Lan Miao had been forced to drink quite a bit of wine by Princess Kaiyun. In fact, she had a good tolerance, but the fine wine of the Qi State was simply too strong. After a few cups, the alcohol burned like a raging fire in her chest and spread.
All the fatigue in her body suddenly welled up, and her blood seemed to boil.
Her cheeks were tenderly red, like peaches glistening with water droplets. Her eyes were like spring waters, showing an astonishing charm when she was drunk.
"Miss Lan is drunk. Help her down."
Emperor Jingxiang had also drunk a fair amount of wine, but it couldn't intoxicate him. He quickly noticed that Lan Miao was drunk. With a single order, Han Bi and Yan Hong, who were standing beside Lan Miao, quickly helped her down.
Gradually, the night grew deeper.
First, the Empress Dowager left, then the imperial concubine, and the others also withdrew. Emperor Jingxiang then announced the end of the banquet and told the guards and palace servants to take good care of everyone and see them off.
When Princess Kaiyun was also drunk, the palace servants helped her away.
The banquet was completely over.
Emperor Jingxiang sat in his imperial sedan chair, propping his head up with his hand. His eyes were lowered, but they were surprisingly bright. He was full of energy and didn't feel tired at all. He even felt a bit of pleasure because he was going to look for Lan Miao next.
The imperial sedan chair was spacious, draped with layers of golden silk gauze.
The patterns of auspicious clouds and dragon designs were particularly eye - catching even in the night, exuding an imposing aura that commanded respect without showing anger.
The palace servants stepped aside.
Lan Xin had quietly slipped over alone when the banquet was over. She had been staring at the direction where the Emperor left, thinking of trying her luck on this palace path to see if she could run into the Emperor by chance.
And she really did.
The Emperor's imperial sedan chair was right in front of her.
Lan Xin slowed down her steps and pretended to be innocent as she was about to pass by. But the guards behind the sedan chair noticed her first. Immediately, a sword was placed on her neck, and they were about to kill her on the spot, scaring Lan Xin out of her wits.
"I'm the daughter of a court official. You can't kill me. My father is Lan Cengui, the Minister of Dali Temple..."
Lan Xin's legs went weak at the sight of the bright sword.
The guards clearly didn't buy her words. She was the first one who dared to follow the Emperor so openly.
An He heard the commotion behind and trotted over. He happened to hear Lan Xin's tearful voice and realized that she was Lan Miao's younger sister.
Something was wrong. He had to tell the Emperor.
If they casually killed Lan Miao's younger sister, how could the Emperor explain it to Lan Miao?
"Stop. Don't act yet."
An He ordered the guards.
Then he reported this situation to the Emperor. Hearing that the person who had followed his sedan chair was Lan Miao's younger sister, Emperor Jingxiang's expression changed. He remembered that Lan Miao seemed to have mentioned this younger sister.
"Bring her here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
An He told the guards to bring Lan Xin over. The imperial sedan chair stopped on the palace path. The cold wind was howling. Lan Xin's tears had frozen into ice as she cried, looking extremely pitiful.
She thought that as long as she saw the Emperor, it would be fine. These people were so hateful. She hoped the Emperor would behead them.
"Your humble servant girl, Lan Xin, pays respects to Your Majesty."
Lan Xin's delicate voice rang out. An He frowned beside her. He had seen many such people. They usually tried to climb into the Emperor's bed, and the Emperor hated such people the most.
"What did you follow me for?"
Emperor Jingxiang's voice was solemn.
Lan Xin's knees that were kneeling on the ground went even weaker, and her body began to tremble. She looked at the Emperor sitting casually in the sedan chair in front of her. He was handsome, with his long legs hanging down and his figure straight.
The strong sense of oppression seeped over, and Lan Xin was so scared that she couldn't say a complete sentence.
She found that all her previous fantasies had flown out of the window after seeing the Emperor.
