Chapter 21 [21]

【21】/First release

Lu Zhiwan returned to the banquet with Xiao Jingting.

She thought that once they got to the hall, everyone would return to their respective positions, but she didn't expect that he would hold her hand and never let go.

Lu Zhiwan was confused and pointed weakly: "Your Majesty, my place is over there."

Xiao Jingting looked at her, said nothing, and continued to pull her forward.

"Your Majesty..." Lu Zhiwan called again.

Xiao Jingting paused and looked at her sideways: "Don't you want to sit with me?"

Lu Zhiwan choked.

Her hand was held tightly, and she didn't dare to shake it off. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk up to the highly anticipated platform with him, facing the gazes from all directions.

It was only a dozen steps, but it was harder to walk than the road to reincarnation. When he stood still, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Lu Zhiwan's forehead.

"Big friend, get her a chair."

Xiao Jingting gave an order, let go of Lu Zhiwan's hand, lifted his robe, and sat down on the tall and magnificent throne.

Yu Mingjiang, dressed in a maroon eunuch's uniform, glanced at Lu Zhiwan with a hint of surprise, then quickly lowered his head and replied respectfully, "I'll go right away."

While waiting for the chair to be brought up, Lu Zhiwan was like a student who had dozed off but was suddenly called to the podium. He lowered his head, clenched his hands, and felt embarrassed and ashamed. He could only curse Xiao Jingting fiercely in his heart.

"What the hell is wrong with that bastard? I was just going to keep a low profile tonight and nothing would happen. But now, I'm just a mere concubine, and he's sitting higher than the Imperial Concubine. What's the difference between this and roasting me on the fire? Didn't you see Imperial Concubine Gu's face is turning green? I'm sure she'll remember this harshly. What kind of sin have I committed..."

Soon, two young eunuchs brought up a chair and placed it next to Xiao Jingting.

Lu Zhiwan forced a smile and sat down, feeling hopeless. Fortunately, she was adaptable and gradually calmed down after a while, adopting a "As long as I'm thick-skinned, no one can hurt me" attitude.

Once her mind was stable, she had the leisure to pay attention to other things. For example, the throne on the right side of the empress dowager was still empty, while the King of Liaodong, dressed in a dark green python robe, was already sitting at the table, drinking and chatting calmly with the court officials on both sides, with no sign of anything unusual.

"You know what? Although the Prince of Liaodong is a bit old, he's handsome, mature, and has a physique... Tsk, not only is he not fat at this age, he's still able to maintain such an upright physique. It shows his self-discipline. Unlike that bearded guy next to him, he looks like he's eight months pregnant."

"Such a handsome uncle, a prince at that, should be quite popular with women, right? How could he lose his morals and flirt with his own sister-in-law in the middle of the night? I'm afraid the late emperor's coffin would burst."

"But then again, the Prince of Liaodong is tall and dark-skinned, while the Queen Mother is gentle, petite, and has dimples. They're both uncle and sister-in-law, with a size difference... I'm sorry, but it's really a bit of a stunner!"

Lu Zhiwan's XP was hit, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise abnormally, completely unaware of the gaze cast by the man beside her.

What does "hao ke" mean?

She wants to kowtow to the Sixth Prince and the Queen Mother?

Two long fingers stroked the wall of the cup. When Xiao Jingting tried to concentrate on listening to her thoughts again, her attention had already shifted elsewhere.

"As expected, the higher you sit, the farther you can see. I couldn't see anything just now from down below, and I didn't realize there were so many handsome men and beautiful women among the guests."

"That young man in the green robe is fair and tender, and looks like a good little puppy. He's sitting so far up front, so he must be a royal relative. The one in the purple robe at the back is not bad either, but his eyebrows and eyes are a bit romantic, like a sea king. I guess he has a lot of beautiful women in his backyard..."

"That red-robed man must be from a military family. He has such a heroic look and a youthful aura. When we were in school, I had a crush on him for three years..."

Xiao Jingting: “…”

Following her thoughts, he looked at them one by one, and they were the eldest son of Duke Xu, the youngest son of Princess Luyang, and the youngest son of General Wei... If he remembered correctly, the youngest son of the Wei family was only sixteen years old this year. How could she be interested in such a young boy?

