Chapter Sixty: The Incident Occurs

  One more time for pink!

  Lin Zhaoyan looked at Zhou Wanyu in surprise.

  Zhou Wan-yu nodded in agreement, indicating she had done nothing wrong.

  Lin Zhaoyan shifted his gaze to the first girl with a bright and charming appearance, and let out a faint sigh.

  Originally, it was not a good kind either.

  Lin Ruoyan walked step by step towards the Empress Dowager, and as she got closer, the Empress Dowager's eyebrows furrowed tighter.

  "What kind of incense is on your body?" The empress suddenly asked.

  Lin Ruo's words left her stunned for a moment.

  Does she smell like incense? She usually likes to burn some jasmine incense, but knowing the Empress Dowager's preferences and habits, today she deliberately washed herself clean, with only a faint scent of soap, no other fragrance.

  What's with the incense?

  Lin Ruo Yan carefully smelled it again and didn't find any special smell.

  She didn't know that for people sensitive to smells, even a tiny bit of fragrance could be detected.

  The empress saw Lin Ruoyan's bewildered expression and didn't say much, just waved her hand and said: "You go down first!" Her expression seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied.

  Lin Ruoyan was bewildered, and then felt extremely wronged.

  But she remembered what Liu had said and could only respectfully retreat.

  One of the palace maids came over and said that the banquet hall was all set up, so the Empress Dowager summoned everyone to go there together.

  As soon as they left the main hall, Shi Liu immediately pulled Lin Ruoyan over and anxiously asked: "Miss, did you get perfumed today?"

  "I don't." Lin Ruoyan's heart was stuffy, and she said, "Don't believe me? Smell it for yourself, what fragrance is there?"

  Pomegranate stepped forward, and indeed didn't smell anything unusual, but still worriedly said: "But the Empress Dowager wouldn't say such things without reason, Miss, why don't you check again if there's something like a hidden sachet on your body?"

  She suspected that it was Lin Xiangyan or Lu's two maids who had done something when they changed clothes just now.

  Lin Ruoyan also thought of this, but with so many people around, she couldn't be too obvious, so she simply patted her waist and chest, and didn't find anything unusual.

  "No." She replied, and then said: "I think it's unlikely, just now I was changing with Lin Xingyan separately, and you were the one serving me, how could they have done anything?"

  Pomegranate also had no choice but to put aside her thoughts and reminded: "In any case, young lady must be cautious and careful, don't make a mistake."

  She knew that Empress Dowager's choice was Miss Lin Wu, so as long as she didn't make a big mistake, everything should be fine.

  The banquet was set up in a side hall outside Cining Palace.

  All the ladies stood according to their ranks until the Empress Dowager took her seat, then they made their bows and sat down.

  Lin Zhaoyan and other noble ladies were all seated on the adjacent seats.

  The palace maids brought dish after dish of food.

  It's just for show, and they don't care about the food itself.

  The Empress Dowager was chatting with Mrs. Lu and several other ladies who were sitting near her.

  It was inevitable that they would mention the Crown Prince and the Sixth Princess.

  The Empress Dowager was heartbroken and the Empress was grief-stricken. The other consorts could only try to comfort them, but the atmosphere at the banquet became somewhat tense.

  Compared with the other side, the atmosphere here is much more relaxed, although not to the point of laughter and chatter, but the conversation is harmonious and pleasant.

  "Miss Lin Si, how exactly did you save the Empress Dowager that day? We're all very curious!" A noble lady sitting next to Lin Xiangyan, dressed in apricot-colored clothes, teased with a smile.

  Lin Zhaoyan knew she was the sixth daughter of Zhao's family, the Duke of Chengen, and Jingpin in the palace was her elder sister.

  She normally gets along with Lin Ruoyan, and as the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together", she is also overbearing and tyrannical by nature, looking down on others.

  If you don't let her have her way, she won't rest until she gets what she wants.

  Feeling the curious and envious glances from around her, Lin Zhaoyan smiled and replied: "It's because Her Majesty the Empress Dowager values emotions and righteousness. I simply reminded her of something, a trivial effort, never thinking that Her Majesty would remember it until now."

  "What a reminder! Who would have thought such good things exist!" A girl next to her couldn't help but speak up, with a hint of sourness in her tone.

  "Tell the empress dowager to take another road, the other one has a landslide." Lin Zhao replied calmly.

  She didn't lie, but she also didn't tell the whole truth.

  It did collapse, but it wasn't before the warning.

  Everyone present couldn't hear the implicit meaning of Lin Zhao's words and just felt indignant.

  Zhao Liu said: "Miss Lin Si is really good luck!"

  It's nothing, just a matter of wagging one's tongue, yet it has earned her the empress dowager's special attention!

  Lin Xing saw everyone teasing Lin Zhao so much, and a burst of anger rose up in his heart.

  She doesn't like Lin Zhaoyan either, but she can't let others bully her!

  She glanced at Zhao Liu with a slanted gaze and said coldly, "This opportunity is not something that everyone can have. Even if they do, they need to be able to seize it. How many people would be so kind as to remind a complete stranger?"

  As soon as this was said, all the women stopped talking.

  Lin Ruoyan is absolutely right. People always envy what others have, but they don't realize that when the same opportunity presents itself to them, they may not be able to seize it.

  Lin Zhao looked at Lin Ruo and smiled slightly.

  Lin Ruoyan turned her face away and ignored her.

  Zhao Liu was slightly taken aback at first, and then became angry.

  Isn't Lin Xing always looking down on his reserved and taciturn sister? Why is he helping her now? And to even make sarcastic remarks about her in front of so many people, it's really making things difficult for her!

  But this was in the palace, and she couldn't vent her anger no matter how upset she was.

  Lin Xingyan watched from the side, a glimmer of sharp light flashing in his eyes.

