Chapter 222: During the Banquet

Stepping over the threshold, Bai Ying paused, and the eunuchs on both sides quickly supported her. The Emperor, who had just stepped out, also turned around.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” he asked.

Bai Ying smiled and shook her head: “It’s just that I haven’t left Hanliang Palace for a long time, and I’m a little… not used to it.”

The Emperor smiled: “Come, I’ll help you.” He extended his hand as he spoke.

Bai Ying smiled and nodded, placing her hand in the Emperor’s, obediently following him out.

The consorts outside the hall had been waiting for a long time. Seeing this scene, they were envious and bowed even more respectfully.

The banquet was held in Linde Hall this time. Zhang Ze was waiting by the roadside from afar, and seeing the Emperor approaching, he went forward to greet him.

“The Imperial Bell has been hung, and Xuanyangzi has sent a lucky bag for the Prince,” he said, extending a lucky bag sealed with yellow paper.

The Emperor took it with satisfaction.

Bai Ying hurriedly brought the child to the Emperor: “Come, there are many people today, let’s put on the amulet for peace and soul-settling.”

The Emperor smiled and put it on the Prince.

Bai Ying secretly pinched the child’s leg. The child, who had been stiffening his neck and looking around with wide eyes, immediately started crying.

“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?” she said, swaying and coaxing him, “Don’t be afraid, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

The Emperor reached out: “Come, let me hold him.”

Bai Ying seemed helpless and handed the child over. When the Prince was in the Emperor’s arms, he was coaxed and stopped crying.

“This child, he can’t leave Your Majesty,” Bai Ying said with feigned annoyance.

The Emperor laughed loudly, holding the child in his arms: “It’s right that he can’t leave, he’s my Prince! Come, I’ll carry you into the hall. It’s our Prince’s first time seeing so many people, Father will hold you so you won’t be afraid—”

He walked forward with the child in his arms.

Bai Ying didn’t stop him, following slowly a step behind.

“I’ve found out what Princess Jinyu is planning to do,” Zhang Ze whispered beside her.

Bai Ying looked at the Emperor ahead with a smile: “What?”

Zhang Ze smiled: “She wants to choose a spouse for Li Yu.”

Bai Ying frowned at him: “Choose a spouse? What do you mean by choose a spouse?”

Zhang Ze said: “It means that whoever she fancies, regardless of whether the other party is willing or not, she wants to force this marriage.”

Bai Ying understood: “She wants to do it in front of His Majesty and everyone, so the other party can’t back out. Is this a marriage or a feud? Which family is so unlucky to be chosen by her?” She laughed, “Whoever it is, remember to lend her a hand and add some excitement to my banquet.”

Zhang Ze bowed and replied, “Yes.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Inspector General, to make this Hundred Days Banquet a complete success,” Bai Ying said with a smile. She then caught up with the Emperor, and seeing that they were about to enter the hall, she reached out and said, “Your Majesty, let me hold the child, you go in first.”

The Emperor looked at the chubby child in his arms and smiled, holding her hand: “It’s our Prince’s Hundred Days Banquet, let’s go in together as a family.”

Accompanied by the sound of drums and music, everyone in Linde Hall welcomed the imperial procession. After the courtesies were exchanged, the male and female guests took their seats. After a round of congratulations and well wishes, the music and dancing started again, and the hall became noisy and lively.

“…His Majesty personally carried the Prince in.”

“He’s really raising the child himself. It seems that after the Hundred Days Banquet, this Prince will be granted a title.”

“Not just the child, didn’t you see His Majesty holding Consort Bai’s hand…”

“…Really? Are you making this up? How is that possible!”

The person who was praising the Emperor and Consort Bai’s love was immediately unhappy and turned to look at the person speaking behind them: “How am I making it up? Didn’t His Majesty enter hand in hand with Consort Bai, and his eyes haven’t left her since… You weren’t even looking!”

Two people were sitting at the table behind them, whispering to each other, their heads down.

Hearing the questioning from the person in front, they looked up, their expressions somewhat bewildered: “What?”

“What are you talking about?” the person who spoke earlier frowned, “Weren’t we talking about His Majesty and Consort Bai?”

One of them then glanced towards the throne and saw the Emperor sitting and talking to Princess Jinyu. Bai Ying, because she was not the Empress after all, and was not pregnant at the moment, was only sitting in the back with the other consorts according to her rank.

For the Emperor to be gazing at her lovingly, he would need to keep turning his head, which wouldn’t be easy… And how the Emperor interacted with his consorts wasn’t really something to care about.

“No, we were talking about someone else,” the person whispered.

