The fake daughter of a fallen ghost is reborn

The Queen Mother rarely leaves the palace on weekdays, so why is she here today?

No one had time to ridicule Xue Zhiyi, and they all stood up and knelt.

"Your servant respectfully welcomes the Queen Mother and the Princess. May the Queen Mother live long and have good health, and may the Princess live forever!"

Xue Zhiyi raised his eyes quietly, and saw that although the empress dowager's hair was gray, she was still in good spirits and her steps were steady. Huo Zhiyu was holding her arm, and there was a kind smile between her brows.

Xue Zhiyi lowered his eyes and sighed secretly.

The Queen Mother appears to be in good health now, but no one expected that she would pass away in just two years.

After the Queen Mother sat down, she looked at the ladies who were kneeling on the ground and said, "Stop kneeling and sit down."

Everyone thanked him and took their seats.

Xue Zhiyi glanced at Fu Rongxin, but saw that she had her head lowered, as if she was afraid that Huo Zhiyu would see her.

Sure enough, when people do something wrong, they will inevitably feel guilty.

It seems that when the princess fell into the water that day, Fu Rongxin, who was in the water pavilion, really could not escape the blame.

The Queen Mother seemed to be in a very good mood. She said, "It was Anle who asked me to come here today. Sitting here and looking at all of you young faces, I feel much more relaxed."

Ge Yuanhui sat close to the Queen Mother, and upon hearing this, he also laughed: "The Queen Mother said that we are young, but you yourself are clearly in the prime of life."

Ge Yuanhui was the imperial concubine's niece. She had often been in and out of the palace since she was young, and she grew up under the care of the empress dowager.

The Queen Mother was amused by her words: "Girl, you only know how to say nice things to make me happy."

Princess Anle on the side echoed: "Sister Yuanhui is right, Grandmother, you are still young!"

The Queen Mother laughed for a while, and then said to the ladies who dared not laugh, "Okay, you girls, don't worry about me. Do whatever you want to do. Don't feel constrained because of me."

Upon hearing this, some ladies stood up and took their leave, going elsewhere in groups of two or three.

Seeing that the Queen Mother, Huo Zhiyu, and Ge Yuanhui were chatting animatedly and had no time to care about others, Shen Qingtang gently pulled Xue Zhiyi's sleeve and whispered, "Zhiyi, let's go play somewhere else."

Xue Zhiyi nodded and was about to stand up when the Queen Mother suddenly asked, "Which one is Xue Zhiyi?"

Upon hearing the sound, the ladies who had not yet had time to disperse stopped, especially the ones who had just ridiculed Xue Zhiyi, who were even more interested in watching the fun.

"What did the Queen Mother ask her to do?"

Zhao Lian snorted coldly: "Who knows? Maybe he made some mistake."

Xue Zhiyi paused, stood up, took two steps forward, and bowed politely: "Your servant Xue Zhiyi greets the Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother remained kind and said, "Come closer, so I can take a closer look."

Xue Zhiyi followed the instructions and squatted down beside the empress dowager.

When she raised her face, she accidentally met Huo Zhiyu's gaze, and Huo Zhiyu blinked at her slyly with his round eyes.

The last time Huo Zhiyu fell into the water, the news was not spread outside. Few people who attended the wedding banquet that day knew about it. Even Ge Yuanhui who was standing by felt it was strange.

The empress dowager's eyesight was not very good, so when she got closer, she only saw a little girl with black hair, fair skin, and a pair of clear almond-shaped eyes. She looked well-behaved and clever, with some baby fat on her cheeks. She was dressed in gold and jade, but she didn't look tacky. Instead, her face looked cheerful, which made people happy.

Although she was not as beautiful as Fu Rongxin and Ge Yuanhui, she had a face that was loved by the elders.

The Queen Mother couldn't help but smile: "You are the princess chosen by the Emperor for Chong'er, right?"

Xue Zhiyi said obediently: "Your Majesty has bestowed upon me this honor. I am honored."

Before she finished speaking, the empress dowager took out a golden phoenix hairpin from her hair and put it on Xue Zhiyi's bun with her own hands.

Everyone was stunned, especially Ge Yuanhui.

This filigree golden phoenix hairpin was the Queen Mother's favorite, but she gave it to Xue Zhiyi like this!? But I've never seen the Queen Mother approve of this future granddaughter-in-law before!

