Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

Jiang Xuan Yan couldn't understand what was so interesting outside that attracted her so much. Feeling somewhat displeased, she coldly said:

"Sit properly, it would be disgraceful if outsiders saw you like this." Shen Ningzhu paused, then turned around and sat down.

He sat upright with his eyelids lowered.

Jiang Xuan Yan's eyes flickered slightly. Why was this woman so reserved today? Wasn't she usually the one who loved to throw herself at him?

She's spineless and annoying, but what's gotten into her now? She's acting like a well-bred lady.

Never mind, it's better to stay calm.

And so, one closed his eyes to rest, the other hung his head, and they made their way there without incident. Finally, they arrived at the palace gate, and after a thorough inspection, they proceeded toward the banquet hall.

The banquet was held in the Imperial Garden. It was already getting dark, and palace lanterns were lit along the way. When Shen Ningzhu and her two companions arrived, almost everyone had already arrived.

The eunuchs announced the arrival of His Highness the Crown Prince, and everyone knelt down to pay their respects.

Jiang Xuan Yan simply nodded and sat down in his seat, with Shen Ning Zhu following suit and sitting down at the table behind him.

Jiang Xuan Yan glanced at her indifferently, "Come to my side."

Shen Ningzhu's face fell. "Your Highness, the one who should be sitting next to you is the Crown Princess."

"Then come here and stand there to serve me."

Shen Ningzhu gritted her teeth.

Damn it, what exactly does this scoundrel mean? Why is he insisting on bringing her to the palace today? Does he want to be served? Aren't there any palace maids?

During the stalemate, the Emperor arrived with his concubines, and everyone knelt and bowed again.

The Emperor announced that the formalities were to be dispensed with and the banquet to begin. Everyone rose and returned to their seats, and the palace maids and eunuchs began to serve the dishes. At this moment, Jiang Xuan Yan's gloomy voice rang out again.

"Still not coming over?"

Shen Ningzhu took a deep breath and stepped forward to stand beside him. Jiang Xuanyan pushed the empty wine glass towards her, and Shen Ningzhu picked up the wine pot, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to him.

The other person took the glass, drank it all in one gulp, and then pushed the glass towards her.

Shen Ningzhu continued pouring the wine.

Suddenly she felt someone watching her, so she looked up and saw that it was Shen Ningxue.

But what's with that look in her eyes?

Resentment, envy, jealousy? Jealousy of her serving others? Or perhaps she has some serious illness?

"What are you daydreaming about? Serve me some vegetables."

Shen Ningzhu didn't even look at it, just picked up a few pieces of food with her chopsticks and then stopped, saying, "Your Highness, please enjoy."

Jiang Xuan Yan didn't move, but instead commanded, "Feed me."

Shen Ningzhu took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to stab him to death with her chopsticks, picked up the jade chopsticks, picked up a piece of green vegetable, and fed it to his mouth.

The other party opened their mouth and took it.

This action had already been noticed by everyone, and one minister said sourly:

"I've heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is not interested in women, but now it seems that's not entirely true."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes turned to Shen Ningzhu, especially the noble ladies, who looked as if they wished they could devour her alive.

Jiang Xuan Yan scoffed coldly.

With an indifferent gaze, he said lazily,

"Your Excellency is mistaken. As the saying goes, 'The land of gentle pleasures is the tomb of heroes.' Tell me, who in this world does not love beauty?"

"I am just an ordinary man, not that I am truly averse to women. On the contrary, I am just rather picky."

These words are truly devastating.

As everyone knows, the Emperor intends to bestow the Prime Minister's eldest daughter upon the Crown Prince as his principal wife, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be announced at today's banquet.

To everyone's surprise, the Crown Prince brought a concubine to the banquet and acted so ostentatiously, which was a direct slap in the face to the Prime Minister.

The eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's family was a renowned talented woman in the capital, but unfortunately, she was of average appearance, only considered average-looking.

The Crown Prince's words undoubtedly struck a nerve with the other party.

Cruel, too cruel.

The Prime Minister's face darkened completely, and he said with a forced smile, "From what Your Highness is saying, you intend to marry this woman as your Crown Princess? If so, please forgive me for not agreeing."

"Since ancient times, people have always valued marrying a virtuous wife and taking concubines based on beauty. This is true even for ordinary people, let alone you, the crown prince."

"The matter of the Crown Princess concerns the entire Jiang Kingdom, and we must not act rashly and become a laughing stock in the world."

Jiang Xuan Yan picked up his wine glass and continued drinking, completely disregarding the other party.

Shen Ningzhu also adopted an indifferent attitude, pouring wine with a numb expression.

Unable to continue his solo performance, the old prime minister turned to the emperor and empress above for help.

Upon receiving the Prime Minister's pleading look, the Emperor and Empress exchanged a glance. Finally, the Empress pursed her lips and spoke with graceful poise.

"Yan'er, what are your plans for this Miss Shen?"

Jiang Xuan Yan stood up and replied:

"Your Majesty, she is now my concubine."

The Empress raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? Is that so? But, Mother, I've heard that this girl is determined to become the Crown Princess?"

Upon hearing this, the entire hall burst into laughter.

"What? The Crown Princess? She's not worthy of it? This woman's gone mad. Has she forgotten who she is? If I remember correctly, her biological parents were just peasants. How dare she dream of becoming the Crown Princess? It's utterly ridiculous."

"Exactly, that's just wishful thinking."

"Does she think she can rise to the top and become a phoenix just because she has a pretty face?"

"Everyone knows that Shen Ningzhu may look decent, but she is actually vicious and behaves strangely. Such a person is not worthy of entering the Crown Prince's residence."

"Your Highness is confused..."

"Could it be that he has been bewitched by this enchantress?"

……

Jiang Xuan Yan listened to the crowd's discussion without changing his expression. After a long while, he looked at Shen Ning Zhu with a mocking expression.

"Zhuzhu, what do you think about this?"

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Shen Ningzhu's face.

"Your Highness, I will obey your will."

The Empress paused, "Didn't you say..."

Shen Ningzhu sighed deeply, her tone full of roguishness, "Your Majesty, there's a saying that goes, 'Ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh.' This servant accepts her fate."

Wang Zilin, who was not far away, said angrily:

"Then why did you keep saying you wanted to be the Crown Princess, and make sure everyone knew?"

"Could it be that you deliberately spread rumors to smear His Highness the Crown Prince's reputation in order to pin this on him?"

Everyone fell silent, waiting for Shen Ningzhu's answer. Even Jiang Xuanyan couldn't help but turn his head and look at her with a half-smile.

Shen Ningzhu raised her eyelids slightly and said, "Miss Wang, if you're not mentally sound, go get it treated. Don't embarrass your ancestors here."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zilin's face turned bright red with anger, and he pointed at Shen Ningzhu while panting heavily.

"You...what do you mean?"

Shen Ningzhu: "It means you're brain-dead."

"You...you shameless woman, who are you calling a slut?"

"I'm cursing you, you brainless idiot! I usually say I want to be the Crown Princess, I never said I'm already the Crown Princess, and I certainly never said there's anything between me and His Highness the Crown Prince. What kind of rumor is this?"

"Then you're just daydreaming. Do you think you're worthy of being the Crown Princess?"

"Oh yeah, I just daydream. So what? Who says you can't daydream?"

Everyone:...