bookcurios Chapter 128 Taking advantage of the situation
Chapter 128 Taking advantage of the situation
"Is that the martial arts champion?" Gong Xiyin covered her mouth in surprise.
Feng Jia nodded.
Gong Xiyin explained in confusion: "No wonder I didn't know him. I heard that your third brother went to the North with General Shen a few years ago. The North is thousands of miles away. Your third brother was able to rush back before Xie Shubai's banquet, which shows how close they are!"
Feng Jia didn't believe that he had come back with so many troops just to attend the ceremony of receiving the title, but she didn't show it on her face. She just pulled Gong Xiyin and said, "Let's go. The banquet hasn't started yet. I'll take you around first."
On the other side, the eyes of the Third Prince and the Ninth Prince fell on Xie Shubai at the same time. The Ninth Prince was reserved and did not comment. The Third Prince's eyes sparkled and he said bluntly: "This must be the fourth young lady of the mansion. She is truly a peerless beauty. No, today we should call her the Princess of Yong'an County!"
Xie Zisheng, who was standing next to him, smiled but said nothing.
The three of them glanced to the side unintentionally and paused at the same time. A flash of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Ninth Prince, and the Third Prince stared straight at her. He grabbed Xie Zisheng's arm and shook it, saying, "Zisheng, who is that woman? Is she also the sister of the mansion?"
Xie Zisheng's eagle-like eyes sank fiercely, and his cheeks slowly bulged due to grinding his teeth, but his tone was gentle, with a barely perceptible sneer, he said: "Third Prince, that is my ninth sister, Xie Lanzhao!"
"Xie Lanzhao?" The amazement in the Ninth Prince's eyes was instantly replaced by a huge hatred. That woman turned out to be Xie Lanzhao! The one who caused his mother's tragic death!
The case of opium happened suddenly. After a detailed investigation, he found that his mother had summoned Xie Jiu to the palace before her death to deliberately make things difficult for him. Later, Princess Pingchang came uninvited and saved the man. The two stayed in Zhengde Hall for a long time, and the accident happened in the evening.
Later, he found out that Xie Lanzhao had a broken hand. Although he never believed that a mere daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion had the ability to stir up trouble in the palace, his mother's death was definitely related to Pingchang, and Xie Lanzhao must be Pingchang's minion!
He couldn't touch Pingchang. If he didn't kill the daughter of a prime minister, he would not be able to vent his anger!
Just as he was thinking about how to deal with Xie Jiu without getting himself stained with blood, he heard Xie Zisheng next to him say, "Third Prince, my ninth sister is still unmarried."
The Ninth Prince was slightly surprised, but he quickly understood what Xie Zisheng meant, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, as if he was going to enjoy the show.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, the Third Prince felt overjoyed and clasped his hands together, saying, "Very good, very good, she is not betrothed to anyone! A beautiful lady is a good match for a gentleman. Tomorrow, I will ask my father to grant me a marriage!"
The dragon gave birth to nine sons, each of them was different. Emperor Longqing lived a frugal and diligent life for half of his life and had outstanding achievements in governance. He had four sons and two daughters alive. Crown Prince Xu Chao was the empress's legitimate son. He was most like Emperor Longqing. He was kind to the people and was deeply loved. He was a famous virtuous crown prince in the Dali period, but he had been in poor health since childhood and was likely to die early.
The seventh prince Xu Chen, whose mother was Concubine Yong, preferred writing to imperial power struggles and had outstanding literary talent.
The ninth prince, Xu Kuo, is extremely cunning, violent, eccentric, and cruel.
The two princesses grew up in the deep palace, and were influenced by their surroundings and were extremely ambitious.
Only the third prince Xu Cheng was the least like Emperor Longqing. His mother died early, and he was not in the palace since he was a child. Instead, he was raised in the mansion of the opposite sex prince Li Xian, and had a close relationship with his son Li Chu. He was stupid and lustful since he was a child. He usually lingered in places of fireworks and romance, or drank and fought crickets with the nobles in the capital who flattered him. He had no scheming at all.
Xie Sheng took advantage of his lustful nature and said with some worry, "Although my ninth sister has not been betrothed yet, my father said that he has been arranged to attend the prince's concubine selection banquet next year. I may have to let down the third prince's mistaken love!"
The third prince Xu Chen waved his hands indifferently, his eyes only following Feng Jia, his saliva almost dripping down: "This prince and the prince are as close as brothers, once this prince says something to him, the prince will definitely be willing to give up his love for me!"
