Relationships

For household relationships:

• She befriends Cinean intellectually, talking about writing and publishing
• Uses her "dream" of starting a magazine to get Cinean to introduce her to other educated circles
• Flatters Jiaolong by asking detailed questions about household management, appearing eager to learn
• Shows appropriate deference to Yaling while subtly encouraging her to talk about court politics
• Others see her as the sophisticated but humble writer trying to build connections
• She's genuinely good at her cover job, which makes people want to help her succeed

Her manipulation works because she:

• Never asks directly about sensitive topics
• Lets them enjoy feeling helpful/knowledgeable
• Shows appropriate ambition for her station
• Makes real friendships while gathering intelligence
• Uses her actual writing talent to maintain cover

This makes her later choice/regret more complex since she's betraying people who genuinely tried to help her career.