Sheng Laiyi was extremely anxious. As he wracked his brains to find a way to help the father - son duo of the Xie family out of trouble, he suddenly heard the eunuch's voice and froze on the spot.
And Sheng Laiyi wasn't the only one who froze in the Qingyun Palace. The emperor, the concubines, and all the others were equally stunned.
"Is Concubine Xian Xie the one who voluntarily asked for house - arrest a few years ago?"
"Surely it is. Is there any other Concubine Xian Xie in the palace?"
The emperor stared in disbelief, his eyes widening. He stood up excitedly, his hands trembling slightly involuntarily.
General Xie also stood up and looked disbelievingly towards the entrance of the Qingyun Palace.
No one present had expected that Concubine Xian Xie, who had been out of sight for several years, would show up on this occasion.
Princess Lingyue put down her wine cup unhappily and took a step back. She wanted to see who this audacious person was who dared to interrupt her good plan.
While everyone's attention was focused on the entrance, Xie Yumo quickly swapped the wine cup that Princess Lingyue had put down with an ordinary one beside it.
When Sheng Laiyi saw this little move of Xie Yumo, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that Xie Yumo hadn't been completely affected and could still think rationally.
Amid everyone's eager anticipation, Concubine Xian Xie's figure slowly emerged into everyone's sight.
In Xie Yumo's memory, when they were young, they got lost during a palace banquet. After being found, she had met Concubine Xian Xie once, but it had been so long that she couldn't remember clearly.
Concubine Xian Xie was dressed in palace attire with tassels on her head. She walked into the palace. Time seemed to have treated her particularly kindly, leaving no trace on her face.
"Sister..."
When General Xie saw Concubine Xian Xie enter, he couldn't help but call out.
Concubine Xian Xie looked at General Xie, and her eyes instantly welled up with warmth. She nodded at General Xie with a smile, then walked up to the emperor and the empress, knelt down, and paid her respects.
"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."
The emperor tightened his face and said nothing. However, a nostalgic look appeared on the empress's face. She stepped forward and helped Concubine Xian Xie up.
"Sister, you've finally decided to come out. It's been years since we last met. How have you been?"
Concubine Xian Xie nodded gratefully and said to the empress, "Your servant has been well. Thanks to Your Majesty's kind care over the years, your servant has been safe and sound."
"Good, good, good. That's great. I've been looking forward to your coming out for so many years."
Concubine Xian Xie shifted her gaze to the emperor. The sadness in her eyes stabbed at the emperor's heart. He awkwardly turned his head to the side and pursed his lips tightly.
"Your Majesty, I've missed you so much after all these years. How have you been?"
The emperor looked at Concubine Xian Xie with a complicated look in his eyes. Her beauty was still as unparalleled as he remembered. Those tender eyes still made his heart flutter even after so many years.
"You voluntarily asked for house - arrest. Why did you choose to come out today?"
The emperor's tone was stiff. An ordinary concubine would surely be intimidated by his tone, but Concubine Xian still looked at the emperor affectionately.
"Your servant heard the wonderful sound of silk and bamboo in the palace and remembered the grand event in the Qingyun Palace today. I'm so happy for Your Majesty. Your servant wanted to come and congratulate Your Majesty in person, so I came uninvited."
After saying that, the maid behind her brought up a pot of wine. Concubine Xian Xie poured two cups of wine and handed one to the emperor.
The emperor took the wine cup stiffly. Looking at the wine with a strong bamboo fragrance in the cup, he felt quite nostalgic. "This is bamboo - scented wine. Years ago, you and I brewed it together."
"Your Majesty still remembers. This is the wine that you and your servant buried under the bamboo forest. Now that it's unearthed, there's no better way to use it than to congratulate Your Majesty."
"Please drink this cup to the full, Your Majesty."
The emperor refused the eunuch's offer to taste the wine first. He tilted his head back and downed the wine in one gulp. Concubine Xian Xie also finished the wine in her cup.
"This wine tastes just as I remember. Only you can brew such good wine. I've been yearning for it for years."
Concubine Xian Xie gave a bitter smile, then took a step back and bowed. "Now that your servant has offered congratulations, it's time to leave. May Your Majesty be healthy every year. Your servant will continue to pray for Your Majesty and Her Majesty in the palace. Your servant takes her leave."
Concubine Xian Xie stood up, nodded goodbye to the empress, and then turned to leave. The empress couldn't bear it and wanted to speak up to keep her, but the emperor got ahead of her.
The emperor grabbed Concubine Xian Xie's wrist and said, "Since you've come out, don't go back. Stay by my side today."
Concubine Xian Xie looked back in surprise upon hearing this. The emperor saw that her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and he instantly felt heart - broken.
"Come, Lan'er. Sit beside me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor arranged for Concubine Xian Xie to sit on his left, which was originally the seat of the noble concubine. Now that Concubine Xian Xie was here, the noble concubine was squeezed out.
The noble concubine looked at Concubine Xian Xie jealously, wishing she could cut her into a thousand pieces!
The crown prince watched the emperor's actions with a gloomy face.
The noble concubine's rank was higher than that of the concubine. By arranging things this way, the emperor was disregarding the noble concubine's face. Since the noble concubine was the foster mother of the crown prince, this was equivalent to disregarding the crown prince's face.
Sheng Laiyi was sitting beside Princess Chaoyang. He could clearly sense the hint of coldness hidden beneath Concubine Xian Xie's tenderness.
As if sensing Sheng Laiyi's gaze, Concubine Xian Xie looked in Sheng Laiyi's direction and subtly winked at him.
"Your Majesty, General Xie hasn't given an answer to what Lord Haji said just now. Can General Xie give an answer to Lingyue now? Will he drink this wine or not?"
There was a hint of eagerness on Lingyue's face. She had to complete the plan while Xie Yumo was still under the influence of the drug. If the time passed and the drug wore off, the plan might fail.
The emperor was just about to catch up with Concubine Xian Xie, but was suddenly interrupted by Lingyue. He was immediately dissatisfied.
He had always thought that Lingyue and Haji were aggressive and unreasonable. They were from a defeated country, coming to submit a letter of surrender, but were making things difficult for his own minister on his own territory.
Such provocation simply didn't put him in their eyes.
Although he didn't want the Xie family to return to the capital safely, this was different from the barbarians openly provoking the Xie family in front of him.
Concubine Xian Xie narrowed her eyes. She had come here after receiving a letter from Xie Yumo. The content of the letter was related to the Ninth Prince, which forced her to come out.
Seeing Xie Yumo's suffering look and Princess Lingyue's aggressive attitude, Concubine Xian Xie's protective instincts got the better of her.
"You're the princess who came for the marriage alliance from Rouyi, right? If I remember correctly, you're here to submit a letter of surrender. But why does it seem to me that you're here to show off?"
"Let's not even talk about how much your face is worth. What would you do if we don't give it to you?"
Concubine Xian Xie's words were extremely blunt, but the emperor didn't feel any dissatisfaction. On the contrary, he thought what Concubine Xian Xie said made a lot of sense.
A princess from a defeated country who came for a marriage alliance was being aggressive towards a general of their country in front of him. It seemed that they didn't know their place.