17. Palace Banquet
◎She's just a widow, so what if she's discovered◎
Chapter 17
The next day, Shengjing had a rare sunny day.
Thinking back to Tian Qu's nonchalant response, "Your Highness is so busy with affairs of state, how can he have the time to pay attention to the numerous civil cases in Jingzhao Prefecture?"
I finally let go of the tension in my heart and suddenly felt tired.
But this unsolved case is always a hidden danger, so Jiang Qiuye asked Jinhong to find the Snowy Owl. Although they couldn't find a ferocious beast directly, they could find a scapegoat.
In this way, even if Ji Ci knew about the three unrecognizable people in the suburbs of the city in the future, he should not suspect her.
Jiang Qiuye, who had originally planned to dress up, no longer had the energy to do so.
After noon, Qiu Ying's carriage also arrived at Guihong Hall and took her into the palace to attend the Queen's chrysanthemum viewing banquet.
Looking at her cheap sister who was sitting opposite her and avoiding her sight, she couldn't help but laugh.
He can show his intention to harm others so clearly on his face, but you can also say that he is too naive.
"Second sister, what happened today? Are you feeling unwell?"
Jiang Qiuye suddenly felt amused.
Qiu Ying looked at her suddenly. Was she discovered?
She stared and shook her head, "No, nothing. The hairpin I wore today was a bit heavy, and it made my neck hurt."
After saying that, he immediately withdrew his gaze, not daring to look at Jiang Qiuye again.
His eyes followed Qiu Ying's solemn floating brocade to the pure gold mask on her head, and her fists clenched the corners of her clothes, even wrinkling the fine fabric.
Jiang Qiuye lowered her head and smiled slightly. This sister still wanted to do bad things. She was really hopeless.
The two of them were silent all the way until they entered the palace, and they could no longer drive the carriage. Looking at the Suzaku Gate closing heavily, Qiu Ying let out a breath.
The palace maid led Jiang Qiuye and her group across the green bricks. She looked at the empty white marble road in the middle of the distance, which led to the Taiji Hall.
Does Ji Ci walk that road every day?
This was the Jinhe Palace of the Later Jin Dynasty. Compared to Ganyang, it was indeed quite different and a bit smaller. It was also said that Emperor Jing'an had hurriedly fled here and left not long after restoring the country. It had only been a mere eleven years.
Today you can still see workers expanding the palace.
The banquet was held in the Imperial Garden, and most of the participants were noble ladies of marriageable age who had just reached the age of marriage.
I heard that the Queen's eldest son died young and she had no children. The second prince was adopted by the Queen and raised under her wing, and was later named Prince of Liang.
The other prince who was enthroned as a king was the fourth prince, King Wei Jisang, born to Concubine Shu.
The King of Wei and the King of Liang had already reached the marriageable age, but they had not yet married.
It seems that this chrysanthemum viewing banquet is a concubine selection meeting for the Queen and the Concubine Shu.
Then this has nothing to do with her.
Qiu Ying had been engaged to Huo Heng for a long time, and she was a widow. No one would marry a widow who would bring bad luck to her husband.
But she was curious about what Qiu Ying wanted to do to her.
"Who is that girl? She is really pretty and her smile is so beautiful that it makes my heart soften. I think the two princes might like her." The old concubine sitting on the throne had been paying attention to Jiang Qiuye below, and couldn't help talking to the queen.
After hearing this, the queen looked up and saw that this girl was indeed sweet-natured. Everyone who talked to her was flattered with smiles on their faces. However, she was a little too beautiful.
"Whose girl is that?" she asked the female official behind her.
Seeing this, the female official felt a little embarrassed. Of course, she knew who was attending the banquet, so she could only say respectfully, "This is Qiu Ziye, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo."
"Duke Anguo...the legitimate daughter..." The queen thought for a while and her face turned ugly.
The old concubine did not know much about the Zhang family. "The legitimate daughter of the Duke of Anguo, this sounds like a high enough status."
The Queen said with a somewhat embarrassed look, "My Queen Mother, you don't know this. The daughter of the Duke of Anguo is a widow. She married General Zhang Liang not long ago, but her entire family died just after they got married. The real culprit is still at large, and this is a sensational case."
The concubine was stunned when she heard this and stopped talking. Then she turned around and looked at the little girl. It was such a pity to see such a pretty and lovable little guy gone.
Concubine Shu glanced at the two of them, unconcerned. She had looked at all the noble ladies today, but she hadn't found any who seemed worthy of her son.
