Chapter 179: Palace Banquet (Two Chapters in One)
In a flash, Zhao Shiqing remembered the princess who had a secret meeting with Yang Shengqiu. She pulled Xiao Zhen aside and asked in a low voice, "Is there any princess in the palace who has established a residence outside the palace but does not have a consort?"
A princess who could go outside the palace alone to meet her lover secretly could not have lived in the palace. She must have set up a residence outside the palace so that she could come and go freely.
There are two reasons why Zhao Shiqing said that the princess had no prince consort: first, an unmarried princess would not live outside the palace; second, she believed that Yang Shengqiu was not so despicable as to be a lover of a married princess.
As for the princesses who already had their own households but no prince consorts, Zhao Shiqing had only known of one Princess Jia'an before. Because her romantic affairs were so well-known, she had no choice but to not know about them.
However, Zhao Shiqing did not think that the person who had a secret meeting with Yang Shengqiu was Princess Jia'an. With her usual style, there was no need for her to be sneaky and avoid being seen. She kept a lover openly and even the emperor was too lazy to ask about it. Who would dare to care about her?
Besides, the person she saw that day was a young woman.
However, Zhao Shiqing regretted her words as soon as she said them. Did she overestimate Yang Shengqiu's moral bottom line? What if Princess Jiayi also had a hobby of secretly meeting with her lover... Is it appropriate for her to ask the other person's son about his mother's romantic affairs?
Zhao Shiqing chuckled dryly: "Should I not ask? Then just pretend I didn't ask."
Xiao Zhen knew what was going on in her little head without having to guess. Those who thought like that didn't understand his princess mother. The princess mother and the prince consort were so close that they would secretly meet with a gigolo?
But he already had the answer to Zhao Shiqing's question: "There are nine princesses who have established residences outside the palace without a consort, five of them are Grand Princesses and four are Grand Princesses."
Zhao Shiqing was stunned. There were only the Grand Princess and the Eldest Princess, but no Princess?
The eldest princess is the emperor's aunt, and the eldest princess is the emperor's sister. None of them can be that young girl.
"Why do you ask this?" Xiao Zhen was suspicious.
Zhao Shiqing lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear, "I know Yang Shengqiu is having a private meeting with a princess. That princess is about my age, so she's probably not the eldest princess or the eldest princess you mentioned."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment and said, "There are two young princesses, one of whom has also set up a residence outside the palace. She is the youngest daughter of the retired emperor, Princess Jiarou. She originally wanted to become a nun, but the clan office did not agree, so they let her set up a residence outside the palace to practice. She is devoted to Taoism, and logically she would not do such a thing, but besides her, there are two other princesses in her residence..."
Zhao Shiqing was stunned. Is there another princess living in Princess Jiarou's mansion?
"Which two?" Zhao Shiqing asked.
"Huixin and Huiming, I heard that they left the palace with Princess Jiarou." Xiao Zhen said.
Zhao Shiqing nodded. Princess Jiarou was Xiao Zhen's aunt. Although Xiao Zhen was still in suspended animation, he must have had contact with his parents. He said that there were two princesses in his aunt's house, so it must be true.
Xiao Zhen continued, "Huixin and I are the same age, and Huiming is three years younger than her, about the same age as you. If the one you're talking about is really a princess, then it should be Huiming."
Zhao Shiqing asked, "So, is the empress dowager she's referring to the Empress Xiaokang?"
Xiao Zhen hummed: "It can only be that person."
There was too much information coming in at once, and Zhao Shiqing felt she needed to slow down.
Yang Shengqiu actually has an affair with Princess Huiming?
Princess Huiming is the daughter of the late crown prince. Yang Shengqiu's grandfather is Doctor Yang. The late crown prince once wanted Doctor Yang to treat his eye disease, but Doctor Yang died because of the late crown prince.
Could it be that Yang Shengqiu wanted to avenge his grandfather? That's why he approached Princess Huiming?
But if you want revenge, you should find the murderer or the person behind the scenes. Why do you seek revenge on the daughter of another victim first? Is this person crazy?
If this could be considered revenge, then would she also have to kill Yang Shengqiu? After all, if it weren't for Doctor Yang's involvement, the Shi family wouldn't have been wiped out.
Zhao Shiqing's little head was full of thoughts. At this moment, Deng Zheng came over and said, "Brother Zhen, come quickly. I'd like to introduce you to the Prince of Rongcheng."
Xiao Zhen patted Zhao Shiqing's head and said, "Stand here and don't run around. I'll be back soon."
Zhao Shiqing slapped his claws away and said, "Don't touch a man's head!"
Deng Zheng laughed and said to Xiao Zhen, "Your brother is very interesting. I must bring him along when we get together next time."
Xiao Zhen nodded and said nothing.
