White Fence Dream

Chapter 222 During the Banquet
After crossing the threshold, Bai Ying paused. The eunuchs on both sides hurriedly supported him, and the emperor who had just walked out also turned back.

"What's wrong? Where do you feel uncomfortable?" he asked.

Bai Ying smiled and shook her head: "It's because I haven't left Hanliang Palace for a long time, so I'm a little uncomfortable."

The emperor smiled and said, "Come, I will support you." Then he stretched out his hand.

Bai Ying smiled and nodded, put her hand in the emperor's hand, and followed him out obediently.

The concubines had been waiting outside the palace for a long time. Seeing this scene, they were very envious and bowed more respectfully.

This time the banquet was held in the Linde Hall. Zhang Ze was waiting far away on the roadside. When he saw the emperor coming, he stepped forward to greet him.

"The imperial bell has been hung up, and Xuan Yangzi has sent a lucky bag to the prince." He said, and then stretched out his hand to hand over a lucky bag wrapped in yellow paper.

The emperor took it with satisfaction.

Bai Ying hurriedly carried the child to the emperor and said, "Come, there are many people here today, let's wear a soothing mask to calm our spirits."

The emperor put it on the prince with a smile.

Bai Ying quietly twisted the child's leg, and the child, who had been stretching his neck and looking around with his big eyes, suddenly started crying.

"What's wrong?" she said, rocking and soothing him. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Don't cry."

The emperor held out his hand: "Come, let me do it."

Bai Ying seemed helpless and handed the child over. The prince fell into the emperor's arms, and after being coaxed, he stopped crying.

"This child can't leave Your Majesty." Bai Ying scolded.

The emperor laughed and held the child in his arms: "You can't leave. You are my prince. Come on, I will carry you into the palace. This is the first time for our prince to see so many people. I am not afraid if your father holds you——"

As he said this, he walked forward holding the child.

Bai Ying did not stop him, but took a step behind and followed slowly.

"Find out what Princess Jin Yu wants to do." Zhang Ze said softly.

Bai Ying looked at the emperor in front of him with a smile: "What?"

Zhang Ze smiled and said, "I want to give it to Li Yuze."

Bai Ying looked at him and frowned: "Choosing a relative? What does choosing a relative mean?"

Zhang Ze said: "She has a crush on him, and she wants to get married regardless of whether he is willing or not."

Bai Ying understood: "She wants to make sure that the other party cannot regret it in front of His Majesty and everyone else. Is this a marriage or an enmity? Who is so unlucky to be favored by her?" He smiled and said, "No matter who it is, remember to lend her a hand and add some excitement to my banquet."

Zhang Ze leaned over and answered yes.

"Thank you for your hard work, Zhongcheng, in making this hundred-day banquet a complete success." Bai Ying said with a smile, and then followed the emperor. As they were about to enter the palace, she stretched out her hand and said, "Your Majesty, let me hold the child. You go in first."

The emperor looked at the chubby child in his arms, smiled and held her hand: "This is our son's hundred-day banquet, the whole family is together."

Accompanied by the sound of drums and music, everyone in the Linde Hall welcomed the emperor. After the formalities were completed, the male and female guests took their seats. After some congratulations and blessings, the music, singing and dancing started again, and the hall was noisy and lively.

"…His Majesty personally carried the prince in."

"As expected, she is raising the child herself. It seems that after the Hundred Days Banquet, this prince will be given a title."

"It's not just the children. Didn't you see His Majesty holding Concubine Bai's hand..."

"….Is it really full of affection? You are talking nonsense, how is it possible!"

The person who was praising the deep love between the emperor and Bai Fei suddenly became unhappy and turned to look at the person who was talking at the table behind him: "Why am I talking nonsense? Didn't His Majesty walk in hand in hand with Bai Fei, and he never took his eyes off her... You didn't even look at her!"

There were two people sitting at the table at the back, talking together without raising their heads.

When they heard the question from the person in front of them, they looked up, looking a little confused: "What?"

"What are you talking about?" The person who had just come in asked with a frown, "Aren't you talking about His Majesty and Concubine Bai?"

One of them then looked towards the throne and saw the emperor sitting there talking to Princess Jin Yu. Since Concubine Bai was not the queen and was not pregnant at the moment, she sat at the back with the concubines according to her rank.

The emperor wanted to be affectionate with her and he had to keep looking back, which was not easy...
There is no need to worry about what the emperor and his concubines are like.

