These princes are all quite handsome.
The emperor was a man who valued beauty above all else. While he certainly liked wealthy young ladies from good families who could provide him with support, he preferred beautiful women.
The children born to beautiful women are naturally not bad either.
After all, the old emperor wasn't bad-looking; he just looked unwell due to his long-term indulgence.
But the most outstanding person was not one of the princes, but Murong Lie.
Murong Lie is extremely handsome, which is common knowledge.
His mother was a renowned beauty; otherwise, why would the old emperor have been so willing to marry her as his empress?
If parents are good-looking, their children will naturally surpass them.
Although those young ladies from wealthy families knew perfectly well that their husbands would not be the Crown Prince, they still couldn't help but cast their gazes at him.
His Highness the Crown Prince is so handsome, like someone who stepped out of a painting.
At this moment, Murong Lie said nothing.
He was just there to take a look; he could go back after the banquet and didn't need to say anything.
The princes merely bowed to him before separating themselves from him.
The Third Prince, in particular, was somewhat hostile towards him.
Murong Lie glanced at him lazily, thinking that it was only because he had been in a relatively calm mood recently that he could have killed the Third Prince ahead of time.
Since we've been given a second chance at life, we should do something different.
Murong Lie stood there for a while, then leaned closer to Jiang Tian and asked her, "What are you doing?"
Jiang Tian, who was standing there with her head down, looked up at him with some surprise.
Then she stared intently at the carriages coming and going: "Many outsiders have come to the palace today."
"The flower viewing banquet is for each family to bring their daughters, so naturally many people will come. Be careful not to offend anyone. I can't clean up your messes every time."
Murong Lie took the opportunity to remind her.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know what I'm doing."
Jiang Tian gave him a faint smile.
Who knows if she has any sense of propriety? That's probably true.
However, this person wasn't truly stupid, so Murong Lie stopped wasting words with him.
Not long after, the Empress arrived.
For such a flower-viewing banquet, the Empress's presence was essential.
Otherwise, people would think she had lost the demeanor of a nation's mother.
The old emperor loved to cause trouble, and the empress had already discovered this long ago.
Therefore, she was well prepared and displayed the demeanor of a national mother.
While the Empress was having tea with the ladies, the princes naturally couldn't just stand by and do nothing, especially the Crown Prince, who was the legitimate son of the Empress Dowager and had to show the demeanor of a crown prince.
Therefore, Murong Lie always stood by the Empress's side, dutifully serving his Crown Prince.
The young ladies of noble birth soon had the opportunity to spend time with the princes.
The Empress was a relatively tolerant person.
Since the emperor has spoken, saying that all the princes should get married as soon as possible.
There was absolutely no need for her to stop them.
The flower-viewing banquet was meant for them to get to know each other. The Empress wouldn't deliberately try to avoid suspicion by having these young people stand on opposite sides, not even giving them a chance to exchange a few words.
Everything done in public will surely be in accordance with reason and propriety.
Now that the Empress had given her approval, the princes set off towards the young ladies they had chosen.
Chatting about romance, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting is a wonderful thing.
Murong Lie remained standing there, seemingly bored, as if nothing in the world mattered to him.
Seeing her son's state, the Empress was furious.
If it weren't for Jiang Tian, who could comfort her son that he wasn't ignorant of women, she would have been so angry that she would have died.
So many daughters of noble families, each one a beauty, none of them were ugly when they entered the palace, but her son was so arrogant that he couldn't stand any of them.
Gu Qinyao also saw Murong Lie, who was standing there lost in thought.
Recalling their previous whimsical encounter, Gu Qinyao decided to start afresh.
This time, she didn't want to use the cliché of a chance encounter; she just wanted to have a sincere chat with Murong Lie. With the Empress watching, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
So she took a deep breath, walked over, and flashed her most perfectly curved smile.
"So you are His Highness the Crown Prince. What a coincidence."
The two met without revealing their identities last time, so this time it can only be described as a coincidence.
Murong Lie glanced at her indifferently.
"You think it's a coincidence? I don't think so at all. If I drop a fan, you'll pick it up and even go out of your way to return it to me. Now that we've met again in the palace, you've come over again, clearly with ulterior motives. This 'chance encounter' tactic is so outdated that others are almost too lazy to use it anymore, why do you still treat it as a winning strategy?"
Gu Qinyao's face almost turned black in an instant.
In her past life, she and Murong Lie barely exchanged a few words before he had her dragged out and killed.
She didn't even have the chance to get to know the Crown Prince, let alone study his temperament.
Others have always described his temper as unpredictable.
Gu Qinyao thought to herself that there are many people who are unpredictable, but everyone has weaknesses and can't help but become normal.
But now when she sees Murong Lie, she thinks that being unpredictable is a high compliment; he's a complete lunatic.
The way he talks to people makes it easy for him to have no friends.
Gu Qinyao endured it for a long time before managing to keep her expression from becoming distorted.
She forced a laugh: "Your Highness, what are you saying? I didn't know you back then, we've never met... You've misunderstood me."
Murong Lie didn't even bother to talk to her.
"You don't recognize me, but don't others? The fact that you can enter this palace means you have status. It would be strange if the people around you didn't recognize me. Stay away from me."
Gu Qinyao really wished she could die together with Murong Lie.
She had never seen a man like this before; he had absolutely no gentlemanly manners.
Gu Qinyao was so angry that she didn't know how to react for a moment, so Murong Lie bypassed her and went elsewhere.
Can these women please stop treating him like a fool?
Is he really that easy to fool?
Murong Lie's attitude towards Gu Qinyao provided a good show for many people.
Gu Qinyao stood there, her face turning pale and then red.
The system later suggested that she go back and make some adjustments.
In her current state, she's not suited to doing strategy planning.
After all, she couldn't even maintain her composure.
Gu Qinyao took a deep breath, thinking that the system was right. If they continued to spend time together, Murong Lie's dislike for her would only deepen.
So she bypassed the third prince who was trying to strike up a conversation with her, told the empress that she was not feeling well, and left the palace in a carriage accompanied by a group of servants.
Meanwhile, Murong Lie looked around, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
Because he discovered that Jiang Tian had disappeared!
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