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I don't know why, but upon seeing His Highness the Crown Prince, Lin Xiu had an inexplicable feeling in her heart. How should I describe this feeling...

If Lin Xiu saw Princess Minghe, Lin Xiu felt uncomfortable all over, and always felt suppressed by him everywhere, but seeing the prince, it was the opposite feeling, that kind of suppressed pleasure...

This kind of feeling won't happen inexplicably. Lin Xiu seemed to realize something, turned to look at Li Baizhang, and asked in a low voice: "The prince's ability can't be to control water..."

Li Baizhang was surprised and said: "This matter has not been rumored, how do you know?"

Lin Xiu looked at the prince again, and the only thing that could make him feel this suppressed pleasure was the ability of water.

This ability is also one of the heavenly abilities, its power is very domineering, and it is very restrained from the magic of fire.

But this ability was restrained by the magic of ice.

Sky grams.

At this moment, the prince who walked into the hall seemed to feel something. He frowned slightly, turned his head slowly, and looked in a certain direction. The eyes of the two met in the air. Lin Xiu's expression was calm, but the prince shook his body, instinctively Take a step back.

Several people around said quickly: "His Royal Highness, what's wrong with you?"

The prince looked away from Lin Xiu's direction, smiled slightly, and said, "I'm fine, let's go, the banquet is about to start, and you should take your seats as soon as possible..."

The prince and others left, Li Baizhang also parted from Lin Xiu, and returned to his own position. He is the prince, and his position is at the front of the hall.

Soon, a bell rang outside the hall, and the officials, dignitaries and their children in the hall also silenced one after another, sitting in front of the table, looking straight ahead.

Zhu Jin came out from the back of the hall and said in a high-pitched voice: "Your Majesty is here!"

The Emperor Xia and the Empress supported an old man and walked out slowly. Everyone inside and outside the hall stood up and saluted, and said respectfully: "See Your Majesty, Empress Empress, I wish the Empress Dowager good luck and prosperity..."

The etiquette of the banquet in the palace is very detailed, and even the congratulatory speeches are arranged in advance so that they can speak in unison and be uniform when the time comes.

The banquet begins, and the first link is the gift offering.

Some princes, county kings, and several people in charge of the Duke's Mansion personally presented birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager did not stay here for long, and was supported by the empress and several nuns to leave.

She is just showing her face here, there are still many female relatives waiting in the harem.

Afterwards, it was Zhu Jin who announced the start of the dinner on behalf of His Majesty, and the palaces served dishes one after another. More than a dozen slender palace ladies sang and danced in the palace, with their sleeves fluttering.

The maids wore very little clothes and danced gracefully, but Lin Xiu didn't care to appreciate it.

Lin Xiu still remembered the way the crown prince looked at him just now.

What kind of look was that? It contained disgust, resentment, hatred, and many things that Lin Xiu couldn't explain clearly. Although the two just looked at each other for a moment, there were some things that couldn't be hidden.

Like loving someone.

It's like hating someone.

Xue Ning'er looked at him with eyes full of love, while the crown prince looked at him with eyes full of hatred.

Lin Xiu had never seen such a look in the eyes of Yang Xuan's fan of Zhao Lingjun.

Although it was the first time for him to meet the prince, seriously, the hatred between him and the prince had been forged a long time ago.

The crown prince was also one of Zhao Lingjun's former suitors. He was originally the crown prince. If he married Zhao Lingjun again, the throne would be as stable as Mount Tai, and no one would be able to compete with him again.

Lin Xiu's existence shattered his dream, and he had reasons to hate Lin Xiu.

It can even be said that in the two previous assassinations against him, the sons of His Majesty the Emperor were the most suspected, followed by the super rich families in the capital.

After meeting the prince today, Lin Xiu's suspicions became even greater.

Princess Minghe's ability is fire, and Lin Xiuming's superficial ability is a mutual restraint relationship. She can't help but often trouble him. The crown prince's ability is water, and Lin Xiu is restrained to death. He will hug himself Do you have good intentions?

I'm afraid not.

Lin Xiu looked towards the front of the hall, the crown prince's seat was only under the Emperor Daxia's. At this moment, he was watching the singing and dancing in the hall with a smile.

Although there was no direct or indirect evidence, Lin Xiu could not be sure that the prince was behind the two assassinations, but it must be said that he was the most suspected.

That being the case, let's start the investigation with him.

Chapter 87 Love House and Wu

Unlike the lively singing and dancing at the banquet in the central palace, a certain hall in the harem is peaceful at the moment.

In this hall, apart from the harem concubines, the noble ladies and concubine daughters of powerful families, the most prestigious women in the entire Great Xia are all in this hall.

Of course, no matter how noble a concubine or a lady is, they are no more noble than the Empress Dowager. They are lining up at the moment, stepping forward to present gifts one by one, trying to please the Empress Dowager.

A noble lady held a painting scroll in her hand and asked a court lady to help. After slowly unfolding it, a picture of Guanyin was embroidered on it.

