The banquet, which had been interrupted by the sudden arrival of the King of Chu and the King of Chen, resumed. The guests dispersed in twos and threes, but they were no longer in the mood for entertainment. They kept a distance from the three Kings of Qin and kept a watchful eye on their movements.
Inside Taoranting Park, the three men stood in a triangular formation. Xue Shen, holding a teacup, wore a forced smile, while Prince Chen, sitting opposite him, had a stiff expression and his face was filled with resentment. Prince Chu, seated between the two, had been tasked with mediating: "Third brother, you specifically asked me to be the mediator, saying you wanted to find Second Brother to apologize properly. Why are you silent now that you've met him?"
Chen Wang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
His request for the Prince of Chu to act as an intermediary was a pretense; in reality, the Li faction had seized upon his weaknesses to launch a massive impeachment campaign and brought up the old issue of establishing a crown prince again. The emperor saw that he was about to lose control, so he had no choice but to summon Xue Heng to give him a warning and have Xue Heng personally lead him to apologize to Xue Shen in an attempt to settle the matter.
However, Xue Shen clearly had no intention of backing down. From the moment the two men found him, he sipped his tea with a forced smile, not uttering a single word.
It wasn't until the King of Chu spoke that he looked surprised and said, "So, my second brother has come to apologize to me?" He then looked puzzled and said, "Didn't we already apologize at Ciyuan Hall? I thought the matter was over. Today, my elder brother and I have come here specifically to join in the fun of this spring banquet."
Chen Wang's brow twitched. Meeting his dismissive expression, he could only suppress his anger and apologize solemnly once again.
Xue Shen waved his hand casually: "It's all in the past, why bring it up again?" He picked up the teapot and slowly poured another cup of tea, took a sip and said: "Princess Shouning's banquet is very lively, it's my first time here. Since we're attending a banquet, we should act like we're attending one, have fun and not bring up things that spoil the mood."
He's already said that, what else can be done?
The King of Chu looked at the King of Chen with an expression of helplessness. The King of Chen was furious, but since this matter involved the selection of an heir, he could only swallow his anger and stay, pretending to be a brother and having a good time.
Shen Youying and Xie Qinglan were in another octagonal pavilion next to Taoranting.
Xie Qinglan's gaze fell on the King of Chu: "What do you think they're saying?"
Shen Youying guessed that he was probably here because of Liu Shi's matter, but it was not appropriate to discuss this with Xie Qinglan too much, so she did not mention it. Instead, she brought up the topic that had been interrupted earlier and tentatively asked, "Is your beloved... the Prince of Chu?"
Xie Qinglan's expression changed slightly, her face flushed a little. She lowered her head, fidgeted with her fingers, and muttered, "You figured it out?"
The worst guess came true, and Shen Youying looked at her with some worry: "You've made it so obvious, I'm not blind."
"How could this be between you and the King of Chu...?"
Shen Youying thought and thought but couldn't understand it. The King of Chu already had a queen, who was eight years older than Xie Qinglan. Logically speaking, the two of them should never have any interaction.
"Don't overthink it." Xie Qinglan knew what she was thinking as soon as she heard her tone, and quickly said, "There's nothing between me and the Prince of Chu. It's just that at the beginning of this year, I went to the Daxiangguo Temple to offer incense and encountered bandits on the way. I happened to run into the Prince of Chu's carriage..."
Her voice trailed off, and her cheeks, which had been flushed, gradually turned pale: "I know it's impossible between him and me."
In the past, when she read those novels about talented men and beautiful women, she would always wonder how someone could be so infatuated with someone they had only met once, to the point of being heartbroken and dying for them?
But on the day she encountered danger on her way to Xiangguo Temple, when she was isolated and helpless, the King of Chu descended from the sky like a god and single-handedly repelled the bandits. Only then did she realize that the love at first sight described in the storybooks was real.
Throughout her life, she had read countless stories and never developed feelings for anyone.
But when she looked at the King of Chu that day, her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode.
Knowing that she was a woman from the Xie family, the King of Chu feared she might encounter danger again, so he had her carriage follow behind him.
When she peeked at him through the gap in the carriage curtain and saw him gently and carefully helping a sick woman out of the carriage, she knew that there was absolutely no possibility between them.
The sickly woman was the Queen Consort of Chu. It was said that the King of Chu and the Queen Consort had a very deep affection for each other. Unfortunately, the Queen Consort suffered a difficult childbirth in her early years, which damaged her health. Her only child also died young. She was both physically and mentally wounded and had been bedridden ever since.
King Chu, who clearly needed an heir, never considered taking a concubine.
Xie Qinglan watched from behind, and the more envious she became, the more she knew that this budding thought was destined to have no future.
Seeing that her eyes had reddened as she spoke, Shen Youying touched her face with heartache: "Since you know there will be no result, why do you do this?"
"I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it." Xie Qinglan hugged her, burying her face in her chest and sobbing, "I've seen all the husbands my mother chose for me. But when I look at them, I always think of the King of Chu that day..."
Although Xie Qinglan was the eldest daughter of the family, she was the only daughter in the Xie family this generation, and she was spoiled by her family. In the past, she was innocent and carefree and did not know any worries. The biggest thing for her was that she had eaten too many snacks and was going to gain weight.
But now, they sometimes get red-eyed because they can't get what they want.
Shen Youying hugged her tightly with heartache and gently patted her back: "You're just being stubborn for a while. When you have more time and meet someone you really like, you won't feel anything today."
Xie Qinglan looked up at her, her eyes red from crying: "But what is true love?"
Shen Youying was speechless for a moment, then thought of her cousin Lu Minghe.
She only ever liked one person when she was young. But now, looking back, that liking wasn't very deep, just like the flowers in March and April—beautiful and charming, but unable to withstand setbacks; a gentle breeze would cause them to wither.
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