Shen Tangning was not surprised that the princess could see through her tricks, after all, the other party had studied the art of emperors, and she had even prepared herself mentally before coming.

But in any case, she had already succeeded halfway by getting the princess to see her.

She remained calm and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Highness, please calm down."

Yan Mingyi narrowed her eyes and scrutinized her: "Was your 'Today we must endure and lie low, tomorrow we will rise like a dragon in the sky' a line meant for me?"

Shen Tangning paused slightly, then raised her head: "This is for Your Highness to hear, and also for myself."

Yan Mingyi suddenly chuckled: "You are indeed honest."

Her tone and emotions were ambiguous and hard to decipher.

Shen Tangning smiled and said, "I dare not show off in front of Your Highness."

“You and your aunt are really not alike.” Yan Mingyi withdrew her gaze. “Get up. I didn’t expect that after all these years, you have become so much bolder.”

Shen Tangning got up as instructed, and was taken aback when she heard this.

"Has Your Highness seen me before?"

Yan Mingyi slowly poured tea, the steam blurring Jiang's face: "I met you once, when you were only a few years old. You were so cautious and timid. Even though you were still a child, you insisted on acting like you were mature beyond your years. You were just like your aunt."

She gave a light scoff, it was impossible to tell whether it was sarcasm or something else.

A strange light flashed in Shen Tangning's eyes. The Princess kept mentioning the Empress, her emotions a complex mix that she herself might not even be aware of.

She had heard some rumors from her mother when she was young, that in the early years, the relationship between the eldest princess and the empress was actually quite good.

But later, for some unknown reason, they ended up being bitter enemies.

There was one reason why she dared to risk coming to find the eldest princess.

"You came here to bump into me, but your purpose is probably not so simple, is it?" Yan Mingyi never knew how to be tactful or subtle, and she bluntly exposed her intentions.

Under the other person's sharp gaze, Shen Tangning felt there was nowhere to hide. In her second life, few people could give her such a sense of pressure.

"Your Highness is indeed a prophet."

She readily admitted that trying to outsmart smart people is just being presumptuous.

Yan Mingyi glanced at her sideways and propped her chin up with her hand: "Sit down."

As Shen Tangning sat down, she pushed the teacup towards her, saying, "How about trying my cooking?"

Shen Tangning dared not refuse. How many people in this world could drink tea brewed by the Princess herself?

She carefully held the scalding hot teacup, blew away the foam, took a sip, and her expression immediately became somewhat strange.

Yan Mingyi watched her expression with great interest: "How is it?"

Shen Tangning took another sip, confirming that it wasn't her imagination. Without changing her expression, she put down the teacup and suppressed the bitterness on her tongue: "The taste is very peculiar."

She never expected that the princess, with her grand entrance, would brew such... indescribable tea.

"puff"

Yin Fang, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but laugh.

Yan Mingyi glanced at her sideways with displeasure: "Is it funny?"

Yin Fang straightened her expression and said, "This servant knows her mistake."

The eldest princess didn't argue with her, and looked at Shen Tangning coolly, saying, "It tastes bad, so it tastes bad. You're quite hypocritical."

This is utterly unreasonable.