Huo Yuyan's gaze paused on that person, and his eyebrows twitched imperceptibly.
Someone who could appear here and sit in that seat so openly … could it be the rumored Prince Jing?
His gaze shifted to the opposite side. Sure enough, Huo Wujiu was sitting on the seat on his other side.
Huo Yuyan's gaze paused.
In this dynasty, the left was the most respected. Huo Wujiu gave the left seat to Prince Jing. Could there be a deeper meaning behind this?
However, before he could ponder deeply, the civil and military officials in the main hall stood up one after another and bowed to Huo Yuyan. "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Huo Yuyan's gaze wandered around.
All the officials in the hall bowed to him. Only Prince Jing, who was sitting below him, acted as if he didn't see anything. He sat in his original position. When he met Prince Jing's eyes, he smiled and nodded as if he was saluting him.
The meaning of this provocation was too obvious.
Huo Yuyan withdrew his gaze and pretended not to see anything. He smiled warmly and swept his gaze across the civil and military officials in the hall. He smiled warmly and said, "My beloved officials, there is no need to be so courteous. Please rise."
As the civil and military officials rose and took their seats, Huo Yuyan walked straight to the seat of honor and sat down.
"I came unannounced. I've troubled Second Younger Brother to take care of things for me." After sitting down, Huo Yuyan smiled faintly and looked sideways at Huo Wujiu. "We haven't seen each other for half a year. Second Younger Brother, you've become much more mature and experienced. I'm relieved to see that the whole of Nanjing is in order on my way here."
Huo Wujiu bowed slightly. He was still as cold and distant as usual. He said faintly, "You flatter me, Imperial Brother."
Huo Yuyan was not offended at all. Instead, he picked up the full wine cup on the table and smiled at the civil and military officials in the hall below. He said, "Of course. Today's unification is all thanks to all of you. Yuyan is here. I'd like to propose a toast to all of you on behalf of Imperial Father. "
As soon as he raised his cup, the civil and military officials in the hall naturally followed suit and stood up with their wine cups.
Huo Yuyan glanced to the side.
Prince Jing was still sitting there. He lazily picked up his cup and raised his eyes to look at him.
Huo Yuyan calmly retracted his gaze.
"Now that we have succeeded, we will still need everyone's help to establish our country! Yu Yan is untalented, but I thank all of you in advance! "
As he spoke, he raised his glass, tilted his head back, and drank the wine in the glass.
The ministers below all responded and drank the wine in their cups.
Huo Yuyan put down his wine cup and said with a smile, "Today is just a family banquet to welcome the guests. There is no need to be so courteous. Please help yourselves."
He announced the start of the banquet.
For a time, the banquet hall became much livelier, and the sound of toasting could be heard.
Huo Yuyan, on the other hand, turned his head and looked at Huo Wujiu with a smile.
"The one on the left is His Highness King Jing of Nanjing, right?" he asked.
Huo Wujiu, who had picked up his chopsticks, looked up at him and said calmly, "It's him."
Huo Yuyan smiled and said, "No wonder he looks familiar to me. We can be considered family."
Huo Wujiu didn't respond and picked up some food with his chopsticks to eat.
He had always been this arrogant, and Huo Yuyan was used to it.
He acted as if he didn't see it and continued to ask, "I just don't know …" He seemed a little hesitant and turned his head to look at Jiang Suizhou.
He saw Jiang Suizhou sitting lazily in his original position and ordering the eunuch behind him to pick up the fish that was a little far away and put it on his plate.
"Does Prince Jing have any problems with his legs?" Huo Yuyan asked.
As soon as he said this, Huo Wujiu and Jiang Suizhou both raised their heads and looked at him.
Huo Yuyan revealed a kind and gentle smile, as if he didn't realize that there was anything wrong with his words. He smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just didn't see His Highness King Jing get up just now. If he's not feeling well, I have two imperial physicians who are often by my side. Their medical skills are not bad and they can take a look at Prince Jing. "
As soon as he said this, his gaze silently fell on Jiang Suizhou.
Jiang Suizhou sneered and leaned back lazily against the back of his chair.
He raised his eyes and looked at Huo Yuyan.
Even Huo Yuyan couldn't help but admit that this person was extremely beautiful. He had an aura that was both good and evil, and was the most bewitching. He only raised his eyes to look at him with a smile on his lips. He looked lazy and charming, like a demon that had become a spirit.
