"Your Highness, who would have thought that the concubine - born daughter of Prime Minister Shang would have such capabilities?"

He Lingsheng snorted coldly. "I'm afraid even Shang Nian doesn't know that his daughter has these skills. Otherwise, how could he have allowed her to marry that good - for - nothing He Jingheng?"

"There is actually some good news." The eunuch beside him said softly. "That He Jingheng seems to be truly infatuated with Shang Ruoyi. Not only are his eyes glued to her all day long, but according to those two informants, he also gets physically close to her from time to time."

He Lingsheng frowned. "Those two scoundrels aren't talking nonsense, are they? Since when has He Jingheng been the type to be caught up in love affairs? Shang Yufu, who had a betrothal agreement with him before, was a renowned beauty in the capital, but he didn't even give her a second glance."

The little eunuch suddenly remembered the pastries sent by Shang Yufu in the afternoon and brought them up. "Your Highness, these were sent by Miss Shang in the afternoon. You were in a meeting with Lord Zhao, so Miss Shang left."

He Lingsheng didn't even look at them. "Throw them away."

"But..."

"Do you think I would take a fancy to a woman that He Jingheng doesn't even look at? And marry her into the Eastern Palace?"

"Yes, this servant will dispose of these pastries right away."

He looked at the two identical silver needles on the table, his eyes dark and unfathomable.

The beautiful and innocent face from his childhood emerged in his mind again.

Shang Ruoyi, if only you weren't a concubine - born daughter.

That day, when he saw the thin woman in the exile procession on the city wall, he first began to doubt whether it was right to include her in his schemes.

After a long while, he picked up the silver needles and put them in a box.

Mother was right. As long as he sat in the highest position, he could get everything he wanted: power, money, women. The whole world would be within his grasp.

Since everyone learned about the martial arts skills of He Jingheng and Shang Ruoyi, they dared not have any ulterior motives towards them.

Zhang also started to behave herself, not even daring to look at them.

From time to time, hearing the laughter and cheerful voices from that side, she wished she could slap herself. What on earth was she thinking back then to have a falling - out with them? Yesterday, Lin changed into a new pair of shoes. The previous pair only had a hole on the instep, while the sole of her own shoes was completely worn out. Looking at the still - wearable shoes, she felt an itch in her heart. So she walked up to Lin and said softly, "Wanru, are you still going to wear these shoes?"

Lin saw through her intention at a glance and smiled. "Of course I'm going to wear them. It's just a hole on the instep. When we reach the place of exile, I can sew and mend them and still wear them." With that, she sighed. "It's just Ruoyi. She insisted on giving me new shoes to wear."

When Zhang heard this, her face darkened. She knew that Lin was deliberately trying to annoy her. But the sole of her own shoes was worn out, and it was really painful to walk. And she didn't want to spend money to buy new ones. So she said brazenly, "Wanru, we had a good relationship before. Look at my shoes. They're all worn out. You already have new ones. Give me this pair."

"Oh, Second - sister - in - law, it's not that I'm stingy. I only have two pairs of shoes. If I give you one pair, what will I do? I can't always rely on Jingheng's wife, can I?" She smiled. "Why don't you go and talk to Ruoyi directly? She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Maybe she'll bestow, oh, look at my mouth, not bestow, give you a pair."

Lin's face was beaming with a bright smile, but Zhang couldn't manage even a faint smile.

"If you don't want to give it, just say so. What excuse are you making here?" Zhang said coldly. "Don't think that just because you're relying on Shang Ruoyi now, you can rest easy. That little slut is not easy to deal with. You'll regret it one day. Don't forget, it's all because of whom our He family has ended up in this situation."

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Lin rolled her eyes. Why should Shang Ruoyi be blamed for Shang Nian's mistakes?

They all came from big families. Who didn't know the dirty secrets inside?

Shang Ruoyi was just a daughter that Shang Nian looked down on. He wouldn't feel the slightest bit of heartache if he pushed her into the fire pit, let alone using her to bring down the Dingguo Prince's Mansion.

Perhaps even Shang Nian himself didn't expect that Shang Ruoyi would have so many capabilities.

"Second - sister - in - law, if you're envious and jealous, just say so directly. Why are you here trying to stir up trouble and distort the truth?" Zhang snorted coldly and turned to leave.

The mountain road ahead was even more difficult to walk than before, and the temperature was much lower. Especially in the morning and evening, it was extremely cold.

Shang Ruoyi took out thicker clothes from the bundle. The He family members were stunned. They didn't expect her to be so well - prepared. He Jingxi had carried this big bundle all the way, and he didn't even know there were thick clothes in it.

After Shang Ruoyi distributed the cotton - padded clothes, she tied up the bundle again. When He Jingxi carried the bundle on his back again, he couldn't help but frown. Why didn't the bundle feel any lighter at all?

He Yunyi, wearing the cotton - padded clothes, looked at Shang Ruoyi with bright eyes. "Sister - in - law, are you a fairy? Did you conjure these up?"

"What nonsense are you talking?" Shang Ruoyi's heart skipped a beat. He Yunyi was half - right. These could be considered as conjured up by her.

"I thought I was going to freeze to death." She touched the fabric of the cotton - padded clothes. "It's so much more comfortable than the prison clothes!"

Shang Ruoyi took a few sets of cotton - padded clothes to the guards. "Lord Zhang, it's getting colder. Please wear these cotton - padded clothes."

"No, no, no, there's no need. We all have our own with us." Zhang Hu quickly waved his hand. "The winters in the place of exile are extremely cold. You'd better keep these winter clothes for yourselves."

The other guards had the same attitude.

Shang Ruoyi smiled. It turned out that in the face of strength, even class differences could be overcome.

Zhang looked at the cotton - padded clothes in her hand, thought for a while, and then turned her gaze to Qiao Yanxin. "You go and ask Shang Ruoyi for a cotton - padded clothes."

"Mother, I'm not familiar with sister - in - law. How could she give me the cotton - padded clothes?"

Zhang said resentfully, "Are you stupid? Just because you're not familiar with her, she'll find it hard to refuse you."

Qiao Yanxin looked at Zhang with difficulty. "Mother, I think forget it."

When Zhang heard this, she pinched her arm hard. "Are you going or not?"

Qiao Yanxin cried out in pain, with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mother, I'll go right now. Don't hit me." Her voice was not low, and everyone around could hear clearly. He Ning'an felt extremely embarrassed and said in a deep voice, "So many people are watching. What are you doing?"

Zhang glanced at Qiao Yanxin. "I don't know what I was thinking back then to welcome her into the family. She's really a jinx."

Qiao Yanxin's eyes filled with tears. She rubbed her arm and walked up to Shang Ruoyi.

Zhang's voice was so loud just now that Shang Ruoyi heard clearly. She naturally knew very well why Qiao was coming.

"Sister - in - law, I..."

Shang Ruoyi took out a cotton - padded clothes. "Logically speaking, after I entered the family, I should have given you and Fangzhi a gift as a token of welcome. Since you called me sister - in - law today, I'll give you this cotton - padded clothes. But in the future, if you want anything else, you'll have to pay for it with silver."