Chapter 287 Banquet.
Xiao Yuan sighed softly, pulled her up from the chair, and then sat down again while holding her.
He was just worried that if someone with ulterior motives knew about it, it would be harmful to her.
Especially Shin Yunbaek.
"I will definitely follow you everywhere." Shen Anan said coquettishly, "I have been bored in the mansion for a long time, just take me out for a walk."
Xiao Yuan laughed, "Before, I had to persuade you to go out for a long time. Why are you so anxious this time?"
Shen Anan pouted, tilted her head and half-leaned on him, her voice clear and quiet.
"Because I want to be with you. It doesn't matter whether you have the emperor's favor or not. You still have me."
At the banquet tomorrow, those people will definitely rack their brains to curry favor with Xiao Tian. That is the favor given to him by the emperor. Xiao Yuan must feel extremely uncomfortable when he is walking among them.
In particular, all of this is based on the use of Concubine Shu.
The fire, the broken tablet, and him standing in front of the fire, angry and desperate, lingered in her mind day by day, and were particularly profound.
She didn't know why she had such a deep memory of this matter when she had forgotten so many things, but every time she thought of it, she couldn't control her anger.
Shen Anan's almond-shaped eyes slowly turned cold.
Xiao Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing, just stroking her back again and again, his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.
After a long while, he spoke softly, "An An is right, I still have you, and as long as you are with me, I don't care about anyone else."
＊
In the evening, the tablet of Concubine Shu was repaired and sent back. Shen Anan went to the small Buddhist hall in person, placed the tablet on it, and lit three incense sticks.
She and Xiao Yuan have both experienced strange things that ordinary people have never experienced, so they both believe in ghosts and gods.
"Mother, the fire in the palace will not be in vain, and your reputation will not be allowed to be slandered in vain."
She said softly, then inserted the incense into the incense burner. The incense made a circle and burned very quickly.
When Xiao Yuan came to the small Buddhist temple, he saw her standing in front of the tablet in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking about.
He walked forward and half hugged her, "It's getting late, we should go back."
Shen Anan pointed at the tablet. Xiao Yuan knew what she meant. After hesitating for a moment, he walked forward and lit three incense sticks for Concubine Shu.
"Don't you have anything to say? What if she can hear you?"
Xiao Yuan paused, looked up at the tablet, and finally shook his head, "There's nothing to say."
A fool whose head is full of love and who is so soft-hearted that she loses her life. As a son, he really blames her all these years.
Shen Anan sighed softly, and was led by Xiao Yuan out of the small Buddhist hall.
She knew that Xiao Yuan was not indifferent, but his experience of having no one to protect him in his childhood made it difficult for him to let go of Concubine Shu's behavior.
But he was willing to burn incense and make offerings, which was much better than at the beginning.
He acted as if he didn't care, but Shen Anan still saw some clues.
On the bed, she leaned forward and put her arms around his waist. Neither of them spoke, but they understood each other's feelings.
Xiao Yuan, "An An, if we have a child, I will definitely protect him well and let him grow up safely and happily."
Shen Anan chuckled, "Okay, whatever you say."
＊
The next morning, before Shen Anan woke up, she was awakened by a series of disturbing noises.
The sound of firecrackers, gongs and drums, and the noise are so annoying.
Mo Xiang heard the noise and entered the room, and saw Shen Anan sitting on the bed with a frown on her face, looking unhappy.
"It's the noise coming from the Fifth Prince's Mansion next door. It's getting late. I will help the Princess get up. The banquet is about to begin."
"Yeah." She rubbed her temples and glanced around the room. Not seeing Xiao Yuan, she knew he must be in the study reviewing official documents.
After everything was packed up, Shen Anan asked, "Are all the things I asked you to prepare ready?"
Mo Xiang nodded slightly, took out a dress from the closet, and handed it to Shen Anan.
She took a quick glance and nodded slightly, "Where's Mo Ran? Let her in."
After a while, Mo Ran came into the room, and Shen Anan asked Mo Xiang to hand the clothes to her, and solemnly instructed, "Don't forget what I told you."
Mo Ran said with a serious face, "Don't worry, Princess, I will definitely complete the instructions."
"Safety is the most important thing. If there is an accident, leave immediately and do not stay."
"Yes." Mo Ran stepped out. At the same time, Xiao Yuan came to pick her up to attend the banquet.
The street next door was blocked by carriages. Not only officials but also many ordinary people came to watch the excitement, wanting to catch a glimpse of the fifth prince.
However, as they whispered to each other, they inevitably mentioned the process of the Fifth Prince's restoration of his identity, and Concubine Shu was inevitably dragged out for criticism again.
Shen Anan's eyes were slightly cold, and she tightened her grip on Xiao Yuan's hand.
Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes to look at her, smiled softly, and indicated that he was fine.
At this time, a minister came forward to greet her, so she let go of his hand and stood one step behind him properly.
Xiao Yuan turned around and glanced at her, and she chuckled in response.
More and more ministers came forward to greet each other.
Lord Zheng got off the carriage in high spirits, and saw those people surrounding Xiao Yuan, trying to fawn on him with a barely perceptible frown on their faces.
He smiled and stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Why are you all gathered here? Is the Fifth Prince not in the palace?"
The ministers hesitated for a moment, looked up at Lord Zheng, and then filed in.
Lord Zheng curled his lips coldly. He came to congratulate and flatter the Fourth Prince at the same time, trying not to offend both sides. Where in the world could such a good thing happen?
