For the Xiahou Mansion, marrying the prince would be the best thing, so the old lady spared no effort to bring her to the palace. However, he is the male protagonist, and Xia Tong does not want to be a vicious female supporting role who competes with the female protagonist for a man.
The palace was very large and the old lady walked slowly. They did not arrive at Changle Palace until the last rays of sunlight set in the sky.
Unlike in the past, when she arrived here, the old lady immediately put on a humble smile and said to the palace maid at the door in a friendly manner: "Please inform the young lady that the old lady of Xiahou Mansion wants to see you."
Many people came to visit the Empress today, but the Empress did not see anyone. The palace maid was also a little hesitant, "Old Madam, you don't know, the Empress is not feeling well today, so she won't see any guests."
Hearing this, the old lady's expression changed, but Aunt Liu beside her tactfully handed over a purse, "Excuse me, young lady."
"Madam, you are too polite. It's not that I don't want to pass on the message, but it's true that Your Majesty really doesn't want to see guests today." The palace maid was a little embarrassed for a moment.
Until then, a palace maid in green suddenly approached from a distance. When she saw the old lady, she immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying neither servilely nor arrogantly: "It is indeed inconvenient for the Madam today. Why don't you go first? I will tell the Madam that you have been here."
"Sister Liyun." Seeing the green-clothed palace maid, the previous palace maid immediately bowed and retreated.
Naturally, she knew the maidservant next to the queen, so the old lady didn't bother her any more. She smiled kindly and said, "Thank you for your help, young lady."
"It's my duty." The green-clad palace maid smiled faintly.
When a few people left, her eyes inadvertently fell on Xia Tong, and a trace of deep thought flashed in her eyes. She didn't know that there was such an outstanding girl in Xiahou Mansion.
I thought the old lady would be unhappy for not seeing the queen, but she didn't show any emotion on the way to the banquet.
When they arrived at Jinhua Palace, quite a few people had already come in. It was very lively with singing, dancing and music. Xia Tong's appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people in the women's area. Seeing that she came with the old lady of Xiahou Mansion, it was obvious that she was also from Xiahou Mansion. But why had they never heard of such an iconic girl in Xiahou Mansion before?
After sitting down at her seat, the old lady went to chat with other ladies. Xia Tong must have been mentioned in their conversation. The latter just sat there obediently, like a vase, and let everyone stare at her.
"This sister is from the Xiahou Mansion. How come I have never seen her before?" A cute girl sitting on the right suddenly came over curiously.
The other noble ladies were also looking at this side vaguely. Xia Tong felt a little awkward, but just smiled at them: "I have lived with my father in Suzhou since I was a child, and I just returned to the capital recently. You can just call me Xia Tong."
After saying that, the girl also blinked in surprise, "So it's Sister Tong, I was wondering why I've never seen you before, I'm the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, you can just call me Qin'er."
The girl was very enthusiastic and had a pair of dimples when she smiled, which made her look particularly cute. She was also the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, which meant she had a much higher status than her. However, Xia Tong was not fooled by her enthusiasm. She thought they were just fake sisters and could be stabbed in the back at any time when it came to interests.
But she still had to put on a good front. She just smiled and said, "Sister Qin'er, this dress is so beautiful. I wonder where it was made?"
When it comes to clothes and jewelry, no woman would not care. Lin Qin immediately looked at her clothes with a smile, "It's Yu De Fang in the city. The tailoring skills there are very good. We can go shopping together someday when we have time. Sister Tong is so beautiful, she will definitely look beautiful in any clothes."
In a few words, the two chatted like real sisters, but Xia Tong smiled modestly, "Sister Qin'er is really good at joking. By the way, I heard that the daughter of Minister Shen's mansion is very famous. I wonder if she is here today."
As she spoke, she deliberately looked around. She finally had the chance to meet the heroine, so she naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.
"Her?" Lin Qin looked a little subtle, and then she stole a glance at the woman in red in the southeast corner, and lowered her voice, "I heard that she is not well behaved, and often shows up in the market. Even if she has a pretty face, what's the use? I still think Sister Tong is the prettiest."
When being praised, Xia Tong lowered her head pretending to be shy, but in fact, the corner of her eyes was always looking at the woman in red in the corner.
Although we were far away, we could vaguely make out the girl's gorgeous features. She was wearing a red dress and the scorching sun made it hard to look away. Everyone had their own little circle, except the heroine. She sat there alone and ignored others.