Zhao Shiqing did not run around. She was still daydreaming. In just a short while, she had already come up with an emotional drama of grievances, love and hate for Yang Shengqiu and Princess Huiming.
When she looked again, Yang Shengqiu was no longer there.
Although there were strangers all around, Zhao Shiqing didn't feel lonely at all. She soon started chatting with the two young masters of the Yan family.
One of them is the ninth child of the Yan family, who is eleven years old this year, and the other is the eleventh child of the Yan family, who is nine years old this year. Yan Eleven is Yan Xia’s younger brother, and Yan Nine is his cousin.
Zhao Shiqing and the two kids got along really well. Their conversation ranged from the stone threshold to the overpass, from the military drama to the chest-breaking stone technique. Zhao Shiqing said, "I saw some people doing the stone-breaking technique on Ping'an Street the other day. They were a pair of brothers, about my age. Wow, they were both really good at it, so impressive!"
Yan Jiu suddenly became interested: "Really? Ping'an Street, not far from my home. I will definitely go and see it later. Eleven, are you going?"
Yan Shiyi shook his head: "I have to do my homework. If I don't do it well, I won't be able to move up to the next class."
Yan Shiyi also wants to be in the same class with his elder brother, so he has been studying very hard for this purpose.
Yan Jiu ignored him and turned around to call three more people. The youngest one was only about six or seven years old. No need to ask, these were all from the Yan family.
"This brother said that there's a new pair of brothers who are as strong as a rock on Ping'an Street. Let's go and see them together later."
"Okay, okay, let's go together!"
Zhao Shiqing was so envious. The children of the Yan family seemed easy to get along with. They played and made noises together. It was so much fun. My sister would like it too, I think.
When Xiao Zhen came back, he saw Zhao Shiqing acting like a child king, surrounded by a bunch of children younger than her. Although she lowered her voice, she was still very excited.
Xiao Zhen smiled and shook his head, what a child.
Zhao Shiqing has already made an appointment with these little brats to go watch the Stone Breaking Show together.
At this moment, another child about ten years old ran over and said to Yan Jiu, "Yan Laojiu, Yan Laojiu, come here, I want to talk to you about something."
Yan Jiu walked over, and Yan Shiyi whispered to Zhao Shiqing: "That's Prince Fu's grandson Zhao Tingluo. He and Brother Jiu are best friends."
Prince Fu is the brother of the retired emperor. His grandson is of the same generation as Zhao Tinghan and also has the character "Ting".
A moment later, Yan Jiu returned, looked around solemnly, and said to Zhao Shiqing and his brothers, "Zhao Tingluo just told me that he saw the Crown Prince scolding the Fourth Master. You must not tell anyone about this. This is a secret, top secret!"
Everyone nodded solemnly and promised not to tell anyone.
Turning around, Zhao Shiqing saw Xiao Zhen coming back, and said to the other children, "My eldest brother is here. I'll go find him, and we'll talk later."
Yan Shiyi also said, "I'll go find my eldest brother too."
The Crown Prince scolded the Fourth Master. He wanted to tell his eldest brother about such a big thing.
Zhao Shiqing walked up to Xiao Zhen and whispered, "The Crown Prince just scolded the Fourth Prince. It must be because of the Tong'an incident last time."
Xiao Zhen whispered, "Well, the reason why the emperor asked the fourth prince to enter the palace is because he wants to find him a princess today."
Zhao Shiqing thought to herself, it’s over, there will be a bunch of people with hooked noses in this world again.
At this time, several eunuchs came hurriedly: "The auspicious time has arrived, everyone should take their seats."
......
Another half hour passed before Xiao Zhen and Zhao Shiqing finally took their seats. After the emperor, the crown prince and the other princes arrived, the palace banquet finally began.
But it didn't take long before Zhao Shiqing lost all interest.
They were all standard songs and dances. Although the music, songs and dances were good, for Zhao Shiqing, who grew up in a royal palace, there was really nothing new about them.
She lowered her voice and asked, "Why is there no juggling?"
During every New Year, there would be acrobatic performances at the banquets in Prince Liang's Mansion, and everyone's favorite thing to watch was these acrobatic performances. For example, someone would hold twenty bowls on his head and shoulders, but could blow flowers out of his mouth. Another person could conjure up dozens of pigeons and even make fun lanterns for the young men and women in the mansion.
The circus troupe always received the most reward money.
But today Zhao Shiqing waited for a long time, but there was no circus performance.
Seeing her ask this, Xiao Zhen lowered his voice and said, "To prevent assassins from sneaking into the circus."
Zhao Shiqing understood that there was a story behind every rule, which meant that there had indeed been an assassin who had sneaked into the circus troupe and assassinated the emperor.
Why didn't you stab him to death?
Zhao Shiqing felt very sorry and was about to ask again when he heard a eunuch say, "The Crown Prince and several princes have arrived. Please greet them."
