Chapter 388

Not long after Shen Ninghua and Baili Junyi sat down, Noble Consort Li walked in with Lin Feiran. There was an elegant smile on Noble Consort Li’s gorgeous face, and she gave off an exceptionally amiable feeling. Behind her, Lin Feiran was also radiant. Today, she was wearing a red dress that was the same color as Shen Ninghua’s. The dress was tailored to fit her waist snugly, and the fabric was embroidered with golden threads. The layered skirt flowed down to the floor, and it bounced cheekily like the clouds in the sky as she walked. She looked extremely gorgeous.

Lin Feiran would have been the most radiant at the banquet in the red dress had it not for Shen Ninghua’s presence. However, when Shen Ninghua made her first appearance tonight, her grand and charming demeanor were refreshing. Therefore, Lin Feiran’s extravagant and complicated appearance made people feel that she went a little overboard.

Lin Feiran was originally extremely proud. She hired the best embroiderer in the capital to embroider the dress, and the embroiderer spent two meticulous months getting the dress done. At first, she wanted to wait until the last moment to take it out and stun everyone. But today, she had the intention to suppress Shen Ninghua, so she wore it ahead of time. However, she did not expect that Shen Ninghua would also wear red, and she dressed better than her. Her hands, which were hidden in her sleeves, tightly grabbed the silk handkerchief. The dress that she had painstakingly prepared for several months was pale in comparison. Shen Ninghua did it on purpose. She definitely was! Thinking of this, Lin Feiran felt the hatred brewing in her heart, so much so that it almost exploded.

Shen Ninghua could sense an unfriendly gaze fall on her body, and her eyebrows moved without being noticed by others.

After everyone bowed, Noble Consort Li spoke in a gentle voice, “Ladies and gentlemen, please rise. In the past few days, the flowers in the imperial garden have bloomed more and more. After obtaining the permission of His Majesty, I invite all of you to come and admire the flowers. You can move about freely in the garden. I have already assigned guards to the forbidden areas, so you don’t have to worry about going the wrong way. If you are tired, there are seats around the garden for you to rest. I hope you can enjoy yourself.”

Everyone complimented Noble Consort Li after her speech, “Your Grace are really thoughtful.”

“Yes, her delicate and considerate gestures were really unparalleled.”

“Thank you for your hospitality today, Your Grace.”

Noble Consort Li was full of smiles, and her tone became more magnanimous as she spoke, “Thank you for your kind words. Please, admire the flowers and enjoy yourself.” With that, she turned to Lin Feiran and said, “Alright, young lady. I know that you can’t sit still. You don’t have to stay by my side. Go ahead and enjoy your time with your friends.”

“Okay. Thank you, Auntie.” Lin Feiran bowed appropriately and then walked down briskly.

Seeing Lin Feiran come down, many young ladies went up to greet her and chat with her. Although she had been disqualified earlier, she had a noble status now that she was conferred the title of Princess Anyue by the Emperor. Seeing that she was going to marry into the royal family of the Great Yue Kingdom and become the Prince’s official wife, they were naturally happy to befriend her.

There was a faint arrogance in Lin Feiran’s eyes, but she knew how to restrain herself a lot more now. She appropriately talked to the young ladies before excusing herself and going to Bu Yonghan.

At this time, Bu Yonghan was sitting in a small pavilion on the side, teasing the kois in the pool with a snack. Lin Feiran slowly walked over and asked, “Princess Yonghan, do you like the kois in the pool?”

Bu Yonghan turned to look at Lin Feiran with a friendly smile on her face. “Princess Anyue, look at how beautiful these kois are. Oh my, especially that red one. It’s bright and is almost the same color as the dress you are wearing.”

The smile on Lin Feiran’s face froze. She didn’t know if Bu Yonghan was deliberately poking at her sore spot. “Hehe, I originally thought that my dress was excellent, but when I saw Princess Zhaohua’s dress, it finally dawned upon me that she indeed stood out in the crowd.”

Bu Yonghan was also one of the ladies who were suppressed by Shen Ninghua in terms of beauty. She originally thought that Lin Feiran was a kind person. Now that she looked at her, she found that Lin Feiran was a tough person too.

However, Bu Yonghan did not care about her sarcasm. There was no need for her to rope her in if Lin Feiran was weak and timid.

Lin Feiran expected a comeback from Bu Yonghan, but to her surprise, Bu Yonghan stepped forward and held her hand very intimately. “Sister Anyue, I’m sorry for shooting from the hip. Please forgive me. Sixth Brother often scolds me for not being sensible enough.”

Lin Feiran felt relieved and looked at Bu Yonghan’s sincere eyes. Did she overthink this matter just now?

“You did nothing wrong. I like straightforward and honest people the most because I don’t have to rack my brains when talking to them.”

Bu Yonghan pretended not to notice her tentative remarks. She propped her head up and looked at Shen Ninghua who was a little further away. “Princess Zhaohua is really pretty and gorgeous. Speaking of which, Royal Prince Yi is really lucky.”

Lin Feiran followed her gaze and happened to see Shen Ninghua strolling leisurely. A surge of anger rose from the bottom of her heart, and she felt her heart burning intensely. “Sister Yonghan, I heard that Princess Zhaohua knows medicine and is good at taking care of her skin and health. How about we go over and ask for advice?”

“Uh… Since you want to go, let’s go then.”

Shen Ninghua was looking at the blooming flowers around her when a palace maid walked over quickly. Her face was full of anxiety. “Princess Zhaohua, please come with me and help our Side Concubine.”

