The Ministry of Rites had already selected an auspicious day and went to the palace to request the Emperor's decree. They then came to the Ji residence to announce the decree, which stipulated that the wedding would take place in March.
March 16th, that's only half a month left, how can we possibly make it?
However, the Emperor issued an order that everyone in the Ministry of Rites should begin preparing for the wedding, ensuring that the Emperor and Empress would hold a grand wedding on March 16th.
The Ministry of Rites dared not refuse, so all its personnel began preparing for the grand wedding.
Since the Ministry of Rites issued the imperial decree, the emperor has bestowed many things upon the Ji family, all of which are needed for Hailing's wedding. It can be said that the Ji family does not need to prepare anything now; they only need to get into the bridal sedan chair on the day.
In Xiangwu Courtyard, the maids Shimei, Shilan, and Fuyue were all beaming with joy. Shen Ruoxuan was also in the hall. He had returned from the Ningnan Marquis's residence. The young lady's life was no longer in danger, and her injuries had healed, so it was no longer a problem for him to be anywhere.
In addition, the Ningnan Marquis's residence also prepared a generous gift and sent it over. The Ningnan Marquis's wife even led the heir's wife to come and express their gratitude in person. The heir's wife was indeed a gentle and intelligent woman named Dai Jing. As soon as she saw Hai Ling, she became very affectionate and thanked her several times.
Hai Ling also liked the Crown Prince's wife very much, and even gave her a jade bracelet that she often wore.
During her free time, the four palace maids began to teach Hailing some of the palace rules. However, these maids dared not make things difficult for Hailing. The Emperor's favor towards this Miss Ji had reached an outrageous level. He had even gone down Black Wind Cliff for Miss Ji's sake, so who among them dared to make things difficult for her? Besides, she was the one who would become the Empress, and they would have to rely on her for their livelihood in the future. Therefore, the palace maids were very kind.
Hailing was living a very comfortable life. Yanzhi had returned, and she was getting married again. This time, it was a marriage she was willing to have, to marry the man she wanted to marry.
Ye Lingfeng's meticulous care for her had long attracted her without her realizing it, but she had always suppressed it in the past. Now that she was finally married, she would stand shoulder to shoulder with him, support each other all the way, and grow old together.
Ye Lingfeng hasn't appeared these days, only sending someone to tell her that he's preparing a gift for her personally, so he's busy for the time being, but he'll give it to her on their wedding day.
March 15th, the night before the wedding.
Hai Ling couldn't sleep, so she asked Shi Mei and the others to keep her company and talk to her in the side hall.
Inside the room, Shi Mei, Shi Lan, and Fu Yue sat with her on the soft couch. Tomorrow was the day of their young lady's wedding. The three of them were considered lucky, as they were also assigned to accompany their young lady into the palace. So they were naturally very happy. Although they knew that it would not be easy to survive in the palace, they were still very excited to be able to follow their young lady.
Hailin leaned casually against the wall, holding a cushion in her arms, smiling broadly, radiant and beautiful.
Shi Mei, Shi Lan, and the others stared in disbelief. They all said that people are more attentive to their parents when they have a happy occasion, and it seemed to be true. At this moment, the young lady looked like a beautiful flower in full bloom.
"Miss, you look beautiful."
Fu Yue couldn't help but say it out loud, and Hai Ling pretended to be angry and glared at Fu Yue: "You little girl, you have such a sweet tongue. It seems I can't live without you."
"This servant is telling the truth."
Because Fuyue had spent a considerable amount of time with Hailing, she knew her mistress's temperament and was not afraid, speaking frankly with an honest expression.
Hailing remembered something; she wondered if the blood clot in Yanzhi's brain had healed. She looked at Shimei.
"Is the blood clot in Rouge's brain any better?"
"She's not fully recovered yet. I tried asking her, but she still can't remember anything from before, though?"
Shi Mei opened her mouth, as if to say something but then stopped. Hai Ling glanced at her, wanting to ask what was wrong. Could it be that Yan Zhi's illness was not good?
"What's wrong?"
Hai Ling looked a little nervous, while Shi Mei shook her head.
I don't know if I'm overthinking it, but through spending time with her recently, I've noticed that Rouge's behavior is a bit different from before. But it's not a big deal for someone who has lost their memory to be different from before, since she has lost her memories and suffered a lot. She might be more concerned about money. Several times I've seen Rouge secretly trying on the young lady's jewelry with a look of envy on her face.
She remembered that Rouge used to dislike these things, and she had a very indifferent personality, not valuing money.
But now she seems a bit greedy and vain; I wonder if she's just overthinking things.
However, Miss and Rouge are very close. If she were to speak out of turn, wouldn't that upset Miss? So all she could do was keep a close eye on Rouge. If she really discovered that Rouge had ulterior motives, then she would expose her.
Hailing looked at Shimei and noticed that Shimei's expression was changing unpredictably, so she became curious and stared at her.
Before Shi Mei could say anything, Yan Zhi walked in from outside carrying a bowl of something, and said with a smile, "You're all here? What's all this commotion about?"
Upon seeing Rouge, Shi Mei could say nothing more. If she truly was Rouge, and she had misunderstood her, it would be deeply hurtful. She recalled Rouge's resolute expression in the Jiang family's inner quarters, ordering her and Shi Lan to take their young mistress away, seemingly indifferent to her own life or death—a resolute and radiant sight.
The person in front of her looked exactly like Rouge. She hadn't disguised herself or pretended to have amnesia; she had genuinely lost her memory. Shi Mei was certain of this. How could anyone in the world look exactly like another person? Although they might resemble each other by a factor of six or seven, it was absolutely impossible for two people to be exactly the same.
As soon as Hailing saw Yanzhi enter, she happily waved for Yanzhi to sit down.
"Rouge, what are you busy with? We were chatting."
"This servant has prepared some white fungus soup for you, Miss. You should drink some and go to bed early. Tomorrow morning is your wedding day, and the bride must look beautiful."
"Rouge is still the best."
Hailing acted coquettishly towards Yanzhi, something she used to do, so she was used to it. She reached out and took the white fungus soup from Yanzhi's hand.
Shi Mei wanted to stop her, but looking at Yan Zhi's expression, she didn't see anything wrong. Besides, in front of so many people, Yan Zhi couldn't possibly do anything shady. She wasn't reckless. Thinking of this, Shi Mei cursed herself for being crazy. Was she overthinking things lately? She wondered to herself.
Hailin took a sip of the white fungus soup and nodded, "It tastes good, would you like some?"
"No, I don't want it."
Shi Mei and Shi Lan shook their heads. Hai Ling took a few more sips. Shi Mei became more and more uneasy. She looked up at Yan Zhi and suddenly noticed a fierce glint in her eyes. She was shocked. Could there be something wrong with the soup? With that thought, Shi Mei suddenly stood up, pounced on Hai Ling, and knocked the soup bowl out of her hand.
With a loud crash, everyone in the room was stunned.
Hailing looked at Shimei: "Mei'er."
Shi Mei ignored Hai Ling and took out a silver needle to test the soup on the ground. In the blink of an eye, the silver needle turned completely black. The soup was poisonous, and highly poisonous at that.
Everyone in the room paled. Shi Mei, with her bloodthirsty and ruthless aura, directly ordered Shi Lan: "Take Rouge away."
Shi Lan had come to her senses and rushed over to grab Yan Zhi's arm, trapping her.
Fu Yue rushed to Hai Ling's side, crying out in panic, "Miss, Miss, how are you?"