The Imperial Garden is a picturesque sight.
The banquet was held in the Nuanyu Pavilion in the Imperial Garden, which is near the water, cool and comfortable, and offers beautiful views of the Imperial Garden.
Shen Yuan followed the palace maid and found her seat.
Only one palace maid could be brought into the palace this time, so Shen Yuan only brought Bai Zhi.
When Bai Zhi first entered the palace, facing the magnificent palace, she looked around as if she were entering a city for the first time, her eyes filled with curiosity and amazement. However, she dared not let anyone see that she was unsophisticated and thus looked down on her young mistress, so Bai Zhi desperately suppressed the urge to look around, only using the corner of her eye to observe the beauty of the palace.
Seeing this, Shen Yuan couldn't help but laugh, so after sitting down she said to Bai Zhi, "After the banquet, the Emperor should allow us to stroll around the Imperial Garden. I'll take you for a walk around this area then."
Bai Zhi's eyes were filled with surprise: "Thank you, Miss."
After a pause, Bai Zhi continued, "Miss is indeed worthy of being called Miss. No matter where or when, she can remain calm and composed."
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
Because this wasn't her first time visiting the palace.
Every time Xiao Yunyan went out, she was served by twenty or thirty maids. Sometimes, when there weren't enough people, she would be sent to serve Xiao Yunyan. In addition, for a period of time, Xiao Yunyan liked to take her with her wherever she went so that she could torment her at any time. Therefore, she was fortunate enough to come to the palace a few times.
She had already experienced the luxury of the palace.
The white jade bird's nest soup that Empress Chen drank every morning was enough to feed an entire village.
Xiao Yunyan's favorite food is sea red snapper, which can only be caught in the deep sea. Every year, hundreds or even thousands of people are sent to catch sea red snapper. After the fish is brought ashore, it takes three fast horses to run to death to ensure that the meat is fresh and tender before it is served on Xiao Yunyan's table.
But Xiao Yunyan only ate a bite or two before it was wasted.
Whether it was pearls from the East China Sea or gold, silver, and jade, the tributes sent to the imperial palace from all over the country were the best.
But those priceless jade pieces, Xiao Yunyan could smash them however she wanted.
She remembered that in her previous life, Xiao Yunyan was unhappy and smashed many jade bracelets, leaving jade fragments all over the ground.
Then, Xiao Yunyan made her and all the palace maids who displeased her take off their clothes and roll around naked on the jade fragments, saying that this was a beauty polishing jade.
To grind those jade stones into beads, her and the palace maids' backs were all rubbed raw and bleeding, but no one dared to stop unless Xiao Yunyan told them to...
Recalling these past events, Shen Yuan lowered her eyelids, concealing the hatred in her eyes.
We all have the same life, so why are some people born with a noble life while others are born with a lowly life?
Why should those lowly people be trampled underfoot and trampled on at will by those noble people?
She felt it was unfair!
Lost in her own thoughts, Shen Yuan suddenly heard someone beside her say, "You really do look exactly like that Crown Princess."
Shen Yuan looked towards the speaker and saw that it was Cao Sui'an, the third young lady of the Prime Minister's family.
She smiled politely at the other person and was about to speak when she heard a disdainful, mocking voice from outside.
"Her? Does she even deserve to be compared to our Crown Princess?"
Hearing the sound, everyone looked up and saw Shen Yunjin walking in surrounded by people. Today, she was wearing a gorgeous palace dress and her makeup was exquisite, making her look very beautiful.
In comparison, Shen Yuan's clothes and jewelry appear very plain and simple, incomparable to Shen Yunjin's at all.
But precisely because of Shen Yuan's simple makeup, she appeared more youthful and lively than Shen Yunjin, and younger in age.
Shen Yunjin walked into the room and glanced at everyone.
The women hurriedly rose and bowed.
"Greetings, Crown Princess!"
Seeing Shen Yuan bowing to her, Shen Yunjin smiled with satisfaction and said after a while, "No need for such formalities."
As soon as Shen Yunjin took her seat, the ladies and young women at the banquet immediately surrounded her, their words full of flattery and ingratiation.
Only Shen Yuan and Cao Suian, who was at the same table with her, did not move. Cao Suian gestured towards Shen Yuan with her lip: "I can't stand it. Before becoming the Crown Princess, she was a peacock who loved to show off her tail feathers. Now that she has become the Crown Princess, she wishes she could carve five big words on every feather of her tail: I am the Crown Princess!"
Shen Yuan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Seeing her smile, Shen Yunjin frowned and reprimanded her without any mercy: "Sister, don't think that just because your sister is the Crown Princess, you can be so ignorant of etiquette!"
But as soon as Chen Yunjin finished speaking, another soft laugh came from outside.
"Oh! The younger sister can even scold her older sister! The Crown Princess really has quite the air about her!"
Everyone turned around and saw that it was Xiao Yunyan who had come. They quickly got up and knelt down.
"Greetings, Princess Jingwan!"
Xiao Yunyan didn't even glance at the person kneeling on the ground. She walked directly towards Shen Yunjin, looked at Shen Yunjin's belly, and asked with a smile, "I heard that your pregnancy is extremely difficult. You are not even three months pregnant yet, so it is really not suitable for you to go out. You should stay at home and take care of your pregnancy. After all, you are carrying the Emperor's first grandson, who is extremely precious."
"My feet..."
Shen Yunjin almost blurted out that she was already three months pregnant, but she quickly shut her mouth after realizing what she was doing.
With so many people here, and considering she's only been married into the Crown Prince's household for a month and a half, if word gets out that she's already three months pregnant, it will definitely cause controversy.
So Shen Yunjin pursed her lips and said unhappily, "No need for you to worry, my baby is perfectly fine!"
"Besides, this Dragon Boat Festival family banquet was arranged by my father, so how could I, as his daughter-in-law, not attend?"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com