APTnovel Chapter 157 Prince Li Chu
Chapter 157 Prince Li Chu
At the wedding banquet at Zhou's residence, Feng Jia followed Lady Musk to the table as a guest.
Although the Zhou family, the Minister of Agriculture, is only a third-rank official, they are Concubine Xiao's maiden family. Even the powerful Ninth Prince has to call Zhou Langyi uncle. Although Concubine Xiao was beaten to death, it was probably because of guilt. Lord Zhou, who should have fallen in status, is highly regarded. He has received many rewards in the past half month and is becoming more and more proud.
Although Lord Zhou was only taking a concubine today, the wedding banquet was held as grandly as if he were getting married. High-ranking officials, princes, princesses, and even Li Chu, a prince of a different surname who had lived in seclusion and rarely shown his face in recent years, all came. It was a very lively occasion.
"Old Lady Musk." In the flower hall, Shi Xun brought two of his men to the front of Old Lady Musk and bowed to her.
Old Lady Musk leaned on her cane and said with a smile, "Master Shi."
He looked around for a moment and asked, "Why, the young master didn't come today?"
Shi Xun said: "Young Lord is still worried about the drought in Yangcheng. He was summoned by the Saint this morning to discuss matters, so he asked me to come to the banquet."
The old lady nodded and said, "Young Lord, you are thinking about the people. This is a blessing for the people of Dali. Shu'er, Xiyi, Zhao'er, why don't you pay your respects to Master Shi!"
The three daughters of the Xie family walked up to him, bowed together, and said in a clear voice, "Greetings, Master Shi."
Shi Xun bowed in response. After a few words of greeting, Old Lady Musk said goodbye and went to the women's section with her three granddaughters.
Shi Xun also walked towards the men's seat. When he passed by Xie Lanzhao, he suddenly heard a woman's soft exclamation. It turned out that the handkerchief in her hand was not held firmly and was blown to the ground by the wind, right at Shi Xun's feet.
Shi Xun naturally lowered his head, raised the handkerchief, and handed it over with a smile. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "The people from the Dali Temple have surrounded the Zhou family. We also have people in the hall. Don't worry, as long as Lu Xun dares to take action, we can catch him in the act!"
Feng Jia nodded slightly, raised her hand to take the handkerchief, and asked softly, "Song's parents?"
"The maids and servants who serve them are all ours."
Feng Jia glanced around and added, "All the guests here today are distinguished guests. It would be best for you to find an empty place or an open area to avoid causing panic."
Shi Xun also had this plan, "Of course. When the bride crosses the fire basin, she will use the cup-smashing as a signal."
"Zhao'er?" Not far away, seeing that she did not catch up, Old Lady Musk called out.
Feng Jia then grabbed the handkerchief and walked towards the direction of the old lady, calling out in a clever manner, "Grandma."
"Where have you been?" Old Lady Musk looked at Feng Jia, then looked suspiciously at Shi Xun's back who had already walked away, with an unhappy look on her face.
Feng Jia explained: "My granddaughter's handkerchief fell down just now, and Master Shi picked it up and gave it back to me, which is why I fell behind a few steps."
"Why are you so careless?" The old lady Musk had a slightly reproachful look on her face. "Shi Xun is the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, a second-rank official, and he is also the young cabinet minister's man. Your father and the young cabinet minister are from different factions. As the daughter of the Xie family, you should be careful with your words and actions, and don't get too close to him!"
"Grandma is right." Feng Jia obediently supported Old Lady Musk and walked towards the women's seats.
Old Lady Musk looked at Xie Xiyi and Xie Shubai again: "And you, don't be like the other women in the capital, who are deceived by Shi Xun's appearance and can't tell the difference between the important and the unimportant! Not only does he hold an important position and have a sensitive identity, but the emperor also intends to match him with Princess Mingyue. He should be chosen as the consort next year. Lord Shi is not someone you can covet. Do you understand?"
He actually wants to be Princess Mingyue's consort?
