A crown princess who doesn't do infrastructure construction isn't a good doctor.

"Don't worry, today's occasion isn't a place for her to act recklessly. If it really comes down to it, just have Pei'er come over later."

Beitang Xinyue nodded. This was the only option for now. The seating arrangements for the royal banquet were all pre-arranged, and she couldn't let Jiang Peier come over now, as that would make her too conspicuous.

When the time for the imperial decree to be announced in the morning arrived, Beitang Zhen was not late. He walked steadily to the head of the table, next to Hua Yuanshan, who had already removed his armor. Then came out wearing a gorgeous palace dress and a golden phoenix hairpin, which was none other than Consort Duan, who came from the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Hua Yuanshan walked down. Today, he was half a protagonist, positioned at the head