The reborn sweet girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent prince hugs her and coaxes her!

Wu Tianxiao followed the palace maid to the side hall. The cold wind was like a knife, cutting his cheeks painfully.

He couldn't help but tighten his cloak, and his fingertips touched the dark pattern on the lining, which was the auspicious cloud pattern embroidered by Mu Qianyin herself.

The palace maid behind him hurriedly followed, the lanterns in her hands swaying in the wind, emitting a faint light.

She bowed her head and whispered, "Your Highness, please follow me over here."

Wu Tianxiao was not unfamiliar with this road. The courtyard next to Zhengyang Palace had always been a resting place for nobles who came to the palace for banquets. It was across the Imperial Study and Qinghui Garden from a distance.

He glanced at the palace maid who was leading the way, nodded, and followed her as she turned around the corridor and walked forward.

Just as they were about to pass through another corridor, a figure stood with his hands behind his back, blocking the road.

"Who is it?" asked the maid.

As soon as she finished speaking, the lantern in her hand went out instantly, and the entire corridor fell into thick darkness.

……

Inside Zhengyang Palace, the dancers' performance continued.

The feather fan fluttered, bringing with it gusts of fragrant wind, but Mu Qianyin's heart grew heavier.

Prince Ning had been gone for nearly half an hour, but he had not returned yet. She wanted to report to the emperor, but seeing that the emperor was in high spirits, she could not interrupt him, so she could only sit there with her fists clenched, fidgeting.

When the song ended, many members of the royal family were already feeling tipsy. The emperor smiled and stood up: "I will go change my clothes, you are all welcome to do as you please."

In the past, halfway through the banquet, the emperor and empress would leave the table to change clothes and take a short rest. Although the emperor was alone now, he still retained this habit.

As usual, as soon as the emperor left, everyone felt much more relaxed and left the table one after another.

Or toast each other or chat with people you know.

Lin Jiaoyue, who had been sitting opposite, walked slowly towards Mu Rong.

Xu Rongrong frowned slightly, subconsciously stood in front of Mu Rong, and said unhappily: "Is there something wrong with the Fourth Imperial Concubine?"

Lin Jiaoyue has changed her previous flamboyant and bright appearance. Today, she is wearing a lilac-colored long dress with diamond patterns, which makes her figure look slim and her face looks paler.

She looked like she was about to cry and turned slightly to the side.

Not far behind him, the Fourth Prince Wu Tianqi was flirting with a palace maid. The palace maid was actually half leaning on Lin Jiaoyue's seat to pour wine for Wu Tianqi, which was clearly a slap in the face of her, the Fourth Prince's Consort.

Lin Jiaoyue looked at Mu Rong across Xu Rongrong, her eyes full of earnestness, as if she was praying for something.

Although Mu Rong didn't say anything, there was no more impatience in his eyes.

Seeing that he was no longer cold-eyed, Lin Jiaoyue replied to Xu Rongrong: "County Lady, I have something important to discuss with the Marquis. Please help me."

"What is it that is inconvenient for me, the wife of Marquis Weiyuan, to know?" Xu Rongrong said coldly. She deliberately emphasized her identity as "the wife of Marquis Weiyuan".

Lin Jiaoyue looked at Mu Rong again at a loss.

After a while, Xu Rongrong only heard the man's low voice behind her: "Rongrong, I do have something to discuss with the Fourth Imperial Concubine."

Xu Rongrong suddenly turned around and stared at Mu Rong.

But the man had no intention of explaining further, and she was choked with anger for a moment: "In that case, I will not disturb the Marquis and the Fourth Princess from reminiscing about the past!"

After saying that, he was about to leave.

Mu Rong subconsciously tightened her wrist: "Rongrong, stop making trouble..."

Xu Rongrong didn't even think twice and directly shook off his shackles, heading out of Zhengyang Palace without looking back.

Although Lin Jiaoyue lowered her head, she saw the interaction between the two people in front of her clearly, and a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.

As soon as Xu Rongrong left Zhengyang Palace, Zhu Yu, who was waiting outside, quickly put a cloak on her.

"Madam, what happened?" Xu Rongrong's face was full of resentment, and anyone passing by could see it.

"Nothing, just walk with me to the side." After saying that, Xu Rongrong walked to a sparsely populated corner outside the hall. She didn't want her current image of a "jealous woman" to be seen by more people.

But those two seemed unwilling to let her go.

As soon as Xu Rongrong stood in the corner, she saw Mu Rong and Lin Jiaoyue coming out side by side. Lin Jiaoyue had put on the same black cloak as Mu Rong at some point.

The two of them had known each other since childhood, and although the clan members were unaware of their past friendship, since they had grown up together, greeting each other at a night banquet was not a violation of gender norms, so they would not care even if they saw it.

Only Xu Rongrong felt increasingly sad.

"Why is Ping'an standing here?" a deep male voice sounded.

