Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 89 There is no silver here
In the Chaohui Hall, the lights are bright, making the entire hall as bright as day.

The room was filled with distinguished guests, all of them well-dressed and graceful.

Several graceful dancers were dancing in the hall. Their thin gauze skirts fluttered in the wind, like gorgeous clouds in the sky.

The musician plucked the strings with full passion and the tune was pleasant to the ear.

Among them, a singer with a pretty face was particularly outstanding. She held a sandalwood pipa in her hand, her eyes full of affection, her red lips slightly parted, and a melodious tune slowly flowed along her fingertips.

"The sound of celestial music plays softly, and auspicious mist surrounds the red door.

The zither and the harp sound, the dawn breaks, and we drink the fine wine.

Yesterday, the fairy girl leisurely entered your mansion.

The herb and the nectar rush together to bring spring to the world.

Offering peaches and wine, this blessing is endless.

Year after year, round after round, longevity is as solid as Mount Tai..."

"it is good!"

When the song ended, cheers rang out one after another.

"The colorful dress brings good luck, and the fairy music celebrates the birthday. The singing is wonderful."

This song is really great.

Not only did he offer birthday wishes to His Royal Highness Prince Duan, he also cleverly mentioned that Prince Duan had taken in a new beauty, implying that his future life would be full of spring. His words were subtle and elegant.

Prince Duan looked pleased. He nodded slightly, raised his glass with a smile in his eyes and celebrated with everyone.

Li Zhao just came back from changing clothes outside. He tidied up his appearance slowly and sat back down at the table. He looked at the singer singing with an indifferent expression, tapping the rhythm lightly with his fingers, as if he was immersed in it.

The birthday party lasted for most of the day and we were almost done eating and drinking.

There was constant music, singing and dancing, and Li Huan himself felt a little tired of watching it.

However, the prince not only did not leave impatiently as usual, but became more relaxed...

This is really abnormal.

Li Huan picked up the wine glass with a smile on his face.

"Your Highness has reached adulthood, and it is time to consider your lifelong affairs. I heard that your mother is very fond of the girl from Tutor Lu's family, saying that the girl is well-educated, talented, and beautiful. Even your father has agreed. Why not settle down earlier and make a happy marriage?"

Li Zhao had a faint smile on his face and spoke in a lazy tone.

"I see that my brother's backyard is always full of chaos and it's not very happy. It's better to be alone and free than to get involved in the disputes in the backyard and add to the troubles."

The princes' harems were no different from the emperor's. In order to win favor, the concubines competed with each other in all kinds of ways, using all kinds of tricks and means.

In fact, most of the time, men understand it in their hearts, but they are just too lazy to pay attention.

Sitting next to Li Huan was Wei Wang Li Yan.

He had always been on good terms with Prince Duan, but at this moment he agreed with Li Zhao and clapped his hands and laughed.

"What His Royal Highness the Prince said is absolutely true."

Li Yan's queen has passed away for more than a year. He has not remarried yet. He sincerely feels happy about the happiness of being unrestrained and having love everywhere.

"Following one's heart and keeping oneself healthy is the way for a gentleman to live and work."

Li Huan's face straightened and he looked at him seriously.

"That's not called self-discipline, that's called excessive indulgence."

After hearing this, Li Yan shook his head and smiled without saying anything.

Li Zhao sat alone, drinking by himself, as if he had not heard anything at all.

However, Prince Chun Li Qian came up with a grin and tried to join in the fun.

"Second brother, third brother, how can you understand the beauty of fourth brother's words? Just think about it, if you don't get married, you can play freely. Father and mother still treat fourth brother as a child. He doesn't have to worry about anything. He doesn't have to shoulder many responsibilities like eldest brother and second brother. He is very free. You can't understand the happiness of fourth brother at all."

The crown prince is the fourth in the family, but his status as heir apparent is noble.

The only one who would call Li Zhao "fourth brother" was the fifth brother.

Prince Chun Li Chen was only half a year younger than Li Zhao, but his temperament was as unrestrained as that of a teenager. He acted without restraint and his head was full of weird ideas.

The month after he came of age, he married the intelligent and clever Sanniang, the daughter of the Minister of Rites. But even so, she could not control his stubborn temper.

Li Huan frowned and warned: "Fifth brother, be careful with your words and don't forget the order of rank."

Li Huan has always attached great importance to etiquette and rules.

However, Li Chen hated these red tapes the most and could not help but be shocked when he heard them.

"Yes, Your Highness Prince Duan. I'm sorry, Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

Li Zhao smiled lightly, "You and I are brothers, it's rare for us to get together, so let's just have fun. If we follow all those rules, it will seem strange."

Li Qian kept nodding and said, "I can't remember the last time the five of us drank together. Now that my eldest brother is not in the capital, it may be difficult for us to get together often in the future... Alas, they say that the royal family is noble, but sometimes the brotherhood is not as close as that of ordinary people..."

