Chapter 2

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Shen Yao

The room was dim; through the window covered with thin gauze, faint traces of weak light filtered in.

In the space, a faint clear fragrance drifted.

The scent was very light, not like fruit fragrance, nor like spices, but more like a hint of secluded fragrance emanating from a person's body.

Shen Yao had already risen from the dressing table; she wore a light-colored gauze skirt embroidered with peach blossoms, the hem swaying to the floor, and a beautiful piece of brocade satin draped over both arms, setting off her whole person as clear, beautiful, and transcendent.

In the past, this body would not have given others such a great visual impact.

But since the physical shell had already changed occupants, Shen Yao swallowed several pills; not only did her body carry fragrance, it also repaired the flaws originally existing in the body, and even perfected her figure's defects.

Although pills acting on a child's body used on an adult would have some degree of medicinal loss, Shen Yao looking at her changes now only felt this kind of loss was not bad; a few more times and she could still bear it.

Sigh, no choice; facing the Emperor, an emperor who has seen countless beauties, if she doesn't bring out some bottom-of-the-box treasures, how can she leave a trace in his heart.

Among the palace consorts, only those of the upper fifth rank and above can raise offspring; currently she is merely a seventh-rank Changzai, middling among this batch of selected maidens; if she wants to rise in rank as soon as possible, she must rely on pregnancy and the Emperor's satisfaction, climbing up in one breath.

But fortunately, it's only two rank levels; she feels with her own ability, it's no problem.

Creak—

"Young Lady, the evening meal is ready; will you dine?"

A maidservant dressed in servant's garb pushed the door and entered, standing at the doorway bowing as she asked.

Shen Yao turned her head to glance, saying indifferently, "Besides dining, there are other matters, right."

Don't look at the Shen Family being merely a fifth-rank petty official household; there's a saying that describes the Shen Family's situation perfectly: a small temple has fierce demon winds, shallow water has many turtles.

The corner of her mouth revealed an extremely mocking smile; Shen Yao stood beside the Eight Immortals Table, her whole face bright and dark by turns, looking particularly scary.

The maidservant only raised her eyes once, her heart gave a start, and she hurriedly lowered her head and replied, "The Old Madam requests the Young Lady to come over after the evening meal."

As expected, the person still came.

A sharp glint flashed in Shen Yao's eyes; she lowered her head, shaking the handkerchief pinched in her hand, "Mm, understood, tell them to serve the meal quickly."

Since coming over, she has been both receiving memories and eating pills to improve her body, busy to the point of delight.

You must know doing these things all requires spending time and energy.

Shen Yao's this body, because of entering the palace, hadn't eaten or slept well for several days; where would she have so much energy to expend.

Now hearing the maidservant mention the evening meal matters, her stomach immediately grew unbearably hungry.

Waving her hand, she sat down herself; Shen Yao propped her chin and looked at the maidservant bustling back and forth at the doorway.

Hm, if memory serves, this person should be the original body's personal maid, called Chunhua, not bad not good, very skilled at cautiously preserving herself.

Tsk, a clever person, pity she's not suitable for the original body.

But judging by these people around the original body, it seems there's also no suitable usable one; looks like tonight when seeing the cheap grandmother, she can appropriately bring it up; the cheap grandmother values profit, if she can bring the Shen Family enough benefits, that cheap grandmother will help her.

Very realistic, also very normal.

Plate after plate of delicate dishes were served onto the table; Shen Yao did not shortchange her own stomach, picking whatever she liked.

With an elegant and noble bearing she swiftly ate the evening meal into her stomach.

Chunhua only kept her head down arranging dishes, not daring to ask her own Young Lady any questions.

"Alright, clear the meal."

Reaching out to touch her round bulging belly, Shen Yao felt she had eaten to eight-tenths full and put down bowl and chopsticks.

She rose, faintly telling Chunyu to clear the dishes from the table, while she herself walked around the room.

Digest a bit, wait until the food digested about enough, Shen Yao rose and went out the door.

Shen Yao had not forgotten, this cheap grandmother of the original body seeking her out.

Whatever the other party might say, Shen Yao through the original master's so many years of memories could also deduce some traces.

Nothing more than the family having no foundation, cannot let her toss about too much, so once entering the palace she must be honest and obedient; if by luck she can bear a son or half a daughter for the Emperor, then take the opportunity to strive for some benefits for the clan.

Anyway unable to escape various interest entanglements, Shen Yao who has already done several similar missions long ago, can completely predict this.

No wonder Shen Yao can't muster the strength; this still has to start from the original body's dog-blood life history.

Shen Yao's birth father Shen Kang is a fifth-rank Yuanwailang, has always been just this official post, twenty years without promotion or transfer, simply waste to a terrifying degree.

And Shen Yao's birth mother, is a legitimate daughter of a declined fourth-rank civil official's family.

When they married back then both sides were willing; although fourth rank is one stage higher than fifth rank, who let Shen Yao's birth mother have poor health, with problems regarding offspring.

Such a woman, marrying up certainly wouldn't work, so could only marry down, finally finding the Shen Family, marrying Shen Yao's birth father was nothing excessive.

Pity that Shen Yao's birth mother was a person with relatively strong temper.

She belonged to the type with heart higher than heaven, life thinner than paper.

One can imagine, for Shen Yao's birth mother to ultimately marry Shen Yao's birth father was what kind of blow.

