Xue Qingyao wore a light green dress. Her face had inherited Yan Niang’s beauty—eyes as clear as autumn water, curved willow brows, and lips like cinnabar.
She had clearly dressed up with great care, even deliberately adding a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye, which lent her an extra touch of alluring charm.
Xue Youli stared at Xue Qingyao in disbelief, unable to fathom how she had managed to enter the palace.
But what shocked Xue Youli even more was that Xue Qingyao’s Identity Card had changed too!
[Name: Xue Qingyao, 15 years old, daughter of the Lingzhou Prefect, the number one talented woman of Lingzhou City, conferred the rank of Fifth-Rank Noble Lady.]
Xue Youli quickly consulted the Book of Heavenly Secrets.
Xue Qingyao noticed her gaze and looked back at her, the hatred in her eyes barely contained.
Yes, she absolutely loathed Xue Youli!
After fleeing Xue Fu that day, she had rushed out of the city without stopping, heading south all the way to the prosperous Lingzhou.
Along the way, she suffered greatly—captured by bandits and nearly violated, only to be rescued by Xue Mengyao, the daughter of the Lingzhou Prefect who was eloping with her lover.
Xue Qingyao remembered Xue Mengyao for two reasons.
First, because the palace registry had initially gotten Xue Mengyao’s name wrong, writing it as Xue Qingyao as well.
Second, Xue Mengyao was the first person she had killed after entering the palace in her previous life.
Since Xue Mengyao was destined to die at her hands anyway, what difference did it make whether she died sooner or later?
So Xue Qingyao schemed to kill Xue Mengyao, then brought her token to seek out Prefect Xue, and it was at Prefect Xue’s residence that she encountered the man who had killed her in her previous life.
That man who had used her to rise to power, deceived her feelings, and ultimately ran her through with a sword…
At this moment, Xue Youli also discovered from the Book of Heavenly Secrets how Xue Qingyao had transformed herself into Noble Lady Xue.
Ha!
Xue Qingyao’s Female Lead Halo was truly something else.
Even a situation where she was nearly sold off could be turned around by Xue Qingyao, who then reinvented herself and entered the palace with a brand-new identity.
Was the plot of this novel already set in stone, with an irreversible ending?
No! She refused to believe that!
For herself and her family, she was determined to claim both the position of Empress and Empress Dowager!
With that thought, Xue Youli raised her eyes, and her gaze collided with Xue Qingyao’s in midair.
Xue Qingyao curved her red lips, returning a provocative smile, then feigned admiration and exclaimed, “That beauty over there is truly lovely!”
Meng Yishu was momentarily startled, then followed her gaze and turned her head, spotting Xue Youli not far away at once.
Meng Yishu’s eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly shot Xue Youli a pleading look.
Before entering the palace, this foolish woman had been madly in love with her elder brother Meng Xingzhi. Now that she saw her being harassed, she would definitely come to her rescue!
Xue Youli took in their little exchange, sneering inwardly.
So this was what they were plotting.
Xue Qingyao had previously been kept in the back courtyard by Xue Huaiyuan, but she was like a ghost, never making her presence known.
Someone as arrogant as Meng Yishu naturally wouldn’t deign to acknowledge an unloved concubine’s daughter, so she didn’t recognize her.
And Xue Qingyao had befriended Meng Yishu—who had a grudge against Xue Youli—on the very day she entered the palace, while also currying favor with Shen Ruolan, who lived in the same Minghua Hall.
The clothes and shoes Shen Ruolan wore were gifts from her, made from the most precious Floating Light Brocade of Lingzhou.
Now Xue Qingyao had deliberately let Meng Yishu see Xue Youli, clearly intending to use Meng Yishu to set a trap for her.
If she still harbored feelings for Meng Xingzhi in her heart, she would surely stand up for Meng Yishu, thereby offending Shen Ruolan.
If she did not stand up for Meng Yishu, she would make an enemy of Meng Yishu.
Either way, she could not come out ahead.
However, Xue Youli was no longer the Xue Youli of old—how could she possibly offend a fourth-rank consort backed by the Duke of Anguo’s household for the sake of a mere Meng Yishu?
Smack!
Meng Yishu waited for a long moment, but instead of Xue Youli coming to her defense, she received Shen Ruolan’s second slap.
“Will you lick it or not?”
