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Chapter Seven: The Women's Ridicule
"Sister, eldest sister's hand is injured, so it'll just be the two of us going to the poetry recital today." Shen Qianxin looked worried for Shen Qianyu.
"Hmm, is your hand alright, eldest sister?" Shen Qianmo also pretended to be concerned, while raising her eyes to look at Shen Qianxin.
Shen Qianxin always liked to pretend to be weak and kind. In her previous life, she was deceived by Shen Qianxin's weak and kind appearance. She thought that Shen Qianxin was genuinely good to her and was very dependent on this older sister. However, she did not expect that this older sister had done a lot of bad things behind her back and even wished that she would die sooner.
"I heard you need to rest for a while." Shen Qianxin's expression was worried, and her eyes seemed to be glistening with tears.
Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianxin with amusement. Although her acting skills were very good, behind her tearful eyes was a gloating expression.
How could Shen Qianxin's thoughts be hidden from Shen Qianmo? Shen Qianyu was the eldest daughter, and Shen Qianmo was the legitimate daughter, while Shen Qianxin had none of these. Naturally, she wished for both Shen Qianyu and Shen Qianmo to be in trouble.
If Shen Qianyu cannot attend the Hundred Families Banquet, and Shen Qianmo is an ignorant and incompetent idiot, then everyone's attention will naturally be focused on Shen Qianxin, which is her only chance to get rid of her status as an illegitimate daughter and rise to prominence.
"Seeing how worried Second Sister is, why don't we skip today's poetry gathering?" Shen Qianmo said, a sly glint in her eyes and an innocent smile on her lips.
"How can this be?" Shen Qianxin immediately became anxious when she heard that Shen Qianmo was not going to the poetry recital. She had gone to great lengths to trick Shen Qianmo into going to the poetry recital, with the aim of making her look bad. How could she not go?
"Second sister, what's wrong?" Shen Qianmo asked innocently, but Shen Qianxin could clearly see mockery and sarcasm in her eyes.
"It's nothing, it's just that it wouldn't be good to break my promise to all the sisters." Shen Qianxin looked closely at Shen Qianmo's eyes again. Her dark eyes were now filled with innocence, with no trace of mockery or sarcasm. Shen Qianxin concealed her lapse in composure and said softly.
“That makes sense. Let’s go then.” Shen Qianmo naturally understood Shen Qianxin’s thoughts. She had only been teasing her earlier, so she didn’t delay any longer and followed Shen Qianxin.
Today, Shen Qianxin wore a peach-pink long dress with a pearl belt cinched at the waist, which not only exuded elegance but also accentuated her perfect figure. Her hair was styled in an elegant updo, and her face was lightly made up, making her look refined and charming. Combined with her delicate appearance, she appeared even more pitiful and captivating.
Shen Qianmo was dressed casually in white, with wide sleeves and no belt, which concealed her shapely figure. Her face was bare of makeup, and the disguise pill she had taken made her look even more ordinary. One glance was enough to make one forget what she looked like.
"Miss, Qianqian will go with you." Qianqian held Shen Qianmo's hand, looking reluctant to part.
"Second sister, Qianqian has been with me since she was ten years old, and she hasn't left my side for the past five years. Do you think I can take her with me?" Shen Qianmo smiled and looked at Qianqian before speaking to Shen Qianxin.
She knew that someone as seemingly kind as Shen Qianxin would never stop her from taking Qianqian with her.
"Yes, that's fine. Then you can take Miss Qianqian with you, little sister." Shen Qianxin smiled gently and went to the poetry gathering with Shen Qianmo.
There were many young ladies from prominent families at the poetry gathering. They were all dressed in luxurious attire, making her, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family, appear quite shabby in comparison.
"Qianxin, you've arrived." A woman dressed in a light green gauze dress with gold trim on the cuffs walked towards Shen Qianxin. She exchanged a glance with Shen Qianxin, then looked at Shen Qianmo and Qianqian and smiled, "Are these two your maids?"
"You." Qianqian was about to go up and argue with the woman when Shen Qianmo grabbed her arm.
"Second sister, wasn't this supposed to be a poetry recitation gathering for young ladies? How can there be such an ill-mannered person?" Shen Qianmo revealed innocent eyes as she looked at the woman in green, then smiled at Shen Qianxin.
