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  The next day, Ming Xuan received a notice from Kun Ning Palace that Empress Pei summoned her to enter the palace for an audience on the sixth day of the first month. The golden invitation card with the phoenix seal shone brightly, representing the dignity of the Zhou Dynasty's empress dowager, leaving no room for doubt. Not to mention that she was not yet visibly pregnant, even if she were about to give birth, this trip was also unavoidable.

  What made her hesitate in surprise was that the empress had also invited Huang Yi.

  The eunuch who conveyed the imperial edict handed over a similarly worded notice to Ming Xuan with great respect, "Her Majesty the Empress has heard that a noble guest has arrived at the Anping Wangfu and wishes to meet this yellow-robed maiden from Lin Nan. When the Wangfei enters the palace for an audience three days later, she must bring the yellow-robed maiden along."

  Ming Xuan had no choice but to accept the invitation, and Yanyi took a thick red envelope and handed it to the palace staff, only then did they send the people from Kun Ning Palace away.

  Luckily, she had discussed with Pei Jingchen the previous night about the emperor's suspicious behavior, so she roughly understood that the emperor finally thought of using Miao Village's power to restrain Lin Nan Wang. At this time, she didn't feel overly frightened. However, even if it was so, whether it was to win over or coerce Huang Yi to order Miao Village, these things shouldn't have been done by the empress herself. The imperial edict from Empress Pei came too quickly, and the tone of the eunuch who delivered the edict was too severe, making her feel somewhat uneasy, fearing that the emperor might come up with the idea of letting Huang Yi enter the palace as a concubine to win over Miao Village.

  After some thought, this matter actually involves Huang Yi, so Ming Xuan had Dan Hong go invite Huang Yi over.

  Huang Yi didn't think much of it, and after hearing the whole story, she smiled carelessly and said, "If the Empress wants to see me, then I'll go let her see. Although our Miao village is far away from worldly affairs and has its own system, at the end of the day, we are still subjects of the Zhou Dynasty. Even if it were my father or brother here, they couldn't disobey the imperial court's intentions. Besides, what exactly does the Emperor and Empress have in mind? It's better to see them to understand clearly."

  Her expression was relaxed, and she gently patted Ming Xuan's shoulder. "Xuan Jie is fine in everything, but there's just one thing - you think too much about things. Just because the Empress Dowager issued an edict summoning me to the palace for an audience, you thought that the Emperor would really make me a concubine...".

  The girl in yellow lifted her head, revealing a bright smile. "We Miao people are skilled at using poison, how could the emperor allow a woman who can kill him with just a pinch of her finger to be by his side? Because our tribespeople are all skilled at using poison and always have these lovely little darlings by their side, outsiders can't help but misunderstand that we're all heartless as snakes and scorpions. But my father said this is also the reason why the Zhou royal court and the Lin Nan king don't dare to easily attack us."

  She thought for a moment, then suddenly said with a hopeful and slightly shy expression, "If the Emperor wants to grant me and Brother Jing a marriage, that would be wonderful!"

  Her union with Gu Yuanjing was fraught with difficulties, and if not for the Emperor's arrangement, it would have been a very difficult thing to achieve. To say nothing of Miao Village's own father and brother's attitude, she had already agreed to marry Gu Yuanjing after throwing tantrums and making a scene. However, Gu Yuanjing's side was not easy to deal with, as he was a high-ranking official of the Zhou Dynasty and had ancestral elders in his clan; marriage was not something that could be decided by personal desire, unless he were to sever ties with his family and leave the imperial court.

  Even if Gu Yuanjing is willing to give up everything for Huang Yi, wanting to extricate himself is not that simple.

  A hint of pity flashed in Ming Xuan's eyes, and she whispered, "In the next few days, let's discuss how to behave when we enter the palace. No matter what Empress Pei's intentions are, there will be a way out. Let's wait and see."

  On the sixth day of the first month, Ming Xuan wore a heavy Wangfei's ceremonial attire and led Huang Yi into the palace.

  Huang Yi didn't wear the traditional Miao ethnic clothing, instead wearing a simple yet elegant silk dress that was popular among young noblewomen in Shengjing. Firstly, because the imperial summons only mentioned "noble guest" without explicitly stating Huang Yi's Miao ethnicity, she didn't need to draw attention with overly flashy attire; secondly, it was her own private intention - having decided not to marry Gu Yuanjing, she wanted to learn how to be a true Shengjing woman, starting from dressing and grooming.

  The horse carriage of the Anping Wangfu stopped inside the Anhe Gate, and Ming Xuan pulled Huang Yi out of the carriage. Huang Yi entered the sedan chair first, and Ming Xuan was about to follow when she suddenly heard a loud horseshoe sound behind her. She subconsciously turned around and saw a black figure jumping off his horse in front of the Anhe Gate, taking off his armor and handing it over to the guards before entering a soft sedan chair heading towards the Huangji Hall.

  She slightly hesitated, then shook her head and lifted the curtain to enter inside.

  "Huang Yi didn't understand, and asked in a low voice, 'What's wrong with Xuan Jie? Why did she dawdle outside for so long before getting into the sedan?'"

  Ming Xuan smiled wryly and replied, "I saw an acquaintance."

  Fate is sometimes a carefully designed circle, and by relying on one's own efforts, one can gradually break free from its influence. However, before long, one will inevitably fall back into its trap, and suddenly realize that no matter how many methods are tried to alter the predetermined trajectory, they all seem powerless. Some things are indeed predestined, and there is no escape.

