Chapter 145 Winter Banquet 6
Chen Zhi said so, but Concubine Jia was still not giving in. When she was about to say something, Concubine Li, who had been silent all this time, glanced at her lightly with her charming fox eyes and opened her red lips: "If I remember correctly, didn't the fifth prince marry the daughter of Master Liu two months ago?"
Concubine Jia now only regretted that she was a little hasty at the beginning. Although it was useful to win over the Liu family, it was no match for having the real military power in the Duke's Mansion and the General's Mansion.
Besides, the general who guards the country is now fighting with the Turks. Even if the empress and the crown prince want to find a reason to take back the military power, they cannot do so because the tiger talisman is tightly in their hands.
Hundreds of thousands of Northern Army...who wouldn't be envious? Even if Concubine Jia doesn't want to save face today, she still wants to win people over.
After hearing what Li Guifei said, she immediately retorted, not even knowing how to lower her voice: "Doesn't Prince Ning also have a wife who dotes on him all the time? Even if Zhiniang doesn't marry the fifth prince, it won't be Prince Ning's turn, right?"
"......" Everyone was listening here. Concubine Li rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk to this stupid woman and lower her status for nothing. "This winter banquet is mainly for meeting the ladies. If you want to find a concubine for the fifth prince, you can find another opportunity to do it later. Don't steal the show here."
"You......!" Concubine Jia was so angry that she wanted to say something, but she heard the Queen say calmly: "Sister Guifei is right, stop making trouble."
The Queen's words were still majestic. Although Concubine Jia was extremely dissatisfied, she could only say aggrievedly, "I know I was wrong."
The nobles were fighting overtly and covertly, so the people below naturally did not dare to interrupt. They waited until this small conflict was over and the scene returned to harmony before continuing to talk, laugh and walk around.
The princes naturally did not take part in the quarrel between the concubines. After the queen finished her polite words and told everyone to do as they please, they spontaneously gathered together.
Although the Fifth Prince's target today was the unmarried Chen Zhi, his eyes were uncontrollably fixed on another person - even though the general's wife lowered her head slightly to avoid everyone's gaze, the sight of her slender white neck made him feel restless.
Prince Ning noticed it and turned around inadvertently to block his unscrupulous gaze: "Hasn't Fifth Brother been busy with the snowstorm in the north these days? When will you return to the capital? How come you have time to attend this winter banquet today?"
Otherwise, without his blessing, the fifth brother would not even be able to match the prince by a finger? I'm not like you, who always has everything on his face, always thinking about the pot while eating from the bowl. With this kind of character, if the general guarding the country were here, he would just come over with a heavy sword and kill you, let alone cooperate with you.
He is also competing with the crown prince for the throne.
The Fifth Prince hadn't seen enough of the beauty when his view was blocked. He frowned slightly and said unhappily, "Isn't it the same with my second brother? He came here for a winter banquet full of women."
Feng Jiuzhao didn't even blush, and half-mockingly said, "I go wherever there's excitement, isn't that how it's always been? I'm not like you guys, carrying endless official duties on your shoulders, spending your days leisurely!"
As soon as these words came out, different expressions flashed in the eyes of the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince. As the eldest brother, the Crown Prince couldn't help but remind him, "It's not a good idea for you to continue to degenerate like this. How can a man not make achievements and establish a career?"
"How can building a career be as interesting as watching the fun?" Feng Jiuzhao said unmoved: "Father gave me the title 'Ning', isn't it because he hopes that I can live a peaceful life?"
Seeing that his persuasion did not work, the prince sighed with seeming worry, but in fact he was slightly sarcastic in his heart, thinking that his second brother was indeed a useless person.
Mingming was very hardworking when he was young, and his father doted on him for a period of time. Later, probably as children were born one after another in the palace and there were more princes, he, the second younger brother, became just like everyone else.
He shook his head and thought that he should concentrate on dealing with Lao Wu, the shameless sticky candy. If he got involved, he would be unable to escape for a while. If the Rongguo Mansion really couldn't stand it and cooperated with him, the other party would have one more bargaining chip, and the balance would tip to one side...
The three princes seem to be friendly and respectful to each other, but in fact they each have their own thoughts.
On the other side, Chen Zhi, who was finally not put in front of everyone, breathed a sigh of relief. She stopped socializing and pulled her sister-in-law to find a place with few people to spend the rest of the time.
Looking at the three princes not far away, he asked curiously: "I remember there are quite a lot of princes in the palace, why are there only these three today?" Could it be that no one else is qualified to sit at the table? Are these three the only ones representative?
Shen Wangshu, who knew the inside story, gave her a brief introduction: "There are a total of ten princes and four princesses in the palace. The oldest prince is over 40 years old, and the youngest, the fourteenth prince, is only four years old. There are only four princes who have passed the age of coming of age. The seventh prince lost both legs on the battlefield three years ago. After returning, he has never appeared in public again. The remaining princes are all young kids and will not come here."
So aren't these the only ones left fighting for the throne? There aren't really that many competitors; even the Fifth Prince can come to the table and compete.
Chen Zhi nodded thoughtfully: "I see."
"Empress Jia is so weird. She wanted to take me as a concubine as soon as she saw me." She thought of what happened just now and couldn't help but complain in a low voice: "If it weren't for Empress Guifei helping me out, I really don't know what to do."
Be a concubine? It would be impossible for Chen Zhi to be someone's concubine in her life. No matter how nice the Fifth Prince's concubine sounds, she is still a concubine and will always be suppressed by the principal wife.
"Even if I marry Prince Ning, I will never marry the Fifth Prince." Chen Zhi said casually, "At least I really like His Royal Highness Prince Ning's Imperial Concubine."
“…
"Children's words are not to be guarded," Shen Wangshu warned her, "Don't say such nonsense."
Prince Ning still doesn't know where to place his sincere love for his sister, so he can't have such a strange peach blossom for no reason.
The official pairing cannot be separated!
"I know." Chen Zhi also realized that she was wrong and said quickly: "His Royal Highness Prince Ning has Madam Zhaoyang. I was just making an analogy. I don't want to marry anyone. I just want to go back to the North."
The two of them deliberately avoided everyone, and hid in corners and crevices so that no one could see or notice them, and they finally managed to make it through this winter banquet.
When leaving the palace, Chen Zhi said, "I never want to attend this kind of banquet again. It's even more terrible than the blind date banquet specially arranged by my mother."
At least the purpose of the blind date party in the North was pure, but now...she shuddered just thinking about it.
"Oh, and I think I saw the Fifth Prince staring at you for a long time. He has ulterior motives."
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