It went without saying that the palace banquet, especially one held to congratulate the two princes, had invited many people.Not only did the officials come, but they brought their wives and daughters as well. The weather had been growing warm lately, but the air was fresh thanks to the rain last night.The imperial garden was particularly lively. The palace servants had prepared a variety of fruits and pastries as appetizers for the guests while they enjoyed the scenery. Even though it was the beginning of summer, there were still many flowers blooming in the garden. Coupled with the greenery that lined the paths of the yards, the entire place was brimming with vitality.Ning Xueyan and Ao Chenyi entered the palace together, though the latter was summoned by the Emperor the minute he got there. Ning Xueyan was left to stroll in the imperial garden with Xinmei. There were so many maids and eunuchs all over the palace today that the rules were

"Put her on the bed. Go and fetch the imperial physician, have him take a look." Hua Qiuying relaxed after hearing Ao Chenyi's voice next to her ears. Under such circumstances, one would have to fetch the physician while the other stayed behind; and naturally, the one fetching the physician couldn't be Ao Chenyi himself.Therefore, it was for certain that Ao Chenyi would stay here and take care of her while the eunuch looked for a physician. Everything was going according to her second sister's plan.Though she couldn't open her eyes, she could feel that everything was within her grasp. She perked up her ears and listened carefully to the movement around her. She wished she could see what he was doing. Was he just staring at her quietly? This thought turned her face even redder.She immediately shut her eyelids tightly. She mustn't let him know that she was just faking unconsciousness.She had no idea how much time passed—perhaps a

The banquet celebrating Prince Xiang and Prince Fu ended without fanfare.The planned performances and stages were scrapped, and the guests excused themselves as soon as they were finished with their meals. It was obvious that the Emperor and Empresses weren't pleased; the former looked gloomy while the latter frowned. No matter how one looked at it, this was a bad situation. Despite not knowing what was going on, they were all smart people who were in tune with other people's expressions.It wasn't until the guests left the palace that they asked around and learned that something had happened.Someone had beat the drum in the hall of the Ministry of Justice and accused Xia Manor and the Lord Protector's Manor of stealing another person's marriage and murdering people. The two skeletons found in the Lord Protector's Manor were the murdered young women, and one of them had been betrothed to Xia Yuhang since they were children.Madam

"Yuhang, why don't I send someone to kill that woman?" Ao Mingyu said coldly."Your Highness, the Ministry of Justice is keeping a tight watch on her. It'll be hard for your men to kill her. Even if they can, we'll be the immediate suspects. It's a bad move for us. You've only just been promoted; now is the time for you to improve your reputation so we can strategize further."Xia Yuhang waved his hand. He still looked gentle and elegant but his brows were tightly knitted."What should we do then? That idiotic Ning Qingshan sent my men to kill Xia Yudong. I thought it wasn't a big deal, but I wasn't expecting him to have an affair with your concubine or your concubine to expose everything because of him. She even brought up Ning Ziying's death."Ao Mingyu sounded angry. It was all beyond his expectations. He thought it was Ao Chenyi or Ao Mingwan's doing but upon investigation, everything turned out to be a coincidence, with one ma

Back home, Ning Xueyan went straight to Ao Chenyi's Moon-embracing Tower. Although Ao Chenyi was not there, she still went up to the third floor. Reclining on the couch at the window and looking at the sky outside the window, she felt she was empty but couldn't tell what the feeling was.In her previous life, the last scene was a sky stained with blood and the fierce and smug smile of Madam Ling and Ning Ziyan. At that moment, the last moment before her suffocation, she bore great hatred—she hated the reality that the world was so unfair. And she asked herself why she couldn't see through the ugly looks of those deceivers but believed them so much that she thought all their intents were kind.In the end, these people even wanted to kill her!The moment she was reborn, she only wanted to take revenge and let the blood debt paid with blood. She told herself that she would never be as stupid as she was in her previous life, where she believed ever