Chapter 306 The Battle of Wits at the Fifth Princess’ Banquet
The banquet began and everyone presented their gifts. Emperor Zongwen and the Empress appeared for just a moment before leaving the banquet to the young people. Men and women were sat separately in two rows that spread out from the center table. Mo Xuetong sat on the left of the Fifth Princess. She was now the Princess Anping of the royal family and was thus more noble than the other young ladies. Ling Fengyan, You Yue’e, Luo Mingzhu, and Chen Ya’er followed.
The male guests were sat on the other side of the Fifth Princess. Bai Yihao sat directly next to her followed by Bai Yichen, Ling Mingfeng, You Yuecheng, Luo Wenyou, and Chen Yanyu. Even Sima Lingyun, who had not appeared for a long time was here as well.
Mo Xuetong’s gaze landed on Sima Lingyun, who was seated at the very end of the row that held the male guests. His dressing was still high-class. However, he looked wretched, both in terms of his disposition and his appearance. He was no longer the handsome and spirited Marquess Zhenguo. Nobody bothered him as he sat there.
After what happened, his family’s reputation was completely ruined. He even had to marry a concubine’s daughter as his legal wife. Most importantly, the reputation of the concubine’s daughter was terrible. No one knew if she had already had any dalliances with other men. He had ruined his family’s reputation for a woman like this. All the men treated Sima Lingyun with disdain.
Even though the Duke Zhenguo family had fallen in the past, they were still considered nobility. Some of their old family friends would still help them out from time to time. It was easy for them to find someone to help them. Even though they were not really in official career, it was not impossible. However, they deemed the position too lowly and was not willing to take it, which was why they took short cuts. However, in the end, nobody could be bothered with him now.
If not because of his aunt’s help, he would not even receive an invitation to the Fifth Princess’ banquet.
He was sat at the end and wanted to find an opportunity to speak with the other noble sons so that they would speak up for him. It would be fine even if he could get a humble position. When he thought of how he would marry Mo Xuemin in two weeks, he could not bring himself to be excited. He only felt frustrated. If not for that woman, he would not have ended up in his current predicament.
He looked up as he thought of that and poured himself a cup of wine. He was about to drink it all. He had only been in the palace for a short time and there were already many people who looked at him with disdain. He could only douse the anger he felt with alcohol.
He saw Mo Xuetong sitting right up in front as he looked up and he paused for a moment.
That beauty had once been so close to him. She had been so close he could have controlled her. That was why he had plotted time after time. He only realized now that the distance between the two was so wide it was the distance between heaven and earth. He suddenly felt emotional and his hand shook. He spilled the wine he was holding.
Mo Xuetong smirked coldly when she saw how wretched Sima Lingyun was. She looked away with a cold smile on her lips!
In her past life, Sima Lingyun had stepped on her to gain a court position. In the end, he had killed her after she had lost her value. He had discovered the Yuxiao Flower in the Fu General Manor and used it to his advantage. He probably had never considered then that she was the reason for his ascend. In her rebirth, she stepped upon them, pushing them into the dirt.
There was so much enmity, so much blood. The fall of Duke Zhenguo’s manor was not enough to pay for all that…
Bai Yihao’s gaze moved casually from her and onto Sima Lingyun. His eyes were deep. He leaned back slightly and a palace maid hurriedly filled his cup shyly. Then, she backed away respectfully and avoided the Fifth Princess’ cold gaze. She lowered her head and stood behind them.
“Cousin, the present that you gave me is beautiful. I really like it. How about you take me out of the palace to have fun tomorrow?” The Fifth Princess smiled at Bai Yihao. Her gaze was filled with adoration. The princess did not hesitate to announce all that she felt even in front of so many people.
Bai Yihao had given the Fifth Princess a small horse. It was a newborn ten-thousand-mile horse. It was not large and was very suitable for a female rider. The Fifth Princess had already seen it and liked it very much. She would naturally use it as an excuse to raise the matter of going out on a trip. She smiled coyly as she spoke.
“That’s fine. My royal brother will only be going home a few days later. Why don’t Your Highness accompany him for a few days and go on a spring trip?” Bai Yihao put down the cup in his hand elegantly. He knocked on the table with his fingers lightly and glanced at Bai Yichen with a sudden smile.
The Fifth Princess’ expression grew ugly. She bit her lips and looked at Bai Yihao coyly.
Bai Yihao smiled and leaned backward. He caught the Fifth Princess’ dress by accident and immediately sat up straight. Then, he smiled and said gently to the Fifth Princess, “Hang on, I will get a palace maid to undo this. Don’t move, or your beautiful clothes will be ruined.”
The Fifth Princess smiled happily at his words. A palace maid had already seen it and immediately approached to remove the loose thread that was tangled in Bai Yihao’s long slender fingers.
After it was removed, Bai Yihao tugged on the Fifth Princess’ belt lightly. Then, he removed it as if nothing had happened. It was an intimate move that had never happened before. All the Fifth Princess could see was his handsome smile. She was stunned and looked at Bai Yihao, dazed. When she came back to her senses, she quickly picked up her wine cup and took a sip to hide the flush on her cheeks.
She glanced at Bai Yihao from the corner of her eyes and saw him leaning on the back of his seat. His handsomeness and elegance were unique and second to none. His eyes were dark and deep and in them shone gentleness. Even though the Fifth Princess could not understand what his eyes were saying, she could not look away. Her eyes were filled with adoration.
