After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

Chapter 410 Madam Xie: Is she the only bad person?

The Empress Dowager's birthday was fast approaching.

As the Fifth Princess's companion, Xie Xing naturally set off from the palace.

Luo Mengfei prepared a bright red dress for Xie Xing today. Compared to those elegant and light colors, Xie Xing is more suited to bright and charming colors.

A bright red ruqun dress made Xie Xing's complexion appear even whiter. As she grew older, her delicate oval face gradually became thinner and more defined.

Her waist was so slender it could be encircled by a single hand; her figure was graceful and charming, possessing the delicate beauty of a young girl. In particular, her bright and lively eyes were captivating, making it impossible to look away at a glance.

Luo Mengfei's eyes lit up as she watched.

She crossed her arms and laughed, "Clothes really do make the man. You look radiant when you're dressed up. Even if I, the princess, stood in front of you, I would be overshadowed by you."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xing lifted her dress and twirled around in front of Luo Mengfei, saying, "Then, Princess, I'd better change out of this dress. How could I possibly outshine the Princess?"

As Xie Xing spoke, she began to change out of her dress.

"You're not allowed to change it." Luo Mengfei quickly spoke up to stop them.

She glared at Xie Xing and said, "As my companion, if you dress well, I will also feel proud."

"I not only want you to dress well, but I also want you to be made to look beautiful!"

As she spoke, Luo Mengfei pushed Xie Xing in front of the dressing mirror and sent her maid to dress him up.

Seeing this, Xie Xing hesitated and said, "Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday. Is it inappropriate for me to dress so brightly?"

Luo Mengfei said, "Don't worry, this princess will naturally dress you up so that no one can find fault with you."

"Do you think I, this princess, don't know what I'm doing?"

Because Xie Xing's coming-of-age ceremony had not yet taken place, Xie Xing still wore her hair in two buns, with several dazzling pearl hairpins inserted into her hair by Luo Mengfei. As she swayed her head, the pearls and jade on her head gently collided, making a crisp sound.

Luo Mengfei looked at Xie Xing and sighed, "For your coming-of-age ceremony, this princess will definitely give you a beautiful hairpin."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xing's eyes crinkled with laughter: "In that case, I thank you in advance, Princess."

"By the way, Princess De'an will also be here today." Luo Mengfei looked at Xie Xing and said, "Princess De'an has been imprisoned by Prince Jin for so long, she must hate you to the bone. You must be careful at this palace banquet."

Xie Xing nodded upon hearing this.

Men are not allowed to enter the inner palace, but fortunately Qi Yu is not too old yet, and with the personal decree of Prince Jin, the people in the palace turn a blind eye.

However, since this palace banquet was a grand event, it was not appropriate to openly bring Qi Yu out.

Qi Yu then gave the Gu he had raised to Xie Xing.

"If anyone bullies you, release this Gu, and it will surely take half their lives."

Junlan brought them into the palace this time to ensure Xie Xing's safety.

Xie Xing placed the moon in a safe place and entrusted it to Song Ci'an for care.

Aside from Yue Liang, Lin Yi, and others, Xie Xing basically had no one else around him who was truly his own.

Xie Xing didn't want to use her bodyguards because she didn't want her actions to be discovered. However, when Luo Hanfeng pointed it out, she realized that Jun Lanjin had already planted bodyguards around her.

Xie Xing didn't feel much anger.

It's easy to imagine that in the story, Jun Lanjin's spies were practically everywhere in the homes of all the officials, including in the palace. He was essentially all-powerful. If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events involving his mother, Jun Lanjin wouldn't have changed in the end.

Moreover, Xie Xing had shown so many suspicious points while staying by Jun Lanjin's side in the early stages.

Xie Xing was just filled with lingering fear and worry.

After all, she was a person with secrets, and the system was her biggest secret. She was afraid that the existence of the system would be discovered, which was why she was unwilling to have bodyguards by her side.

Now that I think about it, Xie Xing took out the secret guard token that Gu Jingming had given her earlier.

Since Jun Lanjin's secret guards are protecting her in the shadows, why not have even more people protecting her?

Xie Xing had considered that Jun Lanjin could plant people around her, but she hadn't expected that even Lin Yi would be one of Jun Lanjin's people.

The palace banquet began soon.

The palace banquet was held in the Empress Dowager's imperial garden, and many ministers brought their female relatives into the palace early in the morning.

Of course, the Xie family was no exception.

The last time Madam Xie entered the palace, she was accompanied by Xie Xing and Xie Mingzhu.

She cherished Xie Mingzhu, but reality slapped her hard in the face.

This time, Madam Xie and Old Madam Xie entered the palace together, with only Xie Jiaojiao by their side.

With the crown prince deposed and Xie Jiaojiao about to marry him, and the Xie family's military power relinquished, apart from Xie Xing, who served as the fifth princess's companion, the Xie family was already showing signs of decline.

Xie Jiaojiao helped the old lady up, her eyes searching among the group of women, trying to find Xie Xing.

Instead, the old lady patted Xie Jiaojiao's hand and said, "Xie Xing is the Fifth Princess's study companion, so naturally he should come with the Fifth Princess."

"You wait first."

Madam Xie sat to the side, wiping away her tears, and said, "When we last met, she made it clear that she wanted to sever ties with us. Everything was fine before, so why is she like this now?"

The old lady couldn't bear to look at Madam Xie's weeping and wailing.

She said irritably, "Now you know you regret it? Where were you in the first place?"

"Why can't you use your brain and think about it? Back then, the whole family's attitude towards Xie Xing changed. Why can't you be more flexible? She is your own daughter, whom you carried for ten months and gave birth to. Why can't you be more tolerant of her?"

With tears streaming down her face, Madam Xie looked up at the words and complained through sobs, "It's as if it's all my fault. Was I the only one who looked down on Xie Xing for not being as good as Xie Mingzhu when she first came to the Xie family?"

"Which of you doesn't despise her?"

"Things have changed now, and people aren't happy about it anymore."

Madam Xie was dissatisfied.

It's as if she's the only one who made a mistake.

She was the only one kept in the dark, treated like an outsider. Everyone else knew the truth, but she was the only one who didn't.

Thinking of this, Madam Xie felt a chill in her heart, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

No family is more ruthless than the powerful. In such a family, interests always come first and are always put before family ties.

Madam Xie thought that having given birth to three sons and one daughter would make things different.

In reality, there was no difference; in her son's eyes, she was an outsider!

She's the only stupid one, she's the only bad person, she looks down on her own daughter.

Is it wrong for her to want an outstanding daughter?

She simply didn't give her love to Xie Xing, but she did leave her money for him!

Seeing that she was stuck in a rut, Madam Xie shook her head helplessly.

It's hopeless, hopeless.

No matter what, they are not Xie Xing's biological mother. If Madam Xie could keep Xie Xing with affection, would things have come to this?