Days passed one by one, and the weather gradually warmed up. In the blink of an eye, it was Shangsi Festival again. However, due to the ongoing period of national filial piety, the usual Shangsi Festival Banquet was canceled. The young masters and misses from various families in the court could not enter the palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. Some calculating misses then sent invitations into the palace, hoping to pay respects to the Empress Dowager individually, to curry her favor.
Ning Huaixiu was one of them. Ever since her father made things difficult for the Empress and was punished by the Emperor, the Emperor became very cold towards the Ning family. Ning Darin suffered a lot in the prison, and after being released, the Emperor didn't even offer a single word of comfort, as if he deserved it, showing that the Emperor was genuinely angry with him and was unwilling to even put up a façade.
