"The prince is naughty, please forgive me, sisters." Yuchi Yanxia also bowed generously, "Today's gathering is to talk about the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. The third prince plays the zither very well, and he will definitely be favored by more girls that day."
Everyone nodded in agreement. This girl was more attracted to men who were good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Duanmu Jinhong didn't say anything. Who in the palace didn't know the real purpose of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet? His mother, Concubine Ya, also told him to pay more attention to the daughters of Prime Minister Lin or General Yuchi. Marrying with them would be of great benefit. The queen was from Yuchi's family.
"Dad." Duanmu Qingchen started to call Emperor Cheng dad again. Emperor Cheng was in a good mood today. He liked Duanmu Qingchen very much. He even pointed at Duanmu Qingchen and said to the other concubines with a smile: "Look at him, look at him, how can he look like a prince? He just likes to call me dad, not father."
Concubine Zhuang interrupted again: "Your Majesty, that's because the Crown Prince is approachable and he loves you more. Although the royal family should pay attention to etiquette, doesn't this etiquette create more distance between us and our children? The Crown Prince calls you daddy, which sounds more intimate."
"Empress Zhuang understands me!" Duanmu Qingchen gave Concubine Zhuang a thumbs up.
Concubine Zhuang's words made Emperor Cheng feel more comfortable.
Concubine Ya watched with a faint smile at the side, and at this moment, a trace of contempt arose in her heart. This Concubine Zhuang only knew how to say nice things.
Duanmu Qingchen looked at Chengdi with a smile: "Dad, I want to ask, during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, can I... invite a girl to come?"
"Oh?!" Emperor Cheng and the Empress were both overjoyed. The "second-generation ancestor" finally had a girl he liked?! Regardless of their status, men in the Qian Dynasty had three wives and four concubines. If the girl could control the heart of their silly son, they could marry her as a concubine first.
"Who is it? Which official's daughter? Is she from our Yuchi family, or from Prime Minister Lin's family? Or is she another official's daughter?" Yuchi Yanxia didn't have as many thoughts as Emperor Cheng. She just wanted to know which girl had captured her son's heart. She couldn't help but look at Emperor Cheng, "Your Majesty is wise. Let Chen'er go out more often so that he can find a girl he likes."
Emperor Cheng was happy, but also a little worried. Could it be that the girl that his playful son had chosen was also a playful girl like him? If she was a playful girl, how could she be a child of a decent family
Duanmu Jinhong rolled his eyes and sneered. What good stuff could this dissolute prince like? Maybe she was the most beautiful girl in some brothel. He would just wait and see.
Duanmu Qingchen also smiled a little embarrassedly: "She is not a daughter of an official, but she serves in my Qian Dynasty. She can be said to be a heroine, a rare and extraordinary woman!" Duanmu Qingchen was a little excited. Although he liked Lian Youyou, he really didn't think as much as Emperor Cheng and his mother.
After all, with Hei Yan's warning and his brother Fu Mingrui's love, he would not steal her love, and he didn't dare to do so! He had already kept his distance from a magical woman like Lian Youyou. He invited Lian Youyou this time for his dull brother who was not good at romance.
Although, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, that if Lian Youyou fell in love with him, he would do his best to take the lead.
"Serve?" Emperor Cheng, the Empress, and others all looked puzzled.
Duanmu Jinhong looked at Duanmu Qingchen suspiciously. Could it be that he was interested in a palace maid? Only palace maids with official positions in the Qian Dynasty could serve. Humph, this dissolute prince, isn't this expected? The three thousand beauties in the palace are all the emperor's women.
"Can women from our Qian Dynasty become officials?" Duanmu Yaxin looked at others in confusion.
"Any palace maid can do the job." Concubine Ya smiled elegantly and said, then she looked at Duanmu Qingchen and asked, "Which palace maid has the prince taken a fancy to?"
"But how can a palace maid be called a remarkable woman?" Duanmu Ruifeng expressed his confusion. His confusion also attracted the attention of Duanmu Jinhong. Although Lao Wu was simple-minded, what he said was right. The palace maids in this palace all strictly abided by the palace rules. Where did the remarkable women come from? If anyone dared to seduce the prince, he would be beaten to disability.
Duanmu Qingchen's unruly face actually showed a hint of shyness, and he looked at Chengdi with a smile: "Dad, you are most familiar with the place where this girl works." Duanmu Qingchen began to raise his eyebrows at Chengdi in an inappropriate manner again.
This ambiguous look made the concubines speculate. Why did it seem wrong the more they listened
Empress Yuchi Yanxia was already intrigued by Duanmu Qingchen, and couldn't help asking, "Chen'er, stop being mysterious. Where does this girl work? What's her name?!"
Duanmu Qingchen smiled at Emperor Cheng's still suspicious face and said, "It's the Nine Gates of the Imperial Palace, Lian Youyou."
When Duanmu Qingchen said the four words "Nine Gates of the Imperial Palace", Emperor Cheng's face suddenly changed, and his original joy was instantly covered by gloom, as if the sky was sunny just now, but suddenly the sky changed color and dark clouds came!
Everyone in the entire waterside pavilion noticed the sudden change in Emperor Cheng's expression, and because the change came so quickly, everyone could see that Emperor Cheng was unhappy and gloomy at the moment, and even had a bit of anger!
"You are the one who got to know Lian Youyou during the Ma Yun case, right?" Emperor Cheng's words suddenly became stern, as if he was questioning.
The cool autumn wind blew everyone's hair. The concubines dared not say much and lowered their eyes. Duanmu Yaxin showed a trace of fear and approached the brothers Duanmu Ruifeng and Duanmu Yankang. The two brothers looked at the third brother who had always been at odds with Duanmu Qingchen.
Duanmu Jinhong's eyes flickered. Everyone in the palace had heard of the Ninth Gate, but they all kept silent about it. Because they were not familiar with the Nine Gates, they had never mentioned it specifically. But when Duanmu Qingchen mentioned it today, Emperor Cheng's expression suddenly changed. This Nine Gates was definitely not simple.
Duanmu Qingchen saw the sudden change in Emperor Cheng's tone. Although he knew in his heart that Emperor Cheng was unhappy at the moment, he still had a playful smile on his face: "Oh! Dad, it seems that Miss Lian is very famous. You know about her, so you should know how magical she is. In fact, I want to invite more than just her. I want to invite all the extraordinary people from the Nine Gates to the palace. It will also show that you value them, right? The Nine Gates have made so many extraordinary achievements, they should be praised." Duanmu Qingchen continued to raise his eyebrows at Emperor Cheng, but he was actually a little nervous. These Nine Gates would not be shameful, right
Emperor Cheng narrowed his eyes and stared at him for a while, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped the tea table in front of him.
"Pah!" With a clanging sound, the fruit plate on the tea table jingled, startling the empress sitting next to Emperor Cheng, Yuchi Yanxia, who was born in a military family. Yuchi Yanxia immediately looked at Emperor Cheng, her eyes full of deep thought, why did her son anger Emperor Cheng just by mentioning the Nine Gates? And where did Emperor Cheng's anger come from? (To be continued)