Chapter 348 Knocking on the Door Late at Night
Xiao Changheng's expression darkened, he narrowed his eyes and said calmly:
"Regarding the marriage, I will report it to His Majesty upon my return, and he will make the final decision."
"No need to bother!" Lu Zhan waved his hand and smiled. "Emperor Liang relies most on the Regent. My Princess Nanyu is a perfect match for the Regent of Liang. As long as His Majesty agrees, I believe Emperor Liang will be happy to see it happen."
As soon as these words were spoken, all eyes in the hall were focused on Xiao Changheng.
The Second Prince Lu Fan's expression changed slightly, and he suddenly stood up and said:
"Father, it's well known that the Prince Regent already has a principal wife. How can our Nanyu princess be relegated to the position of a concubine? I hope your Majesty will reconsider!"
Everyone in the Nanyu Court understood what he meant. Among the four princesses present, only Princess Mingyue Lu Ran was a legitimate daughter, and she was also the biological sister of the same mother as Lu Fan. He loved his sister and naturally did not agree with her marriage.
Moreover, Princess Mingyue is not only a legitimate daughter, but also has a title and a noble status. What the second prince said is reasonable.
But the third prince suddenly stood up and said:
"Second brother, you're wrong. If I were to marry one of the other princes of Liang, Princess Nanyu would certainly not be relegated to a side position. But the Regent is such a heroic figure! If any of my sisters could gain his favor, it would be a dream come true. How could it be considered an injustice?"
Lu Fan felt something was wrong when he heard this, and was about to retort, but was stopped by the emperor:
"Alright, the princess who will marry hasn't been decided yet, why are you all arguing about this? Back off!"
"Your Majesty is absolutely right!" The third prince looked at Lu Fan with secret pride and retreated.
Since the emperor had spoken, Lu Fan had no choice but to retreat.
Lu Zhan looked at Xiao Changheng again:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. As I just said, you can marry any of my daughters you want. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Xiao Changheng had no expression from beginning to end. When he was asked directly, he suddenly curled his lips slightly and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness. However, I have already sworn in public on the day of our wedding that I wish to be with the Princess for the rest of my life and will never take concubines or other mistresses. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
There was silence for a moment, and then a low buzz of discussion could be heard.
The civil and military officials of Nanyu considered whether the Regent would agree to the marriage or not, and after all, the chances of him agreeing were greater.
I just never thought he would give such a reason.
The princesses all had different expressions. Princess Mingyue, who had been standing quietly with her eyes lowered, finally raised her eyes and looked at Xiao Changheng, as if she was thinking about something.
Lu Fan also looked at Xiao Changheng with a complicated expression and frowned, but when he thought that he would not have to worry about his younger sister being married off, he finally felt more at ease.
Lu Zhan, sitting on the dragon throne, originally thought that even if the Regent refused, he could still persuade him. He would not lose face for himself as the emperor.
But he said he had sworn an oath in public. How can I persuade him?
I had to give up.
The emperor did not mention the matter again, and the atmosphere became relaxed again.
Suddenly one of the princesses came over and bought Xiao Changheng a glass of wine with a sweet smile:
"The Regent is so loyal and righteous. This princess admires you. I offer you a toast. Your Highness must do me the honor!"
Xiao Changheng looked up and saw that the person who spoke was the Fourth Princess Lu Zhi, who was holding a wine glass and looking at him with a smile on her face.
He nodded lightly, picked up the wine glass and just put it to his lips, his brows suddenly frowned and he paused.
The Fourth Princess drank the wine in her own cup, and with a smile on her face, she shook the empty wine glass in her hand towards Xiao Changheng:
"Your Majesty, please!"
A cold light flashed in Xiao Changheng's eyes, and a cold arc appeared at the corner of his lips. He put the wine glass back on the table.
The fourth princess's expression froze, she bit her lip and looked at him with a hint of resentment on her face:
"What does your Highness mean? Are you looking down on me?"
Xiao Changheng looked at her coldly. Just as he was about to speak, a slightly casual female voice suddenly rang out beside him:
"It's rather disrespectful of Fourth Sister to offer this kind of wine to the Regent. Come, replace this wine with one of my collections of Drunken Immortal Brew and fill the Regent's glass!"
The one who spoke was Princess Mingyue.
Immediately a palace maid came forward, replaced the wine glass and refilled it.
The fourth princess's expression changed, but she immediately suppressed her dissatisfaction, poured another glass of wine, raised her glass and said with a smile:
"Sixth sister is right. It was my negligence. I will drink a glass of wine as punishment to apologize to the Regent."
After saying this, she drank the wine in the glass, did not mention the Regent's drinking again, turned around and left.
Princess Mingyue asked the servants to place the entire pot of Drunken Immortal Wine on Xiao Changheng's table and smiled at him.
"Your Highness, please enjoy your meal. If you like this wine, you can always ask Haitang to add more."
After saying this, she left the maid beside her to serve the Regent and pour wine, then turned around and went back to her table.
Xiao Changheng picked up the wine glass and put it to his lips, paused for a moment, took a sip slowly, and narrowed his eyes slightly as if thinking about something.
In the second half of the banquet, Emperor Lu Zhan enthusiastically invited the delegation to the Imperial Garden to appreciate the flowers, and specially allowed important officials of the court to accompany them with their families.
The flower-viewing lasted until dusk. When the emperor finished his banquet and the delegation returned to the Honglu Temple, night had already fallen.
Xiao Changheng sat down at the desk and was about to open the official documents to arrange the official business for the next two days, when he suddenly frowned and glanced around the room.
He put down the documents in his hand and called out to the maid who had just finished her chores and was about to leave.
"Your Highness, please give your instructions." The maid bowed respectfully.
Xiao Changheng's gaze fell on the incense burner in the corner, and he asked calmly:
"What kind of incense is burning in this censer? Why is it different from the previous ones?"
The maid was startled, then said:
"In reply to your Highness, this is the Dharma Wonderful Incense that the palace sent specially today to entertain you. The Honglu Temple doesn't usually have incense of this quality, so your Highness would think it's different from before."
"So that's how it is. Emperor Nanyu is so sorry for the trouble." Xiao Changheng seemed satisfied with her answer and waved his hand to let her go.
The maid bowed and left. After she had walked some distance out of the door, she let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
In the room.
"An Yi, An San."
Xiao Changheng spoke in a cold voice, and a moment later two men in black quietly entered through the window.
Without being told, An San wrinkled his nose and sniffed a few times, his eyes following his master's gaze to the incense burner.
He immediately went over to check, and after a moment, he turned back to Xiao Changheng and whispered:
"Your Highness, this incense contains aphrodisiac ingredients. Although it is very small, if you inhale it for a long time, the effect will be very strong."
Nan Zheng's eyelids twitched violently:
"Who dares to harm the prince like this?"
Fortunately, the prince has always been surrounded by secret guards who are familiar with poisons in order to learn from past mistakes, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous!
Xiao Changheng's expression was icy, but he was not surprised at all. He looked at An Yi and asked:
"How's the investigation going?"
An Yi stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear.
"Oh, very good." Xiao Changheng's face grew colder. "Put away this incense. Anyone who dares to enter my room tonight will be treated as an assassin and tied up and brought before Emperor Nanyu for punishment!"
Nan Zheng and others immediately took orders and put all their efforts into arranging the night watch.
Let's see what will happen to people like Nan Yu who dare to set their sights on their own prince!
However, Nan Zheng and others waited for half the night, but instead of the "assassin" coming, they waited for a group of people to knock on the door late at night.
Nan Zheng was stunned when he saw the situation outside the door.
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