The palace banquet was halfway through, and Shen Liyue had already eaten her fill. Lian Dong had tied her waist very tightly today, so she couldn't eat after eating a little. She informed her mother and went out to get some fresh air.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he went out, he met Lu Xingzhou.
Lu Xingzhou was wearing a formal suit today, and he looked dignified and imposing.
Shen Liyue couldn't help but look at Lu Xingzhou a few more times, and Lu Xingzhou noticed it.
"Why, is there something on my face?" Lu Xingzhou joked.
Chen Liyue had been sitting there for too long today, finally relaxing. She was too lazy to pretend with Lu Xingzhou anymore, so she simply rolled her eyes at him. "There are no flowers, but there are grasses," Chen Liyue replied.
Lu Xingzhou touched his face in confusion, but there was clearly nothing on it.
Lu Xingzhou smiled and asked Chen Liyue, "Why did you run out halfway through eating?"
Chen Liyue glanced back at the hall behind her, exhaled and said, "There are too many people, it's stuffy, come out and get some fresh air. What about you?"
Lu Xingzhou said, "I came out to get some fresh air too. How about we come together?"
Shen Liyue didn't say anything, but walked with Lu Xingzhou obediently.
The atmosphere was a little awkward, and Shen Liyue looked up at the sky. Suddenly, Shen Liyue said, "Look, it's a full moon today!"
Lu Xingzhou looked up at the bright moon in the sky with her, and inexplicably remembered the sentence "The bright moon is alone in the sky."
Lu Xingzhou lowered his head and looked at Shen Liyue beside him. There was also a "moon" in her name.
I just hope she doesn’t want to be that lonely moon. It would be best if “I wish I were like a star and you were like the moon, shining brightly every night.”
Shen Liyue felt Lu Xingzhou's gaze on her face and felt a little embarrassed. "Yes, today is the fifteenth day. Look at the stupid thing I said."
Fortunately, it was dark and Lu Xingzhou couldn’t see that he was blushing.
"Go further and you will reach the Auspicious Palace, which is where our mother's bedroom is." Lu Xingzhou said.
Chen Liyue knew that it was inappropriate to go any further, so the two of them turned back. Not wanting people to see that they came back together, they entered the door one after the other.
Unexpectedly, the emperor saw Shen Liyue when she entered the room. When Shen Liyue met the emperor's gaze, she quickly lowered her head guiltily and planned to take a seat secretly.
Unexpectedly, the emperor raised his hand and pointed directly at Shen Liyue, then looked at Shen Wangqiu and said, "Is that the eldest daughter of the Shen family?"
Chen Wangqiu quickly stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, it is my daughter."
"Oh." The emperor was in a good mood today, and actually waved at Shen Liyue and said, "Come here and let me take a look."
Now everyone's eyes were focused on Shen Liyue, and Shen Liyue got goosebumps.
There was no other way. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Shen Liyue had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk forward, kneeling down obediently.
"Your humble servant, Chen Liyue, greets His Majesty, the Empress. Long live the Emperor, and a thousand years to the Empress."
The Queen also found it amusing and smiled, telling Shen Liyue to stand up without any formalities.
"How old is Miss Shen this year?" asked the queen with a smile.
"Your Majesty, I have just reached the age of marriage this year," Chen Liyue replied.
The queen smiled and nodded, then asked, "Are you getting married?"
"No." Shen Liyue was so scared that she didn't dare to raise her head. She lowered her head and answered honestly.
"Why do you always keep your head down? Lift it up and let me see it," said the emperor.
Shen Liyue looked up, only to see the emperor and empress looking at her with smiles on their faces.
Then the emperor said to Shen Wangqiu: "Good for you, you have such a beautiful girl at home but you hide her."
This sentence made Shen Wangqiu break out in a cold sweat and scared Shen Liyue half to death. Could it be that the emperor was attracted to Shen Liyue and wanted to take her into the harem?
Shen Wangqiu didn’t dare to respond, and the same went for Shen Liyue.
Fortunately, the emperor didn't let them worry for too long. He turned to Chen Liyue and said, "Which boy do you like? Tell me, and I will arrange a marriage for you."
Chen Liyue didn't know how to answer. If she said no, she would be betraying the emperor's kindness. If she said yes, where could she find a man to marry?
Fortunately, the Queen came to her rescue, "Look at what the Emperor said. His son isn't even married yet, how can he let an outsider take him away?"
The Queen looked at Shen Liyue again, "I have a son who is still unmarried. I wonder if Miss Shen..."
Huh? Shen Liyue thought, is it so sudden?
As soon as Lu Xingzhou stepped into the hall, he heard his mother talking about this.
He quickly stepped forward and interrupted the queen: "Mother!"
The queen looked up at Lu Xingzhou and gave him a reproachful look.
How could Lu Xingzhou not know what his mother meant, but he had his own plans. Although his father could settle the matter by directly arranging the marriage, he always wanted to seek Shen Liyue's consent first. He hadn't asked Shen Liyue's opinion yet, so how could he arrange the marriage so casually?
Lu Xingzhou then bowed to the Emperor and Empress and said, "Today's palace banquet is to celebrate General Wang's achievements. I don't want to steal the show. We can discuss other matters later."
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In the second half of the palace banquet, Shen Liyue lost her appetite.
The Emperor and Empress suddenly thought of arranging a marriage for him, which she had not expected, and it was indeed... quite presumptuous.
Shen Liyue had never thought about getting married, but if the marriage was arranged with Lu Xingzhou, Shen Liyue felt that it seemed okay.
Although there are many rules for marrying into the imperial family, Lu Xingzhou had already granted her the title of prince and allowed her to live in a separate mansion. Even if she married into the royal family, she would not have to go to the palace every day to pay her respects. It would be more relaxed and lively than marrying into an ordinary family and having to follow the rules in front of her mother-in-law every day. Besides, she had always been good friends with Lu Yun, so her relationship with her sister-in-law was self-evident.
Although Lu Xingzhou used Wang Wentian's celebration as an excuse to resist and spoke very tactfully, he ultimately refused.
It seems that Lu Xingzhou is unwilling.
For no apparent reason, Shen Liyue suddenly felt a little lost. Lu Xingzhou's refusal was to be expected. With so many noble ladies eager to marry him, what kind of people had he not met? She was merely familiar with him through the Zhuangzi business, but it was far from the stage of discussing marriage.
Everyone at the banquet had different thoughts. The Emperor and Empress suddenly wanted to arrange a marriage, and the dreams of the noble ladies were almost shattered. But when they heard Lu Xingzhou block it, everyone rekindled a little hope.
But the way they looked at Shen Liyue was a little different from before. No one had ever thought about it in this way before, but now they regarded her as a potential imaginary enemy.
Prince Yi refused today, but he did not say it definitely. Since the Emperor and Empress had such thoughts today, it is inevitable that they will formally issue an order to grant the marriage in the future.
Xu Qier looked at Chen Liyue with a hint of inquiry. Chen Liyue seemed to notice it and looked up. Xu Qier withdrew her inquiring gaze and put on a seemingly friendly smile again.
Shen Liyue smiled and didn't take her to heart.
Lu Yun, on the other hand, was feeling very uneasy. She wanted to go to Shen Liyue and explain to her right away, but there were so many people watching and it was not convenient for her to go over.
So throughout the whole audience, the most anxious person was Lu Yun.
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