Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Hexue, Shen Qingchen doesn’t love you at all…

"Oh? Jiang Xiaolang?" Emperor Hengshun asked knowingly.

"That's right." Agula bowed.

"Is Lord Jiang here?"

Prime Minister Jiang, who was in his forties, attended the ceremony with Jiang Xingcong and bowed: "As long as I am here, my son will be here too."

"My son, you are not going to get married for the time being." Emperor Hengshun said leisurely.

Jiang Hexue listened and saw that Ruan Yueyi's hand under the table had twisted the embroidered handkerchief.

Her heartbeat was so fast that it almost jumped out of her throat, and her thoughts had to keep pace.

Qingyuan actually chose ministers for the sake of stability...

Jiang Xingcong did not enter the officialdom. He and Ruan Yueyi were both royal merchants from the wealthy Longlin area, and would not be caught up in the controversy over the selection of the crown prince.

"Whatever happens at the banquet, don't panic."

These words suddenly echoed in his ears, Jiang Hexue raised his eyes and looked at Shen Qingchen as if seeking reassurance.

The young man had a stern face and his brows were slightly furrowed.

He looked at her with feeling, his frown relaxed at this moment, the corners of his lips slightly raised, his eyes showing soothing.

As if afraid that she wouldn't understand, he placed his long fingers on the edge of the teacup and stroked it as if he was rubbing her hair before entering the hall.

Jiang Hexue's heart slowly fell back to his throat, and he pricked up his ears to listen.

"Qingyuan just made a suggestion. Lord Jiang... Young Master Jiang, what do you think?" Emperor Hengshun asked slowly.

"Your Majesty, I know very well that Princess Has is beautiful and intelligent, well-educated and well-mannered. No matter who you are, it would be a great honor to marry the princess." Jiang Xingcong said.

Agula clapped his hands excitedly, his brows beaming with joy: "That's great..."

"But I am terrified," he said, before he saw Jiang Xingcong kneeling and kowtow three times. "I don't deserve this honor."

"Young Master Jiang, what do you mean?" Agula's face immediately darkened.

"Your Majesty, I already have a lover," Jiang Xingcong said, emphasizing each word. "Also, the two families have exchanged engagement letters, but the betrothal gifts haven't been paid, and the wedding date hasn't been set, so I haven't announced it yet."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall.

Jiang Hexue's heart skipped a beat when he heard this and he instinctively looked towards Ruan Yueyi. The latter's back was stiff and her eyes were fixed on Jiang Xingcong who was kneeling in the middle of the hall.

She felt as if she was watching an exquisite play, and the mastermind behind the scenes, could it be...

Their eyes met, and a tiny smile rippled across the young man's calm amber eyes.

"Oh? Is that so?" The Hengshun Emperor, who was at the top, narrowed his eyes with interest and looked at Agula. "Lord Agula, there's an old saying in Longlin: 'It's better to demolish a temple than to ruin a marriage.' Young Master Jiang already has someone he loves, so don't force it."

Agula swallowed his anger and said, "Yes."

"I'm curious, who is the girl Mr. Jiang loves?" he asked suddenly. "Qingyuan has come all the way here, can I see her?"

When he smiled, his two rows of white teeth were exposed, but his sharp eyes did not show any smile. He glanced at the group of noble ladies, looking at them openly.

"I'm curious too," Emperor Hengshun clapped his hands. "It's New Year's Day, an auspicious time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Young Master Jiang, why don't you tell me about it? I'll grant you two a marriage, to double your joy."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Jiang Xingcong straightened up, bowed, and spoke slowly. "My beloved is Princess Gan Le."

Like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, the once quiet hall suddenly became noisy, with whispers filling the ears.

Jiang Hexue noticed the flash of surprise in Ruan Yueyi's eyes, then she let out a light breath and her stiff back gradually relaxed.

"It's Gan Le?" Emperor Hengshun raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Gan Le has lived in the north for many years. I didn't know about this."

