Wrongfully executed and drowned, the legitimate daughter is reborn and marries the emperor.

Chapter 226 Palace Banquet

The Imperial Garden is a picturesque sight.

The banquet was held in the Nuanyu Pavilion in the Imperial Garden, which is near the water, cool and comfortable, and offers beautiful views of the Imperial Garden.

Shen Yuan followed the palace maid and found her seat.

Only one palace maid could be brought into the palace this time, so Shen Yuan only brought Bai Zhi.

When Bai Zhi first entered the palace, she was overwhelmed by the magnificent palace. She looked around as if she were visiting a city for the first time, her eyes filled with curiosity and awe. However, she dared not let anyone see that she was unsophisticated and thus looked down on her young mistress. So, Bai Zhi desperately suppressed the urge to look around, only using the corner of her eye to observe the beauty of the palace.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan couldn't help but laugh, so after sitting down she said to Bai Zhi, "After the banquet, the Emperor should allow us to stroll around the Imperial Garden. I'll take you for a walk around this area then."

Bai Zhi's eyes were filled with surprise: "Thank you, Miss."

After a pause, Bai Zhi continued, "Miss is indeed worthy of being called Miss. No matter where she is or when, she can remain calm and composed."

Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.

Because this wasn't her first time visiting the palace.

Every time Xiao Yunyan went out, she was served by twenty or thirty maids. Sometimes, when there weren't enough people, she would be sent to serve Xiao Yunyan. In addition, for a period of time, Xiao Yunyan liked to take her with her wherever she went so that she could torment her at any time. Therefore, she was fortunate enough to come to the palace a few times.

She had already experienced the luxury of the palace.

The white jade bird's nest soup that Empress Chen drank every morning was enough to feed an entire village.

Xiao Yunyan's favorite food is sea red snapper, which can only be caught in the deep sea. Every year, hundreds or even thousands of people are sent to catch sea red snapper. After the fish is brought ashore, it takes three fast horses to run to death to ensure that the meat is tender and can be served on Xiao Yunyan's table.

But Xiao Yunyan only ate a bite or two before it was wasted.

Whether it was pearls from the East China Sea or gold, silver, and jade, the tributes sent to the imperial palace from all over the country were the best.

But those priceless jade pieces, Xiao Yunyan could smash them however she wanted.

She remembered that in her previous life, Xiao Yunyan was unhappy and smashed many jade bracelets, leaving jade fragments all over the ground.

Then, Xiao Yunyan made her and all the palace maids who displeased her take off their clothes and roll around naked on the jade fragments, saying that this was a beauty polishing jade.

To grind those jade stones into beads, her and the palace maids' backs were all rubbed raw and bleeding, but no one dared to stop unless Xiao Yunyan told them to...

Recalling these past events, Shen Yuan lowered her eyelids, concealing the hatred in her eyes.

We all have the same life, so why are some people born with a noble life while others are born with a lowly life?

Why should those lowly people be trampled underfoot and trampled on at will by those noble people?

She felt it was unfair!

Lost in her own thoughts, Shen Yuan suddenly heard someone beside her say, "You really do look exactly like that Crown Princess."

Shen Yuan looked towards the speaker and saw that it was Cao Sui'an, the third young lady of the Prime Minister's family.

She smiled politely at the other person and was about to speak when she heard a disdainful sneer from outside.

"Her? Does she even deserve to be compared to our Crown Princess?"

Hearing the sound, everyone looked up and saw Shen Yunjin walking in surrounded by people. Today, she was wearing a gorgeous palace dress and her makeup was exquisite, making her very beautiful.

In comparison, Shen Yuan's clothes and jewelry appear very plain and simple, and cannot be compared to Shen Yunjin's at all.

But precisely because Shen Yuan's makeup was simple, she appeared more youthful and lively than Shen Yunjin, and younger in age.

Shen Yunjin walked into the room and glanced at everyone.

The women hurriedly rose and bowed.

"Greetings, Crown Princess!"

