The New Year's Eve banquet in the twenty-eighth year of Qilong was destined to be overshadowed by the poisoning of the prince. Most of the princes and nobles who were qualified to attend the banquet kept a low profile, and tried their best to keep their cars and clothes not against the rules. But because the crown princess was pregnant, the emperor was very fond of the unborn grandson, and everyone could not dress too plainly, so as not to make the emperor feel bad, it was also very embarrassing for them, the royal family.
Cars from various provinces rushed to the palace one after another, then looked at each other, smiled tacitly, and walked towards the banquet hall with a respectful face.
The palace maids and eunuchs in Chaoyang Palace all tightened their strings, for fear of offending a certain noble, and the palace was not very peaceful recently, so they all shrank their necks and pretended to be quails.
Hua Xiwan and Yan Jinqiu walked side by side. Although the snow on the road was being swept away by a vigorous eunuch, the snow never stopped, and the bluestone road was still a little slippery. Yan Jinqiu also took the opportunity to lead Hua. Xiwan's hand moved forward step by step, completely forgetting that she was still a maid.
Not far behind the two are the Prince Xu and Concubine Xu. Prince Xu said to the concubine next to him, "I really didn't expect Ziling to have such a side." Not bad, but compared to the way King Xian and Princess Xian get along with each other, they are far behind.
Concubine Shizi had a good impression of Hua Xiwan, so she said, "If I were a man, if I could marry such a beautiful woman, I would definitely love it very much."
Prince Xu was noncommittal. Although Princess Xian was beautiful, in his eyes, the woman around him was the best. "No matter how beautiful a beautiful woman is, it is not as good as a confidant."
Concubine Shizi's cheeks were slightly red, and she lowered her head and said, "Then for King Xian, Princess Xian is his confidant." Her hand was grasped by a warm hand, and her cheeks were even redder, but she did not break away.
Prince Ning, as a leader in the line of supporting the prince, because the prince has been acting more and more unreliably in the past six months, he was so anxious that even the corners of his mouth were bubbling. He looked at Prince Xu and Prince Xian in front of him, and thought of his own family. The cowardly eldest son, the playful eldest son, suddenly felt a little embarrassed. They were all young people. Why is there such a big difference
And the current behavior of the prince's lineage is becoming more and more irregular. If he can have more sons today, he must not wait to jump off the prince's boat. As for the current situation, not to mention embarrassing, there may be even The current scenery cannot be preserved.
Now that the prince is weak due to poisoning, it is not known whether the fetus in the prince's womb is a boy or a girl. The King of Shengjun has many supporters in the capital. Xu Wangfu seems to be watching from the sidelines and is only loyal to the emperor, but it is only a matter of appearance. King Xian didn't see anything out of line, but the female family members in the capital highly respected him, and he had a good reputation among scholars, and there was a Yue family who was stronger than the other young princes and princes. If he didn't have a second heart, he would be fine, if he had a second heart, he would be a formidable enemy.
Fortunately, the current dynasty did not have as many extras as the previous dynasty. The kings could not enter the capital without an edict. There were no titles and no fiefs. This also prevented these princes and grandsons from having their own troops in the local area, but in this way, it was also avoided. No, these princes and grandsons have formed a party in the capital, so there is no perfect thing in this world.
As long as the prince is a little more aggressive, he will not make such a good situation so passive. In the past dynasties, it is not that the emperor has only one son under his knees. Some of these princes are in high spirits, and some linger in the harem every day. There are no rivals staring at the dragon chair around.
But the current situation is different. King Shengjun is an ambitious man, but the late emperor was afraid of harming his brothers after he ascended the throne. He gave King Sheng and King Xian two favorite sons a golden book and iron scroll, and in front of many officials Let today swear that he will treat his brothers and their descendants kindly, so now King Shengjun and King Xian are the two thorns in today's heart, but they can't move easily.
I really don't know what the late emperor thought at the time, so wouldn't he be worried about the rebellion between King Sheng and King Xian? Fortunately, both King Sheng and King Xian died early, otherwise it is hard to say what the current situation is.
As for why these two princes were short-lived, maybe it was just a coincidence
"In the inner courtyard of the palace, what kind of formality is it to pull and pull," Princess Ning said with a frown, "This King Xian and Prince Xu are too inattentive." Although she is the successor of King Ning, she has a relationship with King Ning. Very good, the son is the prince again, so all the time, the waist is very straight. Ever since she learned that people outside often compare Prince Sheng, Prince Xian, and Prince Xu with her own son, she became unhappy when she saw these people.
"Young people have a good relationship, so it doesn't matter if they are close." King Ning felt a little regretful. If his son could compare to one of the two, he wouldn't have to spend so much time paving the way for his son all day. Anyway, no matter how much he was not favored by the late emperor when he was a child, but since the emperor ascended the throne, he has become the prince who is least suspicious of the emperor because he has not been favored, and has been living in peace until now. It's a pity that his son is not up to the standard, so tired that he has to help the prince, in the hope that after the prince ascends the throne, he will be more kind to his younger generation based on his achievements.
When Princess Ning heard the words, she immediately smiled and said, "Your Highness is right." She was able to squeeze out the son of her original wife and let her own son sit on the throne of the prince, because she could make Prince Ning happy, and naturally she would not go against him. speak of mind.
