C247

Helian Manqiu could only raise her head to gaze at the starry sky while the countless autumn waves rustled. From time to time, she even had to fawn on the surrounding officials. Suddenly, a eunuch walked to her side and said, "The Crown Prince has summoned."

All the officials immediately turned their heads over. Some of them lowered their heads to look at the ground, and it was as if countless flowers had bloomed on the ground; it was incredibly beautiful. Some turned their heads to look into the distance, as if they were looking for something. Some peeked into the distance, as if searching for traces of the crown prince.

Many people sighed in their hearts, this beautiful young man was truly peerless, how could he let the crown prince let go of his hands?

Ye Xiao frowned. What did the Crown Prince want to do?

His cold gaze made the eunuch lower his head, not daring to look him in the eye. The austere aura that came from battling on the battlefield was not something that the officials of the imperial capital could compare with.

"Uncle, please pay your respects to the crown prince. Do not keep him waiting."

The blood sword took a step forward. Helian Manqiu slightly raised her sleeve to block the blood sword's advance. The crown prince should be here to attend the banquet. When his highness the crown prince arrives, I will apologize to his highness but I won't dare to leave this place right now. "If Your Majesty comes and doesn't see this uncle-master, you can bear the consequences?"

The eunuch glanced at Helian Manqiu with fear in his eyes, and his gaze swept across the banquet. Helian Manqiu had been strolling around for quite a while before she finally arrived. At this moment, the princes and officials were all present, and no one knew when the emperor would arrive.

"The Crown Prince has summoned us. Does Young Master want to go against his orders?"

The eunuch straightened his back. He had come under the orders of the crown prince after all. He didn't believe that Helian Manqiu would dare to go against his orders.

"Should I stay here and wait for His Majesty, or should I leave with you?"

"Uncle will first go see the crown prince. It won't be too late for him to return. His Majesty hasn't arrived yet, so it'll be some time before he arrives."

"Uncle Zhenbei, I've heard of your name for a long time. Where is Qing Yu going?"

A gentle voice was heard. With a gentle smile on her jade-like face, she walked over in a gentle and refined manner. Helian Manqiu hurriedly bowed and saluted, "This subject pays his respects to Your Highness, Prince Chen."

"There's no need to be so courteous. This King had wanted to chat with you for a long time, so I didn't want to have no chance at all to see you in the capital. Now, are you willing to drink with me?"

"It is my honor to be invited by Your Highness, I dare to disobey."

The eunuch frowned and bowed to the king before bowing to him, "Your servant pays his respects to Your Highness. The Crown Prince has summoned you, and is now waiting for Your Highness to leave. Your Highness, if this servant can't ask this young master to come, this prince will definitely scold this servant. "

"Why hasn't the crown prince arrived yet?"

Prince Chen pretended to be surprised. It seemed like he just realized that the Crown Prince hadn't come to dinner yet.

"This …"

"Imperial Father has bestowed upon us a banquet. It would not be appropriate for Royal Brother Crown Prince to arrive late. You servants, don't you know to mention something about the Crown Prince?" Since royal father has bestowed upon us a banquet, we should not be late, otherwise we would definitely make royal father unhappy. We should go back and remind the crown prince. "

"Your Highness, this servant doesn't dare. I beg Your Highness to be merciful and allow this servant to bring you to see the Crown Prince."

The eunuch kneeled in front of King Chen's feet and begged.

"Since that's the case, I shall accompany Qingyu to pay my respects to the crown prince. I shall remind his highness to be here as soon as possible."

Helian Manqiu smiled coldly, "His Majesty ordered me to wait here for the banquet. I didn't dare to disobey the decree, so I asked His Highness to say a few words in front of His Highness, but I didn't dare to disobey His Highness' orders and didn't pay my respects."

While they were delaying, Prince Chen suddenly raised his head and smiled, "Isn't that the Crown Prince?"

A bright yellow figure appeared in everyone's sight. Someone had informed the Crown Prince of his arrival. The officials got up and kowtowed to him.

The Crown Prince's long and narrow eyes slightly narrowed as he looked towards Helian Manqiu's direction. Prince Chen had already knelt on the ground. When he saw the Crown Prince walk over, he lowered his head and said, "Chendi pays his respect to the Crown Prince."

"Rise."

After the officials stood up, the Crown Prince stared at Helian Manqiu with a cold smile for a moment. Suddenly, he turned around and walked back to his seat. This was out of everyone's expectation.

"The emperor has arrived …"

"Esteemed Empress has arrived …"

After two long yells, Helian Manqiu understood why the crown prince had returned to his seat and did not come to bother her again.

The crown prince's seat was the closest to the emperor, followed by several princes. The crowd bowed and rose, and the emperor ordered the officials to return to their seats. His gaze suddenly fell upon Helian Manqiu and he smiled, "Qingyu, come over here. It's convenient for us to talk to you."

Helian Manqiu's gaze swept across the princes and imperial clansmen. She stood up respectfully to pay her respects, "This subject thanks Your Majesty for his grace. This subject has a minor official. With the princes and princes present, how could Your Majesty and the Empress have a seat beside this subject?"

"It's fine. Today, let's not talk about imperial etiquette. I have heard of your great name for a long time and would like to see what kind of beautiful young man you are."

