The female supporting role is really here to mess things up

In a few days, the palace will hold the Imperial Concubine's birthday banquet, and now everyone in the palace is busy preparing for this event. The Imperial Concubine's Palace is also almost too busy to handle it. After receiving the Imperial Concubine's instructions, Nanny Zhang immediately called the people who had been arranged in advance, took the invitation, and went to the Shangshu Mansion together.

When Lu Xingmu heard that someone was sent by the imperial concubine, he looked at the book in his hand, then at the pen in his hand. He quickly told the servants not to let the young lady come out to see people, and then walked quickly to the front hall.

When Nanny Zhang saw that Lu Shangshu came out alone, her smile faded a little. A mere second-rank official came out alone to meet the emperor, but thinking of the imperial concubine's intention, she suppressed her unhappiness and smiled again as she exchanged polite greetings with Lu Xingmu.

"Lord Lu is so lucky. Your daughter is so famous for her talent. The imperial concubine is also looking forward to meeting her. Her birthday is in two days, so she has sent this old servant to invite her."

After hearing this, Lu Xingmu understood that the imperial concubine was preparing for the King of Qi to ascend the throne. She sent the head nanny in her palace to her house, clearly wanting her son, the current King of Qi, to marry Yao'er. But Yao'er was destined to be a phoenix, so how could she marry a prince?

Lu Xingmu was about to express his attitude, but changed his mind. Although the King of Qi is not the crown prince at the moment, the imperial concubine is backed by the entire Wang family. The power of the Wang family in the court cannot be underestimated. In addition, due to the marriage relationship, the branch in Jiangnan is also rich enough to rival a country. Emperor Xiao is still in his prime, and he just replaced the crown prince half a year ago. The emperor's mind is unpredictable, and it is hard to say what will happen in the future.

He went over everything in his mind, quickly changed his words, and spoke with a smile on his face.

"Since it is the Imperial Concubine who has invited me, I will definitely go to the palace early to wish her a happy birthday. Madam Zhang, please help me to greet the Imperial Concubine and thank her for her regard for me."

Nanny Zhang understood what Minister Lu meant. She was happy to accept the olive branch thrown by the Imperial Concubine. The smile in her eyes deepened and she replied politely.

"Master Lu is too polite. I will definitely convey your message. In addition, the Imperial Concubine has specially ordered the best embroiderers in the palace to sew a gorgeous dress for Miss Lu to attend the banquet. I brought it here today."

She waved to the maid behind her, and the little maid behind her hurried forward.

"Your Majesty is very careful and worried that the clothes will not fit, so she asked me to bring an embroiderer with me. I can adjust it according to Miss Lu's size later."

Aunt Zhang pointed out to Lu Xingmu several aspects of the material, ingenuity and meaning of the dress, revealing the imperial concubine's attention and expectations for Lu Shiyao. Lu Xingmu listened carefully and nodded from time to time to express his admiration.

After talking for a while, which delayed her for a while, Nanny Zhang felt that her face was almost frozen from smiling, so she looked up at the sky and prepared to leave for the palace, so she stood up and said goodbye to Lu Xingmu.

"It's getting late, and the Imperial Concubine is still waiting for me in the palace. So I and the Imperial Concubine will be waiting for Lord Lu and Miss Lu in the palace."

Seeing this, Lu Xingmu did not stop him and just walked out with him.

"Then Madam Zhang, please take care. I will see you off as well."

After Nanny Zhang got into the sedan chair and left, Lu Xingmu asked the housekeeper to send the embroiderer and the gorgeous clothes that Nanny Zhang had specially left to her eldest daughter's courtyard. He also sent a message to his own daughter, asking her to treat the embroiderer in the palace well and to personally prepare a gift for the imperial concubine to celebrate her birthday.

After the others walked away, Lu Xingmu stopped laughing and walked towards his study. Before entering, he asked the butler to come in with him and closed the door.

