The Regent Princess has run away again

On the way to the palace, Xue Zhiyu looked at Xue Yumei, who had "recovered from a serious illness" and was now telling her the rules of the palace in a serious manner.

"Zhiyu, Madam Ji said that you have been studying very hard these days, so I am now more confident in you. However, this palace is different from other places. You must be careful in what you say and do, and never offend the nobles in the palace. Remember that?"

Xue Zhiyu nodded, "I understand, big sister," then turned her head to look at the street outside the carriage. If it weren't for this big sister wanting to pretend to be sensible in front of her cheap father and insisting on riding in the same carriage with her, saying that it was for the convenience of taking care of her, she would not have ridden in the same carriage with her. It was really uncomfortable.

Xue Yumei didn't care about these and continued talking to herself.

With the jade disc and invitation letter, the carriage finally drove into the palace, but because the carriage could only be parked in the square at the palace gate, Xue Zhiyu and the others got off the carriage.

After getting off the car, Xue Zhiyu looked at the women who also got off the carriage. Each of them was dressed up beautifully, as if they were here for a talent show. She looked around with amazement in her eyes. The scale of this place was comparable to that of the Forbidden City, but it was also different from the Forbidden City.

"Yumei, you're here. I see you look much better than last time. Next time I'll bring you some of the supplements my sister gave me."

Zhao Hanming walked towards Xue Yumei, held her hand and spoke to her in a friendly manner.

Xue Yumei also smiled at her, "Hanming, you are so thoughtful. I am much better now and don't need any supplements. But you, you look even thinner than before."

"Maybe you haven't had much appetite recently. Today is your sister's birthday. Come on, I'll take you to have a rest. It's still too early to leave the palace banquet," he said, pulling Xue Yumei and was about to leave.

Xue Yumei looked at Xue Zhiyu, her eyes full of apology, and shook her head at Zhao Hanming, "If I want to go, I want to take Zhiyu with me, otherwise I won't leave."

After hearing this, Zhao Hanming looked at Xue Zhiyu, frowned, and said perfunctorily, "Okay, okay, Yumei, let's go and have a rest."

Xue Zhiyu, who had been silent on the side, watched the interaction between the two and didn't even bother to look at them. After all, their IQs were not on the same level, and she didn't want to be compared with them.

Many of the other women who got off the carriage came over to greet Xue Yumei. Occasionally, a few would come over to chat with Xue Zhiyu, while the rest acted as if they didn't see anything and gathered around Xue Yumei and Zhao Hanming.

There were not many women who received invitation letters, about ten in total, all of whom were daughters of prominent families, and all of them were direct descendants.

Under the guidance of the palace maids, everyone arrived at the Xianyou Hall for rest.

"Ladies, please rest here for a while. The Imperial Concubine will be here soon."

While Concubine Zhao hadn't arrived yet, the ladies who were on good terms with Xue Yumei came over and forced Xue Zhiyu aside.

"Yumei, I heard that you got sick a few days ago. What happened?"

"Yes, yes, why are you frightened?"

"It is said that Yumei was frightened by seeing some unclean people doing unclean things," a woman in light purple clothes glanced at Xue Zhiyu vaguely, as if she saw something dirty, and immediately looked away, her eyes full of disgust.

"Yaxuan, don't talk nonsense," Xue Yumei said as she glanced at Song Yaxuan in reproach, but she had no intention of stopping her.

Seeing this, Song Yaxuan was even more indignant, "Yumei, you are too kind. You are still speaking for her. She doesn't care. You are shameless enough to follow me. What if you offend the Imperial Concubine?"

Xue Yumei sighed and shook her head at Song Yaxuan, "Yaxuan, stop talking. Let him get over it. It was me who wanted to bring Zhiyu here. If you want to blame someone, just blame me."

Seeing Xue Yumei's innocent and pitiful appearance, Xue Zhiyu rolled her eyes at her without any hesitation. She said, "Your acting skills are quite good. It's a pity that she didn't become an actor."

The few women who were listening nearby also looked at Xue Zhiyu and subconsciously took a few steps away from her, feeling sorry for Xue Yumei for having such a sister.

"If it weren't for Yumei's kindness, who had the matter suppressed, saying that she was afraid her sister's reputation would be damaged and affect her future husband-hunting, otherwise a slut like her would have been thrown into the pig cage long ago."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xue Yumei pretended to be angry and slapped Song Yaxuan's hand, then looked at the other women, "Please don't tell anyone about what happened today for my sake. Although Zhiyu is...she is also an innocent victim, I hope you won't spread it."

"Tsk, she is indeed a concubine who is not worthy of being on the stage, doing these dirty things."

"That's right, when I think about this kind of person staying with us later, I feel uncomfortable all over."

Xue Zhiyu couldn't help but accept the strange looks and unbearable words from the women. She glanced at everyone and rubbed her ears, "Tsk, where did this gossip come from? Why is she talking so rudely? It's so noisy."

"You!! Who are you calling a gossip?!" Song Yaxuan rushed forward and stretched out her hand to push Xue Zhiyu, but she dodged it.

