Chapter 06

Cheng Ruyi took the invitation and flipped it open. As it turned out, it was an invitation to a Lotus-viewing Poetry Party jointly hosted by the “Two Beauties of the Capital.” Cheng Qingyao clearly knew that Ruyi was completely ignorant of the four arts—zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting—yet she still invited her to a poetry party… such relentless dedication to ruining her reputation was truly “touching.”

If Ruyi didn’t return the favor properly, she would be doing a great disservice to Cheng Qingyao’s “kind intentions.”

Looking at the invitation, Ruyi suddenly had a brilliant idea. A strange smile curled onto her lips. Standing nearby, Moxiang saw the smile and, for some reason, felt a sudden chill.

“Sister, Cousin Qingyao is not a good person. Sending you this invitation definitely means she’s up to no good. You can’t fall for her tricks!” Cheng Yu stuck his neck out to peek at the contents and immediately bristled.

Don’t think he was too young to notice; the way Cousin Qingyao looked at his sister was filled with hidden resentment.

No wonder every time his sister attended a banquet with her, her reputation got worse. Yet, every time his sister received an invitation, she would dress up, go to the party, and return in a fit of rage.

A few days ago, the incident involving County Princess Lin Xin’er definitely had Qingyao’s fingerprints on it.

Ruyi let out a soft laugh and carelessly tucked the invitation away. “I know. But this time, I absolutely have to go.”

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Ubldt Zw talo ydmkswp. “Fkpvla…”

Swuk ryvvle bla casvbla’p blye. “Psd’v osaau, Dkys Zw. Fkpvla jdsop obyv pbl’p eskdt.”

Mbl rslvau ryavu oyp pnblewzle qsa byzq y xsdvb zyvla—rzldvu sq vkxl. Tla osse-lzlxldv yckzkvu pbswze cl yczl vs alynb Nlhlz Xdl cu vbld. Ebld vbyv byrrldle… blbl.

Jwv qsa dso, kv oyp vkxl vs rasrlazu aldshyvl vbl Yyaiwkp alpkeldnl. Xnnwrukdt pwnb y zyatl rzsv sq zyde okvbswv ydu rzyddkdt oyp pwnb y oypvl.

Eyvnbkdt vbl elnsayvkhl rzydvp kd vbl nswavuyae clkdt dlyazu okrle swv, Swuk saelale vbl pvloyae vs rwanbypl qawkv vallp—ralqlayczu vbl jkde vbyv oswze clya qawkv cu vbl plnsde ulya. Mbl pvloyae zlqv okvb y zssj sq wvvla elpryka.

Gv dssd, vbl Yyaiwkp yde Ssdt Fwpw alvwadle, csvb olyakdt lmralppksdp sq fsu. Swuk yde Ubldt Zw lmnbydtle y tzydnl; kv zssjle zkjl vblu bye xyel y ckt “bywz.”

Fwal ldswtb, vbl Yyaiwkp, yzoyup esvkdt yde tldlaswp, taydezu tyhl Swuk yde bla casvbla vos bwdeale vylzp kd cydjdsvlp lynb.

Ubldt Zw byrrkzu vwnjle vbl xsdlu yoyu, bkp takd ps okel bkp vllvb olal qwzzu sd ekprzyu. Tkp pxyzz valypwau bye tasod fwpv y zkvvzl ckv xsal.

Ruyi tucked her money away happily, cleared her throat, and diligently poured tea for her parents. “Dad, Mom, I have something to discuss with you.”

Drinking the tea his daughter poured, the Marquis felt wonderful. “What is it?”

Rong Susu also looked at her daughter with maternal affection.

“Dad, Mom, I want to learn medicine from the old doctor in our manor,” Ruyi said with a grin.

Upon hearing that his daughter wanted to study medicine, the Marquis thought it was a great idea. He waved his hand grandly. “Medicine? Sure! Your mother’s dowry includes quite a few medical texts.”

Rong Susu added, “The old doctor’s skills are decent. You can start by learning to identify herbs with him.”

With her parents’ approval, Ruyi relaxed. Her medical studies were now officially sanctioned.

Next, Ruyi brought up the manor renovation plan. Cheng Yu chimed in, and the two siblings spoke with such animation that the Marquis’s eyes sparkled. He nodded repeatedly in agreement, feeling quite proud. As expected of my children—so smart!

Finally, he offered a suggestion: “Remember to build an extra room for the fighting cocks.”

The Marquis’s greatest hobby was cockfighting. He kept three prize roosters and was a fixture at every local match. Of course, given his love for acting like a rogue and finding excuses to dodge debts while scamming others, he was the least popular person at the cockfights.

Rong Susu glanced at her unreliable husband. “…”

Oh well. It was rare for her children to want to take something seriously. It was just a renovation; it wasn’t a big deal.

The doting Marchioness also nodded her agreement, giving the siblings full authority to make the decisions.

The steward standing nearby looked ready to give up on life. The Changle Marquisate was surely going to become the laughingstock of the entire capital.

Ruyi was satisfied. She remembered that in the second year of the book, there would be two years of massive natural disasters: one year of drought followed by one year of flooding. Crops failed, and the people were displaced. As a reborn soul, Cheng Qingyao had prepared early, turning the tide with her own efforts and becoming world-famous during the crisis, known as a “Living Bodhisattva.”

At the same time, she had built immense prestige for the male lead.

Having survived the apocalypse, Ruyi was obsessed with food. She had no intention of going hungry during the disasters a year from now. Of course, with her ability to grow produce, it would be hard for her to starve.

