Yan Beichen stood up, looked at Shen Mingzhu, his eyes softening, and said,
"It's noon, how about we have lunch together?"
Upon hearing this, Prince An immediately nodded.
"Alright, let's have a private room at Tianxianglou."
Shen Mingzhu: Could she refuse?
She cannot! ! !
The group chatted and laughed as they headed towards Tianxiang Tower.
[Guagua, we've been going to Tianxianglou a lot lately.]
Yes, host, Tianxianglou is the largest restaurant in Shengjing. It has several head chefs, all recruited from all over the country by Prince An. You can taste all the delicacies of the Great Yan without leaving the restaurant, hehe~~~ As long as the money is right, anything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the sea is no problem.
[Guagua, are you trying to tell me that as long as I have enough points, I can buy anything in the mall too?!]
"Yes, host, that's exactly what I mean, hehe~~~"
A cunning fellow.
Hearing Shen Mingzhu's words, Crown Prince Yan Beichen and Prince An exchanged a smile and then told Shen Mingzhu some interesting stories.
Upon seeing the group arrive at Tianxianglou, the manager, with keen insight, led them to a private room on the top floor.
[Guagua, why does Tianxianglou seem to be doing so poorly today?]
Host, there's no poetry gathering today. With the imperial examinations approaching, everyone's buried in their studies at home; there's no time for drinking and feasting.
[That's true. My older brother has been staying up late every night studying lately; he's been very diligent.]
Host, absolutely. This time, students from all over the country are flocking to Shengjing, making the competition extremely fierce.
Sigh... I wonder when the next "fat sheep" will appear?
Host, don't worry! The young masters from various noble families will arrive soon. Just keep coming over here, and you'll find out.
As if she had thought of something, Shen Mingzhu called over a waiter to pack some dishes for Shaoyao and the others.
They are still waiting for her at the Hanlin Academy, but instead of going back, she went to Tianxiang Tower.
Bored, Shen Mingzhu peeked outside.
What a coincidence!
An old acquaintance.
[Guagua, Su Ruoxue has struck it rich! She actually dined at Tianxiang Restaurant?!]
[Um? ]
Hehe, host, take a good look!
What am I looking at?
What do you notice about her that makes her different?
Soon, both Crown Prince Yan Beichen and Prince An looked towards Su Ruoxue outside.
It was clear that she was in much better condition than when they had seen her the previous two times. More importantly, her clothes and jewellery were much prettier. Although they couldn't compare to what she had at the Ministry of Rites' residence, they were certainly not something that Qian Xuewen's poor scholar family could afford.
Where did she get the money?
Crown Prince Yan Beichen frowned, deep in thought.
Prince An: Su Ruoxue has struck it rich?
Or did that stubborn old man, Su Qingshan, have a change of heart and give money to his granddaughter, Su Ruoxue?
Su Ruoxue, all smiles, picked up two dishes and left with a light step.
Today, she wore a light purple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a light purple shawl over it, which matched very well.
Soon, the sharp-eyed Shen Mingzhu spotted the purple jade pendant on her waist.
Purple jade symbolizes good fortune coming from the east and being blessed with good luck, which is quite auspicious.
[Ahhh!!! Guagua, it's not what I think, is it?]
Yes, host, it's exactly what you think!
Oh no, how could she do that?
[Host, calm down. Anything can happen in a life-or-death situation, especially since Su Ruoxue, as a noble lady raised in the former Minister's mansion, still has many suitors.]
Um?
Crown Prince Yan Beichen still couldn't figure it out.
I'm in a real hurry.
What exactly happened?
Hurry up and tell me.
Prince An was extremely anxious.
What exactly happened?
Hurry up and tell me.
Su Ruoxue was dressed more luxuriously than before. Could it be that she had become someone's mistress?
That's not right!
Although the Qian family was poor, Qian Xuewen was a scholar who cared about his reputation and would never let her run wild.
What exactly happened?
I'm really itching to get back to work.
Speak up.
You say it!
Tell me already!
He felt that he wouldn't be able to eat lunch until Shen Mingzhu explained things clearly.
[Guagua, Su Ruoxue has completely let herself go! She's openly and unabashedly wearing the purple jade pendant? Doesn't she know that Prince Consort Liang is already in prison?]
Host, she definitely doesn't know. The princess's residence is a long way from where she's currently living!
Prince An cracked open.
How could these two possibly get together?
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
She is his mistress, too?!
Su Qingshan: Why didn't I strangle her with a white silk ribbon back then?!
Crown Prince Yan Beichen was also rendered speechless!
They are Princess Chaoyang's husband and his seven little lovers!
What a dramatic incident!
Prince An: Where are Qingqing and Lanlan?
Crown Prince Yan Beichen: What the hell are Qingqing and Lanlan?!
Liang Muchen is also known as Liang Shishi because he's about to turn into a corpse!!!
[Guagua, I've noticed something. Su Ruoxue, the granddaughter of the former Minister of Rites, has terrible taste in men. She falls for every one of them!]
Uh… host, maybe she's just unlucky and not destined to be the matriarch of the household!
Prince An: That is indeed the case.
She had just started following the prince consort Liang Muchen, but her good days were short-lived, and she is brought back to square one.
It couldn't get even worse!
Prince An shook his head vigorously, sighing...
Crown Prince Yan Beichen thought about it carefully, and it seemed to make sense.
Miss Su Ruoxue has terrible taste in men; she hasn't picked a single good one.
[Guagua, who are the other two women?]
Host, you have keen eyes! Keep it up, I believe you'll find it!
Well...
Shen Mingzhu was a little unhappy.
She wanted to know in advance who the other two people were.
However, Guagua wanted her to discover it herself.
At this moment, Prince An wished he had eyes all over his body to find out about Liang's "lovers."
To be honest, even Crown Prince Yan Beichen was curious: who else could it be?
At this moment, Princess Chaoyang's world has collapsed.
Who would have thought that after having lunch in the palace, she returned to the princess's residence to find a huge hole in the roof, and the culprit was none other than her own elder brother, the crown prince!
Suppressing her anger, she was then informed that the prince consort had been arrested and imprisoned.
"What?! Who has the audacity to kidnap my husband?!"
The young maidservant, Chengxin, stepped forward, trembling and said,
"Your Highness, it is Commander Qin of the Golden Guard."
"His Highness the Crown Prince was also there at the time!"
He then briefly recounted what had happened.
"That damned Ruyi, how dare she seduce the prince consort, she deserves to die!"
The maids and servants in the courtyard said: "Is the princess focusing on the wrong thing? The prince consort is currently imprisoned. Shouldn't she be bringing him back to the princess's residence?"
Princess Chaoyang: My husband is dirty!!!
She wanted to sell Ruyi directly and sell her far away so that she would never be able to return to Shengjing.
Host, host, Princess Chaoyang knows that her husband has been imprisoned! She's so angry that she's actually cursing Ruyi in the courtyard.
Shen Mingzhu: Scold Ruyi? Shouldn't she be scolding her own husband, Liang Muchen?