At this time, the emperor, the empress dowager and the concubines had not yet arrived. The ministers in the court were toasting and chatting, while the noble women gathered with the female relatives in their families to chat.
"Sister Xu, the spring wind is so cold. Has your headache improved? My husband was sent out of the capital a few days ago. He specially searched for some precious medicinal herbs that may be beneficial to you. I will send someone to deliver them to your house tomorrow." Ling's eyes were full of concern.
Xu had accepted her medicinal herbs many times before, so she didn't hesitate to say, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sister."
Just as the two were talking, a surprised female voice suddenly cut through the air.
"Sister, why are you here?"
Jiang Songyi instantly felt a scent similar to that of the poisonous insect in Xu's body, and hurriedly turned around. She saw a pretty woman in a simple silk dress jumping over lightly, happily pushing Jiang Songyi aside, and intimately holding Xu's arm.
Jiang Songyi focused his mind, released the spiritual power in his body to sense, and finally unveiled the mystery of Xu's insect: [It turns out that the culprit is none other than Xu Shixin, the ungrateful and ungrateful wolf.]
After hearing the fluctuations in Jiang Songyi's heart, Xu couldn't help but be stunned. Is Songyi angry with Shixin?
She frowned slightly and scolded sternly, "Shixin, you've grown into a big girl, why don't you know how to be steady? You even knocked your niece down."
Xu Shixin seemed to have just noticed Jiang Songyi at this moment. She asked in surprise, "Is this the daughter my brother-in-law found from the outside world? Sister, weren't you only pregnant with Yuyao at the time? Where did she come from? Tell me privately, could it be that my brother-in-law had an illegitimate daughter outside and brought her back when she was of marriageable age, pretending to be your eldest daughter?"
As she spoke, Jiang Songyi keenly caught the hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Xu Shixin simply doesn't want my mother to have a good life.
Xu's face darkened slightly.
As long as Jiang Yuyao's usurpation of the throne is not made public, the rumors about Song Yi's life experience will never stop.
Mrs. Xu said seriously, "Shixin, please don't talk nonsense. I only have Songyi as my biological daughter."
Xu Shixin was stunned and asked doubtfully, "What about Yuyao?"
Mrs. Xu replied, "She is not my husband's or my biological child. She was secretly swapped with Songyi's adoptive mother. Now, Yuyao's biological mother has been arrested by the government."
Xu Shixin instantly became agitated, covering her mouth and exclaiming, "Yuyao isn't the daughter of the Yongding Marquisate, so how could she marry the Fourth Prince? Sister, you are deceiving the emperor."
At this critical moment, the wife of Prime Minister Sang, who had always been at odds with the Marquis of Yongding, approached with several wives of civil officials and loudly demanded, "Is this the wife of the Marquis of Yongding? I haven't seen you at a banquet in a few years. We just heard you discussing something deceiving the emperor with your sister."
Xu Shixin suddenly panicked and quickly defended herself: "No, no, my sister did not deceive the king. Songyi and Yuyao took the wrong child, and she was also deeply hurt..."
Before she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that she had let something slip, and she quickly covered her mouth. She looked at Xu with panic in her eyes, as if she was about to cry at any moment: "Sister, I said the wrong thing again."
Xu Shixin has never been good at hiding lies, and the Xu family is already accustomed to this.
However, at this moment, Jiang Songyi's inner voice sounded again:
[Ha, there's no such thing as saying something wrong. Xu Shixin clearly did it on purpose. She's still as despicable and shameless as she was in her previous life! Mother loves her like her own daughter, yet she always stabs her in the back and covets her brother-in-law. In her previous life, when her mother died tragically, before her body was even cold, she couldn't wait to marry into the Yongding Marquis's mansion and become Jiang Dinglian's concubine. If the Marquis's mansion hadn't been wiped out, she would have succeeded long ago. Unexpectedly, even the poison in Mother's body was secretly planted by her! Eighteen years ago, she was only five years old. How could she, at such a young age, harbor such deep malice towards Mother, even going so far as to poison her?]
Hearing Jiang Songyi's inner voice, Xu felt as if the blood in her body had solidified into ice, and a chill rushed from her spine to the top of her head.
Shi Xin actually cast an evil spell on her and even attempted to become Jiang Dinglian's bride when he remarried?
Just as Song Yi whispered, eighteen years ago, Shi Xin was just a five-year-old girl. She had a delicate and pretty face and fair skin. She would often stay by her side, calling her "sister" in a clear and sweet childish voice that sounded like a silver bell and was endearing.
At that time, Xu had already given birth to three sons, but had not yet welcomed her own daughter. Therefore, she doted on her parents' youngest daughter and often asked her mother to take her to the marquis's mansion to play.
Even on that day when Jiang Shu accidentally fell into the water and caught a cold, Shi Xin was there.
However, even though Xu suspected her long-time best friend Ling, she never cast a suspicious eye on her younger sister.
The content of Song Yi's thoughts was truly absurd.
Yet, deep down, Xu still wanted to believe in her daughter. She even wondered, if even something as bizarre as her daughter's rebirth was possible, then could Shi Xin, who was before her, have also experienced rebirth? Perhaps within that tiny body resided a soul steeped in the depths of time?
The palace lanterns at the night banquet swayed gracefully. Although the spring breeze was warm, it brought a hint of chill through the curtains, causing Xu's body to tremble involuntarily.
The truth of many things seemed to be revealed to her in an instant.
No wonder Shixin was already twenty years old but still had not found a marriage. Every time Xu mentioned marriage to her, she always firmly refused.
Her parents have always doted on their youngest daughter and wanted to let her enjoy a few more years of freedom, so they did not interfere too much.
It turned out that Xu Shixin had been waiting for an opportunity, that is, to become the second wife of the Yongding Marquis after her death!
Xu Shi couldn't help but smile bitterly as she thought about her recent health. She knew that her current condition was indeed showing signs of premature death. In fact, she also knew that the power of the Yongding Marquisate was at its peak, and there were countless women from official families in Jindu who were eyeing it covetously, waiting to take its place.
However, when she caught a glimpse of Jiang Songyi beside her, Xu silently clenched her fists, determined to protect her daughter and never give up her position easily!
In the eyes of other ladies, such as the wife of the Prime Minister, Xu's absent-mindedness and confusion were undoubtedly a sign of guilty conscience.
At this moment, the eunuch's shrill voice came from the door of the hall -
"The Emperor has arrived, the Empress Dowager has arrived—"
The laughter in the hall stopped abruptly, and all the officials and their families immediately lined up in an orderly manner, ready to kneel together.
In the sudden silence, Madam Sang's angry voice echoed throughout the hall: "Madam Yongding, you, the Yongding Marquis's family, are so bold as to deceive His Majesty! This concerns the reputation of the imperial family. How can you conceal the truth?"
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