You Yuji was sitting in a carriage with the Jinnan Princess and her daughter. She sat alone on one side, and the mother and daughter sat opposite her.
Chen Lingyan glanced at You Yuji, and thinking of the veiled dancing partners that You Yuji was going to bring into the palace today, she asked, "Why do you suddenly want to perform again? Showing filial piety is a good thing. But you have to be careful and don't dance those indecent dances. Don't lose face for our palace."
"Lingyan." The princess frowned and gave him an accusing look.
Chen Lingyan curled her lips and lowered her head to start eating candied fruit. She had always been unwilling to disobey her mother, but she was still unwilling to accept it in her heart. From the beginning, she, like her brother, did not welcome this woman with improper behavior.
She and her brother had seen this woman and Zhao Sheng walk into a room. Her brother was generous and didn't want to tell anyone about it, fearing that it would ruin the woman's reputation and make her commit suicide. After all, it was a life. But she felt really annoyed when she thought of her brother swallowing his anger.
The carriage stopped in front of the palace gate.
Many carriages of the royal family were parked outside the palace gate. Some high-ranking ministers were also among the invited guests today. There were many people at the palace gate.
As soon as You Yuji got off the carriage, she vaguely heard a commotion in front of her. Even if it wasn't the Queen Mother's birthday banquet today, not everyone would dare to make a commotion at the palace gate.
Chen Lingyan complained on the side: "You are so blind, you should be thrown into jail. What nonsense are you talking about, really..."
Princess Jinnan ordered the people around her to check, and they soon came back to report.
"It was Princess Huarong who was scolding the guards at the palace gate. The details are still unknown."
When Chen Lingyan heard that it was Princess Huarong, she immediately shut up.
The princess turned her head to look at You Yuji and whispered, "On a day like today, everyone present will be upright, cautious, polite and kind. Only Princess Ronghua will not be too cautious. Once you meet her, be careful with your words and try to go along with her."
"Yes." You Yuji lowered her eyes and nodded.
In fact, without the princess's reminder, You Yuji also knew how Princess Huarong behaved. Not only her, but everyone in the world knew Princess Huarong's temperament.
Emperor Chen had four sons and one daughter. Princess Huarong was the youngest daughter. She had been unruly and headstrong since she was young. Even after she got married and had children, her temper did not change at all. The pain of losing her daughter many years ago made her temper even more violent and mean.
Before the banquet started, the princess took her daughter and You Yuzhi to pay a visit to the Queen Mother Dong.
Many female relatives were already standing in the Queen Mother's palace, and there was laughter and joy in the palace. You Yuji followed the princess silently, greeted each other, and after completing the process, she sat silently beside the princess.
You Yuji looked at Princess Huarong. Unlike the others who were all smiling, she had a dull expression and was cracking pumpkin seeds by herself. Perhaps it was because her temperament was not very good, and the harshness was written between her eyebrows.
You Yuji withdrew her gaze.
She didn't enter the palace today just to join in the fun.
She wants Qi Mingcheng's life.
"Songwen." Princess Huarong called the head maid in an unhappy tone, "It's too noisy, open the window."
The laughter in the room paused for a moment.
Princess Huarong was too lazy to look at their fake smiles. She stood up, bowed, and said, "Grandmother, I feel tired. I'm going to the side hall to rest for a while."
The Empress Dowager Dong, who was sitting at the top, nodded slowly. At such an old age, every move of the Empress Dowager Dong became very slow. It was unknown how much of the laughter in the room she could understand.
The people in the room chatted and laughed for a long time, and it seemed that the time was almost up. The old eunuch from the palace came in with a hunched back, and with a smile on his face, he asked everyone to move to the Jinchen Palace that they had imagined for today.
Princess Jinnan had not been feeling well since the beginning of winter, and she came to the banquet today because she had to. Due to her discomfort, she did not speak much, and walked behind when she left.
You Yuji followed behind the princess and glanced back casually, and saw the maid in the palace go to the side hall, perhaps to invite Princess Huarong.
