The concubine's favorite? Break off the engagement and marry another prince, please respect you

Chapter 148

The customs of this dynasty are open-minded. Grand banquets in the palace are where Your Majesty, the Empress, important officials of the court, and princes of the royal family celebrate the festival together. Naturally, high-ranking concubines in the harem can also attend.

There was no distinction between men and women at the table. Xie Wanning and Pei Yuqing were led to their seats by the eunuchs.

As the nephew that the emperor values ​​very much, he naturally cannot be arranged to stay too far away, just a few steps away.

Xie Wan Ning slightly turned her head and saw her aunt, Concubine Shu, nodding at her with a smile. With such intimacy and kindness in her eyes, who could believe that there was really a conflict of interests that could lead to her being poisoned without mercy?

Even though he told himself not to mind the cause of death in his previous life, this was the first time he met the 'relative' who killed him after knowing the truth. Xie Wan Ning still felt uncomfortable in her heart. After reluctantly nodding and bowing, she looked away.

But when he turned around, his eyes inadvertently glanced and happened to meet the person opposite him. His pupils suddenly shrank unconsciously. This time, Xie Wan Ning's face was even stiffer than when he saw his murderous enemy.

Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly lowered her eyes to avoid the gaze from the opposite side.

As early as when I left, I had thought about this palace banquet and I would not meet this person again. I didn't expect that as soon as I sat down, he would be right in front of me.

Pei Yuqing noticed her abnormality, raised his eyes, and saw Lu Ziyan sitting alone opposite her. Just like that, the two men stared at each other across the hall, as if whoever looked away would admit defeat.

The ministers around who noticed the developments here were so intimidated by Lu Ziyan's usual cold and hard demeanor that they didn't dare to make a sound to disturb him.

It was not until a group of dancers came on stage and danced gracefully in the center of the hall, blocking the two people's view, that they stopped.

The dances performed in the palace were naturally very novel. A dozen dancers dressed in exotic costumes were graceful and charming, all of them showing a part of their waists and swaying gracefully. Among them, the dancer in the middle was the most attractive, with a straight nose, deep eyebrows and eyes, and the most beautiful dancing posture.

Even Xie Wan Ning, who was a little absent-minded at first, gradually became fascinated by the scene.

After the dance, everyone praised it highly.

The emperor smiled and said, "This is the song and dance presented by Lord Yu, performed by a Qiang woman. If any of you take a fancy to it, I will appreciate it."

The surname Yu is rare, and the only official with the surname Yu whose name was called out by the emperor was Yu Cheng, the general stationed at Yanyun Pass and the governor of Xiangzhou.

Yanyun Pass is the southwestern border of the Khan. Outside the pass are the Qiang people who eat raw meat and drink blood. This barbarian tribe, which has never been taken seriously by the Khan, suddenly invaded a few years ago. The cavalry almost broke through the city gate. It was General Yu Cheng who led his troops to defend the city, but in the end they were seriously injured.

Although the invasion was unsuccessful, the Khan was not in a state of crushing the Qiang people. It seemed that the Qiang people finally realized that even such a huge monster as the Khan was not so unshakable.

In recent years, there have been constant wars on the southwestern border, and the Jin Dynasty outside Yangping Pass in the northern border has repeatedly invaded, causing the Khan to be at a loss as to what to do.

Last year, Lu Ziyan went to Yunzhou to arrest Lu Ping, who was in collusion with the Qiang people and tried to use internal and external forces to spread cholera throughout the Khanate.

At this moment, the ministers in the hall were all a little surprised that these graceful dancers were actually the uncivilized Qiang people whom they had always believed to be.

It seems that the emperor intends to reward them to his ministers and has no intention of keeping these exotic dancers forever.

The ministers looked at each other. They would be very happy to have one or two more dancers given by the emperor in their backyards, but they did not want to leave an impression of being eager in front of the emperor and their colleagues. Therefore, even if they took a fancy to one, no one would be the first to ask for it.

Xie Wan Ning's eyes lit up, and she was thinking about whether to take the leading dancer home and let her dance for him every day. Then she heard Pei Yuqing beside her cupping her hands and saying, "Foreign tribes are causing cholera at the border, and it's all thanks to the military commanders' meritorious service in the conquest. Your Majesty, why don't you give these foreign beauties to the generals who are not yet married."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly became quiet.

Everyone knows that the Khan has been facing increasing internal and external troubles in recent years. His military generals are more valuable and busier than each other. Most of them are guarding the borders, while a small number are ordered to fight campaigns in the country to stabilize the civil strife. The major military governors are not allowed to return to the capital without being summoned.

The generals who had the time to stay in the capital for the New Year were either injured or too old. The officials who could appear at the palace banquet were at least of the third rank and above, and they had to be unmarried...

