After hearing what was said, the daughters of the various families bowed and saluted as they walked out of Fengyi Palace, their hearts heavy.
All the concubines also saluted and walked out. Although today was thrilling, the queen was thrown into the cold palace, and the position of queen was vacant. No one knew who would take the position.
Some people feel pretty good when they are favored.
Nan Xiang was stunned, and finally realized Ye Qianning's strength.
Tsk tsk, even the queen got in during the banquet. It’s her own fault!
"Aning, let's go to the pavilion to get some fresh air."
Ye Qianning nodded: "You go first, I'll be there soon."
"Well... okay." Nan Xiang responded happily, bowed to Concubine Zhan and left the hall.
After everyone had left, Ye Qianning came to Concubine Zhan and whispered, "Aunt."
"Let's go. Fortunately, nothing happened today. Otherwise, how can I explain to the Zhan family?" Concubine Zhan was worried and distressed. The consequences of taking double the medicine, even if one was taken, would be disastrous.
"These tricks are too low-level. If a person is abnormal, there must be something wrong. It's too obvious."
Guan Mengyan was so stupid that he gave away his head and even dragged so many people into it.
However, if she were an ordinary young lady from an official family, facing pressure from the queen, concubines, and all parties, she would not be able to refuse this cup of tea even if there was something wrong with it.
"elder sister."
A soft voice sounded, and a pink figure stood next to Concubine Zhan, looking at Ye Qianning with her head tilted and her big eyes.
Ye Qianning smiled, but that smile was not cold, but rather cautious and gentle. He bent down slightly to a position almost the same height as her.
"You are Xiao Nian Ning."
The soft voice startled Sang Lanyu for a moment, then the smile on her tentative face widened and she nodded heavily: "Yes."
Ye Qianning raised his hand and rubbed her hair. Her little face looked very similar to Concubine Zhan's, and her eyebrows and eyes were also like her when she was a child.
"Sister, you were so majestic just now." Sang Lanyu had never seen such a scene before.
Every time she met the Empress, the concubines, and the sisters, they were always arrogant and secretly bullied her. She had never seen them cry so pitifully.
"Sister is very powerful, aren't you afraid of her?"
At such a young age, she saw some immoral scenes.
Sang Lanyu shook her head: "Sister is not scary."
"real?"
Sang Lanyu nodded heavily, and then whispered, "The Empress is scary, Sister Zhen'er is scary too, and there's Concubine Fang... Concubine Yue, Concubine Yu, in short, many of my father's concubines are scary, and my father is scary too."
"Nian Ning, don't talk nonsense." Concubine Zhan raised her hand and tapped the back of her head.
Sang Lanyu touched the back of her head and pouted: "Sister, what Nian Ning said is true. They always bully mother."
"From now on, with your sister here, I guarantee no one will dare to bully you."
"real?"
"certainly."
"That's great." Sang Lanyu happily took her hand, and then smiled at Concubine Zhan with her eyes almost disappearing: "Mother, I like my sister."
Concubine Zhan also smiled: "Let's go, let's go for a walk in the garden."
"good."
Ye Qianning held Sang Lanyu's hand, and the three of them walked out of the hall chatting and laughing.
It was just past noon and the sun was blazing. Many young ladies left Fengyi Palace and went into the pavilions to enjoy the cool air. They were feeling very nervous and no longer had the joy they had before entering the palace.
A group of people gathered in the pavilion, staring at each other, still frightened by what happened in the hall.
"Miss Xiang is truly terrifying. I've never seen so many people die at a banquet."
"Miss Guan poisoned someone, and it's her own fault. I didn't expect the Empress to do the same... Oh, palace banquets are really scary."
"Yes, a few years ago I heard that the young lady of the Chen family went to the palace to attend a banquet, and I heard that she had an affair with a certain prince. After returning, the young lady of the Chen family went crazy, and Master Chen later retired and returned home. Now I think about it, it's hard to say what happened. If Miss Xiang didn't dare to speak out, wouldn't she have suffered the same fate?"
The more the young ladies listened, the more frightened they became. They would never dare to eat anything from the palace banquets in the future.
"That being said, Miss Xiang is still far too cruel. She has her own reasons for doing this, so why would she want to implicate others?" A young lady who had some connections with Miss Zhongdu complained, "A woman's chastity is paramount. How will they face the world in the future?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the others looked at the woman with complicated expressions, and they all shut their mouths and turned away from her.
Qi Yun watched as everyone moved away from her, not knowing what she had said wrong and feeling very aggrieved.
"Miss Qi, didn't you see how some of the Fifth Princess's men drank the tea?" someone kindly suggested.
Qi Yun was stunned.
"It has nothing to do with them. The Fifth Princess and the other young ladies did try to force them to drink the tea. They knew the tea was not good but still forced them to drink it. How malicious of mind! It would be bad if Miss Xiang heard what Miss Qi said."