The heroine is a time traveler. In her previous life, she was an international lawyer with strong and capable methods, a typical strong woman. However, although the heroine is the daughter of the first wife, she is not favored and is often bullied by her stepmother. She has been looking for business opportunities to strengthen herself, and tonight's banquet is her first meeting with the prince, who is the hero.
According to the plot, the two people should have just met in the garden. The heroine accidentally discovered the conversation between the hero and his men, and left a handkerchief in a hurry. Later, the hero naturally knew the other party's identity based on the handkerchief, and then began to observe the heroine secretly. After discovering that she was different from other women, he gradually became interested in her.
But there is a big plot today. The heroine's sister has disliked the heroine for a long time, so she conspired to have the heroine called to the imperial garden and falsely accused her of having an affair with a guard. The queen simply suppressed the spread of this scandal and locked up the heroine first. However, after the banquet, the heroine still found a breakthrough to clear herself, but even so, her reputation was not very good, and the supporting actress also completely offended the heroine because of this.
"Sister Tong, you just came to the capital, so you must be unfamiliar with the city. How about I take you around in a few days?"
Her fake sister was still inviting her warmly, but Xia Tong was thinking about other things and just nodded perfunctorily.
As a small cannon fodder, she feels that she should find a way out for herself. It is too dangerous to snatch the male lead. She thinks it is better to be good friends with the heroine, hoping that the heroine's Mary Sue halo can take care of her.
When she turned her sight, the woman in the red dress in the corner had disappeared. Xia Tong's expression changed. She didn't expect that the heroine was called away by the supporting actress in the blink of an eye. This would not do. Since she wanted to be friends with the heroine, she must prevent this from happening.
There was still half an hour before the banquet started. Xia Tong's eyes turned, and she suddenly covered her abdomen and looked at Lin Qin shyly, "I feel a little uncomfortable, I have to go to the side hall to rest. If my grandmother asks, can you tell her for me?"
"Of course. Do you want to ask the imperial physician?" Lin Qin looked concerned.
Shaking her head, Xia Tong said thank you, then left Qing'er behind and walked out alone, clutching her handkerchief.
She had a good memory. Even though the terrain of the palace was complicated, she still remembered where the imperial garden was when she came here. As long as she hurried a little, she should be able to catch up with the heroine.
The sky was dark, the moon was bright and the wind was clear. The palace was very lively tonight. The palace servants were walking in groups of three or four, and the patrolling imperial guards came one after another. With the help of the moonlight, Xia Tong quickly arrived at the Imperial Garden. However, the Imperial Garden was too big, and she didn't know where the heroine was.
It’s getting late. If the heroine gets caught, all her efforts would be in vain.
After looking around, she still didn't see any person. Just as she was about to check ahead, she heard voices coming from behind the rockery not far away.
People are curious. Xia Tong couldn't help but moved over quietly along the rocks. The voices behind the rockery became clearer and clearer.
"I don't want any news of this matter to leak out. Do you understand?"
This was a male voice with a slightly shrill tone, and it made people shiver for some reason.
"I have already dealt with all the extra people, Your Highness can rest assured."
The second voice was respectful, but the words were still chilling. Deal with it all...
Xia Tong felt a chill on her back. Looking at the waning moon above her head, she unconsciously began to move away from this place of trouble.
"This is the best. In a few days...who!"
As the sound behind the rockery became sharp, a cold light suddenly shot over. Before Xia Tong could turn around, her back suddenly hit a wall of flesh. The cold light left a faint blood mark on her neck...
There was silence all around, the evening breeze blew by, and footsteps were heard from behind the rockery. Two figures walked out, one in front and one behind. The man in the lead was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had a gloomy face. He should be of extremely noble status, but when he saw the person coming, his expression changed drastically with fear.
"Prince Regent...why...why is he here?"
Regent...
Xia Tong's face turned pale, and she didn't dare to move at all, because a sharp knife was only 0.01 centimeters away from her neck, but at this moment it was clamped by a pair of large hands with distinct joints, and the owner of the hands seemed to be standing behind her...
The knife still shone with a cold light. Under the moonlight, the man played with it casually. His obscure gaze suddenly fell on the person opposite him. He said in a cold voice, "The Third Prince wants to assassinate me?"
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