Chapter 31
A group of noble ladies from aristocratic families took their seats, two people at a table. You Yang and You Miaoyan came from the You Mansion together, so they sat together.
Because You Miaoyan was favored by the Queen Mother, the Queen arranged her to sit in the upper middle seat. You Yang took advantage of her and sat in the second row of the women's seat.
But God knows what Youyang experienced in the half hour before entering the hall.
The backyard of Shoukang Palace was full of wolves and tigers, and everyone disliked her. She had just gotten rid of two troubles and ran into another big trouble. She almost bumped into the unruly Princess Song Anyao.
This may be the magic of the heroine in a sad novel. Wherever she goes, all the bad things seem to lock onto her and chase her to abuse her. If they can't abuse her heart, they abuse her body. Who can stand this?
After finally dodging the whip, Song Anyao clearly didn't want to let him go. If she hadn't been busy with other things, he would have been wanted for murdering the princess and traveled to the ends of the earth.
She was punished by Song Anyao to kneel for two hours. It was impossible for her to kneel down. Only a fool would kneel down obediently.
You Yang punched the air. "You look like a human, but you have a bad temper. If you were outside the storybook, I would definitely capture you and use you as a cauldron for my Second Senior Brother."
"You are so arrogant for being a princess. If you attack me, your life will be in danger. Sooner or later, your royal brother will spank you hard!"
When You Yang saw Song Anyao walking away, he immediately fled from the place of trouble. Finally, he was caught by Yuan De who was beside Song Yanting and brought to the banquet.
Along the way, Song Yan picked up her and scolded her, picking her head like a watermelon, "You kneel when I tell you to. Why don't you kneel so weak in front of me?"
"Ouch!" You Yang muttered, covering his head. "It's not like I haven't kneeled before..."
Song Yanting lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering for a moment on the velvet flower hairpin on Youyang's bun, and the emotion in his eyes could not be seen clearly.
He folded his arms and turned his back to her, "Alright, look at you, you're such a loser."
"Do you want to go with me, or go by yourself..."
"Go by yourself!" You Yang answered quickly.
Song Yan listened: "?"
Seeing that she was rejecting him like this, Song Yanting was unwilling to give in to her wishes and threatened to take her with him.
"That won't do. I must have you accompany me."
You Yang was extremely reluctant and tried everything, including standing still and squatting, but nothing worked. Song Yanting simply carried her on his shoulders and walked away.
You Yang was afraid of being seen by others because of the large crowd, so she tried to show weakness to Song Yan, who then let her go with a reluctant look on his face.
You Yang grumbled unconvincedly, "Then why are you giving me a choice?"
Song Yanting raised his eyebrows and winked at her deliberately, his tone was cheeky.
"I just want to see you being helpless against me."
You Yang was so angry, but she couldn't do anything about him. She stuck out her nose and snorted loudly at his back, then quickly passed him and turned back to follow him obediently.
Yuan De's eyes moved back and forth between the two people, not daring to say anything more. Just now, when the Fifth Princess whipped You Yang with a whip, he and His Highness were watching not far away.
His Highness's expression was cold at that time. Even though she was now his subordinate, he could still watch coldly, even if she died in front of him.
But it was not until Mu Lin, the head of the Xuanyou Guard, bypassed the layers of patrolling imperial guards and came to His Highness, and personally handed him the information about You Yang that he had investigated in the countryside in the previous half month.
Yuan De didn't know what was found out. He only knew that the prince was stunned for a long time after reading the contents of the letter.
This was the first time Yuan De saw his master show this expression, and from then on, Yuan De keenly noticed that his master's attitude towards Miss You had changed.
Song Yanting pulled the shawl that Youyang was carrying on her arm all the way, thinking that she would not be able to escape.
But he still underestimated You Yang after all.
She was as slippery as a loach and slipped away from his hand without him noticing. When Song Yan turned around, he only had a lonely shawl left in his hand.
The main hall of Shoukang Palace.
The musicians played music, and the Queen supported the Queen Mother and led several palace concubines dressed in gorgeous clothes and pearls to the table.
The queen's face was full of smiles and her words were appropriate and without any mistakes.
There were two princes sitting in the men's section. The empress dowager glanced at them and her gray brows furrowed.
"You're really becoming more and more unruly."
"Grandmother, your grandson is not late." In the hall, only the voice was heard but no one was seen. Song Yanting walked in from outside the hall in a swagger.
He saluted carelessly, and the Queen Mother pointed at him with her index finger and said angrily, "You came later than I did, so you're really hard to please."
Song Yan heard the men take their seats and replied with a smile, "That's all that matters if you come."
"Today is the flower viewing banquet for you brothers to choose your concubines. You are so late. If the girl you like is snatched away by someone else, I will not help you."
Song Yan scratched his ears and pleaded, "Grandmother, please stop nagging and let this grandson have some peace and quiet."
He spoke arrogantly, "Besides, doesn't the Royal Grandmother know what kind of girl my grandson likes? At worst, I can give them all to my grandson."
"My grandson's palace is more than enough to accommodate these concubines."
The Queen teased him at the right moment, "Yan Ting's information was not accurate. If you had known that there was a beautiful lady among the guests today, you would have come here earlier."
