Chapter 89 I can also speak to people in a way that suits them...

Chapter 89

Following the usual procedure of accompanying his parents to the palace banquet, after entering the palace, He Hansheng first went to Funing Palace to see Li Bo and the Empress, then went to Shou Kang Palace to see the Empress Dowager, and accompanied the Empress Dowager along with many princes and their families until the palace banquet was about to begin, before going to Shengping Tower to take his seat and attend the banquet.

However, this year He Hansheng entered the palace alone with his family and arrived a little late, so he skipped the procedure of going to Shou Kang Palace. He only paid his respects to Li Bo at Funing Palace, and after exchanging only a few words, he took Shen Suining directly to Shengping Tower.

Shen Suining found it strange. According to He Hansheng's personality, even if he was in a hurry, he shouldn't have skipped the step of seeing the Empress Dowager, who was his maternal grandmother.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was around, Shen Suining whispered to He Hansheng, "You're not going to the Empress Dowager's place, is it not just because you don't have enough time?"

He Hansheng took Shen Suining's hand and pulled her closer to him, lowering his voice: "Ningning, you understand me best."

"Tsk, don't give me that." Shen Suining patted his shoulder.

He Hansheng smiled, but did not let go of her. He spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "The situation in the previous dynasty is becoming increasingly tense. At this time, the Crown Prince and Prince Zhao are probably both in Shou Kang Palace. If I go, I will inevitably have to deal with the two of them, and you will also feel uncomfortable. It will be easier if I don't go."

Shen Suining instantly understood. The Yong'an Marquis's Mansion had a very high reputation in the army, and He Hansheng held military power. His allegiance was too important to both parties of the previous dynasty. Moreover, his current situation was not very good, so it was a good time to win him over.

However, considering the occasion, Shen Suining knew that the Crown Prince and Prince Zhao would definitely bring their female relatives as well. Since this involved court affairs that she was not familiar with, she asked nervously, "If I encounter their princesses later, what should I do?"

He Hansheng thought for a moment, “Although Prince Zhao has reached the age, he has not yet married a principal wife, so he probably won’t bring any female relatives to the event. As for the Crown Princess, she is the granddaughter of the former Right Chancellor Ouyang Qi. Ouyang Qi was a man of high principles and always remained neutral in court, not giving orders to anyone. His granddaughter resigned immediately after being betrothed to the Crown Prince to show her stance. With such a grandfather, the Crown Princess probably won’t be in a hurry to deliberately test anything. Besides, I will always be by your side, so just consider it a meal together. You don’t need to be too reserved.”

Shen Suining was relieved.

However, as soon as the two arrived at Shengping Tower, before they even stepped into the hall, He Hansheng saw the Crown Prince chatting with someone inside. He Hansheng had probably been keeping an eye on the movements at the entrance, and the Crown Prince spotted him immediately. He Hansheng had no choice but to continue forward.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Cousin, why be so polite?" Li Yichuan smiled and took He Hansheng's arm, looking at Shen Suining. "This must be my sister-in-law, right? Cousin, you really are something. You've been married for more than half a year, and you never brought your sister-in-law out to meet people. It's only now that I've met her."

The young man was humble and gentle, showing no airs of a prince. He acted as if they were just ordinary siblings exchanging pleasantries. Xiangye reminded Shen Suining, and Shen Suining came to her senses. She immediately put on a standard smile of a well-bred young lady and bowed to Li Yichuan.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yichuan seemed to want to have a private chat with He Hansheng. He Hansheng noticed this, put his hands together, took a step back, and said, "My wife is entering the palace for the first time, so she may be a little reserved. I'll take her outside for a walk."

After saying that, without waiting for Li Yichuan's response, he took Shen Suining and left.

Shen Suining caught a glimpse of Li Yichuan standing there watching their backs, feeling quite embarrassed. She asked He Hansheng, "Isn't it inappropriate for you to be so disrespectful? He's the Crown Prince, he's supposed to be above you."

He Hansheng chuckled lightly but didn't say anything, seemingly unconcerned.

He maintains basic respect and etiquette in public, appearing humble and peaceful, but deep down he is an unruly madman who doesn't respect anyone. Shen Suining increasingly feels that after shedding his disguise and the labels others have attached to him, He Hansheng is essentially the same kind of person as her.

Shengping Tower is located in the southeast corner of the Imperial City. It was a place where the palace held song and dance banquets. Surrounded by water on all sides, it had a beautiful view in spring and summer. However, now that it is deep winter, only a few withered stems remain in the pond, and even the fish rarely show up, making it look rather desolate.

However, many imperial relatives entered the palace today, along with a considerable number of their families, making the place quite lively as the banquet approached.

He Hansheng came out hoping to find some peace and quiet, but there were people everywhere outside. Everyone who saw him greeted him, so he had no choice but to deal with them. He also wanted Shen Suining to get to know more people, since he would be spending a lot of time in the capital and would inevitably have to make connections.

Courtly social interactions inevitably involve some insincere flattery. He Hansheng was initially worried that Shen Suining would dislike it, but she did not show any resistance. On the contrary, she readily accepted the flattery and praised the other party in return, as if she thoroughly enjoyed the process of exchanging compliments. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

After everyone around him had left, He Hansheng said in a low voice, "I thought you wouldn't like dealing with these kinds of flattering occasions."

“Then you really don’t know me well enough. I’m only sincere in front of you,” Shen Suining laughed. “Outside, I can also say whatever I want to anyone.”

He Hansheng looked at her gently and noticed that one of the hairpins in her hair was crooked, so he reached out and straightened it for her.

