Seeing that he agreed, An Ruowan breathed a sigh of relief, and then disappeared with Bai Yu.
But what An Ruowan didn't expect was that a few days later, what she waited for was not news from the Zhenguo Duke's mansion, but an invitation.
"Princess, this is a message from the palace."
When Caihuan brought the invitation in, there was still some confusion on her face. After all, nothing major happened in the palace recently. What kind of invitation was she sending?
But when An Ruowan opened the post, she discovered that it was Concubine Qiong who claimed that the last time she went out of the palace to pray, she was given a relic by the abbot of the temple. Now she felt that this kind of thing should not be kept private, so she specially invited all the ladies in the capital. Go and watch.
It seemed that Concubine Qiong was preparing for Gu Qishen, but she couldn't refuse this kind of thing directly.
"The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion will definitely receive an invitation."
It might be difficult for others to get past this kind of thing, but it was not difficult for An Ruowan.
"Go and send this thing back and hand it over to your cousin with your own hands."
As soon as the words fell, Caihuan leaned over and retreated with a solemn expression.
On the day of the banquet, An Ruowan came to the palace gate and looked around. She was relieved when she saw that there was indeed no carriage from the Zhenguo Palace here.
At the banquet, the arrival of Concubine Qiong made everyone stand up and bow to her.
"No need to be so polite, please sit down quickly."
Concubine Qiong put a smile on her face and took the lead in sitting down.
After everyone took their seats, Concubine Qiong looked at the crowd one by one, lingering on An Ruowan for a moment, and then looked away pretending to be nonchalant after a long time.
"It's rare for everyone to gather here today, which makes me feel very lucky." Concubine Qiong said, nodding slightly, and everyone showed a look of fear.
"But I also know that everyone is gathered together now, not for me, but because they want to have a look at the relic."
Listening to the polite words in her ears, An Ruowan unconsciously raised the corner of her mouth.
If Concubine Qiong hadn't told her, who would have known that she had obtained the relic? To put it bluntly, she directed and acted the whole thing herself, yet she had to drag everyone along to act with her.
Just when An Ruowan was still thinking about this matter, he suddenly heard Concubine Qiong's words.
"But at this time of day, why haven't I seen Miss Song from the Zhenguo Palace?"
Originally, such a trivial matter as Song Li's absence would not attract anyone's attention, but now that it came out of Concubine Qiong's mouth, everyone couldn't help but raise eyebrows.
Soon a maid came to Concubine Qiong's side and whispered something, and then she saw Concubine Qiong frowning.
Everyone at the banquet immediately held their breath, wanting to know what happened to Song Li.
After the maid retreated, Concubine Qiong slowly spoke, "I really didn't expect that I had good intentions but did bad things today. Miss Song is actually unwell and unable to come here."
"What does this matter have to do with the imperial concubine?"
The people below heard what Concubine Qiong said and spoke one after another.
"This is because Miss Song is unlucky, and it's not because the imperial concubine doesn't want her to come here."
Even so, Concubine Qiong was still unwilling to relax her brows easily, "I originally had good intentions, but looking at it now, it cannot be said that there is no connection between these matters, which makes me feel really sorry."
Concubine Qiong's words reached such an extent that naturally some people understood what she meant.
"Why don't you ask the imperial doctor to go to the Zhenguo Duke's mansion to check Miss Song's pulse? That's what the Queen wants."
After one person stood up, many people immediately stood up as well.
Concubine Qiong was relieved and said, "That's good."
Although the matter came to an end, An Ruowan still felt that things could not turn over so easily. Fortunately, Song Li did not miss the banquet without any reason. With her medicine, she was not worried about being noticed by the palace doctor. Clues.
Soon the palace doctor got the order from Concubine Qiong and went to Zhenguo Palace, while the banquet in the palace was still going on.
Not long after, the imperial doctor returned to Concubine Qiong.
"How is Miss Song doing?"
The imperial doctor knelt in front of Concubine Qiong and said, "Please rest assured, Miss Song. Miss Song's illness is not serious. It's just that she is weak today and is unable to come."
After hearing what the imperial doctor said, Concubine Qiong looked relieved and said, "That's good, I'm relieved now."
However, the imperial doctor on the ground did not get up, "However, the minister is incompetent and has not been able to restore Miss Song. I hope the empress will punish her."
After the words fell, Concubine Qiong Bai looked in front of her again, "That's all, I can't blame you for this, so please step back first."
As the imperial doctor turned and left, Concubine Qiong also looked thoughtful.
After a while, Concubine Qiong seemed to have made up her mind, "I always feel that what happened today is too strange, and I am going to take the beads to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. What do you think?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes flashed with surprise, but since it was Concubine Qiong who said it, they naturally agreed.
Only An Ruowan felt that Concubine Qiong seemed to have noticed what she would do early on. All of this was within Concubine Qiong's expectation, so she took advantage of the situation and proposed to go to Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.
But in full view of the public, she couldn't stop the person, not to mention that Concubine Qiong went there for Song Li's good, which also blocked any excuse she might have found.
Seeing everyone really following Concubine Qiong towards the palace gate, An Ruowan could only get up and go together.
Zhenguogongfu
After Song Li got what Caihuan sent, she guessed what was going on without even thinking about it. After taking the medicine, she felt at ease.
The situation was indeed what An Ruowan had guessed. She was feeling unwell and was unable to attend the palace banquet.
But what Song Li didn't expect was that Concubine Qiong actually sent an imperial doctor to visit her. Fortunately, she didn't show any flaws.
But what Song Li didn't expect was what happened next. Not long after, the housekeeper suddenly came to Song Li's courtyard in a hurry.
"Miss, someone from the palace said that he came specially to visit the lady."
Song Li was ill because he wanted to avoid the banquet, so no one in the house knew about it. Now that Concubine Qiong came with such a big fanfare, Song Li was really caught off guard.
But when he heard that everyone had arrived outside the mansion, Song Li couldn't care about anything else and could only forcefully calm down.
Not long after, Song Li heard footsteps approaching from far away, causing her to close her eyes.
"I have met the imperial concubine."
The maid's voice came from outside the house, and Song Li knew that it was Concubine Qiong who was coming.
Someone soon pushed the door open and Song Li slowly opened her eyes with a confused expression until her eyes fell on Concubine Qiong, making her struggle to sit up.
"I didn't know that the imperial concubine was here..."
Before Song Li finished speaking, he was interrupted by Concubine Qiong.
"I am here unexpectedly for a visit today. Miss Song is not feeling well, so she should lie down quickly."
While she was talking, the maid beside Concubine Qiong came forward and helped Song Li lie back down.