Just like that, birth mother died young not even a year after giving birth to Shen Yao.

And birth mother's natal family, that is Shen Yao's fourth-rank civil official maternal grandfather's family, offended the then all-powerful Left Chancellor, were found at fault, found a random reason and exiled to the southwest lands, never to return to the capital.

Pitiful the original body a little girl, still a muddleheaded little child, just simply lost everything.

This still wasn't the end; perhaps fearing retaliation, or perhaps feeling this child came with too much ill luck, the Shen Family simply sent Shen Yao, not long past her full month, to the suburban estate to be raised alive.

Wait until Shen Yao's birth father passed the mourning period for his wife, turned around and married a legitimate daughter of a sixth-rank official.

Although the step-wife was from a sixth-rank official family, this sixth-rank official was different from other sixth-rank officials; their family and the Left Chancellor had a marriage connection separated by three thousand li.

The step-wife entered the door, only one year apart, gave birth to a pair of dragon-phoenix twins, truly luck good to the point of exploding, a hundred times stronger than Shen Yao's birth mother.

With this pair of dragon-phoenix twins, the step-wife spent two more years sitting firmly in the position of Shen Family Young Mistress; just when this step-wife with not-too-big schemes freed her hands planning to clean up Shen Yao far away at the suburban estate, who occupied her own daughter's legitimate eldest daughter quota, the Left Chancellor had an incident.

The Left Chancellor grew fat with audacity and flipped military supplies, and the Royal Family and Royal Clan directly caught him red-handed.

Good, my Great Jing Dynasty's borders are unstable, wars break out year after year, and yet our own house actually produced a traitor who sold out the country — what nerve!

Just like that, the Left Chancellor's entire family went *crack* and were all gone.

Along with the daughter married to a Prince as Principal Wife, and the Imperial Grandsons she had borne.

*Hiss—*

The Royal Family's methods are truly ruthless; at that time who still cared whether you were of Royal Bloodline, they just went on a killing frenzy.

After all, if the Great Jing Dynasty fell, the fate of those of Royal Bloodline would not be pleasant either — who among them did not walk this path treading on mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Because of the Left Chancellor's downfall, the entire Left Chancellor lineage collapsed along with him.

The Right Chancellor, who had long been at odds with the Left Chancellor, began beating the drowning dog, unleashing a frenzied in-your-face assault on his enemy; whether in the Court or outside it, in short, he would not stay his hand until the Left Chancellor's people were destroyed.

With such an attitude displayed, the Court fell into chaos.

Officials attacking each other was the least of it; there were also quite a few who, through their own lack of caution, were dragged in and lost their lives.

Shen Yao's birth father, witnessing such a scene, a mere Fifth Rank Assistant Official, was thoroughly frightened out of his wits; he stayed honestly at home and would not go out, no matter who called.

The Stepmother who had originally planned to move against Shen Yao? Benefiting from a good maternal relative, she fell directly ill.

She lingered on a sickbed for no more than three months, dying even faster than Shen Yao's birth mother.

Thus the dragon-phoenix twins became yet another pair of unlucky wretches after Shen Yao.

Receiving treatment no different from Shen Yao's, the Shen Family hastily had a wet nurse carry them off to the suburban Estate.

Special note: the dragon-phoenix twins and Shen Yao did not live in the same place, but the distance was not far.

The Left Chancellor affair took roughly more than two years to fully settle.

And at this time, Shen Yao's birth father successfully completed his wife-mourning period once again.

After that, Shen Yao's father married again.

This time he married the legitimate daughter of a Seventh Rank Official's family; she was somewhat older in years, but given the Shen Family's situation, there was no need to be picky.

So both sides very tacitly exchanged birth-date cards and then hastily completed the marriage.

This time, whether the Shen Family or this Stepmother's natal family, both were figures hovering on the fringes of politics; the probability of being implicated was extremely low, and they actually lived peacefully for three years.

Alas, this Stepmother had ill fate; she suffered difficult labor giving birth, hemorrhaged severely, one corpse two lives, and the child in her belly was not saved either; she too passed away.

From this point, the Shen Family in the capital could be said to have thoroughly made a name for themselves in one battle, a center-position debut.

Too eye-catching; this marriage track record, this outcome — whoever saw it would not help but say, truly an unlucky bastard.

Anyway Shen Yao really wanted to complain; too melodramatic, too wild — what even is all this.

At present Shen Yao's Birth Mother is also her father's fourth Stepmother.

The legitimate daughter of a Ninth Rank petty official, she has just given birth to a daughter, the girl not yet three years old.

Mother and daughter are like dough with no temper, living day by day in the Shen Family with extreme caution; at the slightest stir they would rather not go out than go out.

The Cheap Grandmother summoning Shen Yao now is Shen Yao's father's birth mother, and also the architect of these four wives.

Because every wife Shen Yao's father married was personally sought out by Shen Yao's Grandmother, hiring masters to divine and calculate.

Single-mindedly pursuing maximum benefit, yet after nearly twenty years the Shen Family still treads in place, stuck without advance; who knows how this fate was calculated.

Shen Yao felt speechless inside, pondering as she walked how she should speak when she reached the Cheap Grandmother.

Don't think the Cheap Grandmother does these things because she is some not-too-bright fool.

Actually, the Cheap Grandmother is plenty clever; it's just that every time things go wrong in freak coincidences, and there's simply no way to reason it out.