Inside the Xuanyuan Hall, the Emperor and Empress Dowager sat at the head of the table, looking with delight at Princess Chu Mo of the Chu Kingdom in the center of the hall.
The civil and military officials lined up in two rows, and even Chongning was urgently recalled from the military camp by the emperor, which shows how much the emperor valued the Chu princess.
But looking around, Xiao Xuan was nowhere to be seen.
That day, after being drugged and locked in a villa by Commander Zhou, Chu Mo had her wrists bound by iron chains as thick as a thumb. It wasn't until Chu Mo was safely brought into the Great Qi Imperial Palace that Commander Zhou ordered his men to untie the chains from her.
They changed her into men's clothing and dressed her in the palace attire of a woman from the State of Chu.
Chu Mo has a somewhat masculine appearance; rather than saying she's pretty, it's more accurate to say she's handsome.
She was neither as handsome and voluptuous as Xiao Xuan, nor as alluring as Li Chengyan; she possessed her own unique charm.
She is like a refined gentleman, yet carries a sense of aloofness and coldness. If she were to turn cold, it would inexplicably send chills down one's spine.
At this moment, the emperor spoke a few polite words to the Chu envoy with a kind smile, praising Chu Mo's beauty and elegance, and also greeting the Chu emperor. However, after talking for so long, Xiao Xuan was still nowhere to be seen.
He clearly told Xiao Xuan yesterday that the Chu princess would enter the palace today, and the investiture ceremony would be held directly in the Xuanyuan Hall.
This is what Xiao Xuan replied to him yesterday: He couldn't be bothered to let the Chu princess enter the palace, but she had no chance of entering the Eastern Palace. However, if his father liked her, he could take her into his harem.
The emperor thought Xiao Xuan was just saying it in anger, but he didn't expect that Xiao Xuan would actually not attend the investiture ceremony today.
Seeing that the ceremony would soon be disrupted, the emperor's expression grew increasingly somber.
Shen Yun, standing in the ranks of military officers below the hall, glanced at Chu Mo and sneered inwardly. This Xiao Xuan really couldn't resist the temptation of beauty. He had just married Ning Yin and then turned around and provoked the princess of Chu.
The princess had a fierce look on her face, so she must be extremely ruthless. Shen Yun suddenly became very worried about Ning Yin's situation.
He would have to find a way to see Ningyin soon. Perhaps if Ningyin heard that Xiao Xuan had taken a concubine, she would be willing to leave with him.
Besides, Jia'er said last time that when Ning Yin heard about her, her eyes were filled with tears, which clearly showed that she missed her, but she was a weak woman and could not leave the deep palace.
Shen Yun pondered in his heart that today's imperial concubine conferment ceremony would likely draw all the palace guards to the Xuanyuan Hall.
If Ning Yin is willing to leave the palace with him today, he should be able to take her out smoothly.
While Shen Yun was lost in thought, Empress Dowager Zhang above had already ordered a palace maid to present Chu Mo with the gift she had prepared.
It was a huge luminous pearl from the East China Sea, larger than an average man's fist.
The emperor also sent Chu Mo a fine gift, a top-quality celadon jade incense burner with cloud and dragon patterns.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhang valued Chu Mo's status. As long as Chu Mo was in Daqi, the Chu Kingdom would not dare to invade our borders at will.
Therefore, although this daughter-in-law is a concubine, she is still treated with the etiquette and standards of a principal wife. Moreover, when Ningyin was granted a title last time, the emperor and Empress Dowager Zhang did not give her anything.
After the two presented Chu Mo with their gifts, they noticed that Xiao Xuan still hadn't appeared. The emperor became somewhat angry and turned to the eunuch Zhuang beside him, questioning him softly.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to send someone to invite the Crown Prince? Where is he?!"
"Old servant, I sent my apprentice over there early this morning, but I didn't expect him to still not have returned."
"Useless trash, why don't you go and invite them yourself!"
After being dismissed by the emperor, Eunuch Zhuang ran all the way to the East Palace.
It takes about half an hour to walk from Xuanyuan Hall to the East Palace. Eunuch Zhuang hurried as fast as he could and finally arrived at the gate of the East Palace a quarter of an hour ahead of schedule.
At this moment, Xiao Xuan was discussing plans with Li Chengyan in Changxin Hall to deal with Xiao Ling and Marquis Wuding when he suddenly heard Eunuch Zhuang panting outside the door, requesting an audience.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has sent this old servant to invite you to the Xuanyuan Hall to attend the investiture ceremony of the Chu Kingdom's princess. Please come with me."
Inside, Li Chengyan put down his teacup, glanced at the hunched figure outside the door, and turned to tease, "Our Jingyuan is letting go of such a great beauty as the Chu Kingdom's princess, is it because he wants to remain chaste for a celestial being?"
Li Chengyan smiled slightly, but Xiao Xuan turned and glared at him. At this moment, he didn't want to hear any jokes.
“Jingyuan, whether you agree or not, the person has already entered the palace. There is no reason to let them go unchecked. If the Chu Kingdom is truly angered, with our current military strength, we are probably no match for them.”
"But don't worry, Princess Chongning and I have almost finished training the Azure Feather Army at the secret base. If we really want to fight against the Chu Kingdom, it's not impossible."
Li Chengyan rubbed his chin with one hand, staring intently at Xiao Xuan.
"A war between Qi and Chu is inevitable, but not now. Our primary task right now is to eliminate those traitors!"
Xiao Xuan's voice was deep and somber. After speaking, he got up and prepared to send Eunuch Zhuang away, but Ning Yin came in from the side door at some unknown time.
When Xiao Xuan saw Ning Yin coming over at this time, he assumed that Ning Yin wanted to question him about the matter of the Chu Kingdom princess.
But Ningyin brought Qing'er with her.
It turned out that a few days ago, Ningyin sent people to monitor Qing'er and discovered that Qing'er was from the State of Chu.
Every woman in the Chu Kingdom has a cloud-shaped mark on her body. That day, Qing'er took off her clothes and prepared to take a bath, and Su Xin discovered this mark.
Su Xin didn't understand, but Qing Ying, who had followed Xiao Xuan for many years, did. Su Xin reported the situation to Ning Yin, who then brought Qing Ying over for questioning.
Qing'er was already grateful to Ning Yin for saving her life and didn't want to keep it a secret for long, so when Ning Yin asked her, she told her everything about her situation with Chu Mo.
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