Xu Rongrong looked back and found that the emperor and Eunuch Yao were already standing behind her.

She hurriedly took Zhuyu to pay her respects, wondering in her heart how long the emperor had seen her like that.

Fortunately, the emperor's voice was still the same as before: "Stand up, since this is a family dinner, there is no need to follow the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects."

Xu Rongrong stood up as she was told.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so aggrieved? Are the dishes at the banquet not to your taste?"

"Your Majesty, the banquet is filled with delicacies and Ping An likes them very much."

"If that's the case, why are you sad?" He said, and then added, "I see your eyes are about to turn red."

Xu Rongrong didn't know where to start when she heard that. She just turned slightly.

The emperor looked in the direction of her figure and saw two figures, one tall and one short, wandering around in the courtyard for a while and then walking together towards the depths of the rockery.

He frowned slightly: "Is that Rong Ge'er?"

Xu Rongrong nodded.

"Do you know who that woman is?"

Xu Rongrong did not answer, but twisted the sachet around her waist angrily, twisting it hard as if to vent her anger.

She was so angry that she forgot the rules. Seeing this, Eunuch Yao at the side hurriedly answered for her: "Your Majesty, it seems that it is the Fourth Imperial Concubine."

The emperor was startled at first, then smiled and said, "It's Lin Jiaoyue. Since it's her... Ping An doesn't need to be jealous. They just grew up together and are friends. I think they are just catching up on the past."

Xu Rongrong pouted: "Yes, Ping An knows."

"Why are you acting so childish today? When I granted you and Rong Ge'er a marriage at the Qixi Festival, you were so generous and open-minded... but now Rong Ge'er has spoiled you into acting childishly."

Hearing the unexpected meaning in the emperor's words, Xu Rongrong hurriedly leaned forward to apologize. She was so flustered that she even lost her grip on the sachet in her hand and it fell at the emperor's feet.

"Your Majesty... this is not the fault of the county lady." Seeing that she was frightened, Eunuch Yao hurriedly explained, "In fact, when the Marquis was young, he had some affection for the fourth... and the eldest lady of the Lin family. I have heard the deposed queen mention it. If it weren't for the marriage granted at the Qixi banquet that year, the Marquis would have married the eldest lady of the Lin family."

"Oh? Is this true?" The emperor frowned, "But I remember that it was Rong Ge'er who took the initiative to ask me to marry Ping An at the Qixi Festival banquet."

"This... it seems that the Marquis was angry with the eldest lady of the Lin family back then."

"Okay, no need to say more!" The emperor interrupted him, "Brother Rong is really too outrageous! How can marriage be a joke!"

After that, he said gently, "Ping An, get up first."

Xu Rongrong stood up as she was told, her eyes red: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Brother Rong is a soldier, so he is bound to be careful in his actions. However... no matter what he did in the past, you are now his legal wife. Now that they are both married, I think they will not do anything beyond the rules. Don't worry... After the family dinner today, I will also admonish him and vent my anger for you!"

Xu Rongrong wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for making peace."

"You are the Princess of Ping'an who was conferred by me personally. Of course I will make the decision for you." He smiled, bent down, picked up the sachet himself and handed it to Xu Rongrong, asking her to keep it.

"The Marquis is still very concerned about the county lady." Eunuch Yao beside him added: "I saw the Marquis go to the clinic a few days ago, but is the county lady ill?"

"How could he do this for me? He is sick himself..." Xu Rongrong answered as she sorted out the sachets, "I don't know why, but he got sick for no apparent reason and hasn't gotten better for a long time, but he pretends to be fine outside."

The emperor raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "In that case, I will ask the imperial physician to take a look tomorrow."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Rongrong replied crisply.

A cold wind suddenly blew and Xu Rongrong shivered a little, so the emperor did not keep her any longer and asked her to return to Zhengyang Palace first.

It was not until the small figure disappeared that the emperor's gentle face gradually changed.

"After all, she is the daughter of a minor official and is not worthy of being in public," the emperor said coldly.

Eunuch Yao laughed and said, "It is precisely because one does not know the rules that one can ask the truth... Your Majesty, it seems that the Marquis has really had a serious health problem."

A few days ago, a spy from the Marquis's mansion reported that Marquis Weiyuan was not feeling well. He ignored the manor doctor and went to a clinic in the Eight Alleys of the capital to seek treatment. His Majesty then ordered the secret guards to investigate, and they even found some medicine residue in the clinic.

He took the antidote...

The imperial physician saw from the medicine residue that Mu Rong must have been poisoned by a strange poison that destroyed his internal strength.

Although the poison was strange, it was a great help to the emperor, and it increased his confidence in getting rid of Prince Ning and Mu Rong at the New Year's Eve banquet.

Otherwise, he would not have asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to personally go to the residences of various royal family members to pass on the message and invite them to the palace for a banquet.

The more clan members come, the more they can help him accomplish this!