Xie Sheng and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance and saw smiles in each other's eyes. Xie Sheng still looked troubled: "It is her blessing that the Ninth Sister can be appreciated by His Highness, but it is a pity that her biological mother is of too low status..."
In the distance, Feng Jia's figure passed by the side of the pavilion and disappeared. The Third Prince withdrew his gaze in disappointment and fell on Xie Sheng: "Oh? What is the identity of her biological mother?"
"She is a famous prostitute in the brothel." Xie Sheng had a sarcastic smile on his face, but he never mentioned Xie Lanzhao's current identity as a legitimate daughter.
"Tsk," the Third Prince showed a look of disdain on his face, "She is actually the daughter of a prostitute? This identity is really too lowly!"
After a pause, the Third Prince thought for a long time and then said, "How about this, I will go back and ask the Queen to give Xie Lanzhao to me as a concubine!"
A concubine, whose status is not even close to that of a concubine.
The Ninth Prince coughed lightly to hide his gloating smile, but Xie Sheng was more than happy. He knew the character of the current Queen too well. The Crown Prince was in poor health, so the Queen naturally hoped that the Third Prince, who had been raised by her, could help the Crown Prince secure his position as the Crown Prince. Not to mention Xu Cheng's main wife and concubine, even the family of the concubine had been arranged.
The Empress would definitely look down upon Xie Lanzhao, whose biological mother was a prostitute.
Xie Sheng guessed that if the Third Prince went to beg, the Queen Mother would not only not refuse, but would also help to marry him. After the novelty of the Third Prince wore off, she would naturally let Xie Lanzhao die in the palace without anyone knowing, thus leaving the position of concubine vacant.
A look at the previous concubines of the Third Prince revealed the clues. Within less than three months after they came into the palace, the three concubines died mysteriously for different reasons. If there was no involvement of the Queen Mother, Xie Sheng would never believe it!
Xie Sheng smiled to cover up his mistake and bowed to the Third Prince: "Then I would like to thank Your Highness for your kindness on behalf of my ninth sister!"
The Third Prince smiled innocently, "Okay, okay, we'll be a family from now on!"
Several people chatted and laughed as they entered the men's seat. Feng Jia and Gong Xiyin were led by maids to the women's seat. Several elders of the Xie family had already taken their seats. Feng Jia sat opposite Meng, while Song Huai and Xiao Shi stood behind her on the left and right.
The banquet started. Song Huai was about to serve Feng Jia the dishes, but Xiao Shi got there first. She picked up the wine pot in front of Feng Jia, poured a glass of wine, and said with a smile, "This is the apricot blossom wine that was recently brewed in the kitchen. It's not intoxicating. Ninth Miss, try it!"
When the glass is filled, the wine has a sparkling luster and intoxicating aroma.
Feng Jia smiled faintly but did not drink.
Meng raised her glass and said, "I am sorry to show you my poor performance. This is apricot wine that I made by drying, distilling, purifying and other complicated processes of apricot flowers that just budded in February this year. I wonder if it suits your taste!"
"It turns out that this is the wine brewed by the eldest lady herself. I must try it!" A noble lady picked up the wine glass and took a sip. The wine tasted mellow and she couldn't help but praise it again and again.
The others also raised their glasses to flatter and took a sip, also showing surprise: "It is indeed different from the wine on the market, the taste is different! Madam is really clever and skillful!"
Meng smiled and drank a full cup. Just as she was about to have another cup, her eyes fell on Feng Jia's untouched cup in confusion, "Ninth girl, is the wine made by mother not to your liking?"
Hearing this, everyone else in the ladies' seat focused their attention on Feng Jia.
Some looked puzzled, while others understood.
It has long been rumored that the ninth daughter of the Xie family and Meng are not on good terms. Although Meng's behavior is despicable, the way she showed her stepmother a cold look in public shows that this ninth girl is also ignorant of etiquette!
The old lady looked displeased and gave Feng Jia a warning look.
There was no emotion on Feng Jia's face. Under pressure, she picked up the wine glass after a while, but looked around.
Xie Shubai sat on her right side, not looking at her, just concentrating on eating. Meng and Xiaoshi both stared at the glass of apricot wine in their hands, with ambiguous expressions in their eyes.
After a pause, Feng Jia still covered her robe and drank the wine in one gulp. She smiled and poured the empty cup to Meng, and there was indeed not a drop left in it.
Only then did Mrs. Meng start to laugh, and continued to chat and laugh with the people around her, while Xiaoshi breathed a sigh of relief.
Feng Jia raised a dark handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth seemingly unintentionally, but when no one was paying attention, he spat all the wine in his mouth onto the handkerchief.