Guests walk along this path and then split into two groups at the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

As soon as Murong Yue appeared, both courtyards fell silent.

How can there be such a good-looking person in the world?

Her dress is so beautiful, is it only found in the capital?

The jewel on her head is huge!

Your skin looks so good.

The women looked on with envy.

Nobody's jealous, because they're leaving in a couple of days. What's there to be jealous of?

Men's thoughts are on another level.

This woman is truly a celestial being!

As expected of the child of the Minister of Revenue, even though he is a distant relative, he is raised so well.

The soil and water of the capital city are truly nourishing.

I wonder if this girl is married. If she could marry me, wouldn't that be...?

It's a pity that there are no suitable young men in the clan.

Murong Yue kept her eyes straight ahead, acting as if she were walking in the Hall of Diligent Governance, her demeanor unmatched by anyone.

Her position was naturally at the very front of the women's side.

Mrs. Du was accompanying him.

Qi Yuan could only stay at the entrance of the courtyard and could not come in.

Madam Du asked cautiously, "Miss Jiang, did you enjoy your time in Luocheng?"

Murong Yue ignored her and picked up the delicate pastries in front of her.

Before eating, take a small bite to make sure there are no disgusting toxins before putting it in your mouth.

And you must strictly follow Ah Hao's instructions; you can only eat one bite of each thing.

Because Ah Hao said that if someone wanted to poison His Majesty at such a large banquet, it was highly unlikely that everyone would die.

That means they would secretly poison whichever food His Majesty liked to eat.

You can get poisoned if you're not careful.

Moreover, Ah-Hao will openly test the poison for the main meal later.

It was Murong Yue's first time attending a banquet outside the palace, and she was very careful.

Ah Hao stepped aside and gave Madam Du a standard bow, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. Our young lady likes Luocheng very much."

But I don't like you guys.

Now that everyone is here, the ladies and young women, no matter what, must come up and greet them.

Murong Yue was very indifferent and ignored everyone.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they ignored him.

When I got back, I told my family that they were very aloof and wouldn't talk to us, so it's not our fault that we couldn't keep up.

The key issue is that Murong Yue ignores everyone.

This is much better than ignoring me and paying attention to you.

The ladies returned to their seats and began chatting in small groups.

As the head of the family, Du Ziming prepared to take Pan Cong over to greet them.

She also invited Gao Wenjie to join her, saying, "If Miss Jiang puts a good word for you in front of the Minister of Revenue, it will be a good thing for both Brother Gao and Luozhou."

Gao Wenjie waved his hand, "My old face is not worthy of their attention, I won't go and spoil their fun."

He didn't go because everyone would die after today, so why bother disgusting people?

Cao Gu naturally didn't go either.

When the head of the Du family came over, the unmarried young ladies all stood up to avoid him.

“Miss Jiang, my name is Du Ziming, and I am the head of the Du family in Luozhou.”

"This Pan Cong is a good friend of mine."

Ah Hao stepped forward, completely blocking Murong Yue's view.

He mentally scoffed, thinking, "They really bring all sorts of filthy and smelly things to His Majesty's presence."

Pan Cong's effeminate manner makes him seem better at embroidery than I am.

"I'm really sorry, Patriarch Du, but my young lady is not yet married."

As the head of the household, you disregard the reputation of a young lady in order to curry favor with the Minister of Revenue.

Although this happened in public, it was still against the rules.

"Yes, yes, yes, I was presumptuous."

After saying that, he gave Madam Du a wink.

Just then, the servants started serving the dishes, and Madam Du immediately served Murong Yue a bowl of soup herself.

"Please, Miss Jiang, try the unique cooking of our Du family's chef. This chef is a retired imperial chef from the capital."

"My specialty is Three-Smoked Poria Chicken."

Murong Yue raised an eyebrow.

How come she doesn't know this dish?

"I wonder if Miss Jiang drinks? You could try this Drunken Jiangnan, it's a treasure from Master Gao's collection," Du Ziming added from the side.

From a distance, Gao Wenjie couldn't hear the conversation on this side; he could only vaguely see Du Ziming pouring wine.

The hand holding the wine glass tightened unconsciously.

"My young lady doesn't drink alcohol."

Du Ziming expressed his understanding, saying that it was better for a young lady to be a little more precious.

After this meal, he would use some more tricks, and he didn't believe the other party wouldn't take advantage of him.

He left with Pan Cong as if nothing had happened, and stood in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, raising his wine glass.

"Thank you all for gracing us with this banquet today."

"As you all know, this fundraising event is for the drought relief efforts in Los Angeles. We hope you will all support us in the future."

With this kind of behavior, anyone who didn't know better would think that Du Ziming was the prefect of Luozhou.

In front of Madam Du, Ah Hao took out silver needles and tested each dish for poison.

Madam Du could no longer maintain her smile.

But it's not easy to say anything.

After confirming that there was no poison, Ahao gave Murong Yue a small bite of each dish.

Murong Yue slowly picked up a bright green pea, put it in her mouth, and then spat it out.

"The imperial chef is just so-so."

Then he stopped eating altogether.

Madam Du was both angry and annoyed.

Needless to say, the food prepared by her own chef is incredibly delicious; she can't live without it.

Previously, because of her husband's particular preferences, she would frequently return to her parents' home.

But after returning home, nothing tasted right; it was as if every bone in my body was longing for home-cooked meals.

Later, she simply turned a blind eye to it.

It's just a gadget; let your husband play with it if he likes it.

Playing with men is better than playing with women; at least Pan Cong won't have an illegitimate child.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!