Chapter 142 Lantern Festival
The phoenix flute sounds, the jade pot shines, and fish and dragons dance all night long.
It is the Lantern Festival again this year. On this day, the whole capital city is brightly lit and stays awake all night. The streets are crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder, creating a scene of prosperity on earth.
The restaurants on both sides of Lantern Street became the most popular spots, and the private rooms on the second floor were all booked out earlier.
Among them, several restaurants have the best locations. Standing on the second floor and looking down, you can see the lanterns in full view. It can be said that the stars are falling into the sky and the moon is hanging on the building. It is indeed a great blessing to enjoy the beautiful scenery and delicious food at the same time.
Even the rich and powerful who usually enjoy fine food are always willing to go out for a walk on this day to see the prosperity of the world.
Prince Rong was one of them. At this moment, he was leaning against the window on the second floor, looking down lazily, eating melon seeds in his hand and throwing the shells down.
Occasionally, a melon seed shell would be thrown at a guest. The guest would be about to get angry, but when he looked up and saw Prince Rong's half-smile on his face, he dared not get angry anymore and left quickly without even entering the door.
Prince Rong went his own way and ignored the shopkeeper's bitter face.
Prince Rong was enjoying himself while cracking melon seeds when his expression suddenly changed. He threw the seeds in his hand away and was about to leave: "Why did this girl come here?"
Who knew that before he could leave, a man came running up the stairs. The only two people who could be so bold as to disturb Prince Rong were his only daughter and Princess Jing.
The moment he saw Princess Hejing, Prince Rong's face turned bitter.
Princess Hejing was quite angry. She walked forward and hugged Prince Rong's arm, complaining, "Father, you lied to me. You clearly said you were tired and didn't want to go out, but you sneaked out to play by yourself. Since you were going out, why didn't you take me with you? You're too much."
Princess Hejing spoke very quickly, and a series of words exploded in Prince Rong's ears.
Prince Rong was helpless with his only daughter and could only say, "I was tired, but I thought it was a rare occasion for the Lantern Festival, so I went out. Hey, didn't you go with the Fifth Prince? Why did you come here alone?"
Princess Hejing snorted twice, and from her expression, she definitely didn't believe what he said. She said, "Fifth Brother is the most boring person. And there's that annoying He Jun over there. I don't want to stay over there and watch them drink."
"You came here to watch me drink." Prince Rong shouted helplessly.
Princess Hejing said again: "Father, please stop drinking and accompany me for a walk."
Prince Rong was so overwhelmed that he could only persuade: "Hejing, my father's legs hurt, please let me rest for a while."
Princess Hejing's face fell, but it was a pity that her trick had no effect on Prince Rong, who just pretended to be dead and pretended not to hear. Hejing was also annoyed and stood up and said, "Go by yourself, you don't care about me at all!"
Princess Hejing came in glaring and left angrily, and no one dared to stop her.
After she left, Prince Rong slapped his forehead and said, "Girl, when can you get married and stop bothering me?"
The guard Lin Xin beside him chuckled softly and said, "Your Majesty, if the princess were to marry now, I'm afraid you would be reluctant to let her go."
Everyone knows that Prince Rong has only one daughter, whom he cherishes like a treasure. Now she is eighteen years old and still unmarried. Prince Rong even spread the word that he wants to find a perfect son-in-law, so that even the emperor is too lazy to care about his niece's marriage.
Prince Rong glanced at him and said with a smile, "You know it again."
Lin Xin smiled without saying anything. He saw Prince Rong looking down in a direction. He followed the trend and saw a familiar figure. "Isn't that Lord Su Fengzhang?"
"He has a handsome appearance and looks like him." Prince Rong also said.
Lin Xin glanced at Prince Rong and said pointedly, "This Lord Su is quite unexpected. When he first entered the Hanlin Academy, everyone thought he was being suffocated by Chi Liangjun, just like the previous Lord Cao. Who knew he would quietly come up with the 'Xuanwu Ceremony' and drag half the court into it?"
"Everyone thought he had pledged allegiance to the Fourth Prince, but he was neither close nor distant to the Xu family, and had no personal relationship with the Fourth Prince."
"This grand ceremony has been under construction for half a year, but he seems to have disappeared without a trace. I don't know if he was suppressed by someone or if it was intentional."
Prince Rong smiled and asked, "Then tell me which one he is?"
Lin Xin smiled innocently and said, "Scholars have too many thoughts. I can't understand this Mr. Su."
"But he has offended the Crown Prince, and now he is no longer under the protection of the Fourth Prince. Isn't he afraid of being wiped out in this officialdom?"
Prince Rong laughed heartily and said, "If even you can imagine that he has offended the Crown Prince, I'm afraid everyone in the world thinks the same. This way, the Crown Prince will be reluctant to take action."
"What do you mean?" Lin Xin asked.
Prince Rong slapped him on the head and scolded him, "I always ask you to read more books, but you always refuse. Now you realize how short-sighted you are."
Lin Xin covered his head and said helplessly, "I am a clumsy person. Please give me some advice, Your Highness."
Prince Rong said, "The fourth prince is very cunning. There is someone in the palace who can whisper in his ear. Do you think he really values Su Fengzhang? He is just pushing him out as a target."
