Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

The road from the Xiao family to the palace was still quite long. It was already noon when Xiao Fengyi entered the palace.

She deliberately wore a pink palace dress with a long, flowing skirt to cover her injured leg.

With her magnificent skirt sweeping over the rare flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden, Xiao Fengyi limped forward.

"Sister, hurry up, don't keep Her Majesty the Empress waiting."

Xiao Qingyin, who was walking ahead, deliberately quickened her pace, a smug look in her eyes.

At this moment, a group of noble ladies walked up to them, seemingly heading to Luoyan Lake together.

To make Xiao Fengyi even more embarrassed, Xiao Qingyin deliberately urged Xiao Fengyi in front of the group of noble ladies.

"Sister, did you do this on purpose, making the Emperor and Empress wait for us?"

These words were undeniably malicious.

Throughout history, it has always been the emperor who makes his subjects wait; there has never been a subject who makes the emperor wait for a long time.

After he finished speaking, the noble ladies walking beside him naturally began to whisper among themselves.

They had always been quite jealous of the Emperor's favor towards Xiao Fengyi, and hated the legend of the Phoenix Fate even more.

As the start time of the palace banquet drew closer, while all the noble ladies were striving to make their way forward, Xiao Fengyi surprisingly went against the grain.

To conceal her injury, Xiao Fengyi feigned composure, which, to the other noble ladies, appeared not dignified but alluring and coquettish, even arrogant. Everyone assumed Xiao Fengyi was playing hard to get, deliberately seducing the princes.

Immediately, a noblewoman lifted her skirt and whispered gossip about her, "Look at that Xiao Fengyi, she's so arrogant because she's favored. She walks so slowly, does she really expect the Emperor and Empress to wait for her to take her seat?"

A noblewoman said sourly, "She was born with the destiny of a phoenix, and the emperor likes her. We can't compare."

Of course, some noble ladies were indignant when they heard this, saying, "Is being born a phoenix really that great? Why are you being treated differently?"

As these noble ladies spoke, they inadvertently guessed the emperor's intentions, which set off alarm bells for the maids who had accompanied them into the palace.

Several matrons immediately intervened, saying, "Ladies, please stop talking about Xiao Fengyi. Your conversation here is wasting time and making the Empress and Emperor wait too."

These noble ladies all grew up in grand mansions, and they were cunning and shrewd. Even if they had said a few inappropriate things in their youthful arrogance, they knew to shut up after being reminded by their nannies.

The palace gardens immediately quieted down, with only the sound of silk shoes rubbing against the ground and the melodious singing of orioles.

However, these rumors could not harm Xiao Fengyi at all.

She gritted her teeth, enduring the pain, and continued walking towards Luoyan Lake.

Her stunningly beautiful face, bathed in the brilliant spring sunshine, was surrounded by exquisite flowers and plants, making many noble ladies both envious and jealous.

Xiao Qingyin listened intently to all the gossip the noble ladies had about her sister, feeling quite pleased with herself. Coupled with Xiao Fengyi's obsessive pride and self-inflicted suffering, Xiao Qingyin's smile grew even wider.

She secretly vowed that she would make Xiao Fengyi lose her composure in front of the palace today, and disappoint the Emperor and Empress who had placed high hopes on her.

Xiao Qingyin unconsciously clenched her fists beneath her clothes.

How exactly can we embarrass Xiao Fengyi?

After a moment of deep thought, the shimmering light of Luoyan Lake, reflected on Xiao Qingyin's curled eyelashes, reminded her of something.

Why not... push Xiao Fengyi into the water?

Xiao Qingyin's lips curled up slightly, and a sinister decision was made.

She looked at Xiao Fengyi, who was staggering behind her, with disdain.

The person behind her had no idea that Xiao Qingyin was so audacious as to plot against her in the palace. She glanced back at the other person and continued to recall the events of the palace banquet in her previous life.

At that time, she only had Feng Mingjing in her heart and didn't hear these noble ladies saying bad things about her.

If Xiao Fengyi hadn't overheard these noble ladies' words today, she would never have known that her destiny as a phoenix would arouse so much jealousy.

Hate me, hate me, Xiao Fengyi thought all the way, and then suddenly felt relieved.

She finally reached the shore of Luoyan Lake, but couldn't find Xiao Qingyin hiding next to the Ziyu Pavilion. Her attention was completely drawn to Feng Xingye, who was drinking alone.

The palace banquet was held at Wenqin Terrace beside Luoyan Lake, where golden ginkgo leaves were falling softly. Feng Xingye sat beneath the endless ginkgo leaves, serene and lonely.

When Xiao Fengyi saw this scene, her gentle and tender eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

In her previous life, she devoted herself to Feng Mingjing, while Feng Xingye was also in seclusion after being poisoned. The two did not have much interaction, so she never discovered that this man was an elegant and graceful figure.

Last night, when she was treating Feng Xingye for the poison of the Soul-Losing Powder, she didn't get a good look at the Ninth Prince's face because it was dark.

Perhaps it was because Xiao Fengyi's eyes were too intense that Feng Xingye and the guards around him finally felt it.

Yue Qi reminded Feng Xingye, "Your Highness, it's Miss Xiao."

Upon hearing this, Feng Xingye raised his head and looked towards the direction of Luoyan Lake.

It would have been better if I hadn't looked, because once I did, I noticed that Xiao Fengyi had injured her leg.

He asked Yue Qi in a deep voice, "Did Xiao Fengyi climb over the wall when she left the Prince Zhao's residence yesterday?"

Yue Qi looked puzzled as she recalled what had happened last night.

"Yesterday, I escorted Miss Xiao out through the main gate of the Prince's Mansion; I did not climb over the wall."

"Then why is she limping?" the man's cold voice came.

Yue Qi only then noticed that she was trying her best to hide her limping condition.

Xiao Fengyi also noticed that the two people were looking her up and down.

Yue Qi's gaze was nothing but strange, but Xiao Fengyi felt that Feng Xingye's eyes could be described as sharp and murderous.

Although His Highness Prince Zhao is afflicted with a rare poison, he is still a lurking tiger and wolf, and will surely rise again one day.

She thought Feng Xingye was making a fuss over her body because of the acupuncture treatment three days later, which made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Your Highness, I don't know why, but your eyes are really sharp. This Miss Xiao is quite good at hiding her true feelings."

Feng Xingye didn't really appreciate the flattery from his subordinates.

It's heartbreaking to say, but after years of marching and fighting, muscle and bone injuries were commonplace for the veterans, so they could be easily seen through.

It was clear from the sight of Xiao Fengyi's leg that it had been hit with a board, and that the injury was quite severe.

This woman is really concerned about saving face; even though she's injured like this, she still pretends nothing happened.

But who would hit her so hard?

Feng Xingye unconsciously raised his wine glass, lowering his eyes in thought.

Could it be that……

Xiao Fengyi escaped from the Xiao family last night to treat the poison from the Soul-Destroying Powder at Prince Zhao's residence. After returning to the Xiao family, she was punished according to family rules? Was she injured because of her?

The man's eyes flickered, but his gaze did not leave her injured area.