Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

At night, darkness enveloped the entire city of Kyoto.

Inside the Prince of Penglai's mansion, however, lights were flickering, and people were constantly coming in and out, making it extremely bustling.

In the house at the backyard of the palace, Chu Ning was playing chess with Shen Wanying.

The flickering candlelight shone on the two men, causing their shadows to overlap. The crisscrossing black and white chess pieces on the chessboard bore witness to this chess contest.

Shen Wanying held the white chess piece in her hand, with a look of surprise on her face: "I didn't expect your chess skills to be so great."

As the most talented woman in the Great Chu, she was naturally proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she was surprised that Chu Ning could play on equal terms with her.

Chu Ning raised his lips slightly, put the black chess piece in his hand on the chessboard, and said with a smile: "Although I was born in the common people, it doesn't mean that I can't do anything!"

Shen Wanying shook her head and put down the white chess piece: "Did you invite me here just to auction the treasures of the Eastern Palace?"

If it were just that simple, there would be no need for Chu Ning to look for me. There must be other reasons.

As expected, Chu Ning smiled mysteriously: "Of course, I invited you here for more than just this reason. A powerful person will come over soon, and I want to meet her in person, but someone must be in charge in front."

Shen Wanying raised her eyebrows, and a look of sudden enlightenment flashed across her bright eyes: "Do you think the prince will come?"

Chu Ning shrugged: "That's not necessarily true. The prince is very proud and might ask someone else to come."

Now Shen Wanying understood that she was just the person who stabilized the situation on the surface, and the real confrontation tonight was between Chu Ning and the prince!

"Okay, I can promise you this, but you have to promise me one thing too!"

"What's the matter?"

"We'll talk about it when you're on the front line. Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

"Okay, it's almost time. Everyone in the living room should be here. You go over first."

Shen Wanying was stunned: "Aren't you going with us?"

Chu Ning chuckled: "I am waiting here for the people from the Crown Prince's side!"

Shaking her head, Shen Wanying stopped persuading her, put down the chess piece, stood up and left.

In the living room, sixteen princes gathered together, marveling at the treasures of the East Palace placed in the living room.

"Isn't this the golden nanmu table that the prince loves the most? How come it was taken here too?"

"Hey, Fifth Brother, I also like this table!"

"What a coincidence! I also like this table. Let's see how we can do it!"

"What's there to fight over for a table? I still like this priceless painting. It's the posthumous work of Master Wang."

Amid the voices of the princes selecting, Shen Wanying slowly walked out from the side hall.

"Nice to meet you brothers~" Shen Wanying bowed slightly to everyone.

As she is already engaged to Chu Ning, she is now considered half a royal family member, so it is not excessive for her to call these princes brothers.

When everyone saw Shen Wanying appear but Chu Ning was not beside her, they couldn't help but look at each other.

The second prince Chu Ming raised his eyebrows and asked in a deep voice: "Princess Shen, why don't you see my eighteenth brother?"

Shen Wanying smiled and replied, "His Royal Highness is receiving others in the backyard, but His Royal Highness has said that you can bid for these Eastern Palace treasures at will, and the highest bidder wins!"

Hearing that Chu Ning was still receiving other people, the Second Prince narrowed his eyes and a strange look flashed across them.

With Chu Ning's personality, he would not miss any opportunity to make money, unless the identity of the person he is receiving is very special!

The second prince rolled his eyes and suddenly smiled, "In that case, let's get started. However, this bidding auction will take quite a while, don't you think?"

The other princes were not fools and of course they understood what the second prince meant.

They wanted to delay time to see who Chu Ning was talking to.

For a moment, the other princes echoed the words.

Shen Wanying was not in a hurry. She ordered people to serve tea and snacks while asking the princes to bid.

Suddenly, there were continuous bids in the living room, but in order to delay time, the princes did not bid high!

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard on the street behind the palace, and a carriage slowly came under the escort of a team of East Palace guards.

After the carriage stopped, Crown Princess Ling Feiyan got off the carriage.

At the door, Zhao Yu, who was guarding there, narrowed his eyes and recognized Ling Feiyan.

As a former imperial guard, he had seen Ling Feiyan from afar. In addition, the carriage Ling Feiyan was riding in belonged to the Eastern Palace, so it was hard for him not to recognize Ling Feiyan.

Without waiting for Ling Feiyan to send someone forward to speak, Zhao Yu took the initiative to bow and salute: "Greetings to the Crown Princess!"

Ling Feiyan was a little surprised: "I didn't expect that there are people guarding behind the Prince's Mansion."

Zhao Yu shook his head: "It was His Royal Highness the Prince who guessed that someone would report from behind tonight, so he specially sent me to wait here."

Ling Feiyan's face suddenly looked a little ugly.

I didn't expect that someone like Chu Ning could actually guess the Crown Prince's intentions. It seems that I won't be able to get back the treasures of the East Palace without paying a price tonight!

Taking a deep breath, Ling Feiyan tried to calm herself down, and then said in a cold voice: "In this case, you lead the way. I want to talk to the Prince of Penglai alone."

"Please follow me, Princess." Zhao Yu gestured with his hand and then led the way.

Ling Feiyan did not hesitate and brought two maids in, while the other guards all stayed behind and waited.

Soon, Zhao Yu brought Ling Feiyan to Chu Ning's room. He and two maids stood at the door but did not go in.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess is here!" Zhao Yu shouted outside the house.

"Please come in, sister-in-law!" Chu Ning's indifferent voice came from inside the room.

Ling Feiyan did not hesitate, raised her eyebrows slightly, and stepped in.

But as soon as you enter the house, a fragrance hits you in the face.

Looking closely, Chu Ning was wearing only a thin undershirt and his hair was wet, as if he had just taken a shower.

Ling Feiyan's face changed and she quickly turned her head away.

"Prince Penglai, why don't you put on your clothes quickly? How can you behave like this?"

This bastard obviously wanted to embarrass me on purpose. He met me without even wearing an outer coat. How would I explain to the Crown Prince once this got out?

But Chu Ning was smiling playfully. Not only did he not show any intention of putting on his coat, but he poured himself a cup of tea and drank it.

Putting down the teacup, he smiled and said leisurely: "I just took a bath, isn't it normal for me not to wear outer clothes?

Sister-in-law, you came to my mansion in the middle of the night. What's the important matter? Could it be that the prince has ignored you these days and you want to come to me to help you solve your problems?"

The last sentence was said with a teasing tone.

Ling Feiyan was furious when she heard this, and the suppressed anger suddenly burst out!

"How dare you say such things to me? Aren't you afraid that I will tell the prince about this?"

Chu Ning shrugged, suddenly stood up and walked to Ling Feiyan, staring at that delicate face, grinned, and said:

"If you dared to tell others, you would have said it long ago. Why wait until now? How about it, sister-in-law, do you miss the feeling of my palm?"

As he spoke, Chu Ning stretched out the hand that had hit Ling Feiyan, his face full of intoxication!

Ling Feiyan was so angry that her face turned red, her body trembled, and she pointed at Chu Ning: "You...you are shameless!"

Chu Ning laughed: "Sister-in-law, why are you angry? I was just joking with you. In fact, I know a little about the purpose of your coming here.

I give you two choices, either you stay with me for one night, or I return the treasures of the East Palace!

Or you can go and bid with the other brothers now, and the one with the highest bid will win!"

Ling Feiyan's face turned pale instantly. She didn't expect Chu Ning to make such an outrageous request!