At the welcoming banquet, everyone had their own thoughts, and some people privately speculated whether the Crown Princess had really offended the Crown Prince.
"The Crown Princess has a pretty face but a spoiled temper. In particular, she has been pampered by Princess Jia Hua all these years. Tell me, which man could stand it?"
"Who would have thought that the Crown Princess would fall out of favor so quickly?"
"Tsk tsk, nothing lasts forever. If the Crown Princess falls out of favor, her life will be miserable."
Xu Lingqing listened to the whispers of the ladies and couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. Song Yue had finally met her match!
God has truly opened his eyes.
On the contrary, the two princes who came from afar showed her concern and care, and their words revealed that they had a close relationship.
Many people turned around and fawned over Xu Lingqing.
This pleased Xu Lingqing greatly.
The only regret is not being able to see Song Yue.
She couldn't stop sighing, and her face was often etched with worry.
Seeing this, Xuanyuan Ming couldn't help but ask, "Sister Qing, what's wrong?"
Xu Lingqing stammered, and finally her maid spoke for her: "Every time the Crown Princess is in a bad mood or suffers setbacks, someone in the palace will be unlucky. The Princess feels sorry for those people."
Xuan Yuanming scoffed, "Such a vicious woman doesn't deserve to live in this world."
"Don't say that. Actually, the Crown Princess isn't a bad person at heart. She was sent to the estate for thirteen years when she was very young and suffered a lot, which is why she developed such an extreme personality." Xu Lingqing spoke up for her with a kind and magnanimous demeanor.
Xuan Yuanming felt even more that Sister Qing was still as gentle and kind as ever.
It's all Song Yue's fault!
"The Eighth Prince's Consort".
Amber, holding a bowl of golden bird's nest, walked up to her and said carefully, "The Crown Princess heard that you had come and wanted to meet you to catch up, but she caught a cold and was not fit to receive guests. She also heard that you are pregnant, so she specially sent me to bring you bird's nest to nourish your body."
The blood bird's nest was presented to Xu Lingqing.
She glanced at it, her face turned pale, and her fists clenched tightly under her sleeves, because the blood bird's nest was carved into the shape of a painting.
This is Song Yue warning her.
Xu Lingqing's palms clenched so tightly they hurt terribly before she regained a sliver of reason. She held a handkerchief to her lips and said, "I've found the smell of such bloody things uncomfortable these past two days, but thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."
Seeing Xu Lingqing refuse, Amber said, "Is the Eighth Princess going to disappoint the Crown Princess's good intentions?"
“This…” Xu Lingqing looked troubled and looked at Xuan Yuanming with a wronged expression.
Xuanyuan Ming stepped forward: "This Blood Swallow looks a bit strange. Could it be that something it shouldn't have put there was?"
Xu Lingqing covered her mouth in surprise and shrank back in fear: "No, no way, the Crown Princess really wants to harm me?"
Amber knelt down with a thud: "The Crown Princess meant well by nourishing you, how could she harm you? Your Highness has misunderstood."
Before Amber could continue explaining, Xuanyuan Ming gestured for someone to examine the needle. The guard took out a silver needle and examined it in front of everyone; the needle's color remained unchanged.
Xu Lingqing pretended to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Eighth Princess Consort, I know your resentment towards the Crown Princess isn't new. If you hadn't insisted on going to the Eighth Prince's residence back then, relying on your status as a princess sent to Japan for a political marriage, my mistress wouldn't have become estranged from the Eighth Prince. You went to the northern frontier with the Eighth Prince for three years, and my mistress stayed indoors. I never expected you to return unfaithfully, pregnant. For the sake of harmony between the two countries, my mistress relinquished the position of Eighth Princess Consort. Why are you being so aggressive, pretending to be pitiful and causing people to misunderstand the Crown Princess? The Crown Princess is just straightforward and rarely makes enemies. Today, she kindly sent you bird's nest, and you..."
Amber was incredibly quick-witted; she revealed all of Xu Lingqing's past in one swift motion, and even wiped her eyes as she did so.
He picked up the bird's nest soup and drank it all in one gulp, his neck stiff: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess has absolutely no intention of harming you. Please, for the sake of harmony between our two countries, show some leniency."
After saying this, Amber kowtowed repeatedly to Xu Lingqing, then stood up, bowed, and retreated.
Xu Lingqing's face changed from pale to ashen, filled with anger and rage. Her hand trembled as she pointed at Amber's retreating figure, while she clutched her lower abdomen and cried out in pain.
"The Eighth Princess Consort's condition flared up after only a little over a month?"
A woman nearby voiced her doubts, scoffing, "Most of the women here have given birth before. At over a month, they're only the size of a grain of rice. If it weren't for the Eighth Princess's keen observation, we wouldn't even know they're pregnant yet."
A burst of laughter came from all around.
The people looked at Xu Lingqing with mockery and ridicule.
Xu Lingqing's face instantly burned, her heart pounded, and she looked at Xuan Yuanming with a wronged expression. Before Xuan Yuanming could speak, Madam Jiang said with a smile, "When this Sixth Prince questioned Xue Yan just now, I thought he was just a young man with superb medical skills who could tell something was wrong with just a glance."
One sentence left Xuan Yuanming stunned.
"Is there some kind of conflict between the Sixth Prince and the Crown Princess?" Yunke turned his head to look at Xuanyuan Ming.
Xuanyuan Ming immediately shook his head: "Never."
Seeing this, Xuan Yuanche quickly gave Xuan Yuanming a wink and explained with a smile, "Ming'er is indeed studying medicine, but he is not very skilled. He may have felt that the bird's nest was not cooked properly just now, which is why he said a few words rashly. He had no intention of targeting the Crown Princess."
With this excuse, Xuanyuan Ming had no choice but to go along with it.
Yun Ke's expression softened slightly: "I see. I thought the Sixth Prince had heard something and misunderstood the Crown Princess."
"How could that be?" Xuan Yuanche said with a gentle smile.
Seeing this, how many people present couldn't see that Xu Lingqing must have been complaining to the two princes behind their backs? Otherwise, Xuanyuan Ming wouldn't have been so hostile towards the Crown Princess.
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