Thinking of the King of Wei, she turned to the maid behind her and asked, "Where's the King of Wei? Why hasn't he come yet even after the banquet started?"
The palace maid frowned and said, "When His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei heard that there would be a chrysanthemum viewing banquet today, he said that he had no interest in women and took the Invincible General and a few young masters to the Douzi Tower."
The Invincible General was a cricket bought by the King of Wei at a huge price. The King of Wei never lingered in brothels, but on weekdays he preferred to play cricket fighting with some dandy young men.
Concubine Shu choked up and guzzled a glass of wine, saying, "This Ji Sang will piss me off to death one day."
Seeing this, the palace maid comforted her, "Don't be angry, Your Majesty. It's not good for your health to get angry. His Highness the Prince of Wei is still young, so it's normal for him to like to have fun."
Concubine Shu put down her wine glass, her expression distorted. "Nineteen is still young, almost coming of age, and it's fine if he doesn't care about sharing his father's worries, but he actually said he has no interest in women. If anyone hears this, they might think he's a homosexual."
On the other hand, Jiang Qiuye felt listless and listless today, but still had to deal with the people around him with a smile, feeling a little annoyed.
I don’t know when the cheap sister’s performance will begin.
Half an hour later, the young masters arrived at the banquet one after another.
Although Jiang Qiuye was hiding quietly by the lake, the young men who came over all glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally.
But after hearing that she was Zhang Liang's widow, no one dared to approach her.
Seeing that Prince Liang beside her was also like this, the Queen felt really angry.
This widow is really a disaster.
Huo Heng also arrived at the banquet. After entering, he went to Jiang Qiuye and Qiu Ying first, and bowed to them: "Sister Ying'er, Sister Ye'er."
Seeing Huo Heng coming, Qiu Ying, who was originally preoccupied with thoughts, was stunned, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks: "My cousin is here."
Jiang Qiuye didn't have much energy today, so he just smiled and nodded slightly, not even calling him cousin.
After Huo Heng greeted Qiu Ying, he kept staring at Jiang Qiuye, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Qiu Ying pursed her lips, her fingers trembling with anger, but she didn't dare to say a word.
The chrysanthemums that the queen had carefully cared for were indeed extremely beautiful. She had tens of thousands of these chrysanthemums collected and placed in the center of the imperial garden for everyone to admire.
Behind the rockery, Ji Ci, who was summoned by the emperor, was leading Tian and passing by the imperial garden. The two did not disturb the banquet that was taking place.
Tian Qu had sharp eyes and spotted Jiang Qiuye standing by the lake at a glance.
"Hey, isn't that Miss Qiu?"
After hearing this, Ji Ci couldn't help but stop and look towards the banquet.
The numerous beauties at the banquet were all gorgeously dressed noble ladies, each with a smile as beautiful as a flower. However, the first thing he saw among the hundreds of flowers was Jiang Qiuye, a delicate white flower.
Her maid Jinhong was standing behind her, and he didn't recognize the woman next to her.
Jiang Qiuye was dressed in a white silk gauze dress, far too little for such cold weather. The chilly wind gently lifted her lotus root powder shawl, covering her face before falling back. She raised her lips slightly, revealing two dimples, looking brighter than a flower.
But the person opposite her was the young master of the Huo family.
This young widow smiled so charmingly at Huo Heng, I wonder if she also called him brother.
That's right, she called Tianqu brother, she called the jailer brother, and now she's probably going to call Heng brother too. How shameless.
Thinking of this, Ji Ci's face darkened a little, and his originally gentle face suddenly turned cold. After coming to his senses, he left the Imperial Garden with an indifferent expression.
Tian went to see Ji Ci walking faster and faster, and was a little confused.
What happened? Why is the master suddenly in a bad mood?
Jiang Qiuye didn't notice what Ji Ci had done. She had no intention of mediating with Huo Heng, so she just responded incoherently.
"What does Sister Ye'er like to do on a daily basis?"
"Read the storybook."
"Oh? I didn't expect Sister Ye'er to be so fond of reading. She's truly a standout among girls. I wonder what kind of books she likes to read?"
"It's just some folk stories."
When it was time for the banquet, each family took their seats and the dishes began to be served.
Jiang Qiuye and Qiu Ying sat at the same table, while Huo Heng sat opposite them, staring at her with fiery eyes.
The palace maids brought wine and food to the table one after another. After watching Jiang Qiuye drink the wine in front of him, Qiu Ying also drank a glass of wine, took a deep breath, and placed the glass heavily on the table.
