C6

After kneeling for a while in the ancestral hall, she heard Xia Yiming leave and immediately changed her kneeling posture to a sitting position. The ancients sure were troublesome. They wanted to kneel, to kneel, to kneel even when they had done wrong.

The spacious ancestral hall was brightly lit by candles. On the altar, there were many ancestral tablets. Under the light of the candles, they flickered and dimmed, giving off a gloomy feeling.

Xia Yi An couldn't help but to sit up straight with a respectful expression.

"Creaaaak."

The door was suddenly pushed open and a sound rang out. Xia Yi An turned around and saw a petite figure standing at the door. Wasn't this her third younger sister, Xia Yixuan? What was she doing here?

Xia Yixuan looked at her from afar, biting her lips as she lowered her head. She wanted to turn around and leave, but was stopped by Xia Yi An.

"Since you've come, why are you leaving?"

Xia Yixuan stood in place and looked at her for a while before walking over gracefully, saying in sympathy: "Big sister, why do you want to jump over the wall? Ladies in your room are not allowed to appear outside."

Hearing her words, Xia Yi relaxed her body and sat down in a somewhat casual manner. She looked at Xia Yi Xuan leisurely and said, "Sister, are you coming to teach me?"

Xia Yi Xuan was a little afraid of her. Her elder sister seemed to be even more ferocious than before. Although she wasn't scolding people loudly, those eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts were still looking at her. Her heart couldn't help but tremble.

"I... I'm leaving. " Not daring to look any further, she lowered her head and walked outside.

Actually, her original intention was to come and visit elder sister. Kneeling was a very tragic thing, and elder sister was the first person in her family to be punished to kneel in the ancestral hall. She felt pity for her.

"Good little sister, I'm so hungry. Can you bring me some food?" Just as she was about to step out of the ancestral hall, Xia Yi An suddenly spoke up.

Xia Yixuan thought for a moment. Big sister was already so pitiful, it was only right that she send her some food. She quickly left, hurrying towards the kitchen.

… ….

The sun had already reached the west. Warm orange sunlight covered the uneven tiles of the glazed roof. All the pavilions and pavilions were outlined with brilliant arcs by the setting sun.

Xia Yiming turned around from the corridor, and because she had left in a hurry, she coincidentally bumped into Xia Yiqing.

"Xuan`er left in such a hurry, where are you going?" Xia Yiqing stood there obediently, holding her body up in the air.

"Second sister, did it hurt you?" Xia Yi Xuan was a little flustered. She was born cowardly, secretly feeding Big Sis was already enough to make her heart beat faster.

"No problem." Xia Yiqing's shrewd eyes glanced behind her, and she immediately understood that she was heading towards the kitchen, "Xuan'er is going to the kitchen to get some food for elder sister, isn't that right?"

With her thoughts stabbed, Xia Yiming's face immediately turned red, and her tender white fingers pressed against the embroidered cloth, not saying a word. If she was found, would second sister tell her brother to punish her to kneel in the ancestral hall?

Xia Yiqing knew that she was timid, so she comforted gently, "Xuan'er, there's no need to be afraid. I'm also preparing to send food to elder sister, since you want to go too, that's great. There are some pastries in the basket, you can take them."

"Really? Second Sister won't tell Big Brother, right? "

Xia Yiqing shook her head and passed the bamboo basket to her, "Don't tell anyone that I'm the one who gave it to you. Big Sis has never been on good terms with me and probably won't eat my gift. But I also love her, so I'll leave it to you to do it for me."

Xia Yiming immediately smiled and took the basket and left happily.

Xia Yiqing laughed mockingly, what a simple girl. She had placed a tasteless, colourless, chronic poison in the pastries. Xia Yi An wouldn't be able to react immediately after eating it. As long as she did anything else in the future, Xia Yi An's body would get worse and worse.

Although this method was somewhat stupid, she had never interacted closely with Xia Yi An and no one would suspect her.

