The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

"The eldest princess asked the county lady to prepare clothes and jewelry for entering the palace the day after tomorrow, and send them to the eldest princess's courtyard for selection." The maid informed.

Cai Jia, who was in charge of Lady Duanning's clothing, hurriedly responded and prepared to open the box to start choosing.

Shen Baozhao saw that everyone in Duan Ning County's room was in a mess. Only Duan Ning was still lying there, looking dispensable.

He said goodbye and took Qingkong back to the Ning'an Earl's Mansion.

As expected, as soon as he returned home, he received news from Aunt Lan that an imperial decree had been issued from the palace, requiring him not to be absent.

Now, only the second master of the Shen family is qualified to bring his family into the palace to attend the banquet.

Shen Baozhao had a headache, and she had intended to pretend to be sick. But looking at the situation, it would be better if she didn't go and not be discovered.

It would be bad if someone with ulterior motives took advantage of this and accused Mr. Shen of disrespecting the Empress Dowager.

Although she was confident that if she pretended to be sick, even the imperial physician would not be able to detect the clues. But if she said she was sick at this juncture, she would always be suspected.

Forget it, let’s go, Shen Baozhao sighed.

Aunt Lan asked Shen Baozhao very enthusiastically if he needed any help.

She also presented a gold hairpin with a peony pattern and inlaid pearls. It was obviously a palace style, very exquisite and valuable.

It seems that Shen Jing is living well in the palace, and she can even have people send gifts and messages out.

Shen Baozhao appreciated Aunt Lan's kindness. The peony hairpin was too eye-catching, and even if she wanted to attend the banquet, she hoped to do nothing and not stand out.

"Miss, the doorman brought it." Shen Baozhao was still thinking about something when Bixiao came in holding a box.

Shen Baozhao took the wooden box suspiciously and opened it.

There actually lay a emerald green hairpin with a cunning puppy carved on it, which looked lifelike and very cute.

Shen Baozhao played with the jade hairpin and asked, "Do you know who sent it?"

Bi Xiao replied: "It was said that it was sent by the personal servant of the Prince of Yu County Mansion."

Prince Yu's Mansion? Grandmother? Why are you sending so many banknotes?

Yes, there was a thick stack of silver bills under the hairpin.

Shen Baozhao took it out and counted it. There were a total of 100,000 taels! 100,000 taels, this amount was frighteningly large.

Shen Baozhao was a little surprised. This must not be a gift from her grandmother. If it was, she would have handed it to her personally.

Shen Baozhao put the banknotes back into the box. The box was made very delicately. She noticed that the height of the box was not right, so she knocked on the bottom with her hand.

Sure enough, there was a muffled "dong dong" sound, and there was a secret compartment in the box!

Shen Baozhao carefully touched the bottom and found a slightly raised position. He pressed it and saw a small secret compartment pop out.

There was a thin piece of paper inside, and on it was a letter.

"Congratulations to cousin Zhao Zhao on her coming of age ceremony. Prince Li Daiyu's mansion sends you a belated gift. I hope you will accept it."

It turned out to be a coming-of-age gift sent by Prince Yu's Mansion, but it was a little too expensive.

I guess most families can't come up with this amount of 100,000 taels all at once.

Shen Baozhao felt that one should not accept rewards without merit, and she did not recognize Prince Yu's family for money.

Her grandparents gave her the love and care of family members, and she could not accept any more money.

After thinking for a while, she took out the jade hairpin and put all the banknotes neatly in it.

He handed the box back to Bixiao and instructed, "Take the hairpin, and give the rest to the prince of Yujun Palace. Just say that I appreciate the kindness of Yujun Palace, and don't take the rest.

Otherwise, I will always feel awkward when interacting with people in the palace in the future."

Bixiao took over the task and went out in a hurry.

Shen Baozhao couldn't let go of the jade hairpin with the puppy in it. This hairpin was more suitable for the banquet the day after tomorrow than the one sent by Aunt Lan.

The appearance is above average, the most important thing is the carving and the childlike fun on it. Although it is not gorgeous, it does not lose its status when worn.

To match the hairpin, Shen Baozhao chose three sets of clothes: moon white, goose yellow, and light blue.

Moon white is too abrupt and eye-catching, so it was ruled out first. In the end, light blue was chosen, which is quite decent, not charming, but also dignified.

As there were too many people attending banquets in the palace, it was required that no servants were allowed to be brought along.

If something happens, there are palace maids and eunuchs. So it also means that there is no way to bring a set of clothes in case of emergency.

If light colors get wet or dirty, it will look strange. But it is absolutely not allowed for her to wear bright red.

Combined with the previous speculations, it is easy to know that this banquet will most likely be a banquet for the princes to select concubines.

"Miss, Miss, Xiaobai is here." Because Bixiao was out, it was Luoxia who brought Xiaobai here.

Having not seen Xiaobai for some time, Luoxia stroked its feathers lovingly and handed it to Shen Baozhao.

It's really lively today, with everyone sending her gifts or letters.

Shen Baozhao opened the note, which read, "There will be a palace banquet tomorrow, be careful. If anything happens, go to Jiuxiao Palace for help."

It was another warning note. It seemed that the owner of the note was very capable and even had helpers in the palace.

Fortunately, he is a friend, not an enemy. But isn't Jiuxiao Palace the residence of the concubines in the harem? Could this person be a relative of the emperor?

Shen Baozhao was a little confused, but gradually realized that the owner of the note had good intentions.

Then she continued to reply "OK" using the gardenia paper.

Over there, Prince Huai's palace received the one-word note sent back by Xiaobai and showed a satisfied look.

If he was outside the palace, with An Er's men watching him all the time, he would be able to protect Shen Baozhao.

But in the palace, even he could only bring one An Yi with him, so of course he was very worried about Shen Baozhao's situation.

He knew that the prince coveted Shen Baozhao, and if anything really happened, he would probably regret it.

This warning was not enough, he would have to protect her secretly in the future.

When will these days of hiding in the dark end? Xiao Yuanhuai was also getting a little impatient.

But he convinced himself not to act rashly, as the people around him who secretly harmed Zhao Zhao in his previous life had not yet been found.

If he dragged her into his world again, he was afraid that the scene outside the imperial city walls would be repeated.

He couldn't bear it a second time!

The scent of gardenia wafted into his nose, and Xiao Yuanhuai solemnly placed the flowery paper into the drawer of his desk.

He closed his eyes and thought. As far as he knew, the officials of the Eastern Palace all unanimously proposed that the prince marry Duan Ning, but his good brother was not happy to see the prince become more powerful.

I believe there will be a good show the day after tomorrow.

He had reminded Xue Sheng, and it was fair to say that he had a good relationship with Xue Sheng. However, the Princess's Mansion seemed to have not taken any action yet.

His elder sister has always been self-willed, but I wonder if she can stand her ground if she goes against the emperor?

The eldest princess, who was still matching jewelry for Duan Ning until the evening, received the news from Caiwei.

He was so angry that he rushed into the courtyard of Lady Duanning.

He stared at the trembling maids and old women kneeling in the yard, with red eyes, and asked majestically like a god.

"Tell me, where did the county lady go?"

At the same time, Shen Baozhao of Zhaoming Garden also received news from Caiwei.

Duan Ning is missing!