After a while, Hai Quan, Chu Feiyang, Jiang Muchen and others came in, escorting a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old.
The young man was dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe. The four-clawed golden dragon on his chest was extremely noble and conspicuous. The golden crown on his head was even wrapped with a golden dragon. Everyone immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Prince!"
"Everyone, get up! Today is a happy event in the Sea King's Palace. I am just here to join in the fun. There is no need to be restrained!" Jiang Haotian spoke in a deep voice, his face calm, his demeanor dignified and not at all stage-frightened, invisibly showing his style as the crown prince to everyone.
"Thank you, Prince!" Everyone stood up upon hearing this, and only sat down after a few people had sat down.
Yun Qianmeng looked at the Crown Prince of Western Chu, whom she had just met. He was Emperor Yugan's eldest son. Because the Empress's son was a princess, and under pressure from Prince Chen, Prince Hai, and others, Emperor Yugan had appointed Concubine De's son as Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince usually kept a low profile, studying with only a few teachers. Unexpectedly, he had come to the Sea Prince's Palace today. Given the current situation, was Emperor Yugan actually allowing the Crown Prince to come to the shrouded Sea Prince's Palace out of sheer care or was it intentional? It was truly intriguing.
"It is truly an honor for my family that the Crown Prince has come to my residence today to celebrate my grandson's first birthday!" Hai Chenxi pushed the King of the Sea to sit with the Crown Prince, and heard Hai Quan expressing his excitement with tears of gratitude.
After hearing Hai Quan's words, Jiang Haotian smiled heartily, "Taifu Qian is my master. Last time, when the young prince celebrated his full moon, I couldn't come because I had to take the test from my father. This time, I must come to congratulate him!"
Hearing the Crown Prince address his son as 'Little Prince', Hai Yue's face flickered with a smile. He glanced at Hai Chenxi beside him with a hint of pride, then stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Crown Prince!"
"Prince, please take a seat! I just said that I came here to ask for a glass of wedding wine! Moreover, Taifu Qian has mentioned to me several times that the young prince is cute and smart. I really want to meet him!" Compared with Jiang Muchen's taciturnity and indifference, Jiang Haotian seemed very talkative and easy-going, which made many people who had never seen the prince feel a little good about him.
Because of Jiang Haotian's gentleness, the atmosphere in Suiyi Garden became more harmonious. The nervousness and restraint when they first met the prince slowly dissipated, and everyone gradually returned to their previous state and continued to chat and drink.
However, after hearing Jiang Haotian's words, Hai Quan hesitated for a moment and spoke tentatively, "Prince, my grandson is naughty and might be bothering you! Why don't you invite the prince to enjoy the singing and dancing?"
Hearing this, Yun Qianmeng's brows furrowed slightly. Just now, someone had said they would bring the young master out for everyone to see. Why had the Sea King changed his mind now? Was he still worried that someone in the Sea King's Mansion would harm the child?
In response to the Sea King's polite refusal, Jiang Haotian simply smiled heartily, "Sea King, you're being modest. Imperial Tutor Qian truly dotes on the young prince. I'm truly curious! A child who could earn such praise from the usually strict Imperial Tutor Qian must be a very clever one! As for the singing and dancing, forget it! I've heard that boating on the lake at night at the Sea King's Palace is quite charming, and I'm quite curious!"
The Sea King smiled modestly and nodded to Hai Yue. Hai Yue nodded to the attendant behind him, and the attendant immediately turned around and walked out of Suiyi Garden.
"Since Your Highness loves me so much, then I will let the child come out to meet Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will not despise me! As for the lake that Your Highness mentioned, it is not some wonder. It is just for Your Highness to entertain yourself when you are free. Your Highness also knows that since I became unable to walk, except for occasionally attending court, I hardly leave the house. This is the only place where I can relax in the Sea King's Palace!" Hai Quan said with a smile. His words were flawless and no one could find any fault with him. He was really cunning.
Jiang Haotian didn't care. When he looked at Hai Quan's immobile legs, a hint of regret appeared in his eyes. "If the prince could walk, he would still be the powerful Sea King today. What a pity!"
"Thank you, Prince, for your consideration! The favor of three generations of emperors has been a great blessing to me. I am willing to exchange my legs for such a blessing!" If Hai Quan had not been unable to stand up, I am afraid that he would have stood in front of Jiang Haotian with his hands clasped.
"Haha, today is a good day, let's not talk about these old stories! It's just that it is said that during the last full moon banquet of the young master, the Princess of Chu, who was then the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Yun's Mansion, accidentally fell into the lake of Prince of the Sea's Mansion. At that time, Prince of Chu, Prince of Chen and the eldest son of the Rong family came to rescue her. I wonder if it is true now?" Unexpectedly, Jiang Haotian suddenly changed the topic to Yun Qianmeng. His smiling eyes swept over Chu Feiyang and Jiang Muchen, and there was a light flashing in his eyes that was difficult to read.
These words not only pushed Yun Qianmeng to the forefront, but also dragged in the leaders of several forces in the court. Not only Chu Feiyang and Jiang Muchen were on the list, but even Rong Yunhe, who did not come today, was involved.