The Avalokitesvara on the embroidery is lifelike, holding a clean bottle, with a compassionate face, the lady smiled and said: "The Empress Dowager, this is a picture of Avalokitesvara embroidered on the best Suzhou embroidery by a skilled embroiderer. , the concubine wished the Empress Dowager a happy life and a healthy life, and never grow old..."

A palace lady presented this embroidered image of Guanyin, and the Empress Dowager took a close look at it for a long time, and said happily: "Okay, okay, what a beautiful image of Guanyin, if you are interested, let's have a look..."

A nanny took the reward money and delivered it to the noble lady. She saluted with joy, "Thank you, Empress Dowager..."

Although the reward is not much, it is a good prize. The important thing is to win the favor of the Empress Dowager, which is incomparable to anything else.

After she retired, several wives from the Duke's Mansion stepped forward to offer birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager usually likes to pay respects to the Buddha, and this time it is her [-]th birthday, so everyone gave them gifts such as longevity pictures, Guanyin statues, Buddha statues, lotus platforms, and Buddhist scriptures. If there are too many, I don't think there is anything good.

At this time, another solid figure stepped forward, holding something in both hands, and said: "Empress Dowager, this is the Longevity Pagoda given to you by my daughter. May the Empress Dowager be as blessed as the East Sea and live longer than Nanshan..."

What she held in her hand was an exquisite glazed pagoda, which was actually a rare item.

But the attention of the concubines and ladies present was not on the pagoda, but on her.

This woman is really special. The family of the rich and powerful in Daxia has relatively strict requirements for the women in the family. They must always maintain a ladylike demeanor. Not only must they learn manners, but also when to eat, every meal There are strict requirements on how much to eat.

A woman who came out of a wealthy family may have a mediocre appearance, but her temperament and posture must be incomparable to ordinary women. There is no wealthy daughter who will make her figure so bloated that others will laugh at her.

Look at her, and look at the girl sitting behind the table next to her, it's like a sky and an underground, the contrast is not only strong, it's tragic.

Even the Empress Dowager couldn't help asking, "Which family are you from?"

Seeing that he had attracted the Empress Dowager's attention, Song Yuzhi said happily, "Back to the Empress Dowager, my daughter's grandfather is Duke Ning..."

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager just shook her head and said: "Since you are a girl from Ningguo Gong's family, you must be stricter with yourself. You should eat less every meal in the future..."

The smile on Song Yuzhi's face froze. If someone said this to her, she would have been furious long ago, but facing the Empress Dowager, she could only force a smile and said: "Little girl, remember the teachings of the Empress Dowager. ..."

After finishing speaking, she returned to her place in despair.

Xue Ning'er's seat was next to Song Yuzhi's. After Song Yuzhi, it was her turn to present a gift. She picked up a brocade box on the table and left the table slowly.

Song Yuzhi was ashamed and angry at first, but when he saw Xue Ning'er standing up, an inexplicable smile appeared on his face.

In this palace, the Empress Dowager sits on the main seat in the middle, and the Empress Dowager sits beside her. After that, there are noble concubines, virtuous concubines, Shu concubines, and some concubines and nobles.

In the harem tonight, all the girls gathered. Apart from the most glamorous and charming imperial concubine, the youthful and lovely Xue Ning'er was also an eye-catching flower among the crowd.

When she came out, even many concubines cast their eyes on her.

Even they have to admit that this little girl from someone's family is too beautiful, and there is no problem with her temperament and demeanor. Compared with the one from the Song family just now, hey, this idea shouldn't be there...

Among the girls of the same age they knew, the only one who could compare with her was Ming He.

The imperial concubine didn't look at Xue Ning'er, she was concentrating on teasing the pet in her bosom, thinking in her heart, should Lin Xiu take her out of the palace again in a few days, she was a bit greedy for the food at the Jiangnan restaurant, There is a girl from the theater with a beautiful voice...

Concubine Shu also looked at Xue Ning'er, but when her gaze casually passed over Song Yuzhi's face, she frowned slightly.

At this time, Xue Ning'er had already walked into the hall, holding a square brocade box the size of a palm in her hand, and said: "This is a string of Buddhist beads that Zen Master Huikong held in his hand when he was sitting down. Dedicated to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager Songhe Changchun, happiness and longevity boundless..."

Zen Master Huikong was a very famous Zen master in Buddhism a hundred years ago. His belongings are priceless treasures for those who worship Buddha. When the Empress Dowager heard the words, she also beamed with joy and said, "Hurry up, bring them up for mourning." Let's see..."

A nanny stepped forward, took the brocade box from Xue Ning'er, and presented it to the Empress Dowager.

Xue Ning'er stood in the hall, waiting respectfully, but she didn't notice that there was a faint smile on the corner of Song Yuzhi's mouth.

The elderly nanny opened the brocade box in front of the Empress Dowager, and when she looked into the box, her expression was slightly startled.

The box is empty.

There was nothing in the empty brocade box.

The empress dowager's joyful expression also stopped on her face, and the concubines looked over, and a few people couldn't help but speak out in doubt.

"The box is empty?"

"What does it mean?"

"Could it be that you are here to amuse the Empress Dowager?"

