Day 9.

Ye Qingxue woke up in bed feeling even weaker than yesterday.

She originally planned to rest well for the last two days, talk with everyone, make arrangements for her life after spring, summer, autumn and winter, and then slowly wait for death to come.

Now there's an added requirement: write letters for Granny Xing in advance, dozens of them, and send one a year.

But today I still have to attend the Queen's flower-viewing banquet.

The red lines on my palm can be described as densely packed.

Chunqian and Xialu were helping her choose jewelry and clothes, respectively, both with red eyes.

After dressing up, Chunqian couldn't help but say, "What if Granny Xing misses you and insists on coming to the Marquis's mansion to visit you? Besides, she'll always be concerned about your marriage."

Ye Qingxue had already thought this through: "When she arrives, I'll have Cunsi tell her that I've gone sightseeing. You can send her the letter I wrote in advance from somewhere else."

Dongbai, who was waiting outside, wiped his eyes.

Ye Qingxue came out wearing an ice-blue dress. It was still cold in early spring, so she draped a light blue cloak over her shoulders. At her waist was a light blue snow lotus pendant adorned with blue tassels.

Because it was a flower-viewing banquet hosted by the Empress, many noble ladies and ladies from prominent families were invited. When Ye Qingxue arrived, she found the palace gate already crowded and lively.

Ye Qingxue and Qiu Shen dismounted from the carriage and prepared to line up to enter the palace.

Many people looked at her and whispered to her.

Some praised her for her achievements, noting that she had accomplished two great feats in less than half a month since returning to the capital. Immediately, others countered that she was pitiful; what good were her achievements if she was still rejected by Prince Ding? Who would dare marry her after that?

Some praised her for her beauty and good family background. Others immediately retorted, saying that she grew up in a rural village, had little manners, was no different from a country girl, and had been rejected by Prince Ding, so no one would dare to marry her in the future.

Ye Qingxue heard it clearly and understood it perfectly.

In the end, everything comes down to the conclusion that "after she was rejected by Prince Ding, no one dared to marry her."

Some even gave her a disdainful look and sneered, "Don't think that just because you can attend the Empress's flower-viewing banquet, you can be on equal footing with us."

Ye Qingxue remembered who the person in front of her was.

Ning Rong, the daughter of the Prime Minister Ning family.

She is the cousin of the deposed Crown Prince Yun Zhuo.

The man who used to claim that Yun Zhuo was pestering her to marry was someone she didn't want to marry, otherwise she would have suffered the same fate as the deposed crown prince.

"So this is the eldest daughter of the Ye family. I've heard so much about you." Amidst the various sarcastic remarks, a cheerful male voice suddenly rang out from not far away.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice, their expressions changed slightly, and they immediately bowed, saying, "Greetings, Seventh Prince!"

The Seventh Prince alighted from his carriage and walked towards Ye Qingxue. "These past few days, the name of the eldest daughter of the Ye family has been legendary to me. Meeting her today, I can see that her reputation is well-deserved. It's crowded here; I wonder if Miss Ye would be willing to accompany me to the palace?"

Ye Qingxue could sense that Ning Rong's gaze towards her was filled with resentment and malice.

If eyes had a physical form, she would probably have been riddled with holes by now.

"Thank you, Seventh Prince. I will gladly accept your offer," Ye Qingxue said. Feeling unwell, she didn't want to waste time and energy queuing here and having to listen to those harsh words.

I decided to follow the Seventh Prince.

Each carriage could only go as far as the palace gate. Upon entering the palace, one had to be searched, and once inside, one could only walk.

The guards at the palace gate, as well as the eunuchs and maids inside the palace, clearly recognized the Seventh Prince and treated him with great respect.

Ye Qingxue followed behind him, no longer hearing those unpleasant whispers and gossip.

However, she noticed a colorful little bird on the seventh prince's shoulder, which must be his pet.

He was dressed in a beige brocade robe, seemingly trying to project a dashing and debonair image, but he was rather overweight and didn't fit the dashing and debonair image at all, though he did have a certain approachable quality to him.

Moreover, he has fair skin, thick, shiny, and clean hair, likes to laugh, and is not excessively fat, so he doesn't have a greasy feeling.

It would only make people think of him as a kind, honest, and approachable person.

This is indeed quite rare among the many princes vying for power.

Once they reached the path, the guards and palace servants had gone far away. The Seventh Prince then took the initiative to introduce his bird to Ye Qingxue: "This bird of mine is called Little Embroidered Ball. Isn't it cute? When it spreads its wings and flies, it's just like a colorful embroidered ball. Would you like to talk to it?"

The Seventh Prince stretched out his palm towards the little embroidered ball, which flew into his palm. He then dragged the little embroidered ball and handed it to Ye Qingxue.

Ye Qingxue wasn't actually very interested in other people's pets.

She only likes her own pets.

However, she couldn't refuse the Seventh Prince's hospitality, so she politely went over to take a look. Unexpectedly, a sharp sound suddenly pierced the sky, startling the little embroidered ball, which flapped its wings and flew away instantly.

The Seventh Prince's expression changed drastically. He tried to chase after it, but couldn't catch up at all. Then, a fork in the road appeared ahead. He stamped his foot in frustration: "Miss Ye, could you take this road and help me find Little Embroidered Ball?"

His eyes were red with anxiety, and he blurted out, "I'm worried that the sharp sound just now was aimed at Little Embroidered Ball. Someone once tried to kill it."

“Okay, I’ll go this way.” Ye Qingxue also found the sharp voice from earlier quite strange, so she agreed.

But she added, "I can only help the Seventh Prince search for one hour. No matter the outcome, I cannot continue the search. I cannot be late for the Empress's flower-viewing banquet."

The Seventh Prince cupped his hands in thanks: "I understand. Thank you, Miss Ye. If you find the little embroidered ball, I will definitely repay you handsomely in the future."

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