None of the young ladies in the Zhu Family actually respected her.
Especially Queenie Zhu, the eldest daughter of her second uncle.
Queenie Zhu's father, Charles Zhu, was Grace's second uncle, but his official rank wasn't as high as her father's.
His cultivation wasn't as strong as her father's either.
He wasn't as handsome as her father.
Her father was the backbone of the Zhu Family, while his was just along for the ride.
All these years, Charles Zhu was obviously jealous of her father, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Maybe jealousy runs in the family.
Queenie Zhu had never liked Grace, not even as a child.
No reason at all.
She just couldn't stand her.
And since Grace was a 'useless' girl who couldn't cultivate, Queenie Zhu made it her mission to bully her every day.
This bullying had gone on for ten years, never changing.
In front of others, there were all kinds of sneaky digs and suppression; behind closed doors, it was straight-up bullying and humiliation.
As if this would somehow make up for her father's shortcomings.
Last time, Grace said those angry words to her mother because she'd had a fight with Queenie Zhu.
Not only did Queenie Zhu insult her, she even slapped her, sending her tumbling into a patch of Thornbell Flowers, getting pricked all over.
The thorns on the Thornbell Flowers were thin and broke easily. Hope and Claire spent ages picking them out for her, and it hurt so much Grace couldn't stop crying—she was absolutely fuming.
This time, as soon as Grace and Cindy Zhu arrived at the banquet hall, Queenie Zhu started up again.
She enthusiastically waved Cindy Zhu over.
Then Cindy Zhu dragged Grace over too.
Queenie Zhu asked Cindy Zhu, "Cindy, for this palace selection, it's definitely going to be you, right?"
Cindy Zhu blushed and smiled, "I don't know! Grandmother and Father haven't mentioned it."
Grace watched Cindy Zhu's expression coldly and immediately knew that Grace Wan hadn't told her about the hostage situation.
Makes sense. Cindy Zhu may have inherited some of Grace Wan's sweet-talking, double-faced ways, but she's still just a fourteen-year-old girl and can't always keep her cool.
Something that important—Grace Wan would never tell her.
Besides, having Cindy Zhu compete for the spot could throw Grace's parents off the scent.
......
"Who else could it be? You think it could be her?" Queenie Zhu pointed at Grace, her face full of mockery. "If even she could enter the palace, then a chicken could turn into a phoenix!"
"Queenie, don't say that," Cindy Zhu said, her smile almost too obvious. "My big sister is the Zhu Family's legitimate eldest daughter!"
"Pfft! Please!" Queenie Zhu sneered at Grace. "Don't even mention 'legitimate eldest daughter'! These days, when people talk about the Zhu Family, the first thing they think of is this so-called 'eldest daughter' who doesn't even have a Spirit Root—she's made all of us sisters lose face!"
"Besides, would the Emperor even want her? She's a total jinx—bad for her dad, bad for her mom, and if she got married, she'd probably curse her husband too! She'd ruin the royal family's luck!" Jenny Zhu chimed in.
Jenny Zhu was from a branch of the Zhu Family, but thanks to her cultivation talent, she always stuck close to Queenie Zhu and the other main family girls.
Grace looked at them and just smiled, "Queenie Zhu, Jenny Zhu, you two are the most 'talented' granddaughters of our generation, right? Didn't you get the nickname 'Zhu Family's Twin Pigs'?"
"It's Twin Beauties! You illiterate!" Queenie Zhu snapped.
In her past life, Grace loved to spar with Queenie Zhu.
In this life, she figured she should keep up the act, just to avoid suspicion.
So Grace put on a lofty air and sneered, "So what if you're the Zhu Family's Twin Pigs? In our family, only my father is an official above the second rank, and only our branch is qualified to send girls to the palace. The two of you? All you can do is be jealous!"