As expected by everyone, she became the wife of the Marquis after being married off

Emperor Yingde's birthday banquets were not grand in the past, but this happened to be the time when the crown prince was appointed, and Emperor Yingde meant to leave the matter to the crown prince, which could be regarded as lending himself to give Li Xuli a chance.

The birthday banquet will be attended by royal nobles, as well as civil and military officials of some reputation, so it can be seen that it is a very elaborate and solemn banquet.

The palace maids moved in and out of it, carefully holding carved jade vessels filled with cakes and fruits, which flew in like butterflies and disappeared without a trace.

Meng Changce glanced at the Jinyiwei standing on both sides, pulled Shen Lanyue to his side and held her hand.

Shen Lanyue looked up at him, gently grasped his palm, and smiled.

"I will let Fu Bei stay with you today. Don't go anywhere, and don't trust anyone."

Shen Lanyue was stunned when she heard that. She glanced at the people around her and set her sights on Fu Bei, who was observing with his arms folded in the corner. She retracted her gaze after a second and nodded.

It seems that Li Wenxuan will take action again, today.

Meng Changce chuckled twice and met her gaze without any hesitation.

She is smart. Meng Changce never doubted that Shen Lanyue could not guess this. And with her inexplicable hatred for King Sheng, she could also see the difference here.

Moreover, before Meng Changce set out this time, he didn't want Shen Lanyue to bring the child to the palace, but when he didn't know how to tell her, Shen Lanyue took the initiative to say that the child was still young and asked him to stay in the mansion.

So Meng Changce guessed that she might have had some vague doubts.

After the two of them understood what was going on, they stopped talking and walked into the banquet hand in hand.

As the wind music sounded, the guests arrived one after another. The dragon throne and the queen's throne on the high seat were still vacant, waiting for their master. Shen Lanyue took the tea handed by Meng Changce and saw the smiling Concubine Xian under the cover.

At the same time, seeing that Concubine Xian had ascended to the throne, Concubine Chun also had a gentle look on her face, and was chatting with several concubines around her with a faint and elegant smile.

This includes Concubine Xian.

None of them showed any signs of abnormality, and there was not even a hint that they had ever rejected Concubine Chun together.

A sharp voice rang out, breaking the harmonious atmosphere. Emperor Yingde, dressed in dragon robes, and the graceful and elegant empress appeared at the banquet, and the guests stood up to greet them.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress. Long live the Emperor, long live the Empress!"

Emperor Yingde stood on a high seat and waved his hand: "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Everyone took their seats according to their rank. As the banquet was about to begin, dancers came in one after another, singing and dancing, with melodious voices, adding a bit of elegance and joy to the banquet.

After that, the princes and princesses presented the gifts they had prepared, and the concubines also expressed their congratulations to the emperor one by one. After that, it was the royal family and relatives who came.

Emperor Yingde only drank a few sips of wine under the congratulations of the Crown Prince and the Queen, and then did not touch anything else.

"Your Majesty." The Queen frowned, looked at the pale face of Emperor Yingde who had ascended the throne, coughed a few times, and called out with some concern on her face.

Emperor Yingde raised his eyes to look at her, frowned slightly, and stared at her with displeasure.

Obviously, he did not want anyone to see that he was unwell at this moment. No matter what the Queen's look meant, it was not a good sign for Emperor Yingde at this moment.

The queen was stared at by his sharp gaze. She suppressed her inner depression and looked away.

"Your Majesty, I have accompanied you for several years. Now I see that my children have all started their own families and careers. This is all due to your grace to me."

The virtuous concubine walked to the side of Emperor Yingde holding a wine glass, and looked at him with a smile as gentle as the spring breeze. Her eyes seemed to be filled with endless emotions and longing that had gone through vicissitudes of life.

Emperor Yingde was slightly startled as he looked at these eyes. He didn't know what he remembered after hearing her words, but a hint of nostalgia and concern appeared in his cold eyes.

"Now the flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. I remember that you like them the most. Don't stay in your palace. Go out and walk around more when you have time."

This sentence is a metaphor that the confinement of Concubine Xian has been lifted.

The virtuous concubine simply smiled faintly: "Yes, today I wish the emperor a long life, and may there be spring every year." After saying that, she picked up the wine jug in front of Emperor Yingde, poured wine in it, and smiled at Emperor Yingde.

Emperor Ying De looked at her and glanced at Tang Hai beside him.

Tang Hai walked up to Emperor Yingde, filled his glass, and stepped aside.

Emperor Yingde picked up the wine glass on the table and accepted her toast.

"I will not disturb the emperor any more. I am taking my leave." After the virtuous concubine toasted, she withdrew naturally, without any intention of continuing to seek favor.

Emperor Yingde nodded with satisfaction at her gentleness and understanding.

The virtuous concubine ignored the gazes of the concubines and returned to her seat contentedly, as if nothing had happened.

The actions of Concubine Xian prompted many concubines to follow suit, but none of them met Emperor Yingde's standards and returned home in disgrace.

The Queen would not be like the Concubine Xian. She was the mother of a country. Even if Emperor Yingde disliked her, he would still give her some face. After drinking the wine offered by the Queen, Emperor Yingde's face turned bad.

He sat upright in the chair, his fingers clenched, his breathing became rapid, and his face turned from pale to red.

Tang Hai, who was standing by, saw that something was wrong and quickly called out, "Your Majesty?"

Emperor Ying De felt as if he had lost his hearing, his eyes were dizzy, he could not see people clearly, and he could hear Tang Hai's voice sometimes clearly and sometimes unclearly.

He clenched Tang Hai's sleeve, trying to grab a life-saving piece of driftwood, and raised his head desperately to breathe.

Suddenly, a scream was heard, and many men in black rushed out of the crowd and grabbed the adults and women at the table. A group of them rushed towards Yingde's position.

"Escort!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Imperial Guards appeared at the banquet with swords in their hands. There were flashes of swords and sabers. Tang Hai kicked the assassin who was approaching.

Emperor Yingde fell on the dragon throne, his eyes sometimes clear and sometimes blurred. He leaned on the chair and saw the gloomy and bloodthirsty Li Wenxuan in the distance, staring at him with his head tilted.

He was startled and thought of the glass of wine that Concubine Xian had given him before.

With his eyes wide open, he tried to look for Concubine Xian, but found that she was nowhere to be seen in his blurred vision.

Bitch! Rebellious son!

When the first group of assassins appeared in the crowd, Meng Changce immediately pulled Shen Lanyue behind him, picked up the blood-stained knife from the ground, and protected her as she left the crowd.

Meng Changce handed Shen Lanyue over to Fu Bei, and his deep eyes revealed a sinister and cold emotion in front of Shen Lanyue for the first time.

"Make sure the lady is safe."

"Yes." Fu Bei replied in a resounding voice.

Shen Lanyue pulled her hand out from his tightly clenched fingers. In fact, he had been holding it very tightly, so tightly that it hurt her a little. But Shen Lanyue did not frown at all, and looked at him gently.

No longer hiding, no longer avoiding the real side beneath his mask.

"I'll wait for you. Be careful."