In order not to bring trouble to her elder brother and second uncle, who both held positions in the court, she had always been kind and gentle to everyone in the palace.

She dared not show any arrogance for fear of giving people something to criticize.

All for the sake of being a proper daughter of the Fu family, all for the reputation of becoming the Crown Princess.

In the end, after enduring and enduring, she had lost her own life for nothing.

Fu Zanying lifted her head and looked directly at her cousin, her soft voice carrying a hint of amusement. “So, elder brother, do you think I was disrespectful?”

Her words served as a reminder, and Fu Ze’an suddenly recalled how, just earlier, Fu Zhuangxue had spoken without restraint in front of the Crown Prince, interrupting even before he had spoken.

At the time, he had thought about correcting Zhuangxue, but before he could, he remembered that Zhuangxue had suffered many hardships at the border for years.

Her lack of noble etiquette was not her fault, and she could be slowly taught.

But Fu Zanying was different in Fu Ze’an’s eyes.

Raised by the emperor and empress themselves, she had grown up with all the luxuries one could imagine, like a cherished child holding a golden spoon, doted upon endlessly.

Yet the burden she bore was that of the Crown Princess position, where not a single mistake could be tolerated.

Thus, her fate was tied to the entire Fu family—her glory was their glory, and her downfall was theirs as well.

As the eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Ze’an was responsible for the rise and fall of the clan, and he had to be conscientious in guiding her.

“Ah Ying, have you misunderstood something?”

“Brother.” Zanying interrupted him once more, her crow-feather lashes lifting slightly beneath her bangs, her gaze calm. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

Fu Ze’an was more than a head taller than her, and when he met her composed eyes, he was momentarily stunned, feeling a sudden pang of guilt—had she found out?

He instinctively shook his head.

Zanying’s already dim eyes quietly watched him for a while, the last bit of patience within them fading into a cold detachment, becoming like two deep, bottomless wells, devoid of light.

She nodded slightly.

Suddenly, she recalled her past life, those days spent in the Luozhi Palace, where she was neither human nor ghost.

Ever since the treasury keys were taken from her, her courtyard had grown increasingly desolate, and no matter how she tried to meet with anyone from the Fu or Tang families, her messages never got through.

The only response she ever received was: “Her Majesty the Empress asks that the Lady rest and recover.”

But though countless others didn’t come, the Zanying of her past life stubbornly believed that her elder brother would surely come.

Because he was the one who had once helped her make kites and brushes when they were little, who would squat down and smile, telling her that no matter what happened, she could always come to him for help.

He wouldn’t abandon her.

One day, Zanying finally received a message from Fu Ze’an, saying he would visit her after court.

That day, even the anesthetic drink she had to take before surgery didn’t taste so bitter.

Zanying propped up her frail body to stand before her mirror and applied a thin layer of powder to her face.

She didn’t want her brother to see her looking haggard and feel sad.

She waited and waited, from noon until dusk, and from dusk until late at night.

Chun Jin went out again and again to inquire about his whereabouts.

It wasn’t until late into the night that they managed to piece together the story from limited sources—Fu Ze’an had gone to the palace at noon, first meeting Fu Zhuangxue in the Eastern Palace, where he was detained for dinner.

By the time the banquet was over, night had fallen, and the inner palace gates were locked; naturally, he couldn’t come.

The next morning, when the palace gates reopened, he still didn’t come.

Who knows what went wrong, or what Fu Zhuangxue might have said to him.

In the end, it was just an empty promise.

The sun’s scorching rays beat down on her, making her uncomfortable.

Zanying turned her back to Fu Ze’an and took the embroidered cicada fan from Chun Jin, using it to shade her forehead from the sunlight.

Her wide sleeves slipped down from her wrist, revealing a slender, jade-like arm, pale as ice and snow.

Her voice, listless, was like frost and snow melted away by the summer heat, so faint it seemed on the verge of disappearing.

“Brother, you should go, The Empress Invited me.”

This eldest brother was like a father to her in previous life.

Zan Ying had lost both her parents and had no biological brothers, so she had always regarded Fu Ze’an as her closest kin.

From today onward, he no longer was.

Fu Ze’an stood there in a daze.

His sister’s coming-of-age ceremony was approaching, and he had intended to remind her of many things, but now he hadn’t even had the chance.

He called out to her twice, “Ah Ying,” but she didn’t look back.

Fu Ze’an was bewildered; Ah Ying had always been well-mannered, always greeting others with a gentle smile, her crescent-shaped eyes warm and obedient.

Even when parting, she would always wait quietly until he had left before turning away.

What had happened today?

Suddenly, it was he who found himself watching her leave, feeling strangely unaccustomed to the role reversal.

And as he stared at her slender figure, Fu Ze’an also suddenly realized that Ah Ying was a year older than Ah Xue, yet her figure seemed much frailer than he remembered.

Fu Ze’an was momentarily distracted and failed to notice that Zanying had just addressed “the Empress” without using the respectful term “Mother” or adding the appropriate honorifics.

The current Empress Yu, born into the Yu family of the prestigious aristocracy in Wujun, had been elevated from her original position as Noble Consort after the death of the former Empress Wei.