Ning Wang was very satisfied with her sense of interest, with a good-looking expression on her face, and continued to walk forward with her hands behind her back.
Hua Xiwan walked into the inner hall and felt a lot warmer inside. She took off the fox fur cloak from her body and handed it to Bai Xia behind her, and sat down with Yan Jinqiu in front of the table. There are dried fruits and refreshments on the table, and several musicians in the dance hall in the center of the hall are playing tunes with a sense of joy, so even though everyone has not yet arrived, there is a sense of joy in the entire hall.
The next table of the two was the Prince of Sheng and his wife, and the first table was Mr. and Mrs. Ning. Neither side was a fuel-efficient lamp, so Hua Xiwan paid extra attention when she spoke, fearing that she might fall into someone else's language trap for no reason. .
That's why she didn't want to marry into the royal family at the beginning. She had a small feast for three days and a large feast for five days. Even her words were deliberate and deliberate. Hua Xiwan held her cheek with one hand, played with two kumquats, and listened to Yan Jinqiu and Yan Boyi, who were talking to each other, without saying a word.
"You can't compare this king with the county king. You can paint at home, read books, and let me go to the Sixth Department. It will be too embarrassing for this king." Yan Jinqiu held the wine glass and raised it to Yan Boyi, "It's still free."
Hua Xiwan tilted her head and looked in the direction of Prince Sheng. She remembered that Yan Jinqiu called Prince Sheng a cousin a few months ago, but now he has become a dry prince. It seems that there is a relationship between the two. The contradictions have gradually come to the fore.
When Emperor Qilong raised Yan Jinqiu's title, didn't he just want to see this scene? Yan Jinqiu's words sounded polite, but there was a faint hint that he was a prince and the other party was just a county king. With Yan Jinqiu's usual scheming, how could he say such plain and straightforward words
It is not so much that he is deliberately making things difficult for Yan Boyi, it is better to say that he is doing something that makes Emperor Qilong satisfied.
"King Xian is polite, you are very talented, and what is incompetent for you? It's just modesty," King Shengjun still looked upright, "My little skill is nothing but an axe, how can I compare to you, King Xian? ability."
After he finished saying this, he suddenly saw a golden-red kumquat rolling out of Yan Jinqiu's desk, rolling all the way to his feet before stopping, and the conversation between the two suddenly stopped.
"Naughty," Yan Jinqiu smiled at Hua Xiwan, then peeled an orange for Hua Xiwan himself, then took the handkerchief handed by Mutong and wiped his hands, "I know you don't like kumquats, try it. Try this."
Yan Boyi glanced at the kumquat at his feet, lowered his eyes slightly and said, "It's so good for the lord to treat the princess."
"She is the one who will accompany this king for the rest of his life. This king is not good to her, but to whom?" Yan Jinqiu handed the wiped handkerchief to Mu Tong, who bowed to take it, then bent down on the ground, Picking up the kumquat that fell at Yan Boyi's feet, he silently stepped aside.
Hua Xiwan broke an orange into her mouth. Is Yan Jinqiu trying to provoke the relationship between the Prince of Shengjun and the Hou family? She took a peek, only to see Hou Shi's dignified smile, and couldn't guess what she was thinking.
Just when she was about to withdraw her gaze, Prince Sheng suddenly tilted his head, and the two looked at each other. Hua Xiwan smiled politely at him very naturally, and then continued to eat oranges.
Before entering the palace, she and Yan Jinqiu had already eaten a bowl of noodles. Anyway, this kind of palace banquet is lively, but it is difficult to eat well. In such a cold day, what kind of hot dishes and hot meals can be eaten
It's just a bunch of high-level figures wearing masks for those who don't know.
Prince Sheng didn't answer this sentence, he just smiled and drank slowly with the glass in his hand. No matter who came to see it, he looked like a gentleman. But in Hua Xiwan's eyes, no matter how upright and gentlemanly this person behaves, it's nothing more than that.
Being in the royal family, you really can't talk too much about feelings, but Yan Boyi's actions are too cold. Even if Hou Shi couldn't get pregnant again, she had paid so much for him, and she didn't ask him to never have another woman, at least she should wait until she was healthy before talking about these things.
The emperor can be ruthless, but he cannot be without the slightest benevolence, otherwise it will be a disaster for the people of the world. Therefore, in her opinion, Yan Boyi is not the best candidate for the emperor. If such a person can ascend to the throne, he can sacrifice the people around him at any time for the sake of profit.
In less than two incense sticks, almost everyone had arrived. While everyone was waiting for the empress and empress dowager to appear, the eunuch chief Ma Gonggong appeared in the hall with a stern face and announced the word of Emperor Qilong.
"The emperor has spoken, the prince is critically ill, and the state banquet is cancelled."
Is the prince critically ill? !
Suddenly there was an uproar in the hall, didn't it say that it had gradually improved
Ghostly, Hua Xiwan's eyes fell on Prince Sheng again, only to see Prince Sheng's face full of surprise, but the wine glass in his hand was steady and not spilled at all.
She looked back at Yan Jinqiu again, showing the same panicked look as him.