Chen Mingyu finally couldn't hold back and burst into loud sobs, fortunately the horse carriage only had her and her grandmother inside, so she wasn't afraid of being heard by others.

  She grew up to be twelve years old, and for these twelve years, she was the center of everyone in the Chen family. Due to her good upbringing, outstanding appearance, and perfect birth, she received countless admiration. The only setback was in Tongzhou.

  That nine-year-old girl in Tongzhou was calmly directing the villagers to take them to another village for shelter, and still had time to work with Ye Jingchuan to eliminate those Tartar soldiers who should have been feared by girls.

  She had never seen a sense of crisis in a girl younger than her before, especially when she was very close to Taisun Zhou Weizhao.

  Although Song Chuyi was still young and her figure had not yet developed, occasionally when she glanced over, she would often be stared at by her eyes until she lost her soul.

  Someone as intelligent and noble as her, yet who understands how to get along with Zhou Weizhao even better than she does, cannot become friends, and it's best if they're not even enemies.

  Her tears soaked through her handkerchief. Old Mrs. Chen let her cry and closed her eyes, leaning against the soft pillow in a feigned sleep.

  When the crying stopped, she opened her eyes and looked at this usually spoiled granddaughter-----her originally beautiful apricot eyes were now red and swollen from crying, the mole between her eyebrows was even more vivid, looking like a lotus flower that had just been blown by the wind and washed by the rain.

  Madam Chen looked at her eyes and eyebrows that resembled those of her son, and thinking about the days and nights they had spent together over the past decade or so, her originally cold heart couldn't help but soften.

  "Take back that mouth of yours!" She heavily scolded Chen Mingyu, while at the same time throwing a handkerchief over: "You lost your father when you were young, and your mother is like that, from a young age you've been raised by me, but you really are too disappointing!"

  Chen Mingyu didn't dare to cry again, with her watery and slightly swollen eyes looking at Old Lady Chen, she mustered up the courage to hug Old Lady Chen's arm.

  "Grandma..." she called out in a low voice, and finally returned to her usual calm and composed self: "I was wrong."

  "You're wrong." Although Old Lady Chen's tone was still heavy, she didn't push Chen Mingyu away. She gave Chen Mingyu a slanted glance and felt a surge of bitterness: "The twelve years I spent cultivating and teaching you were actually less effective than your mother's few words!"

  Chen Mingyu felt even more uneasy upon hearing this and hung her head in silence.

  Her father died when she was four years old, and although her mother did not remarry, she also failed to raise her successfully - because her mother was so selfish that even her grandparents looked at her sideways.

  When her father was seriously ill, she began to collect various antiques and artifacts from him. In order to achieve her goal, she even kept sending beautiful women to her seriously ill father's side in exchange for the deeds of other houses and his savings.

  After her father's death, she continued to quarrel with the aunts in the mansion over the number of maids and even the amount of silver given to them each month. She wouldn't even spare her aunt who rarely returned home, often fabricating various reasons to ask for money from her...

  "You know what kind of person your mother is, you don't need me to tell you. Think about how many pieces of jewelry she's kept for herself that were originally made for you. Think about when your father passed away and she didn't even shed a tear for him, but instead went to worry about the land rent she had just collected. You dare to learn from someone like her? Chen old lady sneered: "If you want to make something of yourself in the future, don't learn her despicable tricks. Having a mind is necessary, using tactics is necessary, but not like this!"

  Chen Mingyu's face turned pale and white by turns, she buried her head in Old Lady Chen's arms and didn't dare to lift it up again.

  "You are a talented lady from a family of poets, some things are yours and some are not, it's all destined. Old Lady Chen sighed: "Although I hinted at it with your grandfather in the past, but it's not necessarily true, what makes you pursue Song Liu Miss so relentlessly?"

  Chen Mingyu's face turned red as she suddenly lifted her head and awkwardly looked away.

  "I advise you to put these ideas away." Old Lady Chen patted her hand: "Not to mention her age, even if the Bo Mansion really had such an idea, what's the big deal?! Even without Miss Song Liu, in the future there may be Miss Chen Liu, Miss Chu Liu, or even Miss Wei Liu, are you prepared to offend them all?"

  Mrs. Choi also scolded Song Chuyi, rarely frowning and reprimanding her: "If you found out that she made a mistake, you should have driven her out or sent someone to report back to me at the time. How could you let her stay and cause such a big trouble?!"

  Song Chuyi slowly leaned her head against Mrs. Cui's bosom, her tone somewhat downcast: "I never thought she would betray me too... She has always had a soft heart, and when we went to Tongzhou that time, she cried for two or three days after seeing Lianhui... Such a person, who has been following me since childhood, suffering with me, and enduring the temper of Wang Jieyu, I really couldn't suspect her. But now it seems, her previous kindness to me was also because I was in a weak position."

  Madam Choi stroked her hair, remained silent for a moment, then slowly sighed: "I'll send her to the Zhuangzi to be married off. That Zhuangzi is in a county within my fiefdom in Yunnan. She won't be able to return again for the rest of her life."

  Song Chuyi was not surprised that Cui would make such a decision, her aunt had never been just a kind-hearted and gentle lady of the inner chamber, after all, she grew up in the imperial palace, with schemes and means that were not lacking.

  Some people were unwilling to mention Hongyu again, so Madame Cui changed the subject to a more pleasant one: "Last time I entered the palace, Her Majesty the Empress was afraid that I didn't have enough attendants after just returning from my trip, so she specially rewarded me with two palace maids. Since you're short of an attendant, I'll give you one as a supplement."

  Song Chuyi hastily shook her head: "Since she's a palace maid from the palace, how can we casually give her away?"

  "It's all up to me now, so I'll make the arrangements." Madame Cui smiled with some satisfaction: "Besides, I reckon you'll be entering the palace soon, and having someone by your side who has come out of the palace will be convenient too."

  Enter the palace?! Song Chuyi was shocked by these words and almost lost her composure, with thousands of thoughts flashing through her mind in an instant, but they were all ominous premonitions.

  Madam Choi tidied up her hair and fixed the slightly askew hairpin, reminding her: "In the future, you should still pay attention to the servants who serve you. Remember that water can carry a boat but also capsize it; if another Red Jade appears, you won't be able to handle it."