The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

At 12:00 pm, the sky had completely darkened. Except for the gatekeepers and the maids on night duty, everyone in the mansion had gone back to their rooms to rest.

Lvliu had just put Shen Baozhao in a bridal gown, and her hands were shaking as she was combing Shen Yan's hair. Thinking of Hongling, who had grown up with her, Lvliu was very scared and didn't dare to ask any more questions. She couldn't help but use a little force on the comb.

"Hiss. Do you want to kill me?" Shen Yan said angrily.

"Get out of here. It's inconvenient to do anything without Hongling."

Shen Yan couldn't afford any mistakes in what she was going to do today, so she didn't let the maids take night shifts. At this moment, the only people in the room were Shen Baozhao, who was pretending to be unconscious, and Shen Yan, who was about to go to bed.

When there was no sound in the room, Shen Baozhao, who had excellent hearing, could hear Shen Yan's calm breathing, and he sat up easily.

She lifted Shen Yan's chin and fed her a pill. Then she quickly changed into her own clothes and put the bridal dress on Shen Yan.

By the way, she was covered with a big red veil with a pattern of mandarin ducks playing in the water.

After doing all this, Bao Zhao straightened his clothes and walked out of the main entrance of Yanran Pavilion with a swagger.

The gatekeeper saw her coming out and asked curiously, "It's getting late, isn't Miss Four going to rest here tonight?"

"No, I don't know why I have become so attached to my bed after I was sick. I can't sleep in a different place. Mother Li, please bring me a lantern." After saying that, he stuffed some change into the hands of the gatekeeper.

Madam Li squeezed the silver in her chubby hands, and her eyes narrowed with a smile. "Wait a moment, Fourth Miss. I will light a bright lamp for you. You should walk slowly when it gets dark."

"It's okay, my girl Bixiao is here to pick me up."

A tall maid came over holding a lantern. Who else could it be but Bixiao?

The master and servant walked while admiring the moon, and slowly arrived at Zhaoming Garden.

Back at Zhaoming Garden, Shen Baozhao asked Qingkong to take out the nightgown that had been prepared long ago for him to change into. The two maids had no doubts about their mistress's series of unusual actions.

Since the young lady recovered from a serious illness a month ago, she seemed like a different person. Shen Baozhao explained to them that she was enlightened by a great monk during her illness and learned many things that others did not know.

The two maids were extremely loyal to their mistress, so how could they possibly question their master?

As long as the young lady didn't cry all day, read sad poems, and didn't talk about the Prince of Lu, they would be grateful.

Qingkong's figure was very similar to Shen Yan's. Shen Baozhao put a pre-made human skin mask on Qingkong's face. With a few casual finger movements, the mask was stuck to Qingkong's face.

Even the dignified and serious Bixiao couldn't help but be surprised when she saw the clear sky now.

It's so similar, it's exactly like the second young lady.

Shen Baozhao looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction. Everyone knew that the poison doctor Luo Bucheng was good at poison and medicine. But few people knew that his disguise was even more perfect.

"Bixiao, you stay in Zhaoming Garden. I will take Qingkong to Yanran Pavilion and then come back. Qingkong, they will definitely not let you show up before your second sister gets married. You should stay in the main room of Yanran Pavilion."

"After the second young lady's sedan chair leaves the house, you will use the potion to wash off the mask. Change into your own clothes and return to Zhaoming Garden immediately. There will be many people there and you will not attract attention."

The two girls nodded, looking serious.

Everything was ready, Shen Baozhao and Qingkong took advantage of the night to avoid people and walked all the way to the back door of Yanran Pavilion. They arrived at the back window of the main house with ease.

Bao Zhao sent Qingkong in and left quickly back to Zhaoming Garden.

Before he could change out of his nightgown, Bixiao pulled him into the study.

"Miss, look." Bixiao put a small note into Shen Baozhao's hand.

Written on it in a neat official script were the words "Don't marry for me, Chen Ke is not a good match." The handwriting was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper, and it was obviously written by a man.

