He Shu sobbed alone for a long while before she finally wiped away her tears.
She crawled out from under the table and gazed from afar at He Xiu, who was chatting and laughing with others on the high platform.
He Shu let out a soft sigh to herself and reluctantly pulled her eyes away.
Crying by herself would change nothing. Her situation would not suddenly improve just because of a few tears.
She turned her attention back to the long table and continued carrying out her money-saving plan.
The banquet had only just begun.
Most of the guests present were representatives or high-ranking members of their own nation’s powers.
Foreign envoys or friendly rogue cultivators usually chose to arrive shortly after the feast started. It made their status stand out more clearly.
The usher at the main entrance kept announcing the arrival of important figures in a loud voice, along with the gifts they had brought.
“Sect Master Lin Qingxue of Tai Xu Palace has arrived—gifting thirty catties of Heavenly Frost Wood and one Immortal Craft flying sword.”
“Rogue Immortal Mr. Langya has arrived—gifting five drops of Nine-Tailed Fox Tears and one wisp of Thousand-Mile Profound Sound.”
“Supreme Grand Elder Nan Ying Xianyu of Qingyun Mountain Villa has arrived—gifting…”
One big shot after another entered the hall. The crowd erupted in continuous gasps of amazement.
Many people were seeing so many top-tier experts gathered in one place for the very first time.
Naturally, the guests began gossiping.
“Good heavens, they say Nan Ying Xianyu of Qingyun Mountain Villa is one of the finest beauties in the entire Southern Border. Seeing her today, the rumors are truly not exaggerated.”
“I think Sect Master Lin is prettier. Nan Ying Xianyu’s figure is too petite—practically flat and unremarkable. But look at Sect Master Lin’s famously generous bosom.”
“Ugh~ You two came to the Eldest Princess’s birthday banquet just to talk about this? How shallow…”
While eavesdropping on the guests’ chatter, He Shu frantically stuffed spiritual foods into her storage bag.
She was smart enough to know that lingering too long in one spot would raise suspicion.
So she would grab a few items, move to another location, and repeat the process until her storage bag was one-third full before stopping.
This should be enough. Any more and it’ll be hard to sell.
She hung the storage bag back at her waist and wondered whether she should replace it with a more convenient storage belt.
Just as He Shu was about to find a good vantage point to watch He Xiu from afar, her entire body suddenly left the ground.
Someone had grabbed her from behind and lifted her up. The feeling of her feet dangling in the air left He Shu with no sense of security.
“Finally caught you. You really do look exactly like Second Princess described.”
A male voice came from behind her. He Shu’s heart tightened. It looked like she had truly been caught this time.
She twisted uncomfortably, but two guards still pinned her down on the spot.
Left with no choice, He Shu tried to invoke her status as a member of the He Clan.
“I am a member of the He Clan! I share the He surname! Uncle Guards, you can’t just arrest people without reason!”
The two guards remained silent. They simply looked at her with the same expression one would give an idiot.
“Little girl, you should have proof when you speak. Who has ever seen a member of the imperial bloodline dressed as shabbily as you?”
He Shu was left speechless by the guard’s words. She wanted to explain but didn’t know how to begin.
She felt she might be the most miserable legitimate descendant the He Clan had ever seen.
“I have an identity token. It’s in my clothes pocket. Just infuse it with spiritual power and you’ll know it’s real!”
“You’d better behave. If you confess on your own, you might suffer less later.”
The two guards ignored everything she said and dragged He Shu all the way to a rear garden.
As soon as they passed through the round archway, He Shu spotted someone she had not expected. Her small mouth fell open slightly.
“It’s you…! Why are you here!”
He Ying finished sprinkling all the fish feed into the pond, tilted her little head, and giggled at He Shu. “Put her down.”
“Kneel.”
The guard set He Shu back on the ground and kicked the back of her knees.
Caught off guard, He Shu’s knees slammed against the bluestone slabs with a thud.
“Mmm…”
Even with the pill suppressing her sensitivity, the pain still made her whole body tremble.
He Ying looked at He Shu kneeling on the ground and nodded in satisfaction.
“Hee hee, I was only testing the waters, but I didn’t expect Elder Sister to actually be inside the venue.”
“Why did Elder Sister sneak into the venue? I remember you don’t have the qualifications to enter, right?”
He Ying leaned in close with a smile full of curiosity and asked the question.
He Shu turned her head away and refused to answer. “That’s none of your business.”
He Ying pouted, clearly displeased. “Elder Sister really is disobedient.”
She ordered the guards to pin He Shu flat on the ground, then plopped herself down on He Shu’s waist.