The queen mother smiled with her eyebrows slightly wrinkled, as if looking at her beloved younger generation, and said softly: "Good child, your parents must love you very much to have raised you so well. When I saw this, I couldn't help but feel partial to you. I will give this hairpin to you, it is very suitable."

Xue Zhiyi knew that the Queen Mother rewarded her because she saved Huo Zhiyu, but since the Queen Mother didn't say it clearly, she didn't say it either.

She just kowtowed and thanked him: "Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for your kindness."

Those who had just ridiculed Xue Zhiyi now looked at each other in bewilderment: Could it be that she was granted marriage because the Queen Mother loved her so much? But on what basis? What was so special about Xue Zhiyi that she could be favored by the Queen Mother?

Seeing them like this, Shen Qingtang raised his chin and whispered, "A bunch of villains who only know how to gossip will naturally not understand the Queen Mother's vision!"

Zhao Lian glared at her so hard that her teeth almost ached, but she still couldn't say a word.

"Stand up and take a seat," said the Queen Mother.

When the maid brought the chair, Huo Zhiyu ordered, "Put the chair here. I want to sit next to Sister Zhiyi."

Then he smiled at Xue Zhiyi again, took her hand and sat next to her.

Ge Yuanhui looked at it and his expression almost collapsed.

It stands to reason that Huo Zhiyu and Xue Zhiyi are not familiar with each other, so why are they so close? Xue Zhiyi is such an unknown person, so why did he inexplicably win the favor of the Queen Mother?

Ge Yuanhui originally thought that with her qualifications and the Queen Mother's love for her, she would be able to replace Xue Zhiyi, the unworthy future princess, sooner or later.

Even if Xue Zhiyi really married into Prince Gong's Mansion one day, she would be unfamiliar with the place and would have a hard time without the acceptance and help of other royal family members. How long could she be the princess?

Now it seems that Xue Zhiyi is really good at it. He won the Queen Mother's favor the first time he met her.

...She actually underestimated Xue Zhiyi!

Seeing Xue Zhiyi making the empress dowager laugh, Ge Yuanhui laughed along, but quietly twisted her handkerchief under her sleeve: She couldn't lose her composure, she was Ge Yuanhui, how could she lose to such a woman!

At this moment, another announcement was heard: "Marquis Lin'an has arrived!"

Huo Wuyou? Why would he come to such a banquet for ladies?

Although she thought so in her heart, she still stood up and bowed with the other ladies: "Greetings, Marquis Lin'an."

Huo Wuyou was still wearing a red round-necked robe embroidered with gold-thread cloud patterns, and his hair was combed high with a ribbon, hanging loosely behind his head.

The corners of his phoenix eyes were slightly raised, and there was a smile at the corners of his lips, looking exceptionally bright.

Although Huo Wuyou usually only cared about having fun, he was born with a breathtakingly handsome appearance, so he was so romantic and suave that all the ladies couldn't help but stare at him.

However, Huo Wuyou did not notice these admiring looks. His eyes met with Xue Zhiyi's quietly, but he did not say anything. He just raised his eyebrows slightly, as if to signal her.

His eyes stayed on Xue Zhiyi's face for only a moment, and then he called out to the Queen Mother, "Grandmother."

When the Queen Mother saw him, her eyes were so wide from smiling that only a slit remained. However, she still teased him unhappily, "You little bastard, you haven't been to the palace to see your grandmother for a long time. I don't know where you have been playing, and you even ended up at a girl's banquet."

Huo Zhiyu said, "That's right, what are you doing here, second brother? You're such a bummer!"

Huo Wuyou just knocked Huo Zhiyu on the head and said, "I see that grandma rarely leaves the palace, so I rushed to pay my respects to her to make her happy, didn't I?"

Huo Zhiyu covered her head and snorted, then pulled Xue Zhiyi, who had just finished the ceremony, to sit down: "Sister Zhiyi, please sit down. Don't be too polite to him. He doesn't deserve it."

At this moment, in the crowd, looking at the person who was chatting and laughing beside the Queen Mother, Shen Qingtang couldn't help but cover his chest.

The sound of her heartbeat in her chest made her dizzy.

She thought that after a quick encounter that day, she would never see her benefactor again, but she didn't expect that he was actually the Marquis of Lin'an, he was Huo Wuyou...