After entering the main hall, everyone took their seats one by one.

Today is Shen Qiuyu's birthday banquet, and the guests who come are basically the daughters of the officials of the prince's faction. Mo Shi and Concubine Lin and Shen Qiuyu accompanied a group of female dependents in the main hall.

It was inconvenient for the prince and Gu Xinian to stay here, so they simply went to the study to talk.

The men formed factions in the court and fought endlessly with the Three Princes, and the female dependents also had frequent contacts in private. Among them, there is Mrs. Ma of the Ministry of Rites, and Mrs. Wang of the Ministry of Officials.

Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites has always belonged to the prince's faction, and the Ma family has always had close contact with the ladies of the prince's mansion, so it is not surprising that he came to support Shen Qiuyu's birthday banquet today. However, it was the first time that the Wang family came to the prince's mansion for such a small-scale banquet.

The Ministry of Officials is in charge of the evaluation and promotion of officials, and is the head of the six departments. Xie Shangshu is one of the few neutral factions, and he not only maintains a good relationship with the prince's faction, but also maintains harmony with the Three Emperors' faction...... To put it simply, it is the idea that no one will be offended, hoping to come to the right and left. In the future, no matter who ascends the throne and inherits the throne, they will be able to stand in the court safely.

However, as the struggle between the two factions became increasingly fierce, almost all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were involved in this invisible, but extremely cruel struggle. Xie Shangshu wanted to protect himself and no one would offend, which had become impossible. Therefore, Xie Shangshu locked himself in the study and thought about it for a day and a night, and after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he finally made a difficult choice. Wang's coming to the prince's mansion for a banquet is a very obvious signal.

To be able to win such a heavyweight help, the prince is naturally very happy in his heart. This qiē is all thanks to Gu Xinian!

If it weren't for Gu Xinian's clever tricks. The reform of the three princes' Tianfu will not end in disgrace, although the emperor did not reprimand too much. But anyone with a discerning eye can see the emperor's disappointment with the three princes. As a result, the prince's image in the minds of many officials immediately became taller.

After all. The crown prince is the queen, who has both the heirs and the elders, and has more advantages than the three princes in terms of identity. And the three princes can have many supporters in the court, in addition to their own shrewdness and ability, more because of the favor of the saint. Once the third prince lost his sacred heart, he immediately succumbed to a disadvantage.

Therefore, a minister like Xie Shangshu, who was in an important position and was cautious, also made a gesture to the prince after weighing it......

That's what people want! The prince thought excitedly. The smile on his face grew more and more pleasant. Gu Xinian seemed to see through his thoughts, and laughed in a low voice: "Congratulations to His Royal Highness the Prince, half of the six departments are already in the hands of His Highness." "The officials and households, which are the heaviest of the six departments, have already leaned towards the prince's faction. And then there is the Ministry of Rites, which is exactly half.

And the other three, the military department is independent and detached, and belongs to the faction of military generals. Neither the crown prince nor the third prince dared to stretch their hands to the military department, so as not to arouse the emperor's suspicion. The Shangshu of the Criminal Department is a treacherous person, and he will never take the team lightly until the last moment. Only the Ministry of Industry remains. It is an iron-clad faction of the Three Princes. But although the Ministry of Industry has enough oil and water, its influence in the court is the smallest, and there is nothing to be afraid of. In this way, the prince's faction has really the upper hand this time!

The prince's heart is not to mention how comfortable. said with a smile: "This qiē is all thanks to your strategizing, I will give you a first credit." ”

It's true! The prince's ear root is soft and gentle and mediocre, compared to the shrewd and capable third prince. It's really a cut off. Although he occupies the position of the crown prince, he is not very popular. This time in the past life. He is already the backbone of the faction of the three princes, and I don't know how many officials in the DPRK and the central government have shown favor openly and secretly. But this life. With his advice, he spared no effort to suppress the three princes' faction, and then this decisive victory, the wind direction of the court has been completely reversed.

Gu Xinian thought so in his heart, but he smiled humbly on his face: "Your Highness said this, but it really made me honestly afraid." This qiē is all because His Highness is wise and precise in his decisions. I'm just a pawn on the horse, fighting for His Highness. ”

What is more valuable than having merit is not to claim credit at all!

The prince's heart became more and more moved, and he was excited for a while, and he forgot to hold Gu Xinian's hand and sighed: "Cousin, with your help, why worry about big things!" ”

Gu Xinian didn't like this kind of physical contact the most in his life, but at this time, he didn't show anything, but smiled and humbled himself: "Your Highness said this, it really makes me ashamed." His Highness and I grew up together since childhood, and we are like brothers and sisters. The Dingguo Mansion is His Royal Highness's foreign family and His Royal Highness's most unwavering supporter. If I don't help His Highness, who else can I help? ”

It's really a shame that he can say these sensual words without changing his face and heartbeat.