……

The nanny also showed anger on her face, looked at Xue Ning'er, and reprimanded, "Which family girl are you from, how dare you use an empty box to tease the Empress Dowager!"

Xue Ning'er ran forward nervously, looked at the empty brocade box, and said in panic: "Impossible, the Buddha beads are clearly inside, I checked it just now..."

The nanny's face darkened, and she asked: "Then what do you mean, I took the treasure you gave to the Empress Dowager?"

The brocade box was tied with a ribbon before and had never been opened. Apart from Xue Ning'er, she was the only one who took over the brocade box. No wonder she was so angry.

Xue Ning'er looked at the empty box, her pretty face turned pale, and she murmured: "How could this be..."

She never thought that such a thing would happen, she stood there in a daze at the moment, not knowing what to do.

At this time, many ladies and ladies in the hall were already talking about it.

"This is the granddaughter of Xue Guogong's mansion."

"The little girl looks smart, why is she so sloppy in doing things?"

"The Empress Dowager respects Zen Master Huikong very much, and now she will be happy for nothing..."

They did not suspect that Xue Ning'er deliberately entertained the Empress Dowager. This would not benefit the Xue family at all, and would put her in such an embarrassing situation. It is very likely that she just lost the gift, although the Empress Dowager would not What to do with her, but Duke Xue's mansion lost all face tonight.

Tomorrow, this incident will become a laughing stock among the rich and powerful in the royal capital.

This sudden incident caused commotion in the hall, and also attracted the attention of the imperial concubine who was teasing the spiritual pet. She raised her head and glanced at Xue Ning'er standing there, and then continued to tease the spiritual pet.

However, the next moment, she suddenly raised her head again, and her eyes fell on Xue Ning'er again.

To be precise, it fell on the pair of earrings that Xue Ning'er was wearing.

How could she not know her own things? That pair of butterfly earrings was one of her favorite accessories when she was a girl, but as she grew older, she was no longer suitable for wearing such girly jewelry, so she put It's put away.

And not long ago, she gave this object to Lin Xiu, how could it appear on the little girl of the Xue family?

Her jewelry is all made by the top craftsmen in the palace. There is only one pair in the world, and it is absolutely impossible for another pair to be exactly the same.

In this way, the little girl's earrings were given to her by Lin Xiu.

This shows that she has a very close relationship with Lin Xiu, and it is very likely that she is the girl Lin Xiu likes. Since she is the girl Lin Xiu likes, she cannot sit idly by.

This is called Aiwujiwu.

Everyone's attention was on Xue Ning'er, the imperial concubine turned her head, and asked a concubine next to her in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I heard that you have a string of sandalwood beads that you want to present to the Empress Dowager?"

Before the concubine could speak, the imperial concubine lowered her voice and said, "Give the Buddhist beads to me, and you choose another gift to present to the empress dowager. From now on, I will protect you in the harem. Who dares to bully you? For you."

Wang Guiren was overjoyed when she heard the words. She had just entered the palace and had no foundation in the harem. When facing other concubines, she always accompanied and was careful, and could only swallow her anger when she was bullied. The tigress in the harem, even the empress wants to give her three points.

If he could get the protection of the imperial concubine, not to mention walking sideways in the harem in the future, at least he wouldn't be bullied.

How could she miss the opportunity to curry favor with the imperial concubine?

Quietly, she handed the string of sandalwood beads that she had obtained so hard to get from under her body to the hands of the imperial concubine. She glanced at the concubines who often robbed her of her palace and bullied her, and snorted coldly in her heart.

Now she belongs to the imperial concubine and empress, all the little sluts are waiting for me!

When Xue Ning'er was at a loss in embarrassment, a figure suddenly came out, and the imperial concubine walked up to the empress dowager, presented a string of Buddhist beads, and said, "Grandmother, it's all my fault. The girl’s prayer beads are beautiful, so I couldn’t help borrowing them to have a look, and forgot to return them for a while, this little girl is really, she didn’t remind Ben Gong, do you think that Ben Gong will miss your things?”

Xue Ning'er stared blankly at the imperial concubine, when did the imperial concubine borrow her Buddhist beads, why didn't she know?

Song Yuzhi was also shocked. She subconsciously glanced at a maid in the corner of the hall. The maid shook her head slightly at her. Song Yuzhi looked away and looked at the imperial concubine in surprise.

And the palace maid felt completely relieved when she touched something in her sleeve, she just raised her head and looked at the imperial concubine with extremely suspicious eyes.

However, with a casual glance, she suddenly noticed that there was a line of sight that seemed to be looking at her.

The court lady turned her head slowly, meeting the gaze of Concubine Shu.

Chapter 88

The words of the imperial concubine and empress temporarily restored the silence in the hall.

Could it be that the gift given to the Empress Dowager by the little girl of the Xue family was really borrowed by the imperial concubine in advance?

The ladies and ladies in the main hall are far away and cannot clearly see the Buddhist beads in the hands of the imperial concubine, but the concubines in front of them can clearly see that Zen Master Huikong is a person from a hundred years ago, and his belongings must also be a hundred years ago How could it be as bright and beautiful as this Buddhist bead in the hands of the imperial concubine?