Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Chen Xuan usually treats people who are close to him...
Normally, Shen Xuan was not very sensitive to matters of love related to himself. However, when he saw the undercurrent between Feng Shuming and the second prince, he felt that the relationship between them did not seem simple!
"Do you think the Second Prince will choose the boy from Lord Feng's family?" Shen Xuan quietly pulled Jin Shiyue's sleeve and asked in a low voice.
"How is that possible?" Jin Shiyue rejected the question immediately after hearing it. "Lord Feng is only a third-rank civil official, and he is related to the Second Prince. When the Second Prince chooses a wife's family, he will naturally win over a family that can help him!"
"Besides, if you want to inherit the throne, the Second Prince must choose a woman as his principal wife. Since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of choosing a boy as the queen. Even if the boy of Lord Feng marries the Second Prince, at most he will be a concubine. What's the point?"
"As a legitimate son, it would be better for him to choose a suitable family and become a legitimate husband. With Lord Feng's status in the court, he can also be proud of his husband's family."
"Is that so..." After hearing this, Chen Xuan didn't say anything else. He just felt that he was probably overthinking it just now.
After a while, they heard a lot of discussions around them. It turned out that the Second Prince had already selected the winner of this drinking game and was about to come over in person to present the prize.
Although this was done under the guise of a drinking game, the actual selection of the winner was not based on the level of poetry, but rather on unspoken rules.
On the men's side, the winner was neither Xue Fenglin nor any other civil official, but the youngest son of the Minister of War, Lord Yao.
The third son of the Yao family was only ten years old. He grew up with his father, who was a soldier. His literary talent was mediocre, and the poems he composed were barely parallel. But because he was young, the Second Prince gave him the title, and no one else could say anything.
After all, Minister Yao has been of great help to the Second Prince's lineage. It was also expected by everyone that the Second Prince would show goodwill to him!
As for the inner family, they were even more eye-catching. After all, it involves the marriage of the second prince, and the person chosen today may very likely be the princess consort in the future!
The second prince came over, and the servant behind him was holding a box containing a colorful jade hairpin.
As the second prince walked over to the inner circle, everyone's eyes fell on him.
Yao Jinling straightened his back, his peach blossom eyes full of affection, and smiled generously at the Second Prince. Sun Feifei, on the other hand, behaved more quietly and coolly, with an extraordinary temperament, standing out among the crowd.
Shen Xuan couldn't help but let his gaze drift to Feng Shuming again. He saw that while everyone was looking at the Second Prince, he was the only one who lowered his head contrary to his usual behavior.
Although he looked unconcerned, his hands under the table were clenched into fists, trembling slightly.
Shen Xuan took a deep breath and looked at the Second Prince again, and saw that his eyes were scanning around casually again, but they stayed on Feng Shuming for a few more seconds without leaving a trace.
"Your Highness, please choose the champion here and give him this jade hairpin." The servant next to the second prince reminded.
The second prince paused, picked up the jade hairpin, hesitated for a while, but did not go in the direction of Yao Jinling or Sun Feifei as everyone guessed. Instead, he took a few steps in the opposite direction and came towards Feng Shuming's seat.
Seeing that the Second Prince had no intention of handing the hairpin over to them, Yao Jinling, Sun Feifei and the others all changed color and almost turned black on the spot.
Shen Xuan held his breath, his eyes moving back and forth between Feng Shuming and the Second Prince, thinking that he had witnessed such a big gossip, and his intuition just now was indeed correct!
However, when the second prince walked near Feng Shuming's seat, he paused, but did not go over as Shen Xuan guessed, but turned another corner and came towards Shen Xuan's direction...
"Brother Chen, this jade hairpin is for you." The second prince stopped in front of Shen Xuan and handed the jade hairpin in his hand to him.
Shen Xuan: “…”
He looked around and found that Yao Jinling and Sun Feifei, who had looked unhappy just now, were relieved. Even Feng Shuming looked up, his expression seemed very complicated...
Everyone knew that he was Xue Fenglin's husband. In the eyes of outsiders, the Second Prince gave him the jade hairpin as an act to win over Xue Fenglin and appease the Ye family. The jealous concubines who were fighting for the position of concubine were naturally satisfied, and it would not make Feng Shuming sad.
