Does the Empress Dowager suspect Yuan Yao?
Xie Zhi asked, puzzled, "Aren't you just an orphan that the Ninth Prince adopted from outside? What is there for the Empress Dowager to suspect?"
“Yes!” Huaiyao also looked puzzled.
Yuan Yao thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Then, the Empress Dowager wants to bring me to her side and control me so that she can control my father."
“That makes a lot of sense,” Xie Zhi said.
Controlling Yuan Yao, threatening the Ninth Prince.
That makes sense...
Yuan Yao scoffed coldly: "I actually thought she was a good person back then."
If it weren't for that night when I made Yuan Yao kneel outside Huining Palace for so long, I would have truly thought that my grandmother was a very kind elder..."
“Sister Huaiyao.” Yuan Yao’s clear black and white eyes turned slightly. “Actually, you don’t need to change your opinion of the Empress Dowager just because of what she did to me.”
The Empress Dowager is your imperial grandmother; you should be able to make your own judgment.
She didn't want to cause the Emperor and Empress Dowager to quarrel first because of her, and then make Huaiyao and the others dislike the Empress Dowager as well...
Wouldn't that make her a terrible sinner?
The Empress Dowager must hate her to death now!
Oh no, there's also Jiang Lanyue who hates her to death.
As Yuan Yao was thinking about Jiang Lanyue, Huai Yao said, "I thought that after Jiang Lanyue returned from Fotai Mountain, she would change her previous personality."
Who knew that spending so much time with the Empress Dowager would only make him more and more detestable!
She exudes a petty and stingy air, as if someone owes her money from several lifetimes ago!
Yuan Yao, Xie Zhi, from now on, you two must remember to stay away from her, understand?
If you dare to associate with her, this princess will sever all ties with you!
"Spare me!" Xie Zhi said, his mouth stuffed with ice cream. "This young master is too busy riding horses and shooting arrows every day to have time for you little girls."
Huaiyao stroked the whip: "You better be!"
The three of them sat for a long time.
Before long, a young eunuch came to deliver a message: "Princess, young prince, princess, the birthday banquet is about to begin."
Is it that fast?
Huaiyao stood up, hid the whip in her sleeve, and straightened her skirt: "Let's go."
The group left Plum Blossom Courtyard together.
Renshou Palace had already been decorated festively.
At this time, the palace was bustling with people, ministers and their families moving about, creating a lively atmosphere.
As the three walked, they greeted people they encountered.
A familiar minister said with a smile, "Princess Yuan Yao, my wife really likes Si Shi Chun's desserts. Another day, I'll book a venue for a banquet, so please save some for me!"
Yuan Yao smiled and said, "Then Yao'er will await your good news, sir!"
"No problem!"
Xie Zhi chuckled and said, "Little Yao'er, your Si Shi Chun business is getting bigger and bigger."
“When I do business, my goal is to grow it big,” Yuan Yao replied happily.
"Little money-grubber!"
Xie Zhi patted Yuan Yao on the head and said with a smile, "This young master is going to find his friends. I'm too lazy to keep you little girls company."
"Get lost!" Huaiyao said with a laugh.
Xie Zhi laughed loudly and walked away.
At today's birthday banquet, the men's and women's seats are still separated.
Yuan Yao was seated next to Huai Yao, and Huai Rou was next to Huai Yao.
As soon as the two stepped into the hall, Huairou waved to them and asked, "Where did you two run off to?"
Yuan Yao and Huai Yao walked to their seats and sat down.
Yuan Yao obediently replied, "The Emperor sent me back to Plum Blossom Courtyard. Because it was too hot, I ate something."
Huairou pretended to be angry: "Oh, you guys, you actually ate delicious food behind my back!"
"It's just an ice cream," Huaiyao said nonchalantly. "I was afraid she would secretly cry by herself, so I followed Father Emperor to take a look."
Crying secretly in hiding?
Yuan Yao's eyes widened: "Huai Yao, are you talking about me?"
Does she look like someone who would hide and cry secretly?
Huairou glared at him: "Don't you know how?"
Yuan Yao: "..."
She readily agreed, "Yes, Yao'er is so heartbroken. Yao'er was almost snatched away from Father by the Empress Dowager. She's so heartbroken she can't breathe..."
As she was speaking, she looked up and met Jiang Lanyue's pale, pointed chin.
Yuan Yao: "..."
What a small world!
Jiang Lanyue was sitting right next to her.
Having probably cried, Jiang Lanyue's complexion was extremely pale.
His large, lifeless eyes were red and slightly swollen.
Jiang Lanyue's position was actually between Yuan Yao and Huai Yao.
She looked up at the sign and said weakly, "Sister Yao'er, you...you took my seat."
"ah?"
Yuan Yao quickly looked down.
That's really true!
It's all her fault for getting so engrossed in chatting with Huairou and Huaiyao that she ended up taking Jiang Lanyue's seat.
What a sin!
She quickly grabbed her skirt and stood up: "I'm sorry, Princess Lan Yue, I didn't mean to."
Jiang Lanyue bit her lip, her voice barely audible: "N-nothing...it's nothing..."
Huaiyao couldn't stand seeing Jiang Lanyue like this.
She touched the whip on her wrist and said with a stern look, "It's just a seat, isn't it? It doesn't matter where you sit, right? Xiao Yao'er will sit here, so what?"
"I..." Jiang Lanyue was startled, tears welling up in her eyes: "But, this is Yue'er's seat."
Huaiyao was furious.
Seeing this, Yuan Yao quickly tugged at Huai Yao's sleeve: "Huai Yao, I was the one who sat in the wrong seat first, it was indeed my fault."
All she wants now is to keep the peace.
At this moment, Huairou said, "Lan Yue, come and sit in my seat."
Today, although the occasion is formal, the seating arrangement is not actually that strict.
Aside from the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and the concubines of the various palaces, these children didn't have so many rules...
As she spoke, Huairou stood up and said, "Lan Yue, come here."
Jiang Lanyue bit her lip, looking at her with teary eyes: "Sister Huairou, this isn't right..."
“It’s alright,” Huairou said gently. “It’s my seat, and I decide what to do with it.”
After speaking, she stood up, pulled Jiang Lanyue, and led her to sit down in her seat.
Huaiyao snorted coldly.
After comforting Jiang Lanyue, Huairou walked over to Huaiyao and said, "Huaiyao, I'll sit in your seat, and you can sit one seat behind me."
Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday. Be good and take good care of Yao'er, okay?
"Hmph!" Huaiyao snorted coldly.
Soon, a eunuch came to announce: "The Empress Dowager has arrived..."
Previously, an unpleasant incident had occurred at the ancestral hall, and the Empress Dowager's expression remained unpleasant.
As soon as she sat down, she said coldly, "I am very pleased that you have come to my birthday banquet today..."
Let the banquet begin.
At a command, palace servants began to move around the table serving dishes.
The dancer, carrying her musical instruments, stepped lightly into the hall.
The Empress Dowager sat at the head of the table, coldly gazing down at those below.
Halfway through the banquet, it was clear to everyone that the Empress Dowager was anything but happy.
Fortunately, the dessert that everyone had been looking forward to was served soon at the banquet.
Yuan Yao took a sip of milk tea, looked up, and met the Empress Dowager's icy gaze.
The Empress Dowager looked at her, and suddenly a smile appeared on her lips.
A bad feeling suddenly arose in Yuan Yao's heart.
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