In the spring of the fourteenth year of Jian'an, Jiang Yunshu was five years old.
She had been reborn into this world, arriving at the Marquis of Xiping's Mansion five years ago.
When she was first born, her tiny brain could hardly retain memories of her past life—remembering one thing meant forgetting another, and vice versa. Her days consisted of little more than eating and sleeping.
Over the past two years, Jiang Yunshu's mind had finally developed enough to recall her past life clearly, and she gradually adjusted to her new existence as the young, illegitimate daughter of a noble household.
Her birth mother was dead, her father was neglectful, the Lady Hou despised children born to other women, and her elder half-sister, Jiang Zhaohua, constantly looked down on her. Though her circumstances were far from ideal, Jiang Yunshu counted herself lucky—at least she had food and warm clothes in the marquis's household!
Had she been reborn into poverty, she might have starved or frozen to death long ago.
Still, Jiang Yunshu had her share of troubles. For one, the meals sent from the kitchen were always... meatless!
She desperately craved meat!
"I want meat!" Jiang Yunshu pleaded with the auntie who cared for her.
The auntie dismissed her with a wave. "Children shouldn't eat too much meat. It's hard to digest, and you'll fall ill."
Jiang Yunshu protested, "I won't eat too much!"
As it was, she barely got any meat—just a few scraps every few days. She was far from overindulging.
This time, the auntie didn’t even bother humoring her. "What you eat isn’t up to me. Go complain to the kitchen if you want."
Jiang Yunshu sighed helplessly. As a five-year-old, she knew the kitchen staff wouldn’t listen to her.
Everyone took advantage of her being a child.
Hungry and craving meat, she dreamed of feasting on chicken legs, ribs, and pork knuckles at night.
When she woke, she immediately touched the corner of her mouth—relieved to find no drool.
Staring anxiously at the canopy above her bed, she marveled at the expensive silk embroidered with intricate patterns.
She counted on her fingers—how much meat could this canopy buy?
Given how little she ate, it could last her years.
But like all the other lavish items in her room, the canopy wasn’t hers to use as she pleased.
Lady Hou placed them there for show—for the marquis, the dowager, and guests to see. Look how well I treat my husband’s illegitimate children! See how virtuous I am!
Yet behind closed doors, Lady Hou made no effort to hide her disdain for these illegitimate daughters.
So Jiang Yunshu didn’t bother asking Lady Hou for meat—she knew it was pointless.
Nor could she turn to her neglectful father. After arriving in this era, she was shocked to learn that an unloved illegitimate daughter rarely saw her father. Jiang Yunshu only met him once or twice a year!
She strongly suspected he didn’t even remember her face.
The kitchen ignored her, and her caretaker auntie was lazy and dismissive.
Jiang Yunshu worried constantly. She was growing—would a lack of meat stunt her height?
But being short wasn’t her biggest fear. What terrified her most was the thought of her brain development suffering. Would she become dull-witted?
Medical knowledge in this era was primitive. Staying healthy was crucial. How could she stay strong without meat? If she grew up frail, even a common cold could kill her.
She realized that since becoming a child again, her thinking had grown childish too. Probably because her brain wasn’t fully developed—hardware limitations affecting her software.
No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t find a solution to her meat problem.
She envied her third and fourth sisters, whose birth mothers were still alive. If only her own mother had survived—she would have given her meat.
Her mother in this life had died in childbirth. Jiang Yunshu didn’t know her face—when she thought of her, she saw her modern mother’s image instead...
"Miss, why are you crying so hard?"
Jiang Yunshu touched her face at the auntie’s words and realized her cheeks were wet with tears. She’d been crying for a while.
Assuming she was crying from meat cravings, the auntie chuckled. "Fine, I’ll get you a bowl of meat from the kitchen today."
Jiang Yunshu didn’t explain. She thanked the auntie softly.
The auntie wasn’t particularly kind—she often slacked off, seeing Jiang Yunshu as a powerless child. But she wasn’t cruel either. Under her care, Jiang Yunshu had suffered minor illnesses but never anything life-threatening.
At her next meal, Jiang Yunshu received a bowl of tender steamed meat. She savored every bite, eating slowly and even mixing the last drops of broth into her rice.
She had speculated about the lack of meat—maybe the kitchen skimped on her meals, or perhaps Lady Hou deliberately withheld meat from the illegitimate daughters...
But the truth, when she finally learned it, was none of her guesses.
The real reason was simple: her half-sister, Jiang Zhaohua, had a weak digestive system. She couldn’t tolerate meat—only tiny amounts. Eating slightly more would make her sick.
So Jiang Zhaohua’s meals contained no meat.
And as illegitimate daughters, they had to follow the eldest daughter’s diet.
Lady Hou considered it a privilege that they ate the same meals as Jiang Zhaohua—people praised her for her generosity.
Why would she go out of her way to add meat to their meals when her precious Jiang Zhaohua couldn’t eat it?
If she could, Lady Hou would gladly rip out their healthy digestive systems and give them to Jiang Zhaohua.
Once Jiang Yunshu understood the real reason, she realized there was no solving the problem.
