I died tragically in my previous life, and I want to be an empress in my next life

Second day

"Miss, the plague goddess, Madam Xue, has finally left." Yin Liu walked into the room briskly with a happy look on her face.

Pei Zhiyan hugged the little bean bun and smiled faintly. Whether Xue's mother left or not actually had little impact on her. It was just that it was somewhat annoying to have her right under her nose.

"Tell the manager of the manor to treat this old ancestor well."

"Yes, miss." Yinliu agreed readily, and the smile on her face became even brighter.

She was very happy that Mother Xue had left. Mother Xue usually acted arrogantly in front of the maids, and also put on airs in front of the young lady. Now that she left today, the mansion became much quieter.

Humph, that village is full of young ladies’ people. I believe that if you say anything casually, Mother Xue will get into a big fight with you.

This Madam Xue is so abominable in the mansion. Let her also taste the feeling of being bullied.

Pei Zhiyan stuffed a small piece of dried meat into Xiaodoubao's mouth and thought to herself that with Mother Xue gone, most of Prince Jing's Mansion was now under her control.

Xuanyuan Ping has been very busy these days. Originally, after the fall of the deposed crown prince, he became the most influential prince. But who would have thought that the second prince Xuanyuan Si would suddenly appear.

Although Xuanyuan Si was weak and sickly and had always been away from the court, he had the eldest princess behind him. The eldest princess was the emperor's biological sister, had a high status in the court, and had extensive connections. Her support was undoubtedly a great help to Xuanyuan Si.

Recently, an envoy from the Western Liang Kingdom was coming to the Great Zhou to make a pilgrimage, and the task of receiving him fell on Xuanyuan Si. Many court officials speculated whether the emperor was going to make use of Xuanyuan Si. After all, although there were many princes, only a few of them were capable of taking on important tasks, which forced Xuanyuan Ping to be vigilant.

On the day when the envoy from Xiliang Kingdom arrived, a grand welcome banquet was held in the palace. In the past, it was hosted by the Queen, but now that the palace was without a leader, this task was taken over by the Eldest Princess.

Pei Zhiyan stood in front of the mirror, while Yinliu and several maids were busy preparing her clothes for the banquet. Each of the newly delivered dresses was the most popular style at the time, with long skirts embroidered with intricate golden patterns, like pieces of dazzling galaxies.

Pei Zhiyan's eyebrows revealed a hint of displeasure, she never liked such complicated styles. However, tonight was a palace banquet to welcome the Xiliang envoy, and as the Princess of Jing, she had to attend.

So she picked and chose, and finally chose a light green long skirt with a shorter back to make her look lighter. She also took out two white jade earrings from her jewelry box and put them on gently.

Yin Liu followed behind her, holding the jewelry box, and advised worriedly, "Miss, there are foreign envoys at the palace banquet today. You are so plain and I am afraid you will attract attention."

Pei Zhiyan smiled lightly, revealing a bit of unruliness between her eyebrows, "It's just a palace banquet, I'm not going on a blind date, why do I need to sit for two hours with a lot of hairpins and rings on my head."

"But the royal family and nobles all dress up for the event, but the young lady is so plain, won't it attract attention?"

Pei Zhiyan thought about it for a while, and found that what Yin Liu said made sense, so she took out a gorgeous peony hairpin from her jewelry box and gently pinned it in her hair. This hairpin complemented her elegant beauty and added a bit of gorgeousness.

After arriving at the palace gate and changing the carriage, everyone attending the banquet today had to go to the side hall to wait for the banquet to start.

Pei Zhiyan was wearing a light green dress, which matched her cold face. Her eyebrows revealed an innate nobility, but also a trace of barely perceptible sadness. The lights in the palace reflected on her face, adding a bit of tenderness to her.

When Pei Zhiyan arrived at the door of the side hall, a palace maid blocked her way.

"Princess Jing, please stay. Concubine Ning said it's too early to leave the palace banquet, so she wants to invite Princess Jing to come over and have a chat."

Pei Zhiyan raised her eyebrows slightly, and a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes. She had no personal relationship with Concubine Ning, so why did she summon her to talk today? Although she was confused, she still nodded and followed the palace maid to Concubine Ning's bedroom.

The lights were dim in the corridor. The maids walked lightly. Pei Zhiyan was guessing Concubine Ning's intentions as she walked. Although she had no friendship with Concubine Ning, she knew that she was the best among the beauties in the harem. Concubine Ning was smart and thoughtful. Now that the queen was deposed and the position of the empress was vacant, she was the hot candidate.

However, the emperor was reluctant to appoint a queen, which inevitably made the ambitious women in the harem restless.

Arriving at Concubine Ning's bedroom, a faint fragrance hits your nose. The interior is elegantly decorated, and a glazed palace lantern casts a warm yellow glow.

"Greetings to the Imperial Concubine. May Her Majesty be blessed with good health." Pei Zhiyan bowed solemnly.

Concubine Ning sat on the embroidered couch, with an elegant face and deep eyes. She opened her red lips slightly and said in a soft voice, "Princess Jing is here, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Pei Zhiyan lowered her head slightly, then sat gracefully on the embroidered stool beside her.

"We are all family, Princess Jing, please don't be restrained." Concubine Ning asked with a smile, and then asked the palace servants to serve hot tea.

Pei Zhiyan took the tea and smiled slightly to show her gratitude.

Concubine Ning also picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then said, "It is really a bit abrupt for me to rashly invite Princess Jing to come here today."

Pei Zhiyan smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. It is my honor to be summoned by Your Majesty."

Concubine Ning put down her teacup and sighed softly, "Princess Jing is a smart person, I won't beat around the bush, I have something to ask of you."

Pei Zhiyan lowered her eyes slightly to hide the ripples in her eyes, "Your Majesty, please give me your orders."

Concubine Ning smiled slightly, "Your tenth brother has been weak since birth, so I wanted to send him to the military camp to gain some experience to strengthen his body."

Pei Zhiyan was confused. As a prince, if the Tenth Brother wanted to go to the military camp for training, he could just ask the emperor for help. Why did he come to her for this?

"I know that General Lin of the General's Mansion has always been good at commanding the army. If you can introduce him to him, your tenth brother will definitely receive good training." Concubine Ning looked at Pei Zhiyan with anticipation in her eyes.

Pei Zhiyan picked up the teacup again and thought to herself. She really couldn't understand why Concubine Ning asked her for help in this matter.

Although the Tenth Prince is still young, if Concubine Ning becomes the Queen, it is not impossible for him to seize the throne. She is the wife of Prince Jing, and Prince Jing's intentions are known to everyone in the court and the country. The two of them should be from two different camps.

She asked me to help introduce her to someone else. Could it be that she wanted to form an alliance with Prince Jing's Mansion?

When Concubine Ning saw Pei Zhiyan's hesitation, she smiled and said, "It's not a difficult thing. I just want Prince Jing and you to take care of you in the future. I will be very grateful."

"Your Majesty, you are too polite. I will do my best." Pei Zhiyan agreed with a smile.

"Then I would like to thank Princess Jing first." Concubine Ning said with a smile.