Transmigrating Female Supreme: The Peerless Husband Depends on Me

The banquet was held in the Imperial Garden.

Zhou Ziqian slipped into the corridor under the pretext of changing clothes, and saw Su Yue and Liang Junze sitting at the last seat from afar.

Liang Junze was serving food to Su Yue, his movements were graceful and decent, and it was hard to tell that he was just from a small county town.

"Seventh brother, you have some tricks."

The eldest princess Zhou Minglan appeared behind him at some point.

Today she was wearing the bright yellow palace dress that symbolized her status as the eldest daughter of the royal family. The nine-phoenix hairpin in her hair fluttered as if it were about to fly. "I didn't know you had such a good relationship with Su Xiuzhuan."

Zhou Ziqian shrank his neck and pretended to cough: "Big sister, you're joking... cough cough... I just..."

"Alright." Zhou Minglan suddenly lowered her voice. "You were the one who tipped off the censor about my third brother smuggling salt to the Imperial Household Department, weren't you?" Her eyes gleamed. "How about cooperation? You help me keep an eye on the third brother, and I'll protect you..."

"Big sister!" Zhou Chufan interrupted, smiling as he took Zhou Minglan's arm. "Grandmother is looking for you. She wants to discuss the autumn hunt."

After sending Zhou Minglan away, Zhou Chufan quickly slipped a note to Zhou Ziqian: "Brother Ayan asked me to give this to you."

There were only four words on the note: Youshi, abandoned well.

When the banquet was in full swing, several princesses began a talent competition.

This is a tradition of birthday banquets and also a stage to showcase the abilities of the heirs.

The second princess Zhou Mingyue wrote the four characters "海納百川" (The sea embraces all rivers) with her powerful brushstrokes like a dragon; the fourth princess Zhou Mingjin played the piano to play the piece "鹤冲晓" (He Chongxiao) with such skill that the musicians of the Music Bureau were ashamed of themselves.

"I'd like to entertain the audience with a sword dance." The third princess, Zhou Mingli, suddenly stood up. Her biological father was a descendant of a military commander, and he wielded a flexible sword to perfection.

As the sword shone like a thread, Zhou Ziqian noticed that she frequently looked at the last seat - there sat Lord Chen, who had just been promoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of War and was Su Yue's deputy when he was in charge of flood control in Puyang.

What a good trick! Repairing the plank road in the open while secretly attacking Chencang!

"Seventh brother, what do you think of Third Sister's swordsmanship?" Fifth Princess Zhou Mingyuan came over at some point and affectionately handed over a piece of almond cake. "I heard that Lord Su's second husband was once a man of the Jianghu..."

Zhou Ziqian took the snack but didn't eat it. He just smiled shyly: "I...I don't understand these. If Fifth Princess is curious, why not ask Prince Ning directly? Xiaofan is more familiar with the Su Mansion."

With just one sentence, the hot potato was thrown to Zhou Chufan, who was acting coquettishly beside the emperor.

When the Fifth Princess left in disappointment, Zhou Ziqian caught a glimpse of the sachet that fell from her sleeve - it was embroidered with the emblem of the Minister of Works' family.

Sure enough, the princesses' attempts to win over the courtiers were more blatant than he had imagined.

"Prince Ning has been looking very good lately." Princess Zhou Minglan picked up the gilded wine pot and personally poured a cup of wine for Zhou Chufan. "I heard that you intercepted a Beidi spy last month. My sister has heard about your wisdom at the Ministry of War."

Zhou Chufan stroked the rim of the cup with his fingertips, his face displaying just the right amount of humility. "You're too kind, eldest sister. It's simply the officials in the cabinet doing their duty." He caught a glimpse of the Third Princess, Zhou Mingli, glancing over, and deliberately raised his voice. "Third sister, you've made great contributions to the flood control in Longxi, so I should toast you."

The third princess was indeed led over.

The soft sword at her waist swayed slightly with her steps, and hanging on the sword tassel was the Hetian jade pendant that Zhou Chufan "accidentally" dropped last month.

"Xiao Fan." The Third Princess addressed him affectionately. "The Queen Mother praised you the other day for your good management of the Imperial Clan Affairs Office, saying that it's rare to find a man as talented as you."

