Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Qinglan blushed and quickly explained:
"I didn't. Don't think too badly of people. It's clearly you who's in the wrong. You're short-sighted and only care about what's in front of you!"
At this moment, the princess also spoke up.
"Princess Qinglan, today is the Empress's birthday banquet. Let's not make things unpleasant for everyone. Let's talk about it later."
The Empress glanced at Jiang Yuwei kneeling on the ground, then turned to exchange a look with the Princess, before speaking coldly:
"Princess Consort Jing is right. Qinglan, don't go too far. Today, I just want to have a peaceful birthday celebration."
"Yes, Qinglan is really too tactless."
"She's just acting lawlessly because the Empress Dowager favors her."
"Exactly, they're a loving couple, why does she have to interfere?"
“I think Madam Jiang is right. Princess Qinglan is using us all as pawns.”
"What are we? Didn't you see? The Empress Dowager and the Empress were both tricked by her?"
"She really doesn't care about her reputation at all, just to get married."
"Hmph, since she's using us as pawns, we'd better spread her word properly once we leave the palace."
At this moment, seeing that both the Empress and the Princess had spoken, Qinglan knew she couldn't dwell on the matter. After all, today was the Empress's birthday banquet, and if she stole the limelight, the Empress would naturally be unhappy.
So Qinglan quickly stood up, bowed to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and said:
"Thank you for your kindness to Qinglan, Grandmother. Qinglan was being disrespectful today and disturbed the Empress's happy day. Let's talk about this later."
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to give up. At least she had found a way to save face. Otherwise, she might have really lost face in front of so many people if she had to deal with Ning Huaizhi and his inflexible husband.
Now that the matter was resolved, the Empress Dowager had no desire to remain in the hall. She simply rose and said:
"I am getting old and cannot sit for long. I only came to see the Empress today. Now that the gift has been delivered, I will go back to rest."
After saying that, he had Qinglan help him leave, and as he passed by Jiang Yuwei, he gave her a meaningful glare.
Jiang Yuwei ignored her and simply bowed. Only after the Empress Dowager and Princess Qinglan had left did the Empress's expression soften considerably. She then addressed Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi, who were still kneeling below:
"Alright, stop kneeling down there and get up quickly, we're about to start the feast."
After saying that, Ning Huaizhi helped Jiang Yuwei to her feet. Jiang Yuwei smiled at Ning Huaizhi, and the two went back to their respective seats.
After lunch, the Empress ordered dessert to be served, and everyone moved to the courtyard to watch the play.
As night fell, the princess smiled at the queen and said:
"Your Majesty, you always look at these things. It's time to change things up today. The Prince's Palace has prepared a special gift for Your Majesty. Please move to the outer courtyard to take a look."
The Empress was a little tired after sitting all day, and when she heard from the Princess Consort that there were some unusual things to see, she nodded happily and said:
“Okay, I’m getting a bit tired of sitting here, let’s go over and take a look.”
After saying this, the Empress led the entourage in a grand procession towards the outer courtyard.
At this moment, Yun Qing and Tie Zhu had already been waiting here. When they saw the Empress arrive with her entourage, Tie Zhu was somewhat nervous and at a loss.
He, a peasant, never dared to imagine that he would be able to enter the palace in his lifetime, let alone see the Empress's beautiful face up close. Even after following Ning Huaizhi and Ning Zhao to various places for so many days, he could not hide his excitement at this moment.
Yun Qing seemed to sense Tie Zhu's agitation, and said coldly:
"Tiezhu, stay calm and cooperate with me. If anything goes wrong, we'll both be in danger."
Upon hearing Yun Qing's words, Tie Zhu's previous excitement vanished instantly, leaving only tension, as he did not want to lose his life just by entering the palace.
So he calmed himself down, picked up the water ladle and the dozens of buckets of water he had prepared, and stood back a bit, focusing his attention on the fire kettle in Yun Qing's hand.
After Jiang Yuwei saw that the Empress had stopped, she gestured to Yun Qing. Yun Qing did not hesitate and immediately picked up the fire pot and started playing with it.
Initially, the crowd was somewhat frightened by this unusual object and dared not approach. However, after seeing Yun Qing demonstrate how well he controlled the fire, they gradually relaxed and began to discuss it animatedly.
"What a rare thing this is! I've never seen anything like it before."
"The gifts from Prince Jing's residence are indeed extraordinary."
"Yes, look how powerful that guy is."
"So beautiful, so beautiful."
"That's right, this thing is really best performed after dark. Look at the sparks flying everywhere, it's truly impressive."
"This guy looks like he's a trained fighter. The iron lump in his hand is so heavy that most people would have trouble lifting it, let alone playing with it like that."
At this moment, Xu Qianqian was secretly delighted to see that the fire kettle was meant to be used that evening. She had thought Jiang Yuwei had changed the gift, but unexpectedly, she still gave her this fire kettle.
Xu Qianqian felt very clever when she realized that she had ordered Zhu Hua to tamper with the charcoal long ago. These people were still there, laughing foolishly, and she couldn't afford to get hurt. She had to stay away and watch from a distance.
Thinking this, Xu Qianqian tugged at Ning Chunlin beside her and whispered:
“Brother Chunlin, it’s the same if we look from the side. I’m a little scared because we’re so close right now.”
Ning Chunlin was engrossed in watching and didn't care about Xu Qianqian's feelings, so he impatiently waved his hand and said:
"What's there to be afraid of? This is a special gift from our Prince Jing's Mansion to the Empress. Of course I have to get closer to see it clearly."
Upon hearing Ning Chunlin's words, Xu Qianqian was stunned for a few seconds, then nervously grabbed Ning Chunlin's sleeve and asked:
"Brother Chunlin, isn't this a gift that Jiang Yuwei gave to the Empress? How did it become a gift from Prince Jing's Mansion?"
Ning Chunlin turned around impatiently and glared at Xu Qianqian, then raised her hand and shook off Xu Qianqian's hand, saying with a hint of anger:
"You're confused. This is clearly a gift from the Prince's Mansion to the Empress. How dare Jiang Yuwei steal such credit?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qianqian's heart sank to the bottom, and she kept muttering:
"How could this be? This...this wasn't a gift prepared by Jiang Yuwei. How could Yun Qing...What have I done? It's all over, it's all over. If something goes wrong, won't the blame fall on the Prince Jing's mansion?"
At this moment, Xu Qianqian had long lost her previous joy. Instead, her legs felt weak, she could hardly stand, and even her back was covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Seeing that Xu Qianqian was acting strangely, Zhuhua, who was following behind, quickly stepped forward to help her up.
"Auntie, what's wrong with you?"
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