"If he doesn't get up and bow, does that mean his legs are broken?" He heard Prince Jing say this. "I just don't want to."
"This …" Huo Yuyan looked troubled and looked at Huo Wujiu.
At this moment, Huo Wujiu didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed on Prince Jing's face. This second brother of his had always been serious in speech and manner. Even the foreign beauties he had captured were unable to attract his attention. However, at this moment, he was actually staring closely at Jiang Suizhou. His eyes were full of smiles, and the corners of his lips had also curled up.
He was half a beat slower before he felt the awkwardness of the atmosphere. He raised his eyes and looked at Huo Yuyan.
"Eldest Brother, don't take offense," Huo Wujiu explained calmly. "He's always been like this. He's spoiled and doesn't like to bow to others."
When he said this, the smile on his face hadn't faded.
Prince Jing, who was sitting opposite him, laughed ambiguously and said lazily, "Who are you calling spoiled?"
Huo Wujiu's eyes were hooked by him again.
"I'm not talking about you. Don't just talk. Eat something." His voice softened and carried a hint of coaxing.
This was the first time in Huo Yuyan's life that he saw Huo Wujiu like this.
He spoke gently to a man with a face full of smiles. It was obvious that his soul had been hooked.
Suddenly, a crisp "ta" sound came from the opposite side.
Huo Yuyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Prince Jing was sitting there and had thrown his chopsticks onto the plate.
"What do you want to eat?" He raised his eyebrows and raised his chin. His gaze was lazy and disdainful as he looked at the table. "What's wrong with the imperial chef today? This squirrel mandarin fish is too salty."
Huo Wujiu hurriedly raised his hand and summoned a few eunuchs.
"Aren't you going to change the mandarin fish on Prince Jing's table?" His expression turned cold, and his eyes regained their usual sharpness. "Go ask the imperial kitchen what's wrong with it. Hurry up and make a new one and send it over."
The eunuchs acknowledged and hurriedly went forward to remove the squirrel mandarin fish from Jiang Suizhou's table.
Huo Yuyan's eyebrows twitched.
He saw Huo Wujiu turn his head and curl the corners of his lips at Prince Jing. Prince Jing only glanced at him and picked up his chopsticks to eat other dishes. The white-faced eunuch by Prince Jing's side also came forward and tried to curry favor with him. He tried to calm him down and see if the other dishes were to his liking.
Huo Yuyan collected his expression and glanced at Huo Wujiu.
However, he saw Huo Wujiu calmly smile at him. There was a hint of helplessness on his face as he said, "Big Brother, please don't laugh at me. I've spoiled him too much."
Huo Yuyan paused and forced a smile on his face.
"It's fine," he said.
— —
In this way, all of Huo Yuyan's suspicions had a reason.
He couldn't figure out why Huo Wujiu would inexplicably show so much malice towards him, and why he would sometimes be good and sometimes bad. He also couldn't figure out why Huo Wujiu would put Nanjing's officials in such an important position and put Huo Yuyan's soldiers behind.
It must be because of Prince Jing.
He didn't expect that Huo Wujiu would have a day when a hero would be unable to resist the charms of a beauty … This so-called "beauty" was actually a man.
For a moment, Huo Yuyan's gaze was somewhat heavy.
He pretended as if nothing had happened, but he had been staring at the interaction between Huo Wujiu and Prince Jing the whole time.
This was a side of Huo Wujiu that he had never seen before.
He was indulgent and even a little gentle. Whenever he looked at Prince Jing, he would smile ambiguously. Prince Jing also had a confident look on his face. During the banquet, he was picky and sarcastic when speaking to Huo Wujiu. On the other hand, Huo Wujiu indulged him. His eyes looked as if someone had cast a spell on him.
This kind of situation was easy to deal with, but also difficult to deal with.
Huo Wujiu's attitude made Huo Yuyan feel relieved. He thought that since Prince Jing hadn't seen through his actions, he could still make good use of him.
However, this Prince Jing was difficult to deal with.
Huo Wujiu was infatuated with him and would grant him whatever he wanted. This was indeed a weakness that could be used against him. However, whether this weakness was Huo Wujiu's weak spot or a poison buried next to him depended on whether Prince Jing was a brainless idiot.
