Princess Rong Hua drank very fast; the feeling of drunkenness was coming up quickly. Her face was stained with a red glow now. The emperor looked at her daughter with a bit of worry.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the girl was holding the glass with one hand, gently smiling, and she slowly drank up each glass of wine, as if she was not in a race, but was tasting good wine.
But unexpectedly, the surrounding onlookers found the number of empty wine glasses in front of her was increasing as fast as that of the Princess Rong Hua, or even faster.
A drinking race between Princess Rong Hua and the royal princess? Unbelievable! This had never happened in history before. It was quite a big show for today.
Kadaâ
The wine glass collided with the table surface, making slight noises.
âGive me that⌠brush pen!â Princess Rong Hua felt a little dizzy and weak, but her consciousness was clear. She staggered as she stood up, escorted by her maid, and walked to the table on which a big paper was spread.
With a splash of ink, Princess Rong Huaâs beautiful and grand calligraphy soon appeared on the paper.
âItâs really nice calligraphy!â
âYes, indeed.â
The ministers standing nearby couldnât help praising Princess Rong Huaâs handwriting. They came closer one after another to appreciate the creation process.
The heirs of the royal family were educated in all four arts, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They learned since childhood, which endowed them with great knowledge of them all, and in some aspects they were even quite proficient.
The calligraphy of Princess Rong Hua was the best among all the heirs, and the emperor was very proud of that as well.
So when Princess Rong Hua heard the praise of the ministers, she stood upright immediately and seemed to have seen the dawn of victory.
But having drunk too much wine really affected her. She delayed a little in writing. Then after she finally finished the writing, a feeling of weakness attacked her all at once. She almost lost her balance and leaned upon her maid to avoid falling over.
She looked to Ming Shu, who was still sitting in her seat and drinking wine, and whose posture was not even changed. She was also looking back at her with a smile.
What is she laughing at?
Whatâs so funny? Her smile is really ugly, as ugly as her appearance.
Princess Rong Hua pushed the maid away and staggered to Ming Shu. The latter was now holding a glass of unfinished wine in her hand. Princess Rong Hua couldnât help giving a beaming smile. âYou lose.â
âRong Hua.â The emperor, though, interrupted her.
âFather, I win!â Princess Rong Hua became a little anxious and her face was filled with excitement. She knew she would win.
âRong Hua, the royal princess won,â the emperor said in a deep voice. âDonât be silly, come now.â
Princess Rong Huaâs smile was frozen on her face. âFather⌠what are you saying?â How could she win, she didnât even finish the wine!
âYour Highness, it is indeed the royal princess who won, she finished the calligraphy faster than youâŚâ the maid whispered in Princess Rong Huaâs ear.
âShe didnât finish the wine! So what if she was faster than me in writing?â Princess Rong Hua pointed at the wine on the table.
The maid whispered again, âIt was poured by Her Highness after she had finished the writing.â
It turned out that Princess Rong Hua was surrounded by the ministers just now, which totally blocked her sight. In fact, when she began writing, Ming Shu also finished her wine and started the second phase. She wrote faster than Princess Rong Hua.
That glass of unfinished wine was poured after she had finished the writing and sat down.
âThank you, Your Highness, for the gift.â Ming Shu raised her glass and smiled.
Princess Rong Hua stared at Ming Shu disbelievingly, but she didnât make a scene. Keeping silent for a while, she turned and ran away.
âYour HighnessâŚâ
The maid also chased her out.
â Ho , childish! Royal Princess, donât concern yourself with her. This dagger is yours now.â The emperor came out and broke the awkwardness. He ordered the maid to pass the dagger to Ming Shu, and continued, âSince two princesses showed their fine calligraphy, why donât you ministers come and show what you can do? Come, whoever writes the best today, I will reward.â
The ministers complained in the bottom of their hearts. They only intended to watch a play, but now they had to play themselves for the emperor.
