Li Youran and her group of four blushed with embarrassment, unsure whether to stay or leave, and at a loss for what to do.
"It's better if we hide. It would be even more embarrassing if they found out."
Led by Zhang Meiren, Li Youran and the others hurriedly fled into the bamboo forest.
Fortunately, they didn't waste any time. Just as they hid in the bamboo forest, a man and a woman walked up behind them.
"Isn't that Consort Xian?"
Before Jiang Qianqian could finish speaking, Li Youran covered her mouth.
If she were discovered in this situation, the only option would be to silence her, and Li Youran didn't want to die young.
Zhang Meiren was also very careful, afraid of making even the slightest sound.
Thus, Li Youran and Zhou Caidie tightly covered Jiang Qianqian's mouth and hands and feet, while Consort Zhang looked at Consort Xian and her private physician without blinking.
"Who is it!"
Perhaps Jiang Qianqian had been holding her breath for too long, because she couldn't help but sneeze.
Consort Xian and Imperial Physician Feng both looked towards the bamboo forest. Fortunately, Li Youran reacted quickly, pressing Jiang Qianqian's head down and leading her around to the other side of the mountain.
"Did you get a good look at who they were just now?"
Physician Feng's expression turned ashen as he looked at Consort Xian.
"I vaguely saw a figure in blue. No rush. We'll see who's wearing blue clothes when we eat later."
Consort Xian was much calmer. After speaking, she straightened her clothes and walked out of the bamboo forest as if nothing had happened.
"This is too exciting! Do all the concubines in your palace like to play like this?"
Li Youran, still shaken, said breathlessly.
If I had run any slower, Consort Xian would have discovered me, and I might not have been able to leave the palace alive.
"You can't say that. If someone finds out, they'll be executed by slow slicing and displayed to the public."
Lady Zhang had never seen anything like this before. Before entering the palace, she had heard people say that if one did anything outrageous in the palace, not only would one be sentenced to death, but one would also have to endure the cruelest torture, which was the death by a thousand cuts, meaning that one's flesh would be cut off piece by piece with a knife.
"Should we keep this a secret, or tell the Queen?"
Upon hearing Jiang Qianqian's words, Zhou Caidie frowned slightly, looked around, and seeing that no one else was around, she then spoke softly.
"I think we should keep this matter to ourselves. If we tell others, and we fail to bring down Consort Xian in one fell swoop, she might come after us."
Li Youran had no objection to Zhou Caidie's suggestion, after all, she wasn't one to meddle in other people's business.
After some discussion, the four decided to keep the matter to themselves for the time being. If Consort Xian found out, they would reveal the matter and testify for each other to ensure everyone's safety.
Soon a maid came over and said that the banquet was about to start and that Li Youran and her party should hurry back.
The four girls tried their best to control their emotions so as not to let others notice anything unusual.
"Don't you servants know where your master goes to work every day?"
Zhou Yingying, supporting her pregnant belly, looked anxiously at Xiao Hong and Da Jun.
"There's no one else here! I'm her sister-in-law! Tell me where she went!"
Dajun hesitated, unsure whether to go find Li Youran.
However, Dajun didn't know where the reason was, since the young lady hadn't returned to the manor yesterday. If nothing unexpected happened, the young lady should have gone to the winery to conduct experiments.
But the young lady had said that the distillery was a secret base and couldn't be told to anyone else, which put Dajun in a difficult position.
“If you really delay important matters, you servants cannot bear the responsibility.”
As Zhou Yingying spoke, she made an angry face and turned to leave.
"Madam, please wait a moment, I'll take you there right away."
After much deliberation, Dajun concluded that since she was the young lady's sister-in-law, nothing should happen to her. Besides, if something truly important were to be delayed, he really couldn't bear the responsibility.
Zhou Yingying sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and memorized the route outside, revealing a strange smile.
When Li Youran and her group arrived, there were already quite a few people seated.
The four of them hurriedly took their seats, and unconsciously glanced at Consort Xian. As usual, Consort Xian sat upright at the dining table with an arrogant look on her face, while a maidservant poured wine for her.
Li Youran always felt that Consort Xian was looking her over, but she thought it was just her imagination, so she didn't take it to heart.
Little did they know, Consort Xian's gaze fell on Jiang Qianqian behind Li Youran, because Jiang Qianqian was dressed in blue.
"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and try this cherry meat, it tastes excellent."
Seeing that Li Youran seemed absent-minded, the Second Prince's Consort spoke softly, while placing a piece of cherry meat that had just been served on Li Youran's plate.
The dishes at the banquet were served one by one, each in very small portions.
For Li Youran, it wasn't even enough to eat in one bite. However, these noble ladies couldn't even finish all the dishes; they only symbolically ate a little with their chopsticks.
One bite of cherry flesh is sweet and slightly cloying, but with a delicate texture and a very sweet flavor.
After finishing her meal, Li Youran ate all the remaining cherry pieces on the plate, still looking unsatisfied.
"Please add another serving of cherry meat for Miss Li."
Li Youran was quite surprised that the high and mighty Empress discovered her fondness for cherry meat and even offered her an extra portion.
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