The noble girl is beautiful.

Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan each received their rewards and returned home, where Shen Ying and Lady Yang were waiting in the main hall. A servant at the gate saw the two young ladies’ sedan chairs approaching and rushed inside to report, “The young ladies have returned.”

In no time, Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan alighted from their sedan chairs and entered the mansion. Lady Yang had already instructed someone to entertain the leading eunuch with tea and wine in the flower hall.

In the main hall, Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan paid their respects to them. Shen Ying raised his hand to let them stand and asked in detail about their activities in the palace. Shen Yourong spoke plainly, but Shen Qingyan felt that Shen Ying’s gaze lingered on her. Not only him, but also Lady Yang and some of the stewarding maids seemed to pay her unusual attention. She had never felt so noticed before.

After Shen Ying finished his questions, he pondered for a moment and said, “Go and pay respects to the Old Lady.”

“Yes,” Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan responded and left.

Shen Qinghan was accompanying the Old Lady when Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan entered. She smiled and said to her, “Elder Sister and Third Sister have returned.”

The Old Lady, who had been dozing, opened her eyes upon hearing this. Her keen, elderly gaze fell directly on Shen Qingyan.

Feeling the pressure, Shen Qingyan bowed deeply.

The Old Lady didn’t tell her to rise, instead looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Shen Qinghan, observing this, snuggled up to her and said, “Elder Sister must be tired from her trip to the palace. Shouldn’t we get her a chair?”

Only then did the Old Lady look away and say, “All right, sit down.”

Shen Yourong and Shen Qingyan stood up and took their seats. Watching all this, Shen Qinghan felt relieved. Previously, she had felt uncomfortable about being the only one of the three sisters who hadn’t entered the palace, but now she saw that staying out of it might not be a bad thing.

The Old Lady asked about what happened in the palace, and both girls cleverly avoided giving too much detail but revealed enough for the her to guess the situation. This made the her furious. First, she couldn’t stand Shen Qingyan flirting with the Fourth Prince right under her nose, and second, she was angry that Shen Yourong’s incompetence allowed someone else to seize a golden opportunity.

After their visit with the Old Lady, the young ladies each returned to their own quarters in a somewhat gloomy mood.

Returning to her courtyard, Shen Yourong found it late in the day, with lamps already lit inside and out. Du Juan placed a lamp on a small table while Hua Mei helped her remove her outer garments and settled her on the couch.

Du Juan brought over a bowl of tea, and Shen Yourong took a sip, exhaling a long breath.

Standing behind her, Hua Mei removed her hairpins and ornaments and began combing her hair. Shen Yourong, having been on edge all day, felt a throbbing at her temples now that she was finally able to relax.

“There are some freshly made Yunpian cakes on the table. Try one; something sweet might help you sleep better.”

She nodded, and Hua Mei brought over the cakes and a covered bowl of almond custard. She ate a couple of the sweet pastries with her tea, feeling a bit more at ease. As fatigue set in, she mentioned wanting to sleep.

Du Juan and Hua Mei assisted her with washing up and getting ready for bed.

Since she and Shen Qingyan returned from the palace, the entire household was abuzz with gossip. Even some of the more respectable women were talking behind their backs, saying unpleasant things.

One day, a little maid in Shen Yourong’s courtyard was playing in the garden, breaking off some well-bloomed forsythia branches to play with by the lake. An older maid spotted her and scolded, “You shouldn’t touch things you shouldn’t. You come here and ruin my flowers!”

The little maid, smiling apologetically, said, “I just thought they were pretty and wanted to take a couple of branches to give to our young lady.”

The older maid grew even more aggressive, “How dare you blame your young lady to cover your actions! Let me tell you, your young lady is useless too. No matter how favored she is, she still lost to the third young lady.”

This seemed to be a common sentiment, as if a woman’s success or failure depended solely on whether a man favored her.

The little maid, angered, retorted, “What does my personal matter have to do with our young lady? I’ll let her know about this, and you’ll see!”

She ran off, and the older maid sneered, “Go ahead, tell her. I doubt she has the face to confront me!”

Just as she was about to leave, she saw Shen Shuo emerge from behind a tree, his gaze cold and unwavering.

The older maid broke into a cold sweat and quickly greeted him, “Greetings, Eldest Young Master.”

He didn’t move, still staring at her. His young servant stepped forward and kicked the older maid to the ground, scolding, “How many lives do you have to dare gossip about the young ladies?”

The older maid, knowing she couldn’t hide, knelt and kowtowed, “I know my mistake. Please, Eldest Young Master, have mercy on an old servant who has worked hard for the family all her life.”

