After listening to her mother-in-law’s chatter, Wen Wan took Song Jiao and followed her husband out of the main gate.
Uncle Lin had already prepared the carriage, with a maid waiting beside it to lift the curtain, respectfully inviting the master, mistress, and young lady onto the carriage.
After about the ti it takes for an incense stick to burn, they arrived outside the Imperial City Gate.
The three got off the carriage and found several other carriages already stopped nearby.
Because the officials attending the palace banquet all held a rank of Standard Third or above, each carriage was more lavish and spacious than the next, making the Song family’s carriage look particularly modest among them.
However, those who could climb to the rank of Standard Third had family mbers with qualities naturally higher than those of minor households.
So even if this carriage was not as grand as others, no one was foolish enough to publicly make sarcastic remarks about it; instead, Wen Wan’s face attracted the gaze of many noblewon.
Noticing many people looking at her, Wen Wan felt a bit nervous and asked Song Wei, "Husband, is there sothing on my face? Why are they all staring at ?"
Song Wei glanced at the few won looking their way and smiled faintly, "They are all noblewon of the court, regularly attending palace banquets. They might think you look too much like the Eldest Princess from years ago."
Wen Wan understood, nodded, and touched her face once again, marveling that if she hadn’t seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed that there could be two people who looked so alike under the heavens.
Song Jiao, sowhat confused, asked Song Wei, "Third Uncle, what are you talking about?"
Wen Wan smiled and smoothed things over, "Nothing, just those people staring at . Your Third Uncle said it’s because I look a lot like soone important in the palace."
Song Jiao nodded and curiously asked, "Without any blood relation, do people who look alike exist in this world?"
Wen Wan said, "Aren’t I a living example?"
——
After entering the Imperial City Gate, a Palace Attendant specially ca to lead the way, taking them to the Imperial Garden.
Seizing the mont while Song Jiao looked around, Wen Wan quietly asked Song Wei what she should do later.
Song Wei said, "Yesterday, under the pretense of visiting Yuanbao, I went to Yutang Palace and saw him."
"You an, Yuanbao will be involved as well?"
Song Wei nodded and, seeing the worry in Wen Wan’s eyes, said soothingly, "Don’t worry, we are just borrowing the na of His Highness for a bit."
Perhaps influenced by his calm and steady deanor, Wen Wan felt at ease, discarded her worries and doubts, and followed him with peace of mind.
Behind them, Song Jiao hurried to catch up, whispering, "Auntie, the Imperial Palace is truly vast!"
With so many people attending the banquet, it wasn’t feasible for everyone to be carried to the Imperial Garden, so they had to walk on their own.
From the ti they entered the Imperial City until now, they’d been walking for a long ti without reaching their destination, and the shock in Song Jiao’s heart was imaginable.
Previously, Wen Wan had been busy talking with Song Wei and hadn’t looked around carefully. It was only now that she began to glance about, then withdrew her gaze, smiled at Song Jiao, "It is quite large."
Compared to the young girl’s excitent, Wen Wan was much calr.
The little palace maid who led the way brought them to the pavilion in the Imperial Garden and respectfully said, "Please, Mr. Song and Miss Song, rest here for a while. There is still so ti before the palace banquet, and there are tea and snacks in the pavilion. If you feel bored, you can also walk around."
Wen Wan gratefully thanked them for their hard work and, after the palace maid left, began to take stock of their current location.
This was not the place for the banquet, unfamiliar to her expectations.
Song Wei said, "The banquet is set beyond the fake mountain in front, but hardly anyone is there yet."
The noblewon had all gone to pay respects to Empress Su and today’s main figure, Princess Consort Duan.
Wen Wan felt sothing was inappropriate, "Husband, they are all going to pay their respects, but if I don’t, won’t I be punished?"
"No, you have no rank, you are not a noblewoman, so you are not easily noticed."
Song Wei, having his motives, wouldn’t let her go, fearing that Empress Su might think of the Eldest Princess upon seeing Wanwan.
Empress Su was a formidable character. If Wanwan faced her, and sothing unexpected happened while he was not present, it could be too late.
Not going to pay respects to the Empress, they stayed in the pavilion, having so tea and snacks.
A long ti later, noise ca from the other side of the fake mountain.
It was the noblewon, having finished paying respects to the Empress, heading toward the Imperial Garden.
Wen Wan looked up at Song Wei.
Song Wei smiled and said, "If Wanwan finds the crowd too noisy, you don’t have to go over."
