Male superiority and female superiority: forced love

The atmosphere in Baoxuan Hall was warm.

Under the bright palace lanterns, ministers and their families gathered together for a rare occasion. Both men and women, they drank and chatted happily.

Cai Zhiyuan had originally sat with his colleagues at the Imperial Academy, but for his daughter's sake, he decided to sit with Kong Ji, the Supreme Court Justice. Liu Dongxiang's father, Liu Ze'an, who had recently been promoted to the position of Doctor of Rites, also sat with them thanks to his daughter.

The three of them gathered at the same table, and in the eyes of others they were naturally classified as members of the prince's party.

Cai Zhiyuan had already intended for Cai Lei to run for Crown Princess, and he had already chosen his side. And for Liu Ze'an, being able to cling to the Crown Prince, a golden thigh second only to the emperor, was a blessing his ancestors had prayed for for eighteen generations, and he couldn't wait for everyone to know that he was the Crown Prince's wife.

The three of them were chatting lively over cups and glasses.

Kong Ji often gave Cai Lei some pointers on how to display her talents, a favor Cai Zhiyuan would remember firmly. He glanced at his daughter and saw her lowering her head and twisting the tablecloth with her fingers. He was immediately enraged and glared at her, annoyed.

Cai Lei felt her father's stern gaze, straightened her spine slightly, and nodded politely to Kong Ji with a smile. She had decided to do as her friend had said and put an end to the situation at the crucial moment. Could it be that if she didn't get chosen as the Crown Princess, her father would still kill her?

Qu Haoyue still hadn't responded to her requests, but two handsome men had appeared and were passionately pursuing her. They were identical twins, and playing together was incredibly exciting. Since she couldn't have a late-night snack at Mingyue Tower tonight, she might as well ask them out later to play again.

"Leilei, Leilei!" Wang Yumei pulled her sleeves and shouted a few times, but there was no response. She stepped on her foot in a hurry.

"What?" Cai Lei curled up her toes, covered her pounding heart, and asked angrily with her throat suppressed.

"The eldest princess is here!" Wang Yumei looked excited and glanced towards the table of the Minister of Personnel, but did not see the figure of Lord Yan.

Cai Lei had never seen the legendary princess before, and she looked towards the palace entrance with her big curious eyes.

What a grand occasion!

A voluptuous, beautiful woman, dressed in a long, floor-length purple-red dress, sauntered in. Her hair was tied up high in a bun, adorned with nine golden hairpins. A necklace of plump, well-proportioned pearls hung from her lapels, emitting a unique glow, brighter than the lanterns hanging high in the hall.

Behind her were six tall, handsome men, all of whom were Jiang Yunzi's husbands and servants. As for why the prince consort wasn't present, that's a long story.

I heard that this prince consort had been weak and sickly since childhood, gasping for breath every three steps, and had to use precious medicinal herbs to stay alive all day long. He was completely unable to perform sexual intercourse, which was why Her Royal Highness the Princess took in six concubines at once.

Although these concubines had no official names, they were all prominent figures, either from wealthy merchant families or the legitimate second sons of high-ranking officials in the court. In terms of status, two of them were no less than the son-in-law of the emperor.

When Jiang Yunzi passed by their table, she nodded slightly to Kong Ji.

Wang Yumei secretly tugged at her uncle's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, will Master Yan Yan come soon?"

"It's about time!" Kong Ji smiled and touched his smooth chin. He was also looking forward to watching the good show between Yan Yan and Her Royal Highness the Princess.

Wang Yumei felt relieved upon hearing this. She scanned the room again; it seemed several key figures were missing. She silently counted the distinguished ladies already present. Amazing! There were at least sixty. As far as she knew, there were no more than thirty unmarried noblewomen in Liangcheng. Strange! Where did these dozens of extra girls come from?

Just as he was questioning this in his heart, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke and his wife walked in together.

Jiang Wenzhou's appearance was met with a wave of boos. Aside from the three young ladies from Songshan Academy, all the other noble ladies present were aroused and eager to try.

He was wearing a bright dragon robe embroidered with a dragon pattern, and every detail of it showed his noble status.

The upright posture, strong arms, firm waist and straight long legs, no matter from which angle you look at it, every inch seems to have been polished by the gods, perfect and impeccable.

His handsome face, stern and unsmiling, did not seem so unapproachable. His sparkling eyes exuded a gentle aura, which perfectly concealed the hard heart hidden beneath his skin.

Cai Lei looked at Jiang Wenzhou's picturesque features and inadvertently compared him with Jiang Xuanzhou. She felt that he was not as approachable as he seemed.

Those eyes as deep as the sea are full of secrets.

If you choose a man like this as your life partner, your future life will probably be very boring.

No!

At this moment, she had completely dispelled her father's expectations. Compared to the unexpressive prince, she preferred the passionate twin brothers.

Liu Ze'an silently looked at his daughter's beautiful face, and unexpectedly had an inappropriate thought of trying to curry favor with someone rich and powerful.

His rank was too low, but who could blame him for having such a good daughter? He nudged Liu Dongxiang secretly and glanced in the direction of Jiang Wenzhou.

The obvious hint made Liu Dongxiang stunned for a while. She turned her head to carefully examine Jiang Wenzhou's handsome face and slightly tightened the cup in her hand.

It's her thing! But—does Dad think too highly of her?

Everyone had their own thoughts, countless pairs of beautiful eyes fell on Jiang Wenzhou, and each of them dreamed of entering the East Palace.

Following a loud shout from outside the hall, everyone looked towards the hall door.

Beiyue Crown Prince Lu Yinnian walked in steadily. Sun Wanning followed behind, her face uncovered. Her radiant complexion and enchanting figure immediately caused a huge sensation.