"How long has the second young lady been at the Duke's Mansion?" Without waiting for the butler to finish his reply, he continued, "Send someone to bring her back to me tomorrow."

"Master, the Imperial Concubine wants the eldest daughter to come to the palace for the banquet today. The second daughter seems..." The butler spoke carefully, and before he finished speaking, he felt a heavy pressure on his left shoulder.

"Although the second girl is always a drag, her face is still of great value. Even though Yao'er is destined to be the queen, it is impossible to predict who will win in the end. I asked the second girl to attend the banquet because I wanted to find a noble family to support the Shangshu Mansion."

The calculation in Lu Xingmu's eyes was so clear that the housekeeper couldn't help but feel sorry for the second young lady. The master was just using the second young lady as a stepping stone. But he was just a small housekeeper, and being kind would not benefit him. He still had to think more about himself.

"Master, what if the Duke's Mansion won't let us go? Old Madam Song always asked the Second Miss to stay for a few more days. But the date of the Imperial Concubine's birthday banquet has been set, and it's only a few days away. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it."

Lu Xingmu thought the housekeeper's words made sense, and after thinking for a while, he spoke, "Then tell Madam Song that I broke my leg, and ask the second girl to come back to see me as soon as possible."

After hearing this, the housekeeper was even more impressed with his master. He was so cruel that he even cursed himself. But he couldn't say anything more. He went back to the door and told the doorman that he would arrange a sedan chair tomorrow morning and go to the Duke's Mansion to pick up the second young lady. A figure hiding not far away turned around immediately after hearing this and disappeared at the alley in the blink of an eye.

The next morning, the butler went out, unaware that two people were following him. When he arrived at the Duke's Mansion, Lu Qingxi was having lunch with her grandmother and cousin.

When Old Madam Song heard that someone was coming from the Shangshu Mansion, she calculated the days and found that Xier had been in the Duke's Mansion for more than ten days. She was not sure what her cheap son-in-law meant, but she deliberately asked someone to wait outside for a while, and only called him in after they finished their meal.

After hearing what the housekeeper of the Lu Mansion said, Old Madam Song tapped the table lightly with her fingers, glanced at her grandson who was stiff beside her, and sighed slowly. Filial piety has always been above heaven, and Xi'er's reputation outside was not good. Even if she was reluctant, she still had to let her go back.

"Then Xier, please go back home today. But I still have something to say to my grandson, so you can go downstairs and wait." After saying that, he asked Nanny Li to take the person out.

Old Madam Song held Lu Qingxi with her left hand and Song Yi with her right hand, and spoke slowly.

"I won't say much about the rest. What worries me the most right now is Xier... Yier, you have to promise grandma that you will help your cousin more in the future, both at home and outside." After she finished speaking, she folded their hands together, and the four hands were tightly clasped in Old Madam Song's arms, and slowly loosened after a long while.

Old Madam Song then nodded to Nanny Li, who immediately understood and took out the box that had been prepared earlier from the table next to her and handed it to the old lady.

Mrs. Song took the box and opened it. Inside was a hairpin, with gold and silver threads interwoven into a delicate texture, inlaid gems sparkling, interlaced pearls small and exquisite, and flowers on the side lifelike, showing extraordinary splendor. The material is superior, the touch is gentle, and it is obvious that it is not an ordinary product.

Old Madam Song took out a hairpin and gently inserted it on her granddaughter's head. "This is your mother's favorite jewelry when she was alive. Grandmother has always forgotten to give it to you. After we say goodbye today, I don't know when we will meet again..." Then she took out an exquisite sachet from her sleeve and tied it around her granddaughter's waist.

"There is a peace amulet in it that I sent someone to get from the Fahua Temple. You must always carry it with you. Be careful. If you have any problems, you can ask your grandmother and your cousin for help."

Lu Qingxi didn't want to make her grandmother sad, so she held back the tears in her eyes, said a few words to reassure the old lady, and went back to Zhuyuan to pack her luggage.

