The Flirtatious Prince and His Savage Concubine

After Concubine Wang left, Concubine Shang quickly apologized to Lu Lingxi: "Crown Princess, I have absolutely no intention of taking away your housekeeping power."

Lu Lingxi stepped forward and held her arm, comforting her: "Don't worry, Concubine, I can tell that she is trying to sow discord. She is just jealous of our good relationship. Don't pay attention to her."

Gu Yan'er at the side also chimed in: "Lingxi is right. She has always been lazy. With Concubine Shang helping with the chores at home, I, as her sister-in-law, feel more at ease. Apart from anything else, Lingxi has a good eye for people. Concubine Shang is obviously an open-minded person. Don't be alienated from Lingxi just because of a few words from others. Today is a beautiful day with beautiful flowers and scenery. We can't let her ruin our mood."

Just at this moment, Lu Lingxi's stomach began to growl. She had to smile to hide her embarrassment. Then she walked to the table happily, holding Gu Yan'er's arm with one hand and Concubine Shang's arm with the other.

As we walked, he said, "Sister-in-law is right. We can't let a few words from others ruin our mood for dinner."

The three of them came to the table and were about to sit down, but Concubine Shang said, "Prince's Concubine, please sit down first! Crown Princess, we still have to entertain the guests."

There was no exciting show to attract Lu Lingxi's attention at the moment. She felt very hungry and a little unhappy.

Gu Yan'er saw that her face was full of worries, smiled and patted her hands, saying, "Concubine Shang is right. It was fine at family banquets in the past, and you could do whatever you wanted. But today you are the host, and you should greet the guests first, which is in accordance with the rules."

Lu Lingxi had no choice but to cheer up and invite the female guests to sit down.

Both male and female guests dined in this open space, which was separated by several large two-meter-high screens.

The male guests were entertained by the Crown Prince and Sun Fulu, and the servants in the mansion entertained them.

There were also quite a few male guests who came. One reason was that they wanted to make friends with the prince, and the other was that loving and appreciating flowers was not just for women. Men could also appreciate the charm of flowers and some liked them too.

However, the male guests did not have any performances in the morning. They mostly recited poems and painted to show their talents.

After the male and female guests were seated, the Crown Prince, who had been recuperating for several days, stepped forward and made a speech: "Thank you all for your presence. On behalf of me and my Crown Princess, I welcome you all to our palace. Without further ado, I hope you all will enjoy your meals, drinks and fun. There will also be a garden tour in the afternoon, and I hope you will enjoy the beautiful spring scenery."

A male guest took the lead in responding: "Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince and Her Majesty the Crown Princess, for your hospitality."

The others followed suit and said, "Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess, for your hospitality."

Lu Lingxi should have been standing next to Nan Wangyu, attracting everyone's attention, but at this moment he was protected by Gu Yan'er, who lowered his head and quietly put something into his mouth.

Nan Wangyu looked at her bulging cheeks and found it a little funny. The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously. When he spoke again, there was a smile in his tone: "No need to be so polite, everyone, just start eating!"

After saying this he also sat down.

Now Lu Lingxi could finally eat without worry. When he was half full, he noticed that Gu Yan'er beside him hadn't eaten much and was patting her chest. He asked with concern, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Why don't you eat?"

Gu Yan'er smiled soothingly: "It's okay, I probably ate something bad yesterday, and now I feel a little nauseous and can't eat. I'll be fine after sitting down."

Lu Lingxi saw that Gu Yan'er looked fine, but he still wanted to confirm: "Sister-in-law, are you sure you're okay? Do you want to call the court doctor to come and take a look?"

Gu Yan'er quickly waved her hand: "No, no, there are so many people watching. If someone doesn't know, they might think I'm deliberately conspicuous here."

Lu Lingxi nodded: "That's right! But if you really feel uncomfortable, you must tell me, and I will arrange for the court doctor to go to a secluded place to check your pulse."

Gu Yan'er readily replied, "Okay!"

Seeing that everyone had almost finished their lunch and wanted to leave, Concubine Shang stepped forward and stood where the Crown Prince had been before. She cleared her throat and said, "Excuse me for interrupting you for a quarter of an hour. On behalf of the Crown Princess, I will introduce to you the rules of the afternoon garden party."

Seeing that everyone put down their bowls and chopsticks and turned to look at her, Concubine Shang continued, "The afternoon game is: guess the flower riddle. I believe everyone has noticed this morning that there is a circle of bonsais around the foot of Diecui Mountain. There are notes on the pots with numbers and flower riddles on them. If you think of the answer, go to Changqiu Palace and tell the maids the number and answer of the flower riddle you guessed. If it is correct, the maid will give you five points. At the same time, you can also vote for your favorite bonsai. One person can only vote once, and voting can also give you one point.

In addition to guessing the flower riddle, there are also small games such as pitching pots and shooting covers today. According to the usual scoring rules, there will be maids on site to help you score. In the end, the person with the highest score will receive the prize provided by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them at any time. If you are not clear about the scoring rules, you can also ask the serving maids, they know everything. "

As soon as Concubine Shang finished her speech, a noble lady who was eager to try asked, "Are we men and women scored together? We women are definitely not as good as men in games like pitching pots and shooting covers, so doesn't that mean that in the end the prize can only go to men?"

A young man who was a little more arrogant laughed out loud: "What's the big deal? We are very kind to you."

This arrogant answer made the noble lady who had asked the question earlier feel ashamed and angry. She glared at the opposite side across the screen, and her eyes seemed to burn a hole in the screen.

Concubine Shang knew that this noble lady was the deputy general of Marquis Zhenguo Lu Yi and the daughter of General Jiang Wei of Huaihua. She was also a reckless person. If she was not stopped, she might lift the screen and fight with the other side. So she quickly explained: "In this garden party, the games are scored separately for men and women, and the winners of both sides can get prizes. Let me tell you a little bit. The prize for the women is a glass vase specially made by the Crown Princess, and a glass bouquet that is worth a thousand gold and never withers. The prize for the men will be revealed by you gentlemen."

When they heard about the glass bouquet, the ladies started discussing it enthusiastically: "It's unheard of that glass can be made into a bouquet."

"Yes! Yes! I have only heard that ceramics can be fired into the shape of flowers, and the process is extremely complicated. I have never heard that glass can also be used to make flowers. I wonder if this glass bouquet is beautiful or not?"

"Of course she is beautiful. If she isn't, can the Crown Princess use her as a prize?"

"Not really. I think the ceramic flower looks about 90% like the real thing, but it lacks some liveliness and is still not as beautiful as a fresh flower."

Some people were discussing enthusiastically, while others had already headed to the playground.

The entire Prince's Mansion, including the front garden entering from the main gate, the meeting halls and reception rooms on both sides, as well as Diecui Mountain and Diecui Pavilion are all open areas.

The other study rooms and concubines' bedrooms were separated by screens and guarded by guards to prevent anyone from making the wrong entrance and trespassing.