The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

As the Queen's maiden family, the Yongjia Marquisate was placed very close to the front of the table at the banquet, jumping behind the only three remaining dukes' mansions and before the mansions of the other princes.

Although Xie Jingrong, as the emperor's brother-in-law, also holds the title of Duke Cheng'en, this title comes with no fiefdom, no real power, and cannot be inherited. It is almost no different from those officials in the official system who do nothing but show off their glory. It is just a customary reward for the queen's family.

Moreover, even though he was granted the title, he refused to move into the Cheng'en Mansion bestowed by the emperor alone. He only stayed there for a few days on important days to show that he did not neglect the emperor's favor. Xie Yuzhen also expressed his gratitude. He was still young, and it was not convenient for Xie's mother to appear on some occasions, so he still needed the help of his only brother.

Thus, Xie Jingrong avoided the troubles he had to face before and after the move, and continued to live his life between the Hanlin Academy and the Yongjia Marquis Mansion. He was either reading or chanting scriptures, and occasionally, when he felt itchy, he would secretly write a couple of storybooks.

At the palace banquet, Xie Jingrong also refused to have a seat alone and placed himself above his mother and nephew, so the scene was that his mother, Xie Yi, and Xie Jingrong sat in the first row, while Lin Qiao and Zeng Suqiu, who were brought in as younger relatives, sat behind them on the left and right.

Fu Qingsu also knew that his etiquette level was not enough to cope with such a big occasion, so he handed the control of his body back to Zeng Suqiu, and only asked her to let him out if she encountered any difficult problems.

Ever since these two girls were brought out from the Marquis of Anguo's Mansion by Jun Yuexin, they have often visited the Marquis of Yongjia's Mansion at the invitation of Xie's mother. Zeng Suqiu and Fu Qingsu both knew Lin Qiao, but apart from the first meeting, they did not have much communication afterwards. Moreover, because the spring examination was approaching, Lin Qiao spent more time studying at home, so they were not so familiar with each other.

On the contrary, the person they were most familiar with was Xie Xiangxi, who had become a good subordinate of Xie's mother. However, Xie Xiangxi was not willing to attend such occasions, and his identity was not appropriate, so he did not come today.

Thinking of the recent rumors in Beijing, Zeng Suqiu couldn't help but secretly glance at Lin Qiao several times. She thought her actions were covert, but in fact she was just like a cat hiding behind a door and peeking at humans.

Lin Qiao was wearing a light green scholar's robe embroidered with auspicious clouds today, and a lotus crown on her head. Her originally slightly brown skin had become much whiter, and her eyebrows and eyes looked even more delicate, making it difficult to tell whether she was a man or a woman. With a faint smile on her lips, she passed a plate of pastries on the table in front of her to Zeng Suqiu's table.

Zeng Suqiu's cheeks flushed: "I'm sorry, Mr. Lin, Nunu is rude."

"Don't be nervous. Didn't I tell you before that you don't have to call me Mr., just call me by my name or my pen name?" Lin Qiao said softly.

Zeng Suqiu felt more and more embarrassed, but after being comforted by her, she was indeed not so nervous: "Slave... This is my first time entering the palace, and it is such an important occasion... Sir... Guanying is worthy of being Guanying. If I had so many eyes staring at me, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to speak clearly."

There were many people at the banquet who were like her, looking at Lin Qiao openly or covertly. It was probably because of the rumor in the capital that was getting more and more intense, but the person behind it remained unwilling to refute or admit it.

Lin Qiao was of course very clear about this. She shook her head slightly and raised her hand to touch her chin: "Maybe it's because my face is so handsome that people are used to staring at me."

Her relaxed and happy jokes made Zeng Suqiu completely let go of her nervousness. Then she couldn't help but envy Lin Qiao's mentality. With envy, she straightened her back, took a deep breath, and raised her head which was usually lowered. Fu Qingsu had taught her that if she encountered a situation she didn't know how to deal with, she should just put on her most serious and earnest attitude.

Zeng Suqiu sat in her most upright posture with a tense face, but her cheeks were slightly puffed up from tensing so hard. She was not very old to begin with, and had been eating and drinking well these days, even her baby fat had returned, so even with her most serious expression, she still looked very cute.

The family sitting opposite the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion happened to be the Anguo Marquis and Ruan Xiang'e.

As usual, the wife of Marquis Anguo did not show up, and the people from the second house had all been quickly dealt with, so the family looked like a dwindling one.

Marquis Anguo was drinking and talking with the people around him very naturally, but Ruan Xiang'e, who was sitting next to her father, felt very uncomfortable.

In the past, she always had to sit in the back row, with her father and brother blocking the way in front, so she could chat and gossip with her companions at the back. But now her brother is dead, and she has become the only female crown prince since the founding of the country. Wearing the female crown prince's official uniform specially modified by the Ministry of Rites, sitting in this seat originally only for men, Ruan Xiang'e felt uneasy and uncomfortable, and also increasingly had an inexplicable sense of loneliness.

She is already the crown prince.

All her former good friends were sitting in the back row, and because of the elders in their families, they couldn't come over to say hello to her.

Although she was a prince, she was still excluded from a certain circle that a "prince" was naturally supposed to enter. Even the duke and marquis sitting to the left and right of the seat in the Marquis Anguo's mansion tacitly ignored her and spoke to the Marquis Anguo.

And Marquis Anguo...did not plan to step forward to rescue his daughter immediately. In his opinion, his daughter was really ignorant and lacked experience. Although there were always some unorthodox ideas in her mind, it was obvious that these ideas were not born by herself, but instilled into her by certain people.

to be honest.

Ruan Xiang'e is just a child who is still pursuing the new and unique excitement. She has a young mind and is very unsteady. She is easily led by the words of others.

Marquis Anguo looked at his daughter's predicament with cold eyes. He planned to wait until she had experienced this embarrassment, and then go home to tell her about these things one by one. As for how much she could learn from it... he could only leave it to fate. If even suffering such a predicament could not inspire her to make progress...

He took a sip of the warm wine. The alcohol content was not high, and it felt no different to Marquis Anguo than drinking water. However, as soon as he saw his daughter's confused and aggrieved expression, he wished he could get drunk.

If he had known that this day would come, he would have... Marquis Anguo sighed heavily. He and his wife were not very affectionate. He felt more guilty and respectful towards each other. Also, because of the troubles of the previous generation, Marquis Anguo always insisted on having only one wife and a pair of children.

Unfortunately, neither he nor the wife of Marquis Anguo knew how to be parents, and their son and daughter were both useless.

If Ruan He were still alive, and had married the princess and lived a peaceful and carefree life as a prince consort, the future of the Anguo Marquisate would have been relatively stable, but unfortunately, he died.

The princess' daughter-in-law is gone.

In order to prevent the title from falling into the hands of his enemy, the second branch, Marquis Anguo had to make a deal with Queen Xie to make her daughter the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Marquis Anguo couldn't help but look at Lin Qiao across from him - if the rumors in the capital were true, then he really should ask her father for advice on how to raise a promising child. Sigh...

If you let your children roam freely when they are young, they will really suffer the consequences when they grow up.