For several days after that, Lu Ze did not come to Prince Qi's Mansion again.

Qi Yuning never saw Lu Ze again. Lu Ze was busy, and she was busy too.

Occasionally, I would learn about Lu Ze's whereabouts from Xiaoman, but Xiaoman only heard it from rumors.

Qi Yuning looked outside and saw that the sun was shining brightly, the temperature was just right, and it was a crisp autumn day. He felt that it was a waste of time to waste time on account books. He wanted to see if there were any rich people organizing a poetry gathering or a flower-viewing banquet, so that he could choose one to relax.

There were quite a few invitations, and Qi Yuning chose the one given by Qin Feng's sister, Qin Mang, to attend.

Most of the people that sister Qin Mang invited were unmarried ladies in Shengjing City. Qi Yuning guessed that the elders of the Qin family must be anxious for Qin Feng's marriage.

When Qi Yuning arrived at the Qin family, Qin Mang obviously did not expect Qi Yuning to come to attend. After all, it was not like he had not invited Qi Yuning before, but it was very rare for Princess Qi to come to the banquet.

"Princess." Qin Manglian saluted Qi Yuning.

Wang Zhiyu was in the courtyard. When she heard Qin Mang's address, she also came out to salute and said, "Princess."

Qi Yuning looked at Wang Zhiyu's slightly bulging belly and smiled faintly, "Mrs. Lin, congratulations. How many months has it been?"

Wang Zhiyu blushed and said, "Four months."

Qi Yuning smiled and said, "You got pregnant not long after you got married, congratulations."

Qin Mang smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Princess. Please come in quickly. We are writing poems. We have heard that you are very talented. If you come, I'm afraid we will all cry bitterly!"

Qi Yuning looked from afar and saw that there were quite a few male guests. She wondered if she had guessed wrong. Wasn't the party here today for Qin Feng to meet?

Among the male guests was a young boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old. After he composed a poem, people around him kept applauding him.

Qi Yuning looked over and said, "That young boy looks unfamiliar. Where is he from?"

"The Shen family of Lingzhou." Qin Mang said, "The eldest son of the Shen family of Lingzhou, Shen Jialin, the future head of the Shen family, has bad luck. He ran into trouble just after arriving in Shengjing City. Fortunately, his talent was appreciated by Prince Xu, and he has been staying in Prince Xu's mansion. He dared to come out to Shengjing City to participate in the poetry meeting in the past few days. Today, I am holding a poetry meeting for him..."

Qi Yuning smiled and said, "I thought you were here to find a wife for your brother."

Qin Mang said: "Alas, no one wants to take care of my brother anymore. Sister Prince, let's go and see what his talent is."

Qi Yuning heard Qin Mang calling her "Sister Princess" in a familiar manner, so she followed Qin Mang.

Beside Shen Jialin, Zheng Hao, the daughter of the Zheng family, praised repeatedly: "I used to think that Master Lu's calligraphy was the best in the world, but it turns out that Master Shen's calligraphy is not inferior to Master Lu's."

Qi Yuning raised her eyes and glanced at him and said, "It's not as good as Lu Ze's."

Shen Jialin has been used to being praised since he was a child. He sneaked out of Lingzhou and came to Shengjing City, where he got to know King Xu and the literati he supported. His calligraphy has always been praised.

Everyone compared him to Master Lu. At that time, Shen Jialin thought Lu Ze had passed away, and it was a pity that he couldn't compare them on the spot.

Now that he knew Lu Ze was still alive, he was about to compete with Lu Ze, but then he heard Qi Yuning's words.

Shen Jialin looked up at Qi Yuning and saw that she had her hair in a bun with the gold ornaments on it sparkling. When he saw Qi Yuning's face clearly, Shen Jialin felt a little shy and didn't dare to look at her any longer.

Shen Jialin asked, "You said my handwriting is not as good as Lu Ze's?"

Qi Yuning nodded and said, "It's true that it can't compare."

Shen Jialin frowned and said, "You can't say that just because you are good-looking. I obviously write better than Lu Ze. Even Prince Xu said that I write better than Lu Ze. Prince Xu is Lu Ze's uncle!"

Qi Yuning said: "It's not comparable."

Shen Jialin was young and arrogant, and his face was full of dissatisfaction. He said, "How can I not compare with him? I have been practicing calligraphy since I was three years old. I write nearly a thousand words a day, and practice calligraphy for no less than two hours a day. I don't believe that I can't compare with Lu Ze's calligraphy! If he has the guts, he can compete with me on the spot! He doesn't even dare to compete with me in calligraphy."

