In Zhaoyang Hall, some of the idle members of the Imperial Family looked in the direction of Prince Xian and his wife, but they didn't even notice that the wine in their hands had spilled out.
However, the Imperial Family never lacked people who were good at acting. No matter how shocked they were, or how envious they were, most people could still wait for the banquet to begin after the initial shock.
No matter how many people in the hall paid attention to her, Hua Xi Wan's expression didn't change much from beginning to end. After greeting the people nearby, she sat quietly beside Yan Jinqiu, as if no one was paying attention to her.
"This wine is called Lotus Immortal Wine. It's fragrant and not stimulating. It's said that drinking this wine can prolong one's life, improve blood circulation, and nourish one's skin. It's most suitable for women." Yan Jinqiu picked up the wine cup and poured a cup for Hua Xi Wan. The smile on his face was so gentle that it could dazzle many women. "Xi Wan, try it."
Hua Xi Wan raised her eyebrows slightly and asked suspiciously, "Is it that magical?" After speaking, she picked up the wine cup and took a small sip. The taste was indeed very light. After swallowing, a faint lotus leaf fragrance lingered in her mouth. It was sweet but not strong.
"How is it?"
Looking at the face that was ten centimeters away from her, Hua Xi Wan poked his face further away with her index finger. She wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and lazily spat out three words, "Not bad." In her previous life, when she was in the entertainment circle, although she wasn't willing to accept the unspoken rules, she had attended many big and small dinners and drunk all kinds of wine.
To her, wine was like a man. It was normal for her to be addicted to it. If she couldn't live without it, then her life was over.
Seeing that Hua Xi Wan wasn't interested in the wine, Yan Jinqiu wasn't discouraged. Instead, he whispered to Hua Xi Wan about the identities of the people in the hall and their relationships with the various families. He also very naturally took away the wine cup in front of her and replaced it with a cup of steaming tea.
Hua Xi Wan listened quietly. When she heard that Ning Wang wanted to confer the Second Lady's son as the Crown Prince, her eyebrows moved slightly. If she remembered correctly, this Ning Wang's legitimate eldest son was born from his first wife, and she didn't hear of any problems with his character. In the end, the position of heir was given to the second wife's child. This was really interesting.
It was no wonder that the Emperor had such a sense of crisis. It was not easy to snatch the throne, but in the end, his brothers were all eyeing it covetously. It was not easy for the two most capable ones to die, but in the end, their sons were each more capable than the other. His only son was not up to expectations. Just thinking about it made him feel distressed for the Emperor.
Although Yan Jinqiu's words didn't go too far, Hua Xi Wan still managed to sort out some things from these words. That was, although Ning Wang's family wasn't very decent, the Emperor was more lenient towards them. Prince Sheng, who was in the limelight at court, appeared to be in an important position, but in the end, the Emperor, in the name of caring for the younger generation, found him a Jun Wang Fei, who was born in an aristocratic family with an empty shell. The mediocre Crown Prince wasn't particularly close to his cousins of the same generation. The only one who often followed behind the Crown Prince was Ning Wang's Second Lady's son, Ning Wang's Crown Prince, Yan Qianxun, and a few more hedonistic members of the Imperial House.
The Crown Prince was a hedonistic and mediocre person. He didn't have any other brothers, but there were a few very outstanding cousins. It was really hard to think too deeply about this matter.
The intimacy between the two caused some of the members of the Imperial House who were originally envious and jealous of Yan Jinqiu to stare with red eyes. Where was the promised unattractive woman? Why was the heavens so unfair? After giving him so many things, they still had to give him a beautiful wife. How could they balance their minds?
Princess Duan He listened to the scattered conversations around her. The smile on her face didn't change. She said to the somewhat wooden fuma beside her, "Fuma, what do you think of Princess Xian's appearance?"
The fuma, who had his head buried in wine, heard Princess Duan He's words and glanced in the direction Hua Xi Wan was sitting. He stilled and couldn't help but look a few more times before nodding and saying, "Very good. Princess, you have a very good cousin-in-law."
Princess Duan He saw him like this and impatiently moved her gaze away. She faked a smile and said, "Fuma's words are too vulgar. What does a woman's appearance have to do with whether she is good or not?"
The fuma heard that there was something wrong with her words and didn't respond. He continued to drink wine with his head buried.
Seeing his unromantic appearance, Princess Duan He's eyes flashed with displeasure and then calmed down.
"The Crown Prince has arrived!"
This announcement caused everyone in the hall to quiet down. Yan Jinqiu, who had been talking with Hua Xi Wan, stopped talking. He sat up and looked towards the door of the hall. Hua Xi Wan followed his movements and looked outside. She saw a young man of average height walk into the hall with several palace attendants. His appearance wasn't as outstanding as Yan Jinqiu's, but he could still be considered handsome. His features were very similar to the empress she had seen before, but his actions were slightly arrogant and proud.