Huo Yuyan fell into deep thought.
More than half of the banquet was over. Jiang Suzhou, who was sitting to his left, also looked a little drunk. He leaned on his chair and slowly yawned. Then, he raised his hand.
The eunuch beside him hurriedly stepped forward and supported his hand.
"This prince is tired. I'll go back and rest first," he said lazily. "I won't disturb you two brothers from catching up."
Huo Yuyan smiled faintly and nodded. "Prince Jing's health is more important. Since you're tired, you should go back first."
Jiang Suzhou glanced at him faintly. The corners of his mouth curled up into an ambiguous smile. Then, he turned to look at Huo Wujiu.
He heard Huo Wujiu chuckle softly and say, "Don't forget to leave the door open for me when you go back."
At this time, the banquet hall was a boiling cauldron of voices. His voice wasn't loud, so the officials below didn't hear him. However, it clearly reached Jiang Suzhou and Huo Yuyan's ears.
Jiang Suzhou chuckled. He didn't agree or disagree. Holding Meng Qianshan's hand, he turned around and left.
Huo Yuyan watched his figure disappear into the back of the hall. Then, he turned his head and looked at Huo Wujiu.
"What's going on between the two of you?" He frowned. There was some disapproval on his face. He looked like a good elder brother who was worried about his younger brother.
Huo Wujiu put down his wine cup and looked up at him. He smiled faintly and said casually, "Nothing much. It's just like what you saw."
"Are you really going to keep him by your side?" Huo Yuyan asked with a frown.
Huo Wujiu leaned back in his chair and said in an imposing manner, "Big Brother, don't be fooled by the fact that he's a man. He's very interesting."
That smile actually seemed to be filled with contentment.
Huo Yuyan gritted his teeth and said with a pained expression, "But he's clearly …"
"It doesn't matter what he is. He doesn't take it seriously. If it weren't for this, why would he wait until the country was destroyed and still willingly stay by my side? He's very afraid of death. He just wants to rely on me to survive. Why shouldn't I let him have his way? "Huo Wujiu said casually. "Just treat him as a plaything. I'll keep him for fun."
It was as if he had a canary by his side and was playing with it to relieve his boredom.
Huo Yuyan couldn't tell how sincere he was.
After a while, he paused and said, "If you want to keep him for fun, I won't say much. But Wujiu, you're about to be twenty-four years old. You should have reached the age to start a family long ago. It's just that you've been delaying it because of the war a few years ago. Now that I'm in the imperial court, you don't have to worry about anything. You can play around, but you still have to settle the marriage and start a family as soon as possible. "
Huo Wujiu heard this, but he was indifferent.
"I'm not in a hurry," he said. "What's the hurry? Play for another two years."
Huo Yuyan persuaded him kindly, "This won't delay …"
"How won't it delay?" Huo Wujiu raised his eyes. The smile at the corner of his mouth was a little evil. "You don't know how much trouble that little thing can cause. If a girl from a good family marries into my family, I'm afraid that my harem won't have peace. I'm not in a hurry. It's not too late to talk about this after I'm tired of playing. Anyway, it's useless for me to carry on the family line. Big Brother, you should marry a Crown Princess first. That's the foundation of the country. "
Huo Yuyan lowered his eyes when he heard that. His gaze flickered with an unknown meaning. He smiled and said, "It's not like you don't know about my body … but it's nothing. Whether it's you or Shu 'er, to me, your children are the same as my own children."
The Shu 'er he was talking about was his biological sister, Huo Shu. She was also Huo Wujiu's cousin. A few years ago, she had just entered Ye City and got married early. Now, she had a few children.
Huo Wujiu raised his eyes to look at Huo Yuyan. He saw that his expression was calm and quiet. These words really seemed to be his heartfelt words.
Huo Wujiu also smiled, but the words that came out of his mouth were not sincere.
"It's good that Big Brother thinks this way," he said.
— —
Lou Wanjun drank a little too much.
She was surrounded by generals. After working together for a few days, they did not treat her as an outsider. The few of them gathered together to drink. They wanted nothing more than to call each other brothers. Cup after cup, they drank without counting.
Lou Wanjun was thoroughly enjoying herself. Lou Yue, on the other hand, was so angry that his beard was blowing and his eyes were glaring.
