In the residence next to the Li mansion, Qiao Zhao’s brows carried some worry: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back. Grandmother has been feeling unwell these past two days.”

“Grandmother is ill? Then I’ll go with you to see her.”

Qiao Zhao shook her head: “Forget it. The elderly get on in years, and when they’re in poor spirits, they feel somewhat unwell—it’s not any serious illness. If you go, Grandmother would still have to dress up to receive guests, unnecessarily troubling the old lady.”

Upon hearing this, Shao Mingyuan became displeased and raised an eyebrow: “Am I a guest?”

He was the old lady’s grandson-in-law—how could he be a guest?

“Anyway, you just shouldn’t go over. What happened at home is somewhat embarrassing, and Grandmother is a proud person who doesn’t want others to know.”

Only then did Shao Mingyuan nod: “Alright then, I’ll listen to you. I came over today to tell you that I still need to attend the banquet hosted by Prince Rui and Prince Mu.”

Qiao Zhao pondered briefly and smiled: “Prince Rui approached you privately?”

Shao Mingyuan was startled: “How do you know?”

“Let me guess—he found you through Big Brother Chi?”

Shao Mingyuan was even more astonished: “Zhaozhao, when did you learn fortune-telling?”

Qiao Zhao smiled gracefully: “I can’t tell fortunes, but yesterday my elder sister suddenly returned home and specifically came to find me. You know I’ve never gotten along well with this sister of mine. If she rarely comes back, how could she seek me out if there wasn’t something? So I thought of this banquet.”

Speaking of this, Qiao Zhao glanced at Shao Mingyuan with a smile and sighed lightly: “I may lack other things, but I do have self-awareness. For a banquet of this caliber, what importance could there be in whether an ordinary official’s daughter like me attends? They were using the pretext of inviting me to get you to come.”

Shao Mingyuan nodded with a smile: “The other party is quite clever, knowing that if you went, I would go too.”

“Exactly. Thinking of this, I said I wasn’t home and didn’t meet her. When Prince Rui saw that my elder sister couldn’t accomplish the task, he could only use his connections to invite you.”

Shao Mingyuan was startled again: “You know I owe Prince Rui a favor?”

Qiao Zhao glanced at him: “When you invited Grandfather Li out of Prince Rui’s residence, if you didn’t rely on a favor, could you have relied on your looks?”

Shao Mingyuan chuckled and winked at Qiao Zhao: “Relying on looks wouldn’t be impossible either.”

Qiao Zhao rolled her eyes at him.

Shao Mingyuan reached out to hold Qiao Zhao’s hand, his heart warming slightly: “Zhaozhao, since you thought of this back then, how could you bear not to acknowledge me?”

So Zhaozhao had seen everything he did—his girl had always been this clever.

Qiao Zhao patted his hand: “Just because you sold your looks, I should acknowledge you? My big brother is your brother-in-law, and you even killed his sister. Isn’t it proper for you to do some things for your brother-in-law?”

“Yes, yes, it’s indeed proper.” Shao Mingyuan nodded with a smile.

He loved seeing Zhaozhao act so familiar and unguarded.

“Zhaozhao, will you attend this banquet then?”

Originally, when Zhaozhao didn’t want to attend, he had gone along with not going, actually wanting to let Prince Rui use up the favor he once owed.

Although inviting him to attend a banquet wasn’t enough to cancel out the favor from when he invited Physician Li, at least Prince Rui would think more carefully before asking for anything in the future.

Favors always grew thinner with use—it was best to use them up on such unimportant matters, saving him from headaches later.

As for Prince Rui wanting to establish connections with him through Miss Li, he wasn’t worried at all.

Miss Li had little sisterly affection with Zhaozhao, so he didn’t need to compromise for Zhaozhao’s sake. If Prince Rui wanted to win him over in the future, he would have to go through his father-in-law.

Heh, going through his father-in-law made him even less worried. With his father-in-law’s upright temperament, acknowledging a concubine’s daughter as family would be like the sun rising in the west.

“I won’t go. Such banquets are rather boring, and who knows if there might be trouble.”

“Eh, what do you mean by that?”

“Didn’t Big Brother Chi say at Chunfeng Tavern that day that the Xijiang envoys wouldn’t be well-behaved this time? If they want to cause trouble, wouldn’t a banquet that invites all the nobles of the capital be the perfect opportunity?”

Qiao Zhao’s words truly hit the mark.

The banquet was held in the imperial gardens, with male and female guests separated, occupying the eastern and western gardens respectively. The western garden was hosted by Princess Mu.

Princess Mu wore a green silk robe with gold phoenix patterns, which made her tall figure appear dignified and steady. The noble ladies who came were also dressed in formal ceremonial robes, while the unmarried young ladies had changed into light and elegant spring clothing, bringing a touch of brightness to this imperial western garden.

“Once spring arrives, everyone becomes lively. With all these colorful clothes everywhere, it’s pleasing to the eye.”

Because of Jiang Tang’s death, the entire capital had been silent and oppressed during the first month. Finally having such a grand banquet, the noble ladies chatted in twos and threes, their faces bearing relaxed smiles.

The young ladies were very curious about the Xijiang Princess, who had not yet arrived.

“I heard this Xijiang Princess possesses both beauty and talent. I wonder if it’s true?” a girl in pink asked curiously.

Another girl pursed her lips and smiled: “Speaking of beauty, can the Xijiang Princess compare to our Great Liang’s Ninth Princess? Speaking of talent, we still have the sisters from Fushan Society.”

“That’s true. As long as the Xijiang Princess doesn’t overshadow our Great Liang’s noble daughters.”

The crowd stirred: “The Xijiang Princess is here.”

Many people looked over curiously and saw a petite girl in Xijiang attire walking over.

The Xijiang Princess wore a long dress similar to the formal gowns worn by Great Liang’s noble daughters on formal occasions, but the difference was that the sash was tied directly at the chest, with the long ribbon of the butterfly knot falling casually down, creating a unique charm as she moved.

Some girls’ eyes lit up as they whispered to their friends: “Dressing like this does make one’s legs look longer. I’ll try altering my long dress like this when I get back.”

“Yes, the Xijiang Princess isn’t tall, but dressing like this makes her look quite charming.”

A cold snort came: “How ignorant. This style of high-waisted ruqun was popular during the Five Dynasties period—it’s not something the Xijiang people invented.”

The two girls who heard such sarcastic words turned to retort, but seeing it was Lan Xinong, they immediately became obedient.

They couldn’t afford to offend the current Chief Minister’s granddaughter.

Lan Xinong looked at the two coldly: “Instead of spending time studying other people’s dresses, you’d be better off reading more books!”

“You—” one girl couldn’t help but talk back, but was pulled hard on the sleeve by another girl and lowered her head in silence.

After Lan Xinong shifted her attention, that girl said quietly with grievance: “What’s so great about that? Why should I read the Five Dynasties history to study what girls wore back then? I just think the Xijiang Princess dresses beautifully—is that not allowed?”

“Alright, it wouldn’t be good if Miss Lan heard you,” the other girl said peacefully.

The Xijiang Princess’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she observed the noble daughters’ reactions with great satisfaction. She lightly lifted her skirt hem and was led by Princess Mu to sit in the honored guest’s seat.

Music began, and the banquet officially started.

When women gathered together, banquets were nothing more than chatting while drinking.

The Xijiang Princess curved her lips in a smile: “How boring is this? Why don’t both sides compete in talents? Whichever side loses will have to drink collectively as punishment. What does the Princess think of this game?”