Qin Kou'er nodded, then turned to look at Lan Linxue: "You should hurry up and go find the Emperor! Don't waste time with me here, or the Emperor will be unhappy if he sees this!"

Lan Linxue pouted and muttered under her breath, "That old man always manages to think of things that make him unhappy! There's really no one else like him!"

Looking up, Lan Linxue carefully gave Qin Kou'er another few words of advice, and then obediently turned and left.

He knew that at this time, it was best not to anger Lan Shanyang, and even more importantly, not to let anyone see that he was plotting something.

After Lan Linxue left, Qin Kou'er turned to Qu Feng'er and said softly, "There are many people around now, so you should first check out the surrounding terrain. Remember to try your best not to be discovered. Have you all memorized the Empress's Qin Kou'er map?"

Qu Feng'er nodded: "I've already remembered! I'll take Ling'er there now, but you mustn't let Hai Tian leave your side! I heard what Hai Tian said yesterday, you didn't even get to eat snake gall this morning, I hope nothing else goes wrong. Don't worry, Ling'er and I will be right back after we take a look, we won't waste any time."

Qin Kou'er nodded, "Don't worry. Just be careful in everything you do."

As she spoke, Qin Kou'er pointed to the purse on her person, "I've already brought Granny Qin's purse. Don't worry, ordinary things can't do anything to me! Just, you all need to be very careful!"

Qu Feng'er immediately nodded, and then, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, she and Ling'er quietly disappeared into the crowd.

Qin Kou'er breathed a sigh of relief after they left, and said to Hai Feng beside her, "Now it's just the two of us by the river, so you need to be careful."

Hai Tian nodded. "Don't worry, Master, I know what to do! There are two brothers outside looking after us!"

Qin Kou'er nodded, satisfied with her arrangements.

Looking around, the number of people was neither too many nor too few.

However, it was mostly the men who gathered together, while the young ladies remained in the inner courtyard, shy and timid.

Only the ladies from the various households who knew each other were chatting animatedly, pointing to their own daughters and trying to find a suitable candidate among the men outside.

Qin Kou'er ignored all of this; she was simply keeping a close eye on Lan Xiuyuan, watching to see how he would win over the second young lady of the Jiang family.

Lan Xiuyuan seemed even less anxious, simply talking gently with the noble young men outside.

Just then, someone outside suddenly shouted, "The Seventh Princess Consort has arrived!"

Everyone immediately stood up and looked respectfully at the doorway.

Shu Lingxi walked in with a smile amidst everyone's attention.

"Greetings, Seventh Princess Consort!"

Everyone bowed in respect.

Shu Lingxi smiled and nodded, "Get up, everyone!"

As she spoke, Shu Lingxi walked in confidently.

The noble ladies all rushed forward to curry favor, but Qin Kou'er remained standing in the corner, smiling slightly.

Shu Lingxi responded politely, but when she saw Qin Kou'er, her eyes lit up immediately. After nodding to everyone, she broke through the crowd and walked towards Qin Kou'er.

Qin Kou'er quickly bowed in greeting, but this aroused the curiosity of the women behind her. Who was this beautiful girl they had never seen before?

"Why are you being so polite, Kou'er?"

Shu Lingxi smiled and kindly helped Qin Kou'er up. Then, as the two drew closer, Shu Lingxi suddenly whispered in Qin Kou'er's ear, "I took the medicine Mr. Jun prescribed for me yesterday!"

Qin Kou'er was taken aback, then immediately looked up and asked softly, "How is it?"

Shu Lingxi nodded with a face full of joy, "I feel so comfortable all over!"

Qin Kou'er chuckled, "Your Highness, aren't you being a little too hasty?"

Shu Lingxi smiled, then stood side by side with Qin Kou'er and whispered, "If you get married and don't have children for ten years, do you think you'll be worried?"

As she spoke, Shu Lingxi realized something was amiss and quickly spat twice, "What jinx! If you marry my nephew, you must have a child immediately. That's the most important foundation of our Lan family!"

Qin Kou'er couldn't help but smile when she heard Shu Lingxi say that.

Then there seems to be no need to rush, because her belly is much more promising than others.

Just as the two were talking, the sounds of bells and drums suddenly rang out from outside.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Sure enough, "His Majesty and His Highness the Imperial Concubine have arrived!"

A long shout made everyone kneel down.

Only Shu Lingxi performed the half-body bow.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Lan Shanyang walked in with a smile amidst the crowd's worship.

He was accompanied not only by Lan Linxue, but also by Hu Qianyu, who had been humiliated the night before, and Xu Jinlan, who was eager to watch the spectacle.

Lan Shanyang walked to the central seat and sat down, then waved his hand to the people below: "Get up, everyone, no need to kneel!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

A large group of people suddenly stood up again.

Lan Shanyang looked much better today, and seemed to be smiling at everyone.

To Qin Kou'er's slight surprise, Hu Qianyu's expression was also very good.

Not only was her makeup impeccable, but even her expression was gentle and beautiful beyond compare. Her gaze towards Lan Shanyang was still filled with admiration and adoration.

Qin Kou'er couldn't help but feel slightly amazed. It seemed that Hu Qianyu was truly a capable person to have survived in this deep palace for so many years! She was definitely not a simple woman. Just the composure she displayed was remarkable!

In contrast, it's immediately obvious that Xu Jinlan is far inferior to Hu Qianyu.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!