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Chapter Two: Returning to the Prime Minister's Residence
The mountain path led to the Prime Minister's residence, a distance that would take an ordinary person at least two or three hours. However, Shen Qianmo and Qianqian were both martial artists, so their pace was naturally much faster. They arrived at the Prime Minister's residence in just one hour.
Shen Qianmo looked at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence. It was still the same dark red gate. The stone lions at the entrance still stood majestically. The gilded plaque above the gate still hung high.
Memories of my past life flooded back like a tide.
At that time, she was the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family, and also the Prime Minister's most beloved third daughter. Although her mother died of illness when she was ten years old, and although her eldest sister and second mother often made things difficult for her, she was still happy.
Because her father, the powerful Prime Minister Shen Lingyun, doted on her; her second sister, gentle and kind, always protected her; and the Third Prince Shangguan Che, the dream lover of women across the country, showered her with affection, even promising to love only her for life and leaving the harem as a mere formality.
Back then, she naively thought she was the happiest woman in the world; looking back now, how ridiculous that seems.
It wasn't until Shangguan Che, with a ferocious expression, poured the poison down her throat that she truly realized she was nothing more than a pathetic pawn.
She could never forget the heartbreaking scenes at the funeral.
She saw her most beloved father, his face filled with disdain, and he said in an icy tone, "You useless thing, you have unparalleled beauty, but you still can't bewitch the Emperor's heart."
She saw her favorite second sister, a twisted smile spreading across her face, and said with an extremely ferocious expression, "Chen Qianmo, you're finally dead, finally dead. That's great."
She saw her beloved husband, holding the slender waist of the general's daughter Yao Ruoqin, gently kissing her earlobe, and laughing, "This foolish woman, what good is being pretty? Does she think I would care? I still love my Qin'er."
With a creak, the heavy doors of the Prime Minister's residence were slowly pushed open, and Chen Qianmo's enigmatic expression gradually disappeared, along with his otherworldly aura.
Looking at her now, she was just an ordinary-looking woman, with nothing special about her except for her cunning and lively eyes.
"Master has ordered that the gates be left wide open to welcome the Third Miss." The butler arrogantly directed the servants to open the gates and line up, but when he mentioned the Third Miss, Shen Qianmo, there was not a trace of respect in his expression.
Shen Qianmo knew very well that the steward was actually working for the Third Madam, Su Luoyan. He had secretly been having an affair with Su Luoyan for some time.
"My young lady is right here, why aren't you going to greet her?" Qianqian called out to the butler as soon as she saw someone coming to the door.
"What are you! Daring to shout here?! Don't you even know where you are! What kind of person is your young lady?" The steward didn't see the carriage, so he naturally didn't know it was Shen Qianmo. Moreover, judging from Shen Qianmo's plain appearance, she didn't resemble the Third Young Lady at all.
"Who do you think you are?! My young lady is the third young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion!" Qianqian looked at the steward angrily and pointed at Shen Qianmo.
"Just some random mountain folk can impersonate the Third Miss? Our Third Miss did spend five years in the mountains, but that doesn't mean she can be easily impersonated." The sarcastic words reached her ears.
The newcomer was Yin Youlan, the second wife of the Prime Minister. She was the legitimate daughter of the Minister. She was only in her thirties, wearing a tight-fitting long dress with gold trim, and smelled heavily of cosmetics. Her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes looked at Shen Qianmo with disdain and arrogance.
“Exactly, do you think just anyone can turn a chicken into a phoenix?” The young woman standing next to Yin Youlan was Shen Qianyu, the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister’s mansion.
Although she was the eldest daughter, she was born out of wedlock and harbored deep resentment towards Shen Qianmo, the so-called legitimate daughter.
Shen Qianyu and Yin Youlan look very alike, with the same narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes and sharp lips. Even their personalities are completely similar.
“Second Aunt and Eldest Sister are right. A pheasant will always be a pheasant. A phoenix will always be a phoenix. That can’t be changed.” Shen Qianmo’s eyes held a gentle and harmless gaze, while a hint of teasing played at the corners of her mouth.
She naturally understood that Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu wanted to give her a hard time, deliberately making sarcastic remarks that she was a pheasant raised in the mountains and could not enter the Prime Minister's mansion.
Her answer was perfectly timed. It simply told Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu that although she had gone to the mountains to avoid calamity for the past five years, she was still the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion. This could not be changed. And they, on the other hand, would forever remain concubines and illegitimate daughters.
