Chapter 55 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet

At the same time, Pei Jingchuan, who was standing aside, was also secretly cautious in his heart.

At present, among the emperor's sons, the crown prince is weak and incompetent, and is also somewhat arrogant and licentious. The emperor has no hope for him, and it is only a matter of time before the crown prince is deposed.

The other princes all had their own ambitions and connections, and they were all trying to win over their own forces in an attempt to take the throne after the crown prince was deposed. Among them, the Sixth Prince was the most prominent, while the Third Prince was the most hidden.

However, judging by the character of these two men, they will not be a benevolent monarch in the future, especially the third prince, who is vicious and cruel, and is the best at disguise.

Ever since he heard Xu Qingyan's inner complaints last time and knew that the Third Prince might be the final winner in the future, Pei Jingchuan secretly investigated him. Naturally, the results of the investigation surprised him and he learned a lot of unexpected things.

Even this time when Xu Shikai cheated, the exam questions were leaked by the Third Prince's people. However, what the Third Prince did was watertight, and this time Pei Jingchuan could only find a few scapegoats, while the Third Prince was not affected at all.

On the other hand, the eighth prince is low-key and steady, and appears to be aloof and indifferent, but he is actually kind and upright, with a sincere heart, which makes him the most suitable person to be the emperor.

Only if Daxia can place such a prince on the throne of emperor, the lives of the common people will be better in the future. Otherwise, they will fall into dire straits.

"Okay, thank you mother!" Xu Qingyan said to the Duke's wife with a smile.

Then, she stayed in the Duke's wife's courtyard and listened to her talk about things to pay attention to when entering the palace.

——Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet——

That day, Xu Qingyan wore a decent dress. The maids dressed her up carefully, and then she followed the Duke's wife and others to the palace.

The palace towered into the sky, and the golden glazed tiles on the roof sparkled like waves in the sun. The miles-long vermilion palace wall twisted and turned, and every hundred steps on the top of the wall there was a dragon-carved watchtower, like the scales on the back of a giant dragon.

Xu Qingyan got off the carriage and was stunned by the scene from a distance.

Under the gilded eaves, palace maids in crimson brocade robes with round flowers walked with silver plates in their hands, and eunuchs wearing jade belts stood by the pillars, making people feel the dignity and solemnity of the royal family.

Xu Qingyan thought that the atmosphere in the palace was solemn and dignified, and every corner exuded a strong historical flavor, which made people sigh at the splendor of this ancient civilization.

The palace was filled with festive atmosphere, with the air filled with the faint scent of agarwood and fresh lacquerware. The golden brick floor reflected the figures of people coming and going, like a flowing brocade.

Many officials and their wives, dressed elegantly and noblely, entered the palace calmly and orderly. They touched their fingertips to greet each other, and the smiles under their dark eyebrows were restrained a little. It can be seen that everyone attaches great importance to rules.

Seeing this, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but sigh secretly, this palace is really an extremely solemn place!

After entering the hall, Xu Qingyan followed the Duke's wife obediently.

Seeing Xu Qingyan so nervous, the Duke's wife couldn't help but laugh and said, "Qingyan, although you have to be more polite in the palace, you don't have to be so nervous. It will be a while before the banquet officially starts. Let Jinyu take you to walk around with the noble ladies and get to know more people."

The Duke's wife felt that Xu Qingyan would sooner or later succeed her as the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, which would naturally require her to come into contact with some noble ladies. It would be good to let her get used to it slowly from now on.

"Yes! Sister-in-law, I'll take you to meet my friends!" Pei Jinyu enthusiastically took Xu Qingyan's arm and pulled her to the side.

Now, she likes her sister-in-law Xu Qingyan very much. After all, it was she who helped her escape the disaster caused by Lin Yanbang.

Xu Qingyan couldn't resist Pei Jinyu's enthusiasm and was brought to a group of noble ladies. When those ladies saw Pei Jinyu coming, they all greeted her enthusiastically. When they saw the outstanding Xu Qingyan beside her, they couldn't help but reveal curious eyes.

"This is my sister-in-law, the Crown Prince's wife! Sister-in-law, these are all my friends. This is the Prime Minister's daughter Wenqing, this is the Minister of Rites' daughter Miaoling, and this is..." Pei Jinyu was happily introducing Xu Qingyan to her friends.

"Is this your sister-in-law? The woman who was the concubine's daughter of a sixth-rank official and married to your eldest brother in exchange for marriage?" After Pei Jinyu finished her introduction, a not-so-friendly voice asked.

Xu Qingyan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman wearing a long waisted dress made of red crabapple brocade. There was some contempt in her big eyes as she looked at her.

"Song Xiao'er, how can you talk like that?" Pei Jinyu heard the other party's unfriendly tone and couldn't help but said to her with a little anger.

Song Xiao'er chuckled and said, "I am telling the truth. She is the concubine's daughter of a sixth-rank official. I don't know what scheme she used to snatch the marriage of her eldest sister and marry your eldest brother."

Xu Qingyan didn't know that Xu Qingyue had already had the news of their marriage swap spread among the aristocratic circles, and she even secretly said that it was Xu Qingyan's plan out of greed and vanity.

Now, when many noble ladies saw Xu Qingyan, they naturally thought she was a scheming person, especially when there were many women who admired Pei Jingchuan, so they looked down on Xu Qingyan even more. It was as if Xu Qingyan married Pei Jingchuan, which was a defilement of the male god in their hearts, and they all looked at Xu Qingyan with eyes that hid knives.

"You...you are talking nonsense! This exchange of parents is just a misunderstanding, and it has nothing to do with my sister-in-law!" Pei Jinyu was so angry at Song Xiaoer's words that his face puffed up.

"Jin Yu, Xiao'er is not talking nonsense! Your sister-in-law is indeed a concubine's daughter. Everyone knows this. Don't be fooled by this scheming woman."

"That's right. Concubines are usually the most scheming. Many wealthy families favor concubines over wives, and even concubines go against legitimate daughters. My concubine is like this. She's always thinking about snatching things from me, the legitimate daughter!"

"Jin Yu, you are so kind that anyone can be your friend. We have been your friends for so many years, and we are now trying to persuade you with good intentions."

At this time, the women beside Song Xiaoer also started talking one after another.

Pei Jinyu was so angry with them that she told them all one by one, then looked at Xu Qingyan with a guilty and distressed look on her face and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry! I didn't expect them to be such people!"

Pei Jinyu originally wanted to bring Xu Qingyan here to make friends, but she didn't expect that bringing her here would be humiliating, which made Pei Jinyu feel very uncomfortable.

Xu Qingyan patted Pei Jinyu's hand, gave her a comforting smile, looked indifferently at the group of women who laughed at her, and said, "Are you jealous that a concubine like me can marry a young master with a heavenly appearance, while you ladies from high-class families can't even get a glance from my husband?"

After hearing Xu Qingyan's words, the women's eyes widened instantly. They never expected Xu Qingyan to say that.

At this time, Xu Qingyan smiled again and said to Song Xiaoer: "Song Xiaoer, ask yourself, is it because you have a crush on my husband that you are still unengaged at the age of sixteen? You are not willing to go and see him? Wenqing and you, others say that you are well-read and most men don't want to even look at you, but you have actually secretly looked at my husband several times behind his back. And you..." Xu Qingyan pointed at the women who had just laughed at her one by one and said with a smile.

At that moment, many women were horrified and even forgot to refute Xu Qingyan. They only felt that their faces were burning.

Xu Qingyan was right, they all admired Pei Jingchuan.