On the third - day wash ceremony of the heir of the Prince of Cheng, the Prince of Yu and his princess came to offer their congratulations in person. The imperial palace also bestowed a lot of valuable gifts.
Although the emperor didn't come to congratulate in person, he personally gave the baby a name.
Therefore, even though the Prince of Cheng had once made mistakes, the court officials didn't dare to treat him sloppily.
It had been three years. For the first time, Ling Yufei accompanied her mother to such a banquet.
Her mind was full of twists and turns. She thought highly of her own talents and skills and believed that among all the young men in the capital, only the sons of the emperor were worthy of her.
After careful selection, she set her sights on the Prince of Yu, Zhongli Mingye. But he mercilessly rejected her. Now, seeing him holding the hand of his new princess with her own eyes,
she suddenly felt extremely disappointed.
The princess was really as peerlessly beautiful as the rumors said. Ling Yufei couldn't help but secretly hate her. "Slut." Apart from her good looks, she was good for nothing!
He Yi also came today. As soon as Song Jinyu came in, He Yi skipped over to find her. But Zhongli Mingye held her hand tightly,
as if he was afraid she would run away. "Fourth brother... Sister - in - law isn't just yours!"
Song Jinyu: "..., I'm going to find He Yi!" Zhongli Mingye glanced at them and told He Yi, "She's always been a bit clumsy. You should take good care of her."
Hearing this, the two girls raised their eyebrows in anger. Song Jinyu, who was called clumsy, was indignant. He Yi pulled her and ran aside.
Unexpectedly, they were stopped by someone. "Your humble servant, Ling Yufei, pays respects to the Princess of Yu and Princess He Yi..."
Ling Yufei?
He Yi was a bit unhappy. This woman had caused quite a stir in the capital three years ago, insisting that the Prince of Yu marry her.
No one knew what had happened, but suddenly she had run off to study painting.
Song Jinyu looked puzzled. She wondered why He Yi didn't look happy when seeing this woman.
For her, everyone in the capital was a stranger. With the surname Ling, she might be the daughter of the Prime Minister Ling.
Ling Yufei thought that although Song Jinyu was beautiful, she had no other outstanding qualities. So she started to talk at length about things in the capital. He Yi was a bit impatient.
Rong Shuang'er came from afar. After saluting when she saw them,
she said with a smile, "The banquet is about to start. Your Highnesses, the princess and the princess, are still in the garden..." She wanted to help out of the awkward situation. After all, she had met Song Jinyu a few times and had a good impression of her. Moreover, this "Ling Yufei" in front of her was really a bit abrupt.
And with her return, the rumors from three years ago in the capital resurfaced.
It wasn't a big deal otherwise, but it was a pity for this new princess. She had only been married for two months and now had to worry about this.
He Yi pulled Song Jinyu and left. As their identities were noble, they didn't need to look at the faces of the daughter of a court official. But Ling Yufei was extremely indignant. The position of the Princess of Yu should have been hers! After three years of studying painting, someone else had taken her place.
Rong Shuang'er saw the changing expression on her face and sighed softly. Love was really hard to explain. She looked at Song Jinyu's departing back and remembered Rong Qing'er's fate.
She felt a bit sad. When would she also meet a man who would whole - heartedly protect her?
Just as she was lost in thought, a sarcastic voice came from behind, "Miss Rong... Wherever this king goes, you follow..."
"So infatuated with this king... Tsk tsk..." Ming Ruyi shook his head. Rong Shuang'er looked at him helplessly. "Your Highness, you'd better be well... There's a big age gap between us... Don't think too much!"
The implication was that she didn't want an old man like him!
Ming Ruyi's face darkened immediately. He had always been well - maintained after spending a long time among women. What did she mean by a big age gap! He watched Rong Shuang'er running away thoughtfully. Every time he saw her, he always had to say something to vent his anger.
After Ling Yufei came back and entered the main hall, many noble ladies and young girls were whispering. "Is it true that the Prince of Yu was in love but couldn't get the girl as the rumor says?"
"Not necessarily! The Prince of Yu is a well - known cold - faced prince..."
People were whispering. The rumors from three years ago resurfaced with her return. The Princess of Cheng was holding the baby in her arms.