“The little horse is indeed good. I spent a long time picking up and it is very suitable for you. Let’s go on a ride to relax in a few days. It is a rare occasion for my eldest brother to be here in the Qin Kingdom and it’d make a good trip if he were to come along.” He said softly. If not for Bai Yichen’s good hearing, he would not have heard it.
“Alright!” The Fifth Princess did not know what to say. She held on to her cup and looked at Bai Yihao in a daze. She liked Bai Yihao since the first time she saw him and she wanted to marry him. There were other princesses who liked him secretly as well, but they did not dare to be close to Bai Yihao after the legitimate Fifth Princess taught them a lesson. They grew distant from her as well.
Only Bai Yihao remained, not close and not distant. His gentleness and handsomeness were like the moon in the sky. He was flawless and she yearned for him. As they grew up, she fell for his handsome appearance and she grew to yearn more and more for Bai Yihao to show only her his gentleness and to smile only at her.
The Empress Dowager resided deep inside the palace. If Bai Yihao wanted to meet her, he would have to enter the palace. Some of the palace maids looked at Bai Yihao with great affection and some of the braver ones would use all sorts of excuses to lean into him. The Fifth Princess had them flogged to death or hung after she found out. She treated any woman who was interested in Bai Yihao harshly. She would not hold back.
He could only belong to her!
However, even though Bai Yihao had always been gentle towards her, he was also very distant. He had never behaved amorously toward her and had never smiled at her only. He had never been so affectionate towards her. The Fifth Princess’s heart soared and she could not be bothered about anything else. She only had eyes for Bai Yihao’s handsome face.
Bai Yichen was certain of his decision then. He looked away and drank a large cup of wine with a determined expression. A flash of determined coldness appeared in his eyes.
Bai Yihao had set up an odd plot. He had shown affection for the beautiful Princess Anping earlier. And after Bai Yichen had seen through his plot, he had set up another and shown affection to the Fifth Princess. However, no matter what he did, it would not shake him from his determination to marry the Fifth Princess. On one hand, marrying the Fifth Princess led to the greatest benefit, and on the other, Bai Yihao had made him angry.
Did he really think that Bai Yichen was a cricket in his hand he could crush as he wished?
Bai Yichen drained the wine cup in his hand. His eyes were filled with anger and contempt. There was a hint of viciousness on his arrogant expression. He watched as Bai Yihao and the Fifth Princess interacted and almost blew his top. He would not allow Bai Yihao to get what he wanted. He had done so much, but wasn’t all that he had done to convince Bai Yichen to give up the Fifth Princess?!
“Eldest Royal Brother, I will go with the Fifth Princess to race our horses in a few days. Will you go as well?” Bai Yihao seemed unable to see that Bai Yichen was in a bad mood. He turned around and smiled casually, saying, “It is spring and the weather is warming and flowers are blooming. The weather is good too. Royal brother, leave the nation’s matters for a while and relax for a couple of days.”
“Rest assured that I will definitely be there.” Bai Yichen said, seemingly as if he was gritting his teeth. His gaze landed on the beautiful small face diagonally across him. After being plotted against by Bai Yihao, Princess Anping’s expression had remained stony. Perhaps it was because she had some wine, her eyes were misty and there was a slight blush on her face. She seemed even more beautiful.
“Princess Anping, we will go and ride together in a few days. Will you come as well?” He suddenly stood up and said to Mo Xuetong loudly.
His voice towered over the whispers from the crowd. Everyone looked at Bai Yichen in shock and then looked at Mo Xuetong.
Mo Xuetong did not expect that Bai Yihao would suddenly speak to her. After a momentary pause, she regained her composure. She stood up and curtsied to Bai Yihao, saying, “First Prince, you are too kind. I wish to go out on a trip with you all as well. However, my mother is ill and I have to take care of her. I shall not bother Your Highnesses.”
Mo Xuetong was very polite but she did not wish to participate in the trip at all. Anyone with sharp eyes could see what was happening given the situation in Yan Kingdom. If she were to be married over there, she might die. Furthermore, Mo Xuetong had never thought of marrying over to the Yan Kingdom. She had never thought well of Bai Yichen even though he seemed to be much of a better catch than Bai Yihao right now.
In her past life, she had personally witnessed Bai Yihao’s victory. So what if Bai Yichen worked with the Empress to make chaos? In the fire, Bai Yihao smiled proudly and heroically. Mo Xuetong was certain that even if the Fifth Princess were to marry Bai Yichen, Bai Yihao would have a way to deal with it.
“Aunt is sick? When did that happen? Why didn’t anyone tell me that?” Bai Yihao glanced around and he asked with concern.
“It is not a major illness, but she has a slight cough.” Mo Xuetong answered politely.
Bai Yichen was even more certain that Bai Yihao appeared to be very interested and affectionate toward Princess Anping to trick him so that he would give up the Fifth Princess and marry Princess Anping. They were not close at all and were even a little distant. Mo Xuetong had not consulted the skilled physician, Bai Yihao, even though his aunt was ill. From this, one could tell that the two were not close.
Bai Yichen sat down, satisfied, having seen through Bai Yihao’s plot. He did not mind Mo Xuetong’s refusal!
He did not know that the Princess Royal had intentions of committing suicide. She would naturally not tell anyone that she was ill. She did not even ask for a royal physician she was familiar with from the palace. She had just found a random physician and took some medicine. Even Mo Xuetong had not been informed, much less Bai Yihao.