My bad father married a princess, my mother divorced me, and I became the group's favorite

Princess Shun was sitting opposite Prince Shun. Looking at his obsessed look, the rage in her heart grew more and more intense.

She tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, not wanting to lose her composure in such an occasion. She had long known his lustful nature, but this was the Queen's banquet, so shouldn't he restrain himself a little?

Seeing the dancer's charming smiles and frowns, Prince Shun's desire grew stronger. He even began to imagine the various scenes of bringing the woman back to his palace and pampering her, completely forgetting that he was in the palace and surrounded by many guests.

Princess Shun looked at Prince Shun's obsessed look and wanted to rush up and slap him in the face to wake him up.

After the dance, everyone applauded and praised.

Only Prince Shun looked absent-minded, his eyes fixed on the direction where the lead dancer left.

Emperor Jingxuan nodded slightly, expressing his satisfaction with the performance.

According to palace custom, the next step is for court officials and noble ladies to present birthday gifts.

At once, everyone stood up and presented various precious gifts, including rare antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and dazzling jewelry. Each gift showed respect and blessings for the queen.

"I, your concubine, respectfully wish the Queen good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as long as the Southern Mountains!"

Princess Shun suppressed her anger towards Prince Shun, stood up with a smile, and handed a brocade box in her hand to the palace maid beside her.

The palace maid opened the brocade box, revealing a necklace of South China Sea pearls. Each pearl was round and smooth, emitting a faint luster. It was obvious at first glance that it was of great value.

"I had someone specially find this pearl necklace from the South China Sea. I hope Your Majesty will like it." Princess Shun said with a smile.

The queen looked at the pearl necklace, with a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Princess Shun is so thoughtful. I really like such a precious item."

Princess Shun smiled slightly and returned to her seat.

When Liu Yunniang stepped forward to present the gift, there was a hint of curiosity in everyone's eyes.

The palace maids had already stepped forward and placed the guzheng in the center of the hall, and Liu Yunniang and Ye Xiaoxiao were kneeling in the center of the hall.

"Your Majesty, this is your newly-appointed First-Rank Lady, Liu, right?"

The Queen Mother looked at Emperor Jingxuan and asked with a smile.

Emperor Jingxuan nodded slightly: "Yes, mother."

The Queen also glanced sideways at Liu Yunniang. This Liu was even more beautiful than she had expected. If she didn't know that His Majesty did not value women, she would probably have suspected that there was something unclean about her title of Consort.

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, looking Liu Yunniang up and down, with a hint of scrutiny in her tone: "I heard that Madam Liu is a wonderful person. Seeing her today, I can see that she is indeed extraordinary. This little girl is also very cute with round and plump cheeks. I just wonder what birthday gift Madam Liu has prepared for the Queen?"

Liu Yunniang was supposed to stand up after the ceremony, but now she had to kneel down because of the Queen Mother's question. She said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have prepared a guzheng for Your Majesty."

The Queen Mother's eyebrows moved slightly, the corners of her lips twitched slightly, and she said softly: "Oh, the Queen loves music, but this guzheng is not something that can catch her eye casually. Since Madam Liu took it out, I think this guzheng must be extraordinary. I am a little curious."

Liu Yunniang's heart tightened. She knew that the Queen Mother intended to suppress her, but at this moment she could only bite the bullet and respond, "Your Majesty, this guzheng is made of top-grade Paulownia wood. The sound is pure and ethereal. The body of the zither is exquisitely carved, and every detail has been carefully crafted. I heard that the Queen Mother loves music, so I thought of using this guzheng as a birthday gift, hoping to add some elegance to the Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother raised her chin slightly, with a hint of disdain in her eyes: "Humph, Madam Liu's words are nice to hear. However, just these few words of yours are not enough to prove the extraordinaryness of this guzheng. Why don't you, Madam Liu, play a piece on the spot, so that we can also appreciate whether this guzheng is as outstanding as you said."

As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden silence in the hall.

Xiao Mu's pupils shrank slightly, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

What does the Queen Mother mean by this? As a lady of the first rank personally appointed by His Majesty, does Yunniang have to perform in front of everyone like those dancers just now?

Emperor Jingxuan frowned slightly, his eyes moved from the empress dowager to Princess Pingle who was standing next to her with a smug look on her face, with obvious disgust in his eyes.

He slowly said, "Since you want to test Madam Liu's gift, mother, you seem to have forgotten that Princess Pingle is better at playing the guzheng. Since mother is so curious about this gift, why not let Princess Pingle play a song for the queen? This will also be a good opportunity to test Madam Liu's generous gift."

Ye Xiaoxiao lowered her head and secretly gave Emperor Jingxuan a thumbs up in her heart. Your Majesty is so mighty!

She announced that from now on, Emperor Jingxuan would definitely be her first choice for an enlightened ruler.

The Queen Mother was slightly startled. She did not expect Emperor Jingxuan to make such a suggestion.

"Pingle is a princess, how can you let her play here?"

