Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

Inside the banquet hall, the matriarch, Madam Liu, sat at the head of the table, chatting and laughing with the guests. Xiao Qishan and several princes toasted each other and talked and laughed. Madam Shen, on the other side of the screen, joked and laughed with the women.

Since Xiao Fengyi had not yet arrived, Feng Mingjing and Xiao Qingyin had already finished their duet.

"The Seventh Prince and Miss Xiao are quite in sync."

"Why isn't the young lady here to play a duet with the Seventh Prince? Does she have a crush on him?"

"How come I never noticed before that the usually low-key second young lady of the Xiao family is so beautiful and talented?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Mingjing walked back to his seat dejectedly.

Xiao Qingyin, who had been in the limelight, returned to her seat without noticing Feng Mingjing's displeasure when she heard someone praising her.

As soon as she returned to her seat, she heard one of the women ask Xiao Fengyi, "Hey, where is Miss Xiao? Isn't she coming to the banquet?"

Madam Shen put down her teacup and explained, "My daughter Fengyi is born with the destiny of a phoenix, and I have spoiled her since she was a child, so her entourage is naturally more elaborate. She arrived late, probably because she was overwhelmed by the clothes she was choosing."

"When the young lady was choosing clothes, she even disregarded the prince's dignity."

The noble ladies at the banquet were somewhat disgruntled to see Xiao Fengyi, as the host, treating the guests so poorly.

When everyone heard that the Seventh Prince and Miss Xiao were playing a duet, they all thought that the Seventh Prince would soon become the Crown Prince. Who knew that Miss Xiao didn't think much of him at all? The Xiao family couldn't neglect the Seventh Prince, so they had to let the Second Miss play a duet with him.

Although both are legitimate daughters of the Xiao family, the second young lady is not destined for greatness and is ultimately somewhat lacking.

The whispers of the crowd reached Feng Mingjing's ears, which angered him so much that he kept drinking.

Xiao Qingyin also heard the gossip, but she was much calmer than Feng Mingjing.

Lady Ye said sarcastically, "The eldest young lady is born with the destiny of a phoenix. She is destined to be an empress in the future. She is different from us ordinary people and is very noble."

Madam Shen smiled apologetically, "You can't say things like that carelessly. We wouldn't dare to even think about becoming an empress."

Her implication was that Xiao Fengyi might not necessarily be the Empress, but Lady Ye thought that Shen was afraid to discuss the matter of the Crown Prince.

Xiao Qingyin sat down next to Madam Shen, looking down and smiling slightly, "My older sister is just a bit temperamental and arrogant, but she's not a bad person."

Lady Ye smiled warmly, "Second Miss is so understanding and considerate. Do you know anyone? I have a nephew..."

“My Qingyin is still young, there’s no rush. Besides, her marriage is decided by my matriarch, so… I, Lady Ye, dare not make the decision myself.”

"Oh, that's a real pity. My nephew is such a handsome young man." Upon hearing Madam Shen's words, Lady Ye's face darkened.

Madam Shen realized that the Duchess of Ye wanted to arrange a marriage for her dissolute nephew, so she had no choice but to immediately push the marriage to the old lady, and the Duchess of Ye dared not say anything.

Xiao Qingyin also whispered, "Madam Ye, I am honored by your nephew's kindness, but I already have someone I like."

Do you have someone you like?

Everyone present, including Madam Shen and Lady Ye, looked at the beautiful and graceful Xiao Qingyin.

Ms. Shen asked in confusion, "You have someone you like? Who is it? I don't know."

Lady Ye was also particularly curious, "Which young master does Miss Xiao like? He's even better than my nephew in terms of character."

"You will know then."

Both Madam Shen and Lady Ye felt that something was about to happen.

At this moment, Green Book sneaked into the Drunken Begonia Banquet and met Xiao Qingyin's gaze.

Green Book hadn't appeared earlier, but Xiao Qingyin had already played a duet with the Seventh Prince, so she already knew that Green Book had successfully drugged Xiao Fengyi.

When Green Book saw Feng Mingjing drinking alone in the corner, he remembered how angry he had been. His palms were sweating, and he forgot to watch where he was going. When he walked to the table of women, he bumped into two masked dancers, one of whom was knocked down in the middle of the banquet hall.

Seeing her young mistress get knocked down, Zi Hua immediately wanted to argue, "How do you walk?!"

Green Book suddenly snapped out of her daze and instantly adopted the airs of a head maid from the Duke's mansion, "How do you walk? How dare you, a lowly dancer, bump into me?"

After she finished speaking, she regretted it a little, especially since it was in front of so many people.

Everyone who saw that even the maids of the Duke's mansion had such a magnanimous spirit felt even more grateful for the great achievements the old Duke had made, which allowed him to protect his descendants.

The guests were gossiping, which displeased the old lady. "Green Book, don't argue with people!"

When the mistress of the house called the roll, Green Book immediately knelt down, "Grandma, this servant knows her mistake."

"Hurry up and go back to your disrespectful master."

Liu was saying this to Xiao Qingyin and Shen, to tell them to behave themselves.

Madam Shen and Xiao Qingyin bowed to the old lady and said earnestly, "Mother is right to reprimand us. It was my fault for not disciplining my daughter and maid properly."

She spoke with her head bowed and eyes lowered, but the hatred in her eyes grew stronger, as if she could no longer stand the old lady.

Shen looked sternly at Green Book and said in a low voice, "Get back here now."

After Green Book and the old lady bowed, they obediently returned to their master's side, while the two dancers went to the stage.

Before they even performed, someone noticed a handkerchief lying where the maid and the dancer had bumped into each other.

Whose handkerchief is this?

The person who picked up the handkerchief was Yue Qi, who had just entered the banquet hall with his master.

The moment Yue Qi picked up the handkerchief, he knew who its owner was. He showed it to Feng Xingye, who remained silent while a mocking smile played on his lips.

When the handkerchief was held up, all the guests in the hall looked at the dancer, "Is this the handkerchief you left behind?"

Xiao Fengyi and Zi Hua would never admit that the handkerchief was lost by them, claiming it "wasn't ours."

Although the handkerchief was left behind by the two of them, it was a token of love between Xiao Qingyin and Feng Mingjing, bearing their names and a painting.

The painting depicts a man and a woman boating on a lake. The embroidery is exquisite, and the features of the man and woman are clearly visible.

When Yueqi saw that the dancer denied it, he looked at Green Book and asked, "Is it your handkerchief?"

Green Book touched her waist, took out her handkerchief, and denied, "It's not mine."

Yue Qi glanced at his master and said, "How strange, who left the handkerchief behind?"

Feng Xingye wore a moon-white round-necked robe and held a folding fan in his hand. He was dashing and unrestrained, exuding the aura of a war god. Ordinary people dared not act rashly in front of him.

Xiao Qishan was also drunk. He said to Yue Qi, "Brave man, take a look at the handkerchief. What features do you see? Tell me, maybe it was dropped by one of our guests."

The old lady echoed, "That's a good idea."

Feng Xingye gave Yue Qi a wink, "Read it."

After he finished speaking, he walked back to his seat and sat down. Just then, he saw a sword-wielding dancer standing on the other side of the stage.

"is her?"

In the blink of an eye, the man recognized one of them as Xiao Fengyi.

Why would she pretend to be a dancer?