The weak princess is super fierce

Chapter 875 Accepting the Invitation

Upon seeing this, Huang Jing immediately followed suit and looked towards the opposite bank of the river.

This water snake is no ordinary water snake; it is a snake demon that is six hundred years old!

After they became familiar with each other, the water snake spoke to her in human language when no one else was around.

Compared to the 300-year-old Camellia Scholar, the water snake's demonic power is much stronger, and the chances of finding the object she seeks in the vast river are at least 50% higher.

But we've been searching for two or three days now...

Just then, the water snake swiftly swam to the opposite bank, moving as fast as lightning. Then Huang Jing saw the Meng family's large carriage.

She, who had been sitting cross-legged, exclaimed in surprise and stood up from the grass: "Why is Yaoyao here too? Did she come to see me and Xiaoqing? No, she should have come here to see me and Xiaoqing..."

She was muttering to herself when she suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

She saw that the first person to get off the Meng family's carriage was a strange young man. After he got off the carriage, he turned around and reached out his hand. Meng Shisan stepped off the footstool with his hand.

Their actions were intimate, their expressions amicable, they seemed to know each other well, and they were of similar age... Which young master of the Meng family is this?
She had met most of the people in the Meng family, except for the four young masters, who, apart from Meng Renping, she had never met the other three for various reasons.

Meng Renji was said to have gone to the Southern Barbarians to join the army and train under the General of Zhennan. Meng Ren'an and Meng Renkang were still studying at Qingbei Academy and only returned occasionally on their days off.

During the time she lived in the Meng family mansion, she not only failed to meet the second young master of the Meng family, but also, by some strange twist of fate, she had not even met the third and fourth young masters.

Therefore, when asked to guess, she could only rely on age. After thinking it over, she felt that only the Second Young Master's age matched, but the Second Young Master Meng was still in Lingnan at the moment and would never appear here.

Huang Jing was stunned for a moment. Who was that?
While she was in a daze, the water snake had already swum to the surface of the water closest to Meng Shisan, its vertical pupils fixed on Meng Shisan.

Meng Shisan sensed something and quietly glanced at the water surface where the water snake was.

The water snake immediately opened its pair of large, vertical, green-bean-shaped pupils.

She pursed her lips, raised her chin slightly, and gestured for it to hurry up and get to work in the water.

The water snake understood, and silently lowered its head until only the top layer of skin remained on the surface of the water. Through the river, its beady eyes could still clearly see Meng Shisan's movements on the shore.

After Meng Shisan told the water snake not to show itself, he stopped paying attention to it and didn't see that the water snake, which seemed obedient, was actually still staying in the same spot.

She followed Li Shou toward the main seat of the banquet that Li Zhaoqin had prepared.

Originally, the host, Li Zhaoqin, was to sit in the main seat. However, since she had invited Meng Shisan, she also prepared two main seats, one on the left and one on the right, as equal seats, signifying that she genuinely regarded Meng Shisan as a close friend and sister.

Having been notified in advance that Li Shou was an important figure, she changed her seating arrangement from two to three. Li Shou took the central seat, while she and Meng Shisan remained on the left and right, respectively, but now they were seated as companions.

Li Shou walked to the head seat without any hesitation. Even though he wasn't the one hosting the gathering, he was still the Crown Prince, and he quickly sat down in the central seat. Li Zhaoqin walked over to Meng Shisan and whispered a few words to him. Then the two separated, with Li Zhaoqin on the left and Meng Shisan on the right, and each took their seats.

The wine gathering was originally a small, impromptu get-together, unlike the grand banquets for noble ladies during the Four Seasons Flower Appreciation Festival. Therefore, the number of people present could not exceed ten.

Besides the host Li Zhaoqin, the remaining people were Meng Shisan, Shi Lanxi, Zeng Chongjin, Ji Ling, and Dong Linglong, plus Li Zhaoqin himself and Li Shou who came uninvited, making a total of seven people.

Guo Rong, Jiang Ziyao, Lu Pingting, and Fang Muxun, who seemed not to have been invited, as well as Meng Meijing, Dong Wushuang, Zeng Chongrong, and Ji Zhi, who were invited but did not come, and Xiang Zheng and Ming Yexi, who were invited but did not come.

Li Shou was seated at the head table. To his left, in order, were the tables of Li Zhaoqin, Shi Lanxi, and Ji Ling. To his right, in order, were the tables of Meng Shisan, Zeng Chongjin, and Dong Linglong.

Apart from Shi Lanxi, the other noble ladies who were invited to the event, Zeng Chongjin, Dong Linglong, and Ji Ling, were all on good terms with Meng Shisan.

This made Shi Lanxi feel slightly uncomfortable.

She came today because she heard that Xiang Zheng was coming.

She thought that since they were on good terms with the princess, they would have to come if there was no important business to prevent them from doing so. She didn't have much of a relationship with Meng Shisan, and they even didn't get along very well. It would be good if Xiang Zheng could come and keep her company.

At least Xiang Zheng and Meng Shisan didn't seem to have a very good relationship.

However, when she arrived, she learned that Xiang Zheng had originally agreed to come, but later, for some unknown reason, she sent someone to apologize to Li Zhaoqin, saying that she had accidentally tripped and sprained her ankle before leaving and could not keep the appointment today.

However, he could only sigh inwardly at his bad luck.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have come. Her aunt, Consort De, even sent someone out of the palace to the Shi residence to tell her that she must not cause any trouble during this period, especially when facing the eldest daughter of the Meng family, and that she must behave herself and not cause any trouble.

Now things are really messed up. Not only has Meng Shisan come, but even the Crown Prince, who is currently fighting against his cousin, the Second Prince, has come. How is she supposed to handle this situation as a young lady of the house?
When they saw Li Shou arrive at the gathering in the Meng family's carriage with Meng Shisan, unlike Shi Lanxi who was filled with regret and entanglement, Zeng Chongjin, Dong Linglong, and Ji Ling all looked at Meng Shisan. They couldn't immediately go up and ask him a few questions like Li Zhaoqin did. They could only wait anxiously for the Crown Prince to take his seat of honor, and then watch Meng Shisan sit in the first seat on the right. They didn't even have a chance to whisper a few words to each other.

Of the three, Ji Ling was the furthest away, separated by a red-carpeted passageway. She didn't dare to stare directly at Meng Shisan, so she could only eat cakes and drink tea every now and then.

Zeng Chongjin was closest to Meng Shisan, but she always knew her place. Even though she had a thousand questions in her mind, she held them back and waited for a suitable moment to ask her cousin Meng why she had come by carriage with His Highness the Crown Prince.

Dong Linglong didn't have much patience, but unfortunately, Zeng Chongjin was sitting at a table between her and Meng Shisan. She wasn't good at hiding her emotions either. So, as soon as Li Shouyi sat down and the others followed suit, she kept glancing at Meng Shisan's face, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Is there anything you wish to say, or anything you wish to do, Your Highness?" Li Zhaoqin glanced around and, when she met Meng Shisan's gaze, after Meng Shisan winked at her, she looked at Li Shou, who was seated above her, and asked.

These words immediately drew the attention of all the noble ladies present, who all looked up at him.

They were eager to know what the Crown Prince intended to do by gracing their small gathering today.
Although Meng Shisan looked and waited, she knew perfectly well that the powerful backer would come because she had pulled him along.

However... she won't take on this responsibility.

Today's gathering is all about enjoying the wine and the scenery, and she didn't want to spoil everyone's mood.