As they approached Xianyang Palace, Zanying paused, lost in thought, as she gazed at the row of crabapple blossoms planted beneath the terrace.

Chun Jin, noticing that the young lady had stopped in front of the flowers, assumed she was still upset over Fu Ze’an’s earlier reprimand.

She quickly supported her young lady’s delicate body, trying to lighten the mood with a cheerful tone, “Look at how beautiful these crabapple flowers are, my lady! I heard that this flower originally bloomed in the West Mansion of Yongzhou. It’s difficult to grow such northern flowers in the south. All thanks to Manager Du’s care for you, my lady, that we can enjoy these exquisite blossoms in the palace every year at this time.”

The young lady had always been physically frail and emotionally sensitive.

Aside from the strict teachings of Madam Lu, no servant in the Jade Candle Palace dared to let her suffer any grievance.

In Chun Jin’s eyes, this pampered and honored young lady had an exceptionally kind temperament.

Not only was she generous, but she never scolded the servants.

On two occasions when Chun Jin made careless mistakes and was nearly sent to the palace’s eternal alley, it was the young lady who interceded and pleaded for mercy with Madam Lu.

For someone born into servitude, forever bound as a servant, especially in the deep confines of the palace, knowing the hearts of kind and cruel masters was a survival skill.

It was impossible not to hold deep gratitude for such a good mistress.

Having served Zanying the longest, Chun Jin was all the more determined to ensure her lady’s happiness.

Zanying snapped out of her reverie and softly responded, “Anything from Tang’s shop is always of the finest quality.”

In the past, she wouldn’t dare enjoy such gifts for herself.

Everything that Uncle Du painstakingly sent her, whether rare flowers or unique plants for her amusement, she offered them all to the Emperor’s Hall of Supreme Harmony or the Empress’s Xianyang Palace.

Her nails dug into the flesh of her palm as a storm brewed behind her eyes.

At that moment, Eunuch She Xin, the chief steward of the Empress, approached with quick steps.

“Greetings to the young lady,” he said, his plump face lighting up with a familiar smile upon seeing her. “The Empress and Madam Cui were just talking about you, young lady. You see, the bond between mother and daughter is strong, for here you are already.”

Despite his flattery, it did not earn the cheerful response he had anticipated.

Zanying lowered her lashes and stepped inside.

She Xin’s ingratiating smile froze as confusion flashed across his face.

Zanying, supported by Chun Jin, entered the palace hall.

Her feet stepped on a carpet embroidered with lotus branches and cloud patterns.

The first thing she noticed was the faint, soothing fragrance that filled the air—Seven Treasure Rhinoceros Incense, a blend she had offered last year, created by the incense master at Tang’s shop.

Another tally.

Zanying mentally noted as she slowly lifted her dark eyes.

In the hall draped with soft white curtains, seated on the southern platform was a noblewoman in a luxurious purple robe adorned with floral patterns and a cross-collared gown.

She wore a shawl of fine silk, her posture elegant and face serene.

It was none other than Empress Yu.

Below her, a small cypress-wood table was set, with a kneeling woman dressed in a formal pink and beige gown seated on a floor mat.

This woman’s glossy black hair was styled into a high bun, exaggeratedly decorated with a golden hairpin adorned with dangling pearls.

Her ears were hung with shining gold earrings that flashed with brilliance.

This was the Empress’s half-sister, the younger Lady Yu.

Zan Ying withdrew her gaze and glanced behind the Empress Yu.

Lu Yao stood there with a nod.

It seemed that while she was speaking with Fu Ze’an, this older maid had arrived first, and what had occurred outside the Jade Candle Hall was likely already reported to the Empress by Lu Yao.

Zan Ying paid it little mind and gracefully approached, curtsying towards the Empress on the dais. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”

A simple greeting, yet it brought a moment of silence within the hall.

Zan Ying had entered the palace at the age of three, destined to be part of the imperial family.

The Emperor had granted her permission to address him as “Father Emperor” and the Empress as “Mother Empress,” a sign of closeness.

A young child only knew what she was taught, so she called them as instructed for over a decade.

Now, the address had suddenly changed.

Empress Yu’s gaze shifted subtly.

Lu Yao had reported earlier that this girl no longer called the Crown Prince “Brother Jinghuan” and only referred to him as “His Highness the Crown Prince,” her attitude turning cold.

The Empress had been perplexed by this change.

Yet she showed no outward reaction, smiling faintly as she looked at the young girl she had raised.

Lady Yu, standing by the Empress’s side, sneaked a glance at her expression before chuckling. “It’s true, girls really change as they grow up. Ah Ying used to call the Empress ‘Mother Empress’ all the time, but now that her engagement is approaching, she seems to have grown shy.”

After her coming-of-age ceremony, she would be betrothed to the Crown Prince, and shortly thereafter, she would be formally installed as the Crown Princess.

This was the path set for Zanying long ago.

Everyone believed it was only natural.

So when Zan Ying’s behavior changed, they assumed it was just the typical shyness of a girl with romantic thoughts.

After all, who would expect a rabbit to bite?

Zanying had no interest in indulging them.

She gracefully moved her lotus steps, removed her shoes, and took her seat opposite Lady Yu.