It was the birthday banquet of Liu Ruyan.
The other concubines in the Prime Minister's Mansion had always had a poor relationship with Liu Ruyan on a daily basis.
Now that the Prime Minister's wife was not in the mansion, seeing Liu Ruyan sitting in the main seat at her birthday banquet, the long - time concubines in the mansion thought it was inappropriate.
So, except for Wen Xi, the other concubines didn't show up. They just sent some gifts through servants.
Relying on the child in her belly, Wen Xi behaved like the mistress of the house.
If it weren't for today being Liu Ruyan's birthday banquet, she would have wanted to sit in the main seat herself.
"I didn't expect Sister Liu to be so unpopular. For such a grand birthday banquet, so few people are willing to come," Wen Xi said while sitting at her seat, stroking her belly, with a sneering look on her face.
Liu Ruyan tightened her fingers, desperately suppressing the anger in her heart.
Just laugh!
Let's see if you can still laugh later!
Then, forcing a smile, she looked at Wen Xi and said, "Then I'd like to thank you, sister, for condescending to come to my birthday banquet."
Seeing Liu Ruyan being so respectful to her, Wen Xi felt extremely happy.
Now, just with the child in her belly, she could make Concubine Liu, who had always been overbearing towards her, humble herself.
Moreover, the doctor said that the child in her belly was very likely to be a boy.
Once she gave birth to a son, if she played some tricks on the Prime Minister, maybe she could rise in status through her son and be promoted to an equal - status wife.
By then, it would not be too late for her to take revenge on the Shen family.
Thinking of this, Wen Xi looked tenderly at the child in her belly.
She gently patted her slightly bulging belly and secretly thought, Son, you must strive for your mother!
Just then, a familiar figure walked in.
Liu Ruyan immediately greeted her warmly.
"How could she be here?!" Wen Xi suddenly stood up.
Liu Ruyan replied with a smile, "I forgot to introduce you, Sister Wen. This is Ruan Jiu, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family."
Then she said to Ruan Jiu, "Miss Ruan, you are a distinguished guest of our Prime Minister's Mansion today. The Prime Minister specifically instructed me to entertain you well."
After saying that, she led Ruan Jiu to her seat.
Wen Xi immediately stepped forward to block Ruan Jiu. "What kind of distinguished guest is she! She's just a low - class woman from the countryside!"
Ruan Jiu had made her suffer so much!
If it weren't for Ruan Jiu, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation!
Ruan Jiu frowned and rubbed her eyes.
She let out a soft sigh, "Tsk."
"What's wrong, Miss Ruan?" Liu Ruyan asked anxiously.
Ruan Jiu glanced at Wen Xi and said, "As soon as I came in, some dirty thing got into my eye."
Hearing this, Wen Xi immediately complained unhappily, "Who are you scolding?"
Ruan Jiu smiled and replied, "Don't think too much, Concubine Wen. After all, you're not even a thing."
"You dare to scold me for not being a thing!" Wen Xi shouted angrily.
Ruan Jiu lowered the corners of her eyes and looked at Wen Xi innocently. "Well, I really don't know what you are."
As soon as these words were said, even the servants beside them couldn't help covering their mouths and snickering.
Wen Xi was so angry that she almost jumped up.
Liu Ruyan quickly stopped Wen Xi and advised, "Come on, Sister Wen. Miss Ruan didn't mean that. You're pregnant now. It's better not to get angry."
After hearing this, Wen Xi snorted and then returned to her seat and sat down.
Seeing Liu Ruyan chatting happily with Ruan Jiu, Wen Xi felt even more unhappy.
So she said to Liu Ruyan, "Did you invite her here today just to annoy me?"
"Why do you say that, Concubine Wen?" Ruan Jiu paused for a moment and then continued, "I wonder what I did to offend you?"
Wen Xi sneered. "Don't you know what you've done to me?"
"Oh? Could it be that we knew each other before? How about Concubine Wen tell me so that I can understand what exactly I did to make Concubine Wen so unhappy?" Ruan Jiu raised her eyebrows.
