Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 14 The Longevity Banquet (1)

Before they knew it, the day of the birthday banquet arrived.

The court did not hold an early morning court session today, and a group of ministers entered the palace early with their relatives.

The Imperial Garden gradually became lively.

The ministers' families went to Biyun Palace to pay their respects to the Empress as soon as they entered the palace.

Afterwards, the ladies and young women gathered together and began to chat.

First and second-rank officials all came to the Imperial Study to drink tea and chat with the Emperor of Eastern Qin.

Wu Wangfu.

"Your Highness, it's almost time. We should go to the palace."

Qi Ye arrived at the martial arts arena.

Qin Wu placed the spear into the weapon rack.

"Go and make preparations. Oh, and send someone to inform the Marquis of Zhennan's residence that I will be picking up the Third Miss to go to the palace later."

After giving his instructions, Qin Wu headed towards the bathhouse.

This is also his daily routine, something he has maintained for ten years without fail.

He gets up to practice martial arts every day at the crack of dawn; otherwise, no matter how talented he is, he could not have achieved his current level of skill.

After washing up.

Qin Wu then boarded the carriage of the Prince of Wu's residence and arrived at the residence of the Marquis of Zhennan.

Jiang Pingle had already been notified and was waiting outside the Zhennan Marquis's residence. She already knew that her father had decided to let her marry the Prince of Wu.

King Wu came to escort her to the palace today in order to better protect her.

"Greetings to King Wu."

The group bowed to Qin Wu.

"No need for formalities, Your Highness! I'm taking the Third Miss with me now. Please come up, Third Miss!"

Qin Wu did not show himself, but spoke from inside the carriage.

"I'll leave today to Your Highness. I'll go now!"

Jiang Pingwu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw King Wu come to pick up his sister.

With King Wu's protection, his sister's safety was no longer a problem.

No one dared to touch his younger sister in front of King Wu.

Jiang Ping thanked him and got into Qin Wu's carriage, sitting down next to him.

Of course, there was a coffee table in between.

"lets go!"

Qin Wu gave the order.

The carriage headed towards the palace, and after half an hour, it arrived in front of the palace.

The imperial guards, seeing that it was a carriage from the Prince Wu's residence, quickly let it pass.

After all, Qin Wu's actions at the last palace banquet had become widely known among their imperial guards.

They dared not provoke King Wu, or they would not even know how they died.

The journey was smooth and unimpeded; Qin Wu's carriage arrived directly at the Imperial Garden.

Today, only Emperor Wu of Qin in the Eastern Qin Dynasty enjoys this privilege: his carriage can move freely within the palace.

The carriages of other princes could not be used after entering the palace.

"Your Highness has arrived."

Qi Ye parked the carriage before giving the instructions.

Qin Wu's arrival immediately attracted the attention of the officials and their relatives in the imperial garden.

"That must be King Wu. Whose young lady is that beside him?"

Some people didn't recognize Jiang Pingle, so they asked the people around them.

After all, Jiang Pingle rarely attends palace banquets, and many people don't recognize her.

She wouldn't have come if it weren't for the Eastern Qin Emperor's birthday banquet.

"That seems to be the third young lady of the Zhennan Marquis's mansion, but why is she riding in the Prince of Wu's carriage?"

Some people recognized Jiang Pingle, but they were puzzled as to why Jiang Pingle had come with King Wu.

"I don't know. I've never heard of the Third Miss of the Zhennan Marquis's Mansion knowing the Prince of Wu."

Some people were still puzzled.

After all, King Wu had not returned to the capital for ten years, nor had he had any contact with the court officials in the past ten years.

She shouldn't have known the third young lady of the Zhennan Marquis's mansion.

"Greetings, Your Highness King Wu."

The ministers and their families immediately bowed to King Wu.

"No need to be polite."

Qin Wu greeted them and led Jiang Pingle directly towards the Empress's Biyun Palace.

The rules that need to be followed should still be followed.

Qin Wu left.

The ministers and their families began to discuss it.

"Isn't it rumored that King Wu has a very bad temper? Why did he seem so approachable just now?"

The lady was puzzled.

It's rumored in the capital now that Prince Wu and the people in his household have very bad tempers.

They resort to violence at the drop of a hat.

"Don't be fooled by how easy King Wu is to talk to now. That's only because you haven't offended him yet. If you anger him, you'll find out."

The lady quickly explained in a low voice.

