good season

Chapter 179 The Imperial Banquet (Two chapters combined)

In a flash, Zhao Shiqing remembered the princess who had secretly met with Yang Shengqiu. She pulled Xiao Zhen aside and asked in a low voice, "Are there any princesses in the palace who have established their own residences outside the palace but do not have a consort?"

A princess who could secretly meet her lover outside the palace alone couldn't possibly live in the palace; she must have already established her own residence outside the palace to be able to come and go as she pleased.

Zhao Shiqing said that the princess had no husband for two reasons: first, an unmarried princess would not live outside the palace; second, she believed that Yang Shengqiu had not stooped to being a male concubine to a married princess.

As for princesses who have established their own residences but do not yet have consorts, Zhao Shiqing only knew of one princess before, Princess Jia'an, because her romantic affairs were so famous that she couldn't help but know about them.

However, Zhao Shiqing did not believe that the person who had a secret meeting with Yang Shengqiu was Princess Jia'an. Given her usual style, she had no need to be sneaky or avoid attention. She kept her male lovers openly and honestly, and even the emperor was too lazy to care. Who would dare to interfere with her?
Besides, she saw a young woman with her own eyes that day.

However, Zhao Shiqing regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. Had she overestimated Yang Shengqiu's moral bottom line? What if Princess Jiayi also had a penchant for meeting male lovers in secret? Was it appropriate for her to inquire about her mother's romantic affairs from the son of another woman?

Zhao Shiqing chuckled dryly twice: "Should I not have asked? Then just pretend I didn't ask."

Xiao Zhen didn't need to guess to know what was going on in that little head of hers. Anyone who could think like that didn't understand his princess mother. His princess mother and her husband father were so close, why would she secretly meet with a young lover?
However, he already had an answer to Zhao Shiqing's question: "There are nine women who have established their own residences outside the palace without a consort, including five Grand Princesses and four Princesses."

Zhao Shiqing was taken aback. They were all Grand Princess and Princess, but no other princess?
The Grand Princess is the Emperor's aunt, and the Eldest Princess is the Emperor's sister; neither of them could be that young girl.
"Why do you ask this?" Xiao Zhen asked suspiciously.

Zhao Shiqing lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear: "I know that Yang Shengqiu is having an affair with a princess. That princess is about my age, so it shouldn't be the Grand Princess and the Eldest Princess you mentioned."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhen frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "There are two princesses who are also quite young. One of them has already established her own residence outside the palace. She is Princess Jiarou, the youngest daughter of the Emperor Emeritus. She originally wanted to become a nun, but the Imperial Clan Court refused, so she was allowed to establish her own residence outside the palace to cultivate. She is devoted to the Dao and shouldn't do such a thing, but currently, besides herself, there are two other princesses in her residence."

Zhao Shiqing was taken aback. There was a princess living in Princess Jiarou's residence?
"Which two?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

“I heard that Huixin and Huiming left the palace with Princess Jiarou,” Xiao Zhen said.

Zhao Shiqing nodded. Princess Jiarou is Xiao Zhen's aunt. Although Xiao Zhen is still faking his death, he must still have contact with his parents. He said that there are two other princesses in his aunt's household, so there must be.

Xiao Zhen continued, "Huixin is the same age as me, and Huiming is three years younger than her, about the same age as you. If the one you're talking about really is a princess, then it should be Huiming."

Zhao Shiqing asked, "Then is the Empress Xiaokang the mother she mentioned?"

Xiao Zhen nodded and said, "It can only be that one."

With so much information coming in at once, Zhao Shiqing felt she needed to take a break.

Yang Shengqiu actually had an affair with Princess Huiming?
Princess Huiming was the daughter of the late Crown Prince. Yang Shengqiu's grandfather was Doctor Yang. The late Crown Prince once wanted Doctor Yang to treat his eye disease, but Doctor Yang died because of the late Crown Prince.

Could it be that Yang Shengqiu wanted to avenge his grandfather, which is why he approached Princess Huiming?

But if you want to take revenge, you should take revenge on the murderer or the person behind it. Why would you take revenge on the daughter of another victim first? Is this person crazy?

If this counts as revenge, then should she also kill Yang Shengqiu? After all, if it weren't for being implicated by Doctor Yang, the Shi family wouldn't have been wiped out.

Zhao Shiqing's little head was filled with a thousand thoughts. Just then, Deng Zheng came over and said, "Brother Zhen, come quickly, let me introduce you to the Prince of Rongcheng."

Xiao Zhen patted Zhao Shiqing's head: "Stand here and don't run around. I'll be right back."

Zhao Shiqing slapped his hand away: "You can't just touch a man's head like that!"

Deng Zheng laughed and said to Xiao Zhen, "Your younger brother is very interesting. Next time we get together, be sure to bring him along."

Xiao Zhen hummed in agreement but didn't say anything.

