Upon hearing this, Consort Wei immediately understood that Li Xiang must have someone he liked, and that person was on the guest list for the banquet.

Consort Wei, having thought this through, was no longer in a hurry. She figured that if she observed Li Xiang closely during the banquet and looked at whoever he was looking at, she could get a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Just as the two of them bypassed the East Pavilion and were about to pass through the Hongwen Hall and enter the Wude Hall, they saw Wu Meiniang leading several palace maids towards them.

"This concubine greets Consort Wei!"

The moment Consort Wei saw Wu Meiniang, the smile on her face vanished.

Actually, he used to like Wu Zetian quite a bit, but after being tricked by her during their last lake trip, he started to dislike her.

In his opinion, this woman was too scheming and too audacious, daring to even make jokes about His Majesty.

What are you doing here?

"I heard that Consort Wei is going to hold a banquet, so I volunteered to come and help!"

"help?"

"Hmph!"

"I dare not trouble Consort Wu with your presence!"

Wu Meiniang was an extremely shrewd person. Upon hearing this, she knew that Consort Wei had a problem with her, so she immediately curtsied.

"You flatter me, Consort Wei. I am not worthy of such an honor."

"If I have offended you in any way, I apologize to Consort Wei right now. If Consort Wei is still not appeased, then perhaps she can strike Meiniang a few times?"

As Wu Meiniang spoke, she offered her face to Consort Wei for her to slap. Consort Wei had never seen anything like this before and was immediately at a loss for what to do.

"never mind!"

"Who has time to get angry with a slut like you!"

"Sister Wei is no longer angry with Mei Niang?"

"I'm not having any more children!"

"Since Sister Wei isn't angry anymore, let's have Meiniang do something..."

Consort Wei was completely bewildered by Wu Zetian's persistent and shameless attitude, and had no choice but to give a perfunctory reply.

"Go to the Imperial Kitchen and see if the candied fruit is ready yet!"

"promise!"

Wu Meiniang gracefully departed, only glancing at Li Xiang twice before leaving.

He had known Li Xiang for a long time, but hadn't seen him for several years. He never expected Li Xiang to have grown into such a handsome young man.

Li Xiang blushed instantly after being glanced at by Wu Meiniang a few times.

He was about the same age as Li Zhi, but Li Zhi had already married and even had a son, while he had been observing mourning for his parents until today.

Li Xiang dared not meet Wu Meiniang's gaze and could only bow his head in greeting.

"Respectfully bidding farewell to Consort Wu!"

Wu Meiniang chuckled upon hearing this. If it weren't for Consort Wei's presence, she would have definitely teased this young man quite a bit.

After seeing Wu Meiniang walk away, Consort Wei spat at her retreating figure.

What kind of greeting did you give her?

"They are still our elders, so we should still observe proper etiquette..."

Consort Wei curled her lip in disdain upon hearing this.

"she?"

"elder?"

"Look at her seductive manner, she doesn't act like an elder at all!"

"Let's go, let's hurry to the Wude Hall, I'll introduce you to some ladies from noble families..."

Li Xiang followed Consort Wei into the Wude Hall, only to find that the hall was already filled with noblewomen, ladies from prominent families, and young men of all kinds.

However, the men and women were clearly separated, standing on opposite sides, only able to look at each other from afar.

When everyone saw Consort Wei, they all stepped forward to pay their respects.

In the absence of an empress, Consort Wei was the de facto ruler of the harem. Therefore, Consort Wei accepted their greetings without hesitation and then gracefully entered the Wude Hall.

But before leaving, he didn't forget to remind Li Xiang.

"Xiang'er, hurry up and follow me!"

"promise!"

When everyone saw that Li Xiang was able to enter the palace with Consort Wei, they immediately started gossiping.

"Huh, who is this person? How come Consort Wei is treating him so well?"

"You don't recognize this person?"

"This man is Li Xiang, the son of the late Crown Prince!"

"Li Xiang?"

"The eldest son of the deposed crown prince?"

"Yes!"

"This person is quite capable; he actually managed to win over Consort Wei's favor..."

"well!"

"You don't understand, do you? This Li Xiang isn't anything special, but he has a good younger brother. His brother is a favorite of His Majesty, and His Majesty even takes him with him on the eastern expedition against Goguryeo..."

"Oh, I see..."

Hearing the whispers around her, Yan Shu immediately lowered her head in embarrassment.

She had already learned from her mother that her marriage to Li Xiang was basically settled. If it weren't for His Majesty's eastern expedition last year, they might have been married by now.

Based on this, she wasn't very wary of Li Xiang, and even boldly gave him her handkerchief.

However, she felt a little uncomfortable listening to people talking about Li Xiang.

Why say that about Li Xiang? Li Xiang himself was quite a handsome man...

I just don't know how talented Li Xiang is. I'll have to ask him to compose a few poems at the banquet later...

no!

If Li Xiang couldn't compose poetry, wouldn't he be embarrassed in public?

Just as Yan Shu was lost in thought, the personal maid of Consort Wei came out.

Consort Wei ordered everyone to enter the palace!

"promise!"

The crowd filed into the hall, where they found the entrance filled with palace maids, and next to them a eunuch holding a list and reading out names one by one.

"Madam Cheng of the Duke of Lu's Mansion?"

"I am here!"

"Mrs. Cheng, please take a seat!"

"Mrs. Li of the British Palace..."

"This old woman is here..."

"Please come with me, Madam Li..."

Upon seeing this, Yan Shu immediately sensed the strictness of the royal family's rules.

It turns out that even a simple banquet has so many rules; everyone's seating arrangements have to be decided in advance...

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