"It's fine if the Crown Prince doesn't move Su Fengzhang. If he does, I'm afraid the Fourth Master will catch him in the act the next moment."
"The Crown Prince may be stupid, but he has smart people around him. How could he let those people take action so easily? If they were to take action, they wouldn't do it now."
When Lin Xin heard this, he was surprised and said, "So, Su Fengzhang seems to have offended someone, but now he is safe."
Prince Rong shook his head and said, "That's not certain. Let's see his luck."
Lin Xin glanced at him and said with a smile, "This Lord Su must be very lucky, otherwise how could he get the prince's token."
Prince Rong looked at him with a half-smile. Lin Xin touched his nose and said, "I just didn't expect that Lord Su has been in Kyoto for a year and still hasn't come to visit with the token. I almost thought he had forgotten about you."
"That's why I said he is a smart man." Prince Rong said with a smile.
Suddenly, he asked again: "Are the ones following him younger brothers and sisters? They seem to have grown taller."
Diagonally opposite, Su Fengzhang was sitting down with his mother, aunt, younger brother and sister, and Su Arong to eat wontons. They were talking and laughing, and looked very happy.
"That should be the case. I heard that Lord Su's relatives came to Beijing before the New Year." Lin Xin also glanced down and said, "I just didn't expect him to bring his stepmother with him."
In a family like this where the biological father has passed away but the biological mother is still alive, it is rare for the legitimate son of the family not to be harsh towards his stepmother. However, the Su family seems to be harmonious, and Su Fengzhang has a very good relationship with his stepmother and his stepbrothers and sisters-in-law.
Prince Rong also found it strange. He had dealt with Su Fengzhang and even visited the Su family in person. Naturally, he knew that this person was not just pretending but was treating him sincerely. But this was even more strange.
He knocked on the railing and suddenly said, "What do you think about letting this guy be my son-in-law?"
Lin Xin was startled by this and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this is probably not appropriate. I'm afraid the princess won't agree."
Princess Hejing has very high standards. There are so many young talents in the capital, but she doesn't like any of them. Although Su Fengzhang is outstanding in appearance and talented, he was born in an ordinary family. Now the family lives in a rented house. How could the princess of their family possibly like him?
Prince Rong raised his eyebrows slightly and added, "It's rare to find someone who suits my taste. Besides, he's so handsome, he could be described as the reincarnation of Pan An. Who knows, He Jing might like him too?"
Lin Xin smiled awkwardly and added, "Even if the princess likes it, I'm afraid the princess won't agree."
When the princess was mentioned, Prince Rong's face turned cold and he said lightly, "As long as my daughter and I are satisfied, she has no right to speak in the palace."
Lin Xin laughed in his heart, but still didn't dare to say anything.
Not far away downstairs, Su Fengzhang was eating steaming wontons. The owner of this shop was very honest and even made the wonton soup with meat bones. It was fresh and delicious. Su Fengzhang ate one bowl and ordered another.
Not only did he enjoy the meal, but everyone else was also in high spirits. Only Aunt Bai was a little hesitant. She had been a little timid since she left the house, and she kept her head down when walking on the street and didn't dare to look at people.
In fact, if Su Fengzhang had not insisted, Su Zhaoshi and Aunt Bai would never go out, but Su Fengzhang was right. They had been in the capital for some time, so they had to go out and take a look. The Lantern Festival was the best time.
Su Zhaoshi was relatively calm. After all, even in the village, she would go out occasionally. But Aunt Bai, in order to avoid suspicion, had hardly left the house since Su Dianli passed away, and the same was true after she came to the capital.
Su Zhao ate a wonton and found it delicious. Seeing that Aunt Bai was fidgeting beside her, she reached out and patted her shoulder, saying with a smile, "Eat your fill. No one here will say anything."
When Su Dianli was alive, even though Aunt Bai was well-behaved and sensible, the relationship between the eldest wife and the concubine was just average. But now that Su Dianli is gone, the two have depended on each other for many years, and they are like real sisters.
Aunt Bai felt a little more relaxed after hearing this. She took a bite and said, "It tastes really good."
Su Lanzhang also ate voraciously, and Su Fengzhang had to remind her, "Don't get your clothes dirty, we still have to watch the lanterns later."
Su Lanzhang quickly asked, "Second brother, can I buy a tiger lantern?"
"Of course." Su Fengzhang asked his sister again, "What kind of lantern does Huihui want?"
Su Huihui smiled and said, "I don't want anything. The ice lanterns that my second brother made for us are the most beautiful."
Su Fengzhang knew that she was afraid of spending money, but their family didn't spend much and could survive just by relying on his salary.
Touching the little girl's bun, Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "That won't do. I promised you that we would watch the lanterns during the Lantern Festival. I can have ice lanterns, but I also have to have lanterns. You must choose one."
Su Huihui then said, "Then, I want the rabbit lantern."
"Huihui, the rabbit lantern is not domineering at all. You should choose the dragon lantern. It looks better." Su Lanzhang suggested.
Su Huihui rolled her eyes at him and said, "I don't want it. I just like the rabbit lantern."
"Then I'll buy you a rabbit lamp. It doesn't matter whether it looks domineering or not. What matters is that our Huihui likes it." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.
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The author has something to say:
The princess is not the heroine
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