Chapter 289 The Emperor Finds Trouble at the New Year's Eve Banquet
Yang Chengchen imitated his aunt throughout the whole process, acting as if he wanted to keep a distance from strangers, and followed Zhao Lingmeng to sit in a seat slightly below Zhao Lingmeng.
After the two of them sat down, Yang Chengchen whispered to Zhao Lingmeng, "Aunt, this is so majestic!"
Zhao Lingmeng looked at Yang Chengchen winking at her and whispered back, "Isn't it impressive that you and Princess Chen entered the palace together?"
Yang Chengchen shook his head with a pretentious expression, "My mother is quite approachable, and there's always a constant stream of people coming to pay their respects. Every time I smile I feel like my face is frozen."
Zhao Lingmeng nodded in understanding. Madam Diplomacy, "That's equivalent to the duties of the Princess of Chen County!"
"Alas" Yang Chengchen actually understood, and it was because he understood that he felt a little helpless.
Zhao Lingmeng felt that Yang Chengchen was overthinking it. Some people prefer a quiet and leisurely life, while others prefer a life of power. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. Besides, you're not the Princess of Chen County, so how do you know she doesn't like these things?"
When Yang Chengchen heard his aunt say this, his eyes were filled with disbelief: "Is there anyone who would like such troublesome things?"
Zhao Lingmeng nodded affirmatively, "This is also a symbol of status and value."
"Alas, the adult world is so troublesome"
Princess Chen and Yang Chengchen took the time to look at Yang Chengchen's side, and saw that the boy, as soon as he sat down, started whispering with Princess Funing, with a very rich expression on his face, and no one went up to disturb their conversation.
"Mother, you're worrying for nothing! My brother is so happy!"
"You little scoundrel," Princess Chen muttered with a smile.
The eldest prince, Prince Chen, also followed their gaze and saw his second son. "Don't mention it, he and Funing have a really good relationship!"
Princess Chen couldn't help but roll her eyes at the eldest prince. "Go take a look at the things in Chen'er's room. Most of them were moved back from Funing. They were just exchanged for each other's hearts."
The eldest prince turned away angrily and defended himself in a low voice, "I didn't say anything."
The eldest prince knew that the princess was angry because he had agreed to let Chen'er and Funing come in together, so he tactfully stopped provoking her and chatted with the people who came to greet him.
But this free time for socializing didn't last long, as Zhao Lingmeng always came late. So it wasn't long before the New Year's Eve dinner officially began.
The routine is the same every year: everyone dresses up and waits for the Emperor and Empress to appear. Then the Emperor speaks, then the Empress speaks, and then everyone toasts and salutes the Emperor. Finally, everyone has free time to eat, drink, and watch the singing and dancing, which is also the best time for people to build relationships.
But when the Third Prince Yang Jingluo, accompanied by his wife, child, and Zhao Shuiyun, came forward to toast, the Emperor suddenly flew into a rage and smashed the wine glass in his hand. "How dare you! Are you cursing me and the Jing Kingdom?"
Everyone present, bewildered or not, knelt down. Before Zhao Lingmeng knelt, she pulled Yang Chengchen, who hadn't reacted yet, and told him to kneel down as well. There couldn't be any mistakes at this moment.
The Third Prince and his wife also knelt down immediately, "Father, you are wronged! I dare not do that. This is my sincere blessing."
Zhao Lingmeng was kneeling and very confused. It was just a common blessing, how could the emperor find fault with it?
Could it be that the male protagonist did something to anger the emperor, and the emperor is taking advantage of the situation to make trouble?
Upon seeing this, Rongpin immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, please calm down. How could our Luo'er have such a rebellious idea? He is sincerely blessing her."
The emperor did not want to hear others plead for the Third Prince, he just wanted to make a quick decision, "Stop quibbling, this unfilial son just can't stand seeing me doing well! Just remove his title and let him return home to reflect on his mistakes!"
When the Third Prince heard the Emperor say this, he looked at him in disbelief and said, "Father!"
"Okay, go away!" The emperor was very reluctant to see his third son at this moment. Seeing him would remind him that this son wanted his position at any time.
Seeing the emperor so furious, everyone present felt that there must be something else going on, and for a moment, no one came forward to plead for mercy. Those from other factions didn't want to get involved in this mess. The Third Prince's faction, however, felt that there must be something else going on and was prepared to wait until the situation was clear before taking action.
Although everyone at the scene had their own plans, they were surprisingly unanimous and no one came out to plead for mercy.
Zhao Shuiyun was completely bewildered. They were just toasting, but why was the Third Prince's title suddenly being revoked? She felt like something was up. She thought about it quickly; she hadn't heard the Third Prince mention anything he'd done recently.
The only thing was that a few days ago, when the eldest sister returned to Yuanjing, the Third Prince's men stopped the eldest sister's carriage. When Zhao Shuiyun thought of this, she felt like she knew why.
She immediately knelt and crawled in front of Zhao Lingmeng, "Sister, for the sake of blood is thicker than water, please let us go!"
For a moment, everyone at the scene looked at Zhao Lingmeng, especially the Third Prince and Concubine Rong, whose eyes were filled with poison when they looked at Zhao Lingmeng.
Before Zhao Lingmeng could react, Yang Chengchen immediately spoke up: "How dare you! What are you biting? Who knows what bad things you have done? Now you are trying to touch Auntie Ci."
Seeing Yang Chengchen protecting his elder sister, Zhao Shuiyun felt even more resentful. Why did her elder sister have such good luck? "Prince Ruihe, you are just a junior. I advise you not to get involved in the affairs of your elders."
Zhao Lingmeng immediately pulled Yang Chengchen behind her to protect her. She also slowly changed her kneeling position and said, "You are just a concubine. How can you have the face to be an elder of the dignified Ruihe County Prince? I advise you not to be like a mad dog, biting whoever you catch."
The emperor also noticed Zhao Lingmeng's change of kneeling position. Looking at Zhao Lingmeng's casual demeanor, the emperor felt that his anger had subsided a lot. This might be the saying that if you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door!
The people at the scene saw that even at such a tense moment, Princess Funing was able to change her kneeling position without changing her expression. They all thought she was so domineering.
What surprised everyone even more was that when the Emperor saw Princess Funing change her posture, he said, "Funing is weak, get up and sit down to answer! Chen'er, why don't you help your aunt get up quickly?"
Zhao Lingmeng smiled and thanked him, "Thank you, father, for understanding me!"
Yang Chengchen immediately responded happily, "Yes," and helped Zhao Lingmeng to sit up. He also benefited from it and could sit down too.
Not to mention what the people present were thinking, even Princess Huaishu, kneeling nearby, was biting her cheek until it hurt. Her father was concerned about Funing's discomfort while kneeling, but did that mean they were comfortable kneeling? She glared at Zhao Lingmeng, who was sitting there, in dissatisfaction.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