This second prince! So you are using yourself as a shield? Shen Xuan was speechless.
But under the gaze of everyone, she suppressed her inner urge to complain and accepted the jade hairpin.
“I didn’t expect that the Second Prince still had no intention of finding a princess until today.” After the Second Prince and others had left, Jin Shiyue pulled Shen Xuan and spoke.
"I thought he would definitely book Yao Jinling. You see, Lord Yao seems to be a little dissatisfied with today's banquet."
Following Jin Shiyue's words, Shen Xuan looked at Lord Yao, and saw that he was drinking and talking with several of the Second Prince's cronies, with a somewhat unhappy look on his face.
Although the Second Prince gave the prize for the male guest to Yao Sanlang, he did not make an appointment with Yao Jinling because he could not let Minister Yao be tied to him wholeheartedly.
"It's because of this incident." Shen Xuan sighed, handed the jade hairpin to Jingui, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Jingui nodded, took the hairpin and turned to leave. After he came back, Shen Xuan looked at Feng Shuming again and saw an attendant handing him a box containing a jade hairpin.
Feng Shuming opened the box and seemed surprised. He quickly closed the box and his eyes fell on Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan met his gaze and nodded politely.
Feng Shuming blushed, and then he nodded to Shen Xuan, with an indescribable complex look in his eyes.
After the banquet, Shen Xuan said goodbye to Jin Shiyue and left the table, preparing to reunite with Xue Fenglin and leave together.
Just as he reached the outer courtyard, he was stopped by someone from behind. When he turned around, he saw that it was Feng Shuming who was hurriedly walking towards him. After bowing to Shen Xuan, he said, "I just received a gift from the prince's husband. I didn't expect it to be a prize for a drinking game. I don't know why. I am very frightened."
Chen Xuan knew that he did not want others to know about his relationship with the Second Prince, so he smiled and said, "I met Lord Feng once before in Sarawak, and I appreciate his compliment. I don't like to wear jewelry on weekdays, but you have fair skin, and the color of this hairpin is very suitable for you, so I specially gave it to Brother Feng, don't think too much."
Feng Shuming was obviously relieved when he heard this. He looked at Shen Xuan with great gratitude and said, "I have heard from my father that you, the prince, are very smart. I was still young a few years ago and didn't go out to banquets much, so I didn't get to appreciate Brother Shen's demeanor. After seeing you today, I found that you are indeed as good as the reputation says. I am impressed."
Shen Xuan: "Brother Feng, you are too kind. You also have the demeanor of Lord Feng."
After Shen Xuan exchanged some pleasantries with Feng Shuming, he walked to the gate of the palace. At this time, Xue Fenglin had been waiting for him at the gate for a while.
"I asked Wuxin to call the driver. It's almost time. Let's go over and take the car." Xue Fenglin took Shen Xuan's hand and said.
"Okay." Shen Xuan smiled and left with Xue Fenglin. After getting on the carriage, he told Xue Fenglin what happened between him and Feng Shuming today.
Xue Fenglin was a little surprised when he heard this and said, "I didn't know that the Second Prince liked the boy from Lord Feng's family. Even Ye Chen didn't know about it. It shows that he usually hides it very deeply. You actually discovered it!"
"It's just that the Second Prince is just delaying for a while today. He will definitely not marry Feng Ge'er in the future. They are destined not to be together."
Shen Xuan was slightly startled when he heard this, and sighed, "It seems that the Second Prince is not really sincere to him, and Brother Feng has given his heart to the wrong person."
Xue Fenglin shook his head in disapproval and said, "The Second Prince really loves him, so he won't marry him. Otherwise, after he seizes the throne, he will ask His Majesty for Feng Ge'er to be his concubine. Would His Majesty still refuse to give it to him?"
"But as the Second Prince, he is destined to have more than one partner in the future. It would be better to let Feng Ge'er go and marry someone else. That would be his best fate."
Chen Xuan listened to Xue Fenglin's analysis of the Second Prince's thoughts, and suddenly thought of the previous twists and turns between him and himself, so he said meaningfully: "I didn't expect you to empathize with the Second Prince so much."