"Your humble servant girl... wants to see Your Majesty. Your humble servant girl admires... Your Majesty..."
Emperor Jingxiang's eyes were cold.
He didn't even want to spare a glance at Lan Xin. He waved his hand, indicating for the guards to drag her away so as not to block the way.
An He understood what Emperor Jingxiang meant.
The guards immediately came to drag Lan Xin away. Lan Xin was so scared that she stood there stupidly, motionless. It wasn't until a guard came to pull her that she reacted.
"Your Majesty... Your humble servant girl wants to tell you that what my sister said is not trustworthy..."
Lan Xin finally came to her senses.
Why was the Emperor so cold to her?
Could it be that Lan Miao had said something bad about her in the palace?
No, she had to defend herself. Lan Miao's words were simply not trustworthy. The Emperor must not be deceived by Lan Miao.
Lan Xin struggled. The guards just wanted to drag her away quickly. Anyone could see that the Emperor's face was very ugly at this moment, and a heavy anger enveloped everyone.
A vein on Emperor Jingxiang's forehead twitched.
An He knew that Emperor Jingxiang was impatient.
Miss Lan Xin dared to speak ill of Miss Lan, which was a big taboo for the Emperor.
"Quickly drag the person away. Don't get in the Emperor's way."
An He ordered.
Hearing this, Lan Xin struggled even more violently. But the guards were not to be trifled with. They quickly dragged her away. Just then, something suddenly fell from her body.
Emperor Jingxiang's expression darkened.
He was sharp - eyed and saw the object on the ground.
It seemed to be a piece of jade?
"What's that?"
An He quickly picked up the object on the ground and presented it to the Emperor. When he saw what it was, his heart skipped a beat.
It was a magatama.
Its shape and size were exactly the same as the magatama that the Emperor carried with him.
Except that there were no patterns on it.
Emperor Jingxiang placed the magatama that Lan Xin had dropped in his hand and at the same time took out the magatama that he had kept for five years from his bosom.
Last time, he had told Lan Miao that he was going to throw this magatama away. Although Lan Miao said she didn't need it, he didn't carry it around often after that.
Today at the palace banquet, he had casually put it on his person, but he didn't expect such an accident to happen.
"Drag her back."
Emperor Jingxiang's voice was very low. An He immediately obeyed and told the guards to drag Lan Xin, who had been dragged far away, back.
A short while later.
Lan Xin knelt in front of Emperor Jingxiang, trembling.
She thought that the Emperor had softened his heart towards her and had summoned her back.
"Your Majesty... Xin'er..."
Before she could finish her complaint, she was interrupted by Emperor Jingxiang's stern tone. "Is this magatama yours?"
Emperor Jingxiang held up the magatama that Lan Xin had dropped, looking serious and nervous.
Lan Xin's eyes were hazy with tears, and she nodded.
Her heart was pounding like a drum. She wondered what was so special about this magatama?
"What about this one? Is it also yours, or is it someone in your family's?"
Emperor Jingxiang held up the magatama that he had played with for five years. It had complex and ancient patterns on it, emitting a faint, glistening luster.
An He handed the magatama with the patterns in front of Lan Xin so that she could take a closer look.
Lan Xin was shocked when she saw the jade.
This jade and hers were indeed a pair.
She knew very well that the magatama with the complex patterns belonged to Lan Miao. Her own magatama was smooth, with nothing on it.
The cold wind had sobered her up a bit.
Did the Emperor decide to keep her for questioning because she had an identical magatama? Why was Lan Miao's magatama in the Emperor's hands? What was the relationship between the Emperor and Lan Miao?
The owner of this magatama was very important to the Emperor.
Didn't the Emperor know that the owner of the magatama was Lan Miao?
After a fierce mental struggle, Lan Xin made a bold and reckless decision.
She said crisply, "This magatama is also your humble servant girl's. They are a pair."
Emperor Jingxiang's face changed drastically.