"Ruoqin knows that Auntie loves me." Yao Ruoqin smiled immediately upon hearing Yao Xuekong's words, deliberately shaking Yao Xuekong's arm and acting coquettishly, while looking at Shen Qianmo triumphantly.
Shen Qianmo glanced at Yao Ruoqin with disdain, a cold smile on her lips, and said, "If Your Majesty has nothing else, Qianmo will take her leave."
Upon hearing Shen Qianmo's words, Yao Xuekong raised her eyes in displeasure. This Shen Qianmo was far too arrogant, relying on the power of the Prime Minister to be so disrespectful to everyone. If she were to become the Empress in the future, what would become of her?
"Qianmo, is this how the Prime Minister taught you manners? It's not that I'm biased, but you really have gone too far!" Yao Xuekong's tone carried the majesty befitting an empress, and her eyes held a hint of sternness as she looked at Shen Qianmo.
Shen Qianmo smiled nonchalantly. Yao Xuekong had finally gotten angry. That was exactly what she wanted. She never wanted to marry Shangguan Che in the first place. It would be best if Yao Xuekong could turn down the marriage. If that wasn't possible, she would just have to disappear on the wedding day.
When Yao Ruoqin heard Yao Xuekong reprimand Shen Qianmo, she couldn't help but feel smug. Yao Xuekong was her own aunt, and she was definitely on her side. She smiled and said to Shen Qianmo, "That's right, Sister Qianmo is too impolite. How could she be so disrespectful to Her Majesty the Empress?"
"Qianmo grew up in the mountains since childhood, what etiquette could she possibly know? If Her Majesty the Empress and Sister Ruoqin really feel that Father is not disciplining his children properly, Qianmo will convey their message," Shen Qianmo said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"How dare you! Shen Qianmo, you have threatened me time and time again. Do you even respect me as the Empress? Kneel down!" Yao Xuekong was furious when she heard Shen Qianmo mention the Prime Minister repeatedly and shouted at her.
Shen Qianmo's lips curled into a mocking smile as she slowly knelt down, but there was not a trace of humility in her expression. She looked up at Yao Xuekong with a mocking gaze in her eyes.
Yao Xuekong looked at Shen Qianmo kneeling and couldn't help but be surprised. Although Shen Qianmo was kneeling, she gave off such a high and mighty feeling. Despite her ordinary appearance, she was impossible to ignore.
This woman might truly possess extraordinary qualities. Recalling Shangguan Che's words to her, "I married her not only because she is the Prime Minister's daughter, but also because she possesses qualities that attract me."
"The Third Prince has arrived." The cunning voice of the eunuch broke the silence in the room.
Shangguan Che, dressed in white, still maintained his elegant demeanor. His jade-like features remained gentle, but a hint of anxiety lingered in his eyes.
Upon hearing that Yao Xuekong had summoned Shen Qianmo, he inexplicably became worried that Shen Qianmo might be harmed, and thus rushed all the way to Fengqi Palace.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty." Shangguan Che bowed gently to Yao Xuekong, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Qianmo.
She was still dressed in the same casual white robes as when we first met, but these robes wore an ethereal quality on her. She knelt there quietly, yet possessed an air of unparalleled nobility.
Her face was plain and simple, but her ordinary features shone brightly because of her eyes.
"Get up," Yao Xuekong said gently, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry as she looked at Shen Qianmo. Shangguan Che was her son, and she knew his temper all too well. Shangguan Che's behavior today was enough to prove that he had fallen for Shen Qianmo.
"Brother Che!" Yao Ruoqin called out coquettishly when she saw that Shangguan Che's eyes hadn't left Shen Qianmo since he entered the room, and he hadn't even noticed her presence.
"Sister Ruoqin is here too." Shangguan Che only noticed Yao Ruoqin's presence when she called out to him. His face showed his usual gentle smile, and his eyes remained as gentle as water.
Shen Qianmo glanced at Yao Ruoqin, then at Shangguan Che, a playful smile playing on her lips. She said softly, "I wonder how long Her Majesty the Empress intends to punish Qianmo by making her kneel?"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
Yao Xuekong looked at Shen Qianmo with slight displeasure. Her words clearly implied that she was deliberately making things difficult for her and stirring up conflict between her and Shangguan Che. This woman was truly not simple. If Shangguan Che really married her, who knew whether it would be a blessing or a curse?
Shangguan Che frowned and glanced at Yao Xuekong with some displeasure. He had already explained his feelings to his mother and asked her not to make things difficult for Shen Qianmo, but simply to appease Yao Ruoqin. Why was his mother deliberately making things difficult for Shen Qianmo behind his back?
Yao Ruoqin glared at Shen Qianmo with even more resentment, and said arrogantly, "It's your own fault for not knowing the rules and offending Her Majesty the Empress. How dare you have a problem with that?!"
