The War King looked at the wine cup in his hand and said calmly, "Prime Minister Shen has been observing three years of mourning for his first wife, but judging from the age of Miss Shen, the Second Miss is about the same age as the First Miss. However, the Second Miss is growing up faster than most people?"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves. Everyone looked at Shen Yingxue, then at Shen Lixue, and finally focused their gaze on Shen Minghui. They remembered that when Shen Minghui returned to the capital, he claimed that his first wife and daughter had died in a fire. Half a month later, he married Lei Yarong, the legitimate daughter of the Grand Commandant's family. He didn't even observe three years of mourning, let alone three months. Therefore, Shen Yingxue and Shen Lixue were very close in age.
Shen Minghui himself failed to observe three years of mourning for Lin Qingzhu, yet he demanded that Shen Lixue do the same for Lin Qingzhu; this is indeed hypocritical!
Shen Minghui's face changed more than ten times in an instant. He lowered his head and secretly gave Lei a wink.
Lei understood, stood up, and bowed to the Emperor and the Prince of War: "Your Highness, the Prime Minister is Sister Qingzhu's husband, and Lixue is Sister Qingzhu's daughter. Their relationship is not quite the same!" In Qingyan, the husband is the head of the household, and the husband is not required to observe mourning after the death of his wife, but the daughter must observe mourning after the death of her mother.
Without even glancing at Lei Shi, the War King drank the wine in his cup, a drop of fine wine lingering on his lips, exuding an indescribable blend of fortitude and allure: "I am not interested in Prime Minister Shen's family affairs. I am just curious, though, why did Prime Minister Shen suddenly bring up the sad story of his first wife when His Majesty and I only praised Heng'er and Li Xue as a good match?"
Everyone suddenly realized why the War King was targeting Prime Minister Shen. Prime Minister Shen had ruined his welcome-back banquet. It made sense. It was a joyous occasion for someone returning to the capital, but you brought up sad topics and upset them. No wonder they disliked you!
Shen Lixue raised the corners of her mouth. The War King mocked Shen Minghui and pushed all the blame onto him, completely distancing himself from the matter. He was cunning and shrewd enough. He was worthy of being called the God of War of Azure Flame and was comparable to Dongfang Heng!
Speaking of Dongfang Heng, Shen Lixue looked up and saw him holding a wine glass, slowly pouring wine, his handsome face slightly flushed, obviously he had drunk quite a bit.
Shen Minghui and Lei Yarong's faces instantly turned deathly pale. They realized that the War King was deliberately punishing Shen Minghui, but the War King's words were reasonable, and they couldn't find any reason to refute him, so they had no choice but to swallow their anger.
"My sixth brother and I were merely praising Heng'er and Lixue as a perfect couple; we meant nothing else. Prime Minister Shen is overthinking it!" The Emperor glanced at the War King and Shen Minghui, a faint smile playing on his cold lips.
Shen Minghui's face grew even uglier. He strode into the corridor and knelt down, saying, "Your humble servant has presumptuously speculated about His Majesty's grace; I deserve to die!"
The emperor hates nothing more than others making wild guesses, and not only did he make guesses, but he was also foolishly led by the nose by the War King, almost violating the emperor's taboo. Thinking about the danger just now, Shen Minghui felt a chill. Fortunately, he spoke tactfully and did not arouse suspicion. If his tone had been slightly more forceful, he would have already lost his head.
The Emperor waved his hand, his gaze sharp, and said dismissively, "Prime Minister Shen is only concerned for his wife, and I will not blame him. Besides, today is the welcome-back banquet for my sixth brother. Everyone, please raise your glasses and drink to celebrate his return. Let's not talk about those trivial matters in the manor anymore!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The emperor's words were neither a compliment nor a criticism, so Shen Minghui awkwardly stood up and returned to his seat.
The moment she sat down, Shen Lixue saw him let out a long sigh of relief, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. He seemed very happy that she and Dongfang Heng hadn't been betrothed.
"Sister!" Shen Yingxue walked to Shen Lixue's side, looking at her with a smile, her beautiful eyes filled with barely suppressed smugness and mockery: "Sister, don't worry, three years will pass quickly!"
Lin Qingzhu didn't die early or late, but just when Shen Lixue was about to come of age, which delayed Shen Lixue's marriage and gave Lin Qingzhu the opportunity to seize the Prince of An. Haha, even the heavens are on Lin Qingzhu's side.
Three years later, Shen Lixue will be eighteen, considered an old maid. Few young men will likely be willing to marry her. If I use some tricks to snatch Prince An away, hmph, she'll definitely be furious…
Shen Lixue smiled slightly: "Thank you for your concern, sister. However, Mother is Father's first wife, so she is also like a second mother to you. I will be observing three years of mourning for Mother, and I would appreciate it if you would stay with me!"
