The next day.
Officials of the fifth rank and above were invited to the palace to attend a banquet to welcome the Empress Dowager.
At this moment, officials and their families entered the palace one after another.
One carriage after another stopped at the palace gate, creating quite a lively scene.
The palace was also bustling with activity.
It was a rare half-day off for the Imperial Academy, so the Ninth Prince brought his new friends to visit Jing Le.
"Little Lele, I've come to play with you."
The Ninth Prince hasn't come to see Jing Le for some time now, partly because the father and son are keeping a close watch on her, and partly because Emperor Jing has been keeping Jing Le under his control for too long.
Today, the Imperial College is unusually given a half-day off, as fathers and sons have been invited to attend today's welcoming banquet.
"Ninth Brother, you're back from school."
Jing Le hadn't seen this cute little boy in a long time and missed him quite a bit.
Then he saw a boy who was only a few years older than him following behind the Ninth Prince. The boy looked somewhat familiar, and he tried to recall him.
Isn't this the seventh prince, who is ranked seventh in the family?
"Is this Seventh Brother? He's really handsome."
There was nothing they could do; Emperor Jing had such good genes that there were no ugly concubines in the harem.
The children born from them are naturally all good-looking.
In summary, I've met everyone except for the eldest prince, who is still in his fiefdom.
However, the seventh prince and the remaining princesses did not have much contact, so they did not talk to each other.
"Little Lele is amazing. You guessed it before I even said it. Seventh Brother helped me when I was bullied at the Imperial College."
The Ninth Prince was not as silent as he had been at the Imperial Academy; instead, he became much more talkative.
I guess you could say it's a liberation of one's true nature.
"Greetings, little princess. It's a pleasure to meet you. This is a wood carving I made myself. Please don't find it offensive."
The Seventh Prince politely took out a wooden horse from his pocket and handed it to Jing Le, his smile as gentle as jade.
"Thank you, Seventh Brother, I like it very much."
[Ahhh, Seventh Brother has such a refined and elegant air at such a young age; he's simply perfect for my heart, he's totally capturing my girlish heart.]
Jing Le took the wooden horse handed to her by the Seventh Prince, smiling with a lovesick expression.
The Ninth Prince felt a pang of panic. Did his younger sister have taken a liking to his seventh brother's looks?
He's very good-looking too.
"Little Lele, don't you like me anymore?"
The Ninth Prince looked at Jing Le with a pitiful expression, which made the Seventh Prince's lips twitch.
He was startled when he suddenly heard Jing Le's thoughts.
Although Jing Le used many words he didn't understand, he knew that Jing Le was praising him.
As a result, the usually taciturn Ninth Prince suddenly became a chatterbox and a jealous person as soon as he entered.
I could smell the vinegar from afar.
"How could that be? I like Ninth Brother very much too."
Jing Le immediately stepped forward and pulled on the Ninth Prince's arm to comfort him.
But the thoughts in my heart are even richer.
[Ninth Brother is a handsome young boy, and Seventh Brother is a gentle and refined nobleman. What's the choice? I like them both.]
[And then there's Fei Bai, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Second Brother—they're all handsome men! With my good looks, I won't let any of them slip by, hahaha.]
Ninth Prince: I never imagined I was just one of them.
Seventh Prince: This little princess has quite a lot on her mind. She's so young and already loves men's faces. What will she do if she gets fooled in the future?
"By the way, Mother just sent someone to call us to the banquet hall. The banquet is about to begin."
The Ninth Prince composed himself and recounted the incident of encountering the messenger at the palace gate.
"Then let's go."
...
On the other side.
Banquet hall.
A busy scene unfolded in the palace, with everything prepared in preparation for the arrival of the officials.
The banquet hall is divided into left and right sides, with men seated on the left and women on the right.
At this moment, both sides were filled with officials and their families.
On the women's side, familiar ladies and young women sat together chatting.
"Have you heard? The carefree prince, who has been away from the palace for many years, has returned. He is still without a princess. I wonder if the Empress Dowager and the Emperor will arrange a marriage for him at this banquet?"
"Speaking of which, apart from the eldest prince who got engaged before the new year, none of the other princes are engaged. Does your young lady still have a chance?"
The ladies discussed among the several adult princes and the carefree prince, all wanting to marry their daughters into the royal family.
Meanwhile, the daughters of officials from various families were also discussing it privately.
"Sister Yinyin, do you think the Empress Dowager is going to choose a consort for Prince Xiaoyao at today's banquet?"
A young girl in a scarlet dress asked her close friend with a shy expression.
"Sister, you mustn't speak so rashly. It's best if we don't discuss matters of the imperial family. As for whether or not a marriage is arranged, what does it have to do with us?"
The young woman beside him, dressed in a bright green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), calmly said, "Marriage is a major life event; just listen to your parents' advice."
This typical image of someone so clear-headed made the girl in the red dress, who was still in the throes of first love, turn pale and remain speechless for a long time.
Her family was already looking for a husband for her, but how could she forget the person who saved her life years ago when she met him yesterday?
Coincidentally, the man who saved her a few years ago was none other than the Carefree King.
Just then, the banquet began, and everyone present stood up to greet them.
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Empress Dowager!"
"Rise."
Jing took his seat first, with the Empress Dowager to his left. The right side, which was originally the Empress's seat, was now vacant.
Emperor Jing then had the Imperial Concubine sit there with Jing Le and the Ninth Prince.
This scene darkened the Empress Dowager's eyes, but she couldn't say much at the moment.
He could only tell himself: It'll be soon. Once the big thing is done, I'll kill them all.
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