Chapter 191: Not as Good as
The birthday banquet continued, and it took more than an hour for the officials to offer birthday tributes. In addition, there were birthday gifts from various states and counties, all of which were rare and precious treasures.
After the birthday gifts were presented, the sound of stringed instruments spread and dancers came on stage to perform.
There are also ladies showing their talents...
The birthday banquet lasted for more than two hours. Shen Wan's butt was stiff from sitting. The emperor was tired, so he ended the banquet.
Everyone stood up, respectfully saw the emperor off, and then left.
Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu followed the prince out of the hall. Shen Ji and Yun came over, and a young eunuch also came over and said, "The emperor summoned the King of Jingbei and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to the imperial study to speak."
The prince and Shen Ji nodded and left.
Imperial study.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking at the easel beside him.
The painting on the easel was of the late Princess Jin.
When Shen Wan walked in, he saw the emperor looking at the portrait, and it took a while before he turned his head to look at them.
The emperor asked, "What's the matter with this painting?"
The prince looked at Xie Jingyu.
Xie Jingyu replied, "This birthday gift for the Emperor was prepared by my wife and I. It was a landscape painting by Li Lianshan. I don't know when it was replaced with a portrait of the late Princess Jin."
The emperor looked at the portrait with a gloomy expression. "After so many years, you have used the Jingbei Palace to send the portrait of Princess Jin to me. I wonder what your intention is..."
Isn't this obviously causing trouble for the emperor? Judging from the emperor's expression, it seems that he has other intentions.
Shen Wan was puzzled.
"I will investigate this matter," said Xie Jingyu.
Shen Wan was not optimistic, as most of the things in the palace were left unresolved.
If she had the courage to do such a thing, why would she leave any clues for them to investigate? Queen Song has always been very careful in her actions and is very cruel.
Shen Wan thought that the emperor would blame the Jingbei Palace for negligence, but he didn't. He just asked a few simple questions and sent them away.
When leaving, Xie Jingyu glanced at Eunuch An, and Eunuch An followed him out.
Xie Jingyu asked, "I wonder if there is any progress on the matter of Eunuch Tuo'an?"
Eunuch An said, "The palace maid files were burned, making them difficult to search. As far as I know, Eunuch Li, who serves the Empress Dowager, is from Qiushui Town, Wutong County. I wonder if he's the person you're looking for. He's not in Kyoto right now. When he returns, I'll find a chance to help you find him."
"Thank you, Eunuch An."
Eunuch An smiled and said, "It is my honor to be able to help the young master."
Eunuch An returned to the imperial study, and Shen Wan, Xie Jingyu and the others left the palace.
Sitting in the carriage, Shen Wan lifted the curtain and looked outside. Various lanterns were hung on the streets.
Today is the Emperor's birthday, the Longevity Festival. A lantern festival will be held outside the palace to pray for the Emperor.
Chen Wan decided to go back and have a good sleep so that she would have the energy to go shopping at night. After all, there were only a few lantern festivals a year and she couldn't miss any of them.
But it was not easy for Chen Wan to have a good rest. As soon as she returned to Zhaolanxuan, the old lady sent someone to call her.
Chen Wan knew what the old lady wanted to talk to her about. Do all old ladies like to meddle in other people's affairs? They came into the palace with the prince. If there was a problem with the birthday gift, wouldn't it be enough for the prince to know about it? Why did he have to ask about it?
The second master and the second mistress also came to the palace. It was okay to ask them, but if they insisted on calling her, she had no choice but to go.
Shen Wanxin reluctantly went to Wing Chun Temple.
As she expected, the old lady came to her to discuss the birthday gift. She scolded her, "The Emperor entrusted such an important matter as the birthday gift to you and the Crown Prince, and you didn't even know it was switched. Thank goodness the Emperor is wise and didn't blame us. How did you do it?!"
This time it was an oversight, but Shen Wan didn't think they were wrong.
The birthday gifts presented to the emperor were handed over to the palace servants before entering the hall. Who would have thought that someone would dare to replace the paintings from Prince Jingbei's Mansion in the hall.
The emperor did not blame her, and the prince did not say anything either. The old lady called her over and scolded her.
