The shocking imperial palace gate

  The carriage soon arrived at the palace gate, where many officials' daughters were already waiting. After passing through a palace gate, they could no longer ride in carriages and everyone got off and walked on foot.

  Song Lingyu got off the carriage first, then helped the old lady down. As soon as they got off the carriage, they heard a commotion nearby. Song Lingyu turned her head and saw that three or five ladies were gathered together discussing something.

  "Hey, isn't that the second young lady of the Song Mansion?"

  "It seems so. I heard that this second miss is never going out. Before, I thought it was because she was too ugly to go out, but unexpectedly, she's really a beauty."

  "Yes, I originally thought that the appearance of the Song family's eldest daughter was already one of the rare beauties in the world, but unexpectedly this second miss is also a stunning beauty."

  "Speaking of Miss Song, wasn't she kidnapped by mountain bandits recently?"

  "It seems so, and the imperial court also regretted that all her efforts in the past few days were in vain!"

  A lady covered her mouth and laughed: "Actually, this is not the key point. The key is what kind of place the mountain stronghold is, it's a den of thieves! Think about it, a delicate and elegant official's daughter being kidnapped to such a place, who knows what will happen..."

  As soon as the lady finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces became complicated. Some were deep in thought, some were secretly delighted, and some were sarcastic...

  The ladies all chatted with each other, people who normally don't see each other often, don't know why they all gathered together.

  The madam heard the ladies talking like this, but she didn't stop them. Instead, she was secretly pleased. Song Lingluo's heart was delighted, but she still managed to conceal the mocking smile at the corner of her mouth. Her smile was proper and elegant, giving off an air of a noble lady.

  The old lady patted Song Lingyu's palm lightly, and Song Lingyu nodded slightly, her head lowered, the shadow of her eyelashes falling on her cheek, looking a bit desolate.

  The old lady sighed and didn't say anything else, but was led by Song Lingyu to continue walking forward.

  In everyone's eyes, Song Lingyu walked away without saying a word, as if she had fled in defeat, and the smile was even deeper.

  Song Lingyu seemed to be very concerned on the surface, but in her heart, she had another idea. Attacking the mountain stronghold was a matter for the imperial court, and those ladies from wealthy families wouldn't know much about it. Now that every household knew about this matter, there was only one possibility. That is, what the madams and young ladies were saying now must have been heard from others, and if so, then rumors would also spread among the people.

  And this time the Empress Dowager's banquet was mainly for these rumors. If everyone saw that the eldest young lady of the Song family was fine, then those unbearable rumors would naturally be self-defeating.

  This time, the Empress Dowager's banquet was held in the Imperial Garden, where flowers were blooming in profusion, and each blossom was competing to outdo the others in beauty.

  This time, the banquet was arranged in two rows on both sides. Close to the empress dowager's position were the imperial consorts, princes, princesses and their wives. Then came the officials according to their ranks, with men and women seated separately. The main officials and their wives sat in the front row, while their children sat in the back row.

  When Song Lingyu escorted the old lady to her seat, she found that Song Yuan and Song Chengjin were already at the banquet. Song Yuan was drinking and chatting with the officials beside him, while Song Chengjin still had his usual lazy expression, leaning on his side and chatting with his brothers who were having a romantic conversation as they did every day.