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

Chapter 193 She will definitely amaze everyone.

Xie Mingzhu's face turned pale instantly because of what Luo Mingyue said.

The Empress, seated on the throne, also noticed Xie Mingzhu's attire because of Luo Mingyue's words, and at that moment, the Empress's face darkened.

Xie Mingzhu had played with Luo Cheng'an since childhood, so she was naturally close to the Empress as well.

The Empress treated Xie Mingzhu well because of her status, and naturally hoped that Xie Mingzhu could become her daughter-in-law and the Crown Princess, so as to stabilize the Crown Prince's position.

However, ever since Xie Mingzhu's true identity was exposed, the Empress's attitude towards Xie Mingzhu has become lukewarm. It's hard to say how long an imposter will be pampered by the General's Mansion.

It was only because the General's Mansion's attitude towards Xie Mingzhu remained unchanged that the Empress was able to reluctantly allow Xie Mingzhu to have contact with Luo Cheng'an.

Ultimately, whether Xie Mingzhu is their biological daughter depends on whether the people in the General's Mansion acknowledge it.

Normally, Xie Mingzhu's style of dress is elegant and glamorous. Although it is not so bright, it is definitely not as plain as she is today.

How dare an imposter look down on the position of the Crown Prince's concubine?

The Empress's eyes were filled with intense disgust.

"Mingzhu, everyone is dressed in bright and colorful clothes at today's garden party, but you are dressed in plain clothes. Are you unwilling to come to my garden party?"

From the main seat, the Empress's cold voice rang out.

Xie Mingzhu's face turned pale. She hurriedly knelt down and explained, "Your Majesty, this humble woman did not mean that!"

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" The Empress looked at her coldly.

Her gaze fell on Xie Xing and Xie Jiaojiao. Although they were dressed simply, one of them wore a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), looking charming and lovely, while the other wore a light pink long dress, appearing delicate and elegant.

Although her clothes and appearance were not as glamorous as those of many other wealthy young ladies, they were still pleasing to the eye.

Xie Mingzhu was the only one dressed in plain clothes. Those who knew her would think she was there to attend the garden party, but those who didn't would think she was there to mourn at someone's grave.

Xie Mingzhu opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, and could only look at Madam Xie with a helpless expression.

Madam Xie panicked and quickly knelt down to explain, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Mingzhu didn't think that much. Today, I just thought this dress was pretty, so I prepared it for Mingzhu. If you want to blame someone, blame me."

"Mother!" Xie Yuhe's expression changed slightly. He subconsciously stepped forward to help Madam Xie, but remembering that the Empress was watching, he stopped himself.

He looked up, his gaze complex as he looked at Xie Mingzhu, who was kneeling on the ground, looking bewildered and pitiful.

Even though they and their father had become cold towards Xie Mingzhu during this time, their mother had always treated Xie Mingzhu as her own daughter, even more so than Xie Xing.

What was her mindset that allowed her to say such things in front of the Crown Prince?

Xie Yuhe naturally couldn't bear to see Madam Xie so humiliated and pathetic in front of so many ladies and young women.

So he stepped forward, put his hands together, bowed to the Empress above, and said, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. It was just a pretty dress to begin with."

"The dress Mingzhu is wearing is made of celestial silkworm silk from Yunyan Pavilion. It is priceless. Although it looks simple and elegant, the effect of wearing it is like a fairy descending to earth, beautiful and ethereal."

"It's not as Miss Luo said, that we don't respect the Empress and the Crown Prince."

"On the contrary, she was too focused on this garden party, which is why Mingzhu wore an outfit that she would never wear in her closet."

As soon as Xie Yuhe said this, everyone's eyes immediately fell on Xie Mingzhu's dress.

The silk was indeed very fine. It was sunset, and the afterglow of the evening glow fell on her dress, making it radiant and colorful, exceptionally beautiful.

Coupled with her pitiful face, she truly resembled a fairy descended to earth, just as Xie Yuhe had said.

Whispers could be heard from the surroundings:

"I was wondering why Xie Mingzhu caught my eye today; it turns out it was all thanks to this dress."

"It's really beautiful."

"No wonder I felt that Xie Mingzhu looked good even though she was dressed so simply, and even seemed to outshine the Yin family's daughter."

"This dress is indeed beautiful."

"So there was a hidden way inside."

Xie Xing, standing to the side, couldn't help but think to himself, "If Xie Yuhe hadn't said anything, I really wouldn't have noticed."

Wow, Xie Mingzhu's dress was so expensive!

The system stammered: "So, in novels and anime, there's a trick to how someone can still look stunning even in simple clothes?"

Xie Yuze: "..."

Xie Jiaojiao: "..."

Her lips twitched slightly, and her gaze swept over Xie Mingzhu's dress.

This dress alone reveals that Xie Mingzhu holds an unparalleled position in the Xie family.

At least she and Xie Xing couldn't afford such a dress.

A single dress like Xie Mingzhu's could be worth more than all of their private savings.

Luo Cheng'an also tried to smooth things over at this moment, saying to the Empress, "Mother, why has it come to this?"

“Mingzhu is someone you’ve watched grow up. No matter what, he will never put you or his son in his eyes.”

After saying that, Luo Cheng'an gave Luo Mingyue a sharp look.

Seeing that her plan had failed, Luo Mingyue's expression turned somewhat gloomy.

But she quickly regained her previous gentle elegance and said, "I didn't expect that Miss Mingzhu's dress, which looks so simple, contains such great knowledge."

"Since Miss Mingzhu is dressed up so beautifully today, why not perform a dance in front of everyone so that they can admire the splendor of your clothes?"

Hearing this, Xie Xing couldn't understand Luo Mingyue anymore.

Why did she insist that Xie Mingzhu dance?

[Perhaps it's because they think Xie Mingzhu can't dance. That's how villainous supporting characters are; they don't receive complete information, and the resulting information gap often leads them to contradict themselves.]

Xie Xing paused for a moment after hearing this.

Luo Mingyue is probably going to get a pretty hard slap in the face.

It's important to know how much preparation Madam Xie had made for Xie Mingzhu from a young age so that she could become the Crown Princess.

He was naturally proficient in the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

But it doesn't lag behind in other aspects either.

Xie Mingzhu's dance was taught by the number one dancer in the entire Chu Kingdom.

The Empress's expression softened somewhat as she sat on the main seat, giving Xie Mingzhu a way out: "In that case, Mingzhu, why don't you dance a song with Mingyue?"

Xie Mingzhu lowered her head.

Madam Xie gently tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Mingzhu, go."

Refusing at this point would be tantamount to disrespecting the Empress.

But Xie Mingzhu just said that she sprained her ankle and couldn't dance. If she really did dance the whole dance, it would mean that Xie Mingzhu was deceiving the Empress, which would make her even more guilty.

Xie Xing realized at this moment that Luo Mingyue was truly ruthless.

Regardless of whether Xie Mingzhu can dance or not, she will be disliked by the Empress.

So what will Xie Mingzhu do?

Xie Xing focused his gaze on Xie Mingzhu. If nothing unexpected happened, today's dance would amaze everyone and captivate all the men.

After all, she's the female lead; she has the protagonist's halo.

But a series of conspiracies and schemes awaited her afterward.

Xie Xing rubbed his chin with one hand, thinking about how to reasonably accumulate enough hatred points from Luo Hanfeng.