This statement was a veiled praise but a hidden criticism, which both increased his importance in the empress's heart and undermined his identity as a man.

Zhou Chufan kept smiling and took out a brocade box from his sleeve: "I was just about to ask Third Princess, do you like this sword oil from the Western Regions?" The amber-colored paste in the box exuded pine scent, and it was the treasure that the Third Princess had been looking for for a long time.

"Who is Prince Ning trying to please?" Second Prince Zhou Ziyan suddenly interrupted, tapping his gilded wine cup gently against the rim of Zhou Chufan's. "The Empress Dowager's birthday banquet has become an opportunity for you to win people's hearts?"

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

The princesses tacitly stepped back, waiting to watch the fight between the dragon and the tiger.

Zhou Chufan took a leisurely sip of his wine. "Third brother, you're joking." He tapped his fingertips on the table three times, and a guard standing in the distance immediately presented a scroll. "This is the file on the illegal salt case seized last month. I was thinking of presenting it to Third brother tomorrow for his review. After all, the leader of the Cao Gang involved seems to be a cousin of your maternal grandfather's?"

Zhou Ziyan's expression suddenly changed.

He didn't expect that his cousin could embarrass him so much in public.

"Prince Ning has such great authority." The fifth prince, Zhou Ziyuan, chimed in sarcastically, "If I didn't know, I'd think you were..."

"Xiao Wu." The Fourth Prince Zhou Zijin suddenly interrupted and gently patted Zhou Chufan on the shoulder. "Chufan, don't take it to heart. Your second brother drank a few more glasses."

When he turned to Zhou Ziyan, his eyes turned cold. "The Empress Dowager hates disturbances at banquets. Have you forgotten how the Sixth Brother was punished to guard the imperial mausoleum three years ago?"

"Xiao Fan, come here." The Emperor suddenly waved, pointing to the empty seat beside him. "Tell me about the corruption case you tried the other day."

This honor caused an uproar in the audience.

Zhou Chufan knelt respectfully on the embroidered cushion, his voice neither humble nor arrogant: "My grandson is just following the Ming Dynasty Law. The county magistrate withheld the wages of the river workers, causing the embankment to fall into disrepair..."

His well-organized report made the empress look sideways.

Who would have thought that this young man who was willing to fight and cheat for food in the Su Mansion would be so experienced when talking about state affairs?

"Excellent!" The retired emperor praised, turning to the empress, "Your Majesty, our Xiaofan is much better than those who just sit there doing nothing but eating and drinking. I'll leave the affairs of the Imperial Clan Court to him from now on."

The Empress was shocked to hear that the Supreme Lord actually called himself "Ai Jia"

Is this about delegating power?

But seeing that the emperor valued Zhou Chufan so much

The Empress' smile was a little stiff: "Mother, Chu Fan is..."

"What is it?" The Emperor's sharp eyes swept over the princesses, "Men can't do things?"

Zhou Chufan showed a look of panic at the right moment: "Grandmother, your majesty loves you so much, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?" The emperor took off the jade pendant from his waist and gave it to him. "I'll see who dares to say anything."

The Empress knows her mother too well. She doesn't really value Zhou Chufan, but wants to make up for her lost sister.

It's ridiculous that people pay more attention to their dead bodies.

When the banquet was about to end, Zhou Chufan "accidentally" met the third princess in the corridor.

"Is the sword oil useful?" he asked with a smile, as if the tension just now had never happened.

Zhou Mingli's fingertips traced the jade pendant on the sword tassel. "The approval document for the Northwest Horse Farm will be delivered to your house tomorrow." She paused. "I want a 30% stake in the Cao Gang."

"Twenty percent." Zhou Chufan pulled out a land deed from his sleeve. "With this, it should be enough to exchange for the impeachment memorial in your sleeve accusing me of 'a hen crowing at dawn,' right?"

The Third Princess' pupils shrank slightly. How could she have written the memorial just this morning...

"Don't be nervous, sister." Zhou Chufan stuffed the deed into her scabbard. "My eyes are never just focused on the outside of the palace." After saying that, he bowed and took his leave. The dark prince's robe shone coldly in the moonlight.