The war god prince climbs the wall every night, and the princess is angry

Everyone knelt on the ground, and Shen Qionghua also stood up and knelt.

As the singing and chorus ended, the emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, stepped into the hall first.

Next came the empress wearing a phoenix robe, the noble Concubine Zhou, followed by Concubine Shun who gave birth to the fifth prince, and finally the princes and princesses.

Shen Qionghua felt a flash before her eyes, and a group of people walked past in front of her.

"Stand up!" A majestic voice rang out in the empty hall.

Xie Rong sat down on the dragon throne and said with a smile, "Today is the annual Autumn Hunt, and it coincides with a lull in the fighting on the border. Tomorrow, you must show your best skills and participate in this hunting. I want to see which boy will take first place this year."

Qiumi is held for seven days in total, but only the person who hunts the most prey on the first day can get the title of the first place.

Xie Rong said some more encouraging words and then ordered the banquet to begin.

Not long after the banquet began, a handsome young man of only ten years old stood up from his seat and said, "Father, I also want to participate in this Qiumi."

When the fourth prince saw this, he burst into laughter.

"Fifth brother, you're so nagging about joining the competition, are you going for the first place? Are you thinking about women?"

The Fourth Prince had deflowered a palace maid when he was ten years old, so he naturally didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

"Fourth brother, I, I didn't." The fifth prince's face flushed. He didn't expect that his fourth brother would say such words casually.

Seeing the Fifth Prince being so innocent, the Fourth Prince was about to tease him again.

The eldest prince, noticing that the emperor looked unhappy, quickly pulled him. The fourth prince immediately shut up, leaving only the fifth prince standing there in panic.

Seeing this, Xie Nanyuan spoke up to help, "Father, my fifth brother just feels that he has grown up and wants to participate with us."

"Yes, that's what I mean." The fifth prince said, then looked at Xie Nanyuan gratefully.

Xie Rong's expression returned to normal.

"You are still young, don't let your imagination get the better of you. Learn more from your third brother. At your age, your third brother was already top-notch in both martial arts and academics."

"As for hunting, you are still young, so let's wait two years."

"Yes, father." The fifth prince responded with a smile on his face, without a trace of anger in his heart at being inferior to Xie Nanyuan.

The Fifth Prince has always had a good relationship with Xie Nanyuan. He admires Xie Nanyuan from the bottom of his heart for defending his country on the border. Every time Xie Nanyuan returned to Beijing, he would run to find Xie Nanyuan to listen to his stories on the battlefield.

Seeing the Fifth Prince's heartless look, Xie Rong shook his head and turned to Xie Nanyuan and said, "Since you are in the capital, please take care of your fifth brother. If you teach him well now, you will have an easier time in the future."

"Yes, father." Xie Nanyuan was stunned, then agreed.

Xie Qian'an had originally just been watching for amusement, but when he heard the emperor's last words, his pupils trembled, his expression remained unchanged, and his hands underneath were clenched into fists.

Shen Qionghua had no idea about the conversation at the top. She had something on her mind. After spending the palace banquet calmly, she went back with Lin.

Peony was already waiting inside the house.

As soon as he entered the room, Shen Qionghua asked anxiously, "What happened? Did you see anyone?"

Peony smiled and nodded,

"I have already informed him of your trust."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qionghua's heart, which had been hanging in the air all night, finally settled down.

-

Zhaoyang Palace

Xie Nanyuan, dressed in a black robe, strode into the hall and sat down on the armchair.

His sword-like brows were slightly furrowed, and his big, bony hands were rubbing his forehead. A faint smell of alcohol emanated from his body.

Linze brought over the hangover soup that he had prepared long ago and waited for Xie Nanyuan to drink it. Then he stood there, hesitant to speak.

"What's the matter?" Xie Nanyuan asked in a low voice.

"Your Highness, Miss Shaoyao, who was with Miss Shen just now, is here."

Upon hearing this, Xie Nanyuan looked up at Lin Ze and motioned him to continue.

Lin Ze swallowed and said, "Miss Shaoyao said that His Royal Highness Prince An plans to win first place in tomorrow's hunt and ask the Emperor to grant him and Miss Shen a marriage."

After Lin Ze finished speaking, the air was quiet for a moment, and then a contemptuous snort sounded in the quiet night.

"He's getting more and more capable, even resorting to coercive tactics."

Lin Ze nodded vigorously. He also felt that Prince An was too shameless. No wonder Miss Shen's maid came to him in a hurry.

Isn't this clearly bullying Miss Shen because she doesn't dare to disobey the order in public?

"Then Your Highness..." What are you going to do?

In previous years, whenever the prince was in the capital, he would just casually kill a few prey for the sake of showing his respect, and he had no interest in competing for the top spot.

He was even afraid that if he won first place, the emperor would find an excuse to send women to the prince's palace. After all, the prince was already of marriageable age.

Among the prince's brothers, the eldest prince has already been married. Although the second prince is one year older than the prince and has not yet married, Concubine Zhou arranged two concubines for him two years ago. Not to mention the fourth prince. Although he is not married, the mansion is almost full of women. As for the fifth prince, he is still a young boy.

Only the prince did not even have a concubine. All the women given by the emperor and the empress were allowed to return home.

But now that Prince An has won the first place and is asking to marry Miss Shen, I wonder what the prince will do.

Lin Ze was very curious and secretly looked up at Xie Qian'an. Just when he was expecting the prince to say something, he saw the prince take out a hairpin with butterfly and kingfisher feather patterns from his arms.

Lin Ze was stunned, and recognized at a glance that this was the hairpin that the emperor had given to the prince as a reward for his merits more than a month ago.

Not only this one, but also many other things.

There were porcelain, gold, silk, jade pendants and some jewelry, several boxes of miscellaneous items. Except for this hairpin, the prince asked him to pawn all of them in exchange for silver.

He was still surprised at that time.

Ever since the prince followed the Duke of Zhenguo to the border, he followed the Duke of Zhenguo's example and exchanged the rewards he received in previous years for silver to buy some food and cotton cloth to subsidize the soldiers in the army. That was why the prince's palace was so poor.

There was no way around it. In recent years, Dai Viet had frequent frictions with enemy countries, with constant battles of all sizes. The treasury was empty and military pay was often in arrears.

We can't let the soldiers fight on an empty stomach. Although the money they earn can't buy the best food, it can still buy them some braised pork and eat some meat.

Over time, it became a habit, and now the owner of the pawnshop treats him as a brother.

Therefore, he was very surprised when the prince left this hairpin that day.

This hairpin is obviously the finest workmanship among all the jewelry, and it must be the most valuable. The prince actually wants to keep it for himself, and I wonder who he wants to give it to...

Lin Ze said secretly in his heart.

In his expectant eyes, Xie Nanyuan slowly opened his mouth.

"You go out first."

Linze: “…”