The people attending the banquet were either old married couples or unmarried children, and they were seated separately. How could there be any loving gazes worth gossiping about? The person who spoke earlier was unconvinced: “Who?”

That person exchanged glances with the person beside them, revealing a strange smile.

“What are you smiling about?” More people were intrigued and asked, “Who is it?”

The person coughed lightly, looked around, and then raised their chin: “Look, what is Marquis Zhou’s Heir doing?”

Marquis Zhou’s Heir? Several people followed his gaze, past the passing palace maids and the flying apsaras dancers, and saw Zhou Jingyun in a silver-white round-collar robe standing by the right corridor pillar, smiling and talking to someone.

The other person was also dressed in plain brocade robes, but with a bright red sash and a gold crown.

Standing together, they were dazzling, instantly eclipsing everyone and everything else in Linde Hall.

“Marquis’s Heir,” Li Yu smiled and bowed.

Zhou Jingyun nodded in return, his gaze passing over Li Yu’s shoulder. A palace maid behind him leaned forward, handing over a tray.

“Marquis’s Heir, please,” Bai Li said.

Zhou Jingyun smiled and picked up a cup of wine from the tray.

“She didn’t notice you, did she?” he asked.

Bai Li smiled: “Of course not.”

“She’s following me as a maid from the Prince of Chu’s Residence,” Li Yu said. “The Princess and I are both entitled to bring our own maids into the palace.”

“It’s even more convenient once we’re inside the palace,” Bai Li said.

Indeed, the palace was full of palace maids, and she was like a grain of sand in the sea. She had pretended to be a palace maid in the palace before and even snatched the little princess from Wang Degui’s hands.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her with a smile, and Bai Li smiled back.

“Why didn’t Madam come?” she asked, glancing around.

“She doesn’t want to enter the Imperial City anymore,” Zhou Jingyun said.

Bai Li thought of something and sighed: “It’s my fault that she’s suffering.”

Zhou Jingyun shook his head: “It has nothing to do with you, it’s because of those people.”

Bai Li knew who he was referring to: Shen Qing.

It was Shen Qing who had drawn her into this, creating attachment, worry, and pain. It wasn’t her fault, she didn’t need to blame herself.

He was comforting and consoling her.

Bai Li pursed her lips and smiled, nodding: “It’s good that she didn’t come, this place is a mess, it’s not a good place.”

✿✿✿

Li Yu watched the two of them from the side. He originally wanted to interject, but suddenly felt he couldn’t. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, he could say whatever he wanted. But looking at Bai Li’s smiling face, he couldn’t bear to interrupt. He hesitated for a moment and gently tugged at Bai Li’s sleeve.

Bai Li looked at him, and Zhou Jingyun also looked at him.

“I’ll go back to the Princess,” Li Yu said. “So she won’t notice you.”

“Go ahead,” Bai Li said. “Do whatever she tells you to do, I’ll be watching you.”

Li Yu said “Okay” and bowed to Zhou Jingyun: “I’ll be going now.”

Zhou Jingyun nodded with a smile, watching Li Yu leave.

“Is it alright for him not to be by her side?” he asked softly.

“If he stayed by her side, he would definitely be driven away. It’s more convenient to observe from a distance,” Bai Li said, smiling again and raising the wine pot in her hand. “Marquis’s Heir, would you like another cup?”

Zhou Jingyun smiled and handed over his wine cup.

“Aunt,” Li Yu handed over a plate of snacks and sat down next to Princess Jinyu, then looked back.

Princess Jinyu followed his gaze and saw Zhou Jingyun not far away being served wine by a palace maid.

“What were you talking to him about?” she asked, also seeing Li Yu run over to talk to Zhou Jingyun. “He’s really trying to get close to you.”

She naturally knew about Zhou Jingyun going to the pleasure boat for entertainment and was a little unhappy. After all, the pleasure boat was considered hers, and Li Yu was also her subordinate. What was the use of getting close to Li Yu? Why didn’t he come directly to her? Did he despise her for being a woman and having a bad reputation?

Li Yu shook his head and smiled, saying: “He’s not really that close to me. He’s just looking for a place to have fun and relieve his boredom.”

He looked at Zhou Jingyun again… over there.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Bai Li, standing beside Zhou Jingyun and holding the wine pot, looked at him and smiled faintly.

Li Yu smiled too.

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

“Looking back every three steps…”

“See, he sat down and looked over there again—”

“Oh my, oh my, he’s smiling at Zhou Jingyun again—”

“You can’t say that, look over there, there are a few people smiling at Zhang Ze too…”

“That’s not the same! This is the Prince of Chu and Marquis Zhou’s Heir…”

“Silang!”