The Crown Prince exchanged a few words with the members of the Imperial House as he walked. When he got close to the seat of honor, he suddenly saw a peerless beauty dressed in magnificent clothing. His steps paused and he only came back to his senses after a few blinks. He said to Yan Jinqiu with slight displeasure, "This is cousin-in-law? Cousin-In-Law has good luck with women. "
The Crown Prince wasn't the first to say such a thing, but he was the first to say it in such a straightforward and vulgar manner. The members of the Imperial House who heard these words looked down on his conduct. Saying this to his younger cousin's wife in front of his younger cousin's wife was too inappropriate. Not just in front of other women, but even behind other people's backs, he shouldn't say such things so directly. This was his younger cousin's wife, and the main wife that Xian Junw.a.n.g had married into the wang fu. How could he use such teasing words to speak to Xian Junw.a.n.g?
"Haha," Yan Jinqiu stood and raised his hands in salute to the Crown Prince, "chendi naturally isn't as fortunate as Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Although the Crown Prince wasn't very likable, he wasn't an idiot. Seeing that Yan Jinqiu's smile was a bit off, he finally withdrew his gaze from Hua Xi Wan. He patted Yan Jinqiu's shoulder and said with a forthright smile, "Gege spoke a bit casually, but I'm truly happy for you. Don't mind."
Yan Jinqiu smiled and raised his hands in salute again, but didn't say whether he minded or not.
Seeing his warm smile, the Crown Prince assumed that he didn't mind the words just now. He took back his hand and strode to his seat. In any case, it didn't matter if this cousin-in-law held a grudge against him. He was the current Crown Prince, and this cousin-in-law would have to live under his nose in the future. Since that was the case, why should he care too much about what the person who was destined to stand below him thought?
Hua Xi Wan sat to the side and looked at Yan Jinqiu's flawless smile. She raised her teacup to hide her expression. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt that Yan Jinqiu's smile hid some kind of unspeakable coldness.
"The Crown Prince is an unreasonable person. Don't mind his words and actions." After Yan Jinqiu sat down, he whispered in Hua Xi Wan's ear, "There's no point in arguing with a brainless person."
His index finger rubbed the wine cup like he was caressing his lover. The smile on his face became even more beautiful.
After the Crown Prince arrived at Zhao Yang Hall, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress arrived in less than fifteen minutes. After everyone bowed and listened to the Emperor's opening speech, they sat in their seats and exchanged toasts with the people around them, listening to music and dancing.
As to the gifts they had prepared beforehand, they had given them to the ceremonial officials to be recorded in the gift book. After the banquet was over, the Emperor could see for himself. In some television dramas, a group of Imperial Families would compete in front of everyone to see whose gift was better. This was impossible. At most, it would be a few close relatives of the Imperial Family toasting to the Emperor and saying a few auspicious words.
As the person with the highest status in this generation, the Crown Prince personally read a congratulatory speech to the Emperor. Then, in front of everyone in the Imperial Family, he put on a good show of a benevolent father and filial son. The people around him also praised the Emperor's benevolence and the Crown Prince's filial piety. It was as though this pair of father and son were the role models of all fathers and sons in the world.
Hua Xi Wan felt that every member of the Imperial Family present was an award-winning actor or actress. Look at their faces full of emotion, look at their perfect smiles. It was the rhythm of forcing professional actors to death.
Fortunately, she had some experience in acting. Otherwise, in this kind of situation, she probably wouldn't be able to make such a natural expression of emotion.
After this good show of a benevolent father and filial son finished, everyone could finally eat and drink to their heart's content. Exquisite dishes were served like flowing water, and the dishes that they had already tasted were taken away like flowing water. At the end of the meal, Hua Xi Wan couldn't remember how many dishes she had eaten. But even if she only ate a bit of each dish, she was fifty to sixty percent full.
From time to time, there would be people coming over to drink with Yan Jinqiu. Hua Xi Wan wasn't familiar with these people's appearances, but she had some understanding of their names and backgrounds. So when she talked with them, she didn't show any timidity.
The Imperial Family originally only thought that Hua Xi Wan's appearance was outstanding. Who knew that after a few rounds of probing, they found that although this woman didn't like to speak much, she had a sense of propriety and was graceful and magnanimous. She didn't seem like a woman who had never attended a social event before.
Although the Crown Prince's words were a bit crude, from the current situation, Prince Xian was indeed very fortunate to have married such a Jun Wang Fei.
Born in a noble family, noble status, magnanimous speech, and beautiful appearance. With so many good qualities in one person, if it wasn't for great fortune, how could Yan Jinqiu have it?
What's more, many people knew that the Emperor's original plan was to specially bestow a marriage to a woman without beauty. Who knew that the rumors weren't true. The di daughter of Nghi An Marquis didn't leave the fu because of her weak body, and not because of her appearance.
It seemed that in these years, there were also people who said that the di daughter of Nghi An Marquis was beautiful, but because of her unwell body, she didn't appear in social events. But not many people believed it. They only thought that these words were spread by Nghi An Marquis to protect their family's daughter's face.
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