Chapter 735 Sage
Yuwen Yuan's words brought an end to this unexpected "farce" at today's victory celebration banquet.
Yu Mingyue's face was deathly pale. Even the bright candlelight in the main hall could not illuminate the gloom in her eyes at this moment, but it revealed her panic and loss. On the other side, Yuwen Cheng had already shrunk his neck and dared not utter a sound. The ministers who had previously surrounded the two of them also had their heads buried, as if they were filled with regret or afraid of being discovered.
Fortunately, no one paid any attention to them anymore.
As soon as Yuwen Yuan finished speaking, Shang Ruyi immediately bent down, picked up the wine cup on the table, and raised it high, saying, "Thank you, Father Emperor. Your son respectfully offers this cup to Your Majesty in celebration, wishing Your Majesty a long and prosperous reign!"
"good!"
This was the third time Yuwen Yuan had said "good" to Shang Ruyi that evening. He was beaming with joy, even happier than if he had heard news of a great victory on the battlefield. He raised his glass and beckoned to everyone, saying, "You all, raise your glasses too."
When the emperor spoke, no one dared to be negligent, and they all raised their cups.
However, after drinking this cup of wine, everyone had different feelings. Although the attribution of merits in the Taiyuan battle and the crown prince's conferment of titles had made them choose their sides, this banquet had clearly revealed some signs that they had never noticed before.
His Highness the Crown Prince remains unmarried, a matter of great concern to everyone from the Emperor to his ministers. After all, it's almost universally accepted that one cannot establish oneself without a family. Tonight, Yuwen Yuan had personally escorted Yu Mingyue into the palace, and she herself was dressed in her finest attire. Clearly, everyone understood Yuwen Yuan's intentions. However, from the moment Yu Mingyue entered the Hundred Blessings Hall, she made numerous mistakes. Almost every word she uttered was something the Emperor wanted to hear, and she nearly teetered on the edge of incurring his wrath.
From what she just said, which told her to stop talking, it was clear that the Crown Prince's marriage tonight was doomed to fail.
On the contrary, it was the Princess Consort of Qin.
For a princess to engage in the activities of a dancer was indeed a disgrace to the royal family, and would certainly have drawn attention under other circumstances. However, her impassioned speech drew attention only to her achievements and the responsibility of women to serve their country—something Empress Du had always aspired to since the reign of Emperor Wen. In such chaotic times, how could the emperor possibly object to more people serving the country with loyalty and filial piety?
Therefore, the moment Princess Qin spoke, she was enough to completely suppress Lord Yu, who was somewhat ignorant of his own limitations and even less able to fathom the Emperor's intentions.
This also shows that although His Majesty the Emperor had a suppressive attitude towards the Prince of Qin, he genuinely liked this daughter-in-law.
The King of Qin and his Queen have not yet established their own residence or military headquarters and are still living in the palace.
With such a considerate and agreeable daughter-in-law by his side, it's not impossible that His Majesty the Emperor might gradually change his attitude and favor the Prince of Qin. Moreover, the Prince of Qin and his wife have been married for a long time; once the Princess of Qin gives birth to a son soon—
The atmosphere in the main hall suddenly became somewhat strange.
Some ministers looked at each other, their gazes then shifting to the Qin Princess, who was slightly tipsy after drinking a whole cup of wine and swayed as she sat down. Fortunately, the Qin King was quick to catch her. The Qin King, who was decisive and ruthless on the battlefield like a demon in a fierce battle, now looked at his wife with such gentle eyes that they felt as if he were a completely different person.
If things don't reach the final stage, it's hard to say what will happen in royal matters.
Thinking of this, the minds of everyone in the hall became chaotic. They thought about their own thoughts, like a hundred rivers flowing together in a disorderly stream.
However, at this moment, despite everyone's chaotic thoughts combined, no one's mind was disordered. Yu Mingyue stared at the glass of wine that had been forced to be emptied. Although the glass was already empty, she still felt as if the wine was overflowing. The surrounding candlelight reflected off the wine, making it ripple and dazzling her eyes.
how so……
how so! ?
She dared not look up, but the sounds of the clinking of glasses and laughter of the surrounding officials filled her ears. As if to make up for the awkward atmosphere caused by the "farce" just now, everyone was chatting and laughing, and their courage had grown. Several military officers even raised their cups to drink with the King and Queen. Tonight, His Highness the King was much gentler in his attitude, accepting all drinks offered, but he wouldn't let the Queen drink anymore, saying that she had already drunk too much. The military officers laughed it off and didn't press the matter.
The atmosphere became incredibly lively for a moment.
How could this happen? How could this happen!
Yu Mingyue gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms. The stinging pain made her feel even more frustrated.
However, she still didn't understand—she was clearly confident of victory and could be made Crown Princess tonight, but Yuwen Yuan gave up because of those few words; these people were originally uncivilized ancient people who should adhere to the three obediences and four virtues, and women should be reprimanded for even the slightest mistake, or even drowned in a pig cage. She had seen all of this before, so why was it completely different?
Did she make a mistake?
But how could she possibly be wrong?