The servant reported to Shen Shuo, “This is one of Lady Wu’s maids, who once served as the third young lady’s wet nurse.”

“Demote her to the lowest rank of servants, dock her pay for a year, and reassign her duties to someone else. She’s not allowed in any of the main courtyards, only to clean the garden. Anyone who helps her will join her in cleaning the garden,” he said coldly. “Let her experience the coldness of human nature.”

Unaware of this incident, Shen Yourong was busy in her courtyard, overseeing the making of new clothes for the maids. Dressed in a light green silk dress, she sat on a swing.

Du Juan had brought out two boxes of fabric, which had been stored away for a long time. Finding them recently, she decided to use the good quality but old-fashioned fabrics to make clothes for the maids.

Two pear blossom tables were set up, and the fabric spread out, glittering in the sunlight.

The young maids chirped as they gathered around, choosing from the vibrant colors: bean green, goose yellow, grass green, peach red, and autumn fragrance, whether cloud silk or brocade. A maid picked up a piece of peach-red silver brocade and asked Du Juan, “Is this material good? I’m afraid there’s not enough for a whole outfit.”

She compared it against her, “You can make a skirt and a top from this, and use green fabric for the trim.”

At that moment, Hua Mei led in a crying little maid. The other maids, seeing her distress, gathered around.

Shen Yourong asked, “What happened?”

Still angry, Hua Mei explained the garden incident, and the little maid cried, “I only broke off a branch of flowers. Usually, anyone can take flowers from the garden. But that old maid started cursing at me and even dragged our young lady into it.”

Hua Mei scolded, “Enough. Your carelessness caused trouble for our young lady, and now you come here crying about it.”

Shen Yourong thought for a moment, then said, “Forget it. Since my elder brother has already punished her, let’s not mention it again. Let this be a reminder to you all to be more careful in the future. Anyone who behaves recklessly will be severely punished.”

All the maids agreed. Shen Yourong softened her tone and told Hua Mei, “Let her choose a good piece of fabric and go play.”

The little maids resumed their playful chatter around the fabric table. Hua Mei brought tea inside for her and said, “The household is becoming more unruly by the day. Just now, after the Eldest Young Master punished that old maid, Lady Wu went to complain to the Madam. I overheard her saying, ‘Don’t look down on me! You never know when the whole Marquis household might have to rely on my daughter!’ Isn’t that outrageous?”

Shen Yourong fell silent for a moment and said, “Though arrogant, there’s some truth to her words. If the third young lady marries the Fourth Prince, won’t the household have to depend on her? Even the Old lady and Father will have to show her respect.”

“Who knows what’s happening in the palace? She’s already acting like she’s destined to be an imperial consort,” Hua Mei said disdainfully. Shen Yourong handed her the tea, and she went inside.

In April, during the Emperor’s longevity festival, the Old Lady, Lady Yang, and Lady Li, who all held ranks, were required to attend the palace banquet. Concubine Shu also instructed the Old Lady to bring the three young ladies, excluding the still-young Shen Sihui.

For several days, Lady Yang confined Shen Qinghan to her quarters, making her wear a bean green flower-patterned palace dress, a gold phoenix hairpin, and a belt with jade ornaments. Several palace-trained maids supervised, teaching her the proper steps and etiquette.

After about half an hour of practice, she took a break. Lady Yang watched with a smile, “Your posture is good. You’ll be just fine in the palace.”

Standing beside her, Shen Qinghan thought for a moment and said, “There are many maids here, but only I practice. Others might see it as favoritism.”

Lady Yang’s expression remained indifferent, “Let them say what they want. The eldest young lady doesn’t need the training, and as for the third young lady…” she sneered, “How could I dare instruct her? She’s destined to be an empress, and I’ll have to rely on her favor.”

Shen Qinghan, understanding her resentment towards Lady Wu’s earlier remarks, said no more and continued to keep her company.

On the day of the longevity festival, the household started preparing before dawn. Shen Yourong and the others got up and dressed to go pay respects to the Old Lady, then waited to enter the palace together.

Upon entering the palace, they first paid respects to the consorts. Concubine Shu, with her fourth prince, and Concubine Li, favored by the Emperor and with a young seventh prince, were always in competition. Because of the fourth prince, the Emperor decided to give face to Concubine Shu by having all the noblewomen gather at her palace.

Soon, the banquet was in full swing, and everyone moved to the banquet hall. The Shen family’s young ladies, all dressed in bean green palace dresses and wearing similar gold hairpins, looked like a trio of fresh, elegant beauties. Even among the gathered noblewomen, they stood out.

At a table near the Emperor, the Crown Prince’s gaze strayed in their direction.
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