The day of the palace banquet.
Thinking that the palace banquet would be held in the evening, Sheng Mozhao didn't want to get up early and slept until lunch time. When he finished washing up and was sitting in front of the mirror, tying his hair, Qing'e's voice sounded outside the door.
"Sir, are you awake?"
"Come in, Qing'e, which one do you think would look good with this outfit of mine?" Sheng Mozhao was puzzled as he looked at the row of hair crowns in front of his dressing table.
"Sir, why don't you try the hairspring buckle that the master made himself?"
Master, I can only help you up to this point.
"Oh, yes, how could I have forgotten the hairspring buckle Xixi made for me? Go get it for me. I'll wear it at the palace banquet today."
"yes"
"Your Highness," Zhuo Yue saw Sheng Mozhao's door was open when he arrived, so he stood at the door and called out.
"Enter"
"Your Highness, the general sent someone to tell you to go ahead and she will be here soon." When saying this, Zhuo Yue did not dare to look at Sheng Mozhao's expression, and thus missed Sheng Mozhao, who had the same cold expression as her general.
"..." Upon hearing this, Sheng Mozhao patiently combed his black hair and asked Qing'e to fasten the hairpin for him. Then he said in a calm voice: "You can go down. Qing'e is enough for me here."
Zhuo Yue didn't dare to stay any longer. He responded and turned away with his head down.
At the palace banquet, when Sheng Mozhao arrived, many children of officials had already arrived in the imperial garden.
When Sheng Mozhao, wearing a silver-white fox fur cloak, appeared in front of everyone, he caught the attention of everyone present without saying a word, and they couldn't look away at all.
"Whose son is this? He's so handsome!"
"I don't know, I've never seen it."
"Go ask."
"Why should I go? If I don't go, you go."
The whispered words became more and more unrestrained. Sheng Mozhao was already unhappy because he had not seen Xiyao in a month since he came to the neighboring country. Now listening to these people's words, he became even more irritated.
I had thought of coming earlier so that I could be the first to see Xiyao enter, but who knew I would have to suffer this!
"Qing'e, Hao Siming"
"Yes," they said in unison.
"Tell them to shut up, their noise is giving me a headache." Sheng Mozhao rested his elbows on the table, pressed his temples lightly with his fingertips, and began to close his eyes to rest.
"Yes", it is the same frequency sound.
After Qing'e and Hao Siming responded, they tacitly surrounded Sheng Mozhao, one in front and one behind, and glanced coldly at all the people present who had their eyes on Sheng Mozhao.
"Are the people from the neighboring country so rude in their upbringing?" Hao Siming looked around at everyone and saw that Qing'e had no intention of speaking, so he had to speak up himself and give a warning.
"What happened?" A dignified and gentle voice sounded, breaking the silence after Hao Siming spoke.
The person who came was a gentle beauty who matched her voice. Judging from her attire, she was either one of the Four Concubines or above the Four Concubines.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to Your Highness. May Your Highness be well."
When everyone in the audience had knelt down to pay their respects, Hao Siming and Qing'e who were standing next to Sheng Mozhao, and Sheng Mozhao who had been sitting still, were extremely eye-catching.
The imperial concubine was not annoyed when she saw this. She walked towards where Sheng Mozhao was, saying as she walked, "I guess this must be His Royal Highness the Prince of Sheng. I have long heard of your great name, but seeing you today, you are indeed different..."
The words stopped abruptly, because Sheng Mozhao's face had been blocked by Qing'e who was standing next to him. Now, because the imperial concubine was moving around and her position changed, when she saw Sheng Mozhao's handsome face that was as if it were a work of art by nature, even the imperial concubine who had seen many beauties was stunned.
But she quickly reacted and said with a smile: "Your Highness Prince Chen is well."