"You're a girl. It's one thing for you to mingle with men. But to drink like this, where's your manners?" He went forward to reprimand her.
Lou Wanjun, however, did not take it seriously. She had been reprimanded by her father since she was young. Now that she saw that Lou Yue was angry, she casually stood up and waved her hand at the generals who were drinking with her. She said, "It's nothing. I didn't drink much. Father, please calm down. I'm going out to sober up. "
As she spoke, she turned around and strode out.
Lou Yue knew that she was used to this trick. She knew that he was going to reprimand her, so she found an excuse to leave. Lou Yue could do nothing about it. He pointed at the generals and warned them a few times. Then he returned to his seat.
Lou Wanjun skillfully avoided them.
The night wind in the palace was cool. There was a large lotus pond outside the banquet hall. At this moment, the night wind blew, causing the flowers and leaves in the pond to sway. It also blew the moist fragrance of the lotus onto her face.
It was very comfortable.
Lou Wanjun allowed the wind to blow comfortably. She strolled towards the lakeside. Palace lanterns were hung by the lakeside in the night. They were very detailed. If one looked closely, they would be quite interesting.
Lou Wanjun decided to take a stroll here.
But just as she reached the lakeside, she heard someone call her from behind.
"Is that Wanjun's little sister?"
The voice was very familiar. Lou Wanjun hurriedly turned around and saw a person sitting in the gazebo by the lakeside. He was dressed in a snow-white robe, the golden thread on it shining brightly.
She was a little surprised. "His Highness the Crown Prince is also here?"
That person coughed a few times, as if he was running out of energy.
Lou Wanjun was afraid that something would happen to him. She hurriedly went forward and saw Huo Yuyan sitting alone in the gazebo. There was no one around to serve him. He was still coughing violently.
Lou Wanjun hurriedly went forward and took off her robe to drape it over Huo Yuyan's body.
"Why are you here alone? There's no one to serve you?" Lou Wanjun asked.
Huo Yuyan raised his hand to stop her from draping the robe over him.
"Quickly put it on. You're a girl. Don't catch a cold." Huo Yuyan said gently.
Lou Wanjun saw that he had stopped coughing. Unable to persuade him, she could only say "oh" and put the robe back on.
"Your Highness, shall I send you back?" She asked.
However, Huo Yuyan shook his head. "There's no hurry. I just came here to find some peace and quiet to sober up."
He looked at Lou Wanjun quietly.
Of course, he wouldn't say that other than paying attention to Huo Wujiu, he had been paying attention to Lou Wanjun's movements during the banquet. He saw that Lou Wanjun was drinking to his heart's content, and Lou Yue kept looking at him with a displeased expression. He knew that something like this would happen in a while.
He pretended to be sick and went ahead to wait here.
Lou Yue saw that Lou Wanjun was watching him so closely that he couldn't find a chance to be alone with Lou Wanjun along the way. He had no choice but to come up with this plan.
However, Lou Wanjun was a little anxious. "Even if you want to sober up, this isn't the right way to do it. The wind by the lake is cold. Your Highness, I think it's better … "
However, Huo Yuyan interrupted her.
"I remember that you used to call me Big Brother Huo." Huo Yuyan said gently.
Lou Wanjun scratched his head awkwardly.
Wasn't that right? Although she and Huo Wujiu always called each other by their names in private and scolded each other, she didn't dare to be rash in front of Huo Yuyan. If she dared to be disrespectful to Huo Yuyan, her father would be the first to disagree and beat her with a broom.
She smiled and said, "… It's all from when we were young."
Huo Yuyan let out a faint sigh.
"Yes, it's all from when we were young," he said. "But now, everything has changed."
Lou Wanjun looked a little puzzled and asked, "What else has changed?"
Huo Yuyan looked at her, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
The bright moonlight shone on his face, illuminating his delicate and handsome appearance. There was even a glimmer of light. He smiled helplessly and shook his head, showing a fragile beauty.
"It's nothing. I'm just lamenting about nothing," he said.
Lou Wanjun was a little confused.
This Big Brother Huo … He had changed a lot. When he was young, he was considered a neat and tidy person. Now, he was beautiful, but he was a little more indecisive.
"That's good." She didn't know how to respond, so she could only reply perfunctorily.
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