The more she thought about it, the more distressed she became. The same question seemed to materialize into countless thorns binding her, making it hard for her to breathe and driving her to the brink of collapse. Fortunately, her seat was at the back, closest to the entrance of the main hall. Yu Mingyue remembered that Yuwen Qian had told her before that the rules for banquets in the palace were not strict. If she got drunk or felt unwell, she could leave the palace to get some fresh air and dispel the smell of alcohol, as long as she wasn't called out by the emperor. So she stood up and went out.
At this moment, Yuwen Qian, who was sitting in front, also saw this scene. He frowned slightly, and a hint of unease appeared on his face. He subconsciously wanted to get up.
But before he could move, he heard Yuwen Yuan say, "Qian'er, you drink a cup with me too."
Yuwen Qian immediately looked up and saw Yuwen Yuan raising his cup towards him. He dared not be negligent and hurriedly stood up, picked up his wine cup, and the two drank together. After he finished drinking, before he could even sit down, several ministers toasted him, and he could only accept their toasts one by one.
When she turned around again, Yu Mingyue was no longer outside the door.
The atmosphere in the main hall grew increasingly lively, with drums and music resounding. Dancers walked to the center of the hall and danced gracefully to the music. In the air, not only did their slender, white, jade-like hands wave, but their colorful robes and skirts also filled the air with the faint fragrance of wine.
In this atmosphere, Shang Ruyi's face grew increasingly red.
Her alcohol tolerance wasn't actually bad, but perhaps due to exhaustion, although Yuwen Ye accepted all the toasts from the ministers who came to offer them, the few cups she drank at the beginning of the banquet made her feel slightly tipsy. In addition, the dishes served by the palace maids were all fish and meat, which were so greasy that she felt a bit suffocated and sat in her seat with her brows furrowed and silent.
After drinking another glass of wine, Yuwen Ye looked down at her and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi looked up pitifully and said, "I feel terrible."
Seeing her like this, Yuwen Ye felt a pang of heartache, yet also found it somewhat amusing. He pursed his lips and said, "Then what should we do? Father is in a good mood tonight, so it's not appropriate for you to go back early."
Shang Ruyi knew, of course, that as one of the main characters of this celebration banquet, she absolutely could not leave early. So she looked around and said softly, "I want to go out for a while to get some fresh air and get rid of the smell of alcohol. If Father asks, please help me cover it up."
Yuwen Ye nodded, but then asked, "Don't you want me to come with you?"
Shang Ruyi immediately shook her head: "That won't do, what if someone else invites you for a drink?"
Yuwen Ye laughed and said, "Are you just going to leave me here to be forced to drink?"
Shang Ruyi smiled, but didn't say much to him. After all, her chest felt increasingly tight, and she felt a little nauseous. She waved her hand, got up, and took advantage of the opportunity when a palace maid came to refill their wine, turned around and walked out.
As soon as she stepped out of the main hall, she felt a cool breeze. Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and felt the stale air in her chest dissipate with the wind.
I felt much better overall.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and without caring about Yuwen Ye's life or death inside the main hall, she slowly walked forward, guided by the lanterns under the eaves and the still relatively bright moonlight.
Although she had been living in the palace for some time and had taken Shen Wuzheng and Pei Xingyuan to tour the inner court, she was not very familiar with the surroundings after passing the Baifu Hall. After walking for a while, she saw a tall palace gate in front of her. Inside and outside the gate, there were many vigorous pine and cypress trees, which exuded an unusual sense of majesty under the moonlight. Shang Ruyi then remembered that this gate was Chengqing Gate, and Chengqing Hall was just ahead after passing through this gate.
This is the residence of Yuwen Qian, which is now renamed Chengqian Hall.
Shang Ruyi immediately stopped and prepared to turn back.
Just then, a cold laugh came from the shadows of the trees. The familiar yet arrogant voice made her heart skip a beat. When she turned around, she saw Yu Mingyue's slender figure slowly walking out from under a tree.
Under the moonlight, her gaze was colder than the moonlight itself, and carried an undisguised anger as she glared fiercely at Shang Ruyi.
Shang Ruyi was never a petty person, but Yu Mingyue's overt hostility and disrespect still angered her. She said coldly, "Lord Yu, I am still the Princess Consort of Qin. What are you trying to do by not kneeling and bowing to me!"
"..."
"Do you still have any concept of hierarchy or social order?"
Upon hearing these words, Yu Mingyue seemed even angrier. She sneered, her contempt and disdain evident in her voice, and said, "Do you think I'm really afraid of you? I'm afraid of you... not because of you, nor because of your status as the Princess Consort of Qin. Aside from all that, you are nothing."
"..."
On the contrary, I look down on you.
"...!"
Shang Ruyi's heart was instantly filled with rage.
Of course she knew that from the very first "meeting" with Yu Mingyue, it had been a life-or-death struggle. Now that things had come to this, especially after Yu Mingyue's targeting of her in the Hundred Blessings Hall, if she hadn't had some silver tongue, she would probably be disgraced by now, and who knows what her future would be like. So, they both wished they could stab each other in the back. But Yu Mingyue was really too disrespectful and had no respect for human beings whatsoever.
However, the more this happened, the more she wanted to maintain her dignity and composure as the Princess Consort of Qin.
So he smiled faintly and said, "Tell me what I have that you look down on. I'd like to hear it."
Yu Mingyue sneered, "You, married to a man, actually help him take concubines and even advise him to rest with other women. Do you know how shameful that is for a woman? And you call yourself a virtuous woman—"
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