  At first, Ming Xuan was both afraid and fearful of Han Xiuxiu because she despised him for what he had done to her past life. She naturally felt a strong dislike towards him and tried her best to avoid any interaction with him. However, after countless entanglements and struggles, he finally became what she wanted, but fate made him the younger brother of her husband from a different mother. Thus, when she saw his cold and stern back, she couldn't help but feel complicated emotions.

  The sedan chair stopped not far from the Kun Ning Palace, and the palace staff helped Ming Xuan and Huang Yi down from the sedan. With respect, they explained, "The Empress Dowager has been having nightmares every night for many days, and drinking a lot of medicine hasn't relieved her symptoms. We invited a monitor from the Imperial Observatory to take a look, but he didn't know what was wrong either. He said that within 49 days, the main gate of the Kun Ning Palace cannot be opened."

  "We'll have to trouble Princess Anping and Miss to take a walk through the side door."

  Ming Xuan's eyebrows furrowed quickly, but her face didn't reveal anything. She said lightly, "Since it's the Empress Dowager's taboo, let's take the side door."

  She came back last time through the main gate of Kun Ning Palace, and the carriage stopped directly at the door. After entering the gate and passing through the courtyard, it was the main hall. This time, she had to walk through the side door, but she had to go around a long corridor to reach the west side door. This side door was actually always open, and some of the palace ladies would take this shortcut when they came to pay their respects to the empress dowager. However, as a guest, it wasn't proper for her to use this entrance.

  A few steps forward was a fake mountain, and Ming Xuan vaguely heard the sound of quarreling and faint crying coming from behind the fake mountain.

  The eunuch's face changed, and he smiled awkwardly at Ming Xuan, "The palace maids are so bold, they actually dared to quarrel in front of the Kun Ning Palace gate, it's really laughable for Your Highness to see. Please wait a moment, I'll call someone to chase them away, lest they disturb Your Highness."

  She bowed slightly and hurried away.

  Before long, several guards brought out three or four palace maids from behind the fake mountain. Each of them was disheveled and had scratches on their faces. One thin and weak maid was still sobbing softly, while another slightly taller one stood firmly in front of her, trying to prevent the guards from harming her. The other two looked like defeated roosters, hanging their heads in silence, with very low spirits.

  The eunuch's movements were somewhat rough, and it seemed that he had hurt the frail palace maid. A slightly taller one shouted in a loud voice, "I and Yuehe are both from Yonghe Palace. Although our master is no longer here, the emperor goes to Yonghe Palace on the 15th of every month to sit for a while. If you hurt her, I will make sure that you have a hard time even if I die."

  The eunuchs did not say a word, and with a flick of their sleeves, they slapped the two tall palace maids on the ears. "Fighting in front of the Kunning Palace is already a serious crime, yet you dare to spout nonsense in front of Princess Anping? What if we were people from the Yonghe Palace? The most important rule in the palace is that even when the Empress Dowager was alive, she would not have allowed you to make a big noise in front of the Kunning Palace and disturb the peace of the Empress."

  Ming Xuan's eyes slightly drooped, and she felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart.

  Yonghe Palace's Yuan Fei is her elder sister, and the palace maid who led the way to Kun Ning Palace couldn't possibly not know. No matter what those tall palace maids and that one called Yue He got themselves into, it was strange that the palace maid fanned Yonghe Palace's maid in front of her own face while repeatedly mentioning Yuan Fei.

  It's as if it was deliberately trying to get my attention.

  The tall and majestic palace maid was taken aback, she turned her head to face Ming Xuan and asked in a trembling voice, "Are you Princess Anping? Are you the seventh young lady of the Gu family from Yongning Houfu?"

  Ming Xuan nodded slightly, "That's right, I am Princess Anping, also the seventh young lady of the Gu family in Yongning Houfu."

  The tall and majestic palace maid, Yuehe, upon hearing this, immediately knelt down with a thud, "Seventh Miss, we servants are the personal palace maids who served by the side of the former Empress Dowager. You are our mistress's own sister, so you must take charge for our mistress's sake. Our mistress...

  Before their words had fallen, the attendants came forward and again pinioned them. It seemed to have been done with some violence, for they winced with pain, and could not continue speaking consecutively.

  The eunuch hastily replied to Ming Huan, "The princess invites you to go inside, the empress has been waiting for a long time!"

  Ming Xuan's heart was filled with doubts, but at this moment she couldn't help but move forward. She could only gaze thoughtfully at the two palace maids before turning her head and following the leading palace maid's footsteps to continue on their way.

  The palace maid led Ming Xuan and Huang Yi into the main hall, where Empress Pei was reclining on a golden phoenix couch, her eyes closed as if meditating. Upon hearing the sound, she opened her eyes, and a faint, weak smile appeared on her pale face. "It's Eldest Sister who has arrived. Quickly, offer a seat to Princess Anping!"

  It is unknown whether Empress Pei had nightmares every night, but her complexion was indeed not very good, which was true.

  Ming Xuan slightly blocked the yellow-clothed woman in front of her, leading her to bow together with Empress Pei, and then sat down on a small stool without being polite. The yellow-clothed woman stood obediently behind her.

  Her face showed a respectful yet somewhat distant smile. "I don't know why Your Majesty has summoned me today, is there something you wish to instruct me on?"

  Respect is because Empress Pei is the mother of a country, estrangement is a predetermined position.

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