Chapter 22, "Sobering Up".
==Chapter Twenty-Two: Zhou Heng==
Even though he was extremely shocked, as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review of Nanqiong and a friend of the Crown Prince, Zhou Heng forcibly suppressed all his shock and promptly withdrew his gaze from the woman. Others naturally did not notice anything, but as perceptive as Xiao Yu was, he naturally noticed the fleeting surprise in the man's eyes. This surprise stemmed from Zhou Heng seeing his wife beside him.
Xiao Yu glanced at the woman beside him without showing any emotion, then glanced at Zhou Heng, the androgynous and extremely handsome envoy from Nanqiong. He had a question: Could it be that as an important official of the Nanqiong court and an envoy for marriage alliance, he had never even seen the face of the current princess, hence his shocked expression?
Both were intelligent people. Zhou Heng sensed the King's scrutiny of him, so he silently lowered his eyes and sat down to the left of Xie Cheng, the eldest son of the Duke of Xie's mansion.
Zhou Heng still couldn't understand why it was Princess Weiyang who was supposed to marry into the family, but instead it was her. No wonder that on the way from Nanqiong to Beili Post Station, no one except Prince Xiang could see Princess Weiyang. At that time, Zhou Heng thought that Prince Xiang's actions were to protect Princess Weiyang. He had no interest in Princess Weiyang, and whether or not he saw her would not affect him. His responsibility was only to escort Princess Weiyang to Beili. He never expected that the one who married into the family was not Princess Weiyang at all.
Where did the real Princess Weiyang go? As a member of the royal family, the Nanwang Mansion is closely related to the royal family. The fact that the only daughter of the Nanwang Mansion could marry into Beili in place of Princess Weiyang means that the Xiangwang and Empress Nanqiong must already know the truth. The Crown Prince probably doesn't know. Since she admires Lu Qingchen, she probably didn't marry here voluntarily. Something must have gone wrong on Princess Weiyang's side.
The Crown Prince is of noble character, as pure and refined as polished jade; he would certainly not agree to such a "bait and switch" scheme.
Zhou Heng had a lot of questions, but he couldn't bring himself to ask them.
Because of Zhou Heng's arrival, Su Wanyue was clearly somewhat absent-minded. Xiao Yu, who was sitting next to her, had already glanced at her three times unintentionally. Qin'er's heart tightened, and she stepped forward, "Your Highness, Su Niang asked if we should arrange for someone to go on stage?"
Su Wanyue took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop thinking about it. Zhou Heng was someone close to her brother, the Crown Prince. Even if he knew that she was marrying in place of her cousin, given Zhou Heng's character, he shouldn't say anything out of line.
If he wanted to expose her, he should do so now.
At Su Wanyue's signal, Qin'er quietly withdrew.
Su Wanyue raised her head slightly and met Xiao Yu's deep phoenix eyes. Her heart skipped a beat for no reason. She picked up the wine cup on the table with her slender white fingers and said, "This concubine toasts Your Highness."
We wish him a speedy completion of his great achievements.
The woman gazed at him with bright eyes, as if she had countless things to say to him. Xiao Yu's heartstrings twitched uncontrollably, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips as he downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Su Wanyue had already drunk several cups of wine, and her cheeks began to flush and feel hot. A layer of mist appeared in her eyes, as if she was losing her strength from the alcohol. She bit her lip to keep herself sober.
Upon receiving the princess's instructions, Su Niang quickly led the dancers onto the stage. The dancers' water sleeves were lightly gathered, and with each stroke and lift, they moved like flowing clouds and water. Xiao Ruofei smiled and said, "The opera arranged by the Prince Cheng's Mansion this year is different from previous years."
I listen to the same few songs every year, but this year I tried something different, which felt refreshing.
Lin Ruohan covered her lips with her long sleeve and smiled, "I heard that this opera was personally composed by Princess Cheng."
Xiao Ruofei glanced at the beautiful woman with a flushed face, almond-shaped eyes, and peach-like cheeks, and suddenly felt a little envious of Xiao Yu. It seemed that Princess Nanqiong Weiyang's reputation for both beauty and talent was well-deserved.
Those below felt the same way.
Looking back, after Zhou Heng discovered his own unbearable secrets, he frequently wanted to learn about Princess Zilu of the Nanwang Mansion. He even went so far as to ask around about anything related to Princess Zilu. Only then did he understand why, among so many women in Nanqiong, Lu Qingchen chose her as his wife.
One reason is that she was his childhood sweetheart, but another reason is that she was talented and beautiful, could sing and dance, had a pure and kind nature, and was also exceptionally intelligent.
Even the crown prince praised his cousin as being no less beautiful than his own sister, calling her a "peerless beauty".
Thinking of this, a hint of irony flashed in Zhou Heng's eyes. During the six months he stayed in Bei Li, he had heard a lot of discussions, all of which praised the loving relationship between Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng. Zhou Heng was very curious about how much Prince Cheng really knew about his wife. He was afraid that he knew nothing at all.
