Chapter 865 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 26
"Seventh Prince, is it true that the Princess of Wei has come along this time?"
One of the ministers received the news immediately and quietly whispered in the seventh prince's ear.
The Seventh Prince glanced at him upon hearing this, "Whether it's true or not, Your Excellency will find out soon enough."
The minister was speechless after being choked by his words.
Of these princes, the emperor favored the seventh prince the most, and usually gave him the best things. But this time, when envoys from the two countries came, the emperor did not send the seventh prince to greet them.
Immediately, everyone began to speculate about the emperor's attitude towards the marriage alliance.
As for the person involved who was trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts, he thought to himself, "What princess? He doesn't care about princesses at all."
At this moment, the Seventh Prince was unaware that his idea would soon be overturned by himself.
Amidst numerous speculations, the emperor slowly led everyone to the main hall.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Upon seeing the emperor arrive, everyone bowed and paid their respects to him.
The emperor was very pleased with everyone's actions and immediately raised his hand, saying, "Rise, my beloved ministers!"
Everyone stood up in unison, and only after the emperor walked past them did the ministers slightly raise their eyes to examine the two crown princes following behind him.
It must be said that, as the crown prince of a country, his appearance alone surpasses that of many young talents.
Especially the Crown Prince, who has a gentle appearance and a smile on his face from beginning to end. If there were any female characters present, who knows how many girls would be captivated by him.
When the emperor reached the high platform, he did not rush to have everyone take their seats, but instead waved to his sons.
"You gentlemen, come and greet the Crown Prince of Wei and the Crown Prince of Jin."
Everyone responded in unison, except for the Seventh Prince, who stood there dumbfounded, staring blankly at the familiar face not far away.
How did he end up here? Isn't he just a merchant's son?
Thinking about how familiar the two had become over the past few days, the Seventh Prince felt a sense of being deceived.
"It turns out he was actually the crown prince of Wei, and he lied to me, saying he was from a merchant family. It seems I've been kept in the dark all this time."
As the Seventh Prince thought this, his gaze toward Bai Xu was no longer as friendly as before.
"Seventh Brother, what are you standing there for?"
All the sons had arrived, but the seventh prince was still standing not far away, staring at the others with a slightly hostile gaze.
The emperor's tone was somewhat stern, seemingly displeased with the seventh prince's impolite behavior, but in reality, he secretly admired the seventh prince for thinking of giving the two a slight warning at this time.
After all, this was his Great Zhou territory, and he needed to let these two outsiders know that he was in charge here.
The seventh prince finally came to his senses after the emperor said that.
The seventh prince clasped his hands in a fist salute to the emperor and hurried over.
"Your Highnesses, these are my princes. From now on, they will accompany you in my place."
A monarch is busy with countless affairs of state. Although the two crown princes are both honored guests, there is no reason for him to neglect state affairs because of them.
Besides, the emperor is already so old, and he can't get along with the two of them. He also has so many ministers under his command, so how could he possibly send him to accompany the two of them?
"His Majesty is busy with state affairs, and we will be staying in Great Zhou for some time, so there is no need for His Majesty to worry."
Bai Xu smiled politely at the emperor. He had other purposes for coming to the Great Zhou, and it would be inconvenient to carry out his business if he really brought a prince with him.
The emperor glanced at Bai Xu with some difficulty, then at Xu Menglong, who had remained silent, and was at a loss for what to do.
"Father, I am more familiar with the capital than my brothers. Why don't I lead the two crown princes to experience the customs and culture of our Great Zhou?"
Just then, the Seventh Prince stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Emperor, and appeared to be taking full responsibility for the matter.
"Alright, Seventh Prince, you'll be in charge of taking care of the two princes' occasional strolls around the streets."
Without waiting for Bai Xu to make any statement, the emperor made the final decision.
Looking at the Seventh Prince who was deliberately targeting him, Bai Xu's smile was forced, as if he hadn't been involved at all from beginning to end.
"Alright, everyone, please take your seats!"
Once the accompanying persons were determined, the emperor immediately ordered everyone to take their seats.
At the same time, the Empress arrived at the main hall with the ladies of various noble families.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The group of women bowed in unison, and the emperor waved his hand to signal them to rise.
"Now that you're all here, please take your seats. Tell the kitchen to prepare the meal."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, everyone walked towards their seats. The chief eunuch gave a wink to the person next to him, and the junior eunuch immediately ran away.
Fruits and pastries were laid out on the table. The emperor took a pastry, put it in his mouth and swallowed it, then looked at the empress and asked, "Why hasn't Showa come over yet?"
Upon hearing this, the Empress quickly stood up and bowed to the Emperor. "Showa accompanied Princess Baiyun to change her clothes. They should be here soon."
Although Bai Xu and Princess Baiyun entered the imperial city together, due to the strict separation of men and women, Princess Baiyun was directly sent to the eldest princess's bedroom.
It can be said that Princess Baiyun waited until she arrived at the palace of the eldest princess before she was finally able to meet people, from the moment she boarded the carriage to the capital.
The emperor nodded and said nothing more.
Compared to the banquet, the princess's palace was much more harmonious.
The eldest princess had gotten up early today to prepare for the banquet where the crown princes of the two countries were coming to pay homage.
She was sitting in front of her dressing table, lost in thought, when a maid came to report that Princess Baiyun of Wei had arrived and asked her to go and greet her.
As princesses, and both destined for foreign lands for political marriages, the eldest princess, despite her displeasure, felt a sense of shared pity for Princess Baiyun.
As the young palace maid left, the princess never expected that the person who stepped down from the carriage would be someone she knew.
"It's you!"
The eldest princess was surprised to see Princess Baiyun, and Princess Baiyun also did not expect that her sister Zhao would be the eldest princess.
The two were good friends. After the initial surprise, the princess quickly waved for the people around her to leave, and then walked quickly to Princess Baiyun and grabbed her hand.
"So you are Princess Baiyun! I knew it! What kind of wealthy merchant family could raise a daughter like you? It turns out you were just lying to me!"
The eldest princess spoke with a smile, showing no resentment at being deceived.
"Baiyun did not intend to hide it from her sister before, but because of her sensitive identity, she had no choice but to pretend to be a merchant's daughter."
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