Su Tiyue used to frequently visit the Empress Dowager's Yongshou Palace and had heard Jiang Min's name from the Empress Dowager several times, but she had never actually met this person.
I finally saw her today, and she was just as I imagined—bright and beautiful, and also quite flamboyant.
What about the other side?
At first, Jiang Min glanced at Su Tiyue but didn't react. She couldn't recognize all the concubines in the palace, and besides, with her arrogant personality, she naturally wouldn't take Su Tiyue seriously.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager hadn't arrived yet; they were still arguing about Zhou Ziqi at Chaoyang Palace. The Empress Dowager laid her cards on the table: she disagreed with Zhou Tingyue's actions.
Shen Mei always felt that Zhou Ziqi should not be kept alive, and also... Xiao Lin, the Prince of Huainan, was not trustworthy.
Zhou Tingyue naturally knew that his mother's concerns were not without reason, but as an emperor, he could not bring himself to do it.
Moreover, Zhou Ziqi was just a very young child.
As for his second uncle, Zhou Lin, Zhou Tingyue did not fully trust him. He only wanted to use Zhou Lin to suppress Xiao Heye's power, and preferably to completely eliminate the power of the Eastern Depot.
...
The two argued for a long time but still couldn't reach a conclusion. Shen Mei noticed that the banquet was almost over, and she was still thinking about settling things between her son and Jiang Min as soon as possible. In the end, she was the one who gave in first.
Her condition was that Zhou Tingyue should seriously consider his marriage to Jiang Min, and she would not concern herself with Zhou Ziqi's affairs.
As long as Shen Mei lets go, Xiao Heye will have no reason to do anything detrimental to Zhou Ziqi. Zhou Tingyue thought about it and finally agreed.
With this, the matter of Zhou Ziqi has essentially come to an end...
Fangxinyuan.
Xiao Heye and Zhou Lin, the Prince of Huainan, arrived at the banquet venue almost at the same time.
A short while later, following in Zhou Lin's footsteps, Consort Wan also arrived.
Su Tiyue glanced at Consort Wan sitting next to Jiang Min from afar, then turned her head to look at Zhou Lin, who had just sat down, her face not daring to show too much expression.
After all, the scandal between Zhou Lin and Consort Wan... in this palace, probably only she and the two people who did the wrong thing knew about it.
Seemingly sensing that the gaze was on him, Zhou Lin raised his eyes slightly and saw Su Tiyue staring at him.
Zhou Lin nodded slightly to her, then raised his wine glass, gesturing for her to drink with him. Su Tiyue immediately lowered her head, no longer looking at him.
Zhou Lin smiled freely, then took a small sip of wine.
Unfortunately, this scene was witnessed by Consort Wan. From the moment Zhou Lin appeared, Consort Wan's gaze had been fixed on him...
Consort Wan glared fiercely at Su Tiyue, twisting the silk handkerchief in her hands as if she wanted to tear it to shreds.
She lowered her head, gritting her teeth as she cursed, "That little slut from Tingyulou, has she never seen a man before? Those foxy eyes of hers, she tries to seduce anyone she sees! I really want to gouge out those damned eyes of hers..."
Upon hearing this, the maidservant beside her quickly comforted her, saying, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. That person from Tingyu Tower has always been at odds with you. Just pretend you didn't see it and don't upset yourself."
We definitely have to advise her. Who in the palace would dare to offend Consort Shu of Tingyu Tower?
Everyone knew that Su Tiyue had Xiao Heye backing her up, but no one dared to expose it.
The Empress Dowager also knew something about it, but what happened?
The Empress Dowager also wants to use Su Tiyue's identity to curry favor with Xiao Heye, doesn't she?
Consort Wan was naturally aware of Xiao Heye's prowess.
What Consort Wan found even more astonishing was that a lady of high birth like Su Tiyue would actually be willing to submit to a eunuch.
But since she had already been defiled by that eunuch Xiao Heye, she should have behaved herself. Why was she exchanging glances with her sweetheart just now...?
"Shameless!" Consort Wan muttered under her breath.
Jiang Min, who was sitting next to her, heard her cursing, but she didn't bother to pay attention to it because her attention was completely focused on Xiao Heye.
On that day at Wanbaolou, Xiao Heye had already laid his cards on the table with her, and Jiang Min knew that no matter how much she liked him, she could never marry a eunuch.
Jiang Min's original purpose in attending the banquet today was to leave a good impression on the emperor. However, she couldn't take her eyes off Xiao Heye.
Jiang Min is a smart person. Although she cares about that person, she won't keep staring at Xiao Heye.
She would occasionally glance around to see if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were present, and sometimes she would turn her head to chat with Consort Wan, who had just been hurling insults.
In every unguarded moment, Jiang Min's eyes or peripheral vision could quickly catch Xiao Heye's every move, but no one could notice anything unusual about her.
As soon as Xiao Heye sat down, he gestured for Li Xun to bring a small basin of water to wash his hands.
He was a very clean person. Before each meal, he would always wash his hands carefully and then wipe them clean with a clean cloth.
It was almost noon, and the sun was at its strongest. Fortunately, the banquet was held on the grass by the lake, where a gentle spring breeze would occasionally blow, bringing a touch of coolness.
After Xiao Heye took his seat, he neither drank nor did anything else; he simply kept his head down and quietly peeled shrimp.
That's right, it's peeling shrimp...
Everyone in the palace knew that Master Xiao did not eat meat, yet at this moment, he was peeling shrimp. One after another, he peeled them and placed them on a clean plate, until…
He only stopped peeling the boiled shrimp in front of him after he had finished the whole bowl.
Xiao Heye waved his hand, washed his hands again, and then handed the peeled shrimp to Li Xun.
Of course, this wasn't for Li Xun.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
