ebookland Chapter 771 The Princess's Marriage (15)
Chapter 771 The Princess's Marriage (15)
Because Shangguan Xi suppressed Shangguan Xi, he was unable to marry a concubine from a prominent family.
"Greetings, Consort Yan!" Several rows of people knelt down and said in unison.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Many people stood up and sighed inwardly when they saw Consort Yan.
She truly deserves to be called a beauty in the harem, on par with Consort Lan, and was also the most outstanding in appearance among the three princesses.
The beautiful woman walked gracefully in, instantly illuminating the once somewhat quiet palace, making every corner shine with her presence.
Xue Chanyi walked to the front and sat down next to Consort An, Bai Wanning.
Recently, the female lead has become increasingly favored, and she and Shangguan Xi have developed feelings for each other, but not as deep as in the original story.
"Sister Yanfei, you are dressed differently today than usual, but you are still dazzling," Bai Wanning said with a smile.
Before Xue Chanyi could speak, Consort Kang spoke first.
She looked at him with disdain: "Consort An, stop with your hypocrisy and empty words. I think you're just jealous of Consort Yan."
Upon hearing this, Bai Wanning suppressed her smile.
Lately, Consort Kang has been targeting me at every turn. My schemes and plots are useless; she even deliberately tries to belittle me when she speaks.
She had long been unable to tolerate this person, and coldly questioned, "Consort Kang, what are your intentions in distorting my meaning like this?"
"I'm just telling the truth. If you were truly sincere, why would you care so much?" Consort Kang had an expression that said she knew exactly what Consort Kang meant.
Through their interactions over the past few months, she had seen through Bai Wanning's perfect facade, which concealed a deep-seated falsehood.
Although she had just spoken kindly and praised Consort Yan with a smile, she still saw the dark light in her eyes.
Although she often cursed Consort Yan as a vixen, Consort Yan was frequently ill and there was no one to compete with her for favor, so she was too lazy to pick a fight with her.
"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived!!"
The eunuch's announcement interrupted Bai Wanning's retort.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress." Everyone bowed again.
"No need for formalities, rise." Shangguan Xi raised his hand, and only at this moment did he feel that he was still a true emperor.
Unfortunately, his good fortune didn't last long. The regent was even more arrogant than him and made his grand entrance last.
"The Regent has arrived!!"
"Greetings, Regent." The person who had just squatted down stood up, then squatted down again to pay his respects.
"Get up, all of you." As Shangguan Xi walked inside, his gaze subtly drifted towards the concubines.
Seeing him staring at her, Xue Chanyi winked at him, and Shangguan Xi raised the corners of his mouth in response.
Xue Chanyi remained seated in the chair, having been using illusion magic the entire time.
The concubines do not need to bow to the regent, but they must stand up.
Shangguan Xi sat diagonally opposite Xue Chanyi, glancing over at her every now and then after sitting down.
Seeing that Shangguan Xi sat down without saying a word, Shangguan Xi ignored him and directly ordered people to prepare the banquet.
At the banquet, everyone watched talent shows, listened to songs and dances, drank wine, or chatted quietly with acquaintances.
During the banquet, a beautiful woman suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the hall.
"Your Majesty, on this auspicious New Year's Eve, I, your humble servant Xu Zhi'en, humbly offer you a dance to add to the joy. May you enjoy peace and happiness year after year."
Shangguan Xi smiled and asked, "Are you from Grand Secretary Xu's family?"
"Your Majesty, it is indeed my grandfather."
"In that case, you may perform a dance. No matter how well you dance, I will reward you handsomely."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Zhi'en said gratefully, her gaze fixed on the Emperor.
His intentions were obvious to anyone with eyes, and Shangguan Xi certainly could see them too, and didn't mind taking another woman into his harem at all.
Moreover, Grand Secretary Xu had considerable prestige in the previous dynasty, although it is unknown whether he had always maintained neutrality.
Why would she suddenly bring up her granddaughter, as if she intends to rely on him?
The concubines gritted their teeth, thinking that another person would be vying for the emperor's favor.
Those ministers who could see the situation clearly all looked toward the regent.
Shangguan Xi didn't even look into the hall; his eyes were fixed on his wine cup, which he picked up and drank in one gulp.
At the same time, Xue Chanyi slowly drank a cup of wine.
Just now, when everyone was not paying attention to them, Shangguan Xi raised his glass to her in invitation, and she returned the toast.
Looking at Xu Zhien who had returned in a dance costume, she thought it was a pity to enter the harem now; she had definitely chosen the wrong path.
However, she didn't believe there wasn't some other reason behind it.
As the music began, Xu Zhien danced gracefully, her movements beautiful and captivating.
After her dance ended, the palace gained another concubine, Yue Pin.
After drinking a few cups with the people who came to offer toasts, Xue Chanyi took Liuli outside for some fresh air.
She disliked crowded occasions and began to live like a ghost in the harem.
No matter how they fight, I won't interfere as long as it doesn't involve me.
But I still occasionally watch the live streams of the harem, just like watching palace intrigue dramas.
All I know is that there's been a lot of turmoil on the female lead's side because she's currently in favor of the emperor.
Her usual glory overshadowed that of Consort Lan, so naturally she had to face countless conspiracies in the harem.
As long as Jinglan Palace remained peaceful, she was happy to be at ease.
"Your Highness, let's go back after enjoying the breeze for a while. Don't catch a cold," Liuli said with concern.
Winter is cold, and you shouldn't stay out in the wind for too long, or you'll easily get sick.
"The wind isn't too strong over there by the artificial hill. Come with me for a walk."
Upon hearing this, Liuli looked around and saw that the artificial hill did indeed block most of the wind from entering.
Xue Chanyi stood beside the artificial hill, enjoying the gentle breeze. She didn't feel cold at all; on the contrary, she felt very comfortable.
"How much longer are you going to stand there and watch?" she suddenly turned to the side and said.
Liuli was startled by what she heard. When she looked over, she saw the Regent standing not far away, smiling as he looked at her mistress.
"This servant has met the Regent."
Shangguan Xi waved his hand and spoke only to Xue Chanyi: "I saw that you had been out for a long time, so I came looking for you."
Liuli consciously left to keep watch, leaving the two of them some space to talk.
Since she had seen the Regent Prince frequently visiting the Empress, she was no longer surprised by what he said.
The two seemed to have an overly intimate relationship, but that was not something a servant like her could comment on.
Xue Chanyi looked at the person walking towards her and asked, "Did you arrange things for Consort Yue?"
"Not really. I was just thinking of talking to you about this in private. It's cold, don't catch a cold."
Shangguan Xi walked up to her, lowered his eyes, and reached out to tighten the fox fur coat on her body.
"You want to see how many ministers still have wavering hearts and want to defect to Shangguan Xi, don't you?"
Given her intelligence, she was able to guess what I was thinking.
Shangguan Xi was not surprised at all: "Yes, but I only gave them a push. I didn't expect that Grand Secretary Xu's thinking was so conservative."