"I didn't mention anyone by name. Whoever admits it is the one," Xue Zhiyu shrugged and looked at Song Yaxuan as if she was an idiot.

Song Yaxuan was so angry that she lost all her rationality and wanted to slap her in the face.

Just then, a notification voice came from outside the door.

"Empress Zhao is here!"

Following the announcement, a woman in luxurious clothes walked in. Her almond-shaped eyes on her oval face were clear and lively, and she had delicate makeup on. Her every frown and smile was full of grace. Her slightly thick lips were a little sensual. The hollow jade butterfly hairpin on her head swayed beautifully with her lotus steps. She was about twenty-three years old.

"Greetings, Her Majesty!" Everyone bowed towards the door, including Song Yaxuan, who was just about to teach Xue Zhiyu a lesson. She had no choice but to grit her teeth, put her hands down, and followed suit.

"Today is my birthday, so there is no need to worry about these etiquettes. Please give seats to the ladies."

"Thank you, noble concubine."

After everyone sat down, Zhao Hanming was the first to speak, "Knowing that today is the Imperial Concubine's birthday, I have specially prepared a painting. Please let me bring it over."

"Well, let's go."

Zhao Hanming then walked out, took a painting from the maid, walked into the hall, and handed it over with both hands, "I know that Your Majesty loves landscapes and calligraphy and paintings. This is a landscape painting that I embroidered with needle and thread. I hope Your Majesty likes it."

Concubine Zhao took the scroll and slowly opened it, her eyes full of smiles. "Well, Hanming, you are thoughtful. I like this painting very much. Have you thought of a name for it?"

"No, I hope Your Majesty can give this painting a name."

"Well, let's call it Splendid Mountains and Rivers."

Seeing Zhao Hanming giving gifts first, the other ladies followed suit and presented their gifts one after another.

Xue Yumei was the last one to present a gift. After she had presented her gifts, everyone subconsciously looked at Xue Zhiyu. Seeing that she had no intention of presenting a gift at all, someone said, "This is the first time I've seen someone come empty-handed. She's so shameless."

Xue Yumei anxiously glanced at Concubine Zhao who was sitting in the main seat, and then looked at the woman who spoke, "Zhiyu is out for the first time socializing, so I didn't have time to prepare gifts. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

Concubine Zhao frowned slightly in displeasure and looked at Xue Zhiyu with an unfriendly look, but she didn't say anything.

"So what? This is the most basic etiquette. A bastard's child is a bastard's child and will never be allowed on stage," the woman retorted.

"Who said I don't have a gift?"

Without giving Xue Yumei a chance to speak, Xue Zhiyu spoke indifferently. She suddenly felt very tired. It was really tiring to talk to this group of people.

"And what about your gift?"

"I carry my gift with me."

Xue Yumei and Zhao Hanming exchanged glances, thinking that she was just looking for an excuse to save face, and smiled nonchalantly, just waiting to see the fun of her later.

Just then, another report came from outside the door.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"No need to be polite, just stand up. Today is my beloved concubine's birthday, so there is no need to be so restrained."

Xia Yu walked in wearing a bright yellow dragon robe. Although the young emperor was not very handsome, his imperial charm attracted several unmarried women present, causing their faces to blush.

"Your Majesty, why are you here? I thought you wouldn't come," Concubine Zhao stood up, a little shyly, looking at the man in front of her with admiration.

"How could I miss my beloved concubine's birthday?"

Xia Yu sat next to Concubine Zhao, and soon saw the woman in the yellow cloud-smoke shirt in the crowd. The smile in her eyes became even brighter, and she slowly said, "Just now I heard outside the door that Princess Kangle wants to offer a gift? I wonder what she wants to give?"

"That's right. I want to sing a song for the Imperial Concubine to express my congratulations to her," Xue Zhiyu said, and the music library in her mind started running rapidly.

Without waiting for others to react, she opened her red lips and said, "I'll dedicate my song to congratulate you on your birthday."

You are the flowers of spring and the clear spring river of summer..."

After Xue Zhiyu finished singing the last line, Xia Yu took the lead in clapping, "Great, this is the first time I've heard such a novel song, it's really interesting. Princess Kangle's gift is really special, don't you think so, my beloved?"

Concubine Zhao also nodded and said, "Yes, it is indeed a very special gift. I like it very much. Princess Kangle is very thoughtful."

The gift-giving part came to an end. Maybe it was because the emperor was there, but no one dared to speak.

The maid outside the door came in to report, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the palace banquet is ready."

"Okay, I understand."

Seeing the emperor and the imperial concubine stand up and walk out, everyone also stood up and followed them.

The palace banquet was held in the Imperial Garden. Because it was under a big tree, it blocked a lot of sunlight. After Xia Yu and Concubine Zhao took their seats, the people behind them also took their seats.

Xue Zhiyu and Xue Yumei sat in the row next to Concubine Zhao. Thinking about what that man had told her, they looked at Xia Yu next to Concubine Zhao. If the emperor wasn't there, the success rate might be higher, but with the emperor around, how could she have this chance? If it worked, she would have to ask for more benefits from that guy next time she saw him.