“Side Concubine?”

“Yes, I am the Second Prince’s Side Concubine Yang’s personal maid. She fainted at the rockery over there, and the lower part of her body was bleeding. I did not dare to touch her. She said that you have excellent medical skills and asked me to come to you.”

Shen Ninghua frowned. “Lead the way.” As she spoke, she followed the palace maid toward the rockery not far away.

Lin Feiran’s eyes darted around. “Hey, why is Princess Zhaohua in such a hurry? What happened? Sister Yonghan, let’s follow her and take a look. We can be of some help in case something happens, right?”

“You’re right. Let’s follow them and take a look,” Bu Yonghan echoed. She had already secretly arranged the settings, but to her surprise, Lin Feiran would make her move earlier. Since that was the case, she would just wait and see as the drama unfolded.

Shen Ninghua followed the palace maid forward. The further they went, the fewer people around them. She could not help but ask curiously, “Why did Side Concubine Yang come here for no reason?”

“Side Concubine Yang has been in a bad mood recently and can’t stand the noise, so she wanted to go to a remote place to calm down. However, she suddenly collapsed after standing for a while,” the palace maid answered methodically, and she didn’t slow down at all. Soon, they walked to the other side of the rockery, and indeed, a woman was lying on the ground with a large pool of blood beside her.

Shocked, Shen Ninghua wanted to confirm whether it was Yang Yingxue or not, but the palace maid pushed her from behind. She staggered and almost stepped on the woman on the ground. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and took a big step forward to stabilize herself. However, she stepped on blood, and even her skirt was stained with blood.

A bad premonition rose inside her. The palace maid, who pushed her, had already cried out, “Ah, she killed someone! Help! Someone, come quickly!”

Shen Ninghua frowned and turned around to see Lin Feiran and Bu Yonghan walking side by side. A trace of coldness flashed through her eyes.

There was a look of surprise on Lin Feiran’s face as if she could not believe what she saw. “Princess Zhaohua, h-how could you do such a horrible thing?”

When Bu Yonghan looked at Lin Feiran’s face full of surprise, fear, and worry, she sneered. Lin Feiran was such an awesome actress. It seemed that the future Sixth Princess had quite cunning means. Bu Yonghan decided to step aside and let her go on with her performance.

Shen Ninghua coldly glanced at Lin Feiran, ignoring her words. She lowered her head to check the situation of the person on the ground and could not help but frown. She seemed to have seen this girl before when the girl was with Noble Consort Qi previously. Yes, she was Noble Consort Qi’s niece, Qi Ying.

The palace maid was still screaming. The people at the banquet heard the cry and quickly came to check. The guards patrolling in the palace also quickly rushed over and surrounded the small area.

“Oh my goodness, isn’t that Sister Ying’er?”

“Yes, it looks like she is the Third Young Lady of the Qi family.”

Noble Consort Li walked over, and the crowd immediately made way. “What is going on?”

The palace maid immediately rushed over and knelt down. “Noble Consort, please help me. M-Miss Qi was killed.”

Shen Ninghua was still checking Qi Ying’s condition on the ground. In order to figure out the situation, she even turned the lying Qi Ying over. The surrounding young ladies were shocked by the sight and retreated. “Oh no! How can she be so cruel?”

“Yes, Miss Qi is dead, yet she still won’t let her go.”

Noble Consort Li’s face was livid, and she looked angry. “Qi Ying? Isn’t that Noble Consort Qi’s niece? Guards, quickly send someone to invite His Majesty and Noble Consort Qi. Then send someone to invite the imperial doctors to see if they can save her life. Go quickly.”

Baili Qingcang and Noble Consort Qi rushed over one after another. Seeing the person lying on the ground, Noble Consort Qi suddenly staggered and wailed with a pale face, “Ying’er… Ying’er! Doctor… Where is the doctor?!”

Baili Qingcang supported the tottering Noble Consort Qi with one hand and looked at Noble Consort Li who was bowing to him. “What is going on?”

“Your Majesty, I don’t know either. I was happily admiring the flowers, and I rushed over as soon as I heard someone screaming. When I came here, I saw Qi Ying lying on the ground. I don’t know anything else.”

“Someone screaming? Who?”

A guard carried a palace maid forward and reported, “Your Majesty, it was her who screamed.”

Noble Consort Qi exclaimed, “Lv Rou? Didn’t I ask you to accompany Ying’er? What did you do?”

The palace maid, Lv Rou, repeatedly kowtowed, her entire body trembling. “Your Grace, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry for doing my job poorly, but I don’t know why Princess Zhaohua would want to harm her.”

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were sharp. “What did you say? What does this matter have to do with Princess Zhaohua?”

“I saw Princess Zhaohua push Miss Qi with my own eyes, causing Miss Qi to crash onto the rockery!”

Baili Junyi walked over, his cold gaze carrying a heavy viciousness. “You mean to say that Ninghua killed Qi Ying?”

“Yes.”

Just as Lv Rou finished speaking, Baili Junyi kicked her in the chest, causing her to slide half a meter on the ground before stopping. The surrounding people gasped in shock.

“Oh my! Is he trying to silence her?”

“Royal Prince Yi is too daring. His Majesty is standing right in front of him!”

The Third Prince stood up. “Fifth Brother, even if you want to protect Princess Zhaohua, don’t act so rashly. Father Emperor is here with us. Once the matter is clear, he will naturally be the one to decide. What are your intentions in doing this?”