Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Let me ride you like a horse for two laps

Cuicui wanted to follow the prince's line of sight, but because the carriage was moving too fast, she couldn't see anything clearly.

Yuan Susu turned her head again and vaguely saw that the group of people were no longer at the door of Zuixianju.

"Your Highness, do you still need to stop the car?"

Su Su shook her head slightly disappointed, but it seemed that it was really Lin Zhiyue.

Yuan Susu was confident that he would not admit his mistake, as the man had just called him "Lin Zhuo".

The character Lin Zhuo is the third male lead in the script. Why does Lin Zhuo's appearance, like Shen Rang's, have a reflection in reality?

Could it be that... the characters in this script are based on the original characters in real life?

But this speculation was quickly denied by her. If this was true, then the character Yuan Jishu she played should also look like Yuan Susu.

"Cui Cui, do you know Lin Zhuo, the Censor of the Ministry of Justice?" Yuan Susu suddenly reached out and grabbed Cuicui.

The little maid's eyes showed confusion. "Master Lin? He was already a brilliant scholar at the age of eighteen, and was ranked first in the imperial examination. He was considered one of the best in the capital, along with Master Shen. How could I not know him?"

Su Su's brows relaxed, and a smile curved her lips: "Will he go to the palace banquet?"

"That... I don't know. Master Xiaolin and Master Shen rarely attend palace banquets like this one, where people enjoy flowers and music. They only attend when His Majesty invites the ministers."

Yuan Susu was slightly disappointed.

"However, I heard that a while ago, Master Xiaolin, being too upright, insisted on submitting several memorials with the criminal evidence that the Prince of Anyang wanted to protect. However, the memorials were withdrawn before they were even submitted, thus angering the Prince..."

Cui Cui paused slightly and only dared to continue when she saw the discontent in His Highness's eyes.

"The Crown Prince then teamed up with the Ministry of Justice to oppress Lord Xiao Lin at every turn. Not only did they secretly withdraw his brother's provincial examination results, they also ordered that no one in the Lin Mansion be allowed to purchase anything from Shangjing."

No wonder he came to this place of red light tonight. I guess he came here to apologize to the Prince of Anyang.

"There's no need to refuse the palace banquet. Regardless of whether Lin Zhuo goes that day or not, I'm going to respond to this arrogant and domineering prince."

The court affairs have been busy these days, so Shen Rang sent someone to ask for leave from the princess, and Su Su was happy to have some free time.

At the very least, the favorability level won't drop drastically again.

In order to avoid revealing any flaws at the palace banquet, she asked the imperial physician to come and treat her. Through her lifelike acting skills, the imperial physician had to diagnose the princess as suffering from amnesia in the medical records.

On the day of the palace banquet, it was a midsummer day, and floating clouds were faintly visible in the azure sky.

As the carriage passed over the mottled blue bricks in front of the palace gate, the chief eunuch's shrill voice came over, "Princess, we're here."

The noisy noise suddenly quieted down and everyone seemed to hold their breath, as if the noise just now was not real.

Yuan Susu had just pushed the door open and was about to get out of the car when she looked at the young eunuch who was kneeling skillfully on the hot ground, acting as a stepping stone for her. Susu hesitated and said in confusion:

"Isn't there a ladder?"

The young eunuch was a little surprised, but the surprise only flashed across his face for a moment before he obediently put the ladder away and stepped aside.

She cast her gaze inside the Nangong Gate, and suddenly realized that while the rich were feasting and drinking, the poor were freezing to death on the streets. This was the concrete image of that.

The pavilions and waterside terraces by the Jinming Pond were already permeated with the fragrance of flowers, and the eighteen sandalwood screens were painted with colorful stamens and hundreds of flowers in full bloom.

The most wonderful thing is that there are crystal tanks brought from the South China Sea on both sides of the white marble steps. Water lilies float on the water, and when a few precious koi fish swim by under the pool, ripples appear on the water, which scatters the reflected scorching sun.

