Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 173 Plum Appreciation Banquet

Outside the palace, at the Xie residence.

At dinner time, Xie Mingshen started talking casually at the table.

"I heard that the Empress is going to hold a plum blossom appreciation banquet in the palace and has invited the female members of the imperial family to the palace."

Xie Wei's eyes flickered. "I've heard about it too. It's in five days. The invitations from the palace have already been sent out today. Now is the time to appreciate the plum blossoms."

"This plum blossom viewing banquet is probably not as simple as it seems," Xie Mingshen said calmly. "Did Consort Jin say anything about it?"

When he asked this question, his gaze fell on the Fan family.

It's always easier for women to communicate, and there are always more reasons to do so. Xie Jiu has also exchanged messages with the Xie family several times during this period through the Fan family.

Madam Fan naturally understood his meaning and shook her head. "Since Her Majesty has not sent a message, why don't I ask her?"

“Alright, I always felt that the Emperor had other plans, so it would be better if we were well-informed.” Xie Mingshen nodded, once again appearing to be thinking of his family.

After dinner, the young couple returned to their own courtyard, and Xie Wei took the initiative to speak.

"Consort Jin has not sent any message home, so she probably doesn't know the intricacies behind this plum blossom banquet. Otherwise, she would have sent a message. Now that he's asking you to inquire, isn't that clearly telling Consort Jin to investigate in the palace for him?"

Xie Wei felt sorry for his sister's situation in the palace and didn't want Xie Jiu to do anything for the family.

"Don't worry, I know what to do. It won't trouble Your Majesty. If we don't take any action, it might arouse suspicion," Madam Fan comforted her gently.

After speaking, Madam Fan closed all the doors and windows before sitting down next to Xie Wei and saying in a deep voice.

“My father-in-law seems to have left the manor quietly these past two days. Steward Liang helped cover for him, but I’m not quite sure. The old woman guarding the gate didn’t see him with her own eyes, but she said that the figure was very similar.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Wei's eyes widened slightly.

"If he really did sneak out, where could he have gone? Could he have secretly gone to meet those Xichi people?"

“I guess it’s probably true, otherwise why would they hide it?” Madam Fan nodded, her brows furrowing slightly. “I’m worried that since my father-in-law is acting behind our backs, this matter might not be brought to light.”

That's for sure. If people can know about it, why not just go out openly?

Xie Wei understood this, and his expression immediately darkened.

"Have your men keep an eye on him. Next time he goes out, I'll secretly follow him to check on him."

Madam Fan looked worried. "This is not a good idea. If it gets noticed, it could cause a lot of trouble."

"It's alright. Song Qing has practiced martial arts since he was a child and has been with me for many years. I'll let him investigate; there shouldn't be any problems," Xie Wei said in a deep voice.

Songqing was Xie Wei's personal servant, and he had taken him with him when they went to Lizhou. Madam Fan was somewhat at ease with him and didn't say anything more.

As for sending messages to the palace, Lady Fan naturally had to make a show of it as well.

It was said that some jewelry and trinkets were prepared for Princess Wenxi and sent to the palace.

They hadn't expected to receive a reply, but Xie Jiu immediately guessed what was going on after receiving the package.

"My sister-in-law is just feeling sorry for me. I guess she's putting on a show for my father after she's gotten what she wanted."

Qingfang asked, puzzled, "What is Master planning to do now? There's nothing much happening in the court lately."

"If there's none in the court, there's in the palace. Nothing can escape his suspicion. He can sniff out anything and come right away, his nose is sharper than a dog's." Xie Jiu's eyes were filled with sarcasm.

Upon hearing this, Qingfang immediately realized what was happening.

"A plum blossom appreciation banquet?"

Aside from this novel incident, there's nothing else. "That's really something, they're keeping a close eye on things," Qingfang said, pursing her lips.

Xie Jiu was too lazy to say anything, so he picked up his pen, wrote a few lines of small characters, and handed them to Qingfang.

