The banquet was the highlight of today's palace banquet.
In the afternoon, it was free time for everyone. Since entering the palace was not easy, the noble ladies and madams who were invited went to Changyin Pavilion to watch the opera. Everyone cherished the rare opportunity to meet up and gathered in groups of three to five to chat casually, mostly getting together to gossip about Mrs. Lin's return to the Duke of Guo's residence.
At the winter hunt years ago, Mrs. Lin committed suicide at Xueya Cliff, shocking the imperial court and the public.
And now she had come back safe and sound, with so many ugly scars on her face. After drifting among the commoners for so many years, no one knew whether she had been violated by other men given her looks.
Several madams sat by the waterside pavilion, covering their mouths exaggeratedly with their kerchiefs and sneering coldly, "How shameless of her, Mrs. Lin, to still show her face and come back like this?"
Back then, they had coveted the young Duke of Zhao who was still a boy, but did not expect he would be snatched away by the insignificant Mrs. Lin.
Now that Mrs. Lin was back, they just wanted to see her make a fool of herself.
The Duke brought her back openly and uprightly only because he had to for the sake of the Crown Prince.
Mrs. Lin must have already lost her chastity. How could she still gain favor?
Mrs. Lin could feel the malice from them. Not in the mood to reminisce with those gossipy women, she was brought by Gu Ying and Gu Shuang to a pavilion in the Imperial Garden to sit for a while.
With Yin Lan and Yanzhi guarding nearby, no one dared to approach this place.
Mrs. Lin still had some panic in her eyes and her expression was tense, but she sat up straight with not a hint of cowering before Concubine Wan.
Gu Ying sat down in front of her and held her cold fingers. She paused for a moment, then said, "Mother, what exactly happened to you? Can you tell me about it?"
Gu Shuang accompanied at the side and asked worriedly as well, "Mrs. Zhao, did you offend Concubine Wan?"
Over the years, Concubine Wan still enjoyed the holy favor and was overbearing and arrogant, looking down on everyone.
But her attitude towards Mrs. Lin was somewhat strange, seeming to deliberately target her, yet also deliberately provoke her.
Gu Ying frowned tightly, gently caressing Mrs. Lin’s trembling fingertips, smiling to comfort her, "Mother, it’s fine if you don't want to say. We'll be leaving the palace today and won't intersect with Concubine Wan anymore. Don't be afraid, mother. The present is different from the past. The Crown Prince and I are still here. We will surely protect mother completely."
Gu Shuang nodded busily in agreement. The Crown Prince held great power and relied on His Majesty, so Concubine Wan as a favored concubine could not do much.
But Mrs. Lin's lips couldn't help but tremble. "Ying, I..."
Gu Ying looked at her calmly, hoping she could trust her a little more. She also knew what Mrs. Lin wanted to say.
Meeting Gu Ying’s sincere gaze, Mrs. Lin sighed and said, "These words... I originally intended to take to the coffin with me. But now that I have chosen to return to the Duke of Guo's residence, with my life's honor and disgrace tied to Adu, I have to say it... only... Fourth Young Lady... you..."
She understood the rules of survival among the nobility. But after living a carefree life for too long, she had forgotten that prosperous and luxurious days were like an inescapable cage.
During the year plus she was married to Zhao Hui, she was on tenterhooks for a year, not daring to let down her guard for a year, let alone entrust her true feelings to anyone.
Later, for Adu's sake, she also learned to flatter and defer to those aloof noble ladies.
But the result was... devastating damage.
Now she was worried that her past would implicate Gu Shuang.
Gu Shuang quickly waved her hand with a harmless smile, shyly saying, "I'm here with Second Sister. Mrs. Zhao doesn't have to avoid me. My lips are sealed."
Gu Ying smiled helplessly, "Although little sister is simple-minded, she also knows propriety and distinguishes priorities. Mother need not worry."
Mrs. Lin paused for a moment, murmuring softly, "This is a long story..."
Her gaze became distant as she recalled her maiden days.
She too had carefree days where she only followed Father and Mother up the mountain to gather herbs, or immersed herself in all kinds of prescriptions, making medicine, healing, saving people. It seemed that apart from her patients, she had no other troubles in life.
Her senior brothers all doted on her very much, especially Eldest Senior Brother, who took meticulous care of her, allowing her to grow to sixteen without realizing the many complex entanglements between men and women.
Not until she was noticed by the old Duke of Guo and got betrothed to Zhao Hui did her life undergo a complete change.
Originally an unknown, she was frequently targeted after the engagement, and every household would invite her to their spring garden parties and poetry meets.
As long as she went, more often than not those young ladies of good families would deliberately make things difficult for her.
There were too many girls who liked Zhao Hui. At that time, among the unmarried girls of marriageable age in the imperial capital, none did not want to marry him. Zhao Rou from a prestigious background had always looked down on her as the future sister-in-law, and would join those girls in ridiculing and bullying her.
As a result, she suffered a lot of torment and contempt.
She did not like the rules and regulations of those powerful families to begin with, but as Zhao Hui's fiancée, there were some things she could not refuse, especially that one time...
After Concubine Wan was brought into the palace by His Majesty, at a palace banquet, Concubine Wan heard that her family had practiced medicine for generations and gleefully had her brought to Yilan Hall to take her pulse.
The magnificent, gilded palace was illuminated with lanterns, clearly showing the favored concubine's prestige.
That day, she thought this was just an ordinary, perfectly normal pulse...
But that night, the newborn little prince lay in a small bed beside Concubine Wan, a baby the size of a palm... lying in the luxurious swaddling clothes.
Not long after she placed her hand on Concubine Wan's pulse, she discovered an earth-shattering secret.
Concubine Wan's body was weak, clearly damaged by taking labor-inducing drugs, and the Crown Prince was obviously premature, yet His Majesty said the child was born full term...
She did not hide her panic, abruptly withdrawing her hand and staring blankly at the woman sitting on the noble concubine's couch.
Concubine Wan was a shrewd person. She remained unperturbed at the moment, but her gaze was piercing, demanding medicine from her to nourish her body for the future when she could bear more little princes and princesses for His Majesty.
How could that be possible... Labor-inducing drugs severely damaged a woman's body. With Concubine Wan's current physical condition, she was afraid it would be extremely difficult for her to conceive again in the future.
No matter how brilliant her skills, it would be impossible for her to allow Concubine Wan to conceive imperial offspring again.
She lowered her head in terror, collected the pulse cushion into the medicine box, perfunctorily agreed, then left the palace.
But after that day, Concubine Wan had people summon her every few days.
Each time she entered the palace, she was nervous and anxious, not daring to expose that she had seen through the concubine's secret.
Before long, she also became pregnant... Rumors that the Crown Prince was not born of His Majesty also circulated in and outside the palace for a period of time.
She pleaded with Zhao Hui to decline Concubine Wan’s invitations on her behalf.
Zhao Hui looked at her coldly and sneered, "Are you, a lady of the Lin family, so pretentious that you can treat commoners with your medical skills yet cannot treat the favored concubine of the present?"
She turned pale. Caressing her belly, her heart was uneasy, helpless, and afraid.
But he spoke mockingly, "Lin Yushan, you're nothing more than this."