But before the coldness in his eyes dissipated, his neck was suddenly grabbed by someone. The man used too much force and within a moment he was strangled to the point where he couldn't breathe. He almost thought he had encountered an assassin.
He turned his head with difficulty, and what came into his sight was Li Huaiyan's smiling face.
"Master Zheng is so anxious to curry favor with me, could it be that he has done something to make himself guilty?"
"Haha," Lord Zheng forcibly pushed his arm away, and after he was able to catch his breath, he smiled awkwardly, "What are you saying, Duke Li? You and I are the same. We are following the emperor's orders. What's there to be ashamed of? I am loyal to the court. Why should I feel guilty?"
Li Huaiyan chuckled, lowered his head and patted his collar, "That's best. After all, it doesn't take much effort to deal with a small shrimp."
Upon hearing this, Lord Zheng quickly glanced at Xiao Yuan, and the smile on his face almost disappeared.
Ling Chenyi grabbed Li Huaiyan and walked towards the mansion.
After walking a long way, he looked back and saw that Lord Zheng was still standing there blankly. He glanced at Li Huaiyan and said, "I can't handle the girl, so what's the point of scaring people?"
Li Huaiyan sneered, "I'm not threatening you, I'm telling you the truth. Don't think that just because your superiors promised you something, you can become so arrogant that you can't tell east from west."
Ling Chenyi, "You are just seeking revenge!"
Shen Anan listened to their conversation and turned around to ask, "Li Huaiyan, are you interested in the Zheng family girl?"
“…” Li Huaiyan looked into Shen Anan’s clear eyes and was somewhat speechless.
"That's it," Shen Anan was a little curious about what kind of girl could make Li Huaiyan's heart beat.
"Is she coming today? Let me see how stunning she is."
…
Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan looked at Xiao Yuan at the same time. The latter just smiled gently, obviously he was used to her forgetfulness.
Xiao Yuan, "Not necessarily. If he comes, I'll show him to you."
"good."
The officials who came to attend the banquet were led to the banquet hall by servants. Xiao Tian, wearing a prince's attire embroidered with gold python patterns, moved around in the banquet hall, responding to the flattery of the ministers.
Seeing Xiao Yuan coming in, he put down the teacup, stood up, walked down the steps, and bowed respectfully, "Fourth Brother, Sister-in-law."
"Fifth brother, you're welcome." Xiao Yuan replied indifferently, found a seat and sat down.
Xiao Tian stood alone in the middle of the banquet hall, and the atmosphere was a little stagnant for a moment.
When gods fight, the officials who are little devils naturally look at their eyes and noses, and each one is more cowardly than the other.
Shen Yunbai smiled and stood up and said, "Just now, the subordinate reported that the emperor is coming. Will the fifth prince lead everyone to welcome him?"
Xiao Tian turned to look at Shen Yunbai, and there was a hint of genuine smile in the boy's eyes.
"Fourth brother is the eldest, please go first."
No matter what kind of person Shen Yunbai is, Xiao Tian can't find any fault with him in terms of rules and etiquette.
"Today is my fifth brother's banquet, so I won't join in the fun." He sat still, with no intention of getting up to greet him.
Xiao Tian curled his lips slightly, and at this moment, a eunuch's sharp shout came from outside the courtyard.
"The Emperor has arrived—"
Xiao Tian said no more and led everyone out to meet them.
Having the emperor come out of the palace to attend a housewarming banquet in person was a great honor given to Xiao Tian. However, every bit of face he gave to Xiao Tian was also a slap in the face of Concubine Shu and Xiao Yuan.
The emperor was surrounded by the crowd and his solemn face was rarely filled with joy.
Shen Anan stood up from Xiao Yuan's side and knelt down to salute, but Xiao Yuan remained seated, motionless. When the emperor glanced at him, he nodded slightly, which counted as a greeting.
The emperor withdrew his gaze impatiently, too lazy to argue with him today and only add to his annoyance.
He sat down in the upper seat, and Shen Anan was pulled back to sit beside him by Xiao Yuan. What followed was, of course, those compliments that made one's ears calloused.
Compliments to the emperor, compliments to Xiao Tian, Xiao Yuan listened bored.
It was only after two quarters of an hour that we got to the point.
"Sir Zheng, I heard that your daughter is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, knitting and needlework. Bring her here today so that all the ministers can see her and compliment you."
Lord Zheng said flatteringly, "No, no, I don't dare. My daughter only knows a little bit, not proficient. She has been unwell recently. The Fifth Prince's banquet is such a happy event. I am afraid that her illness will offend the Fifth Prince, so I didn't let her go out."
He lowered his head, his palms sweating nervously.
That girl, he didn't know what was wrong with her. She refused to agree to this marriage no matter what. How dare he bring her out? What if she started talking nonsense and ruined everything? That would be terrible.
Li Huaiyan, who was standing on the side, stared at Lord Zheng with a serious look, watching the situation develop silently.
The emperor mentioned Zheng Yue'er's words of righteousness for Lord Liu, "Come to think of it, Tian'er and Lord Liu have similar backgrounds, Miss Zheng..."
"Master, Master." A panicked and frightened voice suddenly sounded, interrupting the emperor's next words and also interrupting Lord Zheng's anticipation.
He looked up and saw his servant stumbling in and kneeling at his feet with a thud.
The chief eunuch gave a sharp rebuke, saying that anyone who interrupted the emperor would be beaten to death.
The emperor raised his hand to stop the eunuch, and only then did he hear clearly what the servant said.
"The girl hanged herself."
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