Gu Jingchun nodded.
That's right.
"The girls might feel a little reluctant to bring out so many things."
"But these things are all meant to be given to the people affected by the disaster."
For girls, these pieces of jewelry might just be an embellishment.
But for the millions of people who couldn't get enough to eat, it saved a life, or even a family's.
Gu Jingchun's words once again labeled them as saviors of the people.
Even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to remove the various exquisite hairpins and jewelry they had specially prepared from their heads or bodies.
Seeing that they were all unhappy, Gu Jingchun raised an eyebrow and added another sentence.
"The girls need to be on their toes and compete well now."
"With His Highness the Crown Prince present, if the girls perform well, perhaps His Highness will reward them!"
Shen Hechuan: ...
This was just a reminder to the girls that this was a perfect opportunity to shine.
Upon hearing this, the noble ladies were all delighted and put on their best performances.
Shen Hechuan, who had shown no interest in them since they entered, surprisingly displayed great interest during their competition.
Occasionally, when he was enjoying something, he would chuckle and ask the other person's name.
This made the noble ladies overjoyed.
Some women, in order to be absolutely sure, had to change their challenge targets and bring out two new pieces of jewelry.
The women who won the prizes, having gained the prince's favor and to demonstrate their compassion for the people, all donated all of their winnings.
Therefore, when all the noble ladies left the banquet, they had removed all their pearls and jewelry, but they all left with happy expressions on their faces.
They all felt they had a chance of marrying into the Crown Prince's palace.
The Empress Dowager enjoyed watching various performances and was in a good mood.
Gu Jingchun watched the people below the stage struggling to perform, as if watching idiots dance, yet he found it all quite entertaining.
Only Shen Hechuan suffered greatly.
His inner thighs are now covered in bruises.
Whenever he turned to look at Gu Jingchun, or rather, whenever he finished a performance, Gu Jingchun would pinch Shen Hechuan's leg to remind him that it was time to "praise" him.
They clearly treated him as a tool to sell smiles.
As long as he opens his mouth and smiles, those girls will take out all their valuables.
Situ Mingji did not stand out much until the end of the banquet.
She was well aware that she didn't have a good impression in Shen Hechuan's eyes, so she planned to take things slowly.
However, she did not expect that Shen Hechuan would tolerate Gu Jingchun to this extent.
In order to ensure that Gu Jingchun could marry into the Eastern Palace smoothly, they even attributed all the credit to Gu Jingchun.
This is to create momentum for Gu Jingchun.
She's really lucky!
Situ Mingji gritted his teeth in hatred, but his expression remained impassive.
She walked out of the palace and saw Ding Jiaojiao cursing and swearing in front of her. Suddenly, she had an idea.
Ding Jiaojiao's father was originally just a minor general.
She naturally didn't have any good teachers growing up, so she didn't know anything about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting.
As a result, she had nothing to perform in today's competition.
She originally wanted to perform a sword dance, but because her costume was too complicated, it lost its beauty, and she almost fell over after stepping on her skirt.
She was ridiculed for it.
Moreover, she clearly saw the word "disdain" in Shen Hechuan's eyes.
This made her even angrier, and she cursed and swore the whole way, hating Gu Jingchun even more.
At that moment, Situ Mingji walked over and spoke seemingly casually.
"See, I was right. Gu Jingchun is no ordinary woman. She has His Highness the Crown Prince completely under her thumb."
"Moreover, they even use our things to gain a reputation for loving the people. How despicable!"
"right."
Upon hearing this, Ding Jiaojiao felt as if she had found a comrade and launched into a tirade against Situ Mingji.
Finally, Situ Mingji sighed.
"What's the use of us getting angry here? Who told His Highness the Crown Prince to follow her lead?"
Ding Jiaojiao felt even more resentful upon hearing this.
"Isn't there any other way to deal with her?"
Situ Mingji sighed.
"With His Highness the Crown Prince backing her up, no one in the world except His Majesty can deal with her."
After finishing his sentence, Situ Mingji sighed again, turned around, and left.
Ding Jiaojiao gritted her teeth in hatred.
"How infuriating! So what if His Highness the Crown Prince is backing them up?"
"I will definitely find a way to teach her a lesson."
After she finished speaking, she looked up and realized that she had unknowingly walked into the Imperial Garden.
At this time, the flowers in the Imperial Garden were in full bloom.
She couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, but unexpectedly a fierce-looking eunuch suddenly blocked her way.
"My esteemed guest, His Majesty is resting here, and no one may disturb him. Please leave."
When Ding Jiaojiao heard that Emperor Rongcheng was there, she was startled and immediately tried to leave.
But then she suddenly remembered something, turned around, and asked cautiously, "Young Master, what will happen if I insist on going in?"
The little eunuch looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"What do you think? It's a dead end, of course!"
Upon hearing this, Ding Jiaojiao immediately had an idea.
She went to a secluded spot and called over a palace maid.
After giving some instructions, he hid it away with satisfaction.
After everyone left, Gu Jingchun thought about leaving as well.
But Shen Hechuan held her hand tightly and refused to let go.
Seeing that Shen Hechuan was becoming increasingly clingy, Gu Jingchun couldn't help but coax him gently, "Alright, how about I come and keep you company again tonight?"
"Right now, I still have a lot of things to take care of!"
Shen Hechuan frowned and sighed helplessly.
"Sigh, I shouldn't have let you preside over this awful palace banquet, which has left you with no time at all. You're even busier than me, the Crown Prince."
Gu Jingchun chuckled upon hearing this.
"Then why don't you just quit being the crown prince? That way I won't have to worry about these banquets in the palace anymore, and we can just spend all our time together, how about that?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan began to think seriously.
Seeing this, Gu Jingchun shook him to stop him from thinking about it any further.
"I was just kidding, you didn't actually remember, did you?"
Shen Hechuan nodded.
"I think your idea is excellent. We can open another inn, and I'll go with you to the mountain to pick snowflakes every day, how about that?"
Gu Jingchun did indeed miss those peaceful days, and he couldn't help but nod.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
