Li Ce asked several people but no one knew the answer. Suddenly he stood up and turned his head to look around. In the huge hall, apart from the servants and dancers, he was the only one standing tall. He instantly attracted everyone's attention. Countless pairs of eyes looked at him in confusion, wondering what was wrong with this man.
Zhao Che and Zhao Song were also surprised, fearing that he would do something shocking again.
There were more than a hundred seats in the entire Fanggui Hall, and the four side halls outside were even more crowded. Li Ce looked around but didn't see the person he was looking for. The young Prince Li frowned, as if he was thinking about something important. Suddenly, Prince Li gathered his Qi in his Dantian and shouted, "Qiao Qiao!"
The sound was so deafening that it immediately drowned out the music. The musicians were so shocked that they even forgot to continue playing. The music stopped suddenly and the whole hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at Li Ce in horror. Their expressions were even weirder than seeing a pig sitting on the throne.
A soft laugh suddenly rang out, Chu Qiao turned around and saw Zhuge Yue looking at her provocatively, as if he was very happy to see her make a fool of herself.
"Qiao Qiao, where are you?" The crazy Prince Bian Tang continued to roar loudly, as if he was the only one in the whole hall and didn't care about other people's eyes at all.
"Joe..."
"Okay, stop shouting, I'm here." The girl stood up with a cold face. The girl, who had been in the den of tigers and wolves for many years and had already trained her body to be as strong as steel, rarely showed a trace of depression and embarrassment. She stood on the side hall of the second pavilion and spoke in a clear voice.
"Haha, I knew you were here." Li Ce clapped his hands and laughed, then turned to the others and said, "Everyone, continue. Don't worry about me. Where's the musician? Keep playing!"
Prince Li Ce stepped across the seat, not caring about the hem of his clothes dragging over the wine glass, and ran across the hall.
At this moment, many of the daughters of the Second Pavilion turned their eyes to Chu Qiao, feeling confused and uncertain.
"Qiao Qiao, are you drinking? Drinking to drown your sorrows only makes you more sorrowful!"
Chu Qiao sat back in her seat with a frown on her face. This kind of ostentatious attention grabbing would definitely be detrimental to tonight's actions. Now was a critical moment, and there was no time to deal with him. The girl had a cold expression on her face and said in a deep voice, "Prince Li is of noble status. He really shouldn't be so disrespectful of etiquette. Please go back."
"Qiao Qiao, I'm so touched. You always think about me." Li Ce said with a smile, his eyes narrowed into a slit, like a fox, and he wanted to sit next to Chu Qiao. Seeing that the girl was sitting in the middle and had no intention of giving him a seat, he touched his nose and walked to the side. He said to the rich girl who didn't know whose family it was, with a smile on his face, "This beauty, can you give me a seat?"
The girl was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and no one knew whose daughter she was. She had never seen such a romantic scene before, and she stood up in a daze.
Li Ce thanked him and sat down happily, causing the palace servants in charge of the hall's etiquette to hurriedly bring Li Ce's top-quality gold cups and tableware over, and they were busy as a group.
Chu Qiao sighed helplessly. Right now, the side hall of the second pavilion was even busier than the Fang Gui main hall. After everyone in the hall followed Li Ce over, they were surprised to find that Zhuge Yue was also sitting next to them. All kinds of speculations immediately echoed on the high roof.
“Fourth Young Master Zhuge, you and I are both people with vision. Come, let’s drink to celebrate the fact that Prince Yan is finally getting married.” Li Ce raised his head across from Chu Qiao and raised his glass to Zhuge Yue, saying enthusiastically.
Zhuge Yue smiled faintly, raised his glass gently in greeting, and drank the wine he offered without saying a word.
At this moment, drums and trumpets suddenly sounded in front of the temple. Everyone looked up and saw the Emperor of Daxia walking slowly out from the majestic golden palace in a golden robe. Chu Qiao followed the others and knelt down. When she looked up, she saw that Emperor Xia had a thin frame, with gray hair on his temples. He lowered his head slightly, so his face could not be seen clearly.
Li Ce stood aside. He was an envoy from another country and also the crown prince, so he did not need to perform the ritual of kneeling and bowing. When the whole court was cheering "Long live the emperor", the man whispered: "Don't be afraid of him, he is just an old man, just like the one in my family, he is just pretending."
If possible, Chu Qiao really wanted to punch him again, but unfortunately this thought could only pass through her mind once. After the ceremony was completed, everyone returned to their seats. Emperor Xia said a few words of introduction, then turned his attention to the second pavilion, saying with a faint smile: "Why is Crown Prince Li sitting over there? Are you not satisfied with the seat I arranged for you?"
"No, no," Li Ce laughed and said, "It's cool here, I feel comfortable sitting here."
Emperor Xia nodded and said, “Zhuge Yue, then you should accompany Crown Prince Li well.”
With just one sentence, the Zhuge family saved face. Zhuge Yue did not even bother to look at Zhuge Muqing’s expression in the hall, and replied in a deep voice, “I obey your order.”
"Have Prince Yan's carriages entered the inner city?"
An official stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, we have not received any reports from the city gate guards yet."
Emperor Xia frowned slightly.
Chu Qiao's heart was suddenly in suspense, and she heard Emperor Xia nod and say, "Today is not only my birthday, but also the day of my daughter's marriage. I watched Yan Xun grow up since he was a child, and I feel relieved to marry my daughter to him. You are all pillars of the country. Although the Yanbei lineage rebelled in the past, I have always liked this child. After today, Yanbei will welcome a new King of Yan. I hope that you will work together to strengthen the prestige of our Great Xia."