  She was worried about how to do it without being detected, and then Zhao Liu appeared.

  It's as if she has the help of heaven itself!

  Looking at the empress dowager's side again, the topic of sadness had already been shifted, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

  Some people also inquired about Lin Zhaoyan saving the Empress Dowager.

  "Empress Dowager, what is this matter of the fourth daughter of the Jian'an Marquis' household saving your life that you mentioned? I and all the other ladies are very curious!"

  "Yes, but she's just a weak and feeble young girl, yet she was able to save Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, it's truly unbelievable."

  This is well said. Lin Zhaoyan is a weak woman, and even if the Empress Dowager leaves the palace, she will still have guards protecting her. What could possibly happen that would require Lin Zhaoyan to save the Empress Dowager?

  The empress dowager smiled and looked at everyone, but didn't answer.

  Empress Zhou replied, "You are all thinking wrongly, rescuing people doesn't necessarily rely on fists and feet, even a mouth can rescue people."

  "A mouthful?"

  Empress Zhou then recounted how Lin Shu had saved Empress Dowager that day.

  Everyone is beyond imagination.

  "What's going on? Lin Si actually has foresight and can predict the future?"

  Someone asked Lu Shi, "Does your fourth daughter have such skills? It's a bit too strange!"

  Lu was also shocked beyond words.

  Recalling the past in the Hou Mansion, Fourth Miss often spoke with a single word that would come true, which earned her the bad reputation of being unable to speak and having a crow's mouth.

  But it was nothing more than a minor disturbance, and even if a maid or two died, no one would think it strange.

  But this time, she actually saved the Empress Dowager?

  Although Fourth Miss explained in front of Master Fang that she was listening to the words of the monks from Lingyun Temple, what Empress Pei said had nothing to do with the credit of Lingyun Temple!

  These four girls, don't they really have some kind of prophetic ability?

  Lu thought to himself, "How could this be possible?" and suppressed his fear, smiling as he replied: "You've all misunderstood, that wasn't the doing of my family's Fourth Miss, but rather something said by a high-ranking monk from Lingyun Temple! Fourth Miss just happened to overhear it and remembered."

  "But she didn't know the Empress Dowager, yet somehow knew that the Empress Dowager was coming from the east. This is quite unbelievable." Someone spoke with a hint of a smile, "If it's really the monk from Lingyun Temple who sensed it, why didn't he inform everyone? Do you know how many people died in that landslide? To see death and not rescue, isn't this against the principles of a Buddhist?"

  This remark has some meaning, and after careful consideration, it seems that Lin Zhao's words were not out of kindness, but rather because he knew the Empress Dowager was the Empress Dowager, so he deliberately flattered her.

  Lu Shi didn't like Lin Zhao's words, but he couldn't let outsiders slander the reputation of the Hou Mansion's young lady.

  Her face turned cold, and she said solemnly: "I don't like to hear Mrs. Zhao say this. My fourth daughter's character is not that of a petty person, even if it's not particularly noble. How many people in the world can predict the future? Except for Yu Bo Tong, the divine mathematician of the previous dynasty, there hasn't been another one in hundreds of years. What ability does my fourth daughter have to do so? I think it was just the monks at Lingyun Temple who made an educated guess and didn't dare to confirm it for fear of causing panic, but happened to be overheard by Fourth."

  The fate of Shen Suanzi Yu Bo Tong was known to all the ladies present, so even if they were jealous that Lin Zhao Yan was favored by the Empress Dowager, it would not be good to continue talking and risk causing a fatal incident.

  They would be the first to disbelieve if you said that Lin Zhaoyan had the ability of foreknowledge.

  The empress dowager watched this play with a cold eye, and a smile with unclear meaning appeared at the corner of her lips.

  Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a palace maid wearing a pink palace dress hurried over with a serious expression.

  She walked a few steps forward and stood before the empress dowager, bowing her head in respect. "Your Majesty."

  The empress glanced at her and frowned slightly.

  This palace maid is an imperial personal attendant.

  The Empress and Consort Duan also looked over, their eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  The Empress Dowager is hosting a banquet for the foreign envoys' wives, something the Emperor usually doesn't get involved in. But this time it's one of the palace maids who came to inform me, so I suppose something extraordinary must have happened.

  "What is it?" the empress dowager asked.

  Na Gong's maid leaned in close to Empress Dowager's ear and whispered something.

  The empress's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and she immediately looked at Qianqiu Gongzhu beside her, with dissatisfaction in her eyes.

  Qianqiu Gongzhu guessed what was going on and her heart skipped a beat as she quickly lowered her head.

  Fortunately, the Empress Dowager did not intend to settle accounts with her for the time being. She only said to the noblewomen: "I have something to attend to and will leave for a while. You can all enjoy yourselves slowly. If you get bored waiting, you can also stroll around. There is a bamboo forest on the east side, and the scenery is indeed beautiful."

  The noble ladies nodded their heads and saw off the Empress Dowager as she left.

  The Empress Dowager left, and Consort Duan immediately pulled Princess Qianqiu to one side, saying coldly: "What kind of trouble have you gotten me into again?"

  Qianqiu Princess stammered for a long time before saying: "I... I and Xiaogui pushed Seventh Brother into the Lotus Pond."

  The Empress Dowager was shocked and turned pale, "You've really lost your mind!"

  I saw in the book review section that someone said the female lead is a saint, but I think the concept of a saint is to be kind and tolerant towards your enemies. However, the female lead doesn't have this quality. She's good to her sister because she thinks it's worth it, since Lin Ruoyan isn't inherently bad, just has a bad temper. In the female lead's eyes, Lin Ruoyan is her own flesh-and-blood younger sister, and she doesn't treat her with humility or condescension either, but rather with sufficient tolerance.