"The consort of Princess Kunyi." He immediately looked at Ruan Ming in the men's seat.

The latter had just choked on his tea, his face flushed. He paused for a second before speaking: "I am here."

"Is this true?" asked Emperor Hengshun.

Ruan Ming bit his lower lip, glanced at Ruan Yueyi who had an expressionless face, sweat dripping from his forehead.

It was impossible for him to do so. He had never even met Jiang Xingcong. Although he only met Ruan Yueyi every day, he was her father after all, so he knew whether the engagement letter had been exchanged or not.

However, if he denied it, Jiang Xingcong would be guilty of deceiving the emperor and sentenced to death, and his daughter's reputation would be damaged and she would not be able to marry into a wealthy family.

Ruan Yueyi didn't give him gold and silver to gamble with. If he didn't find a rich son-in-law to suck his blood, how would he have fun in the casino in the future?

And this Jiang Xingcong... has a way of making money?

"Your Majesty, this is true." Ruan Ming said decisively.

He didn't care about the relationship between Ruan Yueyi and Jiang Xingcong, as long as he had money to gamble.

"Are you happy?" Emperor Hengshun asked again. "Are you willing?"

Ruan Yueyi stood up and looked at Jiang Xingcong deeply.

"Uncle," she exhaled slowly. "Gan Le is willing."

Emperor Hengshun clapped his hands and smiled: "Since that is the case, I will grant you two a marriage today. Fuguang, announce my order."

After the imperial decree granting the marriage was read out, Agula's face turned ashen.

"Princess Has, this is really unfortunate. It is not my intention to neglect Qingyuan. Please forgive me." Emperor Hengshun said.

"No problem, thank you for your understanding." Princess Has's Dragon Language was a little unfamiliar. "May I ask your Majesty, if..."

"Princess." Agula interrupted in Qingyuan language and whispered a warning to her.

Jiang Hexue listened indifferently and started eating.

There were two fresh pepper crayfish "1" on the table. She had been worried before, but this time she could finally enjoy it with peace of mind. She snapped off the claws with two hands and twisted off the head.

Shen Chutang beside him was shocked and whispered: "Auntie Huang?"

"Hmm?" Jiang Hexue sucked the shrimp roe and raised his fingers to peel the shell.

Shen Chutang hesitated several times before finally speaking softly, "At palace banquets on ordinary days, peeling crickets would dirty your hands, so most people don't eat them."

"Ah..." Jiang Hexue's hand stopped peeling the shrimp, and the shrimp claws between his fingers loosened and fell on the carpet.

She bent down to pick it up, and the moment she looked up, her pupils widened in shock.

From this angle, you can just see the bottom of Princess Has's skirt, and the iron chains that bound her feet are faintly visible under the hem of her skirt.

"Please, Your Majesty, please wait for a few days!" Princess Has suddenly spoke loudly in Qingyuan language.

The Qingyuan dialect sounds similar to the Mengzhou dialect, and Jiang Hexue was sure that he understood it almost exactly.

"What did Princess Has just say?" Emperor Hengshun did not understand the Qingyuan language and asked Agula.

Princess Has could not explain in Longlin language and was held tightly by the two attendants behind her, unable to move.

"Your Majesty, the princess must be exhausted from the long journey and may be out of control. She wants to leave early..." Agula said nonsense with his eyes open.

The iron chains gleamed coldly, and leaving the table would mean returning home to be humiliated.

"That's not what she said!" Jiang Hexue couldn't help but interrupt, and her voice overlapped with a clear male voice.

It’s Shen Zelan.

Princess Has looked expectantly at the two people who had spoken, one on her left and one on her right, and continued in Qingyuan language, "Help me."

Emperor Hengshun narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did Princess Hasi say? Princess Heng'an, tell me."

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the princess wants to postpone the selection of a husband for a few days." Jiang Hexue said.

Shen Zelan nodded in agreement: "I agree with you."