"No, we're talking about someone else," the man said in a low voice.

The people attending the banquet were either old couples or unmarried children, and they were sitting at separate tables. How could their affectionate expressions be worth discussing in private? The person who spoke earlier was not convinced: "Who is it?"

The man looked at the people around him and smiled strangely.

"What are you laughing at?" More people were curious and asked, "Who is it?"

The man coughed lightly, raised his head and looked around, then raised his chin and said, "Look, what is Prince Zhou doing."

Prince Zhou? Several people followed his gaze, passing by the walking palace maids and the dancers performing the Flying Dance, and saw Zhou Jingyun, wearing a silver round-necked robe, standing by the right column, talking to someone with a smile.

The man was also wearing a plain brocade robe, but he was wearing a bright red belt and a golden crown.

The two of them stood together, shining brightly, and all the other people and objects in the Linde Hall were instantly eclipsed.

"Prince." Li Yu smiled and bowed.

Zhou Jingyun nodded in return and looked over his shoulder. A palace maid leaned forward behind him and handed him the tray.

"Prince, please." Bai Li said.

Zhou Jingyun smiled and picked up a glass of wine.

"Didn't find you?" he asked.

Bai Li smiled: "Of course not."

"She followed me as a maidservant of the Prince of Chu's palace." Li Yu said, "The princess and I are both qualified to bring our own maids into the palace."

"It will be more convenient after entering the palace," said Bai Li.

Yes, the palace was full of maids, and she was like a grain of sand in the sea among them. She had previously disguised herself as a maid in the palace and snatched the little princess away from Wang Degui.

Zhou Jingyun looked at her and smiled, and Bai Li also smiled.

"Why didn't the lady come?" she asked, looking around.

"She doesn't want to enter the imperial city anymore." Zhou Jingyun said.

Bai Li thought of something and sighed, "It was me who made her suffer."

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

Bai Li knew who those people were he was talking about, Shen Qing.

It was Shen Qing who brought her into this, causing her entanglement, troubles and pain. It was not her fault and she did not need to blame herself.

He was trying to comfort her. Bai Li smiled and nodded, "It's better not to come. This place is a mess and not a good place."

Li Yu was watching the two of them from the side. He originally wanted to interrupt, but suddenly he felt that he couldn't. It's not that he couldn't, he could say whatever he wanted to say, but looking at Bai Li's smiling face, he couldn't bear to interrupt. After hesitating for a moment, he gently pulled Bai Li's sleeve.

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

"I'm going back to the princess first," Li Yu said, "so she won't notice you."

"Don't worry," Bai Li said, "Just do whatever she asks you to do. I'll be watching you."

Li Yu said hello, then raised his hand to Zhou Jingyun and saluted: "I'll go over first."

Zhou Jingyun nodded with a smile and watched Li Yu leave.

"Is it okay not to follow me so closely?" he asked softly.

"If I follow closely, I will definitely be chased away. It is more convenient to watch from the sidelines." Bai Li said, and raised the wine pot in his hand with another smile, "Prince, would you like another drink?"

Zhou Jingyun handed over the wine glass with a smile.

"Aunt." Li Yu handed over a plate of snacks, sat down next to Princess Jin Yu, and looked back.

Princess Jin Yu followed his gaze and saw that a palace maid was pouring wine for Zhou Jingyun not far away.

"What did you say to him?" she asked, and she also saw Li Yu running over to talk to Zhou Jingyun, "He really is trying to get close to you."

She naturally knew that Zhou Jingyun went to the boat to relax, and she was a little unhappy. After all, the boat was hers, and Li Yu was her vassal. What was the point of clinging to Li Yu? Why didn't she cling to her directly? Did she despise her because she was a woman and her reputation was not good?
Li Yu shook his head and smiled, "He wasn't really that close to me, he just wanted to have some fun and relieve his boredom."

As he said that, he looked at Zhou Jingyun again...over there.

As if noticing his gaze, Bai Li, who was standing beside Zhou Jingyun, looked at him while holding the wine jug and smiled slightly.

Li Yu also smiled.

……

……

“Look back every three steps…”

"See? I sat down and looked over again—"

"Oh my, hey, he's smiling at Zhou Jingyun again——"

"That's not the case. Look over there, there are a few people smiling at Zhang Ze..."

"How can they be the same? This is the King of Chu and the Crown Prince of Zhou..."

