Chapter 825 This girl's desire to marry the Prince of Qi is no simple matter!
Xie Qi wanted to refuse, "No need..."
Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "Prince Qi should go and meet him. The Emperor has put you in a position at the Court of Justice to gain experience, which must be to train you to serve the country. We should also learn from the scholars recommended by Grand Tutor Pan."
Xie Qi replied in a deep voice, "Yes."
Only then did Pan Xiuying turn her attention to Lu Xuefei. Lu Xuefei and the Empress were together, so their relationship must be very good.
When Lu Xuefei entered the palace to be selected as a concubine, she failed and suddenly became a palace maid by the Empress's side. Although she was called a palace maid, she was not really a palace maid. It is said that she lived as freely as a young lady in the palace.
Pan Xiuying had spent a lot of effort finding out all of this. The former King Qi was as lowly as a dog, but the current King Qi was becoming more and more noble.
However, Xie Qi had poor taste in women and took a fancy to Lu Xuefei. In fact, she was not particularly beautiful. Among the young ladies of wealthy and noble families in Shengjing, Lu Xuefei was the least outstanding.
Thinking of this, Pan Xiuying stood straight, stretching her neck like a proud peacock. She was the granddaughter of Grand Tutor Pan, proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, music, and chess. She had just turned sixteen, two years younger than Lu Xuefei, and was in the prime of her youth. Weighing the pros and cons, Xie Qi should choose her as his queen.
Just as Pan Xiuying thought she was about to leave with Xie Qi in front of Lu Xuefei, the Empress said, "I also want to listen to the scholars' lectures. Xuefei, you should come with me. Your father is the Chief Justice of the Great Zhou Dynasty and has a thorough understanding of the law. There is no end to learning, so you should go and learn and listen more."
"Yes." Lu Xuefei didn't want to back down anymore. They had openly tried to take it from her, so if she let go, wouldn't that be playing right into their hands?
Lu Xuefei's eyes were clear, revealing a sense of justice. Her individual features might not be stunning, but when put together on her face, they were striking. Her lips curved into a playful and cute smile.
Since Grand Tutor Pan had arranged the event for today's blessing ceremony, Pan Xiuying naturally wouldn't invite Lu Xuefei to join. However, since the Empress had spoken up, she couldn't say anything.
She said gently, "Your Majesty the Empress, please."
Jiang Fenghua was definitely going to listen to what profound knowledge the scholars could offer, so it wasn't at all inappropriate for Lu Xuefei to be by the Empress's side.
Jiang Fenghua walked in front, leaving the others two steps behind. She chatted with Pan Xiuying about poetry, creating opportunities for Xie Qi and Lu Xuefei.
At this moment, Xie Qi deliberately walked to Lu Xuefei's side. He intentionally or unintentionally hooked Lu Xuefei's finger. Lu Xuefei was stunned, her cheeks instantly turning red. She mouthed, "Your Highness, stay away from me."
Xie Qi originally wanted to explain Pan Xiuying's matter to her, but he was afraid that she was still angry, and he knew that she was simple-minded and could be coaxed easily.
He said, "Tell me how far you want me to be, and I will measure it."
Lu Xuefei was stunned. She couldn't let Xie Qi fall behind them, could she? He was a prince; if anyone was lagging behind, it should be her...
But she was walking perfectly fine, why would she deliberately slow down? Isn't that strange? She's not some wronged little wife.
"Whatever you want!" Lu Xuefei said again using lip reading.
Xie Qi smiled and moved closer to her. The closer he got, the more Lu Xuefei moved to the side.
The two of them were now quite far behind the Empress. Xie Qi took her hand and whispered, "I can explain after this is over."
"What's there to explain?" she said. "Haven't we already explained everything?"
"It hasn't been explained clearly yet." Xie Qi's voice was deep. "I want to personally explain to Miss Lu what happened at the Qi Prince's residence that day."
Lu Xuefei deliberately said, "They've already entered Prince Qi's mansion so openly, but I've known Prince Qi for so long, and he's never once invited me to his mansion. It's really disheartening!"
"Do you really want to go?" Xie Qi wasn't refusing to take her, but he wanted to consider her reputation. How could a young lady like her freely enter and leave a man's house?
"If you want to go, go under a different identity."
Lu Xuefei understood the underlying meaning: "Who wants to go? I don't want to go at all."
Hongxiu was originally walking side by side with Lu Xuefei. When she saw the two of them, she consciously walked to the Empress's side and helped the Empress walk forward slowly.
Pan Xiuying also saw their actions. She frowned and a hint of jealousy flashed through her mind. Even though she didn't like Prince Qi, she wouldn't allow anyone to touch what was destined to be hers. Now that someone else had touched it, she felt uncomfortable.
Jiang Fenghua noticed a sharp glint in Pan Xiuying's eyes and thought to herself: This girl's desire to marry the Prince of Qi is not simple!
The Pan family was also a scholarly family. The prestige of Grand Tutor Pan was enough to ensure that the daughters of the Pan family enjoyed wealth and honor. Pan Xiuying would have been highly regarded no matter which family she married into, but she insisted on marrying Prince Qi, who did not like her.
She remembered that when Xie Shang was selecting concubines, the Pan family had a quota to send their daughters to the palace, but the Pan family did not have any eligible girls.
Now that the emperor is delaying the announcement of the selection of concubines, is the Pan family getting impatient?
Whether in his past life or this one, Grand Tutor Pan is the most prestigious and learned man in the Great Zhou Kingdom, and he would never allow the descendants of the Pan family to tarnish his reputation.
If Pan Xiuying didn't have the demeanor of a well-bred young lady, Grand Tutor Pan would probably be very disappointed!
When Jiang Fenghua and the others arrived at the main hall, they saw Xie Shang and the ministers there.
The entire hall was bustling with activity. After the grand prayer ceremony, it was also necessary for the emperor and his officials to cultivate their relationship. The officials were also quite shrewd, trying their best to showcase their talents in front of the emperor, hoping to be given important responsibilities by him.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress." The guards outside the door bowed and reported the arrival of the Empress.
Xie Shang had just arrived when Jiang Fenghua came forward to greet him, "Why is the Empress here too?"
Jiang Fenghua smiled politely, "Why didn't Your Majesty tell me sooner that it was so lively here?"
Xie Shang said, "I just finished my work. I didn't expect that Grand Tutor Pan would invite the learned scholars of our Great Zhou Dynasty to discuss scholarship today, since everyone is here."
He leaned close to Jiang Fenghua's ear and said, "Grand Tutor Jiang is also here."
Jiang Fenghua naturally saw her father. Her father didn't like participating in these academic discussion competitions because there were no disagreements in the end.
Jiang Fenghua also saw Consort Song in this place.
She thought to herself: No wonder she didn't see Song Qing when she and Gao Qingtong went to the side hall earlier; it turns out she came to show her face in front of the Emperor.
Consort Song also hurriedly went to the Empress and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."
"Your Highness, please excuse the formalities. There's no need for such formalities outside the palace. Please go and have some fun!" she said calmly.
"Yes." Song Qing was just trying to avoid the Empress from overthinking things; she was only joining in the fun.
Of course, she also wanted to show her face more in front of the emperor, but she was afraid that the emperor had forgotten that she still existed in the harem.
Seeing the Emperor and Empress so inseparable, she felt jealous and envious.
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