Upon returning from the Grand Princess, Su Xiaoqi was directly escorted home by Shen Yun, who was waiting by the door.
Su Xiaoqi found his cautious demeanor both amusing and exasperating.
She mentioned that she had originally intended to visit the Dali Temple Minister's home.
During her absence, the minister's wife had sent her numerous invitations and gifts.
She felt obligated to reciprocate the gesture.
"There's no need to go. They will all be attending the palace banquet tomorrow, so you can see them then. You worked hard before, and now you should rest," Shen Yun said.
Su Xiaoqi put her hand to her forehead, speechless. She wasn't that delicate.
"My dear, I'm simply following your pregnancy guide. Didn't you write that after becoming pregnant, one should minimize social engagements? It's mentally taxing, and too much contact with people increases the risk of exposure to excessive germs..."
Shen Yun expounded at length.
Su Xiaoqi stared at him with wide eyes and silently gave him a thumbs-up.
Good, very good, he even knew about germs.
If it weren't for what she had written in the book, she would have almost suspected him of being a transmigrator himself.
The palace banquet arrived as scheduled.
The feast was held in the Hall of Longevity and Blessings. As it was Emperor Yongxing's birthday, the banquet was grand, capable of accommodating over a thousand people.
Compared to the previous palace banquet, Su Xiaoqi's seating this time was relatively forward.
After all, she and Shen Yun were now the heir to a royal manor and a princess by rank, respectively.
Their seats were therefore only behind Prince Chen.
Soon, everyone began to take their seats.
Du Yiyi somehow slipped over and whispered into her ear.
"Sister Xiaoqi, you'll be able to see the Princess of Zhou shortly." Du Yiyi gestured towards the seat diagonally opposite Su Xiaoqi.
That was Prince Zhou's seat.
Like Prince Chen beside her, he had not yet arrived.
When Su Xiaoqi heard her mention the Princess of Zhou again, she couldn't help but pay attention.
She blinked her eyes. "So, who is this Princess of Zhou that warrants your repeated mentions?"
This time, Du Yiyi didn't let her guess, but she also didn't intend to tell her. She merely smiled mysteriously.
Su Xiaoqi's heart stirred. She thought that this Princess of Zhou must be someone she knew, and likely quite familiar with her.
Otherwise, Du Yiyi wouldn't have behaved this way.
She tentatively guessed, "Could it be Su Yurou?"
Du Yiyi paused for a moment, then quickly shook her head. "It's not her, but it's close."
Su Xiaoqi casually guessed, "Could it be Zhao Xiaohua? That's impossible." Although she said it that way, she didn't believe it at all.
Du Yiyi had an expression as if she had swallowed a mosquito. Su Xiaoqi felt as though she had guessed correctly.
Then, she saw Prince Zhou walk in from the side hall, clad in a jade belt and a dragon robe.
Following behind him was a woman wearing a yellow palace dress embroidered with peonies.
She wore a large coronet and walked with stately grace.
Su Xiaoqi looked at her, and she, in turn, caught Su Xiaoqi's eye amidst the crowd.
"Huh, it's her?" Su Xiaoqi smiled as she looked at the very familiar person before her.
Indeed, once people are destined to meet, they will cross paths no matter how far apart they are.
The Princess of Zhou walked beside Prince Zhou. After he was seated, she walked towards Su Xiaoqi independently, looking at her with an indescribable smile on her heavily made-up face.
Her expression was partly sinister, partly cold.
Su Xiaoqi, however, merely glanced up at her once before averting her gaze.
Even if she stood right in front of her, Su Xiaoqi treated her as if she were invisible.
Zhao Xiaohua stood there for a while, but her attempt to gain attention failed, and she was instead ignored by Su Xiaoqi.
She immediately became furious.
Straightening her back, she glared at Su Xiaoqi and said, "Madam Su, can't you see? I, the Princess of Zhou, am standing before you. Why don't you quickly rise and pay your respects?"
Su Xiaoqi continued to look at her nails, speaking softly to Du Yiyi, as if the Princess of Zhou, Zhao Xiaohua, didn't exist at all.
Zhao Xiaohua was ignored by Su Xiaoqi once more.
She was naturally short-tempered. She had intended to cultivate grace and elegance now that she was a princess.
Indeed, she usually maintained her composure quite well.
But at this moment, she couldn't hold back any longer. She reached out to pull Su Xiaoqi.
A cold glint flashed in Su Xiaoqi's eyes. She stopped Du Yiyi and Zhang Yu, who were about to help her, and stood up.
Since Zhao Xiaohua had become the Princess of Zhou, Su Xiaoqi naturally had to prepare a wedding gift for her.
Su Xiaoqi hadn't been in a hurry to send it, intending to do so gradually.
But since Zhao Xiaohua was so impatient, Su Xiaoqi had no choice but to speed things up, not wanting to keep her waiting.
After Su Xiaoqi stood up, her body suddenly swayed, and she fell.
"Princess..." Zhang Yu cried out in alarm, rushing to help her.
Du Yiyi also hastily pulled at her.
"Ah... Princess of Zhou, why did you push me? Even if you are a princess, I am also a princess, and my rank is no lower than yours. Just because I didn't pay my respects to you immediately, you pushed me? Sob, sob, if you push me, you push me, but I'm also carrying the heir's child..."
Su Xiaoqi began to cry on cue, tears welling up to her eyes, looking pitiful.
"That's right, Zhao Xiaohua, don't go too far!" Du Yiyi was startled and stepped forward, about to grab Zhao Xiaohua's collar.
Su Xiaoqi grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back.
Du Yiyi was confused and tried to comfort her. "Sister Xiaoqi, don't be afraid of her. If she dares to bully you with her status, we won't be easily intimidated..."
Before Du Yiyi could finish speaking, Su Xiaoqi abruptly winked at her.
Du Yiyi was not foolish. Seeing this, she immediately understood.
It turned out her Sister Xiaoqi was planning to manipulate Zhao Xiaohua and had deliberately set a trap.
Once she understood, she immediately shouted out.
"You, Princess of Zhou, you know Princess Anqi is pregnant and are deliberately causing trouble, aren't you? It was one thing when you secretly admired my brother-in-law before, but now that you are married, you are still behaving like this... Bullying my Sister Xiaoqi with your status."
Du Yiyi, once she understood, became a great help.
Su Xiaoqi didn't have to do anything throughout the ordeal. She simply lay in Zhang Yu's arms, whimpering and crying a little.
When she had cried enough, she slightly opened her eyes and looked at Zhao Xiaohua.
Zhao Xiaohua's face was pale, and she was gritting her teeth in anger. She wanted to say something, but her eloquence couldn't match Du Yiyi's quick wit.
Furthermore, she had to be mindful of her status, which made it difficult for her to speak her mind.
Therefore, everyone believed Du Yiyi's account.
After all, what she said was what had actually happened.
Everyone present was neither deaf nor blind. Zhao Xiaohua had set her sights on Su Xiaoqi as soon as she arrived, and her shouting had been noticed by everyone.
Thus, Du Yiyi didn't have to work hard to make everyone believe her words.
"Ah... my stomach..." Su Xiaoqi timely clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.
Since Zhao Xiaohua wanted to use her status to bully her, Su Xiaoqi wouldn't blame herself.
For a long time, Zhao Xiaohua had attacked her in various ways, both openly and covertly.
However, either she was too busy, or Zhao Xiaohua was too quick to escape, and Su Xiaoqi had never managed to deal with her.
Today, Zhao Xiaohua had delivered herself into her hands.