Looking at the gilded invitation in his hand, Song Qingshu was a little surprised. "It's from Jia Shidao."
Ren Yingying frowned and said, "How did he know that you came back secretly?"
Song Qingshu threw the invitation on the table and said with a smile, "I made such a big noise in the palace last night. It's hard to hide it from someone who wants to, not to mention that Jia Shidao's intelligence network is so powerful."
"So, should I go or not?" Ren Yingying was a little worried. "You've always been good friends with Han Yuezhou, and he knows that. I'm afraid it's a Hongmen Banquet this time."
"Of course I'm going. Why not?" Song Qingshu said meaningfully, "I'm going to see what he's up to. Besides, Jia Shidao is not Xiang Yu, and I'm not Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet."
In the evening, the Jia residence's horse carriage came to pick up Song QingShu and bring him to the residence. Song QingShu was skilled and bold. After he instructed Ren Yingying and the other women with a few words, he calmly got into the horse carriage.
However, as soon as he got into the carriage, he smelled a strong rose fragrance. When he saw the situation in the carriage, he couldn't help but be stunned.
It turned out that a young woman in splendid clothes was already sitting in the carriage. She was covered in colorful embroidery, like a fairy. She had a pair of phoenix eyes, two curved eyebrows, a slim figure, and a coquettish body. She was really beautiful, and her smile could be smelled before it even opened.
"I'm Wang Xifeng. Nice to meet you, Prince Qi." The young woman stood up and bowed to him. When she spoke, she smiled sweetly, which instantly increased the intimacy between them.
Standing at the door, Song Qingshu touched his nose and said, "It's Second Young Mistress. It seems that I accidentally got into the wrong carriage." He had entered the Jia's Mansion as Jia Baoyu, so he naturally recognized the young woman in front of him.
Seeing that he recognized her, Wang Xifeng smiled sweetly and made an inviting gesture, "Of course you got into the right carriage, Prince Qi. Please come in."
Song Qingshu looked at her with a faint smile and said, "I wonder if you're here on behalf of the Jia Family or the Wang Family?" All this time, he had been thinking about a problem. Although the four great clans had a close relationship with each other, they were not the same clan after all. They must have their own plans. He wondered if there was a chance to drive a wedge between these clans so that he could reap the benefits.
Covering her mouth, Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Since Prince Qi addresses me as Second Young Mistress, I am naturally representing the Jia family. This time, I have specially come to invite Prince Qi to my residence for the banquet."
"Oh?" Song Qingshu raised his eyebrows. "Prime Minister Jia actually sent Madam to pick me up. This is really surprising."
Wang Xifeng invited him to sit down. The carriage had already been padded with a Persian carpet, and the surroundings were also covered with soft fur mats, so the vibration of the entire carriage was minimized.
There was a small table in the middle of the carriage. Wang Xifeng poured him a cup of tea and replied, "Young master is the Prime Minister's honored guest. Naturally, he had to send someone to receive you to show his sincerity. Originally, he had planned to send my humble husband, but something happened to my humble husband, so I took his place."
"I see."
Of course, Song Qingshu did not believe her nonsense. His eyes fell on the snow-white wrist that was inadvertently exposed when she served the tea. He wondered what Jia Shidao, that old fox, was up to. Did he hear of his reputation and plan to use his beauty against him? But it was a bit expensive to send his nephew's wife.
"May I know who else is here today?" Song Qingshu took the opportunity to ask.
Wang Xifeng replied, "Today, Prince Qi is the only honored guest. The others are all family members."
"Oh?" Song Qingshu was a bit surprised. For a moment, he did not know why Jia Shidao had invited him alone.
Along the way, Wang Xifeng quietly led the conversation. She did not touch on any sensitive information, but just chatted casually about everything. She did not seem abrupt, nor did she seem overly enthusiastic. Unknowingly, she had drawn the two of them closer.
Song Qingshu had to admit that Wang Xifeng was as smooth as she was rumored to be. She was good at building good diplomatic relationships. Although he could see through her little tricks, she was indeed very beautiful, and it was hard to dislike her.
"I wonder if there is a person named Jia Rui in the Jia family." Looking at the beautiful young woman in front of him, Song Qingshu thought of a scene he had read in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber. When Jia Rui, a collateral member of the Jia family, saw Wang Xifeng for the first time, he was overwhelmed by her beauty and wanted to seduce this beautiful sister-in-law many times. However, Wang Xifeng was too powerful. On the one hand, she pretended to be courteous with him, but on the other hand, she schemed to punish him several times, causing him to lose his life.
"This woman is really cruel." Looking at Wang Xifeng's beautiful cheeks, Song Qingshu secretly felt a chill in his heart. He secretly reminded himself not to be careless.
After a short while, the carriage stopped. Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Prince Qi, we are here."
Song Qingshu nodded his head. After exiting the carriage, he casually lifted the curtain and said, "Madam, please."
Wang Xifeng was startled. Her gaze fell on the curtain, and she became somewhat absent-minded. However, she quickly recovered her smile and said, "Prince Qi is really making this concubine suffer."
Song Qingshu did not think much of it. In his previous life, most men knew how to do such things. He replied, "It is nothing."
The smile on Wang Xifeng's face became even wider. "No wonder so many madams and young ladies in the world regard young master as their dream lover. Today, I finally know why."
Song Qingshu looked at her with a smile that was not a smile. He looked at her and asked, "Does this include madam?" Along the way, he had been hinted at by her in various ways. Finally, he found an opportunity to counterattack.
Wang Xifeng had always been generous and decent, but his words made her heart skip a beat. She blushed and said, "Prince Qi, you must be joking."
At this time, the two had already entered the gate of the Jia's Mansion. There were servants of the Jia's Mansion everywhere, so Song Qingshu could not continue to tease her. The two kept walking inside. After a short while, Jia Shidao personally led a group of people to welcome them. He said with a smile, "Prince Qi, your presence really brings light to my humble dwelling."
"Prime Minister Jia, you are too kind." Although he knew that Jia Shidao was hiding a dagger in his smile, Song Qingshu had to admit that he enjoyed Jia Shidao's attitude. No wonder Jia Shidao could do so much, and all his subordinates were so loyal to him. His ability to treat people and things was far better than Song Qingshu's.
Jia Shidao smiled and made a gesture of invitation. He said, "Prince Qi, please."
"Prime Minister Jia, please." Song Qingshu entered the hall with him and suddenly found a middle-aged woman in luxurious clothes sitting in the hall. Although she was old, she was dignified. It could be seen that she must have been an outstanding beauty when she was young.
At this time, Jia Shidao said, "Prince Qi, let me introduce you. This is my sister, who has now been appointed as the Imperial Concubine by the Emperor in the palace."
"Greetings, Imperial Concubine." Song Qingshu bowed. In fact, when he had entered the palace pretending to be Jia Baoyu, he had already met Jia Shidao once. However, this relationship was naturally difficult to say, so he could only pretend that it was the first time they had met.
"I have long heard of your name, Prince Qi. Today, I finally get to meet you. You are indeed as handsome and dignified as the rumors say," Jia Shidao said with a smile. In fact, in the palace before, when Xiao Long Nu made a scene in the palace, they had also met face to face, but it was the first time that they had such a close conversation like this.
"You are graceful and dignified. You really have the demeanor of a mother." Song Qingshu also knew how to say such beautiful words. He knew that she cared most about the position of Empress, so he naturally catered to her.
As expected, Jia Shidao quickly smiled, and the gloominess between her eyebrows completely disappeared.
Jia Shidao took the opportunity to say, "This time, I actually invited Prince Qi here for one thing …"
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