She had witnessed what happened at the last palace banquet; King Wu had attacked King Qi without a word.

I heard that after the King of Qi was sent back, he was bedridden for several days before he could get out of bed.

This shows how severe King Wu's punishment was.

Although King Qi's cultivation level was not high, he was still at least a Grand Martial Master.

"That's right, I saw it last time too, the King of Qi was really badly beaten."

Another lady nodded and said.

"Not only that, my brat accidentally offended someone from the Wu Prince's Mansion and was beaten so badly that he's still lying in bed."

"They are really ruthless, but we can't do anything about it."

"I said, feeling down."

Her husband had already submitted a petition seeking justice.

However, the Emperor of Eastern Qin completely ignored it, and in the end, the matter was left unresolved.

He had no choice but to swallow his anger.

.......................

Biyun Palace.

"His Highness Prince Wu has arrived, Miss Jiang has arrived..."

A notification was issued.

Qin Wu led Jiang Pingle into the hall.

"Greetings, Empress."

The two bowed to the Empress.

"King Wu and Miss Jiang have arrived, please dispense with the formalities!"

"Give me a seat."

The Queen smiled and said to the two of them.

"Thank you, Queen."

The two got up and found a place to sit down.

"Why did King Wu come with Miss Jiang?"

The Empress asked the question casually, as if it were a casual conversation.

"When I last met Miss Jiang, I found her quite to my liking. So today, I personally went to the Zhennan Marquis's residence to pick her up and we traveled together."

Qin Wu said calmly.

It's like talking about something completely ordinary.

However, his words were also telling everyone that Jiang Pingle was the person he had his eye on.

Anyone who dares to lay a hand on Jiang Pingle is going against him, and when he goes berserk, don't blame him.

The concubines, princes, and princesses were all alarmed upon hearing Qin Wu's words.

Those who were plotting against Jiang Pingle were especially displeased.

Now that Jiang Pingle is under the protection of King Wu, it would be easy for them to cause trouble if they were to make a move against him.

Now is not the time to offend King Wu.

"Xiao Jiu has reached marriageable age. It seems Xiao Jiu has taken a fancy to Miss Jiang!"

"Little Jiu, shall I bestow a marriage upon you?"

The Empress continued speaking with a smile.

Just like a kind elder caring for a younger generation.

"Then thank you, Your Majesty."

Qin Wu showed no politeness whatsoever.

Since you insist on arranging this marriage, then so be it. I'll see how you handle this situation.

The Empress had not expected Qin Wu to be so impolite; she was merely being polite.

Qin Wu actually granted her the marriage decree.

What a joke! The prince's marriage is not something she, the empress, can decide.

Only His Majesty has the right to bestow marriages upon princes. If she dares to presume to bestow a marriage upon Qin Wu today, His Majesty will dare to cause her trouble.

"Hehe, we still need to consult His Majesty about the King of Wu's marriage."

The empress said awkwardly.

"If you can't make the decision, why are you wasting your breath and energy talking to me?"

Qin Wu retorted without hesitation.

Qin Wu's words silenced the entire hall; you could hear a pin drop.

The Empress was even more embarrassed.

King Wu really doesn't care whether others feel embarrassed when he speaks and acts!

After a while.

"Ninth Brother is joking. Your marriage is a major event. It would be best to let Father Emperor make the decision."

King Zhou gave an awkward smile.

"What you say is true, but I've heard that you've recently taken a fancy to a girl from another family. I wonder if it's true."

"Brother! You're over forty, can your body handle it?"

"If I remember correctly, your eldest son is already in his mid-twenties, and your eldest grandson is also a few years old."

"It wouldn't be good to go and harm young girls! Look at me, I'm still young, why don't I choose first?"

Qin Wu looked at King Zhou with a half-smile.

The implication was that King Zhou was too old and shouldn't be harming young girls.

This also indirectly reminded King Zhou that there were some people he could not touch.

Qin Wu knew that King Zhou was planning to scheme against Jiang Pingle today.

"Haha, Ninth Brother is joking. I am already a grandfather, how could I possibly go looking for young girls?"

King Zhou gave an awkward laugh, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

He also realized that Qin Wu was warning him not to touch Jiang Pingle.

"Big brother is right, you're a grandfather now."

Qin Wu did not expose the Zhou king.

However, I still said something that stung.

This directly caused King Zhou to become withdrawn.