He Ying was only six years old. Her weight wasn’t actually heavy, but to He Shu it was still difficult to bear.
After all, although He Shu was a few years older, she was far less healthy than He Ying. Both her height and weight fell short.
“You… little brat…”
He Shu lay face-down on the ground, her cheek pressed against the cold stone slabs. He Ying’s weight made it almost impossible for her to breathe.
“Why did Elder Sister suddenly stop moving?”
When He Shu remained motionless for a long time beneath her, He Ying shook her body a few times, trying to provoke a reaction.
But He Shu only clenched her teeth and stayed silent.
“How boring.”
He Ying stood up from He Shu’s back.
She looked down at the person sprawled on the ground, then lifted one foot and stepped on the back of He Shu’s hand.
She even ground down harder.
“Hee hee, Elder Sister looks so ridiculous right now.”
The back of her hand throbbed with pain, yet He Shu kept her lips tightly pressed together and made no sound.
She simply let He Ying trample on her as she pleased.
She understood the vast difference in status between herself and He Ying.
She had never dared to resist.
She had endured this kind of bullying for so many years already—one or two more times made no difference.
Suddenly, He Ying stopped stepping on He Shu’s hand.
Her attention had been drawn to the item at He Shu’s waist.
“What is this? Why is it so bulging?”
The moment she felt her storage bag being taken away, He Shu finally panicked.
“Don’t touch that!”
But before she could finish speaking, He Ying had already opened the storage bag.
A large number of pastries tumbled out.
Looking at the pastries scattered on the ground, He Shu’s heart turned ice-cold.
If it was discovered that she had been stealing spiritual foods, she had no idea what kind of punishment she would receive.
He Ying stared at the free pastries on the ground and put on an expression of sudden realization.
She seemed to have figured out why He Shu had sneaked into the banquet.
“So that’s how it is. Elder Sister really is pitiful—actually taking these unwanted things.”
He Shu lay on the ground, her small face drained of all color.
She felt He Ying was about to find another excuse to bully her.
Her mood sank even lower.
At that very moment, a purple-robed figure appeared in her line of sight not far behind He Ying.
The person He Shu had only seen from afar earlier had arrived.
It was her own birth mother, He Xiu.
Normally, seeing Mother would have filled He Shu with excitement.
She instinctively wanted to call out “Mother,” but the words caught in her throat.
For a moment she didn’t know how to speak.
This was the first time He Shu had ever been this close to He Xiu.
“M-Majesty… please… let me explain…”
Mother had never permitted her to attend Elder Sister’s birthday banquet. She had snuck in on her own.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
He Shu squeezed her eyes shut. She was truly terrified.
“Please… don’t kill me…”
Human joys and sorrows do not always align.
He Shu was scared out of her mind, but when He Ying saw He Xiu she cried out happily.
“Mother!”
The instant she spotted He Xiu, He Ying instantly switched to an innocent and carefree expression. She scampered over and clung to He Xiu’s arm like a little pendant.
“Mother, look,” He Ying pointed at He Shu, who was shaking like a leaf.
“She sneaked into the banquet and got caught by the guards. I want to make her my slave. Can I?”
Finished speaking, He Ying looked up at He Xiu with big, sparkling eyes, waiting for an answer.
He Shu was also waiting for an answer. He Xiu undoubtedly held the power to decide her fate.
Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. He Shu’s heart pounded like thunder.
The trembling in her body grew stronger and stronger.
Yet in her perception, those few breaths felt unbearably long.
She felt deeply unwilling. Neither death nor the loss of freedom was something He Shu wanted.
Finally, He Xiu spoke. “Once you’ve had enough fun, send her back.”
Her tone was perfectly calm. The moment He Shu heard it, she let out a huge sigh of relief.
All strength seemed to drain from her body.
She lay limply on the ground, unable to move, yet her heart overflowed with gratitude that Mother had spared her.
“Huh? Why?”
He Shu had relaxed, but He Ying pouted. She didn’t dare disobey He Xiu.
She simply glanced back at He Shu one last time.
The sound of their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Only then did He Shu climb up from the ground.
She picked up her storage bag and gathered the few pastries that had scattered nearby.
Pastries that had touched the ground could no longer be resold.
She wrapped them carefully in cloth, planning to take them home and eat them herself.
He Shu felt extremely fortunate that her storage bag had not been confiscated.
Yet she also felt a deep regret. It looked like she would no longer have the chance to sneak into banquets.
Not only would she lose the opportunity to eat and drink for free, but what saddened her even more was losing the only way she had to see her mother.