The Princess of Duan'an had rushed from the southern border to visit her daughter and was also here.
Just as the banquet was about to start, the Crown Prince and his wife finally arrived. For a moment, the main hall was filled with the main royal family members of the Great Xia Dynasty and the families of important court officials.
He Yi observed Song Jinyu's expression and tentatively asked, "Have you heard any news?"
"What..."
She had been locked up in the prince's mansion all day. How could she hear any news? She vaguely felt that Zhongli Mingye was hiding something from her. But based on her understanding of him, this news probably wasn't good. Since he wanted to hide it from her, she didn't want to dig too much.
He Yi looked at her strangely and suddenly burst into laughter. "Fourth brother is really... too good to you!" So good that he didn't even want her to worry about such small things.
Good? Locking her up every day. Wasn't it because he was worried that she would cause trouble outside?
Song Jinyu was helpless. She also noticed that the eyes of those ladies and young girls were constantly shifting between her and Ling Yufei.
Maybe there was something between Zhongli Mingye and Ling Yufei? Were they old lovers? She smiled faintly and just sighed that they were all too idle.
After everyone congratulated the Prince and Princess of Cheng, they were about to start the banquet. The Crown Prince looked at the baby, and a hint of hatred flashed in his eyes.
This was the emperor's first legitimate grandson. It was a pity that he had been married for more than ten years and only had a legitimate daughter.
Ming Ruyi looked at Ling Yufei and Song Jinyu thoughtfully. Ling Yufei's eyes glanced at Song Jinyu many times, but the Princess of Yu didn't notice at all. Because she was chatting happily with He Yi.
So he said to Zhongli Mingye with a smile, "Nephew, your old lover and your current princess are in the same occasion now. Are you feeling really uncomfortable?"
"Uncle, you don't need to worry about it!"
Zhongli Mingye drank the fine wine in his cup and glanced at Ming Ruyi faintly. "Jinyu won't believe these gossips."
"She only believes in this king!"
He looked at Ming Ruyi complacently. Moreover, Ling Yufei was nothing... Why should he feel uncomfortable?
Ming Ruyi rolled his eyes at him angrily and hid his regret. Then he happily went to find someone to drink with.
Ling Yufei silently withdrew her gaze. The more she looked, the more she couldn't suppress her jealousy. In just three years, there was someone else by his side.
And he had even gone to great lengths to marry this woman. He had always been such a proud man.
The wife of the Minister of Revenue wanted to ask for Ling Yufei's hand in marriage for her eldest son. So she was very enthusiastic towards Mrs. Ling today. And Mrs. Ling had also met the young master of the minister's family. Although the Ling family was a prime - minister's family, the Minister of Revenue was also a pillar in the court. So the two families were well - matched in social status.
It was a pity that Ling Yufei only had feelings for the Prince of Yu. It was obvious to everyone that her eyes hardly left Zhongli Mingye.
"Miss Ling, I heard that you've returned from studying painting on Dongshan Mountain. You must have made great progress." The wife of Minister Li of Revenue said with a smile.
Everyone was attracted by her words. Ling Yufei smiled faintly and said, "Three years ago, after receiving the guidance of His Highness the Prince of Yu, I didn't let His Highness down. I studied painting hard. Now I've truly learned from Master Dongshan..." After saying that, she coyly glanced at Zhongli Mingye.
Song Jinyu put down her chopsticks and looked at her thoughtfully.
He Yi was very dissatisfied. The words were said in a veiled way, as if the Prince of Yu had promised her something. But in fact, her fourth brother had never paid any attention to Ling Yufei.
Just as she was about to say something, Song Jinyu patted her hand and signaled her with her eyes to continue watching the show.
"Since you've returned after learning, Yufei, you should show your painting skills so that everyone can see if you've really learned from Master Dongshan."
The Crown Princess was the most noble guest today. Once she spoke, Ling Yufei had to comply.
She thought for a moment and then said coquettishly, "I'd better comply than be disrespectful!"
Zhongli Mingye glanced at Song Jinyu. At today's banquet, the men and women were seated separately. At first, he saw her chatting happily with He Yi and there was nothing unusual.
He originally thought she hadn't heard those rumors. But now seeing her looking coldly at Ling Yufei painting, he guessed that she must have heard something.