Shen Yingxue's smile instantly froze. This bitch, whenever something bad happens, she tries to drag me down with her. If I really do observe three years of mourning, even if I manage to snatch Prince An now, I can't marry him. In three years, I'll be an old maid...
"Clang!" The wine glass fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. Dongfang Heng's handsome face was slightly flushed, his fingers were lightly pressing his forehead, and his eyes were somewhat hazy. The wine pot on the table in front of him had been overturned, and the fine wine was spilled all over the table. The Fifth Prince stood beside him, holding a wine cup, maintaining the posture of offering a toast, with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes.
The emperor looked at the fifth prince and frowned: "You got Prince An drunk?"
"This..." The Fifth Prince frowned in confusion, "I didn't toast him that many cups..."
Dongfang Zhan turned around, looked at the Fifth Prince and Dongfang Heng, and laughed, "You two have big cups, one of yours is equivalent to several of others' cups. Prince An's alcohol tolerance is good, but he can't stand you pouring him so much. Look, even the Prince of Yunnan's heir has drunk a bit too much..."
"I'm not drunk!" Nangong Xiao retorted, his handsome face slightly flushed, his eyes hazy. He carried a large wine cup and swayed as he walked over, spilling wine from time to time...
The emperor frowned again: "Guards, Prince Fu'an and the heir apparent of the Prince of Yunnan, go to the palace to rest!"
"I haven't had enough to drink yet! Instead of resting, quickly pour me some wine!" Nangong Xiao staggered over to the Fifth Prince, snatched the wine pot from his hand, and poured himself some wine. He was unsteady on his feet and didn't pour accurately, so he poured very little into the cup but spilled a lot outside.
The Fifth Prince's lips twitched. Nangong Xiao dared to defy his father, so it seemed he was really drunk.
He quickly took the wine jug from Nangong Xiao's hand and put it aside. The Fifth Prince grabbed Nangong Xiao's arm and pulled him outside: "Young Master Nangong, I have something to ask you. Come with me!"
Nangong Xiao has never been a good drinker. If he gets drunk, he'll definitely cause a scene at the banquet. We can't let him ruin Sixth Prince's welcome-home banquet.
"What do you want to ask me, young master?" Nangong Xiao was drunk and confused, staggering as he walked, yet he still managed to ask questions.
"You'll know when we get there!" the Fifth Prince said with a grin, quietly quickening his pace.
Zi Mo appeared out of nowhere, helped Dongfang Heng up, and slowly walked towards the door. Dongfang Heng's handsome face was slightly flushed, his lips were pursed, his eyelids were slightly closed, and he was walking unsteadily, as if he was quite drunk.
Watching Dongfang Heng's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Shen Lixue frowned. He had a good alcohol tolerance, so why did he get drunk so quickly this time? Was it because the alcohol was strong?
The Empress Dowager's loving voice suddenly rang out: "Li Xue knows acupuncture, go and help Prince An and the Prince of Yunnan sober up!"
Instantly, all the beautiful women's eyes were focused on Shen Lixue. The Empress Dowager had asked her to help Prince An sober up. Did she hear that right?
Su Yuting's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal, her smiling eyes looking at Shen Yingxue.
Shen Yingxue gritted her teeth in anger. Shen Lixue was going to take care of Prince An? How could this be allowed? How could this be allowed?
Shen Lixue was taken aback: "This... isn't quite appropriate!" She was a woman, and it wouldn't be convenient for Nangong Xiao to use acupuncture on Dongfang Heng. Besides, there were highly skilled imperial physicians in the palace who could easily cure her hangover without her having to resort to acupuncture.
Shen Yingxue's eyes lit up. Shen Lixue, that idiot, actually rejected such a good opportunity, how stupid...
“The Imperial Hospital is far away, and it will take the imperial physicians some time to get here. Nangong Xiao has a terrible drinking habit. By the time the imperial physicians arrive, he will probably have already turned most of the palace upside down!” The Empress Dowager smiled gently and kindly.
"This..." Shen Lixue hesitated, secretly guessing the Empress Dowager's intention.
The Empress Dowager smiled and reassured her, "You are a doctor, and they are drunk people. You are just helping them sober up. There is nothing wrong with that!"
"Yes!" The Empress Dowager's words sounded reasonable at first glance, but Shen Lixue always felt that the Empress Dowager was intentionally trying to match her with Dongfang Heng and was looking for reasons to create opportunities for them to meet alone.
Shen Lixue curtsied and gracefully walked towards the door.
Su Yuting watched Shen Lixue's figure gradually disappear into the distance, her smile gentle, but her gaze slightly deep.
Shen Yingxue glared hatefully at Shen Lixue, her beautiful eyes almost spitting fire with anger. "You bitch! Just because you know how to use those few broken silver needles, you actually bribed the Empress Dowager to help you like this!"
Prince An is drunk and out of his mind. She will definitely take the opportunity to do bad things. You wretch, how could you let her get such a good opportunity?