A few days later, in the name of resigning from the New Year and welcoming the new year, Emperor Qingling held a banquet in the mansion of Lingxiao City, in addition to inviting the noble ladies who come and go on weekdays, they were also specially allowed to bring their brothers to accompany them, and he also invited several princes in the Vermilion Bird Palace.

To her surprise, Mu Chen did not deliberately avoid contacting her as before, but led the attendants to come by invitation.

At this time, there is less than half a month left before the New Year, and Lingxiao City has begun to enter the rainy season. Since the afternoon, it has been raining lightly. The daughters of the families who deliberately dressed up because of the presence of the male guests could only temporarily gather in the flower hall to drink tea and chat, while the male guests were invited to the other end of the hall, and the maids in the palace brought pianos, chess, books and other things for entertainment and enjoyment.

Fang Shanyuan was crooked on the couch, holding his head with one hand and shaking a fan with the other, and said to Mo Nanhao next to him boredly: "I actually don't want to come at all." In the Emperor's Mansion, everything has to be behaved, no matter how many beauties there are around, what fun is there? ”

Ning Hao is the eldest grandson of the Mo Nan clan, and his words and deeds have always been steady, and he took a sip of tea and said: "How can the emperor set up a banquet just to have fun? If you're bored, it's too late to go home. ”

Fang Shanyuan said "tsk, tsk" twice in his mouth, and seemed to be very unimpressed, but because of the identity of the other party, it was difficult to argue, so he had to bow his head and drink stuffy wine, and he missed Chun Yuyan who was demoted to a fiefdom very much.

On the side of the window, the second prince Chaojun was playing against Fang Shanlei, and Mu Han, Fang Shanji, and the third prince Hao advocated to watch the battle on both sides.

Mu Han was paying attention to the chess game on the surface, but his eyes were always paying attention to Mu Chen and An Huaixin, the son of the An family, who were standing on the side and whispering and chatting.

The queen's eyeliner in the Chengji Hall reported that the An family had privately inquired about Emperor Hao's tone and planned to marry Miss An to Mu Chen as a side concubine. Although Emperor Hao did not say anything about it, he did not seek the opinion of Queen Fangshan on this.

It stands to reason that princes and concubines, especially side concubines with less important status, are usually handled by the queen. Now that the father seems to be completely isolating the queen mother, is there any suspicion?

At the beginning, the queen mother did put a lot of thought into bringing down Mu Chen. Didn't my father really have any suspicions about those false accusations and perjury? If his father was suspicious, what did he think of himself?

These speculations made Mu Han very uneasy.

Fang Shanji and Hao Zhan watched the chess game with all their hearts.

The second prince was weak and sickly, but his chess skills were very exquisite, forcing Fang Shanlei to retreat. Fang Shanji pinched the sweat for his cousin, and when he saw the tension, he couldn't help but want to make a suggestion, but he remembered the admonition of a true gentleman who watched chess and was silent, and the hand he raised had to hang down again.

Fang Shanlei was already a little annoyed, and he couldn't see his cousin's startled appearance, his thick eyebrows were upside down, and he scolded: "You kid just watch chess when you watch chess, what are you doing?" If you're impatient, just stand aside! ”

Fang Shanji was still young, and his temperament was a little weak, and after being reprimanded by his brother for a few words, he ran to Fang Shanyuan and sat down in a gloomy manner, listening to him and Mo Nanninghao chatting with each other.

Fang Shanyuan asked Ning Hao, "Why did you stay in Lingxiao City for so long this time?" It's been almost half a year since the Centennial Festival," he leaned closer, squeezing his eyebrows, "Isn't it that the patriarch of Mo Nan has ordered you a marriage in Lingxiao City, waiting to pick up the bride?" ”

Ning Hao lowered his eyes and drank tea silently.

Fang Shanji interjected: "I heard my uncle say that Chaoyan is about to start a war against Jiuqiu. Brother Ning Hao stayed in Lingxiao City, I'm afraid it has something to do with this, right? ”

The feudal town of the Monan clan, Fuyang, controls more than 30% of Chaoyan's military strength, and there are many people who serve as generals in the army, to a certain extent, more than half of the army of Chaoyan is in the hands of the Monan clan. Therefore, whenever the war is approaching, the important members of the Mo Nan family will stay in the capital, one is to play the role of liaison between the DPRK and China, and the other is also a way for the emperor to detain hostages beside him in order to prevent dissent.

