Chapter 81 The Princess of the Lost Nation, Bai Yueguang 12 What is the so-called joy?
Wen Qianning was startled for a moment, then sighed and averted her eyes. "I've always been a bit of a sleep stylist. It was hard to sleep in a new place, and then I was tossed around half the night by the attack... Although I finally managed to fall asleep listening to you read, I woke up super early this morning, so how could I not be sleepy?"
After saying that, the girl wrinkled her nose in grievance. Ji Hanlin poked her cheek and comforted her silently.
Out of concern for anyone passing by, the two of them didn't behave too intimately.
"It's getting late. This princess must go to the banquet first."
Everyone participating in the sacrifice was required to attend the banquet, and Ji Hanlin was naturally required to attend as well. Wen Qianning tugged at his sleeve and said, "If you and I go together, others will inevitably become suspicious. I'll be leaving now. Please come back later."
He nodded. "Okay."
The girl walked away, her skirt dragging on the stone steps, making her back look particularly slender and long. Ji Hanlin watched her for a moment before slowly looking away.
After waiting for a cup of tea, he turned around and left, following the increasingly crowded path towards the sacrificial banquet.
The wind from the mountains was blowing, bringing a bit of dampness and coolness. When I reached a remote place and was about to take a shortcut, I suddenly saw Xie Yunji hurriedly entering a secluded house in front of me.
Ji Hanlin frowned slightly. He didn't like Xie Yunji and didn't want to interfere. But when he reached the edge of the courtyard, he heard a loud shout from inside the house:
"Asshole! You unfilial son, how dare you keep a mistress outside? And you even made that mistress pregnant?!"
Then, a crisp slap sounded.
He paused, and the man who was passing by remained silent, with a dark look in his eyes, and finally stopped moving.
Xie Yunji in the room repeatedly admitted his fault and said, "Father, please calm down. I know I am wrong."
"You know full well that your father originally intended to arrange a marriage for you with Princess Zhaohua. It was a heaven-sent opportunity!" Prime Minister Xie's voice was filled with anger and disappointment. "If you could really marry the princess, after Emperor Xuanping unified the country, with Emperor Xuanping's love for Princess Zhaohua, you would have a bright future! But now you... Having a mistress is one thing, but you've also created an illegitimate child! How shameless!"
"Father, please calm down." Xie Yunji kowtowed and defended himself. "I had no feelings for that woman. I only used her as a tool to relieve my anger! Who knew she had ulterior motives? She secretly poured out the contraceptive soup, hoping to use her child to gain power."
"Don't worry, father. I only love Princess Zhaohua... and I will never let Your Highness know of her existence."
“…”
The noise in the room paused for a long time, and then a long sigh fell.
"It's good that you understand the situation and the pros and cons. Princess Zhaohua has always been willful. Although I still have a good impression of you based on her attitude, if she knew that you had a woman outside and that you had a child, she would definitely not want to marry you..."
Prime Minister Xie snorted coldly, "You should know that the child in that woman's belly must not be kept. The eldest son of our Xie family must be born from Princess Zhaohua's womb!"
"I know, I'll take care of it when I get back."
Outside the house, the boy's face couldn't be any darker.
Xie Yunji actually dared to say that the only person he loved was Princess Zhaohua? Ji Hanlin sneered in his heart.
If this is what is called heart-felt joy, then it is too disgusting.
An indescribable disgust welled up in his heart. This man claimed to love Wen Qianning, but what did he and Prime Minister Xie think of Wen Qianning? The so-called "love" was nothing but a mixture of interests and calculations.
Besides, if you keep saying you like someone but you have a mistress outside, is that really love? If you really like someone, how could you touch someone else?
The coldness in Ji Hanlin's eyes deepened. He liked Wen Qianning and had never once looked at another woman. He respected those he truly loved. Even though they were in love at the moment, he only dared to kiss her lightly on the cheek, fearing that she would be frightened.
But Xie Yunji and Prime Minister Xie even said that they wanted Princess Zhaohua to give birth to a legitimate son for their Xie family. This was simply a blasphemy to her.
Although he had been trapped in his identity as the unpopular Prince of Dayan since childhood, he never dared to use the word "like" lightly. His love for Wen Qianning was the most cherished emotion in his heart, and it was the light he secretly longed for in all his dark years.
And now, the girl he cherished so dearly was being targeted and tried to be contaminated by such a dirty and hypocritical person...
His chest heaved with anger. Ji Hanlin closed his eyes and forced himself to suppress the anger surging in his chest.
She shouldn't be treated lightly by anyone.
...Xie family, right?
Ji Hanlin withdrew his gaze coldly and turned away.
The banquet hall was already filled with the blaring music and drums. Wen Qianning, whose mind had always been on Ji Hanlin, had no idea what was going on. She glanced towards his seat from time to time, but the young man still hadn't arrived.
It was not until a long time later that Wen Qianning saw Ji Hanlin walking into the hall. She couldn't help but feel a little strange. They had clearly left one after the other, so why did he come so late?
As the singing and dancing began, the maids in the palace served various fine wines. The fruit wine on the table had a sweet aroma and tasted like honey when it entered the mouth, without any spicy taste.
The girl couldn't help but take a sip, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"So sweet!" she whispered, her expression becoming extremely joyful.
He poured another glass. The wine on her lips looked crystal clear, and the naive princess's face was full of satisfaction.
