lace maid. After being favored, she gave birth to the prince. The Emperor hastily bestowed upon her the title of Empress Dowager Rou, but because Empress Dowager Rou's status was lowly and she had no...Although reluctant to admit it, I have to say, your lightness is the best I've ever seen. Xiao Yuge stood up, opened her arms wide, took a deep breath, and embraced this boundless night. It turned out that overlooking the night view of Beijing was so beautiful.

"Should we give ourselves a reward" Qian Tingxuan naturally wrapped his arms around her from behind, sharing the breathtaking view with her. In truth, as long as she was by his side, no matter where they were, everything would be the most beautiful scenery.

"I don't have any money..." She puffed out her cheeks. After tomorrow, she would be even poorer.

"The rich, they hold onto their money. The poor, well, they hold onto people." He lowered his head and captured her red lips in a sudden, fierce kiss, melting the rest of his words into the tangled breath between them...

The next day.

Originally, the coming-of-age ceremony for the two daughters of the Xiangfu family was a grand affair, with numerous officials and nobles from the capital invited to attend. However, due to the incident involving Xiao Yufu and Qian Sichin, Xiao Zhan decided to scale back the celebration. As much as he valued appearances, he was unwilling to lose face over this matter.

Despite this, officials who were usually close to Xiao Zhan arrived one after another. Even King Ning Zhiyuan of Jiangzhou, the second king from a different surname in Lan Zhao country, was present. In his youth, he had followed the former emperor on campaigns north and south, making great contributions.

Thousands of thoughts, Dust and Calm Wind naturally came as well. This was exactly what Xiao Yuge had expected; without these people, today's play at the Xiao residence wouldn't be nearly as entertaining.

Last night, she had already made arrangements with Qian Tingxuan. In order to avoid suspicion, he would not appear at her coming-of-age ceremony today. Of course, Xiao Yuge was also afraid that he would ruin her plan.

The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is the most important coming-of-age celebration for every girl. Therefore, adults in every household usually pay great attention to it, especially those from influential families like the Xiao family. If not for the recent incident with Xiao Yufu, their Coming-of-Age Ceremony would have been the most magnificent one in the entire capital city.

When Xiao Yuge, dressed in a flowing crimson gown, slowly stepped into the hall, she instantly captured everyone's attention. Her red attire was like fire, her raven hair as dark as ink, her brows were like distant mountains with a touch of melancholy, her skin was as white and smooth as snow, her star-like eyes and pearly teeth made her stunning at every step she took. Each step she took seemed to land on their heartstrings. That red dress seemed to be tailor-made for her. Under the light and shadow, she resembled a divine maiden who had strayed into the mortal world. Even the strands of hair fluttering in the air seemed to glow, her beauty was unparalleled!

Ning Feng, who was still holding his teacup, widened his eyes at this moment. He didn't even notice the teacup falling to the table. He had never imagined that Xiao Yu Ge, who was dressed up with care, would be so stunningly beautiful. Oh no! It was a feeling of being moved!

"Miss Xiao Er is truly a beauty beyond compare, the Prime Minister is indeed a lucky man!"

An exclamation rang out, from someone who knew. Even though Xiao Yu Ge had astonished everyone at last month’s lotus flower banquet, few had seen her with their own eyes. This time, in the hall, every person was either a high-ranking official or a noble, all accustomed to seeing thousands of beautiful women. Yet, at this moment, they felt that everything they had seen before was ordinary. The woman before them was a breathtaking vision of unparalleled beauty.

In contrast to Xiao Yuge beside her, Xiao Yu'er, whose relationship with Qian Simin was a source of shame, wore a red gown despite herself. In recent days, she had been deeply depressed, weeping day and night, leaving her face pale and haggard. Even layers of powder couldn't conceal the fatigue on her face, let alone compare to Xiao Yu'er's spirited appearance.

In her past life, Xiao Yuge's every appearance was a foil to Xiao Yufei's. This life, she is no longer.

"The Coming-of-Age Ceremony begins!"

With Fu Bo's announcement, the coming-of-age ceremony for the young woman officially began.

A maidservant from the mansion brought forward flower garlands and jewelry, and each of their personal maidservants, Qing Luo and An Ling, helped them put them on. It has to be said, after putting on the flower garland, Xiao Yuge's flirtatious charm gained a touch of girlish shyness unique to young girls. With a slight smile, her eyes shimmered like water reflecting starlight, involuntarily drawing people in with their captivating allure.

After that, the maidservants brought up specially made floral perfumes and lightly sprinkled them on their heads, calling it “washing the hairpin bath.” The maidservants circled around Xiao Yuge, singing something as they turned.

After a series of elaborate ceremonies, Uncle Fu finally announced to them that the coming-of-age ceremony was complete. They both knelt down respectfully and thanked their parents and everyone present. This officially marked their transition from young girls to adults.

At the banquet, Xiao Yuge accidentally met Qian Si Chen's gaze. She was startled by his intense eyes and quickly looked away, muttering in her heart: This scumbag, why does he have to look at her with such an expression

For some reason, she always felt another pair of eyes were constantly staring at her. At first, she thought it was Chu Tianqi or Ning Feng, but when she followed the gaze, she discovered that the person who had been watching her all along was Ning Wang Ning Zhiyuan.

This wasn't Xiao Yu Ge's first time seeing Ning Zhiyuan, but in this life, after growing up, it was indeed the first time she had seen him. It was strange, when others looked at her, their eyes were simply filled with amazement, but when he looked at her, besides amazement, there was more shock. His gaze seemed to be looking at another person.

Xiao Yu Ge slightly frowned: Strange, why would he look at her like that

However, Ning Zhiyuan was even more shocked: like! Too alike!

The beauty I remembered, was also walking towards him in a crimson dress...

Just as they had settled down and the banquet was about to begin, a commotion suddenly erupted outside. Xiao Yuge instinctively looked towards the door, knowing that the real action was about to start. A barely perceptible smile played on her lips.

"Master, a mad woman has come outside and insists on barging in! I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen!" the servant reported hastily.

"Today is a day of great joy for my household. Don't let anyone spoil our celebration. It's just a woman who came to offer congratulations. Give her some silver and send her on her way."

Yes!

Just as he had stepped out for a moment, the servant rushed back in: “Master, that madwoman says her name is Lan Auntie and has something very important to tell Madam!”

"Aunt Lan" Xiao Zhan and his wife looked at each other, as if they felt like they had heard this name somewhere before.

"Aunt Lan Aunt Lan!" Mrs. Xiao stood up abruptly, her voice trembling: "Quickly! Quickly bring her in!"

"Madam" Xiao Zhan was confused for a moment.

"Master, don't you remember Lady Lan was the one who delivered my child that year!" Madam Xiao immediately burst into tears, leaving everyone confused and staring at each other.

"It's her!" Xiao Zhan was also extremely excited: "Quick! Quick, bring her in!"

"Go in quickly!" Just then, the housemaid shoved the old woman inside.

The old woman's frail body was pushed by the servant, and she fell to the ground all at once. She then crawled along, landing right in front of Xiao Zhan and Mrs. Xiao, raising her face etched with years of hardship.At this moment, Qian Si Chen didn't care about anything else, he only thought that as long as he could protect her safety, what did it matter if he defied the imperial decree"I—won't—agree!" Xiao Yuge...