You Yuji withdrew her gaze.
Arriving at the Jinchen Hall, You Yuji took a seat politely and looked around the hall. The Jinchen Hall had already been decorated for the Queen Mother Dong's birthday banquet.
The seats of the Empress Dowager Dong, His Majesty, and the Empress were placed on the high ground opposite the palace gate. The banquet tables for the royal family and court officials were placed on both sides. In the middle was a slightly higher platform, which was where the people who would present gifts would perform. On the platform, facing the seat at the top, were longevity peaches. The longevity peaches were stacked high one by one.
You Yuji glanced around and saw Qi Mingcheng. He was smiling and talking to two young gentlemen beside him.
Except Chen Xun, several other princes walked into the hall together.
Seeing the arrival of several princes, those sitting in the hall guessed that His Majesty had finished his work and would come over for a banquet soon.
Chen Yinian was talking to Chen Qi. After he finished speaking and waited for a while but got no response, he turned to look at Chen Qi. He put his hand on Chen Qi's shoulder and called out, "Third Brother?"
Chen Qi came back to his senses, turned to look at him, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Chen Yinian didn't say anything. He looked around the hall and roughly found the place where Chen Qi's eyes had just been, and saw You Yuji. Chen Yinian suddenly understood. He smiled and said, "I heard that the third brother's wedding is coming soon?"
Chen Qi frowned.
"Third brother, there are so many women in the world, why bother?" Chen Yinian could only say this euphemistically.
"What are you two whispering about?" Chen Lian looked over and smiled.
Chen Anzhi also looked over.
Chen Yinian said, "I just told my third brother that I don't know if the sixth brother has taken a fancy to any girl."
Chen Lian was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Fifth brother, you should just worry about yourself."
Chen Anzhi also smiled and said, "Old Six is only fourteen, so Old Five is more anxious."
Chen Yinian listened to the two of them teasing him, but he didn't respond. This was to bring the topic to himself, saving Chen Qi from trouble. He really didn't like to see brothers at odds, especially because of a woman. In his eyes, that woman had become the fourth sister-in-law, and it was wrong for the third brother to still think about her. If it was someone else's wife, it was okay to snatch her away. But a brother's wife, that was something that could never be touched.
Chen Qi remained silent until he sat down.
Of course, he never looked at You Yuji again. He knew that this was inconvenient and would bring trouble to himself and her.
Chen Qi took the wine from the palace maid, shook the glass gently, and then drank the spicy wine in the glass. The spicy taste of the wine slid through his throat, bringing out a bit of warmth.
Listening to the voices of Chen Anzhi and Chen Lian, Chen Qi raised his head and drank a glass of wine again, feeling a lot of resentment in his heart. He really didn't understand why Chen Anzhi treated You Yuji like this, disregarding the dignity of a woman. He was even worried that in an occasion like today, someone would mock You Yuji.
This is not what men do.
Since the last time he met You Yuji and made up his mind, Chen Qi silently made a lot of preparations.
He would not even look at You Yuji at this moment, which would bring unnecessary trouble to both of them. But this did not mean that he would give up on rescuing her.
On the contrary, he was almost ready.
He didn't want to get this woman, he just wanted her to be happy. He knew that You Yuji didn't have him in her heart, so he wouldn't do anything to take her away by force.
But he had to save her and leave the capital, the place of trouble that made her sad.
Soon, the Queen Mother and the Emperor and Empress arrived. Everyone in the hall stood up and knelt to pay their respects.
His Majesty smiled and ordered that there was no need for formalities today. He personally helped the elderly Queen Mother to sit down at the top seat.
After the long eulogy, a series of birthday performances were performed. Most of the women of Emperor Chen were gentle and reserved, and few chose to perform singing and dancing, but there were many who did calligraphy, painting and embroidery, and some even hand-wrote birthday eulogies to present to the Queen Mother Dong.
You Yuji sat in her seat, looking at the pipa performance going on on the stage. Her eyes passed over the performers and fell on the longevity peaches piled high behind the stage.