You are old now, wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy your retirement in peace?
Shen Wan said, “I dare not convey the old lady’s blame to my husband. How about you send someone to call my husband and reprimand him together?”
Concubine Wen said, "This is your fault, what does it have to do with the prince?!"
...How could this have nothing to do with Xie Jingyu?
Chen Wan didn't know how Concubine Wen could say that against her conscience. Maybe she really treated Xie Jingyu as her own son, and she loved him so much that she would punish him as severely as possible.
Shen Wan said, "Where my husband is, how can I have a say? Besides, this time I am accompanying the prince to the palace to celebrate his birthday. If my husband is not doing his job well, the old lady should punish him."
Everyone in the room was like, “…???”
Everyone looked at Shen Wan in disbelief.
Although there is a saying that husband and wife are birds of a feather but fly away separately when disaster strikes, this is not a big disaster. The Crown Prince's wife is putting all the blame on the Crown Prince. Isn't she afraid that the Crown Prince will be angry when he finds out?
And it sounded like a mockery of the old lady. If you have the guts, punish the prince...
Of course Shen Wan was not afraid of Xie Jingyu getting angry. These people didn't even have the courage to call Xie Jingyu over, so how could they dare to punish Xie Jingyu?
Concubine Wen made it clear that the prince was taking his anger out on her because he didn't let her go to the palace to celebrate the birthday, but Shen Wan was not a soft persimmon that would be pushed aside by her.
Chen Wan respected the old lady very much. If the old lady wanted to punish Xie Jingyu, she would never defend him. The old lady and Concubine Wen were so angry that they couldn't say a word.
The old lady looked impatient, and Shen Wan said, "It's nothing, I'll go back first."
It was tiring enough to go to the palace, and then she had to go to Wing Chun Temple on the way back. Chen Wan didn't have the habit of taking a nap and was worried that she wouldn't be able to sleep, but she ended up falling asleep as soon as she fell into bed.
When I woke up, the sunset in the sky was gorgeous.
Shen Wan quickly asked the maid to bring the food into the house, and then went to the study to call Xie Jingyu. After eating half full, she couldn't wait to leave the house.
Just as they reached the gate, a servant came over and said, "Congratulations, Crown Prince and Crown Princess!"
Shen Wan asked, "Congratulations on what?"
The servant said, "The horse the emperor gave to the Crown Princess is pregnant with a foal..."
The prince's horse can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night, and the princess's horse is a good tribute horse.
The foal born from these two horses must be extraordinary and deserves congratulations.
So as soon as it was confirmed that Ma was pregnant, the servant came running over to congratulate her.
Shen Wan, “…”
Xie Jingyu, “…”
How long has it been since you got pregnant?
Thinking of the mating scene that day, Shen Wan's ears couldn't help but turn red.
Shen Wan glared at Xie Jingyu.
Xie Jingyu is very innocent.
Can't we blame him for this?
Chen Ping followed beside him, trying hard not to laugh.
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have been married for so long, but the Crown Prince hasn't even consummated the marriage yet, and his own Ma Jifeng is about to become a father.
People are really inferior to horses.
Chen Ping thought so in his heart and blurted it out.
Xie Jingyu glared at him, and Chen Ping quickly shut up and moved away.
Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu left the house. Although Xie Jingyu accompanied Shen Wan in the carriage, his horse Jifeng was also there.
Xie Jingyu touched Jifeng's head and said, "You are really good."
But no matter how you listen to the words, it sounds a bit harsh.
After Chen Wan got on the carriage, Xie Jingyu also got on. He held Shen Wan in his arms and looked into Shen Wan's eyes. Shen Wan didn't dare to look at him and dodged a little.
Xie Jingyu's voice was a little hoarse, and he whispered in Shen Wan's ear, "Let's consummate our marriage tonight."
Shen Wan’s face flushed, “What are you thinking about?!”
Xie Jingyu's eyes were filled with resentment, "I've even been told I'm not as good as a horse."
Shen Wan also heard what Chen Ping said.
Shen Wan said weakly, “Do you want to compete with a horse?”
"I'm not as good as it," Xie Jingyu said sullenly.
“…”
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