Concubine Ying's birthday banquet was held in Zhaode Hall where she lived. Seven princes, six princesses and their husbands-in-law were all invited, which shows how grand the event was.
Concubine Ying had the capital to do so. If it were any other concubine in the palace, such a show of affection would surely attract attention, but she wouldn't. Because she was favored, not just favored, but extremely favored. Moreover, in the more than 20 years she had lived in the palace, she had never fallen out of favor.
Others are mothers who gain status through their sons, but in the case of Concubine Ying and the Second Prince, it is hard to say who benefits from whom.
Xu Yixing thought she could not compare to Concubine Ying, so even though she was reluctant, she had no complaints when Siqin Sihua put on a heavy dress for her.
"This is the bad thing about being a member of your royal family. There are prescribed attire for every place you go, and it's so ugly." He didn't dare to complain to Concubine Ying, but he could still talk to Lu Anyuan.
"It's important that your wedding attire is dignified. It's certainly not as nice as your usual clothes, but we're not going to a beauty pageant, so just make do with what you have. You can wear the nice ones at home and show them to me later."
Xu Yixing frowned. Lu Anyuan really just wanted to enjoy himself and didn't care about other people's lives at all.
"Hmph, let's go."
Watching Xu Yixing walk out and get into the car with an expressionless face, Lu Anyuan didn't know what he had said wrong again.
They were silent along the way. As the imperial palace was just around the corner, Lu Anyuan couldn't help but remind them, "There will be a lot of people around later. If you find them too noisy, just find an excuse to rest. Don't pay too much attention to them."
"That's not good, after all, I am your prince's consort. If you run away from the banquet, aren't you afraid that Concubine Ying will blame you?"
Xu Yixing gave Lu Anyuan a standard welcoming smile, took his arm and played the role of golden boy and jade girl together.
The Zhaode Hall was originally very large, but today there were at least twenty people in the courtyard, plus the palace maids and eunuchs, it was a huge crowd standing there, it was really dizzying to look at.
Today, Concubine Ying specially opened all the windows of Zhaode Hall and connected them to the awning in the courtyard, so that everyone could have a place to sit and eat, which was not considered rude.
As soon as Xu Yixing and Lu Anyuan entered Zhaode Hall, they went to pay their respects to the main person.
"Greetings to Her Majesty Yingfei. May Her Majesty remain youthful and blessed with everlasting grace."
"Get up, no need to be so polite!" Concubine Ying was dressed particularly luxuriously and charmingly today. Everything she wore was in accordance with the highest standards for a concubine. Most of the guests were younger than her, so naturally they did not try to steal her limelight, making her particularly conspicuous.
Their seats were arranged slightly towards the back of the hall, where the princes and princesses were arranged according to their age. From the outside, they were the grandchildren of Concubine Ying, so there was nothing impolite about it.
"Sister Yi Yan!" Xu Yixing heard someone calling him just after he sat down. He turned around and saw that it was the Fourth Princess. He hadn't seen her for many years. When he saw her again, he felt that she was still the same as before without any change.
"Greetings, Fourth Princess." Xu Yixing was about to bow, but was stopped by the Fourth Princess.
"You're welcome. You're my sister-in-law now. Besides, your sister and I used to play together when we were little. We're old friends!"
"Yes." Before Xu Yixing could even sit down, the fourth princess pulled him around and asked him all sorts of questions. After listening for a long time, she was still asking him about the trivial things that happened in the past.
"Your Highness, it was indeed Sun Ziyou who did what happened to my sister. There is both witness and evidence, and he himself admitted it. It is confirmed beyond a doubt."
"He admitted it himself? But I heard he never mentioned it."
Oops... I forgot about this matter. Sun Ziyou only admitted it to me, but there is no record of his confession.
"Right and wrong are what they are. What was done is done. Whether he admits it or not has nothing to do with it."
"Okay." The fourth princess seemed suddenly sad, her mood a little low. "I always thought your sister and I had a good relationship, but in the end I never got to see her. What a pity."
"Your Highness, it's good that you're so thoughtful." The Fourth Princess had a good marriage, a good mother, and shared the same mother as the Third Prince, so she was well protected until now. Her childish nature was clearly written on her face. This made Xu Yixing's plan for the day a little simpler: he was going to use her, and he felt bad about it.
The two of them sat together, listening to the ceremony officer continuously reading out the list of gifts, while the small opera outside was also being performed continuously, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Look, when my mother celebrated her birthday this year, only my father and I had a meal together. How come Concubine Ying was able to invite so many people?"
The fourth princess was so outspoken that she said it directly at the banquet without worrying about being heard at all.
"Your Highness, be careful with your words and keep a low profile."
Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince didn't appreciate it and flung his handkerchief away: "Why are you nagging like my mother? I dare to say this even in front of my second brother. What are you afraid of?"
Xu Yixing smiled bitterly and said, "I'm glad you don't mind. What else can I say?"
"Yes, as the saying goes, people with the same destiny may have different fates. Some things cannot be compared."
This remark really resonated with the Fourth Princess. Her mother, despite her high birth, wasn't favored, which somewhat bothered her. "Is that so? You think so too, right? Well, let me tell you..."
The Fourth Princess said this, then suddenly frowned. "Are you saying this because you mind that your sister Yixing is more favored by your father than you? This habit is not good!"
Seeing that the Fourth Princess was about to get angry and sit aside, Xu Yixing quickly stopped her: "How could it be? I was clearly standing up for you, how did this become my family's business? Your Highness, you are overthinking it!"
"Well... okay, I didn't say it well just now, don't mind it."
"No, no. In fact, if you ask me, Concubine Ying is just holding on." Xu Yixing quietly lowered his head and looked around. After making sure that Concubine Ying's maids were around, he began to whisper to the Fourth Princess.
"What do you mean?" The fourth princess' eyes suddenly lit up and she came over. Lu Anyuan was sensible and moved away from the original table to toast with everyone, also to block everyone's gaze a little.
"Look, in the past, the Emperor always personally hosted a banquet for the six palaces to celebrate Concubine Ying's birthday, but this year, she arranged it all by herself. Can you guess why?"
"I know, I know. It's because of Zhou Xun's incident that my father is angry with his family and did this on purpose."
Xu Yixing raised his thumbs and smiled mysteriously: "That's right! And let me tell you, I heard that this isn't the only thing going on. There's another matter that's much more difficult than corruption waiting for the Second Prince to face. Just wait and see!"
Xu Yixing stopped talking here. The fourth princess was so anxious that she scratched her head and made many promises before she heard the rest of the story from her.
Of course, the whispering between Xu Yixing and the Fourth Princess was seen by some people, but everyone was having a great time and no one dared to say anything.
After hearing this, the fourth princess showed a surprised expression, and then confirmed it again and again before she laughed with schadenfreude, attracting everyone's attention.
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