"Miss, we need to go to the banquet now." Ruotang watched as Bai Tuantuan drove away down a secluded path, getting further and further away from the banquet hall, and felt a little anxious.
Bai Tuantuan nodded to indicate that she understood: "Don't worry, I've taken a shortcut, we can get there faster."
Ruotang exclaimed in surprise, "Miss, this is only the second time you've come to the palace..."
“I have a photographic memory,” Bai Tuantuan said with a smile. “Ning Nanxiao showed me the map of the palace, and I memorized it.”
Looking at the chubby little girl in front of her, Ruotang couldn't help but sigh in her heart. If she had grown up in the capital, she would probably have outshone all the noble ladies in the capital.
As expected, led by Bai Tuantuan, the two arrived at the banquet hall in just a third of the way. However, the emperor and others were already seated in the hall.
Ning Nanxiao kept looking outside, secretly anxious as he couldn't find Bai Tuantuan. He also felt annoyed and guilty for asking the newcomer Bai Tuantuan to look for him.
"Nanxiao?" Du Chunhua also noticed something was wrong with her son and asked in confusion, "What are you looking at?"
"Look at Tuan Tuan." Ning Nanxiao answered his mother reflexively. As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Du Chunhua looking at him with a teasing gaze. He was immediately embarrassed and annoyed, and briefly explained what had happened.
"How foolish!" Du Chunhua glared at Ning Nanxiao. "Why didn't you tell your mother?"
Du Chunhua quickly looked at Xiao Guangyuan, because of Xiao Guangyuan's rank, the Xiao family was seated in a position towards the back.
Xiao Guangyuan looked displeased and hissed, "Where's Bai Tuantuan? Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on her?"
Chen Zhixiu was already worried, and upon hearing Xiao Guangyuan's words, she had no desire to deal with him and simply ignored him.
Xiao Guangyuan received no response and became furious: "If anything goes wrong at the banquet, we'll all be punished! I should have known better than to bring her."
"My lord, please don't be angry. Tuantuan is probably just new to the palace and everything is so fascinating that it made her late." Zheng Fangyu thoughtfully poured Xiao Guangyuan a cup of tea, her eyes filled with undisguised pride. "Tuantuan is nothing like Yan'er. She's been with my father in the palace since she was little. The Imperial Concubine also summons Yan'er to the palace to play from time to time. When we get back this time, I'll have Yan'er teach Tuantuan proper etiquette for entering the palace."
Hearing this, Xiao Guangyuan was very pleased: "If Tuantuan were as sensible as Yan'er, I wouldn't be so worried."
"Heh." Chen Zhixiu laughed sarcastically, "Xiao Ruyan goes to the palace every day, but she never gets a county princess title. My son was made a county princess before even entering the palace. It's true that some people can achieve nothing no matter how hard they try!"
"You!" Zheng Fangyu glanced at Xiao Guangyuan out of the corner of her eye, and instantly felt aggrieved. "How can you blame Yan'er? Tuantuan didn't earn the title of county princess on her own."
“My daughter treated and provided relief to disaster victims, which is why the Emperor bestowed upon her the title of County Princess. If it wasn’t because of her own efforts, could it be because of you?” Chen Zhixiu retorted sarcastically. “Don’t assume that others can’t do what you can’t do.”
"Besides, my son is just late, what difference does that make? Do you really think you're sitting under the Emperor and Empress Dowager's noses like my father? What can you possibly see from this distance?"
Chen Zhixiu glanced at Xiao Guangyuan, her eyes forgotten because she was worried about Bai Tuantuan, her mocking gaze was very obvious: "Husband thinks too highly of himself."
Xiao Guangyuan looked at Chen Zhixiu in shock, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but he found that he couldn't say anything.
Chen Zhixiu smiled again. She was telling the truth. What could he possibly argue with?
"Let's sneak in." Outside, Bai Tuantuan glanced around before leading Ruotang forward from the corner.
Their actions naturally attracted the attention of Bai Tuantuan and the others who had been keeping an eye on them.
Ning Nanxiao breathed a sigh of relief and gulped down a mouthful of tea.
