After saying that, she suddenly covered her mouth, looked around to make sure no one could hear her, and then walked towards Hanyuan Hall with peace of mind.
The banquet had begun, and everyone in the hall sat quietly in their seats, clinking glasses, singing and dancing—a scene of great prosperity and tranquility.
So when Chang Lili walked in, it seemed extremely abrupt, and she couldn't even sneak in.
The once quiet palace was suddenly filled with a buzzing sound again. Chang Lili frowned, feeling a real headache coming on.
Amid the buzzing, a few hurtful words occasionally escaped clearly: "Why is she here?" or "She has no manners."
Chang Lili didn't know where to sit, so she slipped to the nearest empty table.
After she sat down, she saw Xiao Shu'er in the crowd. Xiao Shu'er's gaze kept shooting at her, her eyes filled with undisguised jealousy and resentment.
Chang Lili rolled her eyes at her dismissively and started eating the fruit and snacks on the table.
After the dance ended, the Queen rose and called on everyone to raise their glasses and drink together.
Chang Lili took a small sip of the wine in her glass, then couldn't help but drink a few more mouthfuls. She licked her lips, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.
After that, the Empress began to chat casually with everyone.
Chang Lili saw the woman sitting at the highest point, wearing a magnificent golden phoenix crown, looking elegant and noble, with a faint smile on her face.
He looks kind and approachable, but there's a sense of distance and an undeniable coldness about him.
Chang Lili felt like she had seen that smile somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.
She had only intended to listen to their lukewarm conversation, eat something, and wait for the banquet to end.
But the Empress seemed to favor her greatly, probably because the General's Mansion had such a great reputation. As they were talking, the Empress looked at her.
"Is this Miss Chang from the General's Mansion? Look at her, she's truly a stunning beauty. No wonder she caught the eye of our General," the Empress said slowly and gently.
Chang Lili forced a smile: "Your Majesty flatters me."
She noticed that Xiao Shu'er's gaze had become even more venomous, and not only her, but the other noble ladies were also looking at her with hostility.
She also heard people say things like "ungrateful."
She looked completely bewildered. She hadn't done anything to offend anyone, so why was she being so ungrateful?
Among the women, a charming and beautiful woman broke the deadlock. She sat to the right of the empress and seemed to be a very noble person.
She was dressed in a blue-purple gown embroidered with large peonies. Her elegance surpassed even that of the Empress. Her hair was adorned with dazzling gold hairpins and pearl flowers. All that was missing was a phoenix crown to make her even more flamboyant than the Empress.
"The General's Mansion actually sent this person, and the banquet has already started but she is nowhere to be seen. Now that the Empress is speaking, she doesn't even stand up to pay her respects, and is dismissed with just a few words. Did General Meng deliberately invite a country bumpkin who doesn't know etiquette to attend the banquet?" The woman picked up a crystal-clear grape and put it between her bright red lips, her red nail polish dazzling.
With a single sentence, she utterly degraded Chang Lili to the dust, and then stirred up trouble between the General's Mansion and the Empress. She was truly vicious and despicable.
The words "they're up to no good" popped into Chang Lili's mind. However, what she couldn't refute was that those people had indeed been very respectful to the Empress, and they had all stood up to answer her questions.
She then understood what those people meant by "lack of manners".
However, she remembered Meng Yuxiu's words: she represented the General's Mansion, so others could not neglect her, and the General's Mansion could not allow others to bully her like this.
She frowned, about to speak, when she heard a soft laugh. The Empress said slowly, "Sister Lanfei, please don't say that. This is General Meng's darling. It was Miss Chang who saved General Meng at the hunting grounds. For General Meng to let her attend the banquet is already a great honor for me. It seems that General Meng is truly too busy with official duties to come."
Upon hearing this, Chang Lili said nothing more, only revealing what she thought was an elegant smile of agreement.
Since what happened in Weichang, Chang Lili has become a celebrity.
Unfortunately, fame is a double-edged sword, especially in a place like the imperial palace where intrigue and conflict are common.
People did look at her with new respect, but most of them did not wish her well.
This Consort Lan is currently the Emperor's favorite concubine in the harem. She is currently enjoying great favor and has become arrogant, even disregarding the Empress.
Chang Lili didn't know when she had offended her, or rather, she had a grudge against the General's Mansion.
Hearing the Empress say this, Consort Lan rolled her eyes without any restraint and said disdainfully, "Empress, don't be fooled by them. What kind of 'precious person' is she? She's just a wild girl who wants to climb the social ladder. Meng Yuxiu is of such status, would he really take a fancy to such a person?"
Chang Lili, who was enjoying her walnut shortbread with a mind that was oblivious to what was going on outside, froze when she heard these harsh words. She bit into a crunchy walnut in the shortbread and then froze.
The surroundings quieted down, and the noble ladies who had been whispering all looked at her with great interest, as if they were watching a good show.
Xiao Shuer, sitting at the head of the table on the left, was overjoyed to hear this and took a sip of her wine.
After taking a deep breath, Chang Lili muttered to herself, "Don't bother with these unreasonable crazy women, just ignore them."
Then she remained seated as still as Mount Tai, slowly chewing on her walnut pastry.
Seeing this, Consort Lan curled her lips and said with a charming smile, "I think General Meng is not giving you face, sister. He doesn't even respect you. Letting such a person appear at your table is a slap in your face. Besides, everyone in the world knows that the position of the general's wife belongs to our princess."
As Consort Lan spoke, she looked at Xiao Shuer, her eyes sparkling with a seductive light, her obsequiousness eliciting disgust.
So that's how it is. So she and Xiao Shu'er are in cahoots.
The hall was silent, as if everything had been frozen in time. Only Xiao Shu'er calmly put down her wine cup, charmingly touching the stray hairs on her forehead, her face beaming with smugness.
Even the dignified and elegant empress was unable to say anything at this moment.
After all, although she wanted to win over Meng Yuxiu and take this opportunity to get closer to Chang Lili, she did not want to offend Xiao Shuer for it.
Almost everyone present remained aloof, watching the spectacle with schadenfreude.
Only in the middle seat on the same side as Chang Lili, a girl in a peach-colored dress looked indignant, as if she wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Chang Lili.
Chang Lili finished eating the walnut pastry, generously chewed it up, swallowed it, and then clapped her hands together loudly as if brushing off dust, which sounded unusually abrupt in the vast and silent palace.
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