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Chapter 582 Phoenix Robe
Lady Yan was taken aback. Just as she was about to say something to the Duke of Yan in front of outsiders, she saw Zhao Bi with a dark expression. He put his hand on her back, pretending to support her, while subtly pushing her forward, saying, "How can this servant be so reckless? The weather is getting a bit chilly. I'll take you back to change your clothes first."

Lady Yan realized that there seemed to be something she didn't know, and it must be bad, otherwise her husband wouldn't have such an expression. So she quickly quickened her pace, and the Duke of Yan escorted her aside, having two maids who usually served Lady Yan accompany her to the inner quarters.

Afterwards, he sat back down as if nothing had happened, raised his wine glass and said loudly, "I apologize to everyone. My servants were impetuous and spoiled your enjoyment."

My wife is not young anymore and can't stand the cold. I've asked someone to help her dry off and change her clothes. Let's continue."

From beginning to end, he seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss with his wife's clothes.

Since he appeared so calm, the other guests naturally didn't say anything, and they responded in kind, raising their glasses to toast him. The atmosphere at the banquet gradually recovered from the previous silence.

While it's said to have recovered, things are actually not quite the same. Before, everyone's face was full of flattery and fawning, but now, although their attitude is still respectful, you can also sense a slight sense of distance.

After that, Lady Yan never came out from the back again. It was unknown whether she was entertaining the female guests in the inner quarters or simply hiding away.

After a while, people got up one after another to say goodbye, and the reasons were varied. Some said they couldn't hold their liquor and were feeling dizzy, while others said they had an emergency at home and needed to go back. The reasons they came up with were all sorts of things.

Since the guest wanted to leave and gave a very reasonable reason, the Duke of Yan could not refuse. He calmly saw the guest off, but one could see that there was already some coldness in his eyes.

As for leaving early, once someone brings it up, many others will naturally follow suit. After all, it's difficult to be the first to speak up, it's awkward to sit and wait until the end to leave, and it's even more embarrassing to stay.

Some officials in the court who held high positions and had a close relationship with Duke Yan were too embarrassed to leave, as they couldn't bring themselves to say so due to their relationship. Most of those who were in a hurry to leave were people who weren't originally on the same side as Duke Yan. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, they were eager to distance themselves, fearing that they would end up with nothing and that if Duke Yan caused trouble, they, as his accomplices, would be implicated.

Lu Qing nudged Zhu Yu with her elbow and gave her a wink. The two of them then mingled into the crowd and headed out while many people were saying goodbye and leaving.

Anyway, their table consisted of insignificant distant relatives. Since the Duke's mansion was hosting a birthday banquet, they had to be notified as a matter of routine. So they shamelessly came, and nobody paid any attention to them. They just blended into the crowd and left without even having to say hello.

The two of them walked silently among the guests leaving the mansion. They didn't walk fast either. After leaving the mansion, because there were so many guests, many of the carriages were parked quite far apart. As they walked out, the people around them, who were originally silent, couldn't help but start whispering among themselves.

Zhu Yu and Lu Qing walked silently, their ears constantly picking up on the whispers around them.

"It's all your fault for meddling!" A person walking behind Zhu Yu and Lu Qing was quietly scolding the person in front of him. Judging from the tone, the person next to him was probably one of his retainers or something. "I told you that we didn't have any dealings with the Zhao family before, and it's really unrealistic to try to curry favor with them now. But you insisted that it's better to do it later than not at all. Trying it will only cost you some gifts, but if we don't try, we can only watch others prosper in the future!"
Now look what's happened! The gift was delivered, and this whole thing has turned into a disaster at the banquet!

With so many people, so many eyes, and so many mouths at today's banquet, there are no secrets in this world. With so many people watching, there are probably more holes in the wall than in a sieve!

"If word gets to the Emperor's ears, and he thinks that so many of us are gathered together, with the Duchess in her phoenix robe... he might even think we're all in cahoots, plotting something!"

"My lord, things have come to this point, there's no use in saying anything more."

Your Majesty is wise. If an investigation is conducted and it is found that we left the banquet first, wouldn't that also prove that we were unaware of those who were not on the same path as them?
Furthermore, the Duke of Yan couldn't just do nothing; he would definitely have to find a way to get rid of this trouble.

"No one could have predicted what would happen today, and don't you find it strange? Even if the Duke of Yan had such intentions, and actually obtained something taboo, he should have kept it hidden in the inner quarters, examining it secretly himself. How could he have so openly spread it around in front of so many people?"

"If water hadn't been splashed on her, she wouldn't have known she was wearing a phoenix robe!"

"Uh... I have no idea..."

"So you see! Maybe their clothes have some hidden meaning. They know they're wearing dragons and phoenixes, but we don't. Everyone comes to offer birthday wishes in such a proper manner, isn't that also a bit like paying homage?"
Maybe they were just secretly trying to have this experience, but a basin of water exposed their secret!

"That's enough! It's too late to think about it now. I need to be more careful these days and avoid causing any trouble!"

Zhu Yu and Lu Qing continued walking in silence, gradually overhearing snippets of conversation.

Clearly, the version they heard from the manager at the Tse-Leg Workshop had already spread to the public. Now, there are differing opinions about the origin of the Flowing Cloud Silk. Some people believe that it was a new product woven by the Tse-Leg Workshop, which was taken away by the Duke of Yan's Mansion as soon as it was acquired.

Others believed that if such rare fabric was woven by a tuxedo workshop, they could spin more and sell it at a high price to the women of other high-ranking officials and nobles, just like many times before, collecting deposits first and then delivering the finished garments after the nobles' fame had died down.

This way, other noblewomen could also compete in beauty and elegance without offending the favored concubines in the palace.

Only this "Flowing Clouds and Clouds" horse is so rare that the Tse-Lhoe Workshop insists they only have this one; they can't make a second one.

Isn't it obvious that this thing was obtained by the Duke of Yan, who dared not admit it out of taboo, and used the name of the Tse-Leg Workshop to make clothes for his own wife?