As expected, Yin Youlan and Shen Qianyu's expressions changed drastically. They wanted to hurl insults at Shen Qianmo again, but dared not. After all, they had only been taking advantage of Shen Qianmo's concealed identity to vent their anger. Now that Shen Qianmo had revealed their identities, she was undoubtedly the third young lady of the Prime Minister's residence.
"Is my sister back?" A soft voice reached my ears.
Looking up, the newcomer wore a light purple dress with a pale purple belt around her waist, perfectly outlining her figure. Her beautiful eyes held a hint of deep affection. If Shen Qianmo hadn't seen her true face in her previous life, she would have been completely fooled by Shen Qianxin's acting skills.
Contrary to Shen Qianxin's delicate appearance was the dog she was walking. Its enormous size and gaping maw were aimed directly at Shen Qianmo, and it roared several times, frightening Qianqian into hiding behind Shen Qianmo.
"Miss, what a scary dog!" Qianqian said, hiding behind Shen Qianmo with a frightened expression.
Although Qianqian had been by Shen Qianmo's side since she was ten years old, she was still a child at heart. Naturally, she was afraid when she saw such a big dog barking at her.
Shen Qianmo's lips curled slightly, his eyes unchanged. He glanced at the dog, then lightly swept his gaze over Shen Qianyu and Shen Qianxin's faces, and said, "Qianqian, you don't know, a barking dog may not bite, and a silent dog may bite."
Shen Qianxin's little scheme naturally didn't escape Shen Qianmo's notice. Shen Qianxin deliberately brought the dog out just to scare herself and make herself appear like an unsophisticated mountain girl, thereby elevating her image as a refined young lady.
However, how could she possibly let Shen Qianxin have her way? That sentence, seemingly meant to comfort Qianqian, was actually a veiled criticism of Shen Qianyu and Shen Qianxin.
A barking dog may not bite. This refers to Shen Qianyu, who is all bark and no bite, but is actually stupid and easily manipulated. A silent dog may bite. This refers to Shen Qianxin, who, though seemingly gentle and harmless, harbors malicious intentions.
“My sister has indeed learned a lot from living in the mountains all these years.” Upon hearing Shen Qianmo’s words, Shen Qianxin’s expression changed slightly. She looked at Shen Qianmo with a probing gaze, but saw Shen Qianmo’s innocent and harmless expression. She immediately realized that she had been overthinking things and smiled sarcastically.
"Is Qianmo back?" A loving voice came, and Shen Qianmo looked up and saw her father, whom she once loved and respected like the heavens.
Chapter Three: Father and Daughter Reunited
“Father.” Shen Qianmo’s tone was somewhat distant, and her eyes held a hint of sarcasm as she looked at Shen Lingyun, but this was well concealed by her gentle and harmless gaze.
"Are you Qianmo?" Shen Lingyun's loving gaze turned slightly doubtful when it fell on Shen Qianmo's ordinary face.
"Father, don't you recognize Mo'er?" Shen Qianmo asked Shen Lingyun, feigning innocence. A hint of disdain and mockery flickered in her heart.
She could naturally see through Shen Lingyun's gaze. Seeing her ordinary appearance, Shen Lingyun must be very disappointed; he had lost another pawn he could use.
"Over the years, she's grown up to look nothing like she did when she was a child." Shen Lingyun's face still held a loving gaze as he reached out and stroked Shen Qianmo's hair. How could she look so ordinary? How could she possibly seduce a prince like this?!
Shen Qianmo saw disappointment in Shen Lingyun's loving eyes. How could he not be disappointed? He had originally thought that the daughter born to the wife of the most beautiful woman would surely be stunningly beautiful, but who knew that she would turn out like this?
"Does Father think that Mo'er is not as pretty as her sisters?" Shen Qianmo deliberately put on a hurt and innocent look, pointing her finger directly at Shen Qianyu and Shen Qianxin.
Although Shen Qianyu was born with a somewhat harsh nature, she was still far more beautiful than Shen Qianmo. As for Shen Qianxin, she was even more stunning, with a delicate yet alluring demeanor, a true beauty in the making.
"How could that be?" Shen Lingyun affectionately stroked Shen Qianmo's hair. Shen Qianmo's maternal grandfather was the Minister of War, someone he couldn't afford to offend. He had to treat Shen Qianmo well.