Lao Wu is a straightforward person.

He speaks out what others would not.

After hearing this, the King of Wei felt extremely embarrassed.

Li Huan looked calm and smiled gently.

"My eldest brother did not return to the capital during the Spring Festival last year. He only sent a note to ask about the well-being of our father. I don't know if he is doing well in Yunnan Province."

The boss they are talking about is the virtuous King Li Shao.

That wise king, now thirty-four years old, was sent by the emperor to garrison the remote Dianzhou many years ago.

The biological mother of the virtuous prince was originally a maidservant of Emperor Chongzhao when he was in the Qiandi Palace. She gave birth to him when the emperor was fourteen years old. His mother's background and age seemed to represent the absurd past of Emperor Chongzhao when he was young, and she was not very pleasing to the emperor.

It also made the wise king honest and loyal. He spoke little and rarely interacted with others, making him the least noticeable among his brothers.

However, when the prince left the capital to take up an appointment, he was treated like a prince in Dianzhou.

The King of Wei looked envious when he spoke of this.

"I don't know when I can be like my elder brother, away from the capital, and do something, so as not to be a rich and idle person all day long and be scolded by my father all the time."

Li Qian joked, "Brother, are you too idle? Why not let father assign you a task so you can show off your skills?"

The King of Wei was startled, took a few big gulps of wine, and waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, no... Thank you very much. Thank you very much."

It’s bitterly cold in Yunnan, nowhere near as comfortable as in the capital.

Besides, there are the Crown Prince and Prince Duan above him. Although Prince Wei is also a prince, he never dares to covet things that do not belong to him. Being rich and idle is the best destination for him.

He just spoke too quickly and he didn't want to get into trouble.

Li Qian laughed out loud when he saw this.

Li Heng had a blank expression, as if he didn't hear anything.

A smile appeared in Li Zhao's eyes, and he looked very interested.

It's rare for brothers to get together.

Especially the prince, he rarely appears in public on weekdays.

It's very restrained to get along with him.

Fortunately, there is Li Qian, a lively guy, to liven up the atmosphere and make everyone have a great time.

At this moment, a servant hurried into the hall, bowed respectfully before Li Zhao, Li Huan and the two princes, and said very quickly:
"Your Highnesses, someone in the garden came to report that Princess Wenjia accidentally fell into the water while looking for her husband in Yingyue Lake..."

When Yingyue Lake was excavated, it was two meters deep in order to create a better view, so the lake is very deep.

The other men were afraid to approach the princess when she fell into the water, and most women were not good at swimming...

The four princes were all Wen Jia's half-brothers. Upon hearing the news, they immediately rushed over.

The ministers of Chaohui Palace, Princess Duan of Huashang Hall, and other female relatives also became panicked when they learned about it.

Not only did Princess Wenjia disappear, but Princess Pingle also never returned.

Xue Yuechen felt a little uneasy, so he quickly asked the maid to carry the night light and hurried to Yingyue Lake with the other women.

At this moment, the waves of Yingyue Lake are glowing faintly in the night.

The jade railings by the lake were already crowded with people.

"The Crown Prince is here."

"His Royal Highness Prince Duan is here too."

"Prince Wei and Prince Chun are here too."

Everyone rushed to pay their respects to the nobleman. Xue Yuechen and Li Huan arrived almost at the same time.

But it was still a step too late.

Wen Jia has been salvaged.

She was sitting on the ground with a pale face, most of her body leaning in Xue Sui's arms.

Xue Sui was wet from head to toe, obviously having just come out of the water.

She half-knelt beside Princess Wenjia, still wearing the wedding dress, her makeup smudged, her expression solemn, her eyes concerned, and she put a cloak on Wenjia with great heartache, gently stroked Wenjia's arm with her fingers, and softly comforted the shivering princess.

Li Huan asked: "What's going on?"

The servants around were talking to each other, but no one could explain the whole story.

Li Huan said again: "Wenjia, you speak."

Wen Jia raised his head slightly, with fear in his eyes: "I, I accidentally fell into the water..."

Li Huan glanced at her and looked around at the calm lake and the railing.

"There are wooden railings and stone pillars all around Yingyue Lake. How did you fall into the water?"

Wen Jia bit her lower lip lightly and looked at Li Huan, Li Zhao and others helplessly, looking helpless and pale.

"Crown Prince, Brother, I, I..."

Before she could utter a word, tears were already falling from her red eyes.

Xue Yuechen looked at Xue Sui and was also puzzled.

"Sixth sister, why are you here instead of staying in the bridal chamber?"

Xue Sui raised his head, glanced at Wen Jia's pale face, and whispered, "Princess Wen Jia did not fall into the water."

