The hall suddenly became quiet. Although everyone seemed relaxed and carefree, they were actually on edge. Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, naturally no one dared to laugh or make a fuss.
Prince An burped, and after being persuaded by Princess An beside him, he sat down dazed.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the eldest princess didn't want to break up with the emperor, so she could only humble herself and explain, "It was my negligence. I didn't expect that Concubine Chun was so precious that she couldn't even have a glass of wine."
The emperor glanced at the eldest princess sideways, "Of course, Imperial Concubine Chun is precious. Not to mention my elder sister, even I and the Queen Mother dare not force her in the slightest. Do you think you can surpass me or my Queen Mother?"
"Sis, you have no children, so naturally you don't know the hardships of pregnancy. I don't blame you. If after drinking this glass of wine today, something happens to Concubine Chun's baby, I'm afraid I can't bear the responsibility!"
The eldest princess had a very ugly expression on her face. If she had a son, it would definitely not be the emperor's turn to sit on the throne!
She had single-handedly supported the emperor in ascending the throne, and now that the emperor had firmly established himself on the throne, he could not wait to deal with his meritorious officials.
The disaster relief funds were a mess, and the accounts were unclear every year, but the emperor found an excuse to get angry and deal with all her people.
Most of Jiangnan was her fiefdom. Now no one in the fiefdom belongs to her. Who will respect her in the future?
The eldest princess was filled with anger, but she had to bow her head. "Don't be angry, Third Brother. I knew I shouldn't have come today. Well, I'd better stay out less in the future."
The eldest princess walked away in a daze with the support of Qing'er. Her weak attitude caused many relatives to speak up for her.
"Don't be impulsive, Prince Duan. You are the elder, so what? His Majesty has been bewitched by Concubine Chun and will not listen to advice."
"When the emperor was on the throne, he respected you greatly. After he passed away, you were the only one who truly loved Zhaoyang. You should take good care of yourself and stop disobeying His Majesty for Zhaoyang..."
The eldest princess persuaded the clan members to leave with a few words, and her face turned cold only after everyone had dispersed.
Qing'er was so angry that her eyes turned red. She gritted her teeth and said, "That bitch! How dare she disobey Your Highness? I will kill her right now!"
At an angle where no one noticed, the eldest princess pinched the soft flesh at the base of Qing'er's thigh and crushed it hard.
Qing'er was shaking with pain, but he tried his best to endure and open his legs. As long as the princess was happy, he was willing to do anything.
The eldest princess finally calmed down and whispered, "My dear Qing'er, how do you plan to kill her?"
"I will disguise myself as Xu Junzheng and take her to a secluded place. I can poison her to death! If the princess is still angry, I will knock her unconscious. I will make her look disgraced, ruin her reputation, and die with regrets!"
The eldest princess laughed happily. Just thinking about such a scene was exciting.
"Silly Qing'er, you're too anxious. Although I want her to die, I can't bear to see you die."
"She deliberately provoked me to make me take action. Today's New Year's Eve banquet is heavily guarded. She is waiting for me to fall into her trap. I have plenty of patience. I will get back at her sooner or later!"
Xu Junzheng's position is not high, but now everyone knows that he is a favorite of His Majesty, and people come to him one after another to get close to him.
He had to deal with it, and it wasn't until the end of the party that he had a moment of leisure.
The eldest princess sat upright, her eyes vaguely falling on Xu Junzheng. She was very confident that Xu Junzheng would definitely come to find her!
Whether it was painful questioning, hypocritical flattery, or even false flattery, she was looking forward to it very much.
Xu Junzheng looked around, and his cold gaze swept over the eldest princess without any pause, not even a trace of hatred was revealed.
He completely ignored the eldest princess and walked towards the Nanning County Master in the corner.
The Princess of Nanning was the girl who uncovered the Jiangnan corruption case in the hall that day. She knew that she had offended many people. If His Majesty had not deliberately protected her and made her the Princess of Nanning, she would have been killed long ago.
But she has no regrets. She has done her best for her deceased parents and relatives, and for the tens of thousands of disaster victims in Jiangnan. She has lived an upright life and is worthy of the conscience of heaven and earth!
She sat here alone for a long time. Except for Princess An who occasionally came to take care of her, everyone else tacitly kept their distance from her.
She didn't care much about it and drank by herself, feeling quite comfortable.
"I offer a toast to the Lady of Nanning. If she hadn't risked her life to bring the evidence back to the capital, the Xu family would still be suffering injustice. On behalf of the entire Xu family, I thank you for your generosity."
Xu Junzheng bowed solemnly, picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. The eunuch beside him immediately filled his cup. He drank a second cup, and a third...
The Nanning County Lady stood up and pressed down Xu Junzheng's wine glass. "Don't drink anymore. Drinking so quickly will hurt your stomach."
Xu Junzheng's eyes were red as he shook his head stubbornly, "No! County Lady, please let me finish the drink. I thank you on behalf of my father, my mother, my third brother, and my poor wife and children. County Lady, please don't stop me, I'm going to finish it!"
After a lot of tugging and pulling, Nanning was still no match for Xu Junzheng's strength and watched him finish the drink.
"Master Xu, you're welcome. My father and you both passed the imperial examination in the same year, but he only ranked eighth. He was later sent to Jiangnan as a minor official."
"My father had long been aware of the chaos in Jiangnan, but the complex intertwined forces within the region made it impossible for him to contend with them. Over the years, he had gathered a great deal of evidence, but it wasn't until this disaster became so severe that he finally resolved to uncover it all."
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