An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

Not two days after Sang of the Gao family left, news came from the palace again. Both the court and the harem were preparing for a banquet. Marquis Mu Wu's family had close ties with the palace, so they had to attend.

Master Nie had not been feeling well in the past two days and was recuperating in the Shifei Hall, so Nie Ce went into the Zhangkun Palace alone - to attend a banquet hosted by the emperor for his ministers; Sang Ling and Madam Zhaoyu went straight to the Guanghua Hall in the inner palace - to attend a meeting of the concubines in the harem.

There was no delay on either side. Although there was only one carriage coming, it went in two directions after entering the palace gate.

Halfway down the corridor, Madam Zhaoyu suddenly turned around and started chatting with Sang Ling, "Your mother was blessed with a baby boy last night. Please prepare the gifts for your congratulations. I will send someone to deliver them in the name of the Marquisate later."

Sang Ling had been paying attention to Ya Nu recently, and had forgotten that Ma's due date was mid-year, and she had actually given birth to a son, so wouldn't Sang Wu be overjoyed? She nodded in response, "Yes," but didn't continue the conversation.

As she moved, she couldn't help but wipe her lips, and her white fingertips were immediately stained with a hint of red.

She originally wanted to keep a low profile today - ever since she lost weight, she has never liked to show off in crowded places.

She had originally chosen a crimson gauze gown with a straight hem, and her hair was tied into a bun with two plain hairpins. However, Madam Zhaoyu took a look and was not satisfied with it, so she assigned two maids to retrain her and only then was she allowed to go out.

Although her current outfit was not too ostentatious, just a gown with a gauze robe and two hairpins with hanging beads on her head, her makeup was different, with more heavy colors on her face than before, long eyebrows and red lips, making her look more gorgeous. The person sent by Madam Zhaoyu was different from Ya Nu, and she did not ask for her opinion throughout the process, so she finished her makeup in silence.

Later, when they left the house and got on the carriage, even Nie Ce stared at her for a long time and did not say a word in front of Madam Zhao Yu. It was unclear whether he thought her behavior was too novel or inappropriate.

In short, she herself could not adapt to the heavy makeup, and she preferred the light makeup that Ya Nu put on her.

In Guanghua Palace, officials and their wives had to enter earlier. The higher their status, the later they came. The nobles still had to follow their tone. Sang Ling and Madam Zhao Yu sat down at the table early. He greeted the wives of the Guannei Marquises who entered with him. He smiled and kept silent throughout the whole process, lowering his eyebrows and eyes, and did not deliberately show off.

This was the first time that Young Lady Nie had participated in a palace banquet, which inevitably attracted many looks. Many families in Beijing had heard of the reputation of the eldest daughter of the Sang family. They heard that because of her ugly appearance, she was even rejected when she asked for marriage with the Cao family. So why did Hulaba marry Nie Ce, a newcomer in the court, from an aristocratic family among aristocratic families?

Later, I heard some rumors that what happened back then was not true, and that the eldest daughter of the Sang family was an extremely beautiful woman, so the Nie family got there first and married her.

The two sides were contradicting each other, and people who had never seen her would naturally be very curious: What does the eldest daughter of the Sang family look like?

So from time to time, several high-ranking ladies would stop by the table where Madam Zhaoyu sat. On the surface, they would greet Madam Zhaoyu, but from time to time their eyes would turn to the young lady next to them. How could Madam Zhaoyu not know? But she just smiled and accepted the crowd's dealings, without showing any other expression.

Later, several dowager ladies and concubines came, leading two underage princes, and followed by several princesses and princesses.

Sang Ling still remembered the Princess Chengwang - the famous Liu Qing. It was her who had something to do with Sang Mei being bitten by a snake. Not only was she fine afterwards, she could even enter and leave the palace freely.

The lineage of King Cheng is still in Jiaozhou, far to the south by the sea. She can still appear in Chang'an from time to time. Is she living in the princes' palace now, or does she travel here from time to time?

Didn’t King Cheng realize that the emperor wanted to reduce the power of the princes?

Sang Ling's mind drifted to politics again, and she became inexplicably interested. She wanted to know if both sides knew about this previous dynasty's contest. Then, was there any deep meaning behind Liu Qing's arrangement to interact with the emperor's harem? Her eyes unconsciously fell on the Princess of King Cheng.

Unexpectedly, the two could look at each other even though they were at a distance.

Liu Qing first looked at Madam Zhaoyu, and then quickly glanced at Sang Ling next to her. She seemed stunned for a moment, and then she revealed a smile that couldn't be more fake.

It's over, Sang Ling thought. Judging from what Ban Le said at that time, this person seemed to have some connection with Nie Ce before, and the connection had not been severed until last autumn's hunt. That's why she let the snake bite Sang Mei.

Now that she is Nie Ce's wife, she won't be targeted by this Princess Cheng Wang, right?

He withdrew his gaze unconsciously, but he did not feel much fear in his heart. Instead, he thought of a contradiction: if Liu Qing and Nie Ce had a relationship, then what Nie Ce was doing now was to uncover her father's lair.

Will the two people end up turning against each other?

What kind of sadomasochistic drama is this?