Suddenly, something unexpected happened. Mo didn't have the time to think about why Su Yuanyuan was suddenly so afraid of dogs. She quickly picked up her daughter horizontally.
The little white dog lost its target but still refused to leave. It circled around Mo, wagging its tail vigorously and barking at Su Yuanyuan twice.
"Woof! Woof!"
Noticing that her daughter in her arms was trembling all over, Mo's eyes darkened. She kicked out at the little white dog and shouted, "Where did this fierce dog come from? Get out of here quickly!"
Mo didn't use much strength. The little white dog just rolled on the ground. But at this moment, the Queen, who had come to her senses, looked extremely ugly. She called out "Snowball" and got up to go forward and pick up the little white dog.
From the moment the little white dog entered the main hall to when Su Yuanyuan returned to Mo's side, all this happened in an instant. When everyone finally reacted, the Queen's shrill voice rang out in the hall:
"Lady Mo, this was a birthday gift from His Majesty to me. If anything happens to it, I will never forgive you!"
Everyone from the Yongguo Duke's Mansion was greatly shocked. They never expected that this would be the Queen's beloved dog!
Helplessly, Mo could only say:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. My daughter was once almost hurt by a fierce dog, so she is extremely afraid of dogs. I was just in a hurry and didn't mean to hurt your beloved dog deliberately."
The Queen gently stroked the little white dog in her arms. Looking at Su Yuanyuan in Mo's arms, she said, "I think with your daughter's timid nature, she probably doesn't have any special fate. There's no need to trouble Lord Cang anymore."
Wasn't this just a roundabout way of saying that her Yuanbao had a bad fate? Mo was extremely angry. But since the other party was the Queen, she couldn't be as unrestrained and outspoken as when dealing with Su Qingyu. She could only say coldly and stiffly:
"Your Majesty is right. It's just that my Yuanbao doesn't have the good fortune."
The Queen truly cherished this little white dog given by the Emperor. Her beloved dog had been so disliked, and she had already lost all her good mood. Immediately, she picked up her beloved dog, got up, and said to the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, I'm tired. I'll go back to the palace first."
After saying that, she picked up her beloved dog and left.
"Queen, Queen..." Emperor Jing got up and chased after her. He followed the Queen's side and coaxed her gently, "Today is your birthday. Why are you getting angry with a silly little girl? Be careful not to hurt your body."
"But they almost hurt the beloved dog Your Majesty gave to me!"
"It's just a dog..."
...
It wasn't until the figures of the Emperor and the Queen completely disappeared that everyone in the main hall dared to raise their heads and take a breath.
Then they found that Lord Cang Xuan, who had originally intended to tell Su Yuanyuan's fortune, had disappeared without a trace at some point.
Not being able to see Cang Xuan show his great skills at the banquet, others were somewhat disappointed, while Su Qingyu was full of gloating.
So what if she sang a complete song and won the Queen's favor? A fool was still a fool, and she was just like mud that couldn't be plastered on the wall.
Because the Queen left in anger, the birthday banquet ended early. In Qingyi Garden, the young masters and ladies from all the families in Shengjing filed out of the main hall one after another and went back home.
Among the crowd, the Yongguo Duke's Mansion was the most eager to leave.
Since the little white dog appeared in the main hall, Su Yuanyuan had been like a soulless person. She clung tightly to Mo, and her whole body kept trembling.
Hearing the suppressed sobs coming from her arms, Mo felt extremely heart - broken. So her steps when leaving were a bit hasty.
Su Zeqian and Su Qingyu were also eager to leave.
But when Su Zeqian left, his face was tense. He never looked at Su Qingyu following behind him from beginning to end, and he didn't say a single word to her.
Su Qingyu knew that he was angry. She didn't dare to provoke him at this time. She could only carry her lute and follow behind him silently.
After the two left, the whispering behind them could no longer be suppressed.
"I really didn't expect that Su Qingyu couldn't even compare to a fool. The tune she played was full of mistakes. She even dared to present it as a birthday gift to the Queen at the birthday banquet. It's really laughable."
"I really thought her lute - playing skills were excellent and unparalleled in the world before. It turns out it was just an illusion."
"She even lied to the Queen several times just now. If the Queen hadn't given face to the Pingyang Marquis and the Tong family, she might have been beheaded already."
"Speaking of this, do you still remember that nine months ago, the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion also made a fool of themselves at the Queen Mother's birthday banquet?"
"How could I forget? Compared with today, the birthday banquet for the Queen Mother before was really 'wonderful'. After all, who could have thought that the second young lady of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion would have an affair with Grand Scholar Lu at the banquet?"
"I remember that on that day, Su Yuanyuan also pointed out Su Qingyu just like this fool from the Yongguo Duke's Mansion. But at that time, the Prince of Jin proved Su Qingyu's innocence, and the maid pointed out that it was all Su Yuanyuan's own fault. In the end, the one who was punished and disgraced became Su Yuanyuan."
"Speaking of which, Su Qingyu was present at both birthday banquets. Could it be..."
Exchanging a knowing look, everyone then changed the topic, as if they had never discussed it just now.
After all, the victim "Su Yuanyuan" was already dead. Discussing who was right and who was wrong at this time would be of no use.
Moreover, what did it matter to them?
...
Outside the palace gate, the carriage of the Yongguo Duke's Mansion had been waiting there early. A tall and imposing figure stood beside the carriage, waiting anxiously.
This person was wearing a dark purple crane cloak and a beast - patterned belt around his waist. He had a square face, solemn and upright, with sharp eyes like lightning. He was the youngest duke in the Great Chu Kingdom - Su Qing.
He paced anxiously beside the carriage, looking towards the palace gate leading to Qingyi Garden from time to time. After a while, when he saw Mo's familiar figure, a gentle smile immediately appeared on his solemn face. He strode forward to greet them.
"Madam, you're finally out."
After saying that, he couldn't wait to reach out his hand towards Su Yuanyuan and called out in a somewhat flattering tone, "Yuanbao, Daddy's here to pick you up."
"Yuanbao, will you look back at Daddy?"
But no matter how he called, the girl in Mo's arms never responded. He immediately noticed something was wrong, and his face suddenly darkened. "What happened? Why is my dear Yuanbao reacting like this?"
At this time, Su Zeqian and Su Qingyu were just walking out of Qingyi Garden.
Mo happened to see the two of them at a glance, so her face became even colder. She said, "It's a long story. We'll talk about it in detail on the way back to the mansion."
Su Zeqian naturally also noticed Su Qing and Mo and the others.
Even though they had had a conflict at the banquet just now, they still had to maintain a polite appearance. He paused, stopped, and bowed to Su Qing and Mo. Then he walked towards the carriage of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion without looking back.
When he got into the carriage, a gentle breeze blew by, and another voice of "Su Yuanyuan" floated into Su Zeqian's ears. His heart skipped a beat. He immediately looked behind him, but there was no one else except the carriage of the Yongguo Duke's Mansion gradually moving away.
Noticing his strange behavior, Su Qingyu tugged at his sleeve and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
Su Zeqian came back to his senses, temporarily suppressing the inexplicable restlessness in his heart. He got into the carriage with Su Qingyu and told the coachman to drive away.