Time Travel: The Heroine Has Arrived!

The Marquis Mingyi’s Mansion is, after all, a legitimate noble family. As the eldest daughter, Chen Mingzhu certainly received an invitation.

The trouble is, the youngest legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue, Sun Jingjing, who has always been at odds with Chen Mingzhu, also attended.

Chen Mingzhu’s reputation among the noble ladies is not particularly good. First, the Marquis Mingyi’s Mansion has long since fallen into decline, with no successors, retaining a first-grade title only because the current ruler remembers the merits of those old ministers.

Second, Chen Mingzhu herself is notoriously domineering and flamboyant within the Circle of Noble Women. She once, during Lady of Duke Donglin’s birthday banquet, forcibly pushed a girl from a minor sixth-grade official’s family into the water just because her dress was the same color but looked more vibrant than Chen Mingzhu’s.

Those of insufficient status dare not provoke her, and those with enough status, many self-important noble ladies, are unwilling to fuss with her, allowing her to be so consistently arrogant.

However, the legitimate youngest daughter of the Sun Family, the Minister of Revenue, is not like that. Sun Jingjing has three legitimate older brothers, her mother gave birth to her late, in her forties, as her grandmother, treating her like a precious jewel, spoiling her immensely.

Sun Jingjing has been accustomed to getting whatever she wants since childhood, her nature straightforward and forthright.

She and Chen Mingzhu have been at odds from their very first meeting, and thereafter, whenever the two appeared in the same place, a conflict was inevitable.

This time, it happened to be at the floral banquet, where Sun Jingjing composed a poem on the spot, mocking her for having no knowledge, being sharp-tongued and mean-spirited.

Chen Mingzhu was furious, yet she couldn’t retaliate in kind — Sun Jingjing was somewhat correct; Chen Mingzhu had no scholarly talent to speak of.

This led to the scene of Chen Mingzhu venting her frustrations by taking things out of her room at home.

Lady of the Marquis Mingyi looked at her daughter in disappointment: This foolish, incompetent idiot, if she hadn’t crawled out from her own belly, she really wouldn’t want to bother with her.

Unfortunately, there were no "ifs." She had only this one daughter. No matter how bad the mud was, she had to find a way to make it stick to the wall.

Looking at Chen Mingzhu’s beautiful face, Lady of the Marquis Mingyi felt somewhat comforted: Fortunately, this daughter wasn’t entirely without merit. Just considering her looks, she was among the notable in the Circle of Noble Women in the Capital City.

She had pinned her hopes for the latter half of her life on Chen Mingzhu.

She put down the lid of her teacup and said, "How many times have I told you not to engage in such meaningless arguments? Instead of using your time to be angry, shouldn’t you be thinking about what gift to present for the Princess Dowager of Prince An’s birthday next month?"

Chen Mingzhu paused, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Don’t we have many good things in our storeroom? We can just pick a few when the time comes."

Lady of the Marquis Mingyi turned pale with anger at this.

"You’ve come of age, Ming Zhu. Looking across the Capital City, among the eligible young men, the Crown Prince of Prince An is outstanding in terms of family background, status, and character. Other girls are all trying every means to attract the Old Empress Dowager’s attention, and this is your attitude?"

Lady of the Marquis Mingyi sometimes seriously doubted whether the child she gave birth to back then had somehow been swapped, wondering how she could be so dense!

Chen Mingzhu finally came to her senses, her face flushing red, "But... but, I don’t even know what the Princess Dowager of Prince An likes?"

Lady of the Marquis Mingyi sighed and said, "I didn’t expect you to think that far. I’ve already found out that the Old Dowager Princess An has a lifelong love for peonies. If you can find a superior grade peony to present for her birthday, she might take a liking to it."

——

First, two updates, more tonight.

Dizzy, blurred vision, feeling dazed, stuffy nose, with internal heat still high...

Checked once through, if there are any typos or the like, remember to PM me. I think I might be about to ascend to immortality...