After counting all these conditions one by one, it was found that no one else in the palace met the requirements except Lu Ziyan.

A father would certainly not object to giving a woman to his adult son.

Then, the emperor turned his gaze to Lu Ziyan and said with a smile: "Does your son like any of these dancers?"

Everyone's eyes followed the emperor and turned to Lu Ziyan.

The hall suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of faint music playing in the corner.

Xie Wan Ning picked up the fruit wine on the table, took a sip, and tried her best to restrain herself from looking over.

As the person involved, Lu Ziyan was not affected at all. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he put down the wine glass in his hand, raised his eyes and looked across. The corners of his lips curved up and he said in a lazy tone, "I do have a crush on someone, but she's not a dancer."

Others followed his line of sight and discovered that he seemed to be looking at the Prince of Peiguo Mansion, and also seemed to be looking at the Prince's Consort beside him.

Thinking about the relationship between these three people again, the atmosphere became a little weird for a moment.

Lu Ziyan was completely unaware and continued to smile: "Since Lord Pei cares so much about the generals, why not..."

The sound of a wine glass hitting the table interrupted his words. Xie Wan Ning's hand suddenly trembled, and the wine glass in his hand fell down, and the remaining wine in the glass wet his cuffs.

Pei Yuqing on the side frowned slightly, took the cotton towel from Zi Erqing's hand, held her hand, and wiped it gently.

Lu Ziyan looked at this scene, the lazy smile on the corner of his lips faded, and his face became frighteningly gloomy.

Xie Wan Ning really couldn't stand this kind of atmosphere, she whispered: "I'll go change my clothes."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Shu, who was sitting at the top of the table, turned her head and told the maid behind her to lead the way.

Only after walking out of the hall did Xie Wan Ning breathe a sigh of relief.

Only her outer shirt was stained with wine, and she naturally brought spare clothes with her to the banquet. After changing her clothes, she was in no hurry to go back and continue facing the situation.

He thanked the nanny who had been waiting outside and said, "You go back to serve my aunt. I'll go for a walk to get rid of the alcohol."

She had indeed just drunk a few glasses of fruit wine, and her cheeks were rosy and pink.

The old maid looked at her, bowed with a smile, and said, "The old servant will withdraw. The weather is cold, so the princess can just walk around here. Don't stay outside for too long."

After everyone left, Xie Wan Ning stood there for a while before walking towards the corridor not far away.

On the corridor, palace lanterns were bright, and each lantern had a different pattern. Er Qing followed behind her and said with longing: "The lanterns in the palace are much more exquisite than those in the folk."

Xie Wan Ning turned around and looked at her, "Do you like the palace?"

Er Qing quickly shook her head, "I don't like it, and I don't like Lu... I don't like King Zhenbei."

This title really made Xie Wan Ning stunned for a moment before she realized that the King of Zhenbei was referring to Lu Ziyan.

She laughed. In this life and the past, only Er Qing had not changed.

What she didn't want, Er Qing also didn't want.

The master and servant walked on the corridor for a while. Although it was not snowing heavily like the end of last year, it was still freezing cold. A gust of cold wind blew by, and Xie Wan Ning shrank her neck unconsciously. Er Qing hurriedly said, "I will go get you a cloak."

Having said that, Er Qing turned around and trotted away without waiting for her to speak.

Xie Wan Ning had actually already taken a deep breath and was ready to return to the palace, but when she saw this, she shook her head slightly and simply continued to stroll around.

Although the palace lanterns were bright, it was night after all. On the rockery outside the corridor, under the moonlight, she could vaguely see a bunch of withered red plum blossoms. She suddenly remembered the branches she had picked with her own hands at the Qucheng Marquis Mansion last year.

After thinking for a while, she walked over and prepared to pick and choose a few branches to take back. After all, the twelfth lunar month had passed and red plum blossoms were hard to come by. Before she could hold the cold branch in her hand, a hand with slender fingers suddenly appeared on the side and picked the branch she liked.

Xie Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, then turned her head to look at the person coming, her pupils widened a little, "When did my cousin come?"

"I came earlier than you," Ji Chengfeng said, "Which ones do you want?"

"..." Xie Wan Ning didn't say anything.

Ji Chengfeng lowered his eyes to look at her, shook the flower branch in his hand, and said, "It's quite cold. I'll pick some for you as a token of my gratitude for reading my palm."

Hearing this, Xie Wan Ning almost choked on her own saliva.

She coughed softly and said reluctantly, "Please help me choose."

Ji Chengfeng nodded, and carefully picked a few branches that looked good from the withered red plum blossoms.

Such a pair of hands holding a pen look even whiter under the hazy moonlight, and the slender fingers look very beautiful even when they are broken.

Xie Wanning's gaze fell on his face unconsciously.