Years of tacit understanding allowed Wen Wan to imdiately grasp the underlying aning of his words—the full moon banquet today might not even last until it officially begins.
Therefore, whether she makes an appearance or not doesn’t really matter.
Encountering such an incident the first ti she entered the palace was sowhat disheartening, but Wen Wan was not too disappointed at heart. She had long passed the age of naivety and could differentiate between what mattered and what did not. She wasn’t about to ruin her husband’s grand sche for the sake of a mont’s novelty.
However, the thought of not allowing her niece to properly experience the event before heading back ho made her feel a bit guilty.
...
The ministers and their families gradually took their seats.
At this mont, the Eldest Prince Zhao Xi approached with palace maids and eunuchs in tow, passing by the lotus pond.
The chatter at the scene imdiately ceased, and the ministers rose to greet him.
Zhao Xi did not speak.
After a brief silence, everyone heard a faint splash of water, followed by a little eunuch shouting, "His Highness’s jade pendant has fallen into the water; hurry up and retrieve it!"
As soon as the words were spoken, seven or eight Inner Court Guards stepped forward, removed the swords from their waists, and leaped into the pond to start retrieving the jade pendant.
All attention was focused on the lotus pond.
Zhao Xi stood expressionlessly by the shore, squinting slightly.
He had deliberately dropped the jade pendant because Song Yuanbao had told him the previous night that there would be a spectacle in the garden’s pond today. If Zhao Xi wanted to see it, he should throw sothing in and have people retrieve it.
Due to his birth mother being an Imperial Concubine, Zhao Xi was not entirely ignorant of palace intrigues. He was worried that it might involve his mother, so even though he didn’t respond to Song Yuanbao at the ti, he kept a ntal note.
It was rely a matter of tossing a personal item into the pond and then having soone fetch it—a very ordinary act. If sothing accidental was retrieved, that would be perfect; if not, there was no loss.
The pond was large, with many lotuses planted in it. The water wasn’t clear, making it hard to see the bottom. If sothing fell in, it wasn’t easy to find.
In other words, it was easier for things to be hidden in the pond.
The seven or eight Inner Court Guards searched for a long ti but found no trace.
Soon after, Mr. Cui’s voice rang out at the entrance of the Imperial Garden: "The Emperor arrives, the Empress arrives—"
The ministers and families imdiately knelt, proclaiming long life to the Emperor and Empress.
As Emperor Guangxi arrived, he saw Zhao Xi kneeling by the pond, while the Inner Court Guards were paddling toward the shore to retrieve the jade pendant.
The guard at the rear suddenly got tangled and reached into the water, pulling up a handful of a woman’s hair.
When he lifted it further and saw a swollen, pale female corpse, the guard was so frightened he shrieked in terror.
The noblewon on the shore looked over at the sound, their gaze falling on the body floating on the water’s surface. So couldn’t withstand it and vomited on the spot.
The ministers began to whisper among themselves.
Kneeling by the pond, Zhao Xi glanced in and lowered his eyes thoughtfully.
Emperor Guangxi’s expression was very grim. Without allowing everyone to rise, he walked directly to the throne and sat down, gazing sternly at everyone below, "What happened?"
No one answered.
One by one, they all seed to have turned mute.
They were here to attend the banquet; how could they have known that a female corpse would suddenly surface in the garden’s pond? Such a thing was simply too shocking.
Emperor Guangxi’s sharp gaze turned to Empress Su, "Don’t you owe an explanation?"
Empress Su quickly stood up and knelt before him, "It appears the Imperial Household was negligent and did not clean the area before the banquet. It is indeed my failure, and I beg Your Majesty to punish ."
Despite her words, her fingers curled one by one within her brocade sleeves.
She had orchestrated all this to kill the Second Prince, and by extension, eliminate Song Wei, the thorn in her side, never expecting any unexpected developnts.
At the mont the female corpse appeared, Empress Su knew the entire plan was disrupted.
Princess Consort Duan had not yet appeared with the Second Prince, and the Song Wei couple were also missing. Neither target was present.
All the Inner Court Guards had co ashore; the female corpse lay flat on the ground, imdiately covered with white cloth by a little eunuch, though so noblewon were still startled.
At this juncture, no one held any hope for the full moon banquet anymore.
Emperor Guangxi’s eyes darkened, "I will give the Empress three days. If in three days you do not uncover the truth, then this palace maid belongs to your Kunning Palace!"
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