Since Xue Shen had said so, Shen Youying naturally wouldn't force herself to see him. She immediately sent a maid to the Wang family with a letter, saying that she was pregnant and feeling unwell, and asked them to visit her again at the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.
Because of her status as the Prime Minister's wife, Lady Wang had always been successful among the noble ladies of the capital. In the past, when the Wang family's interests conflicted with those of the Prince of Qin, she never took the initiative to greet Shen Youying. If it weren't for her husband's desire to bet on the Prince of Qin, and her belief that her daughter would likely enter the palace in the future, and her desire to first get to know Shen Youying and understand her temperament so her daughter could handle her better later, she would never have lowered herself to send a formal invitation to the Prince of Qin's residence.
Unexpectedly, she, an old woman old enough to be Shen Youying's mother, took the initiative to send an invitation, but Shen Youying refused.
Although another invitation to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet was sent immediately, Madam Wang was also adept at understanding people's hearts and was very shrewd. She could easily see that Shen Youying was just too lazy to see people and was throwing a Dragon Boat Festival banquet to get rid of them!
"The King of Qin hasn't even gained power yet, but the Shen family's daughter is already putting on airs like an empress."
Lady Wang said resentfully, "With your attitude of never fighting for anything, if you really entered the Prince of Qin's harem, wouldn't you be eaten alive, leaving not even a bone fragment?"
"She has only been married to the King of Qin for a short time. Not only did she manage to persuade him to dismiss his harem, but now she is pregnant with his first child. If she gives birth to a daughter, that will be fine, but if she gives birth to a son, you may not be able to compete with her in the future."
Wang Junting's expression darkened somewhat, and he retorted softly, "The King of Qin is resolute. He had his own plans when he dismissed the women from the inner palace. How could he be influenced by a woman? I have inquired about it. Some of those women were spies given to the King of Qin by others, while others were common women whom the King of Qin did not like. The King of Qin is kind and could not bear to see them waste their youth in the inner palace, so he released them to marry other men."
When she spoke of Xue Shen's actions, her eyes lit up, and a blush rose on her usually cool face: "The King of Qin is a powerful and ambitious man, devoted to his great cause. Women are merely embellishments to enhance his career. When he was down on his luck and in distress, only Shen Youying was by his side, so he naturally reciprocated by giving her some face. But if he were to do this in the future... the balance between the court and the harem is crucial, and the King of Qin would certainly expand his harem. He would never give up so many helpful people for the sake of one woman."
"I have my father and the Wang family backing me up, so I'm content as long as I get a little bit of their favor."
Seeing this, Madam Wang shook her head repeatedly: "I really suspect that the King of Qin has cast a spell on you, that you have been thinking about a man for so many years."
"Alright, if you won't fight for it, your parents will naturally fight for you and will not let you suffer any losses. Although the Shen family daughter entered the family early, the Shen family is now in decline. She is isolated and helpless. What can she use to fight for you?! Your mother has already prepared a dowry of 120 sets for you and will definitely let you marry the Prince of Qin in a grand and glorious manner."
Wang Junting blushed upon hearing this and responded softly, "Thank you for your trouble, Father and Mother."
Madam Wang tapped her forehead again and instructed, "We'll go to the Dragon Boat Festival banquet together. You need to dress up nicely and choose a bright dress. Don't wear anything plain again. Look at that Shen family girl. Every time she appears in public, she's dressed in a flamboyant way. You're more than as beautiful as her, but she always steals the spotlight."
Wang Junting: "I understand."
Madam Wang gave a few more detailed instructions before going to arrange the Dragon Boat Festival banquet.
*
Before the Dragon Boat Festival, Shen Youying sent out invitations. In addition to inviting a few families she had always been on good terms with, she also sent invitations to those families she had visited before but had politely declined with various excuses.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Prince of Qin's mansion was packed with guests.
Since Xue Shen had already broken ties with Emperor Cheng'an, she did not deliberately keep a low profile at this Dragon Boat Festival banquet. Instead, she instructed Wang Deshun to organize the banquet according to the regulations for princes.
When the group of women arrived at the Prince of Qin's residence, they saw that the residence was exquisitely and elegantly decorated everywhere. They also noticed the furnishings and decorations that they had not seen before when they attended the banquet at the Prince of Qin's residence last time. They could tell that the Prince of Qin's residence was no longer what it used to be.
Even the current emperor probably wouldn't dare to easily touch the King of Qin again.
The struggle between the emperor and the King of Qin has almost become public knowledge. On one side is the increasingly incompetent emperor, and on the other is the young King of Qin, who is both a skilled military and a capable ruler and has the right to rule. It is self-evident who should be bet on.
Previously, due to the presence of a crown prince, many people were still observing the situation. Although they were willing to show goodwill, they were afraid of betting too early and causing the situation to reverse.
First, the Northern Rong besieged the city, and the King of Qin led his troops in a surprise attack to repel the Northern Rong and made great contributions. Then, rumors spread from who knows where that the emperor's ascension to the throne was illegitimate.
The reason why the Emperor was able to ascend the throne was because he sent someone to assassinate the then Crown Prince, the King of Qin. After the plot was exposed, he killed his sister-in-law and brother. Although the King of Qin knew the truth, the Emperor had already taken control of the situation, so he could only pretend not to know. Over the years, he deliberately ruined his reputation in order to secretly bide his time and accumulate strength.
The rumor spread like wildfire through the city. With the crisis of the Northern Rong siege over gone and people's lives returning to normal, the news spread exceptionally quickly.
Those who heard the news and felt something was amiss sent people to investigate secretly, only to discover that the rumor actually originated from a storybook called "Resurrection".
The names, ages, and stories in the storybook all alluded to the Emperor and the Prince of Qin, and these rumors had actually been circulating among the common people for some time, but they had not spread widely at the time. It wasn't until the Prince of Qin lifted the siege and became a great hero in the hearts of the people of Tokyo that the storybook was brought up again, and the rumors that had only been circulating in a small circle began to spread more and more widely.
Even the late emperor and empress, who had long since passed away, were frequently mentioned. Many people recalled the benevolent rule of the late emperor and empress and supported the establishment of the Prince of Qin as the crown prince, hoping that the Prince of Qin would ascend the throne as emperor.
The Crown Prince, however, is now infamous among the common people because of the lack of timely reinforcements and the fact that Emperor Cheng'an's previous actions of sending the Imperial Guards to conduct a large-scale search for young girls and children in the city had chilled the hearts of the people and incurred their wrath.
Originally, everyone thought that the Crown Prince and the King of Qin still had a chance to compete, but now it seems that the King of Qin has gained the upper hand.
It remains to be seen whether the emperor will succumb to the pressure and appoint the King of Qin as crown prince, or whether the King of Qin will lose his temper and make the first move.
Therefore, Princess Qin invited everyone to her Dragon Boat Festival banquet this time, and almost everyone attended. Even those of lower rank who hadn't received invitations shamelessly sent gifts.
It must be that the Prince of Qin's mansion is large and grand enough, otherwise all these guests alone could have worn down the threshold of the mansion.
Madam Wang, mindful of her status, arrived with her daughter when most of the guests had already arrived.
Because there were so many guests, the street in front of the Qin Prince's Mansion was completely blocked by carriages. The servants of the Prince's Mansion were directing the coachmen from various mansions to line up their carriages one by one outside the alley.
The Wang family's carriage was stuck in traffic for quite some time before it was finally able to pass smoothly.
Lady Wang lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the magnificent scene at the Prince Qin's mansion. She sighed, "It's true that fortunes change. Who could have imagined that the Prince Qin's mansion would be so prosperous in the past?"
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