Qi Yuning said: "Lu Yun is having his first child after all, but this is not the first time Shen Nian has given birth. If Lu Yun is wrong, Shen Nian's fault is not small either."

Lu Baozhu was even more surprised and asked, "Qi Yuning, what medicine did you take wrong? Why are you talking so strangely today?"

Qi Yuning said softly, "Someone else took the wrong medicine."

Shen Nian's hand trembled, and she saw Qi Yuning's eyes looking at her. Shen Nian felt her heart beating very fast and was full of panic.

Shen Nian took Han Ge'er from Lu Yun's arms and calmed down a little.

Seeing Lingling looking at the lake with longing, Qi Yuning carried Lingling to the lakeside, took off Lingling's shoes and socks, and asked the maid to hold Lingling and step in the lake. Lingling had a lot of fun playing in the clear and cool lake water.

If there was no maid to support her, Lingling would probably be able to swim around in the water to her heart's content.

Qi Yuning didn't dare let Lingling play in the water for too long, fearing that Lingling would catch a cold. He carried Lingling back to the room reluctantly, and Lingling still felt a little unsatisfied.

Just as Qi Yuning was about to look at the account book, Xiaoman came in and said, "Princess, the princess wants to see you."

Qi Yuning said: "Let her in."

When Chen Nian entered, she did not bring Han Ge'er with her. As soon as she entered, she bowed and said, "Sister-in-law."

Qi Yuning let the maid leave and said, "Sit down."

Qi Yuning poured a cup of tea for Shen Nian, and Shen Nian took it with both hands and said repeatedly: "Sister-in-law, what you said by the lake just now..."

Qi Yuning asked: "What?"

Shen Nian held the teacup in both hands, but she felt that what she was doing was very secretive and was afraid that no one would know, so she hesitated to speak.

Qi Yuning saw that Chen Nian was having trouble speaking, so he said, "Chen Nian, let me give you a piece of advice. You and I both know everything you did, but for the sake of the Lu family's reputation, let's just pretend we didn't know anything about it.

There are some selfish motives behind this. First, I still harbor hatred for Lu Yun. Second, your biological parents are both heroes of the Qi Family Army. I'm going to give them a last hurrah. However, their pride won't allow me to indulge you again and again. If you do something foolish again, I won't cover it up for you."

Shen Nian said repeatedly: “Thank you, Princess.”

Qi Yuning said, "Cherish the person in front of you now, and don't make the same mistake again."

Shen Nian replied, “Yes.”

…

This year's Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet was also very lively, after all, it was the first Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet since the new emperor ascended the throne.

Qi Yuning carried Lingling to the palace banquet and saw many unfamiliar faces.

There was a lovely girl beside the Empress Dowager. She looked about fifteen years old and was somewhat similar to Zhou Jiayun.

Qi Yuning asked Lu Ze who was standing beside her, "The young lady next to the Empress Dowager looks very familiar. She seems to be somewhat similar to Concubine Zhou."

Lu Ze said, "She is Zhou Jiayun's cousin."

Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze deeply and said, "The Zhou family hasn't given up yet? Isn't it time for Mr. Zhou to retire at that age?"

Lu Ze said, "I heard from His Majesty that the Empress Dowager was bored in the palace and asked my niece to come and keep her company. I heard that she has arranged a marriage with the Chu family in Jiangnan."

Qi Yuning said: "Jiangnan Chu family? Never heard of it."

Lu Ze said, "The Lingzhou Shen family, the Mingzhou Yang family, the Yangzhou Chu family, the Chang'an Ning family, and the Jinling Sun family are known as the Five Great Families. They have all been prosperous for nearly a thousand years. The Shen and Ning families are the most well-known, while the Yangzhou Chu family is very low-key."

Qi Yuning said, "Shen Jialin wants to enter the imperial court, and the Chu family is planning to marry into the Zhou family. It seems these aristocratic families are ready to make a move..."

Lu Ze said, "Those who claim to be from a thousand-year-old family, in fact, have had no one in the court for nearly a hundred years. They say they are a hidden family, but in fact, they have not been in the court for a hundred years. Without power and wealth, it is difficult for them to survive.

Nowadays, when talking about these aristocratic families, it is just these self-righteous children of the aristocratic families who respect each other. As they gradually decline, they naturally think of ways to fight for power so as not to be suppressed by the newly emerging aristocratic families.

When my grandfather was alive, the imperial power was supreme, and they didn’t dare to easily show up. Now that the young emperor is young and the imperial power is slightly declining, they are trying to show up…”

Qi Yuning said, "They dare to think so. Dasheng is not the previous dynasty. Since the founding emperor of Dasheng established the imperial examination system, it is no longer the case that only children from aristocratic families could enter the court. They still want to enter the court and seize power. It's simply dreaming."

Lu Ze smiled and said, "That's why they're thinking of an alliance. Your fourth uncle was able to marry the Ning family's daughter because they wanted to enter the imperial court. The Sun family married their daughter to the King of Jin and gained some positions. Now that the Zhou and Chu families are forming an alliance, it's hard for them to keep those ambitions."

Qi Yuning listened to the twists and turns and looked at Lu Ze and said, "You must be very tired in charge of state affairs."

Lu Ze said, "Yeah, very tired."

Qi Yuning complained in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I've never seen you complain of being tired these past few nights."

Lu Ze held Qi Yuning's hand under the table and smiled faintly, "How could you find it tiring to let Lingling have a brother or sister as she wished?"

Qi Yuning spat softly, "You're so dishonest."

At the Dragon Boat Festival palace banquet, after the singing and dancing, there is a rice dumpling shooting competition.

The young emperor was the first to shoot arrows at the zongzi. He shot two arrows but missed both, which made him feel a little frustrated.

Qi Yuning walked behind Xiao Zhaojie and said, "Your Majesty, would you mind if I could shoot the zongzi with you?"

Seeing that it was Qi Yuning, Xiao Zhaojie nodded and said, "Okay."

Qi Yuning helped Xiao Zhaojie adjust the position of the bow and arrow, pulled the bowstring, and the arrow hit the zongzi. Xiao Zhaojie said happily, "Thank you, Princess Sister."

Qi Yuning said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to thank me."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!