From afar, Yi Zhen's beautiful eyes flitted around. She casually swept a glance at Yun Xi and Yi Yuan standing together, then gave Yun Xi an enigmatic smile.
Yi Yuan frowned, immediately turning around to shield Yun Xi behind him. He shot Yi Zhen a warning glare.
But Yi Zhen just turned her head and walked away on her own.
Everyone around witnessed this undercurrent of tension. They exchanged meaningful looks but were not stupid enough to actually step forward and inquire.
Amidst the seemingly peaceful atmosphere, the banquet began.
Loosely speaking, this Lantern Festival banquet could be regarded as a family gathering.
Everyone was drinking and enjoying themselves, rarely bringing up matters of the court. They only discussed the upcoming visit of the seventh prince of the Ying State to the capital for a marriage alliance.
Some thought it was a good thing that the two countries' friendship could, to the greatest extent, avoid war. Others believed that the Ying State had coveted the Great Yin for decades, and its sudden move to seek a marriage alliance must have ill intentions. There were various opinions and heated debates.
As the princess most likely to be courted, Yi Zhen naturally became the central figure that was occasionally mentioned during the banquet.
After listening to their arguments for a while, Yun Xi secretly winked at Yi Yuan. Then, under the pretext of going to the toilet, she slipped out through the side door with Ling Yan and Sai Xing.
It was getting dark. As Yun Xi walked unhurriedly through the corridor, down the steps towards the garden, she whispered softly,
"Ling Yan, did Yi Zhen notice our movements just now?"
"Reply, Miss,"
Ling Yan moved closer to Yun Xi.
"She was watching and even gave a look to the maid beside her."
"Good."
Nodding, Yun Xi slowly broke into a smile.
The mistress and her maids strolled casually in the garden. Occasionally, maids and eunuchs passed by.
Before long, Mu Yuan, another female official who often accompanied Yi Zhen, came over.
Everyone was taken aback: Was Yi Zhen so bold that she didn't even try to avoid being seen?
Just as they were thinking this, Mu Yuan had already approached. She calmly and gracefully bowed and said,
"Second Miss, on this Lantern Festival, our princess has specially prepared different gifts for all the noble guests. Please follow me to get yours, Second Miss."
"We go get it ourselves?"
Pushing Yun Xi behind her, Sai Xing was the first to speak up.
"Isn't it always the case that the rewards are bestowed upon us and we just take them back? Why is the princess's reward different?"
After Sai Xing finished speaking, Yun Xi slowly stopped her,
"Don't be rude. Sai Xing, how dare you question the princess's female official? Are you itching for a punishment? Hurry up and apologize to the female official."
While telling Sai Xing to apologize, Yun Xi didn't stop talking. She continued,
"Please don't mind, female official. My maid has been spoiled by me. She doesn't understand etiquette. I will definitely punish her properly when we get back."
"However..."
Yun Xi changed the subject. Her almond eyes were half - smiling as she stared directly into Mu Yuan's eyes.
"This is the first time I've heard that gifts need to be retrieved by oneself. I'm very confused. I hope the female official can clarify this for me."
Mu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but she felt a little unnerved under Yun Xi's gaze.
She secretly tightened her fingers and forced a smile,
"Second Miss is too polite. It's my fault for not explaining clearly."
"These gifts are not exactly retrieved but searched for. When the princess was in Siming Temple, she did everything herself and deeply felt the hardships of the common people. So she specially asked the emperor for a palace to store the gifts for all the noble guests and invited everyone to search for and take them by themselves."
"Firstly, it's for fun. Secondly, it's to let everyone experience what it's like for ordinary people. By now, the noble guests should have all gone there. But the princess didn't see Second Miss at the banquet, so she sent me to look for you."
Experience the people's livelihood by looking for things?
Yun Xi didn't say a word, but the smile in her eyes grew stronger.
"Then I'll trouble the female official. Let's go."
Mu Yuan smiled and made a gesture of invitation. With different thoughts in mind, they walked towards the palace.
When Yun Xi and the others arrived, the families and children of the various princes were indeed searching inside the palace. All the maids and servants were waiting outside, craning their necks to see what was going on inside.
The royal family members, led by Emperor Zhao Huan, were sitting in their positions at the entrance. They were chatting and listening to the eunuchs and maids specially arranged in various parts of the palace relay the news from inside.
Yun Xi exchanged a look with Yi Yuan from afar. She apologized to Emperor Zhao Huan before following Mu Yuan inside.
The palace was not very big. Following the clues, Yun Xi walked very carefully. Although she met others who had also come to look for gifts, she didn't encounter anyone with ill intentions.
Even more, she quickly and smoothly found her own gift with her name on it in a room that was not very remote.
Looking at the wooden box wrapped in red silk in her hand, Yun Xi was a little dazed.
Yi Zhen had gone to great lengths to return to the palace and had even devised this game to get rid of the servants and attendants. With such a good opportunity, why didn't she take action?
What was her purpose? Was it really just to let everyone experience the fun of doing things themselves?
Or was the mystery hidden in this wooden box?
Did she plan that when she went back to open it, something in the box would suddenly jump out and take her life?
But this gift was personally selected by Yi Zhen. If something happened, she definitely couldn't escape blame.
Or was Yi Zhen planning to use the excuse that the gift had been taken away by her, so that even if something happened, it was very likely that she had staged it herself or been harmed by others, and had nothing to do with her?
If so, this gift had to be opened in front of everyone.
With her thoughts in a mess, Yun Xi couldn't figure it out for a while. She simply weighed the wooden box in her hand and walked towards the palace entrance.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped out of the room, she bumped into a maid coming from the side.
Yun Xi's heart tightened. She thought to herself, Here it comes!
But after the maid let out a short "ah", she immediately knelt down and apologized in a panic,
"Please forgive me, Miss. I didn't do it on purpose. Please be magnanimous and spare me..."
Not getting the result she expected, Yun Xi actually felt a little disappointed.
Just as she was about to tell the maid to get up, she heard the maid's inner voice,
[Ah! I'm so scared!]
[The room next to this one is the haunted Jianjia Palace. Sister Qiuxia said the other day that she saw the figure of the late Concubine Qing inside. Wuwu... Did I shout too loudly just now? Will I disturb the soul of Concubine Qing...?]
[No, no. I just bumped into a noble guest. Isn't this the second miss of the Yun family? I'm done for. Prince Yu'an dotes on her so much. I'm surely going to lose my life...]
The maid wailed a lot of nonsense. Obviously, she was not deliberately arranged by Yi Zhen to bump into her.
Yun Xi's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her whole attention was focused on the words "saw the figure of the late Concubine Qing".
She turned to look in the direction of the dark palace and glanced at the maid who was already pale with fear. After a moment's thought, she bent down to help her up and said gently,
"Don't be afraid. Get up first."
"Princess Four is really kind - hearted to prepare such a wonderful gift. It must be really hard for you to organize such a big palace."
Smiling, she patted the maid's hand and said seemingly casually,
"On my way here just now, I noticed that the palace next to this one seemed to be smaller. If the princess had chosen that one, you wouldn't have to work so hard."
Covering her lips with a smile, Yun Xi said playfully,
"It would also be convenient for me to be lazy and walk a few steps less. Don't you think so?"