Qi Yun pursed her lips, feeling even more aggrieved.
After hearing her provocative words, the ladies didn't want to have anything to do with her at all.
Once the whole family is involved, no one wants to take the risk of offending Ye Qianning again.
Qi Yun was isolated and stood by the pavilion alone, still unable to understand why everyone had become like this.
Looking up, he saw Ye Qianning and Concubine Zhan walking side by side, talking and laughing, and a trace of jealousy flashed through his heart.
The weather was hot and the pavilion was full of people. Concubine Zhan took Ye Qianning to a pavilion farther away.
"Hey, the sun is so big above our heads today, how come it's not hot at all?" Sang Lanyu looked up at the sky. The sun was dazzling, but the temperature around was like spring, cool and comfortable.
"Summer is almost over." Ye Qianning said with a smile.
"That's great. Finally, I don't get woken up every day." Sang Lanyu was happy.
"Children are so easy to fool."
Nan Xiang rushed over from the side with a smile.
"Who said that? I'm not that easy to fool." Sang Lanyu was dissatisfied.
Nan Xiang glanced at her as if she were a fool, and then bowed to the Imperial Concubine Zhan: "Your Highness."
"No need to be so polite, my lady."
The concubine Zhan laughed.
Nan Xiang moved closer to Sang Lanyu and Ye Qianning and said, "It's only August now. It won't be cool until October. Tell me, are you a liar?"
"Then why do you think it's so cool?" Sang Lanyu raised her head and pouted.
"Of course Aning brought good things with her."
"What good stuff? Is it a treasure?"
"A rare treasure in summer." Nan Xiang said and then took Ye Qianning's arm in a flattering manner: "What does ice flakes look like?"
Sang Lanyu also blinked with anticipation.
Ye Qianning chuckled helplessly, pulled his hand away, and took out two ice flakes from the sachet on his waist. He gave one to Sang Lanyu and one to Nan Xiang: "Don't think I don't know what you've endured all this time."
She was hesitant to speak from the moment she got on the carriage.
"Hehe." Nan Xiang grinned, took it and examined it carefully, then held it up to the sun. The ice flakes were very thin and transparent. They felt cool in her hands, and the temperature was just right. "It's amazing! It looks just like ice, but it can control the temperature."
Sang Lanyu was also curious as she stroked the small ice flakes: "Sister, will the ice flakes melt?"
"Won't."
"Not in the summer?"
"Silly girl, this is just a crystal stone that looks like ice." Ye Qianning rubbed her head.
"Crystal? Stone?" Sang Lanyu was extremely curious.
"I guess so."
Sang Lanyu received affirmation and looked at it again and again. The cool feeling of the ice in her hands was extremely comfortable.
Two days before the execution of the imperial concubine, I heard about camphor, which is a precious thing.
These days, there have been rumors in the palace that the emperor has obtained a treasure. The entire palace is cool even without ice. It is said that it was bought from the Bermuda auction.
"It's amazing that there are such magical crystals in the world." Nan Xiang was amazed after watching it carefully.
“There is nothing strange in the world.”
Nan Xiang nodded in agreement: "The capital is too boring now, the Jianghu is still more interesting."
"People in the martial arts world are treacherous. If you go out like this..." Ye Qianning paused and looked her up and down.
"What about me?"
"Easier to deceive than Nian Ning."
“…”
"Hahahaha." Sang Lanyu couldn't help laughing.
"Who said that?"
Nan Xiang stamped her feet in anger.
"The world of Jianghu isn't as peaceful as you think."
"I also know Kung Fu."
Ye Qianning couldn't bear to expose her incompetence.
A few of them chatted and laughed as they walked into the pavilion in the Imperial Garden.
Sang Lanyu liked Ye Qianning very much, so she sat right next to her. Nan Xiang also liked Ye Qianning very much, so the two of them sat on her left and right, moving their chairs around.
The round table for four people finally had three of them sitting close together, and the position where the imperial concubine was to be beheaded was directly opposite the three of them.
Concubine Zhan ordered the maid to prepare some cakes and pastries: "I saw that you hadn't eaten anything just now."
"We ate when we got here."
"The flower viewing banquet will not start until the afternoon, so it will take several hours. You have just recovered from a serious illness, can you still hold on?" Concubine Zhan was a little worried.
"Don't worry, auntie."
"Well, it's really chaotic today, I guess not many people are interested in appreciating the flowers."
"What kind of flowers are you admiring?"
Ye Qianning was quite curious.
"I heard it was a Haiqinglan found in the North Sea. I've never seen what it looks like."
"If it's really Hai Qinglan, it's worth seeing."
