Chapter 81: Stay for Two Days
When Mrs. Du was thinking about how to marry her off, something that happened next made her immediately give up the idea.
After the prince hosted the banquet, King Rui sent someone to deliver the invitation.
Jiang Cheng did not dare to neglect either side, and asked Jiang Shen and Xie Yun to attend the banquet. He also repeatedly warned them not to offend King Rui.
Now, apart from the Crown Prince, the person His Majesty values most is Prince Rui.
Prince Fu likes to grow flowers and plants, travel and enjoy the scenery. He is a true free and easy prince and never attends the court.
Prince An was a low-key person. He never made friends with court officials and never took the initiative to express his opinions on state affairs. He was only slightly close to Prince Rui. In the eyes of outsiders, he seemed a little lonely and even indifferent. If he were a minister, such a personality would be a wise choice for him to protect himself, but as a prince, he seemed a little mediocre.
The emperor had never asked him to do any important tasks. Major events like sacrifices and disaster relief were all handled by the Crown Prince and Prince Rui. Both of them had a high reputation among the court officials, but the Crown Prince was, after all, the legitimate crown prince with good character, so naturally he had a higher reputation.
Jiang Cheng did not take sides like the others, but he did not dare to offend either side. If he attended the prince's banquet but refused Prince Rui's invitation, outsiders would definitely think that he was on the prince's side.
Jiang Lan, on the other hand, hoped to draw a clear line between herself and Prince Rui. What he said to her last time in Yipin Pavilion was like poison to her. She was really grateful to him.
To sow discord and confuse right and wrong.
To say he's sinister is a bit of an understatement, vicious is more like it...
Compared to the last time she went to the Prince's Mansion for a banquet, she was more than twice as worried this time.
God knows what Prince Rui's poisonous mouth will say to her elder brother? . . .
She went to see her father and mentioned the last banquet hosted by the Queen. Prince Rui was also there at that time. She felt that the other party was quite scheming and wanted her father to reconsider it carefully.
Jiang Cheng also considered it carefully and said that she didn't understand the affairs of the officialdom.
The implication is that as a girl, she shouldn't be involved in these matters.
Seeing that her father had made his own decision, Jiang Lan knew that no matter what she said, her father would not take it seriously.
So she went to find her elder brother and reminded him to be careful of King Rui, as he was not a good person.
Jiang Shen was a little surprised, and advised her to be careful with her words and actions and not to talk about the prince behind his back.
Jiang Lan felt that her eldest brother was sometimes a bit... pedantic...
Then when she went to find Xie Yun, she reminded him in a more tactful way, saying that Prince Rui might not look like a good person.
In fact, his character is not that good either.
But she still turned it around tactfully.
But don't judge a person by his appearance. When he meets the person, he will know whether he looks like a good person or not.
Xie Yun said that appearance is determined by the heart, and shared with Jiang Lan how to read faces. He learned this from a wandering Taoist priest, and then recited a set of formulas like a jingle. He used himself as an example, saying that his long eyebrows were like two knives, which could easily break up marriage and make it difficult for him to get married.
He looked at Jiang Lan's face again and said with a smile that she would give birth to twins, a boy and a girl, in the future.
Jiang Lan blushed immediately, reminded him to be careful, and hurriedly said goodbye.
On the day of the banquet, Jiang Rui watched the two of them leave in a carriage, and he felt envious. He was lost in his imagination. If he were to go, he would surely dazzle everyone and steal the show.
It was not until the housekeeper called him that Jiang Rui came back to his senses from his fantasy and went to the school reluctantly.
After sending the two away, Jiang Lan felt a little uneasy. But then she thought, her elder brother and cousin were not stupid. They would believe whatever King Rui said. Besides, she had reminded them in advance. Besides, Qi Wuhan would also go, so there would be no problem.
Shortly after the carriage arrived at the palace, another carriage also arrived.
Accompanied by the ethereal and light sound of copper bells, the magnificent four-horse carriage slowly drove over.
Seeing that it was the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion, the servant at the door immediately went in to report.
Then the palace's steward came over. After Qi Wuhan got off the carriage, the steward took two steps to greet him and saluted, "Does the Marquis have an invitation?"
Prince Rui did not send an invitation to the Marquis's Mansion.
"Where is the invitation?" Qi Wuhan asked slowly while waving his bone fan.
Ling Feng replied: "The invitation is in the mansion, I didn't bring it with me."
"Then you go back and look for it. I'll wait here." Qi Wuhan said as he walked to the gate and stood in the middle of the gate. The black-armored guards who followed him also stood on both sides, like two rows of door gods.
The guests who arrived later were so shocked by the scene at the gate that they didn't dare to get off their carriages.
The butler went in again to report, then came back and invited Qi Wuhan in.
Arriving at the banquet venue, Qi Wuhan went over to pay his respects to Prince Rui first. Prince Rui said indifferently, "My Lord, you have come uninvited, so why bother with all this empty formalities?"
"Your Highness, you are wrong. You still have to do some work to save your face." Qi Wuhan said slowly while waving his bone fan.
Prince Rui glanced at him sinisterly, then glanced in Jiang Shen's direction. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he casually said, "I heard that you have been very close to the Shangshu Mansion these days?"