Who gave this warning? Did she not receive this note in her previous life, or was she so happy about marrying her sweetheart that she didn't notice it?

This person used the official style required by the current imperial examination in order not to reveal his true identity. Shen Baozhao looked thoughtful. No matter what, this person is a friend, not an enemy.

While he was thinking, he saw a snow-white object rushing towards Shen Baozhao's face. He almost killed it out of habit.

Bixiao pushed Baozhao away and reached out to grab the fluttering pigeon. She said, "Miss, be careful. This note was sent by Xiaobai."

"Xiaobai?" Shen Baozhao asked puzzledly.

Bixiao blushed and said, "This is the name I gave it. Miss, do you want to reply?"

"No, let it go." Bao Zhao said.

Bixiao opened the window and prepared to let Xiaobai go. Unexpectedly, Shen Baozhao called her again, picked up the pen and wrote four big words. He stuffed them into the bamboo tube.

Xiaobai flapped his wings and flew back the way he came. Soon, he stopped outside the study of a mansion.

The guards were wearing armor and had swords on their waists. They stood at the door of the study room, one on each side. When they saw the pigeon coming back, they immediately took the note and sent it into the study room.

A man in a pale blue robe stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. His eyelashes were drooping like black crow wings, and the curve of his nose extended all the way to his chin, making him extremely handsome.

He opened the note with his slender fingers, pinched his eyebrows with both hands, and couldn't help but have a headache. He saw four big words written on the note: "What does it have to do with you?"

"An Yi." The man gave an order, and then a black shadow floated down and stood in front of him.

An Yi bowed his head and said, "I am here."

"Tomorrow, follow the plan." The man's tone was indifferent, and it didn't sound like he was giving an order to do something cautious, but rather like he was having a casual conversation.

"Yes." An Yi responded and left. No one was seen.

The next morning, the Marquis's residence was filled with joy. The dark blue under the eyes of the first wife Wang Shi could not be completely covered up even with a lot of makeup. It was obvious that she did not sleep well last night.

Wang tossed and turned all night and was still terrified.

In the bedroom of Yanran Pavilion, the bride in red wedding dress and red veil sat on the edge of the bed, and gave instructions to the disguised "Shen Yan" over and over again.

He was afraid that something had been revealed, but he had no doubt that the person in front of him was not his daughter.

The groom's team soon arrived at the gate of Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.

The people on the street were praising the upright and handsome Prince of Lu. The betrothal gifts flowed into the gate of the Marquis' Mansion.

"The young lady of this marquis's mansion is so lucky, the groom is so handsome." said the auntie at the wonton stall nearby.

The fishmonger next to him continued, "You don't know, the one getting married today is the second daughter of the eldest son of the Ning'an Marquis's family. She is also very pretty. She is beautiful and intelligent, and everyone in the capital knows her."

"You are a useless guy, talking nonsense. How can you let the beautiful lady of the Marquis's Mansion look at you? You must have been dreaming at night." Everyone couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

"Don't disbelieve me, my brother-in-law's distant cousin's cousin's family works in the Ning'an Marquis Mansion. How could he not know?" Xianyu Zhang kept explaining, but few neighbors really cared about what he said, they were just watching the fun.

Soon, the second young master of the Marquis's Mansion was seen carrying the bride into the bridal sedan.

The groom rode a tall horse in high spirits, leading the way. Although the wedding was hastily arranged, it was not small in scale. The bridal sedan had to go around the imperial city in a full circle, and it would probably take until the afternoon before it arrived at the Duke of Lu's mansion. This was also to express the importance of the bride.

After the bride was taken away, the guests in the front yard of Ning'an Marquis's Mansion were still noisy and bustling. The back yard was also in commotion.

"Oh no, the Second Miss was knocked unconscious by the Fourth Miss."

"The fourth young lady has replaced the second young lady in the bridal sedan."

The voices of many old women and maids rose and fell, spreading from Yanran Pavilion all the way to the old lady's Rongde Hall.