Ye Qianning had read in books that the sea orchid blooms once every three years, and the flowering period is only one day. It grows all year round in the crevices of reefs in the sea. It is very southern and very easy to grow.
It must be nourished by the seawater from the North Sea to grow, and its flowers can be used as medicine.
"What's so beautiful about a flower?"
Nan Xiang has never liked flowers and plants. The queen has been taken to the cold palace, and the emperor still wants to look at flowers?
Really—it’s incomprehensible.
"You can look at other things, but the sea orchid is rare. The fragrance it emits is refreshing and beneficial to health." If it is true, this trip will be worthwhile.
“Is it really that good?”
"If you don't believe me, try it later."
After hearing what Ye Qianning said, Nan Xiang really wanted to take a look.
"Sister, is Hai Qinglan a medicine?" Sang Lanyu asked, looking up.
"I guess so."
Sang Lanyu also became interested after hearing this.
"I heard that Nian Ning likes to study medicine?"
"I love studying poisons with Grandpa."
“…”
"Nian Ning, don't talk nonsense." Concubine Zhan scolded.
Sang Lanyu pouted and said, "I didn't bring it to the palace."
"Poison is also medicine. I'll bring you some books on pharmacology someday. You must read them." Ye Qianning thought the child was smart.
"Yes, I want to watch anything my sister brings."
"oh?"
"I like my sister."
“…”
Ye Qianning saw the meaning of love for one's family from a little child.
Concubine Zhan was a little surprised and happy. It seemed that she had never seen her daughter interested in medicine. She had looked for medical skills many times before, but she didn't look at them at all.
He glanced at Ye Qianning, then looked at his daughter looking up at him with a crazy look of admiration, and he was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
The flower viewing banquet at 3 p.m. was very difficult for many young ladies to endure for several hours in the palace.
In the summer, many families have the habit of taking a short break at noon. Concubine Zhan arranged for the young ladies from each family to take a break, and Ye Qianning also took the opportunity to leave everyone's sight.
A corner of the palace.
Ye Qianning also put on a human skin mask and changed his clothes into luxurious and conspicuous clothes. Although the palace maids and eunuchs passing by did not recognize him, they could guess his extraordinary identity from his clothes.
No one stopped him wherever he went.
Ye Qianning wandered around the palace and came to a courtyard. The courtyard was a bit deserted and the gate was closed. Because of the hot weather, there was no one around.
She stretched out her hand and exerted a little force, and the dilapidated door was pushed open.
Although the yard is dilapidated, it is very tidy. There are some flowers and plants planted in the yard. If you look carefully, you can see that many of the flowers are the most common flowers in Dongyi.
Planting flowers makes me miss my hometown. It seems that as people get older, they take many things more seriously.
"Who are you?"
A woman in her forties walked out of the house and was slightly stunned when she saw the girl standing there with the dean.
"I went to the palace for a banquet today and accidentally got lost." Ye Qianning said with an arrogant attitude and extraordinary demeanor.
The old woman had been in the palace for many years and could tell at a glance that the other party was of extraordinary status. Judging from her clothes, she must be the daughter of a noble family and must not be offended.
"What banquet are you attending, young lady?"
"The Queen's post, flower viewing banquet."
"Miss, if you want to go to Fengyi Palace, just go out and head east. You will arrive in about half an hour."
Ye Qianning raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face. "It's hot, let me rest for a while. Can I ask Madam for some water?"
"Okay, wait a moment, miss."
The old woman was holding a kettle in her hand, as if she was about to fetch some water.
Ye Qianning nodded.
The old woman bowed and walked out the door.
Ye Qianning looked back and walked into the room.
There were three rooms connected to each other. There was only a table and chairs in the main hall with a few teacups on it. Turning my head and looking behind the screen, I could vaguely see someone lying on the big bed.
Walking around the screen, she saw an old man wearing only a middle-length dress. It was hot and humid in the summer, and the old woman was sweating profusely. Her bony hands were holding a folding fan, which she seemed to have no strength to support. She placed it in front of her chest and fanned it from time to time.
It was not until Ye Qianning walked to the bed that the old woman on the bed seemed to sense something and opened her eyes.
Her eyes were a little cloudy. She tilted her head slightly and seemed stunned when she saw the woman in brocade clothes.
"Mammy, I'm from Dongwu."
Ye Qianning found a chair and sat at the head of her bed, then went straight to the point.
Mammy's cloudy eyes focused instantly, her pupils dilated, and shock could not be concealed in her eyes.
"Madam, you know the secret of the Xuan family, right?" Ye Qianning said softly, "Now the Xuan family leader has sent me to look for the Eighth Prince. Madam, do you have anything to say?"
"You..." Mammy couldn't believe it.
"Madam, you are also from the Xuan family, so you should recognize this." Ye Qianning took out the small seal script from his sleeve.
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