"Mother, Qianmo has only recently returned to the capital. If she has offended you in any way, please do not hold it against her." Shangguan Che glanced coldly at Yao Ruoqin, knelt down beside Shen Qianmo, and said gently, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at Shen Qianmo.
Shen Qianmo sneered inwardly. Was Shangguan Che protecting her? In her previous life, when she was bullied and had no one to confide in, what did he do? He ignored her completely! He continued to live a carefree life with Yao Ruoqin, even deliberately provoking her! Now he knows how to protect her?! Too bad, she doesn't need him anymore!
"What Che'er said is true. Qianmo, get up. I still need to consider the matter of Che'er marrying you." Yao Xuekong said indifferently, giving Shen Qianmo the order to leave.
Shen Qianmo was happy to leave. She gave a slight bow and then calmly departed from Fengqi Palace.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: An Encounter in the Palace
Yao Ruoqin noticed that Shangguan Che's gaze had been following Shen Qianmo as she left, and she couldn't help but say angrily, "Brother Che, she's already far away! Why are you still looking!"
"Sister Ruoqin, I just find this Shen Qianmo a bit strange. Besides, I only married her to gain the Prime Minister's support." Shangguan Che was pushed by Yao Ruoqin and came back to his senses. He immediately showed a gentle smile, gently took Yao Ruoqin's hand, and looked very affectionate.
“Che’er is right. This Shen Qianmo is indeed strange. Mother will need to reconsider this marriage.” Yao Xuekong’s eyes held a hint of calculation, and her whole demeanor was somewhat gloomy.
"Mother!" Shangguan Che frowned when he heard that Yao Xuekong wanted to reconsider, and wanted to persuade her.
"Brother Che, do you really want to marry that ugly woman Shen Qianmo that badly?" Yao Ruoqin shook Shangguan Che's arm stubbornly and said.
"Ruoqin, you've misunderstood," Shangguan Che said gently, but a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes. He had long been fed up with this cousin. If it weren't for his uncle's support for military power and his mother's demands, he wouldn't have pretended to like this cousin!
The argument inside Phoenix Palace reached Shen Qianmo's ears without missing a single word. She glanced back at Phoenix Palace, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips, and strolled away.
"Oh, isn't this Miss Shen, the third young lady of the Shen family!" A voice, three parts sarcastic and three parts arrogant, reached Shen Qianmo's ears.
She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she was stopped by another uninvited guest; her luck was truly terrible. A smug smile played on her lips as she looked up and smiled faintly, "Princess Pian, Qianmo greets you."
"Hmph! Why didn't your vixen second sister come to the palace with you? Weren't you two on good terms?!" Shangguan Pian said through gritted teeth when she mentioned Shen Qianxin, and her attitude towards Shen Qianmo was also very bad.
Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow and glanced at Shangguan Pian. Her relationship with Shen Qianxin seemed pretty good, so why did she suddenly seem to dislike Shen Qianxin? How strange.
"My second sister is getting married in a month. She didn't go to the palace with Qianmo," Shen Qianmo replied indifferently. She had no intention of getting entangled with Shangguan Pian. Although Shangguan Pian was very willful and capricious, she wasn't inherently bad, so she didn't want to make things difficult for her.
"She's about to get married and she still tries to seduce Yuan Shan! I really misjudged her! I actually treated this vixen like a good friend! If Ruo Qin hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that you two Shen sisters were in cahoots to seduce my third and eighth brothers!" Shangguan Pian looked at Shen Qianmo with resentment, her eyes filled with three parts anger and seven parts disdain, and continued, "That vixen Shen Qianxin does have some looks, but I just don't understand how you managed to get my third brother to take a liking to you!?"
"So the princess is jealous." Shen Qianmo ignored Shangguan Pian's sarcastic remarks, a smile playing on her lips as she spoke calmly.
Yao Ruoqin also had her own agenda. She deliberately told Shangguan Pian about the matter, using Shangguan Pian's feelings for Yao Yuanshan to intensify Shangguan Pian's hostility towards her and Shen Qianxin, and using Shangguan Pian to deal with them.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about!?" Shangguan Pian was embarrassed because Shen Qianmo had seen through her thoughts, and she couldn't help but point at Shen Qianmo angrily.
"Pianpian, what are you doing here?" Shangguan Jin's cold voice reached her ears.
Shen Qianmo turned around and saw that Shangguan Jin was still dressed in black, with a hint of arrogance. Shangguan Pian seemed to be a little afraid of Shangguan Jin, and when she saw him arrive, the arrogance on her face subsided slightly.
"Myna bird. I. I..."
Seeing that Shangguan Pian was stammering and unable to speak, Shen Qianmo smiled kindly and said to Shangguan Jin, "It's nothing, Princess Pian was just catching up with me."