Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day arrived for the palace to hold a farewell banquet for Xiliang and Donglie.

Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan entered the palace in a carriage. As soon as they got out of the carriage, they saw Princess Qinghe and Yunrui waving to them.

The three of them went to the Imperial Garden together.

It was Yunrui's first time entering the palace, and everything she saw was new and exciting. The palace was even more magnificent than she had imagined, with carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, every part of it exuding nobility.

Yunrui was glad that Old Madam Yun was afraid that the old lady of Pingyang Marquis's mansion would not allow Shenwan to play with her cousins, so she hired someone to teach them music, chess, calligraphy and painting from a young age. Although they could not be said to be proficient in all of them, it was enough. She also hired a nanny to teach them manners. Otherwise, even if she was with her cousin and sister-in-law, she would have been timid when she first entered the palace.

Yunrui followed Shen Wan and Princess Qinghe to pay their respects to Empress Song, Consort Zheng, and Consort Wang.

Upon seeing Yunrui, Consort Wang smiled and said, "This is the newlywed wife of the Marquis of Xuanping? She looks quite lovely."

Yunrui was a little nervous, but she was poised and graceful, leaving no room for criticism.

The noble ladies in the pavilion looked Yun Rui up and down. No one dared to say that the Yun family was not of high social standing. Although the Yun family was not of high social standing in the past, they were good at marriage alliances. Few aristocratic families could compare to the Yun family. Before, they wondered why Marquis Xuanping and his wife would agree to their son marrying a daughter of the Yun family. But now that they saw her, they were not surprised. The daughter of the Yun family was beautiful and well-mannered. If she were not told that she came from the Yun family, they would definitely think she was the daughter of some aristocratic family.

Empress Song said nothing more. Not to mention Yunrui, she didn't even think much of Shen Wan.

Shen Wan only brought Yun Rui to pay her respects to Empress Song and the others. Knowing that Yun Rui was reserved, she didn't even sit down. After paying her respects, she went to admire the flowers.

After leaving the pavilion and walking a bit further away, Yunrui finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. Her face was burning from being watched by so many people.

Princess Qinghe smiled and said, "You'll get used to it if you attend more banquets."

Yunrui nodded repeatedly.

Originally, Lady Xuanping was supposed to accompany her to the palace today, but since Lady Xuanping was pregnant, she dared not let her accompany her. Lu Cheng knew that Shen Wan and Princess Qinghe would definitely go to the palace, so he let Yunrui go with them. Only then was Lady Xuanping relieved.

The three of them strolled along the lake, enjoying the flowers and chatting happily.

As they walked forward, they saw Fu Shu leading her maid towards them from afar. A dozen steps ahead, there was a fork in the road. Fu Shu took the fork, but after a few steps, she stopped and turned back towards them.

Shen Wan then said to Yun Rui and Princess Qinghe, "I have a few words to say to the Princess Consort of Jin."

The two exchanged glances and went to admire the flowers on the side.

Shen Wan walked over to Fu Shu and said, "Does the Princess Consort of Jin have something to say to me?"

Fu Shu hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Shen Wan asked, "Do you wish to ask Doctor Tao to take a look at you?"

Fu Shu was somewhat surprised, "You're willing to let Doctor Tao treat my illness?"

Shen Wan said, "Why wouldn't I?"

Fu Shu said, "If I can give birth, I will definitely join forces with Prince Jin to deal with you."

Shen Wan laughed, "Back then, you didn't even have enough energy to deal with Prince Jin's inner quarters, how could you have spared the energy to help Prince Jin deal with us?"

Furthermore, Empress Song completely disregarded the feelings of Fu Shu and the Duke of Zhongguo's family, demanding that the Emperor restore Shen Ying to the position of Empress Consort. Fu Shu should be unable to have children, and even if there were only a sliver of hope for a cure, Empress Song would not do such a thing.

Fu Shu's dimmed eyes confirmed Shen Wan's guess. Fu Shu gave a bitter smile, "I've seen several imperial physicians, and they all say there's little hope..."

There's little hope; basically, there's no hope at all.

Fu Shu looked at Shen Wan and said, "When you and Prince Ling leave the manor, remember to bring plenty of guards."

This was a subtle way of telling them that the Prince of Jin intended to harm them.

Shen Wan asked, "Why did you remind me?"

Fu Shu lowered her eyes and said, "Consider it repaying the favor you did for me last time, and also—"

Shen Wan looked at her.

Fu Shu said, "I'm already on this pirate ship and there's no way off, but the Duke of Zhongguo's mansion still has a chance to get out. I hope that when Prince Ling succeeds, he will treat the Duke of Zhongguo's mansion well."

...Does this mean that Duke Zhongguo intends to switch allegiance to them?

Shen Wan wanted to confirm something, but just then a palace maid came over, so Fu Shu didn't say anything more, curtsied, and left.

Shen Wan turned around and watched Fu Shu walk away. If the Duke of Zhongguo was willing to give up Xie Jingyin and turn to them, it would be a good thing for them. But, could Fu Shu and the Duke of Zhongguo's mansion be trusted?

After Fu Shu left, Yun Rui and Princess Qinghe came over. The two did not ask Fu Shu why she wanted to see Chen Wan, and continued to admire the flowers.

However, Yunrui and Princess Qinghe did not ask. Empress Song heard from the palace maids that Fu Shu and Shen Wan were talking and that Yunrui and Princess Qinghe had been sent away. On the way to Taihe Hall just before the farewell banquet began, Fu Shu helped Empress Song. Empress Song asked casually, "What did you and Princess Ling talk about?"

Fu Shu was startled, but quickly composed herself and said, "We didn't talk about anything. We just bumped into each other on the road. I originally wanted to avoid her, but I am the Princess Consort of Jin. If I avoid Princess Consort Ling, I won't be looked down upon. So I said a few words to Princess Consort Ling and told her about the recent situation of the concubine, but Princess Consort Ling didn't seem to care much."

If Princess Ling had cared about Shen Ying, Shen Ying wouldn't have ended up being demoted and losing all chance to enter the palace in the future.

Empress Song asked, "You've seen several imperial physicians lately, are you feeling unwell?"

Fu Shu shook her head, "I don't feel unwell anywhere, it's just that I haven't been able to conceive again for a long time, and I want to see the imperial physician for treatment."

Empress Song paused, patted Fu Shu's hand, and said, "This matter cannot be rushed, take your time."

Fu Shu nodded obediently, but where Empress Song couldn't see, her eyes were filled with disgust.

After all the civil and military officials and their families had taken their seats, the hoarse voice rang out:

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