C33

Luo Shang's shallow eyes were misty as she turned her head to look at the ice-cold face in front of her. Her tone was the same as his, but she indifferently replied, "I'll have to trouble Your Highness to remind me. Your consort will naturally cooperate fully with you."

Leng Shaoyu stared at her, he raised his chin, her beautiful face had a smile on, he slowly moved closer to her face.

"Prince, the banquet has been prepared. The empress dowager and princess are already waiting for you." Yun Xiu couldn't believe her eyes. Following Nanny Ma's orders, she came to find the Duke, searching every single room in the front courtyard of the Duke's Palace. She didn't think that her Duke would actually be here, and was even with this woman.

Forget it, what was the Prince doing? It was fortunate that he had appeared in time. Otherwise, the Prince might have kissed that woman.

Yun Xiu thought and curled her lips.

Hearing the servant's words, Leng Shaoyu retracted his gaze. The seductive beauty of this woman, after watching for a long time, could truly captivate a person's soul.

He simply decided to let go of Luo Shang and got up confidently. With both of his hands behind his back, he took a few large steps forward and said with a low and deep voice, "Hurry, you're not going to follow me yet."

Luo Shang tidied up her hair that was just messed up, but still followed him obediently.

Watching the two of them walk out of the courtyard, Yun Xiu walked towards the stone table, her triangular eyes staring fixedly at the uncovered bottle of golden medicine used by the royalty, her gaze becoming even more furious.

He thought to himself, "What's wrong with you today? Even if you're acting, there's no need to give such a good thing to that woman." Gritting her teeth in anger, she rolled up her sleeves and scattered the medicine on the table along with the bloody gauze on the floor.

The Royal Gardens of the King's Manor looked magnificent from afar. However, when they entered the courtyard, they realized how luxurious and dignified it was. Every ancient corridor was filled with vines, and golden flowers that were small and exquisite were blooming, exuding a faint fragrance. The serene and ancient corridor symbolized the noble position of the Prince Jin. It also had an unparalleled nobility, the imperial gardens of the Prince Jin Palace extravagant, to the point that even the current Emperor Palace couldn't compare to it.

Because this was the first place where he had met Leng Shaoyu's mother when the late emperor was a prince.

The golden, shiny, towering pillar was carved with fine lines of ancient magical beasts. Every brick and tile in the attic was adorned with glass, and the huge courtyard was filled with towering laurel trees.

There were all sorts of unique flowers and plants in the garden. Luo Shang looked, and the only thing she did not see was the purple flower called 'forget-me-not'. For some reason, every time she saw the sea of flowers, she would always remember those ordinary flowers that she would never forget. She still remembered what Ah Yu had said before, that this kind of flower was only suitable for blooming in inconspicuous places and couldn't even be considered elegant. In this kind of luxurious imperial garden, other than the most golden peony in the garden, all the other flowers were just decorations, not to mention those that couldn't be more ordinary than a sunset.

The sculptures engraved on every single golden pillar supporting the long corridor were greatly different. After entering the Royal Garden of the Duke Palaces, Luo Shang had already felt its majesty and solemnity, the position of the Prince Jin Palace was truly grand and illustrious.

Every few meters or so, there were maids respectfully guarding the area. They stood on both sides with their hands in front of them, holding their breath and remaining silent.

"Your servant greets the prince and the wangfei!"

"Your servant greets the prince and the wangfei!"

"—"

Seeing them walk over, the servants on both sides bowed respectfully.

Leng Shaoyu did not say anything, but his tensed up face slowly relaxed, his eyes revealed a look of warmth.

Suddenly, a thick palm embraced Luo Shang's shoulder, causing her to be startled. She instinctively shrank her body, looked at the man beside her, lowered her gaze, and obediently walked towards the courtyard with him.

"Your Highness, please take a seat." Nanny Ma bowed to Leng Shaoyu, and after the man sat down, she arranged for Luo Shang to sit beside the Prince.

Luo Shang respectfully bowed towards the empress dowager, then elegantly sat down.

The cherry blossoms on the side of the banquet were so beautiful. It was already early summer, but the cherry blossoms in the Prince's Mansion were still so gorgeous and tender. The care and attention of the servants were indeed thoughtful.

The family feast in the Duke Palace was very particular. Leng Shaoyu sat on the main seat, beside him sat the empress dowager and the other was Luo Shang.

In Wu Zhou, if a woman marries to a husband, she dies to his son. This was an ethics that would never change. No matter how honorable the empress dowager was, she could not exceed the position of the Prince Jin. This was because he was of the royal bloodline, and blood of the royal family flowed through his veins.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law, they're late, but we're going to have a glass of wine ~" the woman sitting on the empress dowager's other side stood up.

Luo Shang looked at her, not expecting her to recover so well. It had only been a day, but her complexion had clearly reddened a lot. Even if she was lacking a little, she would have remembered that the empress dowager had come to attend this feast.

Princess Chaoyang looked at Luo Shang, and laughed: "Sister-in-law tried really hard to save you yesterday, little sister didn't even have time to thank you before I drank this toast first, to thank sister-in-law for his kindness."

After saying that, she swept up her sleeves and gulped it down.

