Status: Prince

Appearance: Beautiful face, stunning

Personality: Cold, distant, gloomy and introverted

Isn’t this the typical male protagonist of a time-travel novel?

Meng Guxue couldn't help but scream wildly in her heart. At this moment, the prince had to stand aside!

Meng Guxue was extremely grateful. She had made a fuss at home and finally got her stepmother to agree to let her come to the poetry meeting to see the world.

If she doesn't come, won't she miss her true love?

Meng Guxue was excited, a heat rolling in her chest, making her cheeks red.

As soon as the topic of the poem comes out, she will not wait any longer. She must use the best poem to astonish the Second Prince and completely win him over!

The prince held Qiao Jiaojiao and sat on the left. When he saw the second prince, he smiled and greeted him:

"My second brother is really fast. He's one step ahead of me."

This was just a casual remark from the prince, but to the sensitive and suspicious Second Prince Shen Yuanbai, it had another meaning.

The Second Prince's eyes were gloomy. The Crown Prince might think that he had overstepped the boundaries and was warning him to pay attention to respect and propriety, right?

Qiao Jiaojiao noticed a hint of sadness on the Second Prince's face and couldn't help but secretly curl her lips.

[The male protagonist must be imagining things again, right? His character is forbearing, sinister, sensitive and suspicious, a typical example of someone who uses his whole life to heal his childhood.]

[I used to feel sorry for him and everything he did was justifiable. But now from the perspective of the Qiao family, there is no pity for him at all. He is simply a living devil who will do anything to achieve his goals!]

[Whether it was shielding Duke Qing in the Spring Examination fraud case, or knowing that the river dam was going to collapse but deliberately concealing the truth in order to strike at the Crown Prince's power, or condoning his subordinates to spread the disease in Minzhou, every incident now seems extremely cruel! ]

[I think my values ​​were not right before, so I thought this kind of male protagonist was attractive! 】

[Amitabha, I have returned to the right path and will do more good deeds in this life. Please give me more merits and change my fate! ]

Qiao Tianjing just heard about the dam collapse and the epidemic in Fujian Province, and he felt dizzy. He didn't know how many people would suffer in the future.

He felt a little amused and helpless after hearing what happened next, until Qiao Jiaojiao said the four words "defy the will of heaven and change your destiny", Qiao Tianjing finally looked serious.

That’s right, the next step for the Qiao family is to defy fate and change their destiny!

"Greetings to the Crown Prince, greetings to the Second Prince."

A clear voice suddenly rang out, startling Qiao Jiaojiao who was lost in thought.

She looked up and saw a brother and sister standing between the stone tables of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

The young man in front was dressed in cloud satin brocade, with a smile on his lips, a frivolous look in the corners of his eyes, and a folding fan in his hand. He looked noble and elegant.

The girl who was one step behind was hard to look away from.

She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with rosy cheeks and a soft smile on her lips, looking very charming.

"Mr. Sheng, Miss Sheng, there's no need to be so polite."

The prince spoke softly, and Qiao Jiaojiao then realized that the brother and sister in front of them were actually Sheng Mingcheng and Sheng Xiuran from the Duke of Qing’s Mansion!

[Humph, I thought they were handsome just now, but now I take a closer look, it’s only the third month of the lunar calendar and they’re fanning themselves with a folding fan. What are they pretending to be?]

[And Miss Sheng, don't think I didn't see it, your eyes are almost glued to the hero! ]

When Qiao Tianjing heard Qiao Jiaojiao say this, he quickly glanced at Sheng Xiuran.

Upon taking a look, he saw that Sheng Xiuran's eyes were full of love, and her gaze lingered on the Second Prince for a long time.

Everyone noticed the situation here and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Everyone knew that there was no respect for hierarchy today, so no one went to pay a visit to the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. But the two from the Duke Qing's Mansion wanted to break the rules.

Are you afraid that you won't be able to flatter others on a daily basis?

Just now they were still discussing whether the title of the most beautiful woman in the capital should go to Miss Xiao or Miss Sheng. Now it seems that at least Miss Xiao has no intention of currying favor!

Meng Guxue was sitting in the corner. When she saw such a charming beauty standing in front of the second prince, she rubbed her hands in anxiety.

Her sixth sense has always been accurate. Sheng Xiuran is definitely her love rival, and a very competitive one at that!

Damn it, why hasn’t the poetry reading started yet!

Meng Guxue was feeling anxious when suddenly a startling sound of slamming a table was heard on the stage, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

After Qiao Jiaojiao learned the identities of the Sheng brothers and sisters, she lost interest in them, so she twisted left and right in the prince's arms, trying to see the scene on the stage clearly.

Seeing this, the prince gently retracted his arms to prevent Qiao Jiaojiao from falling, and then looked up at Sheng Mingcheng.

"What else does Mr. Sheng want to say?"

What I mean is, didn’t you see that you and Miss Sheng were blocking Jiaojiao?

Sheng Mingcheng wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, he decided to find a suitable opportunity to ask the prince for mercy, so he bowed and took his leave.

Before Sheng Xiuran left, her gaze lingered on the Second Prince's face.

However, the Second Prince never looked up at her from beginning to end, which made Sheng Xiuran feel very frustrated.

The dress she was wearing was made by an embroiderer from Jiangnan who spent three months sewing it stitch by stitch at the expense of several hundred taels of silver she had spent on her mother.

She dressed up today just to let him take a look at her.

Is it really as he said at the beginning, that we will just pretend not to know each other when we meet again?

Meng Guxue was paying attention to this side all the time, and when he saw Sheng Xiuran leave sadly, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows proudly.

How can such a vulgar woman catch the eye of my destined lover! No matter how gorgeously she dresses, it is all in vain!

Look at Meng Guxue's smug look, it seems as if she has already regarded the Second Prince as her own possession.

The view became wide again, Qiao Jiaojiao felt comfortable and leaned obediently in the prince's arms.

I saw two old gentlemen sitting on the stage. One was Mr. Gu Qianshan, whom I had met once during the Lantern Festival, and the other was Mr. Zhao Wenzhu, who was also highly respected.

Upon seeing this, everyone fell silent to show their respect for the two gentlemen.

In addition to the dozens of stone tables in the field, the grass behind was also filled with students who came to the capital to take the exam.

Gu Qianshan stroked his beard out of habit and said straight to the point:

"Today, let's throw away the red tape and make friends through poetry."

Zhao Wenzhu continued, "In previous years, I often wrote poems about things, lamenting the lush grass and flying orioles, and the peace and prosperity of the country. This year, Mr. Gu and I decided to do the opposite."

When this was said, most people looked surprised, while those who wanted to get ahead through the poetry reading became uneasy.

In preparation for today's poetry gathering, many of them had predicted the topics early on and wrote a few poems from scratch. Now it seems that all their efforts were wasted?

Gu Qianshan ignored everyone's reactions. He stood up suddenly, his face suddenly solemn, and said in a deep voice:

"On the Lantern Festival, I saw with my own eyes that the thieves from the Northern Kingdom sneaked into Kyoto and assassinated the Crown Prince. Their crime is unforgivable!"

"Although the Great Yong Dynasty is enjoying peace and prosperity today, we must not forget the hatred and shame of the past, and we must not forget those iron-blooded men who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield to defend their country!"

"A gentleman should be prepared for danger in times of peace, a gentleman should learn from the past, and a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement!"

"Everyone, please—"