Chapter Thirty-Two: Palace Two

  Xia Zi Li was not the first time entering the palace, she was a lady of the prime minister's mansion, and from an early age, she had been taught by her governess to be calm in the face of any situation, and every move must conform to her identity as a young lady.

  That's why she can always remain calm and composed no matter what situation she faces.

  The horse carriage continued along the road until it reached Shunzhen Gate, where a wide expanse of snow-covered ground had stopped several carriages. As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the curtains were drawn up.

  Xia Zi stepped on the stool and helped Zi'er down from the carriage with an expressionless face.

  "Miss——"

  Following Ziyu's line of sight, Xia Ziwei lightly turned around and suddenly saw a green dress not far away. Upon closer inspection, the woman had a gentle brow and eyes, although she wasn't extremely beautiful, but the calm aura surrounding her made people want to get close to her. Xia Ziwei was taken aback at first glance.

  And the person opposite also unexpectedly raised his head, saw Xia Ziyu, and seemed to be a person who was not concerned about anything. His eyes widened in an instant and lingered on her for a long time.

  After a long time, she let go of the maid's hand and took two steps forward, revealing a warm and gentle smile. "You must be Princess Yan!"

  "Are you Princess Ning?" She was uncertain, facing the woman who wore a water-green silk skirt, her hair styled in an ordinary household's swallowtail, with two jade pins on top of her head. If she had to say why she suddenly blurted it out, it could only be because of intuition.

  The face opposite, unintentionally, a hint of melancholy flashed across his eyebrows and eyes.

  Is that the Ning Wangfei? Just a nominal title, all these years, it seems others only heard of the great and powerful Ning Wang of the state of Muxuan, what about the Ning Wangfei? Ha! Not even a decoration.

  "The King of Yan's consort is indeed as beautiful and stunning as rumored, radiant and dazzling."

  Xia Zi hesitated for a moment, and Ning Wangfei smiled slightly again, taking the initiative to reach out and hold her hand intimately.

  "Let's go. Don't keep Her Majesty waiting—"

  The old man standing nearby ran over through the snow.

  Xia Zi Li is looking at him...

  The old man ran over and bowed in front of the two princesses, saying:

  "This humble servant greets the two princesses and invites them to admire the flowers. The location is set in the plum blossom forest behind the Yuqing Palace, I'll lead the way for the two princesses."

  Xia Zi Yu reached out and supported Zi Er with one hand. In fact, she didn't really want to come to the palace to admire flowers. Seeing the empress always made her feel suffocated.

  But thinking that if she stayed in the palace, facing Mo Yunxuan alone would be even more suffocating. So she'd rather take this opportunity to get out and breathe some fresh air.

  She would rather come face to face with these complicated situations and feel more at ease than in front of him.

  Eaves flying, the road paved with large bricks, high red palace walls on both sides, a long corridor connected to the temple, one palace after another, endless and continuous.

  The heavy snow had just fallen, piling up a thick layer. The palace staff on both sides of the road were constantly sweeping the snow with brooms, revealing a wide path. As I walked along, my small boots still felt like they were stepping on a slippery layer of ice.

  "The current Guifei is the king's concubine's own sister, and the emperor dotes on her extremely. The king's concubine truly has good fortune."

  I don't know why Princess Ning suddenly brought up this topic.

  Xia Zi Li originally walked steadily but almost lost her balance and fell over.

  Miss, be careful

  Xia Zi Li was also frightened at this moment, her face pale as a flower.

  She turned her head and looked at Princess Ning, her face calm.

  The Queen of Ning saw Xia Ziyu's appearance and was slightly surprised, then let out a soft sigh and grasped her hand tighter.

  Beside the plum tree, bursts of bright and clear women's laughter are heard. At the white jade stone table, hairpins and earrings collide, and beautiful women with cloud-like hair buns stand stably inside.

  Xia Zi didn't know how many people the Queen had invited today, but before she even approached, she could already hear the lively discussions and chatter coming from inside.

  "I heard that both the Wang Fei of Ning Wang Fu and Yan Wang Fu have accepted the invitation today"

  "Does he dare not to keep an appointment with Her Majesty the Queen?"

  "It's hard to say, who doesn't know that in the state of Muxuan, anyone who has anything to do with these two princes must show three points of courtesy"

  "The queen is also like that, unfortunately, this King Yan is not like King Ning who delights in beauty, everyone knows that King Ning treats Queen Ning worse than the women outside"

  The sound of ridicule was filled with laughter, Xia Ziyou felt that the hand holding hers trembled slightly.

  Looking up at that suddenly pale face, I suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

  "Cough. Cough." The eunuch coughed twice with feigned intention, waiting for everyone's gaze to turn towards him, before raising his shrill voice.

  "King Yan's consort has arrived—King Ning's consort has arrived—"

  The women who were just talking and mocking with full of sarcasm, turned around in an instant, shocked and lost their color.

  Kneeling down in a hurry

  "The queen consort pays respects to King Ning's wife and King Yan's wife."

  Xia Zi Li didn't speak up, waiting for Ning Wangfei to make a move. As the younger sister-in-law, she was inferior in status after all. Mo Yunxuan was the eighth son, while Ning Wang was the third son, so naturally Ning Wangfei had more power than her.

  But Princess Ning did not wake up for a long time.

  Just glanced over there.

  "Spare the queen's life——spare the queen's life——"

  The person who seemed to be kneeling inside also suddenly became timid, and a noblewoman wearing a peacock feather cloak suddenly crawled out from among the kneeling noblewomen.

  "Spare the queen's life! Spare the queen's life!"

  What Xia Zili couldn't understand was that she had clearly offended Ning Wangfei, yet the person she was now kowtowing to was her.

  It was just an instant, and she understood.

  Because she is now holding her hand

  She raised her eyes and saw the bitter smile still lingering on Ning Wangfei's lips.

  So this is power.

  Just as Xia Zi was at a loss for what to do, the long, winding sound rose up once again.

  "Her Majesty the Queen has arrived——"

  "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine has arrived—"

  "Empress Lihua has arrived——"

  "Xīn Fēi Niáng Niáng Dào——"

  Translation: "The Fragrant Imperial Concubine Arrives——"

  The sound of the drum is rising and falling, filling people's eardrums