrow I'll have my maid style my hair into a married woman's bun and put the hairpins I chose into it.

Meanwhile, Su Laoda repeatedly told his wife in the room to keep quiet and not cause trouble for Yao Yao.

The next day

After breakfast, Xia started dressing up Su Muyao, determined to outshine all the other little cuties.

Just as she finished getting ready to leave, Xiaodong approached and said, "Your carriage is ready, and the First Madam is waiting for you in the front hall."

"Okay, I understand," Su Muyao replied, then turned around in front of the large mirror to make sure there was nothing wrong before taking Xia Xia out the door.

When Su Muyao saw her aunt dressed in her finest attire, she was momentarily stunned.

Qin Meijuan was quite pleased with Yao Yao's surprised expression; she had dressed her up with great care.

"Auntie, you look so beautiful! You don't look like someone with such a big child at all. You look like you're only twenty-five or twenty-six."

Qin Meijuan blushed at her niece's words, "You're so sweet-talking."

"I didn't say anything wrong. Aunt, you're already beautiful, and now that you're dressed up like this, I thought you were a fairy descended from heaven."

"You have such a sweet tongue! Your auntie loves you the most. Alright, it's getting late, let's go to the palace first."

After Qin Meijuan finished speaking, she helped Su Muyao onto the carriage.

Qin Meijuan was beaming all the way. She rarely went out or dressed up, and even though her little niece had given her so many pieces of jewelry and clothes, she had never used them.

Now that she's dressed like this, she looks like a completely different person. After she finished dressing up, Boss Su's eyes widened in amazement.

No wonder those wealthy women have their heads covered in jeweled hairpins. I used to think they didn't find it heavy, but now I just regret not dressing up myself sooner.

The carriage swayed and wobbled as it arrived at the palace gate, where it stopped to find many court officials already there.

Almost all the people there were families, queuing up in long lines to wait for security checks before entering the palace.

Holding her imperial advisor's token, Su Muyao led her aunt into the palace.

It was only at this time that Qin Meijuan realized that the Imperial Advisor was such a high-ranking official.

The banquet is scheduled to begin at noon, and there is still more than half an hour before it starts.

Qin Meijuan then took her aunt to stroll in the Imperial Garden.

Even though it's only early spring, the Imperial Garden is already a riot of color, with all sorts of flowers vying for attention.

The varieties I've seen before and the ones I haven't seen before are blooming in turn, creating a breathtaking sight.

By this time, many people had already come to admire the flowers in the Imperial Garden.

However, Su Muyao didn't recognize most of these ladies and young women.

Seeing the groups of people standing together talking, Su Muyao disliked crowds, so she led her aunt toward a less crowded area.

Just then, a group of women dressed in palace attire approached them. To be precise, it should be said that a group of women were escorting a beautiful woman as they walked towards them.

Su Muyao disliked the women in the harem the most, and immediately pulled her aunt toward a side path.

But when the woman in front looked up, she saw them trying to avoid her and gave her maid a look.

The maidservant ran over and stopped Su Muyao and the others, shouting, "Which minister's wives are you? How dare you be so rude! You don't even come over to greet our Lady. Are you pretending not to see her?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Meijuan immediately tried to bow, but Su Muyao grabbed her arm.

"How dare a mere palace maid shout like that without knowing the other person's identity? Is this how the head maids in the palace taught you?"

Upon hearing this, the maidservant deflated like a punctured balloon, looking rather listless.

This little bundle of flesh exudes an extraordinary aura. If she were the child of some high-ranking official and went back to complain, her master would naturally be fine, but in the end, it would be the servants who would suffer.

At this moment, the person referred to as "Your Majesty" slowly walked up to them.

Su Muyao sized up the woman in front of her. Her appearance was above average, but she had an arrogant look on her face. However, judging from the hair ornaments she wore, she was obviously an ordinary concubine.

If it were an ordinary official's wife, she would naturally bow to her. But she was the Grand Preceptor of the country, someone who didn't even kneel before the emperor. She was dreaming of kneeling to her.

Then the woman came over and slapped the maid who had been yelling earlier across the face.

"You can't do anything right, and now you've even offended me."

After saying this, he looked at Qin Meijuan. Although the woman's clothes were decent, her appearance was rather ordinary.

Most importantly, she walks so casually, without any manners, that she is definitely not the legitimate wife of some official.

"Why don't you know to kneel before me?"

Not just anyone can attend this banquet. One should know one's place and not think that just because one can outrank the principal wife in the household, one can act with impunity in the palace.

The other women in the circle also began to berate Qin Meijuan, saying, "This is Consort Hua, why don't you kneel down and beg for forgiveness?"

Upon hearing this, Su Muyao's eyes widened immediately: "Fertilizer."

The Flower Consort also heard what Su Muyao said. Although she couldn't hear it very clearly, she understood that Su Muyao was saying she was fat.

This little cutie is so adorable; she's sure to grow up to be a beauty.

A wicked thought immediately came to mind: "She'll definitely grow up to be a vixen. Someone, slash her face to pieces!"

Su Muyao then spotted the emperor not far away. Heh, this is going to be quite a show.

I wonder if the Emperor would feel ashamed to see his concubines like this?

"You're just a lowly concubine. How dare you slash my face? I think you're asking for trouble and don't want to live."

Upon hearing this, the once arrogant concubine instantly deflated.

“The...Princess of the County”.

She knew perfectly well that the entire dynasty only had one little princess, who had now become the Grand Preceptor.