Zhao Shiqing didn't run around. She was still lost in thought. In just a short while, she had already come up with a dramatic love story involving grudges, love, and hate for Yang Shengqiu and Princess Huiming.

When she went to look again, Yang Shengqiu was no longer there.

Although she was surrounded by strangers, Zhao Shiqing was not lonely at all. She quickly started chatting with the two young masters of the Yan family.

One of them is the ninth son of the Yan family, eleven years old this year, and the other is the eleventh son of the Yan family, nine years old this year. Yan Eleven is Yan Xia's younger brother, and Yan Nine is his cousin.

Zhao Shiqing got along very well with the two children. They talked about everything from the stone threshold to the overpass, from the military drama to breaking a stone on one's chest. Zhao Shiqing said, "I saw someone breaking a stone on their chest on Ping'an Avenue the other day. They were two brothers, about my age. Wow, they had real kung fu skills. They were amazing!"

Yan Jiu immediately became interested: "Really? Ping'an Avenue, not far from my house. I'll definitely go see it later. Eleven, are you going?"

Yan Shiyi shook her head: "I have to do my homework. If I don't do my homework well, I won't be able to move up a grade."

Yan Shiyi wants to be in the same class as his older brother, and he's been studying very hard for it.

Yan Jiu ignored him and turned around to call over three more. The youngest of them was only six or seven years old. Without asking, they were all from the Yan family.

"This brother said that a new pair of brothers who can break stones on their chests have come to Ping'an Avenue. Let's go see them together later."

"Okay, okay, let's go together!"

Zhao Shiqing was so envious. The children in the Yan family all seemed easy to get along with. They played and made noise together, which must have been so fun. Her older sister would like them too.

When Xiao Zhen returned, she saw Zhao Shiqing acting like a queen of the kids, surrounded by a bunch of children even younger than her. Although she lowered her voice, she was still beaming with joy.

Xiao Zhen smiled and shook her head. What a child.

Zhao Shiqing had already made plans with these kids to watch the chest-breaking boulder performance together.

Just then, a child of about ten years old ran over and said to Yan Jiu, "Old Yan Jiu, Old Yan Jiu, come here, I have something to tell you."

Yan Jiu walked over, and Yan Shiyi whispered to Zhao Shiqing, "That's Zhao Tingluo, the grandson of Prince Fu. He and Ninth Brother are best friends."

Prince Fu was the brother of the retired emperor, and his grandson was of the same generation as Zhao Tinghan, also belonging to the "Ting" generation.

A moment later, Yan Jiu returned, looked around seriously, and said to Zhao Shiqing and his brothers, "Zhao Tingluo just told me that he saw the Crown Prince scolding the Fourth Prince. You must not tell anyone, this is a secret, top secret!"

Everyone nodded solemnly, promising not to tell anyone.

Turning around, Zhao Shiqing saw Xiao Zhen return and said to the children, "My older brother is here. I'm going to find him. We'll talk later."

Yan Shiyi also said, "I'll go find my elder brother too."

The Crown Prince scolded the Fourth Prince; such a big thing, he had to tell his elder brother. Zhao Shiqing walked up to Xiao Zhen and whispered, "The Crown Prince just scolded the Fourth Prince; it's probably because of what happened in Tong'an last time."

Xiao Zhen said in a low voice, "Yes, the reason why the Emperor summoned the Fourth Prince to the palace is because he is going to find him a consort today."

Zhao Shiqing thought to herself, "Oh no, this world is going to have a lot more people with hooked noses."

At this moment, several eunuchs hurried over: "The auspicious time has arrived, everyone should take your seats."

After another half hour, Xiao Zhen and Zhao Shiqing finally took their seats. After the emperor, the crown prince, and all the princes arrived, the palace banquet finally began.

But before long, Zhao Shiqing lost all interest.

The songs and dances were all conventional and standard. Although the music, songs, and dances were all good, they were really nothing new to Zhao Shiqing, who grew up in the Prince's mansion.

She lowered her voice and asked, "Why isn't there any juggling?"

During festivals, there would be acrobatic performances at the banquets in the Liang Prince's Mansion. These acrobatic performances were the most popular. For example, some people could balance twenty bowls on their heads and shoulders and still blow flowers out of their mouths. Others could conjure up dozens of pigeons and make fun lanterns for the young masters and ladies of the mansion.

The circus troupes always received the most prize money.

But Zhao Shiqing waited for a long time today, and the acrobatic performance never came.

When she asked this question, Xiao Zhen lowered her voice to a very low level: "To prevent assassins from infiltrating the circus troupe."

Zhao Shiqing understood. There was a story behind every rule, which meant that there had indeed been assassins who infiltrated the variety show troupe to assassinate the emperor in the past.

Why didn't they stab him to death?
Zhao Shiqing was disappointed and was about to ask again when she heard a eunuch say, "The Crown Prince and several princes have arrived. Please pay your respects."