"Shiro!"

Amid the laughter of the men, a woman's voice suddenly sounded, and at the same time, a fragrance drifted closer. The people who were talking and laughing hurriedly looked up and saw two young women in skirts and long shawls standing over. They were the sisters of one of the men.

"Fifth Lady and Sixth Lady, why are you walking around randomly when you are not at the women's table?" The man called Silang sat up straight and said with a stern face.

"Father has been allowed to congratulate the prince in person." Wu Niang said, "Let him come and call my brother."

"What are you talking about?" Liu Niang asked curiously.

Silang waved his hand and said, "Don't listen to anything inappropriate." After that, he stood up. He could attend the banquet, but not everyone could speak in front of the emperor, so he couldn't miss the opportunity.

The man followed his two sisters across the table and walked forward. Their parents were already waiting.

"….Silang, I heard you guys were talking about the King of Chu and the Crown Prince of Zhou." Liu Niang said with a smile, "Are you also discussing who is better looking?"

"No." Shiro said, with a straight face, "We are not women."

Liu Niang curled her lips and talked to her sister: "Who do you think will get married first? I wonder how long the prince will wait for his deceased wife this time..."

When Silang heard this, he chuckled: "It's not certain who he's guarding for."

What did they mean? The two sisters asked with glared eyes, but Silang refused to say anything. He was scolded by his parents while laughing, "Shut up, how can you be so rude? Madam Zhu is coming."

Several people looked over and saw an elderly woman walking slowly towards them, led by a eunuch. This was the wife of Prime Minister Zhu Xingjian.

Prime Minister Zhu Xingjian made great contributions in supporting Prince Changyang to ascend the throne. Your Majesty relies on him very much and he holds an important position.

In the past two years, Prime Minister Zhu has been out of court due to illness, but the emperor's favor has not diminished in the slightest. The emperor has visited the prime minister at Zhu's mansion many times.

Although Prime Minister Zhu did not come, Mrs. Zhu did not come alone. She was followed by a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, who was dressed gorgeously and had an outstanding appearance.

"It's the youngest daughter of the Zhu family, Nineteenth Mother." Wu Niang said in a low voice.

……

.......
"…Nineteenth Lady has grown so big." Princess Jin Yu looked at the girl and said with a smile, "She is getting more and more beautiful."

Madam Zhu bowed to Princess Jinyu and said, "Thank you for your praise, Princess."

Zhu Shijiuniang had a cold expression and bowed her head.

Mrs. Zhu didn't say much and took her daughter to the emperor.

The emperor granted them a seat and they chatted for a while. Madam Zhu personally looked after the little prince, and Zhu Shijiuniang followed as well. She even asked the wet nurse with concern, "Is Your Highness afraid of noise?" Her face was filled with warmth, as if the snow on the mountain had melted.

Princess Jin Yu sneered at this scene. These old guys relied on their great achievements to look down on her. Their wives and daughters did the same, treating her like a dirty thing and pretending not to approach her.

She turned her head to look around and saw Li Yu drinking and looking into the hall. He seemed to be very happy watching the singing and dancing, and was even clapping and cheering.

"Does it look good?" she asked.

Li Yu turned around and whispered, "It's not as good as the ones in the Princess' Mansion before."

In the past, Princess Jin Yu couldn't help feeling melancholy and missed them so much. Now all her carefully selected beauties and attendants are gone, and she doesn't know when she can get them back again.

"Don't keep looking at these." She said, "Why don't you see if there is any girl you like?"

Li Yu was not shy at all and said, "I like it if my aunt likes me."

Princess Jinyu glanced upwards and whispered, "Is the Zhu family's wife pretty?"

Li Yu followed her gaze and quickly looked away. He didn't know if he saw it clearly or not. He just whispered, "My aunt said it was beautiful, so it was beautiful."

Princess Jin Yu smiled, but did not respond to his words. Instead, she turned around and looked at the maid behind her: "Pour wine for His Highness."

The maid responded by pouring wine from the jug beside her and handing it to Li Yu.

Li Yu looked at the wine that was handed to him and noticed that it was from another wine jug, not the one from the palace banquet.

This glass of wine must be something special.

The hall was crowded with people, and I couldn't see Bai Li from the corner of my eye. Was she still talking to Zhou Jingyun? Would she see him drinking?
She certainly will.

Li Yu took the wine and drank it without any hesitation.