Under the vines covering the wall, there stood a man in brocade clothes, as bright as the bright moon. Against the rich, cold green, his eyes were like cold stars and his face was like cold jade. He wore a pearl crown on his head and a finely embroidered ochre-yellow waisted robe. He was so handsome that he looked like a monster hidden in the mountains.

He stared at Ning'er, who was wearing a very exquisite crown and hanging jade, and suddenly smiled brightly: "What a handsome young master, I wonder who he is?"

Ning Er was mesmerized by Chu Huan's appearance for a moment, and answered obediently, "My last name is Ning..." Before she finished speaking, she suddenly came to her senses and asked shyly, "Ling Wei, why are you here?"

Chu Huan walked up to her with a smile: "If I don't come, I won't be able to see Brother Ning dressed like this, wouldn't that be a big disadvantage?"

Ning Er's cheeks flushed inexplicably when she heard this, and her eyes became sparkling. She unfolded her folding fan and tried to cover herself up, "Just now, Lu Kui was clearly following behind me. How come he was replaced in the blink of an eye? How did you know I was here?"

Chu Huan first praised her: "This amber gown embroidered with gold flowers suits you very well. I will make two more for you in the same style with other colors later." Fang explained, "I sent Lu Kui to pick up another person. Since I can accompany you, he is naturally not needed."

This sounded a bit strange, but Ning'er didn't pay much attention to it. She stepped on a stone step and looked down. The team that was to pick up the Shen, Zhu and Luo families gathered here.

She wondered, "Did the three families discuss this? Why are they all gathered here?"

Chu Huan glanced down, led Ning'er to the side, and said casually: "There are palace servants in front of them, naturally waiting to lead them to see the emperor." He looked at Ning'er with a smile: "Do you want to go with us to see the excitement?"

Ning Er asked in confusion: "There are so many people here, how can we follow them?"

Chu Huan smiled and said, "Of course I will follow you openly."

----

After the three teams of palace maids gathered together, they handed over the women of the Shen, Luo and Zhu families and stood behind the two female officials in colorful clothes. The one on the left had a solemn expression and meticulously taught everyone the rules of how to kneel, how to stand up, how to express gratitude and answer questions when meeting the emperor.

The female official on the right was much more amiable. She smiled and said, "Please remember, ladies and young ladies, when you meet His Majesty, you are not allowed to speak unless His Majesty asks you to. You are not allowed to sit or stand without His Majesty's permission, and you are not allowed to do anything indecent."

After this combination of soft and hard tactics, the older wives were fine, but the younger wives couldn't help but feel a little timid, not to mention the young girls. Each of them had a tense face as if they were facing a great enemy, fearing that they would lose their manners in front of the emperor.

Even a spoiled person like Shen Ruyao did not dare to act rashly in such a serious atmosphere. She followed her mother obediently as they headed towards the emperor's residence.

Ning Er didn't expect that Chu Huan's words "open and aboveboard" actually meant what they said. As she watched the lecturer finish, she was pulled up the stone steps by Chu Huan, and then turned into a small path, and just like that, she came to the front of the whole team.

She looked at Chu Huan in surprise: "We really got to the front, Lingwei, how did you know there was such a road?"

Chu Huan protected Ning'er with one hand as they walked down the stone steps. "Be careful," he explained, "I was looking for you along this road just now."

He seemed to slow down his pace intentionally. Ning'er held her breath and watched the huge team almost pass by her.

As long as Zhu, Luo and others in the team looked up, they could see Ning'er standing only one step away from them on the stone path beside the road.

But perhaps out of awe, or perhaps out of respect, neither the female official who led the way nor Old Madam Zhu raised their heads to look to the side.

Ning'er just quietly watched Luo Miaoyun, who was wearing pearls and jade, walk slowly past her.

And at this moment, Shen Ruyao suddenly felt something in her heart, and as if possessed by a ghost, she quietly raised her eyes and took a look. Who knew that when she saw this, she almost lost her soul!

Shen Chaoning?

Why is she here!

How could she be dressed as a man?

Even if this face turned into ashes, she would never mistake it. In extreme shock, Shen Ruyao almost screamed out, and she couldn't help but stop and even forgot to walk.

At this moment, the palace servant holding the stove on the side suddenly reached out and pushed her, saying softly, "Please go forward, young lady."

With this interruption, she swallowed the exclamation that was about to come out of her mouth. The people behind her had caught up with her and were sandwiched in the team. Shen Ruyao didn't have time to look back before she was swept forward.

Her heart was beating like a drum. She would not be wrong, she would never make a mistake. It must be Shen Chaoning!

Shen Ruyao reached out her hand, grabbed her mother's sleeve, and said hurriedly: "Mom, I saw her!"

Luo Miaoyun was already feeling uneasy, and was shocked to hear her daughter say such a random sentence. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a palace servant whispered, "Please be quiet, young lady."

----

That stretch of road seemed extremely short and yet extremely long. When Shen Ruyao came to her senses, she had already knelt on the ground with everyone else. As the eunuchs chanted, she performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows in front of a gold-thread gauze screen carved with dragons.

In front of her were her grandmother, mother, grandmother and aunt, following behind her closest relatives, which made Shen Ruyao's heart, which was cold due to fear, feel a little warmth.

They didn’t know, no one saw it, only I saw it!

Her mind was full of the figure that flashed by. It was Shen Chaoning. Although she only saw her for a moment, she still saw Ning'er's overly luxurious outfit from head to toe. Questions filled her heart one after another.

Isn't she a poor woman? How can she dress so luxuriously? Why is she here? What does she want to do? What conspiracy does she have?

Shen Ruyao wanted to jump up immediately and tell her grandmother and mother loudly about her discovery, but the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The palace maids were standing all around to protect her. The majestic Princess Linping bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, the Shen, Luo, and Zhu families have arrived."

A figure swayed behind the screen, and Emperor Zhaoyuan's personal eunuch Wu Shilu stepped out from behind the screen and said, "Please ask Luo Miaoyun, the wife of Xinyuan Marquis Shen Chongyan and the daughter of former Minister of Works Luo Yuanzhen, to come forward."

It was just a plain sentence, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in Madam Zhu's ears. In an instant, all the blood drained from her face.

Wu Shilu repeated in a good-natured manner: "Please ask Mrs. Luo to come forward."

After calling the number twice, Luo Miaoyun still did not move. Old Madam Luo could not help but look at her daughter anxiously, only to find that Miaoyun's face was frighteningly pale.

Wu Shilu seemed to have anticipated this scene. He waved his whisk and two eunuchs came on his left and right to "invite" Luo Miaoyun out of the queue.

But she still seemed to be in a daze, and waved away the palace servants on her left and right, shouting in shock: "Let me go!"

Lin Ping, who was standing by the side, could no longer tolerate it and scolded, "How can you delay and act so presumptuously in front of His Majesty! Come up quickly!"

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