It was supposed to be a greeting, but since we were at a palace banquet and the space didn't allow for it, everyone simply stood up and bowed to the Crown Prince and the other princes.

Zhao Shiqing hunched over, glancing at the approaching crowd. The person walking at the front, surrounded by admirers, was a young man of about twenty-four or twenty-five. He had fair skin and delicate features, but a hooked nose that made him appear even more effeminate.

This must be the crown prince who, despite being the eldest son, was not favored by the emperor.

Behind the Crown Prince were several princes of different ages. Besides the three, four, and five princes that Zhao Shiqing had met today, there were several others she had not seen before, including one who was seven or eight years old.

The guests greeted the princes, and the crown prince politely said a few words, nothing more than auspicious greetings for the Mid-Autumn Festival. He accepted the wine offered by the eunuch, took a symbolic sip, and the guests thanked him. The crown prince then led his brothers to the next table.

The Crown Prince and the princes left, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they hadn't burped, coughed, or farted.

Zhao Shiqing asked Xiao Zhen, "Can we start eating now?"

Although she had eaten mooncakes before coming, chatting was still tiring, and she was now hungry.

Xiao Zhen: "Wait a little longer."

Zhao Shiqing.
Finally, the eunuch signaled that everyone could start eating. Another eunuch served everyone dishes. Everyone took a bite with their chopsticks and praised the dishes as exquisite. Then, they could finally eat.

There were no officials at Zhao Shiqing's table, so the rules were less strict, but Zhao Shiqing still didn't get enough to eat.

During this time, Zhao Shiqing saw Yan Jiu and Zhao Tingluo from the Prince of Fu's residence. The two of them were wandering around, clearly having attended countless palace banquets. They snuck up to Zhao Shiqing and whispered, "The Crown Prince drank too much and had to be helped to rest. The Emperor is not happy about it, hehe."

Zhao Shiqing asked curiously, "You can even see this?"

Yan Jiu pointed at Zhao Tingluo: "He saw it."

Zhao Tingluo said smugly, "I have connections everywhere, there's nothing I can't see."

Zhao Shiqing's lips twitched. "Little guy, you used the wrong idiom."

The two little ones left after they finished talking, especially the tiny Zhao Tingluo, who disappeared somewhere again.

After they left, Xiao Zhen said, "Zhao Tingluo was raised in the palace for several years when he was young. He knows the palace very well, and what's rare is that everyone from the Emperor to the concubines in the palace likes him very much. You can get along well with him and Yan Jiu."

There was one thing Xiao Zhen didn't say: in his previous life, Zhao Tingluo made a fortune by selling information from the palace. He had informants in every palace, and he even knew how many times the emperor asked for water the night before and how long the intervals were.

Zhao Tingluo is still young and probably doesn't know that selling information can make money, but he will when he grows up.

In their past lives, Zhao Tingluo and Yan Jiu were good friends. Later, they made this kind of money together, but they did it very discreetly. If it weren't for the cooperation between Fengyuge and them, even Xiao Zhen wouldn't have known.

Zhao Shiqing perked up immediately upon hearing this; finally, there were some fun people in the palace.

"Okay, I'll invite them to watch the chest-breaking boulder later."

Xiao Zhen: Isn't breaking a boulder on your chest right by the roadside? Do we need to ask someone to do that?

During the meal, Xiao Zhen was summoned by the Third Prince's men, while Zhao Shiqing ate and drank by herself. That's the good thing about pretending to be a child—no one takes you seriously.

This time, Xiao Zhen was called away for a rather long time. Just as Zhao Shiqing was about to chat with the person next to her, she saw Yan Shiyi, whom she hadn't seen before, run over and grab her, saying, "Brother Bao, come with me quickly. Ninth Brother asked me to call you to go see the excitement!"

Zhao Shiqing blinked. "You can watch the excitement in the palace too?"
If the person who came wasn't Yan Shiyi, and if Xiao Zhen hadn't just said that she could get along well with Yan Jiu, Zhao Shiqing would have thought it was a trap.

However, after Xiao Zhen said that, Zhao Shiqing lowered her guard a bit, stood up, and followed Yan Shiyi.

Although both are treated as children, when Zhao Shiqing walks with nine-year-old Yan Shiyi, she becomes the older child.

To others, it's just a big kid with a little kid, which is quite eye-catching.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Yan Shiyi led her behind the curtains, then crouched down and crawled out from behind the curtains again, and they were already at the door.

The eunuch at the door saw them and said with a smile, "Go to the right along the stone path in the urinal. Young masters, don't go the wrong way."

This was because they thought they needed to use the restroom.

The two thanked him, took a few steps to the right, then went around a tree and ran in the opposite direction.

With no one around, Yan Shiyi said, "The Crown Prince got drunk and slept with some young lady in Yujing Palace. Someone saw him. The Empress and Consort Qiao have already gone over there. Let's go this way to avoid running into them."