Xue Fenglin looked at Shen Xuan deeply, smiled without saying anything, and took Shen Xuan into his arms before saying, "I used to think that my identity was really bad, and many things were beyond my control, but now compared to him, I am actually much luckier than him!"
Not long after returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Shen Xuan heard that Lord Xue and Bai's carriage had also returned.
Lord Xue seemed to be in a bad mood, and Mrs. Bai also looked uncertain. After returning to the courtyard, she said that she caught a cold at the banquet, called Xue Fengli over, and did not even come out for dinner.
At the dinner table, Lord Xue was unusually nice to Xue Fenglin, and his words were more gentle than usual.
After returning to the courtyard, Chen Xuan sent Jin Gui out to inquire, and heard that they were going to the eldest prince's mansion for a banquet today. Except for the eldest prince's confidants, more than half of the noble families who used to come to flatter him were gone.
Some were polite and found an excuse not to come, but sent someone to deliver a gift to their door, while others simply disappeared without even saying hello.
The eldest prince was so furious that he grabbed several guests and vented his anger on them. It was because those people's families sent people to the eldest prince and the second prince respectively.
Because Xue Fenglin went to the Second Prince's banquet, Lord Xue was also sweating coldly. Fortunately, the eldest prince, for the sake of the Bai family, finally restrained himself from venting his anger on him, but it still left him with lingering fears.
After finishing the banquet, Lord Xue immediately got into the car and left without looking back.
By now, everyone in the capital knows about this fight for the throne, and I'm afraid the Second Prince will be in a more powerful position.
Lord Xue naturally had to leave a way out, and that way out was Xue Fenglin.
With such a prince around, even if the second prince ascends the throne in the future, he will not really do anything to the Xue family for his sake, and the Xue family will still be able to stand firm in the court!
After Shen Xuan heard Jin Gui's report, he thought about it for a moment. For some reason, he felt a little flustered.
Suddenly, Shen Xuan sighed and covered his stomach with his hands.
"Brother Chen, what's wrong with you?" Jin Gui asked nervously.
"It's okay, the child is kicking me." Shen Xuan said.
Jingui, who was serving on the side, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Xuan has been pregnant for more than five months. The baby has been moving frequently since the fourth month, but this is the first time she has felt such strong movements.
Shen Xuan drank some tea to comfort the baby in her belly. When the child finally calmed down, Jinzhi, who was guarding outside the yard, suddenly came to report that Chen Congshuang, the son of the Second Young Master's courtyard, had quietly come over.
"Let him in and don't let anyone else see him." Shen Xuan said quickly.
After a while, Shen Congshuang walked in, his face was pale, his eyes were red, and he looked thinner than before.
After seeing Shen Xuan, Shen Congshuang took a step forward, knelt on the ground, hugged Shen Xuan's sleeves and said: "My dear husband, please help me and save the baby in my belly!"
child? Shen Xuan was startled. Looking closely at Chen Congshuang's belly, it was still flat without any visible bulge.
But since Chen Congshuang said so, it must be true. But I don’t know why Shen Congshuang didn’t go to Xue Fengli to tell him since she was pregnant with Xue Fengli’s child, but came to him instead.
"Madam Hou doesn't know about this for now, otherwise she would have asked me to beat the child!" Shen Congshuang's eyes were red, and she said to Shen Xuan with a pitiful look: "The second young master wanted to have sex with me just now, but I was afraid of hurting the child, so I could only tell him about it quietly. I didn't expect that he would send me to a farm in the countryside!"
Shen Congshuang took great pains to marry into the Marquis's mansion, so of course it was not to live a hard life in the countryside.
Now everyone knows that the Marquis' Mansion will be headed by the Crown Prince in the future. With the Crown Prince in front, Xue Fengli will not be able to marry a wife from a prominent family. As a concubine, if she can establish a good relationship with Shen Xuan, she can live a good life in the Marquis' Mansion with the child in her belly.
However, if I were sent to the countryside, I wouldn’t know when I could come back. If you are forgotten by others, will you ever be able to turn things around in the future?
Shen Xuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Although Xue Fengli was heartless, if he didn't want Shen Congshuang to have a baby early, he could just let him abort the baby like Bai did! But he chose to send Shen Congshuang to the countryside. There must be something fishy about this!
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