Chapter 125 A bold idea
As soon as Pei Zhao left, Lu Qian immediately took his place and sat down, even picking up the tea on the table and taking a sip.
"You... why did you drink my tea?!" Song Lingyi's anger was mixed with a hint of disbelief.
"I need to warm myself up, too." Lu Qian said as a matter of course, blinking his crow-feather eyelashes innocently, but his eyes were full of wantonness.
"I didn't agree to you drinking!"
"Oh, I'll give it back to you."
Lu Qian placed the teacup in front of her, raised his eyebrows slightly, as if to say "just drink it".
"Why are you giving it back to me after you've drunk it? You don't mind, but I do!" Song Lingyi retorted angrily.
Seeing the girl's angry expression, Lu Qian was in a good mood. He was afraid that she would really ignore him, so he coaxed her a few times in a humble manner. The elders on the side saw this and laughed and said that the relationship between the cousins was getting better and better.
Wang smiled faintly at first, but the moment she looked away, she suddenly felt something strange.
When did the relationship between A Qian and Ling Yi become so close?
One knows one's own son best. A Qian was inherently unruly. Even when Lingyi visited him in the imperial prison, it wasn't clear that A Qian appreciated the gesture. Even with his own sister, whom he had lived with for over a decade, he never showed any courtesy or tenderness. Yet, now, over a joke, he was lowering his stance towards his cousin, with whom he had known her for less than a year.
The strangest thing is the way A Qian looks at Ling Yi.
His usually cold and sharp eyes became much gentler when he looked at the girl. No matter how noisy the surroundings were, his gaze would follow her.
Wang had never seen this kind of look in A Qian before, and a bold idea suddenly popped up in her mind.
Just at this moment, a long voice of greeting came from outside the palace: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived——"
Everyone in the hall stood up, the ministers straightened their clothes, the women knelt down, and shouted in unison: "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
The roar of the mountains was like an overwhelming tidal wave, and the tail sound echoed in the quiet golden palace.
After a while, the sound of clattering boots was heard in the hall. Song Lingyi raised her peripheral vision and caught a glimpse of the crimson figure slowly walking towards the platform.
"Please stand up."
Everyone bowed in unison to express their gratitude: "Thank you, Your Highness."
The candlelight in the golden palace is soft and the fragrance of agarwood is lingering.
The crown prince, high up in the throne, glanced vaguely at the Lu family's table. He saw the young girl sitting at the table, her expression calm, occasionally chatting with her cousin beside her, her smile very faint. Her narrow, long eyes were dim, and it was unknown what she was thinking.
Soon, palace servants carrying delicious dishes came in one after another and placed the dishes in order.
Before the banquet officially began, the emperor and his ministers all raised their glasses and prayed. This year, the crown prince was acting as regent. After he finished his prayer, all the ministers raised their glasses and shouted, "May the queen be blessed with great health and prosperity. May His Royal Highness the crown prince have everything he wishes for and may he enjoy a long and prosperous life. May the great world enjoy peace and a good harvest!"
"Today is the first New Year's Eve that the prince has celebrated since returning to the capital. You don't have to be so reserved. Enjoy the feast and drink to welcome the new year together." Queen Shen smiled broadly, her manners dignified and majestic.
After the blessing, everyone drank the wine in the cup, and the banquet officially began.
The ministers took their seats.
A group of musicians and dancers rushed in from outside the palace gate, and the music of stringed instruments and wind instruments sounded immediately. The dancers danced gracefully, adding some liveliness of the New Year banquet to this magnificent palace.
Lu Yu asked for a pot of fruit wine, and Lu Ling insisted on drinking it. Wen had no choice but to let her drink only half a cup.
"Cousin, would you like a drink?" Lu Yu held the wine jug and leaned to look to the left.
Song Lingyi still remembered how strong the fruit wine she drank last time was, and immediately shook her head and said "No thanks".
"What are you afraid of? I'll drink with you." Lu Qian stretched out his arm, snatched the wine jug from Lu Yu's hand, and filled the two white jade wine glasses in front of him.
"Who asked you to accompany me? I said I didn't want to drink, but you poured it for me!"
Song Lingyi raised her hand and twisted Lu Qian's lower back. The force was clearly not strong, but the young man hissed in pain. He put down the wine jug and grabbed her hand. The moment he touched the warmth, the smile on his lips deepened.
When Wang saw this scene, the strings in her head instantly tightened.
"A Qian!"
The voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried a hint of urgency. Several of the younger generations turned their heads and looked at Wang in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Qian met Wang's gaze without any guilt.
This involved the dignity of the Duke's Mansion, and in public, Wang Shi couldn't say anything to him. She took a deep breath and said, "Do you really have to bully Lingyi? Switch places with Ayu immediately!"
"How did I bully her?" Lu Qian was dissatisfied, but Wang's tone and expression did not allow him to argue, so he had to stand up and switch seats with Lu Yu. As a result, Lu Ling also moved a seat, looked up at him and smiled sweetly, patting her original seat.
"Cousin, sit down."
“…”
Lu Qian had no choice but to sit two people away.
Just as the commotion over changing seats subsided, there was a sudden clanging sound of porcelain breaking. Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see all kinds of wine spilled all over the floor. Song Lingyi's goose yellow dress was not spared, and half of her sleeves were wet.
Several elders hurried over, their eyes falling on the broken porcelain on the ground and the palace maid kneeling on the ground and kowtowing and apologizing. They couldn't help but frown: "How could they be so careless?"
Mrs. Wen frowned, took out an embroidered handkerchief and wiped her niece's wet sleeves, saying in a gentle and soothing voice, "Are you hurt?"
Song Lingyi glanced at the palace maid who kept apologizing and begging for mercy, and shook her head: "It's okay, just a wet sleeve, it will dry in a while."
"That won't do. It's so cold today. It's not comfortable to wear wet clothes." Wang said.
There was quite a commotion here, attracting a lot of attention.
Just as Wen and Wang were discussing asking the palace maids to find a piece of clothing for their niece to change into, Empress Shen gave a look to the aunt in charge beside her, indicating that she should take care of it.
The head aunt came down from the platform and asked gently, "Miss Song, are your clothes wet? We have prepared changing clothes for the ladies in the side hall. I will have someone take you there to change."
Song Lingyi was flattered: "Thank you, aunt."
The head aunt smiled faintly: "Young lady, please don't be polite to me. It was the palace maid who was not very skillful and bumped into you. I hope you don't mind."
After saying that, the head aunt raised her hand and called a young palace maid, telling her to lead the way to the side hall. As for the palace maid who was lying on the ground and trembling, she was led out of the Golden Hall by the eunuch in charge to be punished.
There was a cold wind blowing outside the hall.
Standing on the white marble steps, you can overlook the entire imperial city with its bright lights.
A gust of cold wind blew, making her face raw. The golden hall behind her was filled with the sound of banquets. Song Lingyi gathered the thick cloak given by Lu Yu on her body and followed the palace maid to the side hall.
The broken porcelain on the floor of the Golden Palace was quickly cleaned up by the eunuchs, and the elders of the Duke's Mansion continued to toast each other.
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