However, even with just this one thing, if she can keep it from being discovered by the other party, she can still gain a lot.

Mrs. Yang invited Zoya to her table as a guest, wanting to apologize on behalf of Yang Jie for his offense in the suburbs.

Since it was an apology, Zoya, even as a princess from a foreign land, couldn't refuse, otherwise people would think she was heartless. She readily agreed and went with them.

When they arrived at the seat where Madam Yang was to sit, Zoya generously took the seat of honor that Madam Yang had instructed the servants to prepare before inviting her. Madam Yang sat to the side at the lower end. Although it had a hint of the guest taking the host's seat, Zoya was a princess and her status was much higher than Madam Yang's. This seating arrangement was an ancestral custom, so no one found it strange.

In another direction of the hunting grounds, many palace servants and eunuchs were busy preparing food and supplies for the Empress Dowager and the princesses, noblewomen, and ladies of nobility who accompanied her.

"Yuehe, Qingyuan, you two come here." The old eunuch of the imperial kitchen looked around and saw that the two young palace maids were idle, so he beckoned to them.

Because Princess Zoya and Madam Yang were not people to be trifled with, the two young palace maids, under the old eunuch's instructions, dared not be negligent in the slightest and hurriedly carried their trays to the table where the Empress Dowager and other ladies of the court were seated.

Unexpectedly, perhaps because they were walking too fast, Yuehe, who was walking ahead, bumped into Xiao Luzi, the apprentice of the eunuch in charge of the hunting grounds, who was also walking hurriedly from another direction.

"Ouch! Who's this? Can't you watch where you're going?" Little Lu fell flat on his back and couldn't help but yell.

"Eunuch Lu..." Yuehe exclaimed, not even having time to pick up the tray she was holding, as she rushed to help Little Lu. After all, "a local official is more powerful than a distant one," and Little Lu was her superior's apprentice. If she didn't take good care of him and he went to the head eunuch to spread rumors, she would be in big trouble.

Seeing this, Qingyuan, who was walking behind Yuehe, quickly put the tray she was carrying on a long stone bench built along the path. She said, "Yuehe, how could you be so careless!" while helping Yuehe pick up the tray. After picking it up, she also checked the wine for Yuehe and said, "Luckily, only a few drops of wine were spilled in the wine pot, otherwise how would you explain it!"

Xiao Luzi, who had been helped up by Yuehe, rubbed his sore bottom and complained, "I know you're busy, but you should watch where you're going!"

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault!" Yuehe could only quickly nod and bow in apology. In fact, she felt that Xiao Luzi was not watching where he was going, but she dared not say it!

"Alright, hurry up and go, don't delay serving the masters wine!" Xiao Lu waved generously.

Yuehe bowed and responded, then turned to take the tray that Qingyuan had rearranged. She shook the wine pot to confirm that what Qingyuan said was true, and only then did her heart relax a little.

The two palace maids continued walking briskly towards the banquet area, and after a short while, they served the masters wine and then withdrew.

Zoya craned her neck to look into the distance, then suddenly pointed and said, "Madam Yang, look over there, isn't that your Master Yang?"

Li turned her head and looked in the direction she was pointing, craning her neck as well. But no matter how she looked, she could only see lush green forests and no one at all. She asked curiously, "Where are they?"

Zoya said, "Oh dear, they've already disappeared into the woods, they can't be seen anymore."

"Oh," Li said somewhat awkwardly.

Zoya said, "Let's drink!" She sniffed the wine from the spout and laughed, "It's actually my favorite mare's milk wine. I didn't expect they would have it here."

She had previously drunk mare's milk wine at the imperial palace and post stations in the capital, so she naturally knew it was specially prepared for her by the Ministry of Rites. She had thought she wouldn't be able to drink it elsewhere in the Eastern Chu Kingdom, after all, this wasn't the Western Wan Kingdom, and few people here liked to drink mare's milk wine.

Seeing this, Madam Li also smelled the wine that had just been served to her. She recognized it as her favorite Zhuyeqing wine, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. She thought to herself, "This Manager Chen of the hunting grounds is indeed a man of good character. No wonder my husband has always valued him so much."

All the talented young men had already gone into the mountains to hunt, and those sitting here were all women. Apart from the hunters at the edge of the mountains, they could not see the people deep in the forest, so most of them were eating and chatting.

Li Shi received Yang Jie's instructions. Although she knew her husband's temperament and that Princess Zoya was probably telling the truth, she and Yang Jie were husband and wife, sharing a common destiny. Therefore, when Yang Jie asked her to apologize to Zoya on his behalf during the hunt and appease her, she did not refuse.

Therefore, during the meal, she said some nice things to Zoya and apologized quite a bit. Zoya generously said that she thought she was a good person and would not hold a grudge against Yang Jie for her sake.

Hearing this, Li felt relieved and thought she would go back and take credit with Yang Jie. She also wanted to discuss the matter further: as a woman, she had resolved this issue for Yang Jie, so shouldn't he relinquish some benefits? The estate Yang Jie had just acquired was quite good…

As she pondered this, she felt something was wrong with her body. Her vision became blurry, and she couldn't help but wonder: she usually had a good alcohol tolerance, so how could she feel so tipsy after just one drink?

“Mrs. Yang, you don’t look well. Would you like to rest for a bit?” Zoya asked with a smile.

"Hmm..." Madam Li felt that leaving was not in accordance with the way of hospitality. She wanted to say "No need to rest," but before she could speak, she felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She could only reply, "Alright. Princess, please sit down for a while. I'll be right back."

"Don't worry about me, you just rest," Zoya said magnanimously, waving her hand.

A maidservant came and helped Li Shi away. Li Shi was still dizzy and didn't immediately realize that the person helping her wasn't from the Yang household. After lying on the bed for a while, she heard people talking outside, addressing her as "Emperor" and "Your Majesty," and wondered: Why wasn't the Emperor hunting at this time, but instead came here?

In her dazed state, she struggled to open her eyes and saw a dragon robe swaying before her. Startled, she quickly sat up and cried out, "Your Majesty!"

The other party didn't respond, but the dragon robe fell to the ground, startling her: the Emperor was changing clothes here, which meant... it meant...

Her face flushed instantly: so the Emperor had feelings for her. How could she not have thought of that sooner? Compared to Yang Jie, she actually preferred the Emperor. But back then, the Empress Dowager had forced her to marry Yang Jie, and she dared not refuse!

A moment later, the emperor and several close military officers were hunting together when they suddenly heard a woman's voice calling "Your Majesty" from afar.