Chen Xingfeng and Chen Lingfeng were relieved. The Bai family wasn't worried; they were just late, it wasn't a big deal.
Chen Zhixiu's eyes lit up, and her worries were relieved.
"Ouch!"
Bai Tuantuan was only focused on the left and forgot that a palace maid was coming to serve wine on the right. Fortunately, Ruotang pulled her from behind, but due to inertia, the two of them fell to the ground.
Ruo Tang's face turned pale. Just as she was about to step forward and confess, she heard a "crack!" and the wine glass shattered.
"What are you doing?" Madam Guan, the wife of the Minister of Personnel, glared at the petite girl beside her and said angrily, "Can't you be more careful?"
Guan Xin shrank back, covered her arm that had just been pinched by Madam Guan, and pursed her lips without saying a word.
Upon seeing this, Lord Guan gave Guan Xin a reproachful look before standing up and bowing in apology.
"It's alright," the Empress Dowager said with a smile. "It's just a wine cup; we can just have someone bring another one."
Lord Guan hurriedly led his wife and children to express their gratitude.
Bai Tuantuan looked at Guan Xin's back and then exchanged a glance with Ruo Tang.
"Miss……"
Bai Tuantuan shook her head and quickly came to Chen Zhixiu's side with Ruotang.
"Mother..." Bai Tuantuan whispered what had just happened.
Chen Zhixiu was taken aback and quickly exchanged a few words with Granny Bai.
Granny Bai nodded and slowly backed away. Just as she was about to go find Du Chunhua's maid, she saw Fei Qian walk up behind her: "Granny, my master asked me to ask the county princess a few questions."
Granny Bai quickly said, "Miss asked the young master to cause trouble and even mentioned the words 'Cold Palace'."
Fei Qian was taken aback. Although he was puzzled, he quickly went over and relayed Ning Nanxiao's words verbatim.
Ning Nanxiao: ...
"What's the meaning?"
Fei Qian moved his lips a few times, and said with a forced smile, "The county princess said that it would be too stupid to not be able to guess this."
"Heh." Ning Nanxiao gritted his teeth and looked over at Bai Tuantuan. Seeing her comfortably drinking tea and eating snacks, the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
At this moment, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, the Empress and others began to chat, and some key officials such as Bai Han and Lord Zheng naturally joined in as well.
The concubines chatted amongst themselves, but Leng Zhizhi frowned deeply, her hands tightly gripping her handkerchief.
"Yu'er." The Empress Dowager suddenly spoke, looking at Xiao Guangyuan, and said with a smile, "Today is also Yu'er's birthday, I can't let myself steal the limelight."
Tong Runing chuckled, "How could that be? I saw it! You gave my cousin a beautiful bracelet before the banquet even started. I was so envious!"
"You have such sharp eyes!" the Empress Dowager laughed.
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has been very kind to me, and I am deeply grateful. It is my great fortune to have such a connection with you," Zheng Fangyu said with a smile.
Tong Runing's eyes darted around, and she said with a smile, "These banquets over the years have all been about watching these dancers perform, which is really boring. How about this time we see the talents of our noble ladies? These noble ladies are all trained by their families, and it's a rare sight to see them! This time, we'll take advantage of the Empress Dowager's presence!"
The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed: "That's good."
The Empress naturally had no objection, and the Emperor was even less likely to oppose his own mother.
"Your Majesty," Tong Runing said with a smile, "why not begin with the county princess you yourself have personally appointed?"
Ning Nanxiao's eyelids twitched, and he quickly looked at Bai Tuantuan. Seeing Bai Tuantuan nod, he suddenly smashed the teacup in his hand, making a loud noise!
Everyone was stunned. Bai Tuantuan suddenly stood up and ran to the center of the hall. She quickly threw the copper coin in her hand into the air. After everyone heard the sound of the coin hitting the ground, Bai Tuantuan's soft voice rang out: "Oh no! One break at the birthday banquet means peace, two breaks mean disaster, the third and fourth princesses are in trouble!"
Everyone: ? ? ?
The Emperor then looked at the Bai family: "Is the county princess I appointed a charlatan?"
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