However, they were so good at hiding their real thoughts deep inside. On the surface, they happily followed the emperorâs order.
The ministers went up to show off their calligraphy one by one, and the scene grew quite harmonious.
âWhy help me?â
âWhat?â Ming Shu turned her head. The man sat perfectly straight next to her, leaving her with only one side of his face. Ming Shu looked around and then asked, âAre you talking to me, Uncle?â
King Huai didnât answer.
Ming Shu held her chin with one hand, and the fingertip of another was playing with the porcelain wine glass. The liquid swaying in the glass reflected dots of light, which were scattered into her pupils, lending them a slight layer of soft luster. âI just wanted Princess Rong Hua to hate me.â
King Huai was a little surprised.
The girl with fine features was smiling tenderly. Her voice was crisp and ethereal, but the content of her words was so confusing.
âYou hate her?â
âNo.â In the words of the Harmony System, why should she hate a character existing in a game?
Itâs all for the snacks⌠I have to gain her Hatred Points.
âWhy?â King Huai was even more curious, and he asked again.
Ming Shu offered another close-lipped smile. âUncle is not an officious person. It doesnât matter to Uncle. Why do you want to know?â
Hearing this, King Huai felt a little dumb for a moment, but then he nodded coldly. âOkay.â
After that, there was only silence between the uncle and the niece.
The banquet ended in a weird mood. After the emperor left, Ming Shu dusted her skirt and got up. The ministers didnât dare to offend her, so they humbly waited on the spot for her to go first.
The air outside the hall was much better than that inside. Ming Shu took a deep breath and stretched out. She walked down the steps briskly, like a bird that had just been set free from a cage.
I need some snacks now.
Snacks.
Snacks !
âPlease wait, Your Highness.â A eunuch servant caught up with Ming Shu. âYour Highness, His Majesty wants to see you in the royal study room.â
Royal study room? At this time? What does he want?
âWell, itâs too late at night, itâs not suitable for a man and a woman to meet. I will come tomorrow,â Ming Shu said in a soft voice.
That old fox was not a good person. He used her to embarrass King Huai, and let Princess Rong Hua bet with herâŚ
The royals are all conspirators.
Who has the energy to deal with a conspirator this late!
Not to mention my snacks are waiting for me.
⌠Eh? The eunuch was dumbfounded.
âYour HighnessâŚâ
Ming Shu waved her hand and went straight to the litter parked outside the palace.
â⌠His Majesty is waiting for youâŚâ
The eunuch was frozen to the spot. He stared at the litter moving further and further away for a long time before coming to himself. How should he report to his royal master!
âŚ
King Huai stood in the shadows with his hands behind his back, watching Ming Shuâs litter leaving.
âLord, about what happened today⌠the emperor was obviously purposely targeting you.â Ye Cong stood beside King Huai, full of indignation. âIf it werenât for the royal princess, it might have gotten worse.â
King Huai retracted his gaze. âWhat do you think he would think of us?â
Ye Cong didnât understand the meaning of this sentence for a while, then after thinking it over, he cautiously replied, âPerhaps he will think the lord and the royal princess are intimate.â
âRight.â At the banquet, no matter for what reason, the royal princess helped him out, which would make his suspicious elder brother doubt him.
âLord, this does us no harm,â Ye Cong said. âThe Heavenly Temple is not a weak chicken. And⌠it looks like the royal princess is easy to get along with.â
Easy to get along with?
King Huai didnât know how Ye Cong would have this conclusion in mind.
In his opinion, that girl was everything but an easy person to get along with. On the contrary, he had a feeling that she hid some unpredictable emotions beneath her frequent smiles.
âDo some investigations into her past.â
âLord?â
âShe is not that simple.â
King Huai turned and walked in the other direction. His figure seemed blend into the darkness, and a cold voice came to the ears of Ye Cong from afar.
âEverything must be under control for this comeback.â
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