Emperor Jingxuan smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is wrong. Princess Pingle is very talented and she is my niece. If she can play a piece for the Queen, it will not only celebrate her birthday, but also show the Princess's talent. Why not? Besides, the gift presented by Madam Liu also needs someone to appreciate it. Princess Pingle is the most suitable."

The Queen Mother was unhappy when she heard what Emperor Jingxuan said, but she couldn't refute it. She looked at Princess Pingle and said, "Since His Majesty has ordered, Pingle, you should play a song. Look at my memory. I'm really old. I forgot to ask Madam Liu to get up. Hurry up and get up."

Seeing that His Majesty had protected Liu Yunniang with just a few words, Princess Pingle was filled with resentment and unwillingness. She bit her lip, suppressed the anger in her heart, and slowly stood up and walked to Liu Yunniang.

Seeing Princess Pingle getting closer, Ye Xiaoxiao quietly crushed the pill in her sleeve.

A faint fragrance quietly filled the hall, unnoticed by anyone.

Ye Xiaoxiao was secretly looking forward to it. Hehe, she was still thinking about how to find an opportunity to get closer to Princess Pingle, but she instigated the Queen Mother to make things difficult for her mother. She ended up losing more than she gained, and it became convenient for her to drug her.

Princess Pingle sat quietly in front of the guzheng and took the opportunity to glare at Liu Yunniang fiercely. Her eyes seemed to contain thousands of sharp blades, as if she wished to cut Liu Yunniang into pieces.

Princess Pingle took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and began to play.

She gently plucked the strings, and melodious music immediately rang out in the hall. This guzheng was made of top-quality paulownia wood, and the tone was pure and ethereal, which was truly a rare item.

At first, the sound of the piano is like the gurgling of water, gentle and soothing, as if telling a peaceful story. As the melody progresses, the sound of the piano gradually becomes passionate, like a rushing river, majestic and powerful.

Everyone was attracted by the beautiful piano music and immersed in it.

Ye Xiaoxiao had to admit that Princess Pingle did have some real abilities.

Her fingering was skillful and the music was passionate and powerful, trying to show off her superb piano skills. However, there were too many distracting thoughts in her mind, and although the music she played was impeccable in terms of technique, it lacked true emotion.

Everyone listened to Princess Pingle's performance and had their own opinions in their minds.

Putting aside how good Princess Pingle's piano skills are, Madam Liu's gift is indeed a rare treasure.

When the song ended, Princess Pingle slowly stood up. There was a hint of pride in her eyes, and at the same time, she looked at Liu Yunniang with a bit of provocation.

She raised her chin slightly, waiting for everyone's praise.

However, the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat subtle.

Although everyone was shocked by Princess Pingle's piano skills, they were all aware of the undercurrents in their hearts.

It was obvious to the Queen Mother that she was deliberately suppressing Madam Liu in order to promote Princess Pingle.

But Madam Liu is under the protection of His Majesty, so the Queen Mother's efforts were in vain. If everyone praises Princess Pingle at this time, wouldn't it offend His Majesty?

Emperor Jingxuan narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Princess Pingle's proud look, but he didn't care.

He coughed lightly and broke the silence: "Princess Pingle's zither skills are indeed superb, but the gift presented by Madam Liu is indeed a rare item. Queen, what do you think?"

The queen smiled slightly, her eyes revealing wisdom and gentleness: "Your Majesty is right. Princess Pingle's zither skills are amazing, and Madam Liu's gift is also very ingenious. The sound of this zither is pure and ethereal, it is indeed a fine product, I like it very much, Madam Liu, thank you for your trouble."

Liu Yunniang felt relieved when she heard the queen's praise. She quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is my honor to be loved by you. I am just doing my best to show my appreciation. I wish you happiness and longevity."

Liu Yunniang's words were sincere and humble, which made the Queen like her even better.

The Queen nodded slightly and said, "Madam Liu, you don't have to be so polite. I will treasure your gift."

At this time, the Queen Mother saw Liu Yunniang being praised by the Queen, and she felt even more dissatisfied, and her face looked a little gloomy.

She had wanted to take this opportunity to suppress Liu Yunniang, but she had not expected that His Majesty would protect that bitch and her daughter so much without caring about her face at all.

She glanced around and looked at the "good niece".

The Queen pretended not to be aware of the Queen Mother's gaze. She turned sideways to talk to His Majesty, chuckling from time to time, as if she was sharing something interesting.

This scene seems to be a sweet interaction between a loving couple.

The Crown Prince has always been in poor health. Whether he can keep the position of Crown Prince in the future depends entirely on whether Your Majesty favors him.

If the Queen couldn't guess His Majesty's thoughts before, even if she was slow-witted today, she would know that His Majesty hated Princess Pingle to the extreme. Would she still go out of her way to seek trouble?

However, this situation made the Queen Mother feel dissatisfied: If it weren't for her aunt, the Queen Mother, did she think she could sit on the throne of the Queen? She pretended to obey her own aunt, but she only knew how to flatter His Majesty. How foolish!

"Humph!"

The Queen Mother snorted coldly and stopped looking at them.