Seeing Shen Yuan bowing to her, Shen Yunjin smiled with satisfaction and said after a while, "No need for such formalities."

As soon as Shen Yunjin took her seat, the ladies and young women at the banquet immediately surrounded her, their words full of flattery and ingratiation.

Only Shen Yuan and Cao Suian, who was at the same table with her, did not move. Cao Suian gestured towards Shen Yuan with her lip: "I can't stand it. Before becoming the Crown Princess, she was a peacock who loved to show off her tail feathers. Now that she has become the Crown Princess, she wishes she could carve five big words on every feather of her tail: I am the Crown Princess!"

Shen Yuan couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Seeing her smile, Shen Yunjin frowned and reprimanded her without any mercy: "Sister, don't think that just because your sister is the Crown Princess, you can be so ignorant of etiquette!"

But as soon as Shen Yunjin finished speaking, another soft laugh came from outside.

"Oh! The younger sister can even scold her older sister! The Crown Princess really has quite the air about her!"

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Xiao Yunyan who had come. They quickly got up and knelt down.

"Greetings, Princess Jingwan!"

Xiao Yunyan didn't even glance at the person kneeling on the ground. She walked directly towards Shen Yunjin, looked at Shen Yunjin's belly, and asked with a smile, "I heard that your pregnancy is extremely difficult. You are not even three months pregnant yet, so it is really not suitable for you to go out. You should stay at home and take care of your pregnancy. After all, you are carrying the Emperor's first grandson, who is extremely precious."

"My feet..."

Shen Yunjin almost blurted out that she was already three months pregnant, but she quickly shut her mouth after realizing what she was doing.

With so many people here, and considering she's only been married into the Crown Prince's household for a month and a half, if word gets out that she's already three months pregnant, it will definitely cause controversy.

So Shen Yunjin pursed her lips and said unhappily, "No need for you to worry, my baby is perfectly fine!"

"Besides, this Dragon Boat Festival family banquet was arranged by my father, so how can I, as his daughter-in-law, not attend?"

"My elder sister is urging me to go home. Does she want to put me in a position of being unfilial and disobedient?"

Shen Yunjin used to respect Xiao Yunyan because she hadn't married Xiao Yuncheng yet, but now she's the Crown Princess, and the Crown Princess is much more noble than a princess like her!

Sensing Xiao Yunyan's disdain, Shen Yunjin retorted without holding back.

Xiao Yunyan was stunned for a moment, then raised her red lips and smiled. Her smile was bright and radiant, and she looked very harmless.

But Shen Yuan could tell at a glance that Xiao Yunyan was unhappy!

If she's unhappy, then someone else will suffer!

As expected, Xiao Yunyan reached out and took Shen Yunjin's hand, smiling as she said, "I was so confused! The Crown Princess is truly filial to Father Emperor! She was willing to risk miscarriage to attend the banquet. Even I, Father Emperor's own daughter, cannot compare to your filial piety!"

“However…” Xiao Yunyan glanced at Shen Yunjin’s belly, then suddenly changed the subject: “However, how come your belly is showing so quickly? It doesn’t look like you’re a little over a month pregnant, it looks like you’re three months pregnant!”

"I……"

Shen Yunjin opened her mouth to explain, but Xiao Yunyan didn't give her a chance and continued, "I heard that the Crown Princess's family has had twins for generations. Could it be that the Crown Princess is also carrying twins?"

Shen Yunjin was delighted and was about to continue the conversation when Xiao Yunyan turned to look at everyone and said, "I recently heard an interesting story. I wonder if any of you sisters have heard it before?"

"It is said that General Shen is very fortunate. He married not just one wife, but two. These two wives are twins. They look exactly alike but each has her own unique charm. So General Shen married both sisters and claimed to the outside world that he only had one wife."

Xiao Yunyan turned to look at Shen Yunjin and saw that her face was pale, so her smile deepened.

"Princess Consort, you are the eldest daughter of General Shen's concubine, aren't you?"