"Yes, yes, the Prince of Yanbei is extremely talented and will definitely be a wise king."
"Your Majesty is merciful and kind, and will forgive the past. Prince Yan will surely be grateful to Your Majesty and swear to serve you till his death."
"Princess Chun is virtuous and beautiful. Prince Yan has been blessed by heaven and has received great favor from Your Majesty. He will definitely serve the country well."
"With Emperor Ren like this, our Great Xia will surely usher in the greatest revival in thousands of years."
…
No matter how many holes there are, flattery never fails. A series of praises suddenly rang out, and everyone praised him. Chu Qiao looked around the hall and indeed did not see anyone from the Batuha family. But strangely, even the eldest princess of Huaisong was not present, which caught her off guard for a moment.
At this time, a blue-clothed guard crouched and walked into the side hall of the second pavilion. He came behind Chu Qiao and whispered something in her ear. Chu Qiao nodded, and the man retreated.
When Li Ce saw this, he immediately leaned over and asked quietly like an old friend: "Qiao Qiao, who is that person? What did he say to you?"
Chu Qiao frowned and looked at him, wanting to say something, but felt that whatever she said would be nonsense, so she simply turned her head and ignored him. Li Ce continued to lean over unyieldingly and said to Zhuge Yue through Chu Qiao: “Brother Zhuge, do you know?”
Zhuge Yue said calmly, “If even the Crown Prince doesn’t know, how could I know?”
Li Ce nodded, "You are right."
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall, as if a woman was crying loudly, and everyone in the hall turned their heads to look outside. Emperor Xia raised his eyebrows and asked in a deep voice, "Who is outside?"
A guard wiped the sweat from his forehead, ran in, knelt down and replied: "Your Majesty, it is...Princess Chun."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. However, Chu Qiao vaguely guessed something from the subordinates who had just left. Emperor Xia frowned and said, "Chun'er? What is she doing here?"
"The princess said she had something urgent to discuss with your majesty."
"Today is her wedding day. What is she trying to do by running here without regard for etiquette? Take her back and tell her that Prince Yan is about to enter the city." Concubine Shu was sitting next to the emperor. Her face turned cold when she heard this and she said in a crisp voice.
"I'm afraid Chun'er is getting impatient waiting," Concubine Xuan smiled softly, raised her head and looked at Emperor Xia with watery eyes, and chuckled, "Chun'er is only sixteen years old after all, so she might be a little scared."
"As a princess of the royal family, how can you behave so disrespectfully? Someone, take the princess away and severely punish the maids and servants who are responsible for guarding the princess!"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Xuan burst into tears and said tenderly, "Empress Muhe just passed away, and Sister Shu treated the Queen's daughter like this. Don't you feel guilty towards your sister?"
"Father! Chun'er has something to say!"
Suddenly a loud shout was heard outside the door. Everyone in the hall looked outside in surprise. Everyone had a strange look on their face and their minds were in turmoil. Emperor Xia hesitated for a while, and finally said in a deep voice: "Let her in."
A long breeze blew in from outside the door. Zhao Chun'er, wearing a gorgeous red wedding gown, her hair was a little messy because of running all the way. The delicate girl looked pale. She walked into the hall under the gaze of everyone. The night wind blew up her wedding gown, making it look like a bunch of weeping blood butterflies, with a broken and messy beauty.
"Father!" The girl stood in the hall with her head held high. Suddenly, she knelt on the ground with a plop. She kowtowed heavily and said loudly, "Please take back your decision. Chun'er doesn't want to get married anymore!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked!
Suddenly, the entire Fanggui Hall was dead silent. Everyone was silent for a while, and then a huge noise suddenly rang out, like a surging wave, rolling up a sky full of mist, instantly submerging Zhao Chun'er's thin figure.
"Nonsense!" Concubine Shu snorted coldly, her pretty face as cold as ice.
Queen Muhe was dead, and she had personally arranged all the arrangements for Zhao Chun'er's marriage. She was extremely angry when she heard the little princess openly say such outrageous words.
Zhao Chun'er knelt on the ground, raised her head, her eyes were red, her face was pale, she pursed her lips, kowtowed again, and said again: "Father, please take back your order, Chun'er does not want to get married."
Concubine Shu raised her eyebrows and said in a cold voice, "The wedding procession of Prince Yanbei has arrived outside the city gate. Your marriage was announced to the world a month ago. Now you say you don't want to get married in front of envoys from various countries? Is this what Sister Muhe taught you?"
"The old friend is gone, Sister Shu, please don't disturb the dead anymore." Zhuge Lanxuan's eyes were narrow and long, his face was like a spring peach, his white neck slowly raised, and he smiled gently at Zhao Chun'er, "Chun'er, you can't bear to leave your father, right? Be obedient, even if you get married, you can come home often to visit the emperor."
"Empress Xuan, Chun'er didn't do that. She just doesn't want to get married. Please help me ask my father to take back his decision."
Zhao Chun'er knelt on the ground and slowly raised her head. Her eyes were misty but her expression was unusually firm.
"Someone, take the princess down, dress her up, and wait for Yan Bei's ceremonial carriage." Emperor Xia did not even look down at her. In the bright lights, the emperor's face flickered, making it impossible to look directly at him. His voice was very flat, as if he did not hear what Zhao Chun'er had just said. The palace maids outside the door walked into the hall in small steps and were about to pull Zhao Chun'er's arm.