Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 526

Mo Zhonggui said, "You don't need to worry too much. Just focus on detoxifying Yao'er. If anything happens, come find me anytime."

The Seventh Prince's residence still looks as dilapidated and deserted as before, but in reality, it has been guarded like an iron barrel, completely airtight.

Shen Lingjun nodded.

She came to Xiqi for no other reason than to detoxify Qin Chuyao and help Mo Zhonggui.

Two months have passed since Qin Chuyao last took the antidote. Mo Zhonggui first had Shen Lingjun draw blood to prepare a new antidote for Qin Chuyao.

After that, Shen Lingjun lived a secluded life, devoting herself entirely to Qin Chuyao's antidote.

According to her current estimate, the poison in Qin Chuyao's body will be gradually cleared up in less than a year, after which he will no longer need to take the antidote.

Then Shen Lingjun began to study the three thousand troubles she had promised Mo Zhonggui.

This was much more difficult. She had no recipe at all and had to figure it out herself.

On the other side, with the Little New Year approaching, Mo Zhonggui welcomed Huo Jinghuai's first palace banquet after returning to Ancheng.

Since Huo Jinghuai came of age and left the palace to establish his own residence, he has rarely had the opportunity to enter the palace. The only exceptions are the palace banquets on important holidays each year, which he is allowed to attend because he is still a prince.

Like Huo Jinghuai in previous years, Mo Zhonggui was placed in an inconspicuous corner, while many members of the royal family sat closer to him.

Once everyone had arrived and taken their seats, the Emperor and Empress of Western Qi were the last to sit down.

Emperor Huo Tingsheng of Western Qi was a handsome man in his youth, and he still looks like a jade-like face, refined and upright, with three long strands of beard under his chin and a pair of slender eyes that seem to have a gentle gaze, without much of the majesty of an emperor.

Empress Jiang Yunwan was once considered a stunning beauty. Now over forty, although she is well-maintained and looks no more than thirty, the relentless passage of time is still evident.

She clearly doesn't want to grow old, and still dresses very carefully. Her jewelry is mostly simple and elegant pearls and jade, rather than opulent gemstones and gold. Her clothing is also chosen in soft, understated colors, with exquisite embroidery that achieves more with less, avoiding both an attempt to look young and an appearance that is too mature.

Her makeup was also exquisite, not heavy or bright, but her skin was fair, her face was like a peach blossom, and her cheeks had a light red hue, making her look as healthy as a young woman in her twenties.

But it is precisely this kind of meticulous grooming, with the words "not showing age" written all over her body, that makes people feel the helplessness and sorrow of a beautiful woman in the face of the passage of time.

Mo Zhonggui's gaze lingered on Huo Tingsheng and Jiang Yunwan for only a moment before he lowered his head and sat there silently, just like Huo Jinghuai had done before.

But this time, someone deliberately didn't want to ignore him.

Huo Sizhen had been staring at Huo Jinghuai ever since he took his seat.

He always felt there was something strange about this "Huo Jinghuai," but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Huo Sizhen already saw every prince as a mortal enemy, and now he felt even more strongly that Huo Jinghuai might be someone who was pretending to be a good-for-nothing but was actually quite capable, and might also be one of his strong rivals.

As the banquet progressed into its later stages, after several rounds of drinks, Huo Sizhen finally spoke in a seemingly casual, conversational tone.

"Seventh Brother, you haven't been in Ancheng for the past two or three months. Where have you been? You used to hardly ever leave the Seventh Prince's residence. How come you've suddenly disappeared for so long?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room looked towards "Huo Jinghuai".

The seventh prince was not favored and had a low status, so he was practically invisible and rarely went out, which was common knowledge.