It was called a greeting, but since it was a palace banquet, the space did not allow for it, so everyone just stood up and bowed to the Crown Prince and the other princes.
Zhao Shiqing bent his body and glanced at the people walking by. The person walking in front like a star was a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five. He had very fair skin and delicate features, but he had a hooked nose, which made his temperament more feminine.
This person must be the prince who is the eldest son of the emperor but is not favored by the emperor.
Behind the crown prince were several princes of all ages. In addition to the three, four, and five that Zhao Shiqing had met today, there were a few others that he had not seen, including one who was seven or eight years old.
Everyone paid their respects to the princes. The prince said a few polite words, which were nothing more than auspicious words for the Mid-Autumn Festival. He took the wine offered by the eunuch and took a symbolic sip. Everyone thanked him, and the prince took his brothers to the next table.
After the crown prince and the princes left, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there was no burping, coughing or farting just now.
Zhao Shiqing asked Xiao Zhen: "Can we start eating now?"
Although she came here after eating mooncakes, chatting was also hard work and she was hungry now.
Xiao Zhen: "Wait a little longer."
Zhao Shiqing......
Finally, the eunuch signaled that everyone could start eating, and another eunuch served everyone the dishes. Everyone picked up their chopsticks and took a bite, then praised the dishes for being delicious, and then they could really eat.
There were no officials at the table where Zhao Shiqing was sitting, so there were fewer rules, but Zhao Shiqing still couldn't eat his fill.
During this time, Zhao Shiqing saw Yan Jiu and Zhao Tingluo from Prince Fu's mansion. The two were wandering around, and it was obvious that they had participated in countless palace banquets. They came up to Zhao Shiqing and whispered, "The prince drank too much and was helped to rest. The emperor is very unhappy, hehe."
Zhao Shiqing was curious: "You can even see this?"
Yan Jiuyi pointed at Zhao Tingluo and said, "He saw it."
Zhao Tingluo was very proud: "My young master has great eyes and hands. There is nothing I can't see."
The corners of Zhao Shiqing's mouth twitched. "Little guy, you used the wrong idiom."
The two kids left after they finished talking, especially the tiny Zhao Tingluo, who disappeared somewhere.
After they left, Xiao Zhen said, "Zhao Tingluo was raised in the palace for a few years when he was young. He is very familiar with every place in the palace, and it is rare. From the emperor to the concubines in the palace, everyone likes him very much. You can build a good relationship with him and Yan Jiu."
There was one thing Xiao Zhen didn't say, that was that in his previous life, Zhao Tingluo made a fortune by selling information in the palace. He had insiders in every palace, and he even knew how many times the emperor asked for water last night and how long the interval was between each time.
Zhao Tingluo is still young now, and he probably doesn’t know that he can make money by selling information. However, he will know when he grows up.
In their previous life, Zhao Tingluo and Yan Jiu were good friends. Later, they made this kind of money together, but they did it very secretly. If Fengyu Pavilion had not cooperated with them, even Xiao Zhen would not have known about it.
Zhao Shiqing became excited when he heard this. There was finally someone interesting in the palace.
"Okay, I'll invite them to watch the Stone Crushing Chest Show later."
Xiao Zhen: Isn't the stone-breaking place right on the roadside? Do I need to invite you?
During the banquet, Xiao Zhen was called over by the Third Prince's men, while Zhao Shiqing ate and drank by himself. The good thing about pretending to be a child is that no one takes you seriously.
This time, Xiao Zhen was called away for a while. Zhao Shiqing was just about to chat with the people next to her when she saw Yan Shiyi, whom she hadn't seen before, running over and grabbing her. "Brother Bao, come with me! Brother Jiu asked me to take you to watch the fun!"
Zhao Shiqing blinked her eyes. Can we watch the fun in the palace?
If the person who came was not Yan Shiyi, and if Xiao Zhen had not just said that she could have a good relationship with Yan Jiu, Zhao Shiqing would have thought it was a trap.
However, after Xiao Zhen said this, Zhao Shiqing became less wary, stood up, and followed Yan Shiyi.
Although she was also treated as a child, when Zhao Shiqing walked with the nine-year-old Yan Shiyi, she looked like the big kid.
In the eyes of others, it's just a big kid with a small kid, which is a bit eye-catching.
Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Yan Shiyi took her behind the curtains, then crouched down and came out from behind the curtains. They were already at the door.
The eunuch at the door saw them and said with a smile: "The honorific room is on the right along the stone path. The two young masters should not go the wrong way."
This is because they thought they were going to the toilet.
The two thanked him, took a few steps to the right, and then ran around a tree in the opposite direction.
When no one was around, Yan Shiyi said, "The Crown Prince is drunk. He visited some young lady in Yujing Palace and was seen. The Empress and Concubine Qiao have both gone there. Let's go this way to avoid running into them."
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