Her cousin was very good-looking, with a slender and upright figure. He had a gentle and gentle temperament, but he also had the unyielding character of a scholar...

"What are you looking at?"

The sudden voice startled Xie Wan Ning. She looked up and met his gaze which had been lowered without her knowing when. She felt embarrassed as if she had been caught. She took a step back and said, "You look very bookish. You must have read a lot of books."

Ji Chengfeng was silent for a moment and said, "It's OK."

"..."Xie Wan Ning was also choked. If he wasn't well-read, how could he become the new top scholar?
What's more, his death made the emperor cry bitterly. If he was not a truly talented person, how could he make those in high positions so sad?

"Cousin, do you like plum blossoms?" Ji Chengfeng said, "I saw you picking plum blossoms both times."

"It's not that I like you, I'm just in the mood for it." Xie Wan Ning said, and unconsciously took half a step back. Soon her arm tightened and was grabbed back by the person in front of her.

"Be careful," Ji Chengfeng let go of her hand, pointed behind her, and said, "There is a staircase under your feet."

Xie Wan Ning turned around and took a look. It was indeed a very deep staircase. If she missed a step, she would fall down...

She thanked him with some relief, and then reached out to him, "Give me the flowers."

Ji Chengfeng avoided her hand and said, "It's too cold, and there are water stains. You don't need to pass it twice."

“You…” Xie Wan Ning blinked and couldn’t help asking, “Is my cousin so considerate to everyone?”

"...Not really," Ji Chengfeng pointed at the corridor and said, "Let's go up first. The road here is not smooth."

When they both returned to the long corridor, in the bright light of the palace lanterns, Xie Wan Ning finally saw that his hands holding the flower branch were stained with dirty water.

Perhaps he noticed her gaze, he curled his fingers and asked, "Do you have a handkerchief?"

Xie Wan Ning paused, then took out a cotton handkerchief from her sleeve and gave it to him.

Ji Chengfeng took it and slowly wiped the stains on his palm.

Xie Wan Ning didn't know what to say, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, he said, "My cousin is really good at palmistry."

"What?" Xie Wan Ning didn't quite hear.

Ji Chengfeng glanced at her and whispered, "The emperor summoned me the day before yesterday and wanted to send me to inspect the southern Sichuan area. Calculating the date, I should set off in a while."

Xie Wan Ning: “…”

Is she a charlatan?

"Do you believe me this time?" She cleared her throat and said seriously, "I have read many rare books, so I am quite proficient in this field."

"I believe it. My cousin is truly a god." Ji Chengfeng chuckled and extended his clean hand to her. "Cousin, please help me see who the follower who betrayed the master is."

"...I can't tell. Anyway, I told you everything I should have said last time," Xie Wan Ning said dryly, "If you trust me, you won't make mistakes."

Stay away from water and beware of your followers betraying their master...

After thinking about it, she gave another reminder, "Also, remember to be careful of the epidemic."

She really didn't want to see this man die unjustly in the officialdom's infighting.

As soon as the word "epidemic" came out, Ji Chengfeng's eyebrows jumped suddenly, and he lowered his eyes and looked straight at her, but did not speak.

Xie Wan Ning stood there very frankly and let him look at her. No matter how smart he was, he couldn't tell that she was living a new life, right?

Ji Chengfeng really couldn't guess, but he knew that this girl really cared about him.

Thinking of this, he smiled again and said, "I will be careful and will not let my cousin down."

Xie Wan Ning also laughed.

In the cold wind, on the long corridor with palace lanterns, a man and a woman stood opposite each other. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful. From a distance, there was a rockery as the background. The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

This was the scene that Lu Ziyan saw when he came out.

He clenched his teeth suddenly, looked at the two people over there with a gloomy and unclear look, turned sideways and gave an instruction to his follower.

Soon, an eunuch walked towards the two men and said something to them. Ji Chengfeng handed over the plum branch in his hand and said, "I'll return the handkerchief to you after I wash it."

Xie Wan Ning was startled and whispered, "Why don't I wash it myself?"

Even if they are cousins, it is still not good to use a personal item like a handkerchief...

But Ji Chengfeng seemed not to hear it and had already walked away.

Watching him leave in a hurry, Xie Wan Ning was speechless.

In Lu Ziyan's eyes, it was a picture of her holding flowers and staring blankly at the back of someone leaving. He felt so upset.

"Why are you so reluctant?"

The familiar cold voice brought Xie Wan Ning back to her senses quickly. She looked at the man who suddenly appeared in front of her and shuddered.

Seeing this, Lu Ziyan became even angrier, "I am a man-eating evil ghost? Why do you act like you've seen a ghost every time you see me?"

It's the end of the month, I'm asking for a monthly ticket~~~~