The lady touched her face and said with a smile, "I dare not. My husband's surname is Song."

"It turns out to be Madam Song. How could I trouble you with such a small matter?"

Seeing Chen Jingxi's weak appearance, Madam Song became even more angry. "You are too polite, Princess. This is my master's duty."

"Yes! Don't be afraid, Princess. I will also ask my old man to write a letter tomorrow."

There were different opinions at the time.

"The Queen has arrived."

Hearing the arrival of the Queen, the people who had gathered in a group quickly dispersed and saluted in unison, "Greetings, Queen. Best wishes to you, Queen."

"No need to be polite, please take a seat."

After standing up, Chen Jingxi looked up and saw that the queen was wearing a crimson Sichuan brocade dress embroidered with a golden phoenix. Her long black hair was tied into a high bun that reached into the clouds, showing her noble elegance.

Although she is over 40, her appearance is still well maintained. It is not difficult to see that she was also a great beauty when she was young.

Princess Yuzhen was already standing obediently beside the Queen, completely different from her previous domineering appearance, but she still looked at her with some provocation.

"What happened?" The queen's voice was full of majesty, making everyone around her hold their breath and lower their heads.

Only Chen Jingxi raised her head slightly, her eyes meeting the queen's, but she showed no fear at all.

"What's going on with Princess Su?"

Chen Jingxi said bluntly, "Your Majesty, just now these girls spoke rudely to me and even tried to attack me. Fortunately, you ladies spoke up and stopped this disrespectful behavior."

After hearing this, the Queen's eyes moved back and forth between the girls and Chen Jingxi. Finally, she fixed her gaze on the girls and asked sternly, "Xi Wan, is what Princess Su said true?"

"Empress, it's Chen Jingxi..."

"Hmm!" The queen stared at her sharply.

Jiang Xiwan's heart trembled when she saw the Queen's gaze. She quickly lowered her head and quietly admitted her mistake.

The Queen sighed and turned to Chen Jingxi, saying, "Princess Su, since Xiwan and the others have admitted their mistakes and apologized to you, I hope you can give me your respect and let this go."

Chen Jingxi listened to the queen's soft but firm tone with an unquestionable meaning. If she didn't want to let it go, she would have a hard time leaving Fengzao Palace today. She really hated being threatened.

"Empress..."

"The Imperial Concubine has arrived, the Virtuous Concubine has arrived."

"Oh, why are there so many people kneeling? What happened?" asked the imperial concubine curiously.

When the Queen saw Consort De arrive, a complex expression flashed across her face, but she quickly regained her composure and said with a smile, "My two sisters are here."

The Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine sat down below the Empress respectively.

Chen Jingxi glanced at them inconspicuously.

He just stayed on Defei's face for one more second, with an icy face that looked 50% like Chu Jinghuai. It turned out that Chu Jinghuai's annoying look was caused by his mother.

After Concubine Qin sat down, the palace maid next to her whispered in her ear.

After listening to this, Concubine Qin smiled slightly, glanced at Jiang Xiwan who was kneeling on the ground, and said with a hint of ridicule in her voice: "If I remember correctly, this person should be the niece of the Queen's mother's family, right?"

"Xi Wan greets the Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine."

Concubine De glanced at Jiang Xiwan and said calmly, "No need to be so polite. I have been living in seclusion for many years and haven't seen so many people in a few years. Your niece, the Empress, has become more and more beautiful, comparable to the Imperial Concubine."

When Jiang Xiwan heard Defei's praise, a hint of pride flashed across her face and she raised her chin slightly. Concubine Qin was the most beautiful woman in the capital at that time.

Even after so many years, she is still the most favored concubine in the harem, and no one can surpass her fame today.

The imperial concubine's lips curled up in a cold smile, her tone full of sarcasm. "How dare such a fool be mentioned in the same breath as me? As an elder, Queen, you should teach her a lesson. After all, in this palace, rules and etiquette are more important than anything else."

The Queen seemed to be accustomed to Concubine Qin's attitude. She nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing with Concubine Qin's accusations.

Jiang Xiwan, on the other hand, lowered her head and said nothing, her heart filled with regret and shame.

Chen Jingxi looked at Concubine Qin in agreement. Great minds think alike. Although she didn't know whether Concubine Qin was an enemy or a friend, who cares? Now they had someone they hated in common.

However, Concubine Qin's next words made her laugh and cry.

"Princess Su, I haven't seen you for a few days. You're still as stupid as ever. I heard Yue'er say a few days ago that you broke your brain and have become much smarter. Seeing you today, I'm really disappointed."

Chen Jingxi's smile froze. What was she disappointed about? Did she feel stupid? Or was she not as smart as she expected?

"Mother, the banquet is about to begin. Let's go first to avoid being punished by father." Princess Yuzhen said softly.

"Yuzhen, why are you still so impatient? Be careful or no one will want you."

Yuzhen said angrily, "Noble Concubine, don't think that just because the emperor loves you, you can be arrogant. My mother is the master of the harem, and it is not your turn to make decisions about the harem."

"You know the Emperor favors me, but why don't you shut up? Have you finished embroidering that painting of birds paying homage to the phoenix?"

Princess Yuzhen was choked and blushed, "You..."

The Queen looked at her daughter's embarrassed expression and said, "Alright, Yuzhen, stop talking."

Concubine Qin looked at the Queen and said softly, "This banquet won't start soon, Queen, don't you think?"

The Queen frowned slightly, but still said magnanimously: "Yes, it will take some time."

"Since the Queen said there's still time, let's continue what we were doing."

The Queen nodded slightly. This Concubine Qin was determined that she would punish Xi Wan today. Thinking about this, she smiled and said, "Princess Su, what do you think of what happened just now?"

Chen Jingxi had three black lines on her forehead. It seemed like he was shifting the blame to someone else by going around in circles before asking her what she thought.

This might offend a queen or a favorite concubine, although he was the victim in the beginning.

Chen Jingxi looked at Concubine De again and saw that she had an arrogant look on her face. They were indeed mother and son, even their expressions were exactly the same.

Chen Jingxi withdrew her gaze and looked at Jiang Xiwan and the others. She didn't want to let them go in the first place, so she would offend them. Whatever she said now would offend people anyway.

"I didn't have any thoughts at first, but after thinking about it just now, I realized that as the Princess of Su, a member of the royal family, the royal family's reputation has been damaged because of me. It's my fault, but it's also because of the nonsense spread by Miss Jiang and the others."

"So for the sake of my daughter-in-law's reputation and to restore the royal family's prestige, it's far from enough for Miss Jiang to simply apologize here."