Chapter 600 Birthday Party
Chu Min's expression was gloomy, and for a moment, he felt that Duke Jingguo knew everything.
"Don't worry, Dad. You'll be fine."
Duke Jingguo shook his head and motioned for him to help him lie down. "I'm tired, I'm tired. Go ahead. It's late. Have a good rest. You still have to attend the morning court tomorrow."
Chu Min carefully covered him with a blanket and said, "Yes, father, please take a rest first. I will come to see you tomorrow."
Duke Jingguo closed his eyes.
It was not until he heard Chu Min's footsteps leaving that he opened his eyes again. He looked at Chu Min's departing back and let out a deep breath. When he closed his eyes again, a tear overflowed from the corner of his eye.
King Jiangning's birthday is at the end of the month.
Because of the news that Xiao Jin would be coming, quite a lot of people came to celebrate King Jiangning's birthday today.
Early in the morning, Prince Jiangning stood outside the gate to welcome guests, looking refreshed. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had seen so many flattering faces at the same time.
"Congratulations on your birthday, Your Majesty."
"Master Li is here, please come in quickly."
After these days of recuperation, Xiao Shijie's wounds have healed, and he is now standing outside the door with Prince Jiangning to welcome guests.
Those who came to celebrate Prince Jiangning's birthday tactfully ignored Xiao Shijie's presence, and those who couldn't refuse just exchanged a few simple greetings and went into the palace.
Xiao Shijie glanced at those people with a cold look in his eyes.
This scene was just caught by King Jiangning. "Alright, your wounds are not fully healed yet, just stay inside. It won't be too late for you to come back after the banquet starts."
Xiao Shijie did not refuse, "Okay, I'll go in first."
After Xiao Shijie left, Prince Jiangning breathed a sigh of relief. He always felt burdened when Xiao Shijie stood by, but he felt much more relaxed once he left.
Just as the banquet was about to begin, a team of imperial guards arrived outside the palace gate.
Upon seeing this, Prince Jiangning immediately went forward and said, "Your Highness."
Xiao Jin, dressed in a crimson purple suit, got down from the carriage. After stopping, he did not leave, but reached out to help Su Ying down.
Prince Jiangning didn't expect Su Ying to come too.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen."
The two men stood still and let Prince Jiangning and others stand up.
"Today, the Queen and I are here to attend Uncle Wang's birthday banquet. Uncle Wang is the host, so just treat us as ordinary juniors."
Even if King Jiangning had ten thousand courages, he wouldn't dare to do it!
He respectfully invited everyone to his house. The weather was cold now, and in order to host today's banquet, Prince Jiangning had already had the largest courtyard renovated, which was just enough to accommodate the guests coming today.
"The Emperor has arrived, and the Empress has arrived."
As the eunuch's singing began, those who had already arrived in the banquet hall stood up and saluted.
Xiao Jin walked hand in hand with Su Ying into the Jin Hall and sat at the top.
Xiao Shijie watched Xiao Jin's footsteps flash past him, murderous intent evident in his eyes.
Suddenly, a pair of embroidered shoes with pearls stopped in front of him. Xiao Shijie was startled and subconsciously raised his head to meet a pair of deep and unfathomable phoenix eyes.
Xiao Shijie quickly withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes. It's not like he had not heard of the Queen's reputation, but he didn't care. To him, no matter how powerful a woman was, how powerful could she be?
But that look just now made him inexplicably frightened.
This woman is so strong.
After just one glance, Su Ying withdrew her gaze and sat down in the main seat with Xiao Jin.
Prince Jiangning sat below Xiao Jin and the others, paying attention to the two men's eyes from time to time.
"Your Highness has come back from Jinling City to celebrate the birthday of Prince Jiangning. I am really moved by your filial piety. I will offer this glass of wine to you first."
Xiao Shijie stood up with the wine glass on the table, looking respectful. "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. I have wanted to return to the capital for a long time, but I was always entangled in trivial matters. This time I finally get this opportunity to meet Your Majesty and my father, and I am very happy."
"This glass of wine should be presented to His Majesty." After saying this, Xiao Shijie drank the wine in the glass.
Xiao Jin also drank the wine in the glass.
Prince Jiangning also stood up at the right time to liven up the atmosphere, and the atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became lively.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, Prince Jiangning felt a little tipsy and became much bolder.
"Your Majesty, I am truly happy today. I can't remember how long it has been since I last had a birthday like this. I have to thank Your Majesty very much." Prince Jiangning came to Xiao Jin with a red face, holding a wine glass, and his tongue was lisp when he spoke.
Xiao Jin raised his glass with a kind look and clinked it against his own. "As long as Uncle Wang is happy."
"I'm happy. I don't know how happy I am. Hehehe." After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass again, turned around and went to the dance floor in the center of the hall to dance with the singers.
All the guests thought that Prince Jiangning was quite courageous, as he dared to act so presumptuously in front of the emperor. However, since the emperor did not seem to want to blame them, they all laughed and enjoyed the singing and dancing.
The atmosphere at the banquet was suddenly pushed to a climax.
Su Ying sat in a chair and ate the dishes on the table with great interest. Although the taste was not as good as that in the palace, it was not bad either.
"This snack is not bad, you can try it." Xiao Jin pushed the snack in front of him towards Su Ying's table.
Su Ying hummed, picked up the chopsticks and continued eating.
Xiao Shijie was sitting at the lower table, seemingly watching the singing and dancing, but his eyes were always on Xiao Jin and Su Ying. Seeing that Su Ying was eating the whole time, he thought that the way Su Ying looked at him just now might have been an accident?
When Xiao Shijie withdrew his gaze, a maid fell on him, and the wine in her hand instantly wet his robe.
"Please forgive me, my lord. Please forgive me. I deserve to die, I deserve to die..." The maid was so scared that her face turned pale and she kowtowed and begged for mercy.
Just at this moment the singing and dancing stopped, and for a moment many people were attracted by the movement here and looked over here.
Prince Jiangning was dancing with the dancer enthusiastically when he heard the maid's cry and begging. He cursed in dissatisfaction: "What are you doing? Today is my birthday. Why are you crying and mourning? Get out of here, get out of here!"
The maid didn't dare to say anything and left quickly.
The housekeeper walked up to Xiao Shijie at the right time and said, "My Lord, your clothes are all wet. You should quickly go down with me and change into clean clothes."
Xiao Shijie's face looked unhappy, and he was very dissatisfied with this incident, but because of the presence of guests, he tried hard to endure it.
"I am sorry for being rude." Xiao Shijie stood up and saluted Xiao Jin before leaving with the butler.
The sound of dance and music rang out again, and Prince Jiangning danced with the dancer again, seemingly not taking the previous episode to heart.
Xiao Shijie followed the housekeeper to the side room in the backyard.
"Please wait a moment, my lord. I will go get some clean clothes."
Xiao Shijie nodded and sat down on the chair calmly.
After the butler left, a figure pushed open the door and walked in.
(End of this chapter)
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