The subtle fragrance of cotton needles

"Your Highness, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to bring Aunt Jin to the New Year's banquet. Besides, the Third Miss is also going today!" Yizhu asked Mo Yuchen secretly as they walked.

"Does the king need your guidance in what to do?"

"But Your Highness, you have never brought any woman to a palace banquet. Although you can bring anyone, this first one is going to cause a sensation!"

"That's good. The more people know about it, the better. Go and get some eunuchs to tell them about Concubine Jin's favor."

Yizhu was a little confused. He vaguely knew that Concubine Jin seemed to have a man outside, but he kept it very secret. But the prince knew it, but he pretended to be very fond of her!

Mo Yuchen was riding on his horse, thinking to himself.

This is not his woman, his first and only one, it can only be that one!

After getting off the carriage, Aunt Jin followed in small steps.

Speaking of which, this concubine Jin can be considered a pretty girl from a small family, with phoenix eyes, a cherry mouth, and two perfectly strands of hair that highlight her fragility. However, her clothing style is vaguely similar to that of someone else, and even her demeanor is somewhat similar.

Mo Yuchen put on a smile, but his heart was extremely cold. He was just trying to imitate others: "Let's go!"

After entering the palace, most of the ministers had arrived. Opposite Xia Zhibai's seat were the women of the Minister of Rites's household.

Today she wore a turquoise inner jacket, a emerald white outer shirt, and a moon-white coat, with the breeze and the bright moon, and the new willows in spring.

Mo Yuchen took a quick look and stopped looking, fearing that his plans for today would be ruined.

"His Royal Highness Prince Luo has arrived!"

Everyone stood up and saluted: "Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Luo."

"Stand up." Mo Yuchen deliberately walked slower, just to wait for Aunt Jin behind him.

"Hey, who is that? Why is he walking so close to His Royal Highness Prince Luo?"

"She is Concubine Jin of Prince Luo's Mansion. It is said that she is the most favored one in the past three months!"

"Ah! His Royal Highness Prince Luo even brought her to the palace banquet. This is the first time His Royal Highness Prince Luo has brought a woman to the palace banquet!"

"Look, look, she's wearing cloud brocade! Your Highness Prince Luo is really generous!"

……

All of a sudden, the women started talking about it.

Aunt Jin followed Mo Fuchen calmly with her head down, until Mo Fuchen sat down, then she knelt carefully behind his left side.

Then Mo Yuyang and Xia Pinxiang came together.

Xia Pinxiang wore a rose-red official uniform, and her hair accessories changed from those of a girl in the boudoir to the solemn and gorgeous headdress of a palace concubine.

But he looked a little thin, probably because he had spent a lot of energy dealing with Mo Yuyang's concubines!

"His Royal Highness Prince Yuan has arrived!"

"Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Yuan!"

"No gift!"

As soon as he sat down, Mo Yuyang saw Tu and others sitting opposite him.

Xia Yanxiang didn't like heavy colors and preferred light colors. She looked particularly fresh and refined among the many women wearing dark colors. In addition, she had just recovered from a serious illness and was not talkative, which made her look like a cold beauty.

Mo Yuyang's eyes revealed a hint of amusement.

Xia Pinxiang was sitting on his left, so naturally she saw Xia Yanxiang sitting opposite her, but she was just smiling and listening to what Qianxiang was saying, and had no intention of even looking over here.

Mo Yuyang was just released from the Dali Temple half a month ago, and Xia Liu put a lot of effort into this.

It took a lot of effort for the Minister of Works to give in and say that he had harbored a grudge against Prince Yuan and had deliberately forged the accounts to frame him.

But his one-sided statement alone was certainly not credible. However, the Dali Temple could not get any definite evidence to prove that Mo Yuyang was guilty, so they had to release him.

Mo Yuyang lost a lot of weight. He finally returned to Prince Yuan's Mansion, and heard Xia Pinxiang complaining to him that there were too many concubines in the mansion and it was difficult to manage them. He was so angry that he slept in Xia Pinxiang's room for two days and never set foot in Xia Pinxiang's room again.