And her excited voice had not stopped yet and was still chattering.

Just as she had almost completely scoured all the talented men in the capital, Xiao Jingting thought her love affair had finally subsided, when suddenly a series of crazy screams exploded in his ears.

"Ahhhh, who is this handsome guy in white who just walked in? That face is comparable to Nuwa's showmanship, that elegant and melancholic temperament, and that beauty mark at the corner of his eye... I'm covering my chest, he's absolutely my dream man!!!"

Xiao Jingting: “…”

He glanced at the woman's spring-like face calmly, then followed her gaze downwards. When he saw the man in white robe sitting below, his dark eyes narrowed slightly.

Gu Rongyu?

This woman’s dream lover is someone like Gu Rongyu?

Indeed, as the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Rongyu, with his distinguished family background, handsome appearance, and immense talent, had entered the imperial court after passing the imperial examination, and at the age of twenty-one, had yet to marry. He was indeed a rare talent in the entire capital. But it was fine for those unmarried ladies to admire him, but why was she, a concubine in the harem, joining in the fun? Did they treat him as if he were dead?

"Lu Jieyu."

A neutral voice interrupted Lu Zhiwan's admiration for the handsome man. She turned around and saw the moody emperor looking at her with an unpredictable expression: "Pour me some wine."

"Just pour the wine, why are you so fierce? It's scary."

She rolled her eyes in her heart, but smiled sweetly on the surface: "As you command."

She took the gilded silver wine pot on the table and slowly filled his cup. Just as she was about to put the pot down, Xiao Jingting raised his finger and pointed at the sandalwood table: "Fill yours too."

Lu Zhiwan was slightly startled. Just as she was about to refuse, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue under the man's deep gaze: "Yes."

After filling two glasses of wine, she looked at Xiao Jingting's expression and raised the glass politely: "I offer a toast to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live long and healthy."

Xiao Jingting looked at the fair and beautiful face calmly. Her eyes were bright and her smile was as beautiful as a flower, but no one knew better than him how fake this so-called brilliant smile was.

He had also seen her true smile - just now, she was staring at Gu Rongyu, and the infatuated smile in her eyes was almost overflowing.

Comparing the two, he felt that Lu Zhiwan was really hateful for not raising his glass for a long time.

The smile on Lu Zhiwan's lips almost froze, and the hand holding the wine glass was trembling. The most embarrassing thing was that she could notice that many people were looking in their direction.

"What's he doing? There are so many people watching. They say you shouldn't hit someone who smiles at you. I didn't provoke him just now, did I?"

"I should have been disrespectful earlier! He's been treated coldly, like who would want to toast him."

Just when Lu Zhiwan decided to save face, the living ancestor in front of her finally raised his wine glass, took a sip, and finally raised his eyelids and glanced at her.

That look seemed to be saying, "Since you've taken the initiative, I'll reluctantly give you this favor, no need to thank me."

Lu Zhiwan: “…”

With this kind of arrogance, this man must have been a noble and cool cat master in his previous life.

She drank the wine in her glass silently, sat up straight, and her eyes unconsciously looked at the graceful and elegant man in white clothes below her.

"This guy is definitely my type. Both his looks and temperament are captivating. Alas, it's a shame we didn't meet before we were married, and he entered the palace too early. While the dog emperor's looks are just as good as this young man's, and his features are even more beautiful, his inexplicable bad temper is truly unbearable... If I really had to choose, this gentle and refined young man would be better."

"I don't know whose family this young man is from, but he's sitting pretty close to the front, so he seems to be of high status..."

"Lu Zhiwan."

The deep voice sounded again, frightening Lu Zhiwan's heart. He turned his head and saw Xiao Jingting saying expressionlessly, "Pour the wine."

Lu Zhiwan was speechless. Didn't he have any hands? He had palace maids around him, so why did he have to order her around? But she still smiled and served him, pouring him glass after glass.

I don’t know what Xiao Jingting is doing tonight. If he drinks a glass, he should also let her drink a glass.

