Chapter 348: Chapter 348: The Suffering Wife VS The Mistress (Part Thirty-Four) Chapter 348: Chapter 348: The Suffering Wife VS The Mistress (Part Thirty-Four) On the day of the Winter Solstice, the Empress hosted a banquet in the palace.
It was the first time she had hosted a banquet since the grand wedding of the Emperor and Empress, naturally, the significance was extraordinary,
All the Noble Ladies with Imperial Titles donned their ceremonial robes, representing their status and made every effort to leave a good impression on the young Empress.
Zhang Mingshu was no exception.
Seated in her designated place, she listened as a eunuch called out in a piercingly high tone, “The Empress has arrived!”
She knelt down, not daring to raise her head until that high and mighty individual had taken her seat at the head of the hall, then rose along with everyone else.
Zhang Mingshu was very curious about the Empress; she was the Grand Tutor’s legitimate daughter and was originally to be the Crown Princess of the Prince of Zhenbei’s Mansion.
But now, she had become the Empress, representing the mother of the nation, while Mingshu herself had taken up the position originally destined for her.
She also noticed that many glances were being directed at her, not subtly trying to gauge the Empress’s attitude toward the Crown Princess of Zhenbei.
Unfortunately, to the disappointment of many, Gu Shengyin had remained aloof from beginning to end, not giving Zhang Mingshu even a glance.
It was Zhang Mingshu who finally could not restrain herself from looking towards the high seat.
Upon looking, she was so startled that she overturned the wine cup in her hand, spilling the aftermath all over her skirt.
At once, many giggled quietly, contemptuously scoffing at the Crown Princess of Zhenbei for her lack of decorum. But Zhang Mingshu had no time to bother with these people.
This Empress, was unmistakably Sister Meng!
Then, those words she had once spoken to her… Zhang Mingshu broke out in a cold sweat.
At that time, she had been her cousin’s fiancee, yet she had spoken in front of her about how deeply she and her cousin were in love, even cursing her as sinister.
Zhang Mingshu now wished she could shrink into the ground so the person at the head could not see her.
But unfortunately, Gu Shengyin had been paying attention to her all along. Zhang Mingshu only saw the person at the high seat say something, then a female official walked towards her.
She was terrified, afraid that the Empress intended to deal with her, and had not yet spoken when she got up and knelt down.
“This humble consort is guilty…” she heard murmurs of laughter around her.
The female official seemed to be startled as well, exclaiming, “Crown Princess, please get up quickly. I am following the Empress’s orders to take you to a quiet room to change your clothes.”
Zhang Mingshu felt excessively embarrassed at that moment.
She followed the female official into the quiet room, the official left to fetch clean clothes, and she waited for a long time until she heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Turning around, she saw the person she least wanted to meet at this moment.
“How dare you!” Now a Senior Palace Maid in Kunyi Palace, Jian Jia had gradually cultivated a formidable presence, “Do you not salute upon seeing the Empress?”
Zhang Mingshu hurriedly knelt down, pleading to Gu Shengyin, “Empress, please show mercy. At that time, I did not know it was you. Please consider it as the nonsense of a sick person…”
She knew well that if Gu Shengyin wanted to act against her, it would hardly take more than a word.
Gu Shengyin looked at the terrified and completely uncomposed Zhang Mingshu, feeling truly that Liang Chenyu did not deserve to be supplanted by such a woman.
“What is the Crown Princess talking about? I cannot understand a single word. I was merely concerned as the Crown Princess did not come out, I came to see if all was well. Could it be the Crown Princess drank too much and started talking nonsense?”