Xia Yanxiang glanced at Mo Yuyang vaguely, then quickly put away her glance, and the smile on her lips became brighter.

"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress Dowager has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager!"

"My dear ministers, please stand up! Today is the New Year's banquet. The New Year is coming soon. I don't want you to worry about any political affairs. Let's enjoy the banquet!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After everyone was seated, dancers came in from the official gate to dance to entertain the audience.

The third princess, Mo Yuanli, sat next to the imperial concubine. She looked at Xia Yanxiang, who was dancing opposite her with a hint of amusement, and asked, "Mother, is that the third young lady? I haven't seen her for many years."

"Isn't it? The Shangshu's wife doesn't like to go out, and she rarely shows up in front of people."

Mo Yuanli nodded: "The last time I saw her was when I was coming of age. My father held a coming-of-age banquet for me. That was the only time I saw her."

"Who told you to forget about your mother after you got married? Miss Third is different this year than in previous years. She came to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet and went on an outing. There are plenty of opportunities to see you. Who told you not to come?"

Mo Yuanli touched her belly and said, "Isn't this because I'm too lazy to move? The little guy keeps bothering me again."

Mo Yuanli has been pregnant for eight months. The imperial physician told her to move around more, as she will give birth in about a month and a half.

"You, please move around more, otherwise it will be very painful for you during delivery." The imperial concubine also touched her belly, thinking that the little girl was so well-behaved when she was in her belly, but now it was the little girl's turn to be a mother, she became very nervous.

"Okay, eat what you should eat, and don't touch what you shouldn't touch. Son-in-law, look at her, this disobedient one."

Mo Yuanli's husband is from the Shanyin Shen family. He won the second place in the imperial examination five years ago and was sad alone, but then he met the third princess. They fell in love at first sight, so he asked the emperor for permission to be transferred to another place for two years. He would come back to marry the princess after he cured the flood in the south.

The emperor had never seen such a person before, so he agreed after asking the imperial concubine.

Within two years, Shen Zhe successfully cured the flood and returned with his beloved wife.

Shen Zhe smiled and said, "Ah Li, if you want to see the Third Miss, I will go and invite her over in a while. Just sit down and eat something. I specially asked my father to prepare this for me in the imperial kitchen."

"I don't want to drink, I just want something sour."

Shen Zhe pressed the mattress on her legs and said, "I know. I also prepared sour plum soup. I specially picked the sourest plums to make it."

As he said that, he scooped a bowl for her and tasted it himself first. It was indeed very sour, making his teeth ache. Then he passed it to Mo Yuanli.

The sour taste hit her face, and the imperial concubine sitting next to her also felt sour: "Li'er, why are you eating more and more sour food recently?"

Mo Yuanli drank by himself and did not answer the Imperial Concubine's question. Only Shen Zhe replied from the side: "A Li has been craving for acid these days. I have asked the imperial physician to see her. As long as she eats less sweets and tonics and eats more acidic foods, there will be no problem. Mother, don't worry."

"That's good. Seeing that Li'er hasn't lost any weight, I think Uncle is worried about her. She will cry after she gives birth."

Shen Zhe looked at Mo Yuanli lovingly and smiled: "It's okay to be fat, so that others won't always worry about you."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yuanli put down the bowl, angrily hit Shen Zhe, and complained to the Imperial Concubine: "Mother, this brat always wants to make me fat! I am a princess after all, it would be so embarrassing if I get fat!"

"It's not shameful, it's not shameful. The chubby little princess is so cute, how can it be shameful?" When he met the little princess, she still had some baby fat on her face. Who would have thought that two years later, the chubby princess had been reborn, noble and beautiful, with a slim and attractive figure. The admiration he had when he first saw her was quickly replaced by a desire to possess her.

So after the marriage, he kept trying to make the princess fatter, or less beautiful, so as to prove that other men who loved her were just after her beauty.