He immediately greeted his mother respectfully, saying, "Greetings to Mother Consort, greetings to Father Emperor, may Father Emperor be well, and may Mother Consort be well."
After all, he was her own son. Even if Consort Shu was disappointed in him, she wouldn't blame him too much.
Emperor Anqing, however, was different. In his view, if it weren't for the fact that everyone dies and that the other princes were useless, he wouldn't even bother to look at his son who had made such a grave mistake.
But there was nothing he could do; he had few children, so he could only repeatedly tolerate his most gifted son.
"If you cause any more trouble at this spring banquet, it won't be as simple as just being deposed."
Emperor Anqing spoke first to issue a warning.
He stared intently at his son, wanting to see what expression would appear on his face upon hearing these words.
Suppressing his resentment, Su Xuanmao said respectfully, "Father, rest assured, I have learned my lesson after what happened last time. I will definitely behave myself from now on and will not make any more big mistakes. Please forgive me for what I did before."
When Emperor Anqing heard this, he wanted to see if the man was saying something against his conscience, but when he saw the fleeting sincerity in the man's eyes, his heart softened a little.
Human hearts are made of flesh, especially since this son in front of him was once the one he valued most.
His expression softened slightly: "Get up. Since you are sincere, I will believe you this time."
Su Xuanmao said very "sincerely": "Father, please rest assured, your son really knows he was wrong this time."
"And Mother, Mother... Your son has failed you in nurturing me, and has also failed you in teaching me with care. Your son truly knows he was wrong!"
Fortunately, her son wasn't that stupid.
Consort Shu sighed and nodded, saying, "Since you have already realized your mistake, that is excellent. Do as your father says. You may leave now."
"Your Majesty and Mother, I obey your command."
Su Xuanmao obediently retreated.
When Luo Xi, who was sitting down below, saw Su Xuanmao, she felt her heart pounding with every step he took.
She stared intently as Su Xuanmao walked forward, and as he passed by her again, she really wanted to go up and say a few words to him.
After all, her gentle and refined elder brother, the Crown Prince, had once chatted with her in the back garden under the clear breeze and bright moon.
But upon seeing Shen Ruixue dressed in light blue, Luo Xi felt as if a hole had been dug in her heart, and no matter what she tried to patch it up, it would still leak.
This suddenly reminded her of Shen Pingjin.
Luo Xi looked around and found that she couldn't find Chen Pingjin anywhere her eyes fell. She felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
She and Shen Pingjin used to be rivals in love, but now that Shen Pingjin has married the most philandering, useless, and incompetent regent in the capital, she only feels sorry for Shen Pingjin.
But when she thought about how Shen Pingjin had invited her to her mansion to eat that... what was that skewer thing called?, she wanted to become good friends with Shen Pingjin.
There is no conflict of interest between Shen Pingjin and her now. Luo Xi already had a good impression of Shen Pingjin, and because of that skewers incident, she was extremely anxious.
Yan Jue and Shen Pingjin were unaware of all that had happened in the palace and had only just entered the Imperial Garden.
Shen Pingjin glanced at Yan Jue beside her, took his hand tightly, and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Yan Jue, shall we go in?"
Yan Jue gave a low "hmm" and then led Chen Pingjin inside.
Chen Pingjin couldn't wait any longer.
As one of the most important festivals in the Eastern Yue Kingdom, the Spring Banquet features exceptionally exquisite royal cuisine.
Shen Pingjin was dragged out of bed early in the morning by Nian An and Nian Ning, and only drank a cup of tea to fill her stomach. Now she was almost starving.
Upon seeing Consort Shu sitting in front, Chen Pingjin understood.
The Empress is probably just making up another excuse that she is unwell and doesn't want to attend the Spring Banquet.
When Consort Shu saw Chen Pingjin walk in, her eyes widened in surprise.
Then she saw Shen Pingjin and Yan Jue holding hands tightly, and her gaze became even more surprised.
What?! What?! Her chosen daughter-in-law has already fallen for someone else?!
She originally planned that after Su Xuanmao became emperor, he would bring this poor little fairy into the palace as a concubine.
Then, after she became Empress Dowager, she would find a few faults in that Shen Ruixue and make the one she liked become Empress.
But now...
Consort Shu felt a pang of heartache; her beloved fairy had been defiled by this useless, incompetent, and philandering regent!
Seeing Consort Shu's heartbroken expression, Shen Pingjin didn't know what she was thinking, but she still stepped forward and, together with Yan Jue, respectfully bowed.
"May Your Highness be well, and may His Majesty live ten thousand years!"
Emperor Anqing found the voice somewhat unfamiliar, but when he looked down, he saw that it was Shen Pingjin.
He glanced at the person next to Chen Pingjin again, and when he saw that it was Yan Jue, his expression instantly became indifferent.
"Get up."
Emperor Anqing waved his hand at the two men.
"Then this humble subject will take his leave with the Princess."
Yan Jue knew that Emperor Anqing was currently in a state of turmoil and trouble, and had no intention of paying attention to them, so he tactfully withdrew.
Emperor Anqing gave a lazy reply, then sat down beside Consort Shu and started eating melon seeds.
Shen Pingjin was thinking, "Finally, I'm here!" and was about to sit down and eat when a beautiful figure stopped her.
Chen Pingjin felt a little annoyed, but she was stunned when she saw the person in front of her clearly.
"You are... Luo Xi?"
Luo Xi nodded vigorously: "Chen Pingjin, don't you recognize me?"
Shen Pingjin shook her head: "Of course I recognize her. I wonder what important matter Miss Luo has to discuss?"
Seeing the indifferent look on the person in front of her, Luo Xi suddenly stopped talking.
Finally, she asked, "Do you still remember that day when you treated me to what you call skewers?"
Shen Pingjin was surprised: "I didn't know, Miss Luo. I didn't know about this."
Luo Yan, who was standing next to Luo Xi, couldn't help but become curious. These past few days, she had gone to visit her sister at the rouge shop and noticed that she was always lost in thought, no matter where she went. So she asked her out of curiosity.
That's when I realized that my sister was pronouncing something called "chuan chuan".
She asked her sister what it was, and Luo Xi only told her it was delicious.
This made her curious as well. What could be so captivating that her older sister, who loved browsing cosmetic shops, couldn't concentrate while doing so?
Luo Xi was stunned when Shen Pingjin denied it outright.
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