"This fruit wine is so delicious..." Wen Qianning shook the cup in his hand and thought to himself, well, Jianyi is like drinking a beverage from the modern world.
Without noticing, Her Royal Highness had actually drunk so much. Seeing this, Zhuiyun's heart skipped a beat. He quickly leaned over and advised, "Your Highness, don't drink too much. Although fruit wine tastes sweet, it's actually quite strong. If you drink too much, it might not be good for you."
But how could Wen Qianning listen? She waved her hand nonchalantly, raised her chin and snorted softly, "It's okay. This princess has always been a very good drinker. Look, I'm fine now, right? My face isn't even red, which means this wine is nothing!"
Instead, she reached for another pot and continued to pour herself a glass of wine with a cheerful look on her face. "This wine tastes really good. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste it? This princess is going to drink to her heart's content today!"
As she spoke, she poured out the pot of fruit wine in front of her, smiled, and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhuiyun was so anxious that he stamped his feet, but there was nothing he could do to her.
Zhuyue, who was watching from the side, was secretly shocked. He quickly stepped forward and stood aside, using his body to block the princess's drunken look, for fear that others would notice something.
Seeing her own prince drink two pots of wine, Zhuiyun secretly groaned in her heart. She had followed Wen Qianning since she was a child, so she naturally knew that her prince had a average alcohol tolerance. He would get angry after drinking half a cup of rice wine on weekdays. What's more, although the fruit wine at today's banquet was sweet, the aftertaste was extremely strong.
As expected, within a cup of tea, Wen Qianning felt her eyelids heavy and she felt dizzy. Her originally straight back gradually relaxed, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes became hazy.
"Your Highness... Your Highness?" Zhuyue called out anxiously in a low voice.
The little princess narrowed her eyes slightly, opened her red lips, and murmured, "This wine... makes me dizzy... ah..." The girl's voice was soft. The next moment, as if to dissipate heat, she reached out and tugged at her clothes, and her whole body was in a daze.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will take you back to the bedroom to rest." Zhuiyun secretly cried out in disbelief. If Her Royal Highness the Princess really gets drunk and behaves improperly at the banquet, wouldn't it become a laughing stock if the news got out?
Not to mention how many pairs of eyes were watching, and several princes and nobles wanted to secretly find fault with the princess.
So, Zhuiyun hurriedly stood up, walked around to the person seated, and asked, "Your Majesty, Your Highness didn't rest well yesterday, and perhaps you're tired today. I'm afraid the princess won't be able to handle it, so I'd like to ask Your Highness to leave first. Thank you for your understanding."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanping looked at Wen Qianning.
She was in a relatively normal state at the moment, but she just smiled foolishly at him, and Wen Chengyan saw the clue at a glance.
My daughter knew her own character very well, so I could only nod helplessly and say, "Well, take good care of Zhaohua and send her back to rest."
After receiving the order, Zhuiyun turned around, and Zhuyue immediately agreed: "Your Highness is in a precious state and should not sit for long. This servant will escort Your Highness back."
The two of them chatted back and forth, without stopping for a moment as they helped Wen Qianning up, hoping to get her away from here as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Her Royal Highness the Princess continued to talk nonsense and cause trouble... it would be the end of them.
After finally returning to the bedroom, Zhuiyun helped her remove her elaborate hairpins, while Zhuyue fetched a clean handkerchief and carefully wiped her body. Wen Qianning leaned against the brocade pillow, her eyes hazy, her cheeks rosy from the alcohol, and she still muttered arrogantly.
"How can this princess be drunk..."
The two maids wanted to laugh but were helpless. They coaxed her softly and helped her sit on the couch. But the girl opened her eyes wide and was very willful. She would rather lean against the bedpost and stagger around than lie down obediently.
"Your Highness, you'd better take a rest. I'll cook some sobering soup for you. You'll feel better after drinking it." Zhuiyun sighed and advised softly.
Wen Qianning hummed vaguely, which was considered as an agreement.
At the banquet just now, Ji Hanlin only saw Wen Qianning get up and leave from a distance. Their seats were very far apart. Ji Hanlin didn't know what happened and thought that the girl was unwell and left early.
Thinking of this, he could no longer sit still and quietly stood up and left. After all, his identity was not important to Xuan Ping, so even if he left rashly, it would not attract attention.
After he left the banquet hall, his feet involuntarily headed towards Princess Zhaohua's bedroom.
Ji Han didn't meet anyone on the way. When he reached the door of the bedroom, Zhu Yue was standing there. Zhu Yue was startled when she saw him, and quickly bowed, lowering her voice: "Master Ji? Why are you here?"
"Princess...what happened to her?" Ji Hanlin asked.
Zhuyue hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness is just drunk, nothing serious is wrong. The servants have changed your clothes, and Zhuiyun has made some sobering soup for you."
After hearing this, Ji Hanlin felt relieved. He hummed softly and looked at the tightly closed palace door.
She saw the man's expression, and Zhuyue felt mixed emotions. She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Well...it's getting late, Master Ji, please go back."
Ji Hanlin was about to nod when the girl inside suddenly spoke in a soft voice, "Zhuyue, let him in."
Knowing that he could only obey the orders of Her Royal Highness the Princess, even though Zhuyue was somewhat reluctant, he still silently followed her words and opened the door of the bedroom for Ji Hanlin.
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