Chapter 156: Encountering the Crown Prince at the Flower Viewing Banquet

After a while, Old Meng came out with a dark expression and whispered a few words into Xia Jiujiang's ear.

The storehouse had been broken into, and something was missing?

So it was just a diversionary tactic, luring the tiger away from the mountain.

Xia Jiujiang's eyes narrowed instantly, and she finally understood what was going on.

The man and woman had been used as pawns by the masked person with the seven-star mask to deliberately stir up a commotion at the Prince Jin Manor, making Xia Jiujiang believe that their target was Prince Ning, when in reality, the target from the very beginning had been the Prince Jin Manor itself.

When the disturbance broke out in front of the gate, the guards of Prince Jin Manor rushed to the street to maintain order, and everyone's attention became focused on the manor's entrance.

If the woman could manipulate the Princess Ning, it would simply be an extra bargaining chip for the masked person; if not, it didn't matter, because the woman drawing the attention had precisely provided an opportunity for someone to sneak into the Prince Jin Manor.

The talk of the "heir" was entirely a bait set up by the masked person to trap the woman, because the masked person knew that it would be effortless for Xia Jiujiang to deal with her.

To think that the masked person had completely figured out Xia Jiujiang's moves, while Xia Jiujiang had no clues whatsoever about this person, and now she still didn't know what had been stolen from Prince Jin Manor, or what the adversary intended to do with the stolen item.

For now, they could only face whatever came their way, blocking water with earth and soldiers with shields.

A few days later, Prince Ning's Manor hosted a flower-viewing banquet, and Xia Jiujiang received an invitation. Since Prince Ning had come to the capital from Hancheng to settle in, it was only proper to entertain guests. On one hand, it allowed him to become acquainted with people from the imperial court; on the other hand, it demonstrated the generosity and prestige of Prince Ning's Manor.

Coincidentally, Prince Ning had brought many unique plants from Hancheng that were resilient and could bloom even during the winter in the capital, prompting him to hold this flower-viewing banquet. The event had originally been postponed due to Prince Ning being afflicted by a Gu worm, but now that he had fully recovered, the banquet was rescheduled.

When Xia Jiujiang told Jun Buwen that she was going to Prince Ning's Manor tomorrow, Jun Buwen furrowed his brows. "Tomorrow?"

Xia Jiujiang was stunned. "What's wrong?" Was there a problem with tomorrow?

Jun Buwen said, "Tomorrow, the special envoy of the Southern Kingdom and the Emperor will be discussing alliance matters in the Hall of Harmony and Negotiation."

Xia Jiujiang muttered, "Such a coincidence? Could Emperor Zongkang be trying to make me face this alone?"

However, Jun Buwen shook his head. It shouldn't be Emperor Zongkang. The Emperor felt a sense of guilt toward Jun Mo and even encouraged Jun Buwen and Jun Mo to interact more often. Besides, the time for the alliance negotiations had been set by the Southern Kingdom's special envoy; how could it possibly coincide with the flower-viewing banquet at Prince Ning's Manor?

Jun Buwen looked at Xia Jiujiang and said, "If you want me to go with you, I can skip the Hall of Harmony and Negotiation tomorrow."

Xia Jiujiang replied, "Don't, absolutely not. Emperor Zongkang already dislikes me. If you, a little leader figure, don't show up to the meeting tomorrow, won't the Emperor think I've bewitched you with a love potion?"

What little leader? Jun Buwen shook his head. "I used to wonder where you got all these strange new vocabulary words, but now I finally understand."

Xia Jiujiang said indifferently, "Since it's not the Emperor's intention, then never mind. It's not like I've never been to Prince Ning's Manor. Besides, if any shrimps and crabs with foolish ambitions want to try and deal with me, they're simply asking for their own punishment."

Despite her nonchalant words, a glint flickered in Xia Jiujiang's eyes. The Princess Consort of Ning causing a scene at the gates of Prince Jin Manor, the theft inside the manor, and now Prince Ning's Manor holding a flower-viewing banquet that happened to collide with the Southern Kingdom's alliance negotiations—Xia Jiujiang was no fool; how could she not know that there was something fishy about this banquet?

The flower-viewing banquet at Prince Ning's Manor was a variable. It was normal for the Southern Kingdom's special envoy to know that Prince Ning's Manor was hosting the banquet tomorrow, but with whom had the envoy conspired to schedule the alliance negotiations on the very same day, and what were they trying to accomplish by using the banquet as a cover?

It seemed she would just have to wait and see tomorrow.