Emperor Hengshun stroked his chin and looked at the pale Agula with sharp eyes: "Lord Agula?"

"The Agula envoy must have been exhausted from the journey and misunderstood the princess's words." Shen Qingchen spoke at this time. "Royal brother, calm down."

"According to Heng'an, what should we do about this matter?" Emperor Hengshun asked directly.

"I think today is not an auspicious day for Princess Has to choose a husband. It would be better to postpone it for a few days," Shen Qingchen said calmly. "Marriage matters should not be decided by those who are not relatives or friends. I think this is an ominous omen."

Agula knelt on one knee, sweating profusely.

"Empress." Emperor Hengshun called Empress Xie, who was sitting on the lower right. The latter understood and pointed to two palace maids to lead Princess Has to rest first.

"Heng'an is being tactful, but I'm absolutely not." Emperor Hengshun looked at the kneeling Qingyuan envoys and said loudly, "Qingyuan is willing to be forever united with Longlin, so why is it so picky about Longlin's men? Do they look down on them, or do they intend to interfere in Longlin's internal affairs?"

"Your Majesty, you misunderstood." Agula lowered his head and replied. "Qingyuan had absolutely no such intention."

Emperor Hengshun laughed with an ambiguous tone.

"I received a letter earlier, saying that the position of Crown Prince's concubine is vacant, and I'm interested in marrying someone from Long Lin." He said solemnly. "I've already chosen the candidate. Lord Agula, please listen. Do you have any questions?"

Agula didn't dare to think anything, he just realized angrily that he had completely lost the game to Long Lin today.

Neither Shen Qingchen nor Jiang Xingcong, who he had his eyes on, got married yet. In the future, they would have to deal with the struggle for the crown prince, and their power would be as precarious as the wind and rain.

As for Princess Rongchang or Princess Ganle, who he wanted to take away, the former was not present and it was impossible to say anything, and the latter's marriage was actually arranged on the same day!

He dared not speak out, "I will obey the king's order."

"Propagate my decree. Immediately confer the title of Princess Yong'an upon the youngest daughter of the Duke of Ling, and marry her to Qingyuan."

Su Ling'er was caught off guard and nearly broke the teacup in her hand, but she couldn't disobey and had to accept the order and express her gratitude.

The cicada that Jiang Hexue had just peeled fell into his palm.

It happened to be Su Linger?

Could it be Shen Qingchen's handiwork again? To vent her anger?

Although the Su sisters were annoying, why did he make such a fuss? She didn't take it to heart.

I mean, today, I haven't seen Zhou Yiheng and Su Min'er yet...

"The Duke's legitimate daughter, my mother's only unmarried niece, Lord Agula, will you not neglect Qingyuan?"

Put it this way, it makes sense.

Jiang Hexue was amused by the momentary illusion in her mind. She wiped the soup from her palm with an embroidered handkerchief, but still felt it was not clean, so she simply left the table and went outside the hall to wash her hands.

She was not familiar with the palace and it took her a quarter of an hour to find a secluded guest hall.

"Fu Er, why are you everywhere?" Jiang Hexue asked with amusement as soon as he entered the hall and saw Fu Wang leaning against a tree.

"Mr. Fu is here to sober you up." Fu Wang burped.

"You have a terrible alcohol tolerance." Jiang Hexue joked.

"Isn't it because of you that I drank too much?" Fu Wang said. "Hexue, I have been thinking about——"

"Tell me, if His Highness hadn't met you, would he have married someone else to avoid her, or would he have simply married Princess Qingyuan today?"

"There's no need to worry about that many 'ifs'." Jiang Hexue didn't take it seriously. "Besides, when we first got married, we really did get what we needed."

"Then have you ever thought about this: since we both need something, why you?" Fu Wang refused to give in.

"No. Why are you asking this?" Gong Yan was thinking too much, and Jiang Hexue was too lazy to think about it.

"I think," Fu Wang said with a blazing gaze, "he's just using you."

"He doesn't love you at all!"