The hall became even more lively.
Just then, Madam Li, who was sitting below, suddenly experienced abdominal pain.
She was able to come because the Imperial Household Department sent word that she was, after all, the mother-in-law of a princess and held an imperial title. Although she was only a sixth-rank imperial title lady, she was still allowed to come and offer birthday greetings to the Empress Dowager.
Since that's what they said, she couldn't be happier to come. It's the Empress Dowager's birthday, and being able to enter the palace is an honor.
At this moment, she started to feel pain in her stomach and became nervous.
At first, I just endured it and didn't dare to do anything reckless.
The maidservant serving behind her noticed that something was wrong with her, so she stepped forward and poured her a cup of hot wine: "Madam, please have a cup of hot wine."
Not just anyone can bring a maid to this occasion. In the entire Crown Prince's residence, only the Crown Princess can bring one; everyone else's maids are waiting outside the palace.
This is not a normal time after all.
So everyone was served by palace maids.
Lady Li dared not do anything to the palace maid, and hurriedly thanked her and drank the food as soon as it was served.
After drinking a cup of hot wine, I seemed to feel much better.
This liquor isn't very strong; a few glasses won't make you drunk.
It's usually heated up specifically for people with stomach aches or discomfort. This is common practice when it's cold.
Today is October 1st, and the weather is very cold.
Although there were incense burners in the hall, they were all far away.
Everyone drinks it like this.
Yan Jinsi glanced at her but said nothing.
Lady Li probably felt much better, so she asked a palace maid to pour her another cup to drink.
For a moment, it seemed like everything was alright.
Even though Yan Nangui was quite far away from them, he still saw this scene from a distance and maintained a smile on his face.
I picked up the hot wine in front of me and took a few sips.
This drink tastes like heated orange soda; although it's lost its fizz and isn't sweet, it's still quite palatable.
This was the tangerine peel wine served to the female members of the imperial family at the palace banquet.
Before the second song and dance performance even started, Li Shi couldn't sit still anymore.
The pain in his stomach intensified with each wave of pain. At that moment, Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager were talking, and the hall was somewhat quiet.
Li felt she was about to collapse; if she didn't go out soon, she would be humiliated in public.
But she even felt like she couldn't get up.
The palace maid behind her saw this and hurriedly said, "If Madam goes to change her clothes, this servant will take you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Li suddenly stood up and pushed the long table in front of her. A large patch of her dark blue long dress had already swelled up, and a stench wafted out.
Yan Jinsi almost vomited on the spot after taking one look.
Those who were nearby were so disgusted that they kept backing away.
With such a commotion, how could they not have seen it up ahead?
In an instant, everyone turned to look at her. Li's face turned bright red, but she couldn't control her body.
In an instant, several extremely unpleasant sounds were heard, and the overwhelming stench intensified.
She was both scared and embarrassed, and no longer caring where she was, she hurriedly ran outside.
Yan Nangui lowered his head to hide the smile on his lips, feeling extremely comfortable.
The eldest princess was immediately taken aback.
Although she wasn't quite sure what was going on, she was already feeling a little guilty.
I glanced subconsciously at Yan Nangui.
Yan Nangui simply looked at her with a smile and tilted his head.
At this moment, His Majesty was already furious: "What's going on?"
While tidying up, the palace maid secretly put away Li's pair of chopsticks. No one around saw it.
Perhaps someone in the distance saw it, but at this point, who dares to say?
Although Li ran away, the stench remained.
The palace maids hurriedly cleaned up and took away the dirty items.
Yan Jinsi's face had already turned pale, and she knelt down with Meng Junxian.
Meng Junxian hurriedly kowtowed: "My mother must have suddenly fallen ill, disturbing the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration. I deserve to die!"
He then slammed his head down three times.
"Outrageous!" His Majesty roared, "If you're unwell, you should stay at home. What are you doing in the palace? Are you trying to displease the Empress Dowager?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was my fault. Please calm your anger. My mother-in-law did not mean it. Your Majesty, please forgive me." Even though Yan Jinsi disliked the Meng family, she knew to plead for mercy at this moment.
The Empress Dowager sighed, "Well, it's such a fine day. Everyone has unexpected moments. Fortunately, nothing's wrong. Go and see how Old Madam Li is doing, and take her home."
"Your Majesty is very magnanimous. However, this Lady Li need not come to the palace from now on," His Majesty said.
Meng Junxian breathed a sigh of relief, kowtowed again, and returned to the table with Yan Jinsi.
This matter was considered closed on the surface.
The eldest princess breathed a sigh of relief. However, the frustration in her heart only intensified.
The singing and dancing resumed, but it was just a minor incident, and the people involved were not important.
On the other hand, after changing her clothes, Li Shi became completely dazed.
She also brought her clothes, but they're still in the carriage outside the palace.
A palace maid found her a large cloak to wear; it was an old cloak belonging to the palace maids.
At least it's enough to let her get out.
She reeked of foul odor, and her face was a mixture of red and blue. She was led away by palace maids, but was watched by countless palace maids and eunuchs.
Even if others didn't know what was going on, she herself couldn't stand it.
When they finally reached the carriage, he immediately fainted.
She smelled terrible, so the coachman and his maid quickly helped her into the carriage and hurried back to the mansion.
After she finally returned home, washed up, and changed into clean clothes, there was no sign of stomach pain at all.
"Go and summon the imperial physician, quickly!"
Du Juan quickly stopped her, saying, "Madam, you shouldn't call the imperial physician. You just came from the palace and you're already calling the imperial physician... that won't sound good if word gets out."
Madam Li was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Go and fetch the doctor."
"Yes." Dujuan hurriedly went to call someone.
"There's something wrong with that wine, there must be something wrong with it." Old Madam Li felt that her condition was definitely not natural.
She had been watching her diet since yesterday, fearing something might happen if she went to the palace. How could something have actually happened?
"Madam, you can't say that. If there's a problem in the palace... how dare we speak of it?" Yes, if there's a problem in the palace, it would harm His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Crown Prince. How could it harm a mere Li?
Although Li understood, she was anxious, angry, and furious.
Seeing that she was about to fly into a rage, Dujuan quickly knelt down and hugged her legs: "Madam! Think about it, why did this happen? You never went to the palace banquet before, and something happened on your first visit. Moreover, it was only because the young mistress suddenly became a princess that you were able to enter the palace. There's more to this..."
The old lady was silent for a moment: "You mean, it was Yan Jinsi who harmed me?"
“No, although the princess is a princess, she doesn’t have much say in the palace…” Dujuan continued to guide the conversation.
The old lady was so angry that she was easily misled.
"Yes, she may not be capable, but her mother is a princess. The eldest princess! His Majesty's own sister. If she wants to do something, it'll be far too easy for her." The old lady grabbed Dujuan's hand: "Did she harm me? Why did she harm me?"
Before Du Juan could answer, she added, "That's right, because the Meng family sided with the Second Prince! Because of this, didn't Yan Jinsi also have a falling out with the Eldest Princess?"
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