The seductive princess is no longer being pursued; the aloof prime minister is facing a crematorium.

Chapter 18 Princess Zhaoming is truly shameless!
The once noisy and lively flower-viewing banquet suddenly fell silent.

Everyone thought they had misheard.

The lively atmosphere of clinking glasses came to an abrupt end.

Xia Wenbin was the first to react.

He first gave a cold laugh, then spoke in a deep voice: "Nonsense! The Prime Minister's name is clearly not on Princess Zhaoming's invitation!"

"Furthermore, how could the Grand Secretary possibly attend her banquet!"

During the banquet, some officials hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, yes, the Grand Secretary and Princess Zhaoming have a terrible relationship, how could he possibly attend her Yichun Banquet!"

"Maybe they misread the invitation and were actually coming to the flower viewing banquet!"

The crowd gradually grew noisy, with people discussing the matter.

Although the officials comforted themselves in this way, it was clear that some officials were already getting restless.

—That's the Grand Secretary, who's above everyone else!
If the Grand Secretary attends the banquet at the Princess's residence while they don't, wouldn't that be disrespectful to the Grand Secretary?
In the pavilion, the women also noticed the commotion at the banquet.

Xia Yurong frowned slightly and called over Hongyao, who was serving at the banquet.

"What happened?" Xia Yurong asked softly.

Hongyao lowered her head and said in a soft voice, "I heard... I heard that the Grand Secretary went to Princess Zhaoming's Yichun Banquet..."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yurong's face immediately turned ugly.

The women nearby naturally heard this as well. Qing Shan frowned and asked, "What does the Grand Secretary mean by this? Weren't you supposed to come to the flower viewing banquet? Why did you go to the Princess's residence?"

Xia Yurong forced a smile, her lips twitching slightly: "Qingshan, don't say that. Perhaps Brother Pei has some difficulties..."

Hearing Xia Yurong say this, Qing Shan's eyes lit up: "That's right! It must be that Princess Zhaoming! She must have something on the Grand Secretary and be using it to threaten him!"

"If that weren't the case, why would the Grand Secretary have attended her banquet!"

At this point, Qing Shan said indignantly, "Hmph! Back then, Princess Zhaoming was just bullying people by relying on her power. She even made you work as a servant in her household. It was simply outrageous!"

"Now she's nothing more than a disgraced princess who has lost power. Does she really think she can regain her former glory?"

"You finally escaped from that hellish situation, and she still wants to monopolize the Prime Minister? She's utterly shameless!"

Xia Yurong's eyes reddened slightly. She lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly, looking pitiful: "Qingshan, please don't say anymore... I... it's my fault, I shouldn't have asked for so much..."

Qingshan couldn't bear to see this and hurriedly comforted her, "Yurong, don't cry. How can that unruly and shameless princess who has fallen from power compare to you?"

"You and the Prime Minister are a perfect match, and you are kindred spirits. It was she who interfered and shamelessly harassed you!"

"Hmph! If I ever see her again, I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget!"

Upon seeing this, the women sighed and offered words of comfort, while condemning Princess Zhaoming for being shameless and licentious!

Sure enough, several officials at the other banquet couldn't sit still any longer.

They rose obsequiously and bowed slightly to Xia Wenbin, who was seated at the head of the table: "Lord Xia, please forgive us, we are not good drinkers, so we will take our leave now."

Regardless of the reason why the Grand Secretary went to the Princess's residence, it would be best for them to take a look.

Xia Wenbin naturally knew what these opportunistic officials were thinking, so he didn't stop them. He just smiled and had the servants see them out.

A large portion of the officials left in small groups, leaving only a small fraction of the officials at the banquet.

Although the officials were uneasy, they still felt that the Grand Secretary's visit to the Princess's residence for the banquet was just an accident and were unwilling to leave.

Xia Wenbin's gaze swept over less than half of the guests, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.

"It is an honor for me, Xia, that you all have come to my residence for the flower-viewing banquet today, and I naturally cannot let you down!"

As he spoke, Xia Wenbin clapped his hands, and two servants carrying wine jugs walked to the center of the banquet. "This wine is a famous Jiangnan wine—Ten States Spring Colors, specially made by the Si Family Winery in Jiangnan."

"I am in high spirits today, so I will share these two jugs of spring scenery from ten provinces with you!"

As he spoke, Xia Wenbin smiled and raised his hand, and two servants immediately went to either side to respectfully pour wine for the guests still at the banquet.

"Ten Provinces Spring Scenery!? That's the Ten Provinces Spring Scenery that only sells two pots a month!?"

Xia Wenbin smiled and stroked his beard: "Exactly."

The guests were all shocked: "Lord Xia's status is indeed extremely esteemed, to be able to obtain such fine wine!"

An official chimed in, saying, "It's said that to buy this wine, money alone isn't enough; you have to place an order in advance, and you have to wait two or three years for just one pot!"

Xia Wenbin waved his hand modestly, saying, "Although it is fine wine, I am in a good mood today and would like to invite all my colleagues to taste it together."

Upon hearing this, all the guests raised their glasses and loudly said to Xia Wenbin, who was seated at the head of the table, "Thank you, Lord Xia."

Thanks to these two pots of "Ten Provinces of Spring Colors," the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became lively again.

Each guest received only one cup of "Ten Provinces Spring Colors," and everyone cherished it, praising it highly.

"Hahaha, even if the Grand Secretary goes to the Princess's residence today, we would still be willing to stay here with Lord Xia to enjoy such divine food!"

"Yes, yes! The Grand Secretary must have been forced to attend the banquet at the Princess's residence. I imagine that even if we didn't attend, Princess Zhaoming couldn't do anything to us!"

"If I had gone to the princess's residence today, I wouldn't have been able to drink such fine wine!"

"It was worth it! It was worth it!"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank heartily, and laughter filled the room once again.

Just then, a servant hurriedly approached an official who was drinking and whispered something to him.

The next second, the official who was drinking heartily suddenly shuddered, and the unfinished wine glass fell to the ground!
His eyes widened, and his voice trembled slightly: "Is this really true?"

The attendant hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, the people on Chang'an Street all saw it. Now, that person's carriage... should be arriving at the princess's residence soon..."

Upon hearing this, the official scrambled to his feet from his desk, not even having time to bow to Xia Wenbin and take his leave, and ran out of the Xia residence in a panic!
Before everyone could react, several more attendants rushed in, whispering something to their respective masters.

Immediately, their eyes widened, and with expressions of shock, they straightened their clothes and ran away!

Xia Wenbin frowned, still not realizing what had happened.

The dozen or so officials who still hadn't received any news looked panicked and exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do.

"W-what's going on?"

"Why did they all leave so suddenly?"

"Yes, why are you walking in such a hurry?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know..."

The whispers and anxieties among the crowd overshadowed the laughter and toasts.

It wasn't until the servants of the Xia family rushed into the banquet in a panic and knelt down in fear that the situation was resolved.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Yichun Banquet, the Yichun Banquet—"

"What happened to the Yichun Banquet?!" For some reason, Xia Wenbin suddenly had a bad feeling.

The servant was so frightened that he could barely speak: "The Jiang family of Jiangnan has gone to the Princess's Yichun Banquet!"

(End of this chapter)