The two acted intimately, without any attempt to hide it in public, which was quite different from He Hansheng's usual aloof and cold image. This prompted onlookers to whisper among themselves: "Rumor has it that Young Master He and his wife are going through a divorce and have been separated for a long time. Why do they look...not like that today?"

"Hey! Don't you even use your brain? The young Marquis He's marriage was arranged by His Majesty. A divorce? Does he really think that the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion can ignore the Emperor's authority and openly defy the imperial decree?"

The chatter of others did not disturb the peace of the two. Shen Suining's gaze was drawn to a woman standing on the other side of the bridge.

Unlike the other women of the clan who were dressed in their finest attire, the woman's attire was not particularly extravagant. She wore a light blue jacket and skirt with cloud-shaped sleeves, resembling the vast expanse of blue water. Her hair ornaments were also extremely simple, consisting of only a sapphire blue orchid-shaped hairpin adorned with kingfisher feathers. Compared to the other wives of officials, she could even be described as plain. The reason she did not stand out from the crowd was entirely due to her exceptionally outstanding temperament.

Like a secluded orchid in a valley, it is elegant and serene, so clean and pure that it seems not to belong to this world.

Shen Suining had seen many beautiful women in Jiangnan, including the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan, Sheng Qingge, who was stunning at first sight. But this woman was different from all the beauties she had ever seen. Before she could even see the woman's face clearly, she was captivated.

"Hey, He Hansheng," Shen Suining raised her chin and asked He Hansheng, "Whose family is that beautiful lady over there? Why is she all alone there, without even a maid?"

"..." He Hansheng reached out and turned Shen Suining's face to face, saying with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Your eyes are practically glued to her body."

Shen Suining chuckled, but his gaze still couldn't help but drift in that direction.

"Is it really that good-looking?" He Hansheng asked helplessly.

If she were staring at a man, He Hansheng could openly be jealous and block her view. But when she used such frank and straightforward eyes to appreciate a woman's beauty, He Hansheng was both amused and exasperated, and couldn't even bring himself to argue with her.

Shen Suining gave a perfunctory "hmm" and stared intently at the other person. After a while, she realized something was wrong, looked away, and met He Hansheng's slightly resentful gaze.

She couldn't help but chuckle. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she leaned closer to He Hansheng and whispered, "Look for yourself, she really is beautiful."

He Han sighed, "If you want to get to know them, I can help you."

"You know him?" Shen Suining's interest was instantly piqued.

He Hansheng: "I can't say I know her. I only know that she is the daughter of Xu Yong, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Xu Yong is the son of the Empress Dowager's cousin."

Shen Suining: "What's her name?"

Just as He Hansheng was about to speak, a soft yet sarcastic voice came from behind them: "Her name is Xu Zhen, and her nickname is Lanji. Don't be fooled by her elegant and beautiful appearance, which makes her seem otherworldly. In reality, she's a vixen who's trying to climb the social ladder!"

Upon hearing this, the two turned around to look at the newcomer.

Shen Suining frowned slightly. She hated people who gossiped behind her back, especially those who said such hurtful things. But as soon as she turned around, Ouyang Zhiqing exclaimed "Oh!" and immediately put on a gentle and charming demeanor, revealing two dimples. However, her words were still sharp and sarcastic. "My dear cousin, you are already an exceptionally beautiful woman, yet you are attracted to someone with such an ordinary appearance. This shows that this person is dishonest and deliberately seduces people. It's best for you not to get acquainted with such a person."

Shen Suining didn't recognize this person, but from her clothes, she could tell that this person was of higher status than her. Just as she was hesitating, He Hansheng took her hand and squeezed it subtly, as if to comfort her or remind her, "Ningning, this is the Crown Princess."

"Greetings, Crown Princess." Shen Suining instantly relaxed her brows, concealing her displeasure, and bowed to Ouyang Zhiqing with a forced smile.

The palace rules were strict, which was what Shen Suining disliked most about Huadu. Just because the other party's status was more noble, even if she hated it to the extreme, she could only grovel and fawn. If she were in Yangzhou, where the emperor was far away, she wouldn't care about this disgusting concept of hierarchy.

Ouyang Zhiqing smiled and pretended not to notice Shen Suining's resistance to her. She warmly invited, "I heard from His Highness that this is your first time accompanying your brother to the palace, so you must be unfamiliar with many things. How about... I take you around to meet other ladies or young ladies? Your brother is a man and doesn't like to socialize. It would be difficult for him to introduce you to the women."

Before Shen Suining could speak, He Hansheng refused on her behalf, saying, "Ningning is very shy, there's no need to trouble the Crown Princess."

"..." Shen Suining glanced at him, expressing her dissatisfaction with the excuse he had come up with with a look, but still cooperated by taking a step back and tugging at his sleeve tightly, "Yes, I'm shy and can't leave my husband's side for even a moment, otherwise there will be big trouble."

Seeing that the two of them didn't give her, the Crown Princess, any face, Ouyang Zhiqing's lips twitched, clearly showing some dissatisfaction, but she had no choice but to maintain a dignified smile and say, "Alright then."

As the palace banquet was about to begin, He Hansheng led Shen Suining to their seats, which were second only to the princes.

Even without having seen them in person, one could accurately distinguish the princes by their seating arrangement alone. The Crown Prince was at the front, followed closely by Prince Zhao. However, although the guest list was full, the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and all the concubines were already seated, and the singing and dancing had already begun, there was still no sign of Prince Zhao in his seat.