The Princess Chaoyang was much bigger than Luo Shang, but since Luo Shang had already married into the Prince Jin, her brother should naturally be called this in front of others, not to mention in front of a person like the empress dowager who didn't know anything.

Just as Luo Shang stood up, before she could stop her, the lady in front of him had already revealed the bottom of her cup. A cup of wine had already reached her stomach as she looked at her with a long smile.

Since the princess had already done it, and Luo Shang was worried about the empress dowager's dignity, she couldn't refuse her. She also picked up the delicate wine cup on the table with a slight smile.

As she raised her sleeve, a large hand reached over her head and snatched the cup from her hand.

"I'll drink this for her." With that, Leng Shaoyu drank it all in one gulp, then shook his sleeves and sat down.

Luo Shang froze there, her head lowered, her brows furrowed with light lines of confusion. She thought to herself, what is he doing? Is he really that kind to her, knowing that she can't drink right now, so he helped her block the alcohol?

Luo Shang shook her head, how could this man do such a good deed, she had just humiliated him, how could she believe that this man would have a gentle side to him?

"Mother, look, brother truly loves sister, hehe ~" Leng Yuxin smiled and thought of something.

"Haha …" The old man that sat at the side couldn't help but laugh. Great, there is finally someone who can pull Prince Jin's heart, there is no need for this one to waste any more time. This Dowager is really afraid that our Prince Jin will only hold that woman with Bai Family in her heart.

"Muhou!" Upon hearing Jinghe bring up the woman with Bai Family, Leng Yuxin immediately interrupted her and poured her a cup of warm fragrance. She then said, "Mother, you should hurry and have a taste. This is a wine that your elder brother had specially instructed your servant to refine only after travelling a thousand miles from the south for four years. You should quickly have a taste."

As she spoke, she handed the wine cup to the empress dowager.

A woman of Bai Family, which woman of Bai Family? Why was it that she had never heard someone bring up the matter of Leng Shaoyu liking a woman with surname Bai? Luo Shang was completely confused. She was born smart, and she knew that Leng Yuxin intentionally interrupted the empress dowager to prevent her from hearing it, so she naturally wouldn't ask.

Luo Shang only glanced at the man at the side unintentionally. Seeing that his indifferent expression did not change, he silently picked up the wine cup on the table.

"I'm so hungry — —" A tender child's voice sounded out by Leng Yuxin's side.

Everyone had forgotten that there was this little fellow here.

Young Lord held both his hands on the table as he looked pitifully at the entire table, which was covered by a silver silk lid. However, he was unable to move his body, and could only hold his head, and listen to their lord's boring conversation.

"That's right, why hasn't he come yet?" Leng Yuxin carefully looked at the corridor, but there was still no trace of that person. Then she turned to the Jinghe and the man on the main seat and said, "How about we eat first? The little guy has worked hard for the entire morning.

"Sure."

Hearing the man in the main seat speak, Young Lord opened his eyes wide with joy. He picked up the silver chopsticks on the table and waited for the maidservants beside him to give him food.

Just as everyone was about to move their chopsticks, the sound of hurried footsteps mixed with the man's breathing could be heard, followed by a lazy voice.

"Sorry, I came late …"

Leng Mufei looked at the table full of people who had stopped and scratched his head in embarrassment. His eyes narrowed into slits, and he shrugged his shoulders as he spoke while grinning from the corners of his teeth.

"Big Brother Mu Fei — —" The small figure forcefully ran down from her seat, and before the servant girl beside her could react, Young Lord had already entered Leng Mufei's embrace.

"Big brother Mu Fei, what took you so long?"

"Because Big Brother has a lot of things to do, so he was delayed." Leng Mufei rubbed the child's head, picked him up, and walked towards the feast.

"In front of Jinghe, he placed him down, and then half-knelt. "Childrens pays his respects to Imperial Mother. May Imperial Mother's blessings last for a thousand years!"

"Come, quickly get up, there's no such thing as a thousand year fortune. Mother, ah, if you live for a thousand years, wouldn't you be an old demoness?" Jinghe smiled kindly, causing the atmosphere of the feast to no longer be as cold as before and become lively.

The Young Lord hopped in front of the empress dowager, blinking her eyes as if she could speak. She pouted and said, "Imperial Grandmother will live for a thousand years. You still have to tell this grandson a thousand years of stories?"

"Furthermore, even after a thousand years, mother will still be a great beauty," Leng Yuxin joked.

Speaking of beauties, Prince Han who was sitting by the side noticed the woman beside Leng Shaoyu.

She was chuckling through her sleeves. Her smile was so elegant, so beautiful.

The her of today, was really beautiful.

Those slightly bent eyes and those coquettish red lips were covered with thick makeup, but they did not have the seductive charm of an ordinary woman. Instead, they made her seem even more beautiful and enchanting.

She was a monster, a monster that could attract souls anytime and anywhere.

"People are already late, why aren't you pouring yourself a cup?"

The man sitting on the main seat suddenly opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice. A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked at Prince Han Leng Mufei.

Leng Shaoyu had been observing him for a long time, and when he saw that his gaze was fixated on the lady beside him, he did not know why, but he felt a sense of unexplainable unhappiness in his heart.

This feeling was similar to when a prey he had set his eyes on was being watched to death by others at the same time.