The maidservant stepped forward and took the chicken soup handed over by the palace maid, and said with a gentle smile: "I will help my sister."
Jiang Qiuye was annoyed by Huo Heng's stare and didn't notice the maid's movements.
The maid was holding a full bowl of chicken soup, but suddenly she slipped and spilled all the soup on Jiang Qiuye's clothes.
The white gauze dress was stained yellow, which looked really disgusting.
"Ah - Miss Qiu, I'm sorry, I deserve to die." The maid said and immediately knelt down.
"Bitch, you can't even serve a bowl of chicken soup properly." Qiu Ying cursed angrily upon seeing this.
Jiang Qiuye finally reacted, looking at the maid with a slightly cold look, then smiled faintly after a moment and said: "I believe you must have done it unintentionally. It's just..."
She turned to look at Qiu Ying, who was sweating beside her, and said, "...This dress is really unwearable. I'm afraid that if I stay here, it will offend the ladies."
When the queen heard the commotion, her face turned unhappy and she asked Jiang Qiuye to go downstairs and change clothes quickly.
Qiu Ying immediately stood up and followed, saying, "Let me accompany you. This is your first time in the palace, so you must be unfamiliar with the place."
She glanced at the maid kneeling on the ground again and said, "Come with me."
After hearing this, the chicken soup maid immediately stood up, answered yes, and followed the two of them.
Jiang Qiuye looked at Qiu Ying's increasingly uneasy face and really wanted to laugh.
The victim hadn't done anything to him yet, but the perpetrator was already frightened into this state.
Arriving at a dormitory, Jiang Qiuye saw a strong scent of some kind of incense burning inside. She walked in and saw a lot of new clothes hanging there, so she started rummaging through them.
But Qiu Ying stopped at the door and didn't go in. She kept staring at Jiang Qiuye in the room, her body trembling.
Seeing the other party looking at him doubtfully, he asked, "Sister, aren't you coming in?"
"No, no."
Just as he finished saying this, Jiang Qiuye's body suddenly went limp, his hand pressing on his solar plexus, then he looked at Qiu Ying, and before he could say anything, he fainted on the ground.
Qiu Ying was stunned when she saw Jiang Qiuye lying on the ground. She had put a sleeping pill in the wine glass and then, at the right time, had her maid sprinkle chicken soup on him.
When the chicken soup maid saw Jiang Qiuye fainted, she immediately stepped forward and dragged him onto the bed.
"Or, or, let's just forget it." Qiu Ying's voice trembled. She was scared.
Yes, she was really scared.
Although she was a concubine of the Duke of Anguo, she was loved by her family since childhood and lived a wealthy life.
She had never hurt anyone, and at most she just loved showing off. She always loved to ridicule Qiu Ziye because she was jealous of her sister's status as a legitimate daughter, jealous of her sister's appearance, and jealous that Huo Heng, whom she loved, only had eyes for her sister.
But it is obvious that my sister is the innocent person.
But now she is going to do this...
"What's over?"
Qiu Ying turned around and found that Huo Heng had followed her.
Compared to the gentle gentleman's appearance at the banquet, Huo Heng's eyes were filled with a certain madness.
"Didn't you promise me that I would marry you as long as I could have Qiu Ziye? Who else can you marry now except me? If you marry someone else, you will only be scolded and ridiculed by your husband's family."
Qiu Ying was so shaken that she burst into tears. "But, but I regret it. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Huo Heng lost his patience, rolled his eyes and walked towards the dormitory.
Qiu Ying stepped forward and grabbed Huo Heng's arm, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Let's just forget it. If someone finds out..."
Huo Heng shook Qiu Ying off, smoothed his sleeves, and said, "It's come to this now, what's the point? She's just a widow, so what if they find out?"
He gave a look to the servant behind him, who immediately stepped forward, covered Qiu Ying's mouth and pulled her out of the room. Seeing this, the chicken soup maid immediately closed the bedroom door and stood guard by the door.
Qiu Ying felt extremely regretful at this moment and felt that she was very stupid.
She had actually fallen for a guy like Huo Heng and even committed herself to him.
She cried and struggled, and was dragged all the way behind the rockery by the servant.
But I didn't expect that I would suddenly be loosened and the shackles would be gone.
When he turned around, he saw that it was the maid Jinhong, and the servant had been knocked unconscious for some reason.
Qiu Ying grabbed Jin Hong as if she had found a savior, crying, "Quick, go find my sister, my sister and Huo Heng are in the dormitory..."
Before Jinhong could say anything, an angry voice came from behind them: "What about Huo Heng?"
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