Favoring concubines and ignoring wives? The mistress of the marquisate remarried a powerful official

On the day of the palace banquet, Song Wanning spent two hours trying to get into the palace.

This was Song Wanning's first time entering the palace as the prime minister's wife, and she was dressed more formally than usual. She wore a Sichuan brocade moonlit skirt with purple embroidered crabapples and a goose yellow top with wide sleeves, which made her look solemn and elegant. The light purple shawl was only embroidered with purple vines of different shades, blending in with the clothes on her body.

Song Wanning had her hair combed into a Chaoyun Jinxiang bun and a magnolia-shaped hairpin on her head. Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyes were bright and her teeth were white. She was as pretty as a peach in spring and as pure as a chrysanthemum in autumn.

Even Yin Yichen, who saw her every day, couldn't help showing a surprised look. He held Song Wanning's hand and said softly, "It's rare to see Madam dressed so brightly."

"Today is after all a day for entering the palace and attending a palace banquet, so I should dress more formally. Otherwise, if I wear that green robe every day, I'm afraid people will report me for not taking palace banquets seriously." Song Wanning smiled and got into the carriage with Yin Yichen.

Song Wanning couldn't help feeling a little nervous. She didn't know what kind of troubles she would face once she entered the palace.

Yin Yichen held Song Wanning's hand and comforted her softly, "It's okay, I'm here for everything."

Song Wanning nodded slightly, then looked at Yin Yichen and said, "I haven't visited Xuanzhi for quite some time. Although I asked someone to send him some supplements, it's still not as thoughtful as a visit in person. I'll go see him again after the palace banquet is over."

"Madam, please make the decision." Yin Yichen smiled faintly and did not take the matter to heart.

The two of them rode in a carriage and slowly arrived outside the palace. As soon as Song Wanning got off the carriage, she saw her lover Liu Yuyuan. Liu Yuyuan waved at Song Wanning and said happily, "Wanning."

Everyone will enter the palace and pay their respects to the current emperor before returning to the palace for a banquet.

Nowadays, this palace banquet is attended by the emperor, empress, queen mother, princes and other royal family members. It is one of the rare grand spring banquets in the year.

Song Wanning also laughed out loud, looking at Liu Yuyuan and said, "Liu Yuan, I knew you would come. I didn't expect to meet you here."

Liu Yuyuan also took a few steps towards Song Wanning and smiled softly, "Your good sister-in-law Zijun should also be here, but she hasn't appeared yet."

When Liu Yuyuan mentioned this, she looked teasing and said to Song Wanning with a smile, "I never thought that she would become your sister-in-law now. I haven't seen her for a long time."

"After all, things in this world are unpredictable." Song Wanning smiled softly and glanced at Fang Sui behind Liu Yuyuan.

Liu Yuyuan had been living a pretty good life since she married Fang Sui. Fang Sui was a humble and polite man, and he cared a lot about Liu Yuyuan. It was just that her mother-in-law often made her unhappy, but everything else was still okay.

Everyone entered the palace together. At the palace banquets, there were strict rules for who sat where.

Yin Yichen, the favorite minister, sat in a position just below the other princes, the head of all officials. The seat next to him naturally belonged to the military general Song Jing.

Now the General's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion have become friends again, which makes everyone envious.

It's just that the principle that a tall tree attracts the wind is applicable everywhere. As soon as the palace banquet began, the Empress Dowager followed the Emperor and Empress to the table.

Although the Queen Mother was now over 40, she still looked like she was in her 30s, she was well maintained. The Queen next to her looked only in her 20s, and was about the same age as the ladies sitting below.

Song Wanning sat obediently next to Yin Yichen, only looking up when following everyone's gaze.

Seeing that the Emperor, the Empress and the Empress Dowager had arrived, all the officials and ladies stood up and saluted them.

The queen just smiled faintly and waved her hand, saying, "This banquet is specially held for the court's most important officials. My dear ministers, don't be restrained. Just treat it as a family dinner."

After hearing this, all the officials sat down and started to feast with each other.

After a while, the prince who was sitting at the front stood up and walked towards General Song Jing with a smile on his face. "General Song Jing, I have heard of your reputation for a long time, but General Song Jing was always at the border before, so I couldn't see him. Now that I finally get to see you, I naturally want to toast you."

Seeing this, Song Jing also stood up and raised the wine glass in his hand, "I can be where I am today, thanks to the glorious protection of His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness the Crown Prince is so kind to me, I will drink it all in one gulp to repay His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

After Song Jing said this, he drank the wine in his glass.

Upon seeing this, Crown Prince Xie Cheng also smiled broadly, and continued to look at Song Jing, "General Song Jing, I have long heard that General Song Jing is brave and resourceful, and is well-versed in the art of war. To be honest, I am also very interested in the art of war. If you have time, I would like to ask you for some pointers."

Before Song Jing could say anything, Prince An beside him laughed out loud, "Your Highness, the General Liu who taught you the art of war was a great general of the previous dynasty. Are you slapping General Liu in the face? On the other hand, if you were taught by General Liu, you wouldn't benefit much. I'm afraid that your talent is not good enough. It's better not to bother General Song Jing."

Crown Prince Xie Cheng was now being ridiculed by Prince An, and his face darkened for a moment, but he quickly smiled and said, "Although I don't have much talent, there must be a teacher among three people. I will learn more from General Song Jing, and I'm afraid there won't be any problems."

Xie Ke smiled and continued, "It's just that General Song Jing is now the commander of the Shenwu Army. He has countless official duties on weekdays, so he doesn't have the time to teach His Royal Highness. Brother, Your Royal Highness should go back and read the military books thoroughly and memorize them. I'm afraid they will be of some use."

Although Xie Cheng was the crown prince, he was always outshined by Xie Ke in the palace, and he had no way to deal with Xie Ke. Now he could only swallow the ridicule.

At this moment, the queen who was sitting on top spoke up and smiled at Xie Cheng, "Ah Cheng, it's time to read the book I asked you to read last time. Come forward and tell me in detail."

The Queen's words helped Xie Cheng out of the predicament.

Seeing this, Xie Cheng hurried forward and told the queen about his current situation.

After a while, the Queen looked at the ladies below and said, "The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom now. It's a rare opportunity for you ladies to come to the palace, so you can go and enjoy them by yourselves."

Song Wanning sat in the chair and felt stuffy for a moment. She saw that many of the ladies below had left the palace, and she also had some thoughts. She turned around and wanted to speak, but Yin Yichen already knew what she was thinking and just said slowly, "Go."

Song Wanning smiled faintly and then stood up.

Wen Tingbai, who was sitting at the back, saw Song Wanning stand up, and immediately turned around to glance at Cui Xiaoxiao behind him, motioning her to follow.