If the prince was still acting a little bit before, after listening to these heartfelt words, he was really moved. At this time, when I think of what I have done, I feel even more inexplicably guilty. After a moment of silence, a sentence suddenly popped up: "Cousin, do you still hate me?" ”

No, there is no hatred anymore, only rejoicing and pity.

Gu Xinian thought in his heart, but he naturally responded: "Where did Your Highness's words come from?" Could it be that Your Highness still doesn't trust me? ”

Since the resumption of their relationship, the two have struggled to repair their relationship, at least on the surface, as they were back then. Only the person concerned knows best in his heart that some things can never go back to the past! At least, Shen Qiuyu never mentioned these three words when the two were alone.

But today, the prince took the initiative to mention Shen Qiuyu: "Yu'er's matter, I'm sorry for you." If you hadn't been angry with me and hated me, you wouldn't have wasted four whole years......"

Gu Xinian took over the conversation with a calm expression: "Your Highness, this is all in the past, don't worry about it anymore." At that time, I was too young and stubborn to get into the horns and pull it out. I've figured it out now, though. Cousin Shen was still young, and she couldn't tell what the relationship between men and women was, she was just a brother and sister who grew up together, and what she really liked in her heart was always His Royal Highness. So, Your Highness really doesn't have to mind anymore. After a pause, he jokingly said, "Unless, it is His Highness who minds......

Of course, the prince would not admit that he really minded the past between Shen Qiuyu and Gu Xinian, and immediately responded with righteous words: "How can I be the kind of person who is narrow-minded and calculating, as long as my cousin doesn't mind, I won't take it to heart." ”

"Your Highness is really broad-minded, admirable!" Gu Xinian didn't blink an eye when he said something against his will.

The prince grinned, and his heart finally settled down a lot. After thinking about it, he smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I really can't figure it out." You have always had your eyes above the top, how could you take a fancy to a young yellow-haired girl? ”

Gu Xinian smiled leisurely, and his eyes suddenly softened a lot: "This is the fate between me and her." "The kind of gentleness that only people who mention their beloved can have is by no means disguised!

The prince was completely relieved and joked: "Then you have to wait." She hasn't had time yet! If you want to marry someone home, you have to wait at least another year or two! Are you sure, can you really wait that long? When it comes to the last sentence, the ambiguous and low-level fun between men is fully revealed.

Gu Xinian has not been close to women for so many years, and she is famous in the capital. The prince had also heard about it for a long time, and occasionally joked about it. In fact, this is also a point that makes the prince angry. If Gu Xinian didn't miss Shen Qiuyu, how could he be as guarded as a jade and not close to women?

Gu Xinian knew the prince's disgraceful thoughts, and couldn't help but pull the corners of his lips. Does the prince really think that no one can live without a woman for a day like him?

…… Of course, he was actually secretly planning to marry someone into the mansion earlier!

The two men exchanged a tacit smile. The crown prince laughed in a low voice again: "The queen mother has agreed to marry you, and the will will soon come to the Changyuan Bo Mansion and the Dingguo Mansion." ”

Gu Xinian said with a smile: "This is thanks to His Highness's help. Sun's attitude was resolute at that time, and Gu Xinian had to beg Queen Gu to come out. If it weren't for the prince interceding on the side, Queen Gu would not have agreed so readily. Of course, it is not ruled out that Queen Gu did it on purpose. deliberately sent this favor to the crown prince, so that Gu Xinian would be grateful to Dade and be more determined to saddle up the prince from now on......

The prince laughed, finally let go of his hand, and patted Gu Xinian's shoulder vigorously: "It's a trivial matter, why worry about it." I'm still waiting for you to hug the beauty back as soon as possible, and ask for a cup of wine by the way. ”

What's more, as long as Gu Xinian becomes a relative, Shen Qiuyu will no longer worry about him.

Therefore, in fact, the more cold and distant Gu Xinian was from Shen Qiuyu, the more relieved the prince became.

Gu Xinian was full of ambition when he saw the prince smiling, and he also laughed happily.

In the main hall of the Prince's Mansion, it is very lively for you to come and go at this time.

Mo sat in the middle, and Shen Qiuyu and Concubine Lin each sat beside her. The ladies who came to the banquet naturally sat in order of age. Ye Qinglan and Gu Xiyu were the youngest, so they naturally sat in the corner.

However, even so, there was no shortage of eyes looking at the two of them. Because these two girls are the hottest topics in the capital recently.

Xie Peng fell in love with Gu Xiyu at first sight, and he was making a fuss about going to the Dingguo Mansion to propose marriage. The Xie couple refused to agree, and did not hesitate to lock Xie Peng in the mansion and prevent him from leaving the mansion. As soon as such news spread, the topic of Gu Xiyu's difference from ordinary people was naturally brought up again. And there is an intensifying posture.

As for Ye Qinglan, not to mention. Because of Empress Gu's summons and Mrs. Zheng's intention to marry, this little-known girl became the most prominent aristocratic lady in the aristocratic circle of the capital.

Unexpectedly, these two girls actually appeared together today, how could they not make the gossip-loving aristocratic ladies excited? (To be continued......)