Chapter 175 Shame
As soon as he picked up the wine glass, the prince knew it was broken. The weakness of his entire hand made it impossible for him to react, and the glass fell to the ground.
There was a crisp bang, which was particularly clear in the hall.
The hall was silent for a moment, and countless eyes turned to look at a rolling white jade wine glass.
Originally, accidentally dropping a cup was just a small matter, but this happened at a welcoming banquet for the Yu Liu envoys, and the person who dropped the cup was the crown prince. The rolling white jade wine cup seemed to roll on the hearts of every face-conscious official of the Great Zhou, and embarrassment spread in the quiet hall.
The prince forced a smile and said, "Sorry, my hand just slipped accidentally. Everyone, continue, continue."
The officials' eyes were subtle, and they couldn't help but secretly glance at the Crown Prince's left hand.
The rumor turned out to be true, the prince's left hand was really disabled!
This discovery made the ministers feel different and speechless for a moment.
Emperor Tai'an's eyes were as deep as the abyss as he glanced at the Crown Prince. He then raised his glass to Prince Yu Liu and said, "This journey has been long, and you have worked hard, Prince."
Prince Yu Liu raised his glass with a smile, as if nothing had happened: "I have enjoyed your country's beautiful scenery along the way. I don't feel tired at all."
Several ministers also raised their glasses and took turns toasting the Yu Liu envoy, and the scene became lively again.
After the welcoming banquet, Emperor Tai'an summoned the Crown Prince to the Imperial Study and said, "You have lost your manners in front of Prince Yu Liu. You have truly brought disgrace upon the Great Zhou!"
The prince was already worried, but after being scolded by Emperor Tai'an, he suddenly felt wronged: "I don't want to do it either. It's my son's left hand that is disabled."
After hearing this, Emperor Tai'an no longer felt distressed, but instead became even more angry: "If you knew there was something wrong with your left hand, why did you use it to hold the cup?"
The prince was choked by the question and said awkwardly, "It's inevitable that I will forget sometimes—"
"Ha!" Emperor Tai'an sneered and interrupted the Crown Prince's sophistry. "You forgot because you were distracted by Princess Yu Liu, right?"
The prince's face immediately turned the color of liver: "My son didn't—"
Emperor Tai'an was too lazy to listen to the Crown Prince's feeble arguments and said coldly, "You are the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou, the heir apparent of a nation. Haven't you seen enough stunning beauties? You were seduced by a woman in such an occasion and lost your composure in front of others. I am so disappointed!"
These words were very harsh. The prince's face looked extremely ugly and he felt very dissatisfied.
He has seen many beauties, but few of them are his, not to mention the newly married Crown Princess with a round face that makes him feel sick.
He suspected that his father was dissatisfied with him and was deliberately torturing him.
The anger revealed in the prince's expression made Emperor Tai'an feel cold.
He made a fool of himself in front of foreigners and instead of reflecting on himself, he felt wronged. This bastard is really hopeless.
The scene of the King of Wei talking and laughing at the welcoming banquet flashed through Emperor Tai'an's mind, and he couldn't help but be distracted.
The Crown Prince quietly observed Emperor Tai'an's expression, feeling inexplicably flustered. He lowered his head and muttered, "Father, I know I was wrong."
Emperor Tai'an regained his composure, watching the prince bow his head and admit his mistake. He then calmed his wavering thoughts and issued a stern warning, "You are the crown prince. You will inevitably have to deal with Prince Yu Liu during his visit. What happened today must not happen again."
The prince made repeated assurances, but when he returned to the East Palace he had another outburst.
The Crown Princess was too ugly, so she didn't want to go. Consort Sun's place was boring, so she didn't want to go either. Finally, the Crown Prince retreated to his bedroom, with Wang Fu helping him take the Five Color Powder, and only then did he put his unhappiness behind him.
Prince Yu Liu and his entourage, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple, went to the designated Honglu Guesthouse. Once the outsiders were gone, Princess Lingque's face darkened. "My brother, did you see that? That Crown Prince of the Great Zhou keeps looking at me with such a mean and vulgar look!"
Prince Yu Liu smiled slightly and said, "Isn't it good for the Crown Prince of Da Zhou to be this way? If he were smart, capable, and self-disciplined, it would be bad for us Yu Liu."
If it weren't for the limitation of strength, which country would be willing to be a younger brother forever? As Prince Yu Liu, he hoped that both the Great Zhou and the State of Qi would be reduced to a mess.
Princess Lingque nodded in agreement and said thankfully, "Fortunately, my father has no plans to marry me to the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou."
Prince Yu Liu glanced at his sister, hinting, "If you really have this plan, will my sister disobey my father?"
Princess Lingque curled the corners of her lips and said calmly, "Of course I will listen to my father."
Prince Yu Liu smiled: "No wonder father loves his sister the most."
This time, he and his sister both came with a mission: he wanted to see the strength of the Great Zhou for his father, while his sister wanted to use her marriage to stir up trouble. Once they had chosen the most suitable target, his sister wouldn't be able to choose, and perhaps that target wouldn't even be as good as the Crown Prince of the Great Zhou.
"Don't worry, my brother. I know the seriousness of the matter." Princess Lingque had delicate and lively features, and she had a gentle and sweet temperament, but at this moment she revealed a coldness.
In Yuliu, women were looked down upon. Even if she was a beloved princess, once married, she could only obey her husband subserviently. This rare opportunity to serve the country, and her father's promise of a future position no less prestigious than her brothers', was something she would strive to grasp, not to feel wronged.
The news of Princess Yu Liu's stunning beauty spread quickly after the welcoming banquet. When the princes and ladies of various mansions received the invitation to the banquet to be held in Fuxiang Garden, they inevitably felt the anticipation of catching a glimpse of the exotic princess.
In the general's mansion, Lin was complaining to her daughter, who was getting dressed up for the banquet: "Who made this rule? Why are only you girls going?"
She also wanted to see how beautiful Princess Yu Liu was.
The old lady's face darkened. "Don't try to stir up trouble everywhere. The government has questioned you twice about the headless female corpse in Tianyuan Temple."
Lin said embarrassedly, "I'm just saying. By the way, the young masters of each mansion will also go to accompany Prince Yu Liu. Although the banquets will be held separately, they will be in the same garden after all. Ah Hao, you must remind Prince Jing not to wander around."
Some things have to be guarded against.
Lin Hao smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. The prince is not feeling well and cannot attend the banquet."
Because of the troubles from his previous life, Qi Shuo directly chose to avoid them. The reason was easy to find. After all, everyone knew that Prince Jing was weak and it was common for him to get sick.
Lin's expression changed slightly when she heard this.
Son-in-law is sick again?
Then she would be even more worried!
"Ah Hao——"
"The little princess is still waiting for me. I'll leave first." Lin Hao knew what his mother wanted to say and left quickly.
The carriage from Prince Jing's Mansion had already stopped outside the gate. Second Young Master Qi Huan was standing beside the carriage, leading the horse. When he saw the carriage from the General's Mansion coming out, he knocked on the wall and said, "Sister-in-law is coming out."
Qi Qiong lifted the carriage curtain and waved to Lin Hao who was looking out the window: "Ah Hao, why don't we take a carriage? We can talk on the way."
"OK."
Seeing Lin Hao agreed, Qi Qiongli got off the carriage: "Second brother, I'll go sit with Ah Hao."
"Hey——" Before Qi Huan could say anything, he saw his sister already got into the car of the general's mansion.
He looked at the empty carriage beside him, then at the horse he was leading, and suddenly felt a little sad.
His status has declined again before his eldest sister-in-law got married!
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