You Yuji's performance was reported later. Qi Mingcheng stood in the distance, squinting his eyes, and saw You Yuji in the crowd. He waved his hand and asked the guards beside him to ask You Yuji about the new program.
The guard went over to ask, and You Yuji slightly turned her head to the princess and said, "Princess, King Kang Jing asked about the gift. I will go over to tell you the details."
"Yeah." The princess nodded randomly.
She had just eaten a piece of cake and was feeling inexplicably nauseous at the moment, so she didn't pay much attention to what You Yuji said.
You Yuji walked past the banquet tables and headed towards Qi Mingcheng.
People who were admiring the right prime minister's daughter's crackling dance could not help but look away and follow You Yuji. There was not much expression on her face, and she walked slowly through the banquet tables. People couldn't help but focus on her, watching her gradually approach, her beauty coming from far away. Until she passed by and continued to walk forward. People sat upright, not wanting to lose manners and looking back, their eyes slowly fell on her long skirt.
The soft light purple skirt spread on the ground, creating a beautiful scene as she walked slowly.
Chen Anzhi was sitting with several princes. He also noticed something strange in the guest seats and looked over in surprise. He was stunned by the purple figure for a moment, but when he realized that it was You Yuji, his face suddenly turned cold. He slowly clenched his hands on his knees, and he was angry and silently blamed himself in his heart - she had to show off deliberately in such an occasion, which was simply unfaithful to her husband!
Perhaps she was used to it, You Yuji didn't pay much attention to the gazes on her. She walked up to Qi Mingcheng and said softly, "There happened to be a dance suitable for celebrating a birthday, so I added it temporarily."
Qi Mingcheng already knew that You Yuji had brought many women wearing veils to dance with him, so he asked, "Will it be the dancers brought by the Crown Princess, or will it be the Crown Princess herself who will perform?"
"I will dance in person." You Yuji's red lips slowly curled up and she lowered her voice, "As for those dancers, they are not just there to dance with me."
Qi Mingcheng stared at the smile on You Yuji's lips and slowly frowned.
You Yuji's voice became lower and lower: "Didn't the prince say that he hoped to do something convenient for you at the right time?"
Qi Mingcheng was startled, and then stunned. He quickly recalled the veiled women he had glanced at. Could Princess Que be hiding among them
Qi Mingcheng's eyes widened instantly, staring at You Yuji in front of him in disbelief. She hid Princess Que among those dancers, and wanted to do this in the palace today
Is she crazy
You Yuji looked at him with a smile. Her expression was gentle as usual, but at this moment, it looked more like a provocative smile to Qi Mingcheng.
"After the dance, my dance partners will go to the side room to change clothes. At that time, I will ask the maidservant beside me to lead the prince. If it is inconvenient for the prince, then forget it."
You Yuji smiled gently. After saying this, she turned around and walked back slowly.
When You Yuji returned to her seat, the daughter of the right prime minister, who was playing the pipa, had just finished her performance. She stood up, and the guests at the banquet cheered.
"You play the pipa really well." You Yuji nodded in praise.
There was a faint smile between You Yuji's eyebrows.
She was a very generous person, even if someone offended her in a small matter, she didn't care much. Just like when she first entered the palace, the two concubines made sarcastic remarks, but she understood their backgrounds and living environment, and didn't care.
And rarely do they have the intention to kill.
Just as no matter how much she hated Chen Anzhi, she never thought of killing him. Didn't she know that without Chen Anzhi, she and her concubines would be better off
She knows.
Just not to that extent.
No matter how annoying Chen Anzhi was, he never wanted to kill her. She never wanted to kill him, not because she thought it was difficult, but because she thought it was not necessary.
Qi Mingcheng was the one person she rarely felt the urge to kill.
Once the murderous intent arises, it cannot be extinguished.
The author has something to say: 88 red envelopes will be randomly dropped from readers who leave comments on both this and the next chapter of today's double update, fuck