The next day, in the Empress Dowager's palace, Shen Yunxi idly embroidered a handkerchief for the Empress Dowager. She chose the Empress Dowager's favorite pattern, the peony.

Perhaps it would seem vulgar for an ordinary matriarch of a noble family to use a peony or similar flower pattern, but the Empress Dowager was able to carry off such a design with unparalleled dignity.

The young Empress Dowager was born into a prominent family, so she was already of high status. Not to mention, after decades of immersion in the palace, she was even more extraordinary.

Just as Shen Yunxi finished embroidering the pattern and was about to put away her needlework, Granny Tian suddenly walked in.

"Miss Yunxi, Miss Lu has come to visit Her Majesty. Her Majesty said that you should go out and talk to Miss Lu. You are both young and can get along well," Granny Tian said softly.

The Empress Dowager probably thought that Shen Yunxi must be bored and have nothing to do at the moment, and since someone came over, she could chat with Shen Yunxi. Perhaps that was also the reason why she didn't really want to talk to the other person.

Shen Yunxi's heart skipped a beat. She put down her needlework, stood up, and nodded. "I'll go right away."

Upon entering the front hall, Shen Yunxi immediately spotted the Empress Dowager, who looked somewhat helpless, and Lu Wanqing, who had a broad smile on her face.

Shen Yunxi was not surprised at all by Lu Wanqing's arrival. Her purpose was the same as hers before: to enter the palace and meet Jun Xuan.

However, the two were treated differently. Junxuan saw that he did not dislike Lu Wanqing, but he showed all his dislike to Shen Yunxi.

When Lu Wanqing entered the palace, she naturally had to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. After all, among the women in the palace, the Empress Dowager was the most honored. Even if she wanted to see the Imperial Concubine, she would only do so after meeting the Empress Dowager.

"Miss Shen has arrived. It's been quite a while since I've seen you. I didn't even have a chance to speak with you at the Prince Xiaoyao's residence that day," Lu Wanqing said with a gentle smile.

If you didn't know better, you would think that she and Shen Yunxi had a very good relationship.

Shen Yunxi returned the smile, "I was busy with my sister's affairs that day, so I didn't visit her much and it was unfortunate that I couldn't speak with Miss Lu."

The atmosphere between the two was very harmonious, but the Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised. In the past, every time Shen Yunxi and Lu Wanqing met at her place, they would always engage in some open and covert struggles.

The fact that the two are behaving this way now seems rather unusual, as if they have suddenly turned hostility into friendship.

Of course, Shen Yunxi could not truly reconcile with Lu Wanqing, but she now knew to be more reserved, not to reveal her emotions, and not to let others see through her true thoughts.

In the past, Shen Yunxi was not as good at maintaining her composure as Lu Wanqing, so she suffered a lot of grievances. However, she would not give Lu Wanqing that chance now.

Lu Wanqing was indeed taken aback, seemingly not expecting Shen Yunxi to act so unpredictably today and even cooperate with her in putting on an act. It was truly an unexpected turn of events.

However, Lu Wanqing was no simple woman, so of course she wouldn't show it.

"I've heard that Your Highness is a lover of flowers, and there are many flowers in the garden. I wonder if Miss Shen would be willing to take me to see them?" Lu Wanqing said with a smile.

Shen Yunxi understood that Lu Wanqing was up to his scheme again.

In a way, this could be considered a provocation from Lu Wanqing to Shen Yunxi, to see if she dared to accept the challenge.

The Empress Dowager chuckled softly, "Yunxi, you may take Miss Lu there. I am feeling a bit tired, and a short rest will make it easier to have lunch. Miss Lu, you can have lunch with us later. I will have the imperial chef prepare some of your favorite dishes."

Shen Yunxi immediately nodded in agreement, "Yes."

“In that case, I, Wanqing, will naturally comply and trouble Your Majesty.” Lu Wanqing said with a gentle smile.

“Miss Lu, please.” Shen Yunxi extended her right hand forward.

Lu Wanqing stood up, gave a slight curtsy to the Empress Dowager, and then smiled at Shen Yunxi, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Shen."

The two walked out one after the other. The Empress Dowager's smile faded considerably, and she looked at Lu Wanqing's back with considerable displeasure, clearly disliking Lu Wanqing.

Seeing this, Granny Tian immediately stepped forward to appease the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry if you don't like Miss Lu. It might harm your health. After all, Miss Lu isn't exactly favored by the Emperor, otherwise she would have entered the palace long ago," said Granny Tian.

That's true. If Junxuan really cared about Lu Wanqing, or even loved her, Lu Wanqing would have become the Crown Princess long ago, instead of waiting until now to enter the palace.

The Empress Dowager sighed softly, her expression softening considerably. "I understand, but I dislike her behavior. She's no different from the other concubines I've seen before. Yunxi suffered a lot at her hands before, and I feel sorry for her. I don't understand why the Emperor can't see Yunxi's good qualities. This girl loves him wholeheartedly."

"Your Majesty, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. How can outsiders interfere with the Emperor's thoughts? However, this servant feels that the Emperor's attitude has changed recently, and I believe he understands Miss Shen's deep affection for him," said Granny Tian with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager nodded and said no more.

Others thought she was using Shen Yunxi as a pawn to send to Junxuan's side, but in reality, the Empress Dowager just loved Shen Yunxi and hoped that she would get what she wanted.

She probably wanted to hold an umbrella for others because she had been caught in the rain herself, not to mention that she and Shen Yunxi's mother had always been like sisters.

On the other side, Shen Yunxi led Lu Wanqing to the garden.

The Empress Dowager's garden was meticulously maintained, and in addition to peonies and peonies, there was also a large area of ​​roses.

Roses were also a favorite flower of the Empress Dowager, and at this time they were at their most enchanting and beautiful, their delicate red blossoms resembling flames.

“Miss Lu, the flowers here are very beautiful. Her Majesty has had them carefully tended, so they are naturally different from those in other places. I have heard that Miss Lu is also a lover of flowers, so I suppose there are many beautiful flowers in your household as well. I just wonder how the flowers in the Lu family compare to the flowers here in Her Majesty’s place?” Shen Yunxi smiled gently.

Lu Wanqing suppressed her smile. She had already understood what Shen Yunxi meant; it was simply a comparison between her and Shen Yunxi.

From Shen Yunxi's perspective, she was summoned to the palace by the Empress Dowager to accompany her, and her father was the Marquis of Yong'an, so her status was indeed extremely noble.

In contrast, Lu Wanqing's status as an Imperial Concubine was inferior to that of the Empress Dowager, and her own status was also inferior to that of Lu Wanqing, so she was naturally at a disadvantage.

While Shen Yunxi was ostensibly talking about flowers, she was actually implying that she was inferior to Shen Yunxi.

Therefore, a surge of anger welled up in Lu Wanqing's heart.

“Miss Shen is joking. Flowers are all pretty much the same, there’s not much difference between them. But it’s impossible to say there’s no difference at all, after all, it depends on what kind of flowers the person appreciating them likes. Maybe the person appreciating the flowers just likes the flowers in the Lu family mansion and doesn’t like the ones elsewhere.” Lu Wanqing said with a smug look on her face.

In her opinion, Junxuan treated her better than Shen Yunxi, and that alone was enough to drive Shen Yunxi crazy.

To everyone's surprise, Shen Yunxi simply smiled faintly and then said something inscrutable that made Lu Wanqing break out in a cold sweat.