Cut off my tendons in my hands and feet to make me marry? Prepare to die!

Everyone in the Cining Palace had a smile on their face today.

Emperor Shengwen had been filial since childhood. Whenever the empress dowager had a request, as long as it did not violate the laws of the country and human ethics, he would find a way to satisfy it.

There is a huge garden near the Cining Palace, which was specially expanded for the Empress Dowager after Emperor Shengwen ascended the throne, so that the Empress Dowager would not have to take a detour to the Imperial Garden to appreciate the flowers.

Although the scale of this garden is not as large as that of the Imperial Garden, it is large enough to accommodate exotic flowers and plants sent from all over the country, and the scenery is unique. Not only does the Empress Dowager like it, but Emperor Shengwen himself often entertains his ministers here.

The green plum blossom that the Queen Mother invited the ladies to appreciate today is a new variety cultivated by Xilu Academy after several generations. It blooms earlier than other plum blossoms and has a longer flowering period.

When the flowers were transplanted to the garden next to the Cining Palace at the beginning of the year, Princess Shouning half-jokingly said that if the green plums did not bloom this year, the mayor of Xilu Academy, Gong Qiaosong, would be punished.

Now, not long after the first snow fell, green plum blossoms are blooming.

When the Queen Mother saw the first green plum blossom, she smiled with joy and told everyone she met, "My Shouning is truly blessed by heaven. She would have been punished if she hadn't opened it, and now this green plum blossom has really bloomed."

Since the blooming of green plum blossoms made the empress dowager so happy, Emperor Shengwen was naturally happy to let the empress dowager host this plum blossom viewing banquet.

But when he heard that Yue Ran was also on the banquet list, Emperor Shengwen hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice:

"Where is the prince today?"

The eunuch Chen Wenjin beside him bowed and reported:

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went to Qingquan Mountain outside the city today. It is said that he wanted to burn incense and pray for the Queen Mother."

On Qingquan Mountain is the Fahua Temple, a temple dedicated to the royal family.

The prince braved the snow to burn incense for the empress dowager, which can be regarded as a show of filial piety.

Emperor Shengwen nodded with satisfaction and asked no more questions.

Cining Palace.

The Queen Mother ordered a banquet to be set up on the waterside pavilion in the garden. Two small red clay stoves were placed next to each table, burning silver frost charcoal, but there was no smoke.

Although everyone was sitting in the cold wind, they didn't feel that cold.

Especially when they saw that the Queen Mother was in high spirits, everyone followed suit and put on a smiling face.

Today's banquet held at the Cining Palace includes not only female guests.

The Queen Mother also invited many young noblemen from the capital, all of whom were handsome and unmarried.

Among them, there were actually envoys from Beiliang and three hostages from Beiliang.

The three Beiliang princes who entered the capital of Da Chu as hostages were the eighth prince Murong Chi, the tenth prince Murong Jian, and the eleventh prince Murong Hui.

Different from the handsome eyebrows and well-shaped eyes of the men from Da Chu, the three protons from Beiliang all have deep features with high noses and deep eyes.

Yue Ran had met Northern Liang King Murong Bowen in front of the battle line. It could be seen that although the three hostages looked mostly like their mothers, they all had the shadow of Murong Bowen in their eyes and brows.

The Queen Mother smiled and said:

"The feast will begin soon. The Emperor will bring all the ministers with him."

Yue Ran concentrated slightly, knowing that today's plum blossom viewing banquet might not be that simple.

As she lowered her head to think, she suddenly felt a gaze cast upon her.

Yue Ran raised her eyes calmly and saw a pair of eyes like night stars.

It was Murong Hui, the eleventh prince of Beiliang, whom I met by chance in the teahouse that day.

When Murong Hui saw her looking up at him, he did not avoid it but just nodded politely.

Yue Ran gave him a curved smile and drank her tea calmly.

Regardless of whether there are ulterior motives for today's banquet, it is really pleasing to the eye to see such handsome men in front of you.

As he lowered his eyes, Yue Ran also felt the gaze coming from another direction.

Mixed with coldness, resentment, and something indescribable.

The sight came from the direction of Princess Shouning.

She ignored him.

Unfortunately, the other party doesn't seem to be willing to give up.

Princess Shouning saw everyone sitting down, and suddenly smiled and leaned on the Queen Mother:

"Mother, do you think this young beastman I just got is good-looking?"

The Queen Mother had naturally noticed Hall a long time ago, but her daughter had so many lovers that she did not take Hall seriously when she saw him.

The Queen Mother nodded casually:

"She is different from others. Her hair color and eyes are particularly beautiful."

The werewolf boy had silver hair and silver eyes, a pair of furry ears on his head, and with his handsome face and fair skin, he had long attracted the attention of many noble ladies in the garden.

However, the matter of Hall and Yue Ran breaking their contract had just caused a sensation in the capital, and the noble ladies did not want to offend Princess Shouning, so they just glanced at Hall and dared not look at him any more.

Besides, a man who enters Princess Shouning’s mansion can never be someone else’s man.

What's more, he is an orc of lowly status.

No matter how beautiful they are, they can't marry orcs, and they can't compete with Princess Shouning for him.

Hall didn't care about other people's opinions. He knelt down in the direction of the Queen Mother and said in a respectful and steady voice:

"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your praise."

The princess narrowed her eyes and looked at Yue Ran, then spoke again:

"It's a pity that an orc like me is no longer a virgin in my hands. My daughter is very unhappy."

The women present didn't even dare to look up when they heard this.

Only Princess Shouning could say so openly that she wanted her male favorite to be a virgin.

The Queen Mother was a shrewd person. After hearing these words, she knew that her daughter was planning to cause trouble.

She glanced at Yue Ran with her old eyes and raised her voice slightly:

"This is interesting. Who did this orc follow before?"

Everyone's eyes were directed towards Yue Ran.

Yue Ran coughed softly:

"Your Majesty, that Hall was my orc before, but I have already terminated the contract with him. Even during the contract, we never overstepped the line."

"I really don't know who this orc gave his virginity to."

The female relatives looked at Yue Ran in astonishment.

What a dare to ask and a dare to answer.

The only one in the whole Chu who can talk about a man's chastity so much is the eldest princess, and now there is also Yue Ran.

The princess squinted at Yue Ran, and the smile on her lips turned cold:

"Princess Yue Ran said something like this, and she's not afraid of hurting people's hearts."

She coughed slightly.

Hall immediately kowtowed heavily to the Queen Mother:

"My Queen, I have no power or influence, but I still dare to ask you to make a decision for me today."

He raised his head, his beautiful eyes unconsciously reddened:

"I have been with Yue Ran for five years. During these five years, Yue Ran not only deceived my feelings, but also took away my essence."

He raised his voice, and just at this moment, Emperor Shengwen also entered the garden with his ministers. Everyone heard Hall shouting:

"I beg the Queen Mother to take charge and punish Yue Ran for his crime of abandoning his wife and committing adultery in the military camp!"

Emperor Shengwen staggered and almost fell, and his ministers looked at each other in confusion.

Murong Hui sat aside, quietly watching Hall's kneeling back, with a strange look in his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Yue Ran put down the teacup and sighed slightly.

It turns out that today's plum blossom viewing banquet was for her.

Regardless of why the eldest princess wanted to break up with her, what Hall did today was really an attempt to drag her into the abyss.

Keeping Hall around that day in the hope of catching a big fish was also a hidden danger for herself.