Mrs. Song's eyes turned red after her granddaughter left. She was so reluctant to let her granddaughter go that she let her grandson go to see her off. Song Yi was also very reluctant to let her go. Seeing the old lady's sad face, he felt bad and comforted his grandmother for a long time.

Then I strode towards the door, luckily in time to say goodbye to my cousin. There were so many things I wanted to say, but in the end I only said one sentence.

"Take care of yourself."

Song Yi saw his cousin nod to him, and then lowered the curtain of the sedan chair. Ah Quan, who was standing by, saw that his young master had said goodbye to his cousin, and raised his hand to signal that the sedan chair could move forward.

Song Yi stood there in a daze, and did not move even though the sedan had already left his sight. Ah Quan, who was standing by, knew that his young master was reluctant to leave his cousin, and was not in a position to persuade him. After a long while, he saw his young master turn around and go back to his own courtyard.

On the other side, Xiao Ruixuan, who had learned from the shadow guard that Lu Qingxi was going back to the Shangshu Mansion from the Duke's Mansion, immediately left the Prince's Mansion. Two hours later, he appeared on the road that Lu Qingxi had to take to return to the Shangshu Mansion.

The servants who were bribed yesterday specially brought people to the narrow alley where the prince was, and the housekeeper of the Lu Mansion was also deliberately sent away.

Lu Qingxi listened to the overly quiet atmosphere outside the sedan chair and felt something was wrong. He wanted to lift the sedan chair to check, but when he looked at Xiaohuan, who was as weak as he was, he withdrew his slightly raised hand. He didn't dare to speak rashly, so he had to listen quietly to the movement outside.

Just as Lu Qingxi was trying hard to recall whether there were any points in the plot that he had missed, steady footsteps different from those of the sedan bearers were heard outside.

The person who came was none other than Xiao Ruixuan, who had specially arranged all this. He himself could never have imagined that the person in the sedan chair was the person in the painting that he had been thinking about day and night.

At this moment, he had already determined in his heart that the second young lady of the Lu family was a despicable person, so he did not intend to beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose.

"The Imperial Concubine's birthday is in a few days. The Shangshu Mansion is on the list of guests for the banquet, but I hope Miss Lu will not go."

Lu Qingxi felt a little unhappy when she heard the man's stiff tone and commanding words. The man did not hide his identity. The only people who could call themselves "I" were either the prince or the emperor. And his voice sounded young, so he must be the prince. Xiaohuan beside him was not a fool, and naturally knew the other party's identity, and hurriedly held her lady's hand tightly.

Seeing that the person in the sedan did not react, Xiao Ruixuan thought that the other party did not want to agree, so he threatened, "More than half a month ago, I picked up a jade ring in the Princess's Mansion. It seems that the second young lady left it when she asked someone to do something for her. If the second young lady attends the banquet in the palace, I will return it on the spot. That's all I have to say. The second young lady should think carefully about whether to go to this banquet or not." After that, he turned away.

Xiao Huan's face turned pale with fright after hearing the following words. She suppressed her fear until the footsteps disappeared and then she spoke tremblingly: "Miss, the prince...he...he knows. It's all...all...all my fault. I didn't take good care of the aftermath. I'm sorry, Miss. I'm sorry..."

Lu Qingxi felt so distressed when he saw Xiaohuan's frightened look. He hugged her still trembling body and patted her gently to comfort her.

"It's okay. The prince didn't make a big deal out of it, nor did he punish me. He deliberately sent others away today to communicate with me privately. His purpose was just to prevent your young lady from going to the palace banquet. If I don't go, it shouldn't be a big deal... It's okay, it's okay."

Lu Qingxi said comforting words, but she was already deeply dissatisfied with the prince. She hated being forced to do things. Although she was not interested in the palace banquet, she felt very depressed when she was forced not to go. Now that this person had caught the original body's handle, she had to avoid the place where he was in the future. This male protagonist was really annoying.