Jiang Haotian's words were extremely clever. He unknowingly brought the Sea Palace into the picture, which not only triggered a conflict between King Chu and King Chen because of Yun Qianmeng, but also made these two men who cared about Yun Qianmeng hate the Sea Palace.
It has to be said that Jiang Haotian is very similar to Emperor Yu Gan in some aspects. At least his method of using words to stir up conflicts between several major forces is extremely similar.
"Your Highness, I'm so sorry to have you worried! I never thought you, even in the palace, would know so much about the affairs of the Sea Palace. You remember things from over a year ago so clearly. With such a good memory, it seems your Highness must have a photographic memory for poetry, rituals, and music. This makes me very envious!" Chu Feiyang smiled, his black eyes as bright as obsidian in the sunlight, and his raised lips shone with confidence. In an instant, he turned the focus on himself to Hai Quan. Just one sentence made Hai Quan understand that he should not think that the emperor would be unaware of his actions just because he was hiding in Yangming Mountain.
Jiang Muchen, on the other hand, was much more direct. Furthermore, since he was Jiang Haotian's uncle, he naturally spoke in a scolding tone, "Isn't it that the Crown Prince usually studies these trivial matters of family life instead of poetry?"
Those extremely cold words instantly froze the atmosphere in Suiyi Garden, which had finally relaxed.
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, not daring to speak, especially since Prince Chen had a cold expression and eyes that made their hearts tremble. Naturally, they did not dare to speak carelessly for fear of offending these powerful people of the dynasty.
"The emperor's uncle is right! It was Haotian who was reckless! I wonder if the concubine is getting used to living in the imperial mausoleum? The concubine is old, so why don't I go on behalf of the emperor's uncle to plead with father to let the concubine return to Prince Chen's Mansion!" Little did he know that after the crown prince was scolded by Prince Chen, who was not on good terms with him, he humbly accepted the lesson from Prince Chen, and then turned to inquire about the current situation of Concubine Yuande.
From his words, Yun Qianmeng knew Jiang Haotian was no pushover. While seemingly well-intentioned, he had actually thrust Prince Chen into a dangerous situation. Not only did he imply that Prince Chen didn't care for his mother, he also implied that Prince Chen was acting alone but didn't take the responsibility, leaving his mother to bear the brunt of the blame. His considerate words concealed a subtle sarcasm, truly making one fear to underestimate this 13- or 14-year-old boy.
"Thank you, Prince! But the Emperor is in his prime, and I'm afraid he wouldn't appreciate anyone interfering with his decisions!" Jiang Muchen saw Jiang Haotian's weakness and exploited it. For over a decade, Crown Prince Jiang Haotian had appeared before the public less often than Princess Yao, clearly demonstrating that Emperor Yugan was wary not only of his own prince, but also of the Crown Prince. Furthermore, with Emperor Yugan now in his prime, he naturally disliked any presumptuous behavior from the Crown Prince.
This one sentence made Jiang Haotian shut up immediately, feeling slightly annoyed, but every word Jiang Muchen said was true, leaving him with no way to refute.
Throughout history, has anyone, born into an imperial family, ever been truly honest with their father and son? Princes feared their father would punish them, while emperors worried their sons would slay the emperor and his father to seize the throne. Born into the royal family, how could there be any kinship?
However, Jiang Haotian simply laughed off Prince Chen's provocation and said calmly, "Uncle Emperor is absolutely right. Father is in his prime, and our dynasty will surely survive forever!"
There is nothing wrong with it, but it also has a different meaning.
What a phrase! 'Eternal coexistence'! Doesn't this clearly tell King Chen that he has no share in the throne in the palace? It seemed that he had retreated under King Chen's fierce attack, but in fact, Jiang Haotian was humiliating King Chen by retreating.
"Our ancestor emperor conquered the Western Chu kingdom, and our descendants must do their best to defend it. If we can't even do this, wouldn't we be letting down the late emperor's intentions? The prince should also study poetry more and not focus on irrelevant things!" But after all, Prince Chen was much more shrewd and calculating than the prince, and he refuted the difficult question posed by the prince without any directed words.
"Haha, Crown Prince and Prince, please try the tea brewed with this spring water. This old minister specially ordered people to fetch it from the mountains! This spring water is different from ordinary water. It is sweet and delicious. The tea brewed with it also has a hint of sweetness!" At this time, Neptune suddenly spoke. He picked up the teacup at hand and took a sip comfortably.
Seeing this, everyone naturally wanted to give him face, so they all picked up their teacups and savored the tea carefully.
"I never thought that the Sea King's Mansion could actually invite the Crown Prince!" Qu Feiqing leaned forward slightly towards Yun Qianmeng and whispered in her ear.
Yun Qianmeng's fingers slid slightly along the edge of the bowl, her eyes half-closed as she gazed at the clear, mellow tea in the cup. Then she spoke calmly, "I'm sure that Master Qian must have done a lot of research!"
Qu Feiqing was about to speak, but she saw Princess Hai leading Princess Qian in.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
The character of the prince seems to appear late, but he is an extremely important character and the most critical character that triggers the development of the subsequent plot!
As of today, Ning'er is gradually finishing up "Princess of Chu", and the number of episodes away from my expectations is shrinking. I hope everyone will continue to pay attention to "Princess of Chu", thank you!
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