Sitting to the side, Song Ruoan finally understood what had happened.
Her eyes flickered slightly, and in an instant, a plan came to mind.
After the group returned to their residence, Song Ruoan hurriedly told Zhao Qianlan her idea while Song Juncai was washing up.
"Mother, do you have any romantic relationships with any of the empresses or noble ladies in the palace?"
Zhao Qianlan didn't know why Song Ruoan suddenly brought this up: "What are you planning to do?"
Song Ruoan recalled all the things she had encountered at the Song family's old residence these past few days, and her face was filled with undisguised hatred for Song Xizhi:
“That bitch Song Xizhi not only instigated Grandmother to torment our family, but also brought Grandmother to frame you, Mother, and sow discord between you and Father!”
"This birthday banquet is not only a great opportunity for Yun Ce and his father to turn the tide, but I also want to take advantage of this opportunity to crush Song Xizhi!"
Upon hearing about methods to deal with Song Xizhi, Zhao Qianlan instantly perked up: "So what do you plan to do?"
“My husband happens to be working at the Ministry of Rites. If you have connections in the palace, we can all work together to make Song Xizhi offend the Empress Dowager. Then Song Xizhi will definitely be dismissed and investigated, and he will be hard-pressed to escape the death penalty.”
"I'd like to know what Song Xizhi has left to compete with me if he loses that prestigious official position!"
Zhao Qianlan nodded, her eyes sparkling: "Alright! Since you're going to do it, your mother will naturally seek help from a benefactor no matter what!"
Although she had no connections in the palace, Zhao Qingshu did!
Now that the two are so close, wouldn't Zhao Qingshu's network be her network as well?
...
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a month has passed. It is time for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, which the Zhao family, including He Yunce and Song Juncai, have been eagerly anticipating.
The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet was held in Huaqing Palace.
Huaqing Palace was an imperial detached palace, a separate palace on the outskirts of Beijing. It was used as a bathing and recuperation place for the emperor and his concubines. The scenery here is beautiful and refreshing, and it is also closer to Heyan Mountain.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager specifically requested that this birthday banquet be held here.
Huaqing Palace is not far from the capital. If you want to return to the capital directly, it only takes half an hour.
So on the day of the birthday banquet, gongs and drums resounded and firecrackers crackled, and princes, nobles, court officials and their relatives all left the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.
The entire Huaqing Palace, inside and out, was decorated with lanterns and colorful ribbons, with red lanterns and colorful silks hanging at the four corners of the palace.
When Song Xizhi and Lady Xin, Liang Yongshu, arrived at Huaqing Palace, the main palace where the banquet was to be held had not yet opened.
After everyone signed the sign-in book in front of the palace, servants presented the prepared birthday gifts, which were then registered and received by special personnel from the Ministry of Rites. After that, everyone could enter Yongshou Garden to wait.
Yongshou Garden displays flowers symbolizing good fortune and longevity, such as chrysanthemums and peonies. It also features a longevity hall with longevity chairs, incense tables, and incense burners and candlesticks.
The scene was magnificent and spectacular.
Before Song Xizhi and Liang Yongshu could even relax and enjoy the view, a palace maid approached them and directed them to the pavilion in the center of the garden.
Since it was the Empress's invitation, the two could not refuse and walked without stopping until they reached the pavilion in the center of the garden.
The pavilion was already filled with people, mostly concubines from the imperial harem and relatives of court officials who had been invited.
After careful observation, Song Xizhi discovered many familiar ladies and young women among them.
The atmosphere was pleasant; everyone was talking about the latest happenings in the capital, including the recent uproar over the birthday gift.
The arrival of Song Xizhi and Liang Yongshu did not break the lively atmosphere. After bowing to Consort Li and the other concubines, they were shown two seats and sat down quietly.
At this moment, everyone was talking about a rare treasure that His Highness Prince Yu had obtained, and Consort Liang also had a faint smile on her face.
Liang Yongshu had also heard about it, so she turned to Song Xizhi and whispered, "Have you heard? Prince Yu received a once-in-a-million birthday gift and will invite Buddha to attend the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet."
Song Xizhi nodded with a smile: "Actually, I have heard of it."
The other ladies were also taken aback by these words: "Such a thing actually exists in the world? Then this is probably not a birthday gift, but a magical artifact offered to the gods!"
"Your Highness must have such great filial piety to receive this item. We are truly fortunate to be able to benefit from it today. We can't wait to see it now."
The ladies present were all shrewd and intelligent. They might not have believed the alarmist claims at all, but they still had to pretend to be surprised and offer a few words of flattery.
Consort Li remained expressionless and silent, while Consort Liang's smile grew increasingly genuine.
Princess Jingyue, the biological daughter of Consort Liang, was extremely pleased with herself. She was not yet of marriageable age and was wearing a bright red palace dress.
Her beautiful face made her look like a celestial child bestowing blessings, while her pampered and spoiled life made her tender little face look like a proud peacock.
"It's natural for you to be surprised, because it's a wonder of the world that none of you have ever seen before. It will definitely open your eyes to a whole new world."
"However, the imperial brothers will present birthday gifts to the imperial grandmother in front of her at the birthday banquet to make her happy, so we will not see the earth-shattering things that the imperial brothers have found yet."
Upon hearing Princess Jingyue's words, all the ladies displayed admiring and expectant expressions on their faces.
"We're really going to have a feast for the eyes then!"
Princess Jingyue nodded, a proud smile playing on her lips, revealing an enigmatic expression: "Since we can't see what my brother has prepared, let's take a look at the birthday gifts that the other housekeepers' wives have given to our grandmother."
As she spoke, she looked in Song Xizhi's direction with a half-smile: "The ladies' birthday gifts were presented when they entered the garden. I heard that Lady He from the Marquis of Anding's residence sent a rare treasure that is no less valuable than my brother's!"
Everyone present turned their heads in surprise, focusing their gaze on Song Xizhi's face. Their eyes held surprise, worry, and even schadenfreude.
Liang Yongshu's heart tightened. She looked at Song Xizhi beside her and hurriedly said, "We women in the inner quarters just stay at home every day, reciting scriptures and embroidering when we have nothing to do. How could we possibly send a birthday gift that can rival His Highness Prince Yu?"
"Your Highness must have misheard!"
It should be understood that Princess Jingyue's act of opening Song Xizhi's birthday gift in front of everyone was inherently insulting.
And she said such things that if the things Song Xizhi gave her were not presentable, it would be like putting her on the hot seat and making her the laughing stock of the entire capital.
That's why Leung Wing-shu was so flustered and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
Although Princess Jingyue was meeting Song Xizhi for the first time today, she was unwilling to let her off easily: "No one knows what Madam He gave us yet, so how can you say it's not a good match?"
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