Feng Jia looked towards the women's seat, and sure enough, she saw Princess Mingyue, dressed in gorgeous clothes, following Shi Xun's back with burning eyes not far away. Whenever a woman came forward to talk to Shi Xun, she would twist her handkerchief tightly with both hands, and her eyes seemed to want to eat that person alive.
Most of the guests at the ladies' table have already arrived.
Feng Jia sat next to Xie Shubai and asked in a low voice, "I heard that this Lord Shi is the son of a criminal?"
"Why do you care so much about him?"
"Just a casual question."
Xie Shubai stared at her for a moment before saying, "Master Shixun's original name was Fu Shixun."
Fu Shixun, surnamed Fu? Feng Jia thought for a moment and then said, "What is the relationship between Fu Chu, the former crown prince's grand tutor, and him?"
"He is Shi Xun's grandfather." Xie Shubai said.
The Fu family had served as officials in three dynasties and devoted themselves to the Dali dynasty. Originally, they supported the party that wanted to depose the crown prince, but the deposed crown prince forced the emperor to abdicate and rebelled. The fifth prince at that time, who is now the Emperor Longqing who sits firmly in the temple, led the army to quell the civil strife, and Fu Chu was beheaded on the charge of treason. The prominent court officials were destroyed in one day, and no one was left unharmed. The entire Fu family was executed.
There was actually blood left back then?
Xie Shubai seemed to sense Feng Jia's confusion and continued, "This is something I heard from my father accidentally. He said that when he was only twelve years old, he had been the companion of the deposed crown prince Xu Yin. He was also very close to Li Chu, the legitimate son of the king Li Xian. Li Xian interceded for him many times, and only then did Fu Shixun's life get saved. However, he was stripped of his surname, leaving only the two characters Shixun, and was sent to the imperial palace to be a lifelong official slave."
He paused and said, "Later, because of his outstanding literary talent, he was appreciated by the young cabinet minister and entered the young cabinet minister's mansion as an aide. Three years ago, the position of the Dali Temple Minister was vacant, so the young cabinet minister asked the saint for a favor."
It turned out to be the case.
As he was speaking, there was a commotion in front. Feng Jia could not help but look up, and saw a man walking in from the carved archway of the Zhou Mansion. The man was wearing a white robe without any embellishments on his clothes, and his long black hair was only tied up with a jade hairpin. His jade-like face was gentle yet revealed tenacity, his eyebrows were like long swords, and his black eyes were like cold stars, clear and deep.
He is a very handsome man, even more handsome than Zhi Shixun.
"Who is this person? How can he be so good-looking?"
"Don't you know him? But it's not surprising that you don't know him. He has always lived in seclusion. This person is the only son of the prince of the other surname in my Dali, Li Chu! Since the death of the prince of the other surname, Li Xian, this only son has inherited the throne and is the current Prince Yu."
"It's a pity. Since the death of Prince Li Xian, the military power of the palace has been taken back by the emperor. Now, His Royal Highness Prince Yu is just an idle prince with no fiefdoms. Moreover, I heard that he suffered from a strange disease when he was young. Although he survived, he is blind."
"What a pity, blind man."
……
Prince Yu?
Feng Jia was stunned for a moment, looking at the man's extremely special eyes which were as dark as glass, and thought to herself, what Prince Yu Li Chu, isn't this Yun Yu?
How did he suddenly become a prince?
But if not, how could there be two people in the world who look so alike?
Xie Shubai was talking to her, but Feng Jia was obviously absent-minded. Her eyes seemed to fall on Prince Yu until he was helped to the men's seat by his personal palace servant. Only then did she withdraw her gaze.
At this moment, suona sounded, and Feng Jia came back to her senses. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a red sedan chair being carried to the door. Then a woman in a bright red wedding dress, supported by a matchmaker, entered the Zhou Mansion through the main gate.
The woman's face couldn't be seen clearly because of the red scarf she was covered with, but her figure was very slim. Even without looking at her face, one could tell she was a beauty.