Zhou Heng remained calm and composed, drinking cup after cup of wine.
The official sitting next to Zhou Heng was still a little puzzled. Wasn't this Lord Zhou perfectly fine when he arrived? Why is he now acting like he's about to get drunk at Prince Cheng's residence? Could it be because the wine prepared by Prince Cheng's residence is different from ordinary wine?
Zhou Heng's obvious strange behavior startled Su Wanyue. She had little interaction with this Lord Zhou in Nanqiong, but she had heard that he was highly regarded by her elder brother, the Crown Prince, and had helped him handle many matters that couldn't be made public. He was considered a prudent person. So what was he doing today...?
Su Wanyue was so nervous that her eyes darted around and her back was straight. She didn't even realize that she was feeling restless.
It wasn't until Xiao Yu leaned down and whispered in Su Wanyue's ear, "Lord Zhou is very handsome," that things changed.
His voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of drunkenness, which made Su Wanyue's ears turn red. However, at this moment, Su Wanyue could not feel any desire in her eyes, because there was a hint of danger in the man's slightly hoarse tone, as if he was reminding her of something, which made her unable to let her guard down.
Besides, she was already married, so whether Zhou Heng was handsome or not was none of her business. Why would he ask such a question? Su Wanyue met the man's dark gaze directly, her almond-shaped eyes filled with worry. "Is Your Highness drunk?"
Xiao Yu's eyes darkened further, and he almost laughed. Was she planning to pretend she didn't understand?
As soon as Lord Zhou from Nanqiong arrived, she became absent-minded and frequently lost in thought. Xiao Yu originally did not want to suspect his wife, but her behavior made him have no choice but to become suspicious.
Xiao Yu didn't say a word.
The Seventh Princess, however, was completely unaware of all this. She blinked and asked Su Wanyue, "Sister-in-law, isn't Lord Zhou famously handsome in Nanqiong? Are there many women in Nanqiong who want to marry him?"
"There are quite a lot."
"I knew it would be like this. I'm even thinking of making him my son-in-law." The Seventh Princess glanced at Zhou Heng again and muttered.
Su Wanyue smiled, her eyes barely meeting Xiao Yu's again.
After the banquet, everyone saw the Crown Prince and Crown Princess off at the door, saying, "Respectfully seeing off Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess."
After the Crown Prince and Crown Princess left, the others took their leave one after another, bidding farewell to Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue. The old lady of the Yiyong Marquis's Mansion met Su Wanyue for the first time today and took a liking to her very much. She held Su Wanyue's wrist and told her that she could come to the Yiyong Marquis's Mansion for a visit if she had nothing to do. Su Wanyue nodded in agreement.
The once grand pavilion was now empty except for Xiao Yu and his wife, the Seventh Princess, and Zhou Heng. The Seventh Princess, drunk, was helped to a guest room by her maid. Zhou Heng rubbed his forehead and approached Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue with an air of leisure and freedom. “Your Highness, Your Highness, I shall take my leave now.”
He was clearly drunk; not only was his face red, but even the corners of his eyes were red, making him look even more unrestrained.
Xiao Yu stood tall and elegant, his slender fingers resting on the woman's waist. He said casually, "I see that Lord Zhou is quite drunk. Why don't you stay at the palace for the night?"
Zhou Heng instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he remembered that he didn't know the truth yet, and that staying at the Prince's residence for another day might bring him some different gains, so he replied, "Okay, then thank you very much, Your Highness."
Seeing this, Mo Yu stepped forward and said, "Lord Zhou, this way please."
The guest rooms were in the front yard, while the Zixia Palace was in the back yard. Zhou Heng never glanced in the woman's direction, but his restrained expression could not be hidden from Xiao Yu.
The maids serving in the Zixia Palace had already received news from the front courtyard that His Highness and the Princess Consort were drunk, so they had the kitchen prepare a hangover soup early in the morning.
The Princess Consort seemed truly drunk, her cheeks flushed and her almond eyes misty, like a crabapple blossom touched by spring rain. His Highness also smelled of alcohol, but he didn't appear drunk.
Qin'er and another maid brought over the hangover soup, and Xiao Yu indifferently raised his hand, "You may all leave."
"Yes." Qin'er felt uneasy. Before closing the door, she secretly glanced at the princess. The princess was drunk and reacted slowly, so she didn't see the prince's eyes that looked like he wanted to devour her alive. It must have been from the moment Lord Zhou appeared that the prince's gaze towards the princess was strange.
However, since His Highness was right next to the Princess, Qin'er couldn't offer any advice. She hoped nothing would go wrong, and prayed silently.
Ice blocks were placed in every corner of the inner hall, and the cold air seeped into one's bones from all directions. Su Wanyue bit her lip and stood up gracefully, handing the hangover soup to Xiao Yu, "Your Highness."
Xiao Yu, however, directly grabbed Su Wanyue's wrist and gently pulled her into his arms. With a "clatter" as the teacup fell to the ground, the woman's limp body was pressed down by the man.
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