Qingping lifted the cup of milk tea.

She took a small sip, and her eyes immediately widened in surprise.

She wanted to take another sip, but she held herself back and handed the cup to the Grand Princess. “Mother, this is truly astonishing.”

The Grand Princess had originally been skeptical, but as the milk tea slid down her tongue and into her stomach, she felt immediately at ease.

Sweet, icy, fragrant, and smooth.

The blend of flavors stimulated her taste buds and brain, and before she knew it, she had finished the entire cup.

The remaining black pearls, she gently bit into them.

The soft, bouncy texture was irresistible.

The other noblewomen couldn’t help but stretch their necks to see.

They could only smell the sweet milk tea scent, which whetted their appetites, but clearly, there wasn’t enough left for them.

The Grand Princess had barely had enough, and Qingping was also looking at it longingly.

There was no chance for them.

The Grand Princess, feeling satisfied, set down her cup. “Yue Niang, what is this?”

Li Zhiyue replied, “Your Highness, this is called black pearl milk tea.”

“Black pearl, what a wonderful name!” The Grand Princess had initially found the black little pearls unappealing, but once they were given such a noble name, she accepted them completely.

She smiled and said, “Yue Niang, you are so clever, it warms my heart. I reward you with this jade ruyi.”

A palace maid brought the jade ruyi and Li Zhiyue quickly thanked her.

No wonder her parents liked to flatter the upper class—turns out, if you make those in power happy, you truly receive rewards.

This jade ruyi looked expensive, and the Grand Princess was indeed generous!

The other noblewomen couldn’t resist gathering around.

“Miss Li, is this black pearl milk tea made from tea and milk?”

“I wonder when the Xiangyang Marquis’ mansion will host a flower appreciation banquet and serve black pearl milk tea to their guests?”

“This is a pastry praised by the Grand Princess, it must be excellent.”

Li Zhiyue spoke up: “My elder brother has been studying day and night, so the Marquis’ mansion isn’t hosting a banquet for the time being… But good things should be shared, so if anyone wants to try it, you can visit Li’s Tea House. I guarantee it won’t disappoint.”

“Wonderful.”

“We’ll definitely go to have a taste.”

Li Zhiyue smiled brightly.

The first wave of advertising was already out, now she just had to wait for the grand opening.

By now, the guests had mostly arrived, and the Grand Princess stood up, leading everyone to view the flowers.

In the hot summer of July, various flowers were blooming, and Li Zhiyue walked along with them toward the back garden.

Just then, a young lady in a pale yellow dress walked up to her side, familiarly linking her arm. “Yue Niang, why didn’t you wait for me?”

Li Zhiyue looked over and recognized her.

This was the original body’s only close friend, Jiang Yan, the illegitimate daughter of the Xuanping Marquis.

Her mother had passed away early, and she had to live under the constant scrutiny of her legitimate mother.

Now that she had reached marriageable age, her legitimate mother started frequently bringing her out to attend various banquets.

Whenever the original body got something good, she often shared it with Jiang Yan and occasionally gave her expensive jewelry and jade.

But Jiang Yan treated the original body’s personal matters as gossip, using them to enter a higher circle.

“Yue Niang, you look beautiful today.” Jiang Yan’s voice carried a compliment, “Especially the jade butterfly hairpin on your head. When you walk, the butterfly seems to be about to take flight, it really draws people’s eyes.”

Li Zhiyue subtly pulled her arm away and smiled faintly, “Things from Liuxia Pavilion are naturally beautiful.”

Jiang Yan leaned closer. “Could you take it off and let me admire it up close?”

Li Zhiyue tugged at the corner of her lips.

First, she praised it, then asked to handle it, and then suggested trying it on.

Finally, she would forget to take it back.

The original body was often tricked into giving Jiang Yan many things this way.

Li Zhiyue looked at her. “Last time, you said you wanted to admire my bracelet. The banquet ended, but you never returned it to me. Did you bring it today?”

Jiang Yan instinctively covered her wrist.

Then, she awkwardly smiled. “Yue Niang, you have so many bracelets. One less doesn’t matter. My life is so hard, my legitimate mother never buys me these things. I’m about to get married, but I don’t even have a headpiece… Today, the Grand Princess is hosting a poetry gathering, and there will be many talented young men reciting poems. I need to dress more outstandingly to find a good husband.”

Li Zhiyue’s voice was calm: “After the banquet, remember to return the bracelet. If you forget, I will send someone to the Xuanping Marquis’ mansion to get it.”

Jiang Yan’s smile froze.

In the past, she only needed to flatter a few words, and Li Zhiyue would give her what she wanted.

Today, not only did she not give anything, but she even wanted to take back the bracelet she had previously given.

Her life was so difficult, why couldn’t Li Zhiyue feel sorry for her?

At this moment, the group had wandered far from the main flower viewing area.

The Grand Princess and others were going to appreciate orchids, but Li Zhiyue preferred lotuses, so she stopped by the lake to admire them.

The lake also had water lilies, and occasionally koi fish swam by.

Jiang Yan stopped beside her and suddenly whispered, “Yue Niang, look over there, is that Lord Cheng?”

Li Zhiyue looked up.

A man in black stood on the corridor of the lake, wasn’t that Lord Cheng from the Court of Judicial Review?

For some reason, Lord Cheng was standing alone in the corridor, his hands behind his back, his expression cold and grim.

His jet-black eyes were as deep and cold as the night sky.

But why did Jiang Yan recognize him when the original body didn’t?

Jiang Yan coughed and said, “A few months ago, my father got into trouble, and Lord Cheng came to the house often to investigate. I’ve seen him a few times.”

After saying this, she suddenly stepped forward. “Yue Niang, look, there’s a koi fish stranded on the shore. We need to help it, or it’ll die.”

Li Zhiyue squinted and tried to see, but she couldn’t spot any stranded koi fish.

Suddenly, she heard a splash.

“Plop!”

Water splashed everywhere.

It was Jiang Yan falling into the water.

“Help!”

Jiang Yan floundered, drifting farther from the shore, closer to the corridor.

Only then did Li Zhiyue realize what was happening.

It seemed Jiang Yan had purposely fallen into the water to create an opportunity for Lord Cheng to save her in front of everyone, hoping to catch his attention and possibly become his wife.

Jiang Yan, only fifteen, was already scheming this way for her future.

Li Zhiyue realized she had missed something.

Watching Jiang Yan struggle in the water, she finally recalled a side note in the original story.

It mentioned that this illegitimate daughter of the Xuanping Marquis had used a fall into the water to secure a marriage with the current third-ranked official of the Court of Judicial Review.

The Court of Judicial Review was a powerful institution, and though the Marquis’ mansion sounded impressive, it was actually insignificant.

For an illegitimate daughter with no hope, rather than being married off as a concubine by her legitimate mother, it was a wise choice to secure a position as the main wife, even though she became the stepmother of four children.

Wait, hold on!

A stepmother?

Li Zhiyue’s eyes widened.

Lord Cheng wasn’t even twenty yet, and he already had four children?

She frantically searched through the original book for a description of the Court of Judicial Review official, and froze.

The official in the original story was a man in his forties.

But the Lord Cheng she saw was only nineteen!

Had she remembered wrong, or was she in the wrong book?

Or had the plot silently changed at some point?

Li Zhiyue’s mind raced, but in reality, it had only been a moment.

Jiang Yan was already struggling by the corridor, reaching out her hand to the standing Cheng Changyan.