Chapter 133 The Prime Minister and the Maid in the Mansion...
King Chen and his entourage talked in the hall, mostly about this year's spring sowing. The grain month is the foundation of the country and the top priority. Every spring, the country must predict the areas that may be affected by disasters and make plans and arrangements for sowing grain and disaster relief early.
He'an brought up the issue of excessive grain reserves in Qizhou and the fact that Suzhou, a major grain-producing area, was experiencing a food shortage. Everyone in the hall fell silent and no one dared to speak in response.
The prince looked at everyone and said after a while: "I have already informed my father about the matter of Qizhou. I believe there will be a decision soon."
In a blink of an eye, an hour passed and a servant from the palace came and whispered a few words in Prince Chen's ear.
Prince Chen stood up and said, "Today is a private banquet. We will discuss these troublesome matters in the court. The Crown Prince and other lords are here to show their support today. We must not leave until we are drunk."
When we returned to the table, the food and wine had been served, and some ladies who had gone to the garden to enjoy the scenery were coming back one after another.
Ruan Qinghuan and Chu Li stood beside the Crown Princess, and all three of them looked unhappy.
Chu Li kept observing Ruan Qinghuan's reaction. Although he was a little angry, he didn't seem to want to reveal the matter. He whispered, "Sister-in-law, how about you find an excuse to go ahead with the master?"
The Crown Princess did not say anything, but if Ruan Qinghuan wanted to leave first, that was not a bad idea.
Ruan Qinghuan: "Let's wait and see. Since we don't know what His Highness and his men are planning, we must not mess things up."
"But King Chen has come up with this evil trick again. What should we do if he gets into trouble?"
Before Ruan Qinghuan could answer, Ji Lingchuan had already pulled him to his seat. Chu Li was furious: "Why are you pulling me? I have something important to do."
"My little ancestor, what business can you have? Since I brought you here, I have to keep you by my side, right?" Ji Lingchuan was mainly worried that he was part of King Chen's plan, and he would not be able to explain himself.
Chu Li really wanted to punch him.
But her cousin had told her to wait and see what King Chen was planning and not to act rashly.
He sighed helplessly: "No wonder King Chen was too lazy to plot against you. A beauty trap, a hundred beauties are useless against a piece of wood."
Ji Lingchuan was confused by these nonsense words: "I don't care about any honey traps, even a hundred of them, it's annoying enough."
Then he whispered into Chu Li's ear: "In this life, I will only marry you."
Chu Li: “…”
A ball of fire suddenly burst out, and the originally pale and quiet face was covered with a blush. It was as if there was a deer hiding in her heart, making her inexplicably nervous.
Pick up the chicken leg on the table and stuff it into Ji Lingchuan's mouth: "Even eating can't stop your mouth."
Ji Lingchuan frowned.
Is she... shy?
**
During the banquet, many officials toasted the Crown Prince and He'an. After a while, He'an became drunk and couldn't sit still.
Ji Lingchuan looked at this scene and his expression changed.
Even though He'an doesn't like drinking, he can drink a lot. He's almost as much as him. How could he get drunk so quickly?
Seeing this, Prince Chen laughed and said, "The Prime Minister is busy with official business and has few opportunities to feast on weekdays. He really can't handle alcohol."
"Come here, help the Prime Minister to rest for a while."
As He An stood up, Princess Chen said with a smile, "Prime Minister He is not good at drinking. Madam He is going to escape from the battlefield as well. You should ask us women if we agree."
Although it was a joke, the implication was that he didn't want her to leave.
Although Ruan Qinghuan knew that today might be a grand banquet, she did not expect that Prince Chen would resort to such dirty tricks.
The moment He'an stood up, he squeezed her palm.
It turned out that he was pretending to be drunk. Ruan Qinghuan felt relieved: "Princess Chen misunderstood. I just wanted to offer a glass of wine to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince."
As a result, the people in the hall who were making a fuss in the hall quieted down and stopped making trouble.
A group of dancers rushed into the hall, music started playing, and they began dancing gracefully, but Chu Li had no interest in watching.
Seeing He'an being helped away by the servants, he became anxious for Ruan Qinghuan: "Ji Lingchuan, go and see where they took the Prime Minister?"
"Don't worry, He'an is just a thousand-year-old fox, no one can plot against him."
"You stupid fool, how can King Chen be so kind?" Chu Li said anxiously, "It's too late to explain. Anyway, it's not a good thing."
Seeing that she spoke so confidently, Ji Lingchuan guessed that she must have heard some news when they were talking to King Chen.
After a moment's thought, he stood up without making a sound and followed him out.
**
At the banquet, Qi Siwei, who was sitting next to Jiang Jie, fell into a trance. When she left Princess Chen's room, she overheard Prince Chen's plan about He'an, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Instead of just placing a maid by her side, they actually wanted to accuse He'an of having an affair with the maid after drinking, in order to control him.
Qi Siwei was upset.
He'an was once the man she loved. He was a high-ranking official, had a glorious life, and was extremely talented. It was a pity that he didn't have her in his heart.
Seeing him being taken away by the people from Prince Chen's Mansion, she felt conflicted.
If this succeeds, He'an's reputation will be ruined.
Just like her, she was completely destroyed, it was a despair that went from heaven to hell.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally mustered up the courage to tell Jiang Jie about this: "Sir, I..."
"Madam, please tell me if you have anything to say." The maid beside her interrupted her, and Qi Siwei trembled.
She was so distracted today that she forgot there was another pair of eyes beside her.
Jiang Jie glanced at the maid coldly: "What did Miss Qi want to say just now?"
"Nothing... nothing, I just took too long to get out, I want to go home."
Qi Siwei had just said it casually, but she didn't expect Jiang Jiezhen to stand up and say goodbye to Prince Chen: "Your Highness, Prince, Miss Qi is not feeling well, so I have to resign first."
Qi Siwei: “…”
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince nodded: "In that case, Lord Jiang, please return soon."
King Chen didn't say anything, but just smiled meaningfully.
Qi Siwei didn't really want to leave. She looked in the direction of Ruan Qinghuan. Fortunately, she raised her head at this moment.
She couldn't say it clearly, so she could only give Ruan Qinghuan a wink while bowing to the Crown Princess. Whether she could understand it or not depended on her luck.
Chu Li wondered what that look was, as if she was asking her sister-in-law for help.
Ruan Qinghuan did not respond, but just looked away calmly.
Not long after Jiang Jie took Qi Siwei away, she also stood up to say goodbye, and Chu Li followed him: "Your Highness, brother-in-law, Prince, I will leave first as well."
The Crown Princess: "Alright, I know I can't hold you back, let's go."
Chu Li held Ruan Qinghuan's arm and whispered, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I have already asked Ji Lingchuan to help the Prime Minister. Nothing will happen."
Ruan Qinghuan was touched: "Thank you very much."
"What are you thanking me for? If something really happened, not only me, but even my cousin wouldn't..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a servant who ran in in a panic. The servant fell in front of the prince and said, "Your Highness, this is bad. The Prime Minister is in the backyard... in the backyard..."
King Chen shouted, "What happened? Tell me quickly."
"The Prime Minister and the maidservant in the mansion..."