As the eldest grandson of the Mo Nan clan and the future heir of the patriarch, Ning Hao is naturally the best choice.

Fang Shanji's words were not loud, but they were like throwing stones into a lake, which immediately caused ripples.

The third prince is a concubine, and his mother's identity is not noble, so he wants to make a difference on the battlefield and win the favor of his father with military exploits. Hearing the discussion about the war now, he hurriedly turned around, "Did you really hear this from the mouth of the Fang Shan Patriarch?" ”

There has always been speculation about war between the DPRK and China, but Emperor Hao has always been thoughtful, and no one dares to make a conclusion without issuing a royal order for a day.

Fang Shanji realized that he might have said the wrong thing, and snorted a few times.

Mu Han chuckled coldly on the side, "What is there to guess?" It was only a matter of time before my father went to war against Jiuqiu. In the past, he was afraid of Lieyang and could not disperse his forces, but now that Qingyun Sword has returned to the royal family, he can naturally deal with the demons in the south with all his might. His eyes glanced at Mu Chen intentionally or unintentionally, "Otherwise, if it drags on any longer, I'm afraid that Yuzhong and Yanye will also become the territory of the demon clan." ”

The envoys sent by Emperor Hao carried out a large-scale purge in the southern countries, implicating many local famous children. For more than half a year, countless people have been sentenced and imprisoned, and the rumors have forced the public to become even more indignant and make constant disturbances.

Everyone present knew that Mu Chen's mother was the princess of Fanye. Once Emperor Hao made the decision to annex the southern kingdom and depose the royal family, Mu Chen's position would naturally be very embarrassing.

Mu Chen heard Mu Han's sarcasm, but his face was just indifferent, as if he didn't care at all.

Yu Jun propped his chin in front of the chessboard, and said thoughtfully: "But I remember that Jiuqiu and Chaoyan had an armistice agreement back then." If Jiuqiu didn't raise troops to make a rebellion, it stands to reason that Chaoyan would have no reason to send troops south, right? ”

Fang Shanji couldn't help but take over again, "What other reasons do you need to deal with those demons?" With the strength of Chaoyan Country today, you can start a war with whoever you want! ”

Fang Shanlei's defeat on the chessboard was decided, so he simply admitted defeat, got up and counted Fang Shanji and said: "You have no official position in the court, what are you doing discussing these things?" Even if you do go to war, it may not be your turn to go to war. ”

The other male guests around who had been listening attentively to the corner saw that Prince Mu Han and the eldest prince of Fang Shan had no intention of refuting the rumors, so it could be seen that the war was by no means a rumor, so they also joined in one after another, and they began to talk about it.

Among them, those who are good at observing the current military situation compare the combat strength, strengths and weaknesses of Chaoyan and Jiuqiu one by one. The people present are all young men with strong blood, who have a pure eagerness for galloping on the battlefield and making meritorious contributions, plus Luo Heng invaded Chaoyan and slaughtered the city all the way, forming a lot of blood feuds.

After all, An Huaixin was born as a businessman, and he knew how to use this kind of occasion to build momentum for his phalanx, so he raised his voice and said: "Among the people present today, I am afraid that the eldest prince has the most experience in the battlefield!" Twice faced Lieyang and repelled 100,000 male soldiers. Danfeng Fire Lotus is even more legendary in the world! ”

He turned to Mu Chen, "I don't know what His Highness can see, what kind of situation this battle will be once it starts?" ”

Hearing this, everyone gradually quieted down, and their eyes turned to Mu Chen.

Mu Chen smiled humbly, but he didn't shirk it, and only said briefly: "Jiuqiu's current strength is difficult to compete with Chaoyan, presumably they will try their best to avoid this war." ”

Ning Hao, who had been listening attentively to the discussion, raised his eyebrows, "What does His Highness mean...... Can't fight this battle? ”

Mu Chen said indifferently: "It's just that I'm just stupid." ”

Everyone pondered Mu Chen's words, discussed and thought about each other. Mu Han said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Brother Wang naturally doesn't want to fight this battle. If the war extends to the leaves, won't it make it difficult for Brother Wang to be a man? ”

Mu Chen's sharp gaze swept over Mu Han's face, and it was fleeting.