"Is what the Empress said true?" Song Yan's eyes lit up as he became interested. "Perhaps you would like me to see her true appearance?"
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Even after playing dumb for so many years to deal with this situation, no one can tell.
"Nonsense!" the Queen Mother scolded, "I see you're itching for trouble again. Your father hasn't punished you with a stick in just a few days, and you're trying to stir up trouble again."
Song Yanting pouted and said critically, "Eh... not only is he boring in appearance, but his personality seems boring too."
The Queen Mother was annoyed with him, "You have no manners at all. How can an ordinary girl be shown to you casually?"
"And you, Queen, too. You knew this boy was restless, yet you kept saying things to seduce him."
The Queen's smile froze, "Your Majesty is right."
When everyone was present, the Queen Mother gave the order for the banquet to begin.
When the meal was almost over, the Queen finally spoke.
"Today, many legitimate daughters from the capital who are suitable for the princes have arrived. Mother and Concubine, please take a good look at these children."
The Queen Mother glanced at her intently and said, "The eldest brother already has two concubines in the backyard. I heard that they are quite unruly and often give the Queen a headache. So today we must take a closer look. It would be nice to marry a wife to suppress them."
The Queen's expression changed, her eyes flickered, and she forced a proper smile, saying "yes" repeatedly, "Thank you, Mother, for your advice. I will pay close attention to it."
The Queen Mother turned to look at the docile Concubine Rou, "Concubine Rou, you too, don't be too picky, otherwise even the Nine Heavens Fairy might not be worthy of your precious son."
Concubine Rou dared not disobey the Empress Dowager's words, "The Empress Dowager has taught me this, and I will keep it in mind."
Concubine Liu was very happy to see these two people being humiliated in front of the Queen Mother. The resentment she felt at being ridiculed by them at the palace gate dissipated a lot.
She knew that because of the incident with Concubine Xuan, the Queen Mother had always harbored resentment towards the Queen and Concubine Rou, even to the point of disgust.
Concubine Liu smiled and stepped forward to smooth things over. "Your Majesty, your vision is truly excellent. I think all the girls here today are top-notch. I'm sure Your Majesty will not be dissatisfied."
"Besides, the master is enjoying the flowers today. The flowers in the Queen Mother's palace are blooming very beautifully. It would be better not to ruin her mood because of this.
How could the Queen Mother not know what Concubine Liu wanted to do through her? However, her little thoughts were harmless.
"Liu Fei is still sensible. I see that An Yao is old enough, and it's time for you to think more about your child's marriage. If you find someone you like, please come to me and I will help you decide."
Concubine Liu was overjoyed, "Thank you, Queen Mother!"
You Miaoyan and Liu Qianruo sat down separately, and You Yang arrived late, led by a palace maid.
You Miaoyan noticed that something was missing from her body. "Where's your shawl?"
You Yang picked a grape and put it in his mouth. After hearing what she said, he lowered his head and exclaimed, "Ah! How did my shawl disappear? It's all over. Maybe I accidentally lost it when I got lost just now."
"Sister, please wait a moment. I will ask the palace maid to help me find it."
"How reckless." You Miaoyan showed displeasure. "Whatever, it's just a shawl. If it's lost, it's lost. Our You Mansion is not so poor that we can't afford a shawl. What's the point of making such a fuss? It's shameful."
Youyang couldn't help but look at the men's seat through the screen. It was hazy and she couldn't see anyone's gaze clearly, but Youyang could always feel a pair of burning eyes staring at her.
"Fifth brother, what are you looking at?" After entering the men's seat, Song Yanting did not sit down first, but stood in front of Song Yunlan to block his view.
Song Yunlan was distracted and finally remembered that he should stand up and salute.
"Third brother."
Song Yanting nodded, put his hands on Song Yunlan's arms, pinched his strong muscles twice, and teased him, "Father has been saying that Fifth Brother has lost weight for a few days. Third Brother, it seems that's not entirely true today. You look quite strong."
"But my royal brother doesn't seem to be in a good mood."
"I haven't seen you for a few years, and my father is just concerned about me." Song Yunlan forced a smile, his heart and eyes filled with memories of Youyang's indifference towards him, and he didn't know how to explain it to his brother.
His sister is so beautiful, he doesn't want his third brother to know about her.
Song Fuyu downed the wine in his glass and said, "I heard that Fifth Brother has been investigating the matter of Chun Hongfang and the military pay recently. Perhaps he is too tired."
Song Yunlan walked down the stairs and said, "Yes, I was just tired and was stunned for a while. I hope your Majesty will forgive me for my impoliteness."
"Why are you and I saying such polite things between brothers?" Song Yanting patted Song Yunlan's shoulder in comfort.
"If you're tired, take more rest. If you're really bored, come find me. I'll take you out to have some fun and do what a man should do."
"Don't lead my fifth brother astray." As the eldest brother, Song Fuyu can put as many obstacles in the way as he wants, openly or secretly. On the surface, it is also his responsibility to restrain and discipline his younger siblings.
"Fifth brother has just reached the age of being crowned king, and the emperor has high hopes for him. Please don't teach him bad things. This will not be forgiven by the emperor punishing you with dozens or even hundreds of sticks."
Song Yan was almost dizzy from listening to this. He agreed perfunctorily, "I know, I know. I'll just play by myself."
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