A silver platter of twisted branches was piled with candied magnolia and amber peach kernels, while an agate cup overflowed with refreshing rose water. When the wind blew, the air was filled with a sweet smell.

Su Su was stunned.

Along the way, she excitedly opened the carriage window and looked out at the people of the Great Zhou. She originally wanted to see people living and working in peace and contentment, the rich atmosphere of the city, and children running and jumping in the streets and alleys.

but…

What Yuan Susu saw was the poor people who were struggling to survive behind the fading prosperity of Shangjing City, and the fear and anxiety in their eyes towards the imperial power.

The increasing taxes due to years of war made them even more breathless.

However, what is even more ridiculous is that the increased taxes collected from these common people were enjoyed and squandered by those who stood at the top of the world in the Zhou Dynasty.

Yuan Susu suddenly wanted to escape. She looked at the scene inside the red gate and felt pity in her heart.

It is for all living beings in the world, but isn’t it also for yourself?

She is the eldest princess of the Zhou Dynasty. She has been arrogant and licentious since childhood. Isn't she the instigator of all this?

Seeing that the princess hadn't moved, the eunuch came over and respectfully said, "Your Highness, please."

Yuan Susu finally regained her composure. She had put a lot of thought into today's palace banquet so that she could have close contact with her idol for the first time.

She was dressed in a bright and pretty outfit like a lotus in a pond, and was truly eye-catching.

The wind blew, and the dress swayed gracefully. The gradient of lotus pink suddenly appeared from a distance, and the long skirt swept the ground, flowing with her steps.

She raised her hand to adjust the lily of the valley hairpin on her temples, and her fingertips were stained with the juice of the newly blooming crabapple.

Some people can't help but wonder why His Highness likes such a cute color today?

Everyone looked at her and saw a faint smile on her lips, and she was stunned to find that her usual arrogant attitude of looking down on others was gone.

But those fox eyes that were slightly filled with warmth and joy also highlighted a bit of the sinisterness that was etched in his bones.

The lip balm on her lips was like crushed pomegranates on a spring day.

Yuan Jishu, who had recently been canonized as Princess Zhaoyang due to a marriage alliance, raised an eyebrow and questioned, "Everyone said she had lost her memory. I didn't believe it at first, but today I see that she is really different from the pretentious Yuan Jiyin of the past."

After hearing what Zhaoyang said, those gentlemen who had been disliked by the princess or failed in the "selection of concubines" all secretly competed with each other and tried their best to curry favor with her.

However, Yuan Susu took a quick look and didn't see Lin Zhuo, so she frowned and walked away from the crowd with a cold face.

She looked over the crowd and saw that there was indeed no sign of Lin Zhuo.

Yuan Susu's expectations of the past few days were completely dashed. As the time had come and the banquet was about to begin, Cuicui helped her sit at the first seat.

Today's reason for the trip is to enjoy the flowers, so the whole place is filled with flowers, from the gauze curtain separating the men's and women's seats to the tea served at the entrance and the exquisite and delicious pastries of various colors that make Susu's eyes drool.

His Majesty and several important ministers did not participate. After all, no matter how small His Majesty is, he is busy with state affairs every day.

After sitting down, Susu clearly noticed that the liveliness was gone as soon as she arrived.

The customs of the people in the Zhou Dynasty were open-minded. Although men and women could not sit at the same table, they only needed to be separated by a gauze curtain.

She pursed her lips and cleared her throat to ease the atmosphere: "Don't be so reserved, everyone. You can eat at home. I won't eat you."

Suddenly, it was so quiet that you could hear a pinhole, and no one dared to speak.

At the beginning, when the princess said this in Taiji Hall when the young emperor first ascended the throne, the entire political situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty underwent earth-shaking changes that day.

She directly held the military power of the eight major camps outside the capital, and that day she quietly dispatched troops to guard the palace gate.

Relying on the power in his hands, he not only abolished the six supervisory ministries, but also took the position of prime minister, the highest official in the country who could directly control the power of the royal family.