After hearing this, Wen Xi immediately fell silent.
She had been so angry just now that she had forgotten her current identity.
"No, we've never met," Wen Xi turned her face away.
She silently swallowed her anger.
Seeing this, Liu Ruyan secretly sighed at Ruan Jiu's sharp tongue. Just a few words had made Wen Xi lose face.
It seemed that allying with her was a good decision.
Next, the banquet officially began.
Wen Xi found Ruan Jiu an eyesore and wanted to leave the banquet.
But since she got pregnant, she got hungry very quickly.
At the moment, she just wanted to fill her stomach as soon as possible.
"Miss Ruan, this peach blossom cake is especially refreshing and can relieve greasiness. Try it quickly," Liu Ruyan said with a smile.
Hearing this, Wen Xi glanced at the peach blossom cakes on the table.
After drinking a big bowl of chicken soup just now, she did feel a bit greasy.
So she picked up a piece of peach blossom cake and took a small bite.
The taste was really good.
She took another bite, but before she could swallow it, she heard Ruan Jiu's voice.
"Well, this peach blossom cake is really delicious," Ruan Jiu praised.
Xiaolan, who was standing beside, rushed to say, "This was specially made by the imperial chef for our concubine's birthday banquet on the Prime Minister's order."
"The Prime Minister really dotes on Concubine Liu," Ruan Jiu said.
After hearing this, Liu Ruyan blushed shyly and lowered her head.
But these words sounded extremely harsh to Wen Xi's ears.
Even the peach blossom cake in her hand became annoying.
Immediately, she threw the peach blossom cake on the ground.
She wiped her hands and said in a sarcastic tone, "What a disgusting thing! It's extremely unpalatable! Only people of low status like you would treasure it."
Everyone knew that Liu Ruyan was from a brothel, so these words were undoubtedly an insult to her.
Xiaolan immediately stood up for her mistress. "Concubine Wen, our mistress kindly invited you to the banquet. Why are you speaking so rudely?"
Wen Xi's eyes turned cold and she scolded, "Who do you think you are to dare to accuse me? Do you believe that I'll find a human trafficker and sell you to a brothel right away?"
After hearing this, Xiaolan was so scared that she hid behind Liu Ruyan.
Even though she was full of dissatisfaction in her heart, she had to shrink back and shut up.
Ruan Jiu smiled. "Concubine Wen really has a terrible temper. I'm sure the Minister of the Department of State Affairs must value you, his concubine - born daughter, very much. Otherwise, you wouldn't look down on the imperial food."
"You!" Wen Xi hesitated to speak.
This Ruan Jiu knew her identity clearly but still used such words to silence her.
Even though she was extremely angry in her heart, she had to swallow it.
Just then, Xiaocui, the maid beside Wen Xi, pointed at Wen Xi and exclaimed, "Concubine Wen, your face!"
Wen Xi touched her face in confusion. "What's wrong with my face?"
Suddenly, Wen Xi felt her neck itching.
She couldn't help reaching out to scratch it.
But the more she scratched, the itchier it became, and there were several bloodstains on her neck.
Then, Wen Xi began to feel itchy all over her body.
She rolled up her sleeves, and the mottled red dots were shocking.
Instantly, she was scared.
Ruan Jiu covered her nose and mouth, looking at Wen Xi with disgust. "Could it be that Concubine Wen has caught some dirty disease?"
Wen Xi was already panicked because of the rashes all over her body.
Hearing Ruan Jiu accusing her of such a baseless crime, she immediately slapped the table and stood up.
"You're talking nonsense..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a sudden cramp came from her belly.
The pain almost made her fall to the ground. Fortunately, she supported the edge of the table and managed to stand still.
But the cramp in her belly became more and more intense, and her forehead was instantly covered with a thin layer of sweat.
Xiaocui's panicked voice came again.
"Blood! Concubine, you're bleeding a lot!"