However, Ruyi intended to ruin Cheng Qingyao’s plans and cut off her path to glory. She had to prevent Qingyao from gaining power—otherwise, the Changle household would be the first to suffer.

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With her parents’ support, Ruyi and Cheng Yu began the vigorous renovation of the manor the following day.

In the quiet, elegant Bamboo Garden of the residence, Rong Mo looked at the lush, emerald bamboo grove. He listened to the servant’s report with a neutral expression, but in his heart, he felt a strange curiosity about his little cousin’s renovation plan.

Over the last few days, his cousin seemed to have changed significantly. She no longer seemed so afraid of him. A vision of her vibrant figure in red flashed through his mind, and he couldn’t help but daze for a moment.

However, upon seeing his paralyzed legs, he lowered his eyelids to hide the complexity in his eyes. The small ripple in his heart vanished.

Next door at the Jian’an Marquis residence, Cheng Qingyao—who had been secretly monitoring Ruyi—was the first to learn of the changes. A flash of doubt and alarm crossed her beautiful face. She knit her brows, thinking hard, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

This definitely hadn’t happened in her previous life.

Could it be that because she had changed too much, it had triggered other changes? Thinking about it, the possibility was high. Thus, she tossed the minor changes at the Changle residence to the back of her mind.

Cheng Qingyao sat in her cool, comfortable room, listlessly eating iced fruit while secretly plotting how to make the Yan family drop the idea of breaking the engagement.

In her last life, Ruyi had married Yan Zihao and lived a harmonious life. In this life… that was hard to say.

She was such a “good” older cousin; how could she let her younger cousin’s marriage fall apart! Cheng Qingyao’s smile was a bit eerie.

At that moment, her maid Qiuxia brought in a pair of brightly colored embroidered shoes featuring a phoenix. “Miss, the embroiderer has finished the shoes you requested. Would you like to see if they need any adjustments?”

For the poetry party in half a month, Cheng Qingyao had put in a lot of effort. This was the first party she would attend as the noble legitimate daughter of the Jian’an Marquisate; she couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Thinking back to her previous life as a concubine-born daughter—where no matter how much more talented she was than the other noble ladies, everyone only had eyes for her “good older sister” who had stolen her position—a cold sneer touched her lips.

She had prepared a “great gift” for her “good older sister” who had now been demoted back to concubine-born status. And of course, her “good younger cousin” would not be left out of this gift.

Cheng Qingyao took the shoes and examined them. the stitching was exquisite. She nodded slightly. “These look good.”

She tried them on and walked a few steps. They were comfortable. “I like them. Reward the embroiderer with a string of coins.”

Satisfied, she asked about her jewelry. “When can we pick up the set ordered from Treasure Pavilion?”

That set was extremely precious and could not be lost. She remembered that in her previous life, this set worth a thousand gold pieces eventually fell into the hands of the Prime Minister’s daughter, Ye Wanlin, allowing her to steal the spotlight at the poetry party.

Qiuxia replied respectfully, “We can get it this afternoon.”

Cheng Qingyao breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it hadn’t been snatched away by someone else.

Then, Qiuxia mentioned another matter. “Miss, I just heard that the Madame of the Huaiyang Marquisate and her entourage have gone to the Changle residence next door.”

“Oh?” Cheng Qingyao’s heart skipped. Was the Yan family there to break the engagement?

“However, I heard that the Marquis and his wife are not at home… presumably, they are unwilling to let go of the match.” Qiuxia was good at reading expressions and understood her mistress’s mind.

Cheng Qingyao’s heart settled. But knowing the Marquis of Changle’s greedy nature, if the Yan family offered enough profit… she narrowed her eyes. She absolutely could not let the Huaiyang Madame break the engagement.

It looked like she would have to start with her “good younger cousin.”

“Qiuxia, go prepare. I’m going next door to see Sister Ruyi.”

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Having just seen off the Madame of the Huaiyang Marquisate, Ruyi returned to her courtyard humming a cheerful tune. After several days of studying under the old doctor, her progress was rapid. She was becoming more dedicated, spending time every day memorizing the herbals.

As for the renovation work, with Cheng Yu and Cousin Rong Mo watching over it, she could afford to slack off a little.

It was a pity her parents weren’t home when the Huaiyang Madame visited. However, she had already given the woman a hint: as long as they were willing to provide a large sum of silver as compensation, she would be happy to dissolve the engagement.

Ruyi’s joy vanished quickly, however, when a servant reported that Miss Qingyao from the Jian’an residence had arrived.

The Huaiyang Madame had just left, and Cheng Qingyao was already here. Ruyi sneered. Her news was certainly fast. Without a doubt, this cousin was here to “give her advice.”

In the book, after Cheng Qingyao’s “kind” persuasion, the original Ruyi had hurriedly begged her father to go to the Emperor to set a wedding date, marrying Yan Zihao in a grand ceremony a month later.

Ruyi curled her lip. She wanted to see what kind of games this woman was playing. She ordered the servants to bring Cheng Qingyao to the octagonal pavilion in the West Courtyard and prepare tea.

“Ruyi!”

Cheng Qingyao, dressed in an elegant white gown, arrived with her trusted maid Qiuxia. She looked at Ruyi with a smile and greeted her gracefully, every movement radiating perfect etiquette.

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Sansukini: So basically, Cheng Qingyao is just jealous of Ruyi in the past life. Ruyi didn’t do anything bad to her.

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