"Um. Let me introduce you. This is my third sister, Shen Qianmo. This is the daughter of the Great General, Yao Ruoqin." Shen Qianxin smiled somewhat awkwardly, and then introduced Shen Qianmo and Yao Ruoqin.
"Hello, Miss Qianmo." Yao Ruoqin smiled politely at Shen Qianmo, but there was still a hint of resentment in her eyes.
"Hello, Miss Ruoqin." Shen Qianmo replied with a forced smile.
Shen Qianxin and Yao Ruoqin had a very good relationship. Yao Ruoqin must have known about her coming to the poetry gathering long ago. She was just deliberately mocking her. She pretended to be ignorant to force Shen Qianxin to make the introductions, because if Yao Ruoqin still spoke rudely after Shen Qianxin introduced herself, it would be disrespectful to the Prime Minister's eldest daughter.
"It was Ruoqin who was rude just now. Why is Sister Qianmo dressed so plainly? Ruoqin thought you were Qianxin's maid." Yao Ruoqin said to Shen Qianmo with a fake smile.
"It's alright. Not just anyone can recognize this garment made of celestial silk." Shen Qianmo replied with a generous smile.
Yao Ruoqin's expression immediately changed. She had wanted to mock Shen Qianmo for dressing so plainly, but she hadn't expected that this ordinary dress was actually made of rare silkworm silk. Shen Qianmo's words were clearly implying that she was ignorant.
"It seems Ruoqin was blind." Yao Ruoqin looked at Shen Qianmo with a forced smile, her gentle eyes revealing obvious hatred.
Shen Qianmo curled her lips indifferently. Yao Ruoqin, in her previous life, was the first concubine appointed by Shangguan Che after he ascended the throne. Relying on Shangguan Che's favor, she bullied Shen Qianmo. In her previous life, Shen Qianmo was kind and innocent and did not hold a grudge against Yao Ruoqin. In this life, Yao Ruoqin would not be able to get any benefits from her.
"Qianxin. Ruoqin." A woman dressed in luxurious clothes and wearing a hair ornament walked over.
Even at a gathering of daughters of officials, this woman's attire still made her stand out from the crowd. Moreover, the hair ornaments were not something ordinary people could wear.
“Sister, you’ve been in the mountains for so many years, you probably don’t know Princess Pian yet,” Shen Qianxin said to Shen Qianmo with a kind and understanding expression.
As soon as she finished speaking, the daughters of the officials looked at Shen Qianmo with even more scrutiny. Shen Qianmo did not shy away from those scrutinizing gazes at all, and stood there calmly and composed.
Isn't Shen Qianxin's statement just an attempt to emphasize that she grew up in the mountains, deliberately belittling her?
"Oh, so you're the Prime Minister's eldest daughter who grew up in the mountains. I heard you're uneducated and can't do anything. How dare you come to the poetry gathering?" Shangguan Pian is the Empress's daughter. She has been pampered by the Empress and the Emperor since childhood and is spoiled.
"Did this Princess Pian grow up in the palace? How come she's even less well-behaved than the girls from the mountains?" Shen Qianmo didn't directly retort to Shangguan Pian, but instead asked, holding Shen Qianxin's hand.
Chen Qianxin likes to pretend to be a good person and kind, so today she will give Chen Qianxin a good chance to play the role of a "good older sister".
---Aside---
Mwah~ Thank you for the summer flowers~
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Chapter Eight: Lifting a Stone to Shoot One's Own Foot
"How dare you speak like that!" Shangguan Pian glared angrily at Shen Qianmo. Wasn't Shen Qianmo implying that she was ill-mannered and not even as good as a woman from the mountains? How could she, a princess, tolerate such behavior?
"Pianpian, don't be angry. My sister is being unreasonable, I apologize on her behalf." Although Shen Qianxin secretly hoped that Shen Qianmo would be embarrassed, she still had to put on a show, otherwise how could she maintain her kind and gentle appearance?
"Qianxin, you're just too kind!" Shangguan Pian had no idea how vicious Shen Qianxin was, and just looked at her helplessly.
Shen Qianxin smiled gently, seemingly embarrassed.