Qi Yuning looked at the boy in front of him, thinking that he was a spoiled child at home, not as cute and sensible as his cousin Shen Yuqi.

Qi Yuning said: "Lu Ze is just busy, he doesn't have time to compete with a kid like you in writing."

Shen Jialin sneered, his face full of arrogance: "Busy? Lu Ze is busy playing with the nine beauties from the Western Regions that the officials gave him? Of course he is busy."

Qi Yuning was stunned, and narrowed her eyes slightly, "What did you say?"

Everyone looked at Qi Yuning. Qi Yuning glanced at Qin Mang with a sharp gaze, "Do you know about this?"

Qin Mang whispered, "I heard that in order to avoid being implicated by the Qin family, Duke Zheng gave nine beauties to Prince Lu, and Prince Lu accepted them..."

Qi Yuning clenched her hands tightly. No wonder she hadn't seen Lu Ze in the past few days. She was extremely angry but she didn't show her emotions. At this time a year ago, she was laughed at for her fiancé becoming a monk. If she was angry again today, she would only make herself a laughing stock.

Qi Yuning took another look at Shen Jialin's handwriting and praised him, "I was wrong just now. Your handwriting is thousands or even tens of thousands times better than Lu Ze's. Lu Ze is far behind you."

The young man's rebellious face turned a little shy and he said, "My handwriting is not that good. Master Lu's handwriting is also good..."

Qi Yuning said, "No, Lu Ze's handwriting is not comparable to yours. His handwriting is extremely ugly! The handwriting reflects the person. Lu Ze is not a good person, so how can his handwriting be good?"

Shen Jialin even made a silencing gesture towards Qi Yuning: "Shh, aren't you afraid of offending Prince Lu? I heard that he has been killing people like crazy in recent days. He is the regent now, managing the affairs of the world for His Majesty. If you say this to him and offend him, he will retaliate against you."

Qi Yuning sneered and said, "I'm afraid of offending Lu Ze? What a joke! He is such a lecher..."

When Shen Jialin saw the three people coming from behind, he stepped forward and covered Qi Yuning's mouth.

Seeing Lu Ze, who was getting more and more angry, Shen Jialin said, "Oh no! I told you not to say bad things about Lu Ze, but he heard it, didn't he?"

Lu Ze frowned and stepped forward, hitting Shen Jialin's hand with the folding fan in his hand, and pulled Qi Yuning into his arms. He stared at Shen Jialin with sharp eyes and asked Qi Yuning in his arms: "Where did this little pervert come from?"

Qi Yuning raised her eyes and glared at Lu Ze. She ignored everyone present and said, "What's the matter with the nine beauties? Aren't you busy? How can you come to Qin Mang's poetry meeting? Let me go!"

Seeing that everyone at the poetry gathering was watching him and Qi Yuning having fun, Lu Ze pulled Qi Yuning to Qin Feng's courtyard.

Entered Qin Feng’s courtyard.

Lu Zecai explained one by one: "The nine beauties from the Western Regions were sent by Duke Zheng because he was afraid of being implicated by the Qin family. My grandmother and the wife of Duke Zheng were good friends. That day, the wife of Duke Zheng brought nine beauties to visit my grandmother and kept the nine beauties, saying that they were to take care of my grandmother. My grandmother couldn't refuse her good friend, so she kept them.

That's why people outside spread the rumor that I accepted them. In fact, I had already returned those beauties from the Western Regions to the Duke Zheng's Mansion.

As for being busy, I am indeed very busy. I heard from Qin Feng that you came to the poetry gathering today and put aside your official duties. I didn't expect to see you getting close to a young man. Who is that young man?"

Seeing Qi Yuning didn't answer, Lu Ze asked in a low voice: "You still don't believe it?"

Qi Yuning asked: "Then why haven't you come to the palace these days?"

Lu Ze replied, "I went back very late. Firstly, I was afraid of waking you up. Secondly, there are so many people watching me now. I was afraid of attracting criticism if I went in and out of your palace."

Qi Yuning looked up at Lu Ze's peach blossom eyes, and seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, she said, "Forget it, I'll just believe you for once."

Lu Ze asked, "Whose family is that boy from? How dare he touch you?"

Qi Yuning said: "From the Shen family."

"Which Shen family? Lingzhou Shen family?"

Qi Yuning nodded and said, "Yes, the eldest son of the Shen family, and the future head of the Shen family."