At first, Lu Zhiwan didn't take this low-alcohol, ancient wine seriously, but the God of Wine would punish anyone who refused to speak out. After five or six glasses of wine, her head was a little dizzy. She was holding her forehead to slow down the effects of the alcohol when Xiao Jingting suddenly asked, "Do you know Minister Gu?"

This incoherent sentence made Lu Zhiwan's brain freeze. He frowned and asked, "Who is Minister Gu?"

Xiao Jingting said indifferently: "The one you have been peeking at."

Normally, Lu Zhiwan's first reaction would have been to flatly deny it, "How could I peek? Your Majesty, please don't accuse me," and then give Xiao Jingting a cheesy and affectionate confession to show her true feelings. However, she was so full of nonsense that her reaction was slow, and the first thing she said was, "Is the surname of that gentleman in white Gu?"

Why are there so many people with the surname Gu in the former and harem?

Lu Zhiwan complained inwardly, but Xiao Jingting calmly answered her question: "He is the noble concubine's brother, Gu Rongyu."

"Gu Rongyu..."

Lu Zhiwan frowned, this name sounded so familiar.

By the way, Xia He mentioned it once last time. She felt it sounded familiar at the time, but she just didn’t remember it.

Where had she heard this name before? Or did she really know Gu Rongyu?

Lu Zhiwan rubbed her sore brows with her slender jade fingers, and glanced at the elegant young man in white several times. It seemed that something was about to emerge from her mind, but the next moment, she was interrupted by a loud noise.

"Your Majesty, please slow down..."

"Aunt, you are finally back. Why were you gone for so long?"

It turned out that Empress Dowager Gu had finally returned, and she had changed her clothes from the dark purple robe with longevity patterns to the current ginger-yellow silk robe with pine, crane and bamboo patterns.

This change made Lu Zhiwan recall the angry voice "Let me go" behind the stone wall.

"So the Prince of Liaodong tore the Queen Mother's robe? Or...or...something more exciting?"

Lu Zhiwan stopped his messy imagination in time, but when facing Queen Mother Gu, he still felt embarrassed and couldn't look directly at her.

God knows that before tonight, in her mind, Queen Mother Gu was like a gentle, kind, and perfect Bodhisattva. Now that the Bodhisattva would have a secret meeting with her brother-in-law late at night, it was like a flawed white jade covered with dust. Looking at it again made her feel indescribably uncomfortable.

When Queen Mother Gu saw Lu Zhiwan sitting here, she was also surprised for a moment, but she quickly reacted and smiled at Lu Zhiwan: "Lu Jieyu."

Lu Zhiwan hurriedly offered her greetings: "Concubine Lu pays respects to the Queen Mother and wishes her a long and healthy life."

"Good boy, get up quickly." Queen Mother Gu smiled and nodded, then looked at Lu Zhiwan's lightly flushed cheeks: "How much did you drink? Your face is red."

Lu Zhiwan blushed, "It's not much. I'm just drinking with His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Gu looked at Xiao Jingting and jokingly said, "It seems that with Concubine Lu by his side, the Emperor is in a much better mood."

Xiao Jingting didn't comment. He glanced at Queen Mother Gu's robe and asked casually, "Why did you change your clothes, mother?"

Queen Mother Gu's eyes flickered briefly, but her smile remained unchanged: "The one I wore at first accidentally got wet, so I changed."

"That's it." Xiao Jingting didn't say much, turned around and continued to watch the singing and dancing in the hall.

Lu Zhiwan no longer watched the singing and dancing, nor did he look at the handsome guy. His dark eyes were quietly following the every move of the King of Liaodong.

She felt like she was being scratched by a thousand cat claws. She really wanted to know what was going on between the King of Liaodong and the Queen Mother.

"Is there any kind soul who could give me a heads-up? I'm willing to be a vegetarian for three days in exchange for a perfectly ripe, fully stocked melon!"

Eat vegetarian food for three days?

The man leaning lazily on the throne was playing with the white jade cup in his palm, and a dark light flashed in his narrow eyes.

This is too cheap for her.