"Do you want to fight this battle?" At this moment, a crisp question came from the door of the hall.

Qingling's long skirt curled up, leading a few maids into the house slowly.

She raised her head to look at Mu Han and said with a smile: "If Chao Yanzhen fights with Jiuqiu, what will happen to your friends in Daze?" ”

Mu Han is close to the two brothers and sisters of the Baili family, and everyone knows it.

The prince of Daze is sleek and quite good at dealing with the world, and during the period of time he came to Lingxiao City to live temporarily, he made friends and met all over the world, and he was very measured in his speech. Over time, everyone gradually forgot his special identity and only regarded him as the eldest son of the Baili clan. At the moment, the emperor deliberately emphasized, as if there was an allusion, and everyone couldn't help but reassess the direction of the political situation in their hearts.

Mu Han's face was slightly gloomy, but it was inconvenient to deal with Qing Ling, so he only owed it, "Sister Wang." ”

Qing Ling affectionately stroked Mu Han's arm, and smiled brightly, "Okay, my sister is funny about you." He raised his hand and brushed his sideburns, and looked around at everyone: "I have been chatting with the female guests in the flower hall just now, and all I have in my head are some trivial things that the girls are talking about. ”

Everyone laughed with each other, and said some flattering and kind words on the scene, and saluted Qingling one by one.

Most of the male guests saw Qingling for the first time after the centennial celebration. At a closer look, her appearance is still beautiful and exquisite, but compared with the sacrificial ceremony, there is less condensation and arrogance, and her smile is particularly vivid.

At this time, the rain outside the house had stopped, and the banquet in the garden of the house had already been prepared, and Qing Ling instructed his entourage to bring the guests into the garden and take their seats.

Because it was a gathering of young people, the seats were arranged relatively casually. Some girls were disgusted with the wet ground after the rain, so they invited the wood spirit masters among the guests to help, and gave birth to vines and swing-shaped hanging chairs, and sat on them in twos and threes, laughing and laughing. Seeing this, Qingling simply instructed the maid to no longer serve the wine and food, but only divide the wine and snacks into small portions, and then send the servants to put them on a large plate and place them in the garden.

The sky is getting dark, and the glass lamps in the garden are lit up one after another, full of colors and colors.

As the master, Qingling is naturally indispensable to maneuver around and chat with friends from all walks of life. In addition, there are many more male guests today, and occasionally a girl shyly finds Qingling and asks her about a certain man present.

Fang Shanlei has been following Qing Ling, and he has the posture of a male host. When Fang Shanxia came over to greet Qing Ling, she couldn't help but quip: "Doesn't the eldest brother usually hate women chirping and chatting the most?" I'm patient today, and I don't feel annoyed by listening to the small talk with Emperor Ji for so long. ”

Fang Shanlei was close to Qingling, half because of his aunt's matchmaking, and the other half was indeed because he gradually had a good impression of Qingling. Compared with most of the other women he knew, Qing Ling didn't like to get entangled in trivial matters and didn't pester, which was very valuable to Fang Shanlei. In addition, the identities of the two match, and they also lost blood relatives in the Great War, and they will really get along in the future, and they will not worry about having no common topics.

Qing Ling smiled: "Really? It turns out that Fang Shan Gongzi hates to listen to people chatting, but I didn't know before. ”

Fang Shanxia said: "Big brother won't let you know, he's ......."

Fang Shanlei's face was slightly red, and he looked around, "Where did this kid Yuan?" Don't cause some trouble again. After that, he hurriedly said goodbye to the reason of looking for his cousin.

Fang Shanxia smiled and bent over, "Big brother usually has an old-fashioned face, it's rare for me to catch him and tease him!" Please don't blame me for being too abrupt. ”

Qing Ling smiled at Fang Shanxia, "You can tease him to your heart's content, otherwise when you marry into Chunyu Mansion in a few years, you won't have a chance." ”

With a smile, the corner of his eye seemed to sense someone's gaze, but when he turned his head to look, he only caught a long white shadow hidden in the popularity of the lights.