Chapter 198 Trap

After three rounds of drinking, the emperor, despite his age and the series of marriages he had just granted, was exhausted. He smiled and said loudly, "I am a little tired. My lords, please continue drinking. You are not allowed to leave the palace until you are drunk today."

After saying this, he strolled away with his concubines, leaving behind a group of civil and military officials looking at each other in confusion. Should they continue drinking or not? They dared not take the emperor's casual words lightly!

It would be bad if they didn't drink and someone caught them and complained about them. All the officials secretly groaned in their hearts.

Only the Crown Prince did not care about the Emperor's casual remark and quickly stood up and left. As he left, a sneer appeared on the corner of the Fourth Prince's mouth. He did not leave, but instead raised his glass to toast everyone one by one.

Prince Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw this, and when he looked up, he saw Prince Rong opposite him with a half-smile on his face.

Prince Cheng has always had a good relationship with his uncle. In fact, when he was young, Prince Rong took good care of him.

Thinking of this, Prince Cheng simply walked over with his wine glass in hand: "Uncle, congratulations."

Prince Rong sneered and asked, "Why are you so happy?"

Prince Cheng smiled and said, "Hejing and Ah Jun are finally married. Isn't this a great joy?"

Prince Rong said, "Men in the He family always die young. I'm afraid He Jing will become a widow early."

Prince Cheng almost spit out the wine in his mouth. How could he curse his son-in-law like that? Although he knew that the emperor's uncle was not so satisfied with He Jun, he still felt helpless when he heard it with his own ears.

Prince Rong narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Fifth Brother, was it you who came up with the idea of ​​asking the Emperor for permission to marry that boy He Jun?"

Prince Cheng touched his nose and said with a smile, "Uncle, Hejing and Ah Jun are deeply in love. Why are you dragging your feet and not making them happy?"

Prince Rong stared at him intently, and only laughed after a long while: "Never mind, even though she is my daughter, I am old and I can't take care of her forever."

"That's right. When it comes to love, it all depends on what the couple feels." Prince Cheng said with a smile.

Prince Rong suddenly asked, "Fifth Brother, you're trying to match He Jing with that brat from the He family. Isn't it because you've taken a fancy to the son-in-law I've chosen?"

Prince Cheng's cheeks flushed red as he explained, "Of course not, Uncle, where did you hear this rumor?"

Prince Rong laughed and said, "It's not the best. Although Su Fengzhang cannot become my son-in-law, I can't say for sure about the others."

Prince Cheng didn't know why Prince Rong liked Su Fengzhang, so he asked curiously, "Uncle, what exactly do you like about him?"

"He is more interesting than any of you." After saying this, Prince Rong sat down and continued drinking.

Seeing that he was unwilling to pay attention to him, Prince Cheng touched his nose and returned to his seat. However, he knew in his heart that although Prince Rong looked optimistic about Su Fengzhang, it was not actually the case. Otherwise, with his personality, he would have asked for an imperial decree to grant the marriage long ago.

Who knew that Prince Rong took two sips of wine, stood up and walked to Su Fengzhang's table: "Sir Su, how about having a drink with me?"

Su Fengzhang stood up with a smile and said, "It should be me who offers a glass of wine to His Majesty."

Prince Rong asked with a smile: "Oh, why do you want to pay respect to me?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Of course, I would like to thank you, Your Highness, for taking care of the Su family."

Prince Rong shook his head and said, "I didn't take care of him. When you went to Yunzhou, I was very ill and the palace was in chaos. I didn't have the time to spare. I guess it was Old Five's people who took care of him."

Su Fengzhang's eyes flashed slightly, and he subconsciously looked in the direction of Prince Cheng, only to see that the latter was being talked to by the Fourth Prince. He had a smiling face, but his eyes were a little distant.

Prince Rong gathered his cups, sighed, and said, "Lord Su, I still feel it's a pity."

"Your Highness, it's not a good time to talk about this now." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.

Prince Rong sighed and said, "It's really not good. My daughter has grown up. If I keep her, she will become my enemy."

Prince Rong had a lot to say at the moment. For example, since He Jun was the only one left in the He family, he was afraid that it would not be possible for him to have only one daughter like him. Also, the old lady of the He family had such a strong personality that she was destined to be at odds with He Jing.

He looked up at Su Fengzhang, and the more he looked, the more regretful he felt. This young man was really what he wanted, but it was a pity that He Jing was not happy about it, and Su Fengzhang himself was not interested either.

Originally, he was thinking that it would be best if a scholar like Su Fengzhang, who was so self-disciplined and treated his sister better than his brother, could become his son-in-law, so that he could understand his thoughts. What a pity!

On the other side, perhaps because Prince Rong and Su Fengzhang talked for too long, Prince Cheng couldn't help but look back a few times.

Seeing this, the Fourth Prince smiled slightly, "Fifth brother, now that He Jing and Prince Xi's marriage is finalized, you don't have to worry about anything. The Emperor's uncle will not disobey his order."

Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Fourth brother, you misunderstood. I'm not worried about this."

The Fourth Prince seemed to have heard something amusing. He reached out to pat his shoulder, but put his hand down just before it touched him. He shook his head and smiled, "You, Fourth Brother will always support you. Whatever Fifth Brother wants, Fourth Brother will help you."

Prince Cheng listened to his ambiguous words, curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled: "Oh, really? Thank you very much, Fourth Brother."

The two smiled at each other and seemed to be having a great time.

To the point that others saw it as a symbol of the two's good friendship. Those close to the Crown Prince were particularly worried, muttering privately, "Grand Tutor Chu, when did Prince Cheng become so close to the Fourth Prince? This is bad for the Crown Prince."

Grand Tutor Chu also felt a headache, especially when he saw Minister Xu walk up to Grand Tutor Zhang to talk again, his brows furrowed even more tightly, and the people around him kept muttering.

"Grand Tutor, Prince Cheng is now favored by His Majesty. Not only does he command a large number of troops, but he also has a close relationship with Prince Xi. Even Prince Rong values ​​him very much. If he were to favor the Fourth Prince, wouldn't that be..."

"Okay, now is not the time to talk about this." Tutor Chu interrupted him.

He glanced around but saw no sign of the Crown Prince. He frowned when he saw the Fourth Prince toasting and chatting with others. "Your Highness is becoming even more willful now."

The Fourth Prince had not left yet, but he, as the Crown Prince, left early. What did the civil and military officials think?

Who would have thought that at this very moment, the Fourth Prince walked up to them and said with a smile, "Master Chu, why do you look so sad? Are you dissatisfied with this birthday celebration?"

Master Chu was startled and said quickly, "I dare not, but I am old and a little tired now."

The Fourth Prince laughed heartily and poured him a glass of wine himself: "Even if you are tired, you should be more energetic. After all, the fun has just begun. This is a wonderful show specially prepared by the Emperor for you all."

When Master Chu heard this, his heart skipped a beat for some reason.

Looking at the Fourth Prince's expression again, he felt a growing sense of unease. He had been wary of the Fourth Prince for some time. The Crown Prince felt that the Fourth Prince had lost an ear and had lost the possibility of inheriting the throne.

But Master Chu didn't think so. In fact, he felt that the Fourth Prince was even more dangerous now than before. Before, the Fourth Prince was very cautious in doing things, but now he seemed to be completely relaxed.

If he fought back desperately, with Concubine Xu in the palace, the prince would probably suffer.

The Fourth Prince offered him a glass of wine, then leisurely turned and left, the malice in his eyes almost unable to be concealed.

Grand Tutor Chu frowned and whispered, "Send someone to find the Crown Prince and tell him to return to the Eastern Palace as soon as possible and not stay anywhere else."

"Yes, sir."

The emperor loved to enjoy himself, especially beautiful women and musicians. At this moment, there was singing and dancing in the hall, the aroma of wine was everywhere, and there were laughter everywhere. It was indeed a beautiful scene worth enjoying.

Su Fengzhang had been waiting for something to happen, but even after the emperor and the prince left, the palace banquet was still a scene of drinking and chatting. Instead of feeling relieved, he became even more vigilant.

At this time, Meng Ting, who was not far away, stood up and walked out. Su Fengzhang quickly grabbed him and asked, "Brother Meng, where are you going?"

Meng Ting's face flushed red as he smiled and said, "I just drank too much. People have three urgent needs."

Su Fengzhang held his hand but didn't let go, saying, "This is the palace after all. There are many inconveniences here. Why don't you be patient?"

Meng Ting looked at him speechlessly and whispered, "Brother Su, you are also a man, how can you tolerate such a thing?"

Su Fengzhang thought about it and said, "Then why don't we say goodbye and leave together? Your Majesty has also left."

Meng Ting pointed at the two remaining princes and said, "The Fourth Prince and Prince Cheng are still here..."

But soon, Meng Ting also realized that Su Fengzhang's behavior was unusual. He opened his mouth and quickly said, "Forget it, it's really not right to wander around in the palace. Brother Su, let's go for a drink."

Su Fengzhang felt relieved when he saw that he understood.

Unexpectedly, just as the two of them sat down, the person that Master Chu had just sent out came back in a hurry. He was sweating profusely and his body was shaking.

Upon seeing this, Grand Tutor Chu knew the situation was not good. He avoided the crowd and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Where is the Crown Prince?"

The man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and subconsciously looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he whispered in Master Chu's ear.

"What! How is this possible!" Master Chu was shocked.

The man shouted with a bitter face, "Something happened to me in the past, so I didn't dare get too close. This is what I heard."

Grand Tutor Chu's expression was extremely grim. He glanced back at the Fourth Prince, who was smiling and talking, and said angrily, "Someone must have framed him."

But before he could take any action, a eunuch appeared and shouted, "It is getting late. Your Majesty is worried about the health of the gentlemen. Today's banquet will be cancelled. Please go back and rest well."