The next day, Xia Jiujiang brought Lvyu and Youhua to the flower-viewing banquet at Prince Ning's Manor. Xia Jiujiang had been to the manor several times before; when Prince Ning was suffering from the Gu worm, she had practically run over here every day, so she was completely familiar with the place.

After getting off the carriage, Xia Jiujiang arranged for Lvyu and Youhua to wait around the main gates. Lvyu was assigned to keep an eye on Princess Anya, while Youhua watched Xia Yue'er. Although there would be many daughters of high-ranking officials and nobles attending today's banquet, these two were the ones Xia Jiujiang cared about the most.

After marrying the Seventh Prince, Xia Yue'er was rumored to be out of favor, and Princess Anya's household with Xia Mingxuan was a daily battleground of endless quarrels. The lives these two were currently leading were entirely bestowed upon them by Xia Jiujiang. Since she had no idea what schemes they might be plotting for today's gathering, Xia Jiujiang decided to strike first to gain the upper hand.

Receiving their orders, Lvyu and Youhua hid behind the rockery not far from the main gates, while Xia Jiujiang walked straight through the corridor toward the flower-viewing banquet.

However, before she could even catch a glimpse of those bitter enemies Princess Anya and Xia Yue'er, she encountered a completely unexpected figure—the Crown Prince!

A cascade of white robes pooled on the ground, his raven hair half falling to sway in the breeze while the other half was bound high, looking refined and ethereal. Xia Jiujiang froze for a few seconds when she caught sight of Jun Qinghan.

Xia Jiujiang and Jun Qinghan had only crossed paths briefly once. While Xia Jiujiang recognized him, the guy probably had no idea who she was. That encounter had been during the birthday banquet of the Western Empress Dowager in the Yufu Palace, where Jun Qinghan had presented his congratulatory gift and then immediately retreated to his own palace to rest.

She never expected to run into him here. He didn't seem like the type to enjoy lively crowds—he hadn't even stayed long at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet—so why would he attend a flower-viewing banquet at Prince Ning's Manor?

A trace of suspicion arose in Xia Jiujiang's mind as she stared at Jun Qinghan's retreating back. The matter of the Southern Kingdom's alliance negotiations had drawn away the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and Prince Jin, and even the newly returned Prince Ning had been summoned into the palace.

Yet the Crown Prince, sickly and confined to a wheelchair, hadn't gone to the Hall of Harmony and Negotiation, and perhaps not wanting to be cooped up, had come to Prince Ning's Manor for the banquet instead.

What was strange, however, was that the Crown Prince was sitting alone in his wheelchair, facing away from Xia Jiujiang, with not a single attendant by his side.

Hearing footsteps, the Crown Prince assumed it was his personal servant and spoke without even turning his head, "Eunuch Xue, why are you taking so long? You've found the thing you lost, right? Let's go... push me to the flower-viewing banquet."

Xia Jiujiang paused and pointed at herself. Had the Crown Prince mistaken her for someone else?

Just as she was about to speak, the Crown Prince coughed a few times and said, "The cold wind here is too fierce; it feels like it's going to split my lungs."

Xia Jiujiang noticed that a small pond was not far away. In winter, the air around ponds was chillingly cold, something a sickly person like the Crown Prince naturally couldn't endure.

Her hands instinctively moved to the push handles at the back of the wheelchair and she began pushing the Crown Prince toward the garden.

Along the way, the Crown Prince let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Do you think I'm just asking for humiliation, stubbornly refusing to stay quietly in the palace as a cripple, and instead attending some flower-viewing banquet just to suffer?"

Mistaking Xia Jiujiang for Eunuch Xue, the Crown Prince talked on to himself.

Receiving no response from Xia Jiujiang, Jun Qinghan sighed. "I know you've always wanted me to get out more and change my mood. I didn't want to come to this banquet either, but there's no place for me in the palace's Hall of Harmony and Negotiation anyway. Staying in the palace only invites gossip and ridicule, so coming here is better than that."

Ah, so that was why Jun Qinghan would rather attend a flower-viewing banquet than stay in the palace. Even though he was the Crown Prince, being a cripple meant he was destined never to become emperor. Everyone in the palace knew this Crown Prince was merely a titleholder with no real power, and countless people mocked him behind his back.

Suddenly, Jun Qinghan remarked, "You're usually so talkative. Why are you completely silent today?"

Xia Jiujiang's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak; she simply couldn't explain the situation! Would he believe her if she told him she was only pushing him to the banquet because he had mistaken her for Eunuch Xue?