“Shen Zhaozhao, you think you deserve to wear a jadeite hairpin?” Her elder half-sister flung a silver hairpin at her feet.
Shen Zhaozhao crouched to pick it up, her fingertips brushing the [Gold-Digging Radar] the System had just given her. The end of the hairpin was clearly engraved with the character “Zhou.” It plainly belonged to her stepmother.
She blinked, then turned to the old madam with a smile. “My elder sister cares about me so much that she’s given me Madam’s dowry hairpin. I’ll treasure it.” Madam Zhou’s expression changed at once, and Shen Manman dropped to her knees on the spot.
Only then did everyone realize that the concubine-born daughter who was always sprawled in the corridor, basking in the sun, had already mastered the System’s “Household Management Secrets.” When checking the accounts, she could uncover three discrepancies; when striking back, she could use her opponent’s own words to shut them down.
Even the young general Gu of the Duke of Jingguo’s household fell for her. He’d thought she was a little airhead, but when she saw through his “accidental” spill of her teacup as an attempt to strike up a conversation, his ears turned red enough to drip blood.
Later, Shen Manman schemed to make him misunderstand her. He chased her for three whole streets before catching up with her carriage, then panted, “Zhaozhao, I was wrong… From now on, you lie flat and I’ll fan you. You do your sign-in, and I’ll hand you candied fruit. How about it?” Shen Zhaozhao lifted the carriage curtain, touched the System’s newly upgraded [Ultimate Gold-Digging Detection Art], and smiled. “First help me win back control of the prime minister’s household. Then we can talk about anything else.”
