Marry a Duke

Chapter 25 Hard to guard against

When the banquet started, Fu Ran was seated behind Old Madam Wei.

Wei Lin did not sit in the Shen family's seat, but sat next to Madam Wei, so Lan Yin and Fu Ran were behind them.

The food on the table is always the same.

The women entering the palace today are arranged according to their noble status. Those with noble status will naturally be closer to the seats of the Empress Dowager and the Queen.

Madam Wei's position is quite close to the front.

The Queen Mother and the Empress gave opening remarks, which were all polite words, and the people below echoed them.

The virtuous concubine came over holding the little prince and let everyone take a look.

I didn't look carefully.

After all, the child is still in swaddling clothes, and as a prince, he does not need to be closely looked at by everyone.

Fu Ran was in the back row, so naturally he couldn't see what the second prince looked like.

She was not interested in the Second Prince's appearance. The most important thing at the moment was to try as many delicacies in the palace as possible, which were the products of the imperial kitchen.

On weekdays, I dare not even think about it outside.

Lan Yin, like her, did not even glance at him. She was an introvert by nature and did not want to care about matters that were not her business.

Concern leads to chaos.

Soon, the second prince was taken away by the wet nurse.

The virtuous concubine stayed in the palace and had dinner with the other female relatives.

Fu Ran did not meet *** in the palace today, and Princess Ruhui was not seen either.

I heard from people around me that *** seemed to be doing good deeds together with the emperor and the ministers, and no one mentioned whether Princess Ruhui came or not.

If it was just a prostitute who came, Fu Ran would have nothing to be afraid of. After all, in such occasions, what prostitutes care most about is her identity and face.

I will never do anything that is humiliating.

But Princess Ruhui is different. She will do whatever it takes to achieve her goal.

Thinking that Princess Ruhui might have entered the palace, Fu Ran found himself unable to eat.

Lan Yin was a little puzzled when she saw that she suddenly stopped eating.

"What's wrong? But the food doesn't suit your taste?"

She was enjoying her meal just now.

Fu Ran forced a smile.

"No, I just thought of something and suddenly lost my appetite."

She suddenly thought that with such a grand banquet, it was impossible for Princess Ruhui not to go to the palace.

After the meal, there were other activities in the Imperial Garden. Fu Ran was obviously distracted and followed Lan Yin closely, his eyes constantly looking around.

Once she meets Princess Ruhui, she will hide as far away from her as possible.

Lan Yin and Fu Ran were watching fish in the spring pond. They sprinkled a handful of fish food, and groups of fat koi rushed over to grab the food. It was a very spectacular scene.

The variety of koi in the palace is different from those outside, and they are also larger in size. Fu Ran took a few looks at them and determined that they were quite interesting.

Someone said that Princess Ruhui was here.

Fu Ran immediately became alert, she stepped forward and took Lan Yin's arm.

Lan Yin was a little confused, but she didn't say much.

Princess Ruhui glanced over with a sinister look, and Fu Ran also saw clearly that the women around Princess Ruhui were all Sun Sisi, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anbo Mansion, whom the emperor wanted to arrange to marry Wei Xuan.

These two people were victims of the ***'s plot to assassinate Wei Xuan.

Not only did he fail to achieve his wish, but he also lost his innocence.

At this time, a palace maid came over and bowed to Lan Yin.

"But is it Madam Wei from the Duke of Wei's Mansion?"

Lan Yin nodded.

"Exactly."

"The Empress Xianfei invites you, Madam Wei, please follow me to see the Empress." said the palace maid.

Today, Concubine Xian is the protagonist. She gave birth to the second prince and held a full-month banquet.

It was neither reasonable nor moral for Lan Yin to refuse.

She was also a little worried that Fu Ran hadn't let go of her hand yet.

"Where is my mother-in-law? Did she also go to see the virtuous concubine?" Lan Yin asked.

The palace maid shook her head.

"No, the Concubine Xian only invited Madam Wei to go."

Upon hearing this, Fu Ran knew there must be something fishy going on.

If the virtuous concubine wanted to invite the eldest lady to come, she would definitely not invite her alone. The old lady would definitely be among the invited guests. Otherwise, she would also be known as Wei Xuan's wife.

At least for Wei Xuan's sake, I should invite her to go over as a token of my appreciation.

But she didn't. She only invited Lan Yin, who was not fond of making friends and was well-known for her poor communication skills.

Fu Ran immediately realized that perhaps this was not the invitation from Concubine Xian.

Instead, the palace maid in front of him was instructed by someone to trick Lan Yin away.

She became single.

Fu Ran's mind was trembling, and while Lan Yin hesitated for a moment, he hugged Lan Yin's arms tightly.

"Let me accompany my sister-in-law to congratulate the virtuous concubine." After saying this, she was about to pull Lan Yin away.

The palace maid was stunned when she heard this.

"That's not necessary. The virtuous concubine did not invite you." After all, the palace maid had seen big occasions, so she spoke directly to Fu Ran rudely.

"You, a palace maid, are so funny. We were all invited to enter the harem to celebrate the full moon of the second prince born to Concubine Xian. How can Concubine Xian not invite us?"

The maid was speechless for a moment.

"Besides, even if Concubine Xian didn't invite me, there would be nothing wrong with me going with my eldest sister-in-law. The room is full of guests today, and I don't think Concubine Xian would invite one person to talk alone."

The implication is that Her Majesty Concubine Xian must have a lot of people to meet today.

She gave birth to the second prince, and her mother's family status is more noble than the eldest prince. In the future, he might be appointed as the crown prince, so many people will try to curry favor with him.

When the palace maid heard her say this, she became a little anxious.

I'm afraid the other end is getting impatient waiting.

"Madam Weiguo, I am just a maid, following orders. It is not our turn to question what the master has ordered. Madam Wei, are you going or not? If not, I will report to the queen immediately."

Having said that, the palace maid turned around proudly and was about to go to the virtuous concubine to complain.

Seeing this, Lan Yin didn't want to make things worse.

She pulled Fu Ran's arm down.

"Second brother and sister-in-law, you stay here and watch the fish. I'll be back soon."

Fu Ran opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

As soon as Lan Yin left, she slipped into the crowd, looking for familiar people everywhere.

Unfortunately, she knew very few people. Apart from the *** Mansion, she only knew Old Madam Wei and Wei Lin.

At this time, the ministers also came to the imperial garden. Fu Ran saw Wei Xuan and was about to run over to find him, but was stopped halfway.

Two big and plump maids held her on the left and right.

It seemed like he was helping her, but he had complete control over her movements.

"I advise you to be obedient. If you dare to make any noise, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave the palace today."

Fu Ran tried his best to remain calm.

"This is the inner courtyard of the imperial palace. If Princess Ruhui wants you to come and kidnap me, you must think carefully. My husband is the Duke of Weiguo, and he has already come over."

The two palace maids naturally saw the Duke of Weiguo coming to the Imperial Garden with everyone else.

They moved faster.

Fu Ran did not make a noise. The palace was not some other place. The emperor was very happy today as he had a second prince. It was such a great joy that a full-moon banquet was held.

If she dared to shout and scream at such a festive moment, she would spoil the emperor's mood.

How could the Emperor and Concubine Xian let her off easily?

She tried to ask Wei Xuan for help.

But they are too far apart.

He didn't receive her gaze at all.