Before long, they were sent out of the palace.

Fan was somewhat surprised to receive the note, but he quickly smiled.

"Consort Jin is very perceptive."

Later, when Xie Mingshen returned to his residence, he told him that the reason why the imperial clanswoman had entered the palace was to select suitable women to marry to young and talented men in the court, in order to win over the court officials.

This method is common, so Xie Mingshen had no further doubts.

Meanwhile, the plum blossom appreciation banquet in the palace was held on time and smoothly.

There were no male guests present today; all those present were female members of the Zhao clan. The Empress, dressed in a gold-patterned peony palace gown, was remarkably dignified and elegant, perfectly embodying the demeanor of a national mother.

Consort Zhuang was as radiant as ever, wearing an orange-red embroidered padded jacket and skirt, her hair styled in a flying fairy bun, and the red gold and ruby ​​hair ornaments on her head shone brightly in the sunlight.

Then there's Chen Meiren, young and charming, wearing a pink cross-collar belted long dress with silver lotus patterns, and a white cape with a rabbit fur collar, making her look pretty and cute.

The others didn't put much effort into dressing up.

Consort Wei was always proper and dignified, wearing a bamboo-green dress and a jade headdress, looking elegant and graceful; Consort Liu, on the other hand, wore a lilac-purple palace dress, which suited her delicate and refined temperament.

Xie Jiu arrived a little late because she had gone to Chang Le Palace to pick up Princess Wenxi before coming to the Plum Garden. She was still dressed simply.

She wore a light purple long jacket with cloud and goose patterns, over which she wore a creamy white pleated long skirt. Her headdress was simple, consisting of a few pearl flowers and two or three plain silver and mutton fat jade hairpins.

At first glance, she doesn't seem to have the air of a favored concubine.

However, as everyone knows, Consort Jin's birth mother had recently passed away, so Xie Jiu dressed simply and no one said anything.

"Your Majesty, I am late. Please forgive me." Xie Jiu bowed.

Princess Wenxi stood beside her and bowed in return.

The Empress appeared very gentle and magnanimous in front of everyone.

He waved his hand with a smile, "It's alright, the banquet hasn't started yet. You've come at just the right time. Please take your seat."

Xie Jiu nodded, and then, under everyone's gaze, led Princess Wenxi to sit down in her seat.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin." The Empress smiled and raised her cup first. "I rarely hold banquets like this. It's a rare occasion for us relatives to get together like this. There are no outsiders here today, and we're all women, so everyone should relax. It's still early, so after this drink, let's take a stroll in the plum garden."

Princess Heng was the first to offer her support, speaking with a smile.

"My sister-in-law is usually so busy that we don't have time to spare. We wanted to go to the palace to pay our respects to the Empress, but we were afraid of disturbing her. When we learned that my sister-in-law was holding this plum blossom appreciation banquet, we were very happy. The little girl was overjoyed. As soon as she received the invitation, she started picking out clothes and getting ready. She's not very old, but she loves to look beautiful!"

Princess Heng had a son and a daughter. Her daughter was older, the same age as Princess Lingyi, and was granted the title of Princess Jianing.

The Empress was also very kind, saying, "It's perfectly normal for young ladies to love beauty. Jia Ning is so lovely and adorable, she should be dressed up even more. When she grows up, she will be a beautiful young lady."

"How can she compare to the princesses? She's just a mischievous girl," Princess Heng teased.

This quickly enlivened the atmosphere on the field.

Xie Jiu didn't participate in the conversation among these wealthy women. At this moment, her eyes were already quickly searching through the crowd for the few targets she wanted to make contact with first today.

Zhao Jing, the second daughter of the Earl of Pingyang; Zhao Ruoheng, the fourth daughter of the Marquis of Wuxin; and Zhao Zhiyu, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Qing'an.

If nothing unexpected happens, the princess to be given to Gao Sui will be chosen from these three women.