Qi Wuhan asked nonchalantly, "What do you think is wrong, Your Highness?"
"I'm just a little curious," Prince Rui picked up the wine glass and shook it, causing ripples in the wine. "Is it true, as the rumors say, that you've taken a fancy to Miss Jiang Er?"
Qi Wuhan remained silent.
"Does she know what your relationship with Concubine Zhen is?" Prince Rui asked with interest, a sinister smile in his eyes.
Qi Wuhan paused as he slowly fanned himself, his eyes instantly turning cold. Suddenly, he smiled and began to fan his bone fan again. "Your Highness, don't you plan to find another companion to leave behind for yourself?"
With a loud bang, Prince Rui slammed his fist on the table, his eyes sinister and murderous.
Everyone was startled by the sudden noise, and their eyes were focused on the two of them, wondering what had happened.
"I think Prince Rui's face is not good. He has a fierce look in his eyes. He won't live long." Xie Yun whispered to Jiang Shen. Jiang Shen looked at him in surprise and solemnly warned him not to talk nonsense. Xie Yun sighed and said to himself, "Sister Lan really understands me."
Jiang Shen looked at him again, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Thinking of what Jiang Lan had said to him before, he didn't open his mouth.
"Your Highness, why are you so angry? Be careful not to harm your health." Qi Wuhan raised his glass to toast Prince Rui.
Everyone felt that everything was fine and continued to drink, chat and discuss knowledge.
…
After dark, the carriage still hadn't returned.
Jiang Lan comforted herself in her heart that everything was fine. The last time she went to the Prince's Mansion, she didn't come back until after dark.
But as the sky grew darker, the night deepened.
Jiang Lan also began to worry, and went to the hall to wait. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, she planned to ask the housekeeper to go to the palace to see if the banquet was over.
As soon as the housekeeper came over, the black-armored guard came hurriedly, as if he had something urgent to do.
Jiang Lan took him aside to talk. The black-armored guard reported a few words. She was shocked at first, but then relieved. After asking a few detailed questions, she went to the study and told her father the general situation.
Jiang Cheng was shocked and stared with his eyes wide open. It took him a long time to recover from the shock.
"Don't worry, Daddy. My elder brother and cousin are fine. They are in the Marquis' Mansion now. I'll go check on them first." Jiang Lan bowed and took her leave.
When Jiang Cheng came to his senses, he quickly called Jiang Lan and said that he needed to think about it carefully, but he did not come up with any solution.
"Don't worry, Daddy. I know my limits." Jiang Lan said and left in a hurry.
"Lan'er?!" Jiang Cheng called her again hurriedly, and Jiang Lan took a step and walked out.
The carriage was waiting at the door. As soon as Jiang Lan came out, she lifted the curtain and got into the carriage. Then Ling Feng drove the carriage away without any delay.
On the way, Ling Feng explained the details.
After the banquet, everyone said goodbye and left one after another.
Jiang Shen and Xie Yun were attacked by assassins on their way back, but fortunately they were secretly protected by the Black Armored Guards and neither of them was injured.
Jiang Lan asked if the assassin was a member of the Black Lotus Sect. Ling Feng replied that the person had not been caught yet and it was still unclear.
Because the emperor summoned him, Qi Wuhan left halfway.
In the afternoon, Qi Wuhan left the capital and left Ling Feng behind.
Jiang Lan asked Qi Wuhan when he would be back, and Ling Feng said it would be in two or three days at the earliest.
In the past, when Qi Wuhan took Ling Feng to work for the emperor, it would take at least three to five days, or at most a month.
When the carriage was about to arrive at the Marquis' Mansion, Ling Feng told Jiang Lan that people from the Imperial City Bureau had also arrived.
She pushed aside the car curtain and looked forward, only to be caught by a pair of knife-like narrow eyes.
Ji Quan walked towards the carriage, his signature sneer on his face, "The Second Miss is here too?"
"Lord Ji, are you here to visit my elder brother as well?" As she spoke, Jiang Lan pulled aside the carriage curtain and got out.
Ji Quan's gaze lingered on the dress she was wearing today, then he stepped aside and gestured for her to come in. He looked quite graceful, completely different from his usual sarcastic self.
When they reached the gate, Ji Quan was blocked outside by Ling Feng. Ling Feng asked Jiang Lan to go in first and leave the matter to him.
Jiang Lan nodded and went in first.
Only when she saw that Jiang Shen and Xie Yun were safe and sound did she feel completely relaxed.
After a while, Ling Feng also came over.
Jiang Lan asked if the person had left, and Ling Feng nodded.
"Can we go back now?" Xie Yun asked.
Ling Feng bowed and said, "Until the Marquis returns, please stay at the mansion for a while."
Jiang Shen felt that it was inappropriate, but Xie Yun didn't mind.
Ling Feng explained further, saying that the assassin had not been caught yet and it would be safer to live in the Marquis' Mansion.
Jiang Lan also agreed with this arrangement and advised her elder brother to stay for two days and return after the assassin was caught.
"Cousin Shen, let's stay here first, so as not to lure the assassin back to the mansion." Xie Yun joked.
But Jiang Shen was really worried that this might happen, so he agreed to stay for the time being.
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