Everyone was shocked.

She continued calmly, "I just opened the window to get some fresh air, and I saw the princess in a trance, behaving strangely, and stepping over the railing, as if she was thinking of committing suicide... It was really an emergency, I couldn't care less, saving people was the most important thing. I hope the prince and princess will forgive me..."

How could it be a sin to save the princess' life?

What's more, she saved another princess.

Li Huan looked at her deeply, his eyes deep.

Prince of Wei Li Yan and Prince of Chun Li Qian also looked at her in surprise.

It turns out that this person is Miss Xue Liu.

The emperor's brother has just married a new lady today.

Under the light, you can see that her skin is as white as jade, cold and noble, and even though she is soaked, she does not look miserable at all. Especially, she is calm and collected in the face of difficulties, and can even save people underwater...

Everyone's eyes were looking back and forth at Xue Sui's face, but Li Zhao seemed to be completely unable to see her.

Like an outsider, he walked to the stone railing and looked thoughtfully at the exquisite and elegant lakeside residence not far away.

This place belongs to the backyard area of ​​Prince Duan's Mansion, so ordinary people naturally won't come here.

The only one who could come and go freely and stay here openly was Princess Pingle.

Li Zhao asked, "Do you know why the Prince Consort came here?"

The two girls were so frightened that they were shaking all over and lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.

Li Zhao glanced at Xue Sui who acted as if nothing had happened.

What a vindictive woman.

He couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips, and suddenly he began to like Xue Liu's damn desire for revenge.

That day at Zhulin Yashe, Pingle wanted to lock them in the house and make them look bad.

Today she must take revenge!

This is a very good idea and is exactly what he wants.

Li Zhao turned around and looked at Wen Jia: "Sister, are you sure that the prince consort is in Yingyue Lake?"

Wen Jia didn't say anything.

His face flushed red, and it was obvious that he had something to hide that he couldn't speak out.

Li Huan seemed to have noticed something and looked up at the houses by the lake.

"Someone is coming..."

Li Zhao was faster than him and interrupted him with a cold snort.

"The princess accidentally fell into the water while looking for her husband, but the husband did nothing about it. How audacious!"

After saying that, he lifted the corner of his robe, led his men to rush towards the elegant house by the lake, and pointed with his hand.

"Come here, go and bring the consort out to me and ask him why he put the princess in danger and didn't care about anything..."

The prince is Wen Jia's younger brother.

It was reasonable for him to do so.

The brother-in-law in the world vents his anger for his sister, and it makes sense wherever he goes...

Even if this is Prince Duan's Mansion...

Li Huan was a step too slow, and by the time he realized that the situation was not good and wanted to stop it, he had already lost the opportunity.

Lulian, the maid arranged by Pingle to go out, could not stop Li Zhao's guards at all.

With a loud bang, the flimsy door was knocked open.

Pingle walked out with a flushed face, her clothes were disheveled, her hair was a little messy, and she looked like she was still in love, but she deliberately rubbed her eyes, pretending to be unhappy as if she had just woken up.

"How dare you enter my residence without my permission?"

Everyone turned around and looked at Li Zhao.

Li Zhao smiled slightly, "Where is the prince consort?"

Ping Le asked coldly, "Which consort is the prince asking about?"

The smile on Li Zhao's lips became more and more playful.

If Pingle didn't know that Fan Bing was in Yingyue Lake, this sentence would be redundant.

Normal people usually only think about their own prince consort.

Li Zhao smiled and asked, "Sister, how many consorts do you have?"

Pingle's expression changed slightly, but he was not nervous.

"Just now I was in the room and heard you say that you were looking for Wen Jia's consort. That's why I asked this question..."

As she spoke, she looked towards the crowd coming towards her.

"Why, do you suspect that I have hidden Wen Jia's consort? What a joke! I have no dealings with Fan Bing, why would I hide him?"

Li Zhao smiled and asked: "What is the princess doing here?"

Ping Le replied, "I drank a little too much at the banquet and got a little tipsy, so I came here to rest. I usually do this, and my brother knows about it, so what's so strange about it?"

It is not uncommon for people to take a rest here after getting drunk.

The strange thing was her face, it looked like she was drunk, but also a little different.

Any married woman in the crowd would inevitably be frightened.

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

There is a tense atmosphere.

Just then, a guard in the crowd shouted loudly.

"Found it, the prince consort was found..."

"In Princess Pingle's room!"

The screams were deafening.

Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound.

Fan Bing was seen coming out of the side room of the princess' residence in a panic, accompanied by two guards. He lowered his head slightly and explained in a low voice.

"I, I came here to look for the colorful parrot..."

There is no three hundred taels of silver here.

Who can believe it?

It's a little late at noon, but luckily I have enough food, please eat, the second update will be in the evening...