"Your Highness, how are you? I've been feeling unwell lately, so I'm sorry to miss you. I hope Your Highness will forgive me." Sheng Mozhao clenched his fist, put it in front of his lips and coughed twice. The cold temperament on his body was suppressed by weakness, and his face looked almost as dark as the cloak he was wearing.
"It's okay, Your Highness's health is important." The imperial concubine still had a smile on her face, and she was not at all displeased by Sheng Mozhao's words and actions.
"Hey~ Sister, what are you doing here?" A pleasant voice came in. Hearing this voice, the smile on the imperial concubine's face faded a little, and there was a hint of humiliation in it.
This made Sheng Mozhao, who was bored and annoyed by the noise of those beautiful girls, feel a little gossipy and ready to eat some melon to kill time.
"Oh, there is a young master here." The man's voice stopped as soon as he finished speaking. The moment he saw Sheng Mozhao's appearance, jealousy, contempt, and the urge to destroy flashed in his eyes.
"Sister Shufei," the imperial concubine lowered her eyes and called out. When she faced Shufei, the expression on her face was no longer as gentle as before, but a bit like his own Xixi.
The Imperial Concubine's voice brought Shufei back to her senses. She smiled contemptuously and said, "This young master looks unfamiliar. Could he be the Emperor's new adoptee..."
"Shufei! Don't be rude." The imperial concubine was afraid of making Sheng Mozhao angry, so she hurriedly interrupted Shufei's thoughtless words.
"Hey~ What's going on? He's not the emperor's new adoptee, is he your new adoptee?"
Shufei said this without any scruples and never cared that Guifei's rank was higher than hers.
"Shufei!"
"What? You still want to hit me?! Hit me if you dare! Come, I'll beat you, do you dare?" The Concubine Shu looked arrogant and provocative, as if she was sure that the Imperial Concubine would not dare to touch her. Seeing that the Imperial Concubine was blushing with anger, she added fuel to the fire, "It's bad luck to see you. No wonder the Emperor didn't want to go to your palace for a long time. You look so sad every day, which man would like you?"
A glimpse of Sheng Mozhao eating melons made Concubine Shu jealous. She turned the conversation back to Sheng Mozhao, "Speaking of this young master, he's quite good-looking. Could it be that you found him from outside the palace and wanted to present him to the emperor so that he would take a closer look at you?"
These completely disrespectful words made the Imperial Concubine tremble with anger, but the Imperial Concubine Shu was in favor. In recent months, the Emperor had been letting her do as she pleased and doting on her. If she was hurt, she would be hard to escape punishment, and her family might even be implicated. But if the Imperial Concubine Shu did not explain what she said, it would affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
While hesitating, the imperial concubine heard the sound of a crisp slap on her face, and she looked up in surprise.
Then there was a bright red slap mark on Concubine Shu's face.
"You, you dare to hit me!" Concubine Shu was stunned for two breaths by the slap. After she reacted, she pointed at Qing'e and said, "Come here, drag this slave away and beat her to death!"
When the palace maid following behind Concubine Shu heard what she said, she hurried forward and prepared to catch Qing'e, but was frightened by Qing'e's eyes and dared not move at all. Concubine Shu was so angry that her teeth were itching.
"What are you afraid of? Go ahead!"
"Madam Shufei, do you want to become an enemy of Dasheng?"
In the midst of anxiety, Sheng Mozhao slowly threw out a sentence, and Concubine Shu was stunned again, "What do you mean?"
"This prince has just arrived in the neighboring country. Due to illness, I haven't left the house for a month. I don't know much about the customs and folkways of this neighboring country. Today is the New Year's Eve family dinner, and all the ministers will be attending with their wives and children. I originally thought that if I came earlier, I would learn more about how the dignitaries of the neighboring country get along with each other, so as not to be rude without realizing it. But I never thought..." Sheng Mozhao paused, sighed, and couldn't help coughing a few more times, "Qing'e, it seems that my father, the queen mother, and the imperial sister are not willing to let this prince marry into the neighboring country for a reason."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