Meng Yishu’s cheeks burned with pain, yet she dared not cry. She knelt before Shen Ruolan and kowtowed desperately. “Lady Lanpin, I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again, please spare me…”
Just then, Xue Qingyao affectionately took Shen Ruolan’s arm. “Sister, it’s not worth hurting your hand over such a trivial matter. Let’s go—we shouldn’t delay paying our respects to Consort Rong.”
Those slaps were deliberately meant by Shen Ruolan to be seen by the newly entered consorts, a way to establish her authority and let everyone know she was not to be trifled with.
In this grand selection, even Song Jingsi had been granted the rank of third-rank Zhaoyi, yet she had only received fourth-rank. Although she had a title, she was still overshadowed by Song Jingsi.
She had been nursing a grudge all along, and since Meng Yishu had walked right into her line of fire, she seized the opportunity to vent her anger on her.
Now that her purpose was achieved, Shen Ruolan stopped while she was ahead. “Very well, for the sake of my sister’s intercession, I’ll spare her this once!”
Meng Yishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Lady Lanpin!”
Shen Ruolan snorted, not even sparing her a glance, and left with Xue Qingyao in tow.
Once they were far away, Meng Yishu climbed to her feet with the help of a palace maid. Seeing Xue Youli casually walking past her as if nothing had happened, she rushed forward in fury and demanded, “Xue Youli, why didn’t you help me?”
Hearing the matter-of-fact tone in Meng Yishu’s voice, Xue Youli gave a light scoff. “Why should I help you?”
Meng Yishu had not expected her to be so unyielding. She threatened through gritted teeth, “I was just bullied, and you stood by and did nothing. Do you believe I’ll write to my brother and tell him to…”
Before she could finish, Xue Youli’s gaze turned cold and heavy. “Lady Meng, you can eat whatever you like, but you can’t say whatever you please. Since we’ve all entered the palace, we are now only the Emperor’s women. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—if you run your mouth and implicate the Meng family, how far do you think you’ll get in the harem?”
In Meng Yishu’s memory, Xue Youli was still that woman who fawned over her in every possible way just to win Meng Xingzhi’s heart.
At this moment, staring at the suddenly aloof and superior Xue Youli before her, she was taken aback at first, her tear-filled eyes brimming with grievance and indignation.
She knew Xue Youli outranked her, and her aching face kept her from daring to act rashly again. Instead, she petulantly shifted all the blame onto her. “Today you got me disciplined by Lady Lanpin and made me lose all face. Are you happy now?”
Xue Youli rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Psycho! You made a fool of yourself because you’re stupid—used by Xue Qingyao. What does that have to do with me?”
Hearing her speak ill of Xue Qingyao, Meng Yishu retorted angrily, “Just now, thanks to Sister Qingyao’s help in getting me out of trouble. If not for her persuading Lady Lanpin, do you think Lady Lanpin would have let me off so easily? You’re cold-blooded enough as it is, and now you want to drive a wedge between me and Sister Qingyao. You’re simply rotten to the core! No wonder my brother never liked…”
Smack!
Before she could finish her words, Xue Youli raised her hand and slapped her across the face. “I warned you before—never let me hear you mention that scumbag again, or I’ll slap you every time I see you!”
Xue Qingyao had been using her, yet she not only failed to see through it but desperately defended Xue Qingyao. Truly foolish beyond words.
“You actually dared to hit me?” Meng Yishu covered her cheek in disbelief, and after snapping back to her senses, raised her hand to strike back.
Xue Youli sneered and warned her, “Go ahead and touch me, and see what happens!”
Meng Yishu was intimidated by the look in Xue Youli’s eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, she ultimately withdrew her hand.
Her rank was lower than Xue Youli’s. If she committed the offense of striking a superior, that vicious woman Xue Youli would surely seize on it to make a big fuss.
A gentleman avenges himself ten years later. Once she gained the emperor’s favor, Xue Youli would be the first one she’d make pay!
With that thought, Meng Yishu shot Xue Youli a glare, then turned and left without looking back, leading her palace maid away.
“…”
Xue Youli knew she had now earned Meng Yishu’s resentment, but it didn’t matter.
Meng Yishu wasn’t particularly bright—at best, she was just a pawn for Xue Qingyao to use.
As long as one stayed on guard against such people in advance, they could never amount to much.
“Ruyi, let’s go too.”
“Yes.”
As she turned and walked toward Yonghe Palace, Xue Youli’s gaze gradually turned cold and sharp.
She had thought everything was over, but it turned out the contest between her and Xue Qingyao had only just begun.