The empress laughed as she spoke, causing Helian Manqiu to curse the old hag in her heart.

Although the Queen who had been scolded by her as an old demoness was not only very young, but also had a charming and gentle appearance. In the eyes of Helian Manqiu, she was far from being the same as the old demoness.

"That's right, Qingyu will sit beside the empress and let the empress have a look, so that she can choose a good marriage for you."

The Emperor gave an order. Someone moved Helian Manqiu's seat to the Empress's side and faced the Crown Prince. The two of them looked at each other.

Helian Manqiu's gaze shifted from the crown prince to the empress. It seemed that these two old foxes would not be willing to let her have a few lovely concubines.

"His Majesty's grace is so great that the Empress is like the sea. Even if this subject were to be crushed to pieces, it would be difficult to repay him." It's just that I'm still young, barely fifteen years old. My father died in battle, and now I have to mourn for him for three years. This subject once swore before my father's coffin that I would not take revenge for my father's death and would not discuss the marriage matter! "

After Helian Manqiu finished speaking, she got up and went to the front of the emperor and the empress and knelt on the ground. She bowed her head and choked with sobs, "Your Majesty has treated this subject with such kindness. This subject will not fear the swords and sabers, and vow to exorcise the low and fresh races, protect the northern borders, ensure the peace of the north and repay Your Majesty's kindness! "

The empress's slender eyebrows raised slightly. The marriage had just been brought up when Helian Manqiu's righteous words rejected it.

Although Helian Manqiu's words were respectful and courteous, she had undoubtedly refused the marriage, causing the Empress to feel displeased in her heart.

Father is filial and vows to avenge his father. These dignified words made the Emperor and Queen speechless.

The emperor smiled and said, "I have always valued filial piety first, and the Great Hengs Empire values filial piety the most as well. Qing Yu's heart serves as a role model for the court."

The empress was helpless. "Your Majesty is right, but General Helian only has this much blood and bone. Now, Qing Yu is leading troops to defend the northern border against the low level foreign invaders. If something goes wrong, wouldn't that mean the Helian Family has no descendants? Qing Yu for the filial piety of the father, swore to take revenge for General Helian, really let me pity and admire. Right now, we can set a marriage and wait for Qing Yu to avenge our father's filial piety before getting married. "

Helian Manqiu knelt on the ground and silently cursed the old demoness for being too nosy. She straightened her body and said with a loud voice, "A man cannot be completely loyal to the nation. I have been blessed by the Emperor, but I have never had the chance to repay him. How could I dare to delay the personal affairs of my children? "I owe it to the Emperor. I have made a vow in front of my father's coffin …"

Helian Manqiu had sworn a vow to the coffin at Mount Helian to pay her respects to her father. She had vowed to avenge her father and cure her sister of her disease, but the Empress could not say anything.

The emperor suddenly smiled and said, "It's rare for Qingyu to put so much effort into this matter. If any of these noble young ladies of noble families were to enter the eyes of Qing Yu, Qingyu can just speak freely. I will definitely grant them a marriage."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Your subject is willing to purge the northern border of those inferior tribes first. I dare not to consider the relationship between our sons and daughters."

Helian Manqiu rejected the marriage in front of everyone, breaking countless hearts of her own. Many women could not help but lower their heads and sob with disappointment.

The emperor ordered the ladies of various families to perform brilliantly. The empress smiled and said, "Currently, the princes lack people to serve them. It's time to enrich the estate and select a few quick-witted girls to wait on them."

The gazes of the officials and the ladies of the noble families immediately shone brightly. In Helian Manqiu's eyes, it was as if she was a wild wolf in the dark of the night was peeping at its prey.

She could not help but look at the princes with a gaze of pity. She saw that the princes' gazes were even brighter than that of wild wolves, flashing with a faint luster as they searched for the attractive lady within the crowd of beauties. It seemed that this was a hunting ceremony. The princes and beauties were hunters and prey at the same time.

She was too bored to look away. She had no interest in those beauties, so when she looked away, she inadvertently swept her gaze over the crown prince's body.

The Crown Prince had a pair of long and narrow, devilishly charming eyes, but he was staring at her the entire time. He didn't even glance at the fat and thin beauties present, as if his attraction far surpassed the dozens of beauties present with different postures.

Helian Manqiu's eyes were as cold as snow. She swept her gaze over the crown prince's face without stopping for even a moment.

It was best for this crown prince not to have any ideas about her. Otherwise, she wouldn't mind letting him know why the flowers were so red.

The empress's delicate eyebrows knitted together as she stared at the crown prince. The crown prince didn't seem to care, but his gaze was still fixed on Helian Manqiu, unwilling to leave her side.

The officials couldn't help but shake their heads. This uncle Zhenbei wasn't some playboy from the capital. He was a weak young master, and could have the crown prince ban him as his mistress.

The emperor raised his glass, and the officials all hastily toasted him. There were endless flattery in the air, and all the noble ladies started to prepare their gifts, even though they couldn't marry the perfect uncle Zhen Bei, as well as the nobler princes.

In the middle of singing and dancing, a group of officials, Tao Ran.

"Clank …"

A crisp sound entered Helian Manqiu's ears. The wine cup in the emperor's hand suddenly fell to the ground and he collapsed.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"