Amidst the giggling and chatter of the men, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out. At the same time, a fragrance drifted closer. The laughing men hurriedly looked up and saw two young women in jackets and skirts with long flowing sashes standing over. They were the younger sisters of one of the men.

“Wuniang, Liuniang, why are you wandering around instead of staying at the women’s table?” the man called Silang sat up straight and said with a stern face.

“Father has been granted permission to personally congratulate the Prince,” Wuniang said. “He sent us to call you.”

“What were you talking about?” Liuniang asked curiously.

Silang waved his hand: “What’s not proper to hear, don’t listen.” He then stood up. Although they could attend the banquet, not everyone had the opportunity to speak to the Emperor in person. He couldn’t miss this chance.

The man followed his two sisters through the banquet hall towards the front, where his parents were already waiting.

“…Silang, I heard you talking about the Prince of Chu and Marquis Zhou’s Heir,” Liuniang said with a giggle. “Are you also discussing who’s more handsome?”

“No,” Silang said with a straight face. “We’re not women.”

Liuniang pouted and spoke to her sister: “Who do you think will get married first? I wonder how long the Marquis’s Heir will mourn for his deceased wife…”

Silang chuckled at this: “It’s not certain who he’s mourning for.”

What did he mean? The two sisters stared at him, demanding an explanation. But Silang refused to say anything. Amidst their giggling and chatter, their parents scolded them: “Shut up, behave yourselves, Madam Zhu is coming.”

They hurriedly looked and saw an elderly woman slowly approaching, guided by eunuchs. This was the wife of Prime Minister Zhu Xingjian.

Prime Minister Zhu Xingjian had made great contributions to supporting Prince Changyang’s ascension to the throne, and the Emperor relied heavily on him. His position was prominent.

In the past two years, Prime Minister Zhu had excused himself from court due to illness, but his favor with the Emperor had not diminished in the slightest. The Emperor had visited the Zhu residence many times to see the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Zhu didn’t come, but Madam Zhu wasn’t alone. Behind her was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, dressed in finery, with outstanding beauty.

“It’s the Zhu family’s youngest daughter, Shijiuniang,” Wuniang whispered.

✿✿✿

…….

“…Shijiuniang has grown up so much,” Princess Jinyu looked at the girl and said with a smile. “She’s becoming more and more beautiful.”

Madam Zhu bowed to Princess Jinyu: “Thank you for your praise, Princess.”

Zhu Shijiuniang had a cold expression and bowed her head.

Madam Zhu didn’t say much and took her daughter towards the Emperor.

The Emperor offered them seats, exchanged a few pleasantries, and Madam Zhu personally looked at the little Prince. Zhu Shijiuniang also followed, even asking the wet nurse with concern, “Will His Highness be afraid of the noise?” Her face was like a melting snow mountain, filled with warmth.

Princess Jinyu sneered at this scene. These old geezers, relying on their merits, didn’t take her seriously. Their wives and daughters were the same, treating her like something dirty, putting on an air of “don’t come near me.”

She turned to look beside her and saw Li Yu drinking wine, his gaze looking around the hall, seemingly enjoying the singing and dancing, even clapping and cheering.

“Is it good?” she asked.

Li Yu turned his head and whispered: “Not as good as those who used to perform in the Princess’s Residence.”

The past… Princess Jinyu couldn’t help but feel melancholy. She really missed those days. Her carefully selected beautiful attendants were all gone now. She wondered when she would be able to raise another group.

“Don’t just look at these,” she said. “Why don’t you see if there are any young ladies you fancy?”

Li Yu, without any shyness, said: “Whoever Aunt fancies, I fancy.”

Princess Jinyu glanced upwards and whispered: “Is the Zhu family’s daughter beautiful?”

Li Yu followed her gaze, then quickly retracted it. It was unclear whether he had seen clearly, he only whispered: “Whoever Aunt says is beautiful, is beautiful.”

Princess Jinyu smiled but didn’t respond to his words. Instead, she turned to look at the maid behind her: “Pour His Highness some wine.”

The maid replied, “Yes,” and poured wine from a different wine pot, not the one used for the banquet, and presented it to Li Yu.

Li Yu, looking at the wine being offered, noticed that it was from a different wine pot, not the one used for the banquet.

This cup of wine must be special.

The hall was crowded and chaotic, and he couldn’t see Bai Li in his peripheral vision. Was she still talking to Zhou Jingyun? Would she see him drinking this wine?

She definitely would.

Li Yu took the wine and drank it all in one gulp without any hesitation.