… ….

After Xia Yi An's stomach sang a few times about the stratagem of an empty city, the doors of the ancestral hall was finally pushed open.

Xia Yi Xuan walked in and placed the basket in front of her, staring at the door.

"Big Sis, hurry up and eat. I'll be leaving first."

As she said that, Xia Yi Xuan trotted out.

"Go."

Xia Yi An couldn't wait to open the lid. Inside, there were many exquisite pastries that looked delicious.

Just as the pastry was about to reach her mouth, she suddenly remembered the words of the man from that night and hesitated. She looked at the pastry in front of her and thought that if the pastry was poisonous, she would be finished.

Feeling uneasy, she put the pastries close to her nose and took a sniff. There was no unusual smell. With her sensitivity to medicine, ordinary poisons couldn't be hidden from her.

It doesn't smell, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Suddenly, her gaze fell upon the bamboo basket. The handle was slightly marked. Although it was not obvious, it did not escape her eyes.

There was indeed a problem. The poisoner must have felt the poison and touched the basket before leaving any traces. It was a colorless and odorless poison.

Could it be Xia Yi Xuan?

She looked innocent and harmless, and no matter how stupid she was, she wouldn't act so brazenly, right? But who knows? Perhaps she had struck with such certainty.

Xia Yi An sighed and put the pastries back. What a mess. There was always an endless battle going on within the tall walls.

… ….

In the end, Xia Zimo's heart softened. Before dinner, he sent someone to invite Xia Yi An to the front hall for dinner. Xia Yi An smacked her lips. She felt that Xia Yimo was treating her well, so she collected her emotions and followed the manservant to the front hall.

He was the only one sitting at the table. Xia Yiqing and Xia Yi Xuan were born from a concubine, so they were normally forbidden to sit at the table in the main hall.

Xia Yi calmed herself down and walked over with small steps. She called out "big brother" before sitting down.

She had learned all the etiquette in the past two months. In order to prevent her brother from getting angry again, she could only patiently put on an act.

Seeing her in such a state, Xia Yi Mo's complexion looked much better. He thought that she must have done pretty well in the ancestral hall, so he nodded gently and said, "Let's start the meal."

Xia Yi An waited for him to make his move before picking up the chopsticks by her side. She endured the hunger in her stomach and slowly picked up the dishes. If it was in the past, she would have already wolfed down her food.

The ancients all focused on eating without speaking a word, so the dining table was extremely quiet. However, Xia Yi An felt that the atmosphere was extremely awkward. She usually ate in her own courtyard, but today, Xia Yimo was so formal, as if there was something important that made her feel nervous.

Sure enough, Xia Yimo put down his bowl and chopsticks and ordered his men to clean up the table. He looked at Xia Yi An and said, "The Prime Minister's Palace has sent a letter inviting you to the banquet tomorrow."

"Prime Minister's Estate?" Why did you invite me to the banquet? " Xia Yi An was extremely puzzled. She didn't seem to have any impression of the Prime Minister's estate. The Xia Clan and the Prime Minister's residence didn't have much to do with each other, so why would they suddenly send a letter?

Xia Yi Mo waved to the attendant behind him, and the attendant immediately handed over an invitation card. It was gold with the word 'Prime Minister' written on it. "Take a look at this invitation card." Xia Jiimei pushed it in front of Xia Yi An, gesturing for her to open it.

Xia Yi An opened it and saw that it was a delicate and pretty little piece of paper. It looked like it had been made by a woman. She immediately understood that this should be a banquet for the young miss of the Shangguan family. As a Grand Commandant, she naturally had to attend it.

"I'm not going. What's the point of having a banquet like this? I'd rather read some books at home." Xia Yi An placed the invitation on the table and said indifferently.

She had a cold personality and never liked these things. What's more, the gatherings of those young ladies were nothing more than reciting poems, painting and competing. There was no meaning to it at all.