The best she could do was temporary fixes—occasionally taking coins from her small allowance and asking the auntie to bribe the kitchen for a meat dish.
So Jiang Yunshu grew up with sporadic meat—hoping she wouldn’t end up too short or too dim.
Whenever she worried, she consoled herself: at least she got some meat... Jiang Zhaohua had none at all.
Even if she became short or slow, Jiang Zhaohua would be worse off!
As an illegitimate daughter with little pocket money, Jiang Yunshu couldn’t afford meat every day, no matter how much she spent.
So every opportunity to eat meat was precious.
When news spread that this year’s palace banquet required noble families to bring all their children—regardless of birth order or legitimacy—Jiang Yunshu’s first thought was: Yes! She could eat meat at the palace!
A royal banquet would have mountains of meat, right?
Meanwhile, the Marquess Xiping and Lady Hou discussed the matter gravely.
"What could the palace’s intention be?"
"The Crown Prince is twelve this year. Could they be selecting his future bride?"
"They specifically asked for illegitimate daughters too. Perhaps before choosing a Crown Princess, they want to pick a couple of concubines for him?"
The marquess paced the room.
Lady Hou smiled and shook her head. "You’re overthinking it, my lord. I believe Her Majesty the Empress simply adores children and wants to fill the palace with laughter."
After all, everyone knew how much the Empress longed for a daughter of her own.
However, when the Empress gave birth to the Crown Prince, her health was severely damaged, leaving her unable to bear any more children. Her longing for a daughter remained unfulfilled, and she could only dote on and play with the little girls of other noble families.
Lady Hou recalled this past incident and drifted into thought for a moment.
The Crown Prince is now twelve years old—this happened twelve years ago.
The Empress had conceived late. By the time she was pregnant with the Crown Prince, the most favored Noble Consort in the palace had already given birth to the Eldest Prince. Both mother and son enjoyed the Emperor's deep affection, fostering ambitions they should never have entertained.
When the Empress was in labor, the Noble Consort's faction made their move against her!
They wanted both the Empress and the newborn Crown Prince to perish at their most vulnerable moment!
They nearly succeeded.
They had bribed the Empress's most trusted palace maid—someone the Empress would never suspect—to hand her a bowl of poisoned ginseng soup after the birth...
Just as the Empress took the bowl and was about to drink, a little girl's voice suddenly rang in her ear.
"It's poisoned! Don't drink it!"
Startled by the inexplicable voice, the Empress's hand trembled, and the bowl shattered on the ground.
Her voice shaking, she summoned the imperial physicians to test the spilled soup for poison.
And indeed, it was poisoned!
Every servant in Fengyi Palace was subjected to harsh interrogation, revealing the Noble Consort's plot to murder the Empress and the Crown Prince.
The Noble Consort's faction had bribed the Empress's maid to poison her and smother the newborn Crown Prince.
Enraged, the Emperor ordered the Noble Consort executed and the Eldest Prince stripped of his title, reduced to a commoner.
The Empress, thinking of how close she and her son had come to death, was filled with lingering fear and immense relief.
She never forgot the little girl's voice that had warned her.
"Are you a deity or a spirit?"
"Whatever you are, you saved our lives. I am willing to honor you..."
The Empress made many promises—building temples, crafting golden statues—but the girl's voice never returned.
She thought perhaps it had been a passing deity who had spared them.
Because of that voice, the Empress longed to bear a daughter, to give Ling'er a little sister.
But the shock she endured after giving birth to Ling'er had taken its toll. Despite the imperial physicians' efforts, they regretfully informed her she could no longer conceive.
The Empress had no choice but to accept this reality and devote herself to raising her only child, Ling'er.
Unable to give him a sister, she grew especially fond of the clever and adorable young girls from noble families.
Thus, it wasn’t entirely unusual for the palace to request that all noble families bring their daughters—both legitimate and illegitimate—to the banquet.
Most, like Lady Hou, assumed the Empress simply wanted to see lovely young girls.
Of course, many noble ladies couldn’t help but speculate further.
The Crown Prince was now twelve—still young, but as the heir, his marriage was a matter of great importance.
Selecting a Crown Princess years in advance and carefully observing her character before making a final decision was only prudent.
However, for the Marquis of Xiping's Mansion, this was irrelevant. Their eldest legitimate daughter, Jiang Zhaohua, was only six years old.
Compared to the twelve-year-old Crown Prince, she was still a child, let alone her younger half-sisters.
The third and fourth daughters were too young to attend, so Lady Hou brought only Jiang Zhaohua and Jiang Yunshu to the palace.
Before boarding the carriage, Lady Hou sternly instructed Jiang Yunshu, "Once we enter the palace, you must obey your aunt in everything."
Jiang Yunshu nodded obediently.
Though she had never been to the palace, she knew its rules were strict and dared not act recklessly.
She resolved to follow her stepmother and elder sister quietly, not uttering a single unnecessary word, and once the banquet began, she would focus solely on eating.
Jiang Yunshu knew her place—she was just an extra, there to enjoy the feast.
Would there be plenty of meat at the banquet?
She swallowed her saliva. She had mastered using chopsticks now—she would swiftly and precisely grab all the meat she could!