He even took out the Ministry of Revenue's account books for many years and strangled the Minister of Revenue and the ministers involved in the account books on the spot.

The traces of blood that flowed from the Taiji Hall that day can still be seen through the cracks.

The eldest princess, who had not yet reached the age of marriage, did not even blink when she saw the head fall to the ground.

Suddenly... the temperature was 37 or 38 degrees Celsius, and everyone here felt like winter had arrived in an instant.

As Su Su blinked and scanned the crowd, no one dared to look her in the eye, Cuicui suppressed her inner trembling and whispered in her ear, "Your Highness, there is no need to say more. Let's just have our meal."

For someone like Susu, breaking the deadlock is really difficult: "Forget it, let's eat first."

It was clear that the tables of everyone were filled with exquisite and rare delicacies from the palace, but some of them were just hard to swallow.

Only Susu ate with such relish.

Looking at the big pork elbow, Su Su was really greedy. She looked at Cuicui who was serving her food and whispered, "Pork elbow...can I eat it?"

Cuicui was stunned. This pork elbow... is usually just for good looks, and no one would touch it after the banquet.

But Cuicui's eyes sparkled as she looked at His Highness, and she nodded, her heart softening. She ordered someone to take the pork elbow away, cut it, and serve it to His Highness.

Princess Zhaoyang looked at Yuan Susu with some surprise, who was full of expectation. She even specially ordered the pork elbow to be served today just to disgust Yuan Jiyin.

As everyone knows, the eldest princess hates greasy and fishy things the most.

Zhao Yang frowned and said sarcastically, "The eldest princess has developed a good appetite since recovering from her illness."

Su Su naturally understood, but she was too lazy to argue with her. After all, they were sisters, so why make them enemies?

She generously picked up the last piece of pork elbow.

"It's delicious! Would you like to try it, sister?" Su Su picked up the pork elbow and put it into Yuan Jishu's jade plate.

The mockery on Zhaoyang's face froze. "What did you call me? Ah...Amei?"

Yuan Susu didn't know that the two sisters had been at odds since they were young, and neither of them had ever called the other "sister".

"Sister." Su Su didn't think there was anything wrong, but she felt that if she didn't eat the elbow, then I would.

"Yuan Jiyin!" Her face suddenly darkened and she shook off Susu's hand.

Su Su's pupils dilated and she felt heartbroken: Ah... my last piece of pork elbow!!

Zhaoyang's crimson lips were covered in coldness. "Don't be so hypocritical! It's obvious that His Majesty of Northern Qi favors you, not me! It's obvious that you were unwilling to give up your power, so you tricked the Emperor into decreeing that I should leave my homeland, and I must not return to the Great Zhou even if I die! Yuan Jiyin, why did you force me to this point?"

Concubine Ning, Zhaoyang's mother, said in panic, "Your Highness, please forgive me. Zhaoyang's outrageous words are all due to my excessive arrogance."

There was quite a commotion here, and she cried in public, disregarding the royal family's dignity: "Mother! Now that the emperor has issued his decree, my daughter will never be able to return..."

"Northern Qi is a thousand miles away, and it's all Yuan Jiyin's fault that we were separated! I can clearly ask His Majesty for a decree to grant us a marriage next month... I'm almost there!"

Aunt Jin, the eldest princess's nanny, was about to step forward and scold Zhaoyang for being rude and disrespectful when Susu suddenly reached out to stop her and shook her head in silence.

After the meal, Yuan Susu could sense from this meal that the original owner had made many enemies in the court, and even the eyes of these court officials' families showed a fearful and distant look.

Su Su felt bored and was about to leave when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the side.

"You can ask me to let you go," the man paused and said in a more mocking tone, "Just ride me like a horse for a couple of laps at the banquet, and I'll show mercy and let you go."

The author has something to say:

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Furious Old Seven: Yuan Jiyin, you dare to call me sister? Are you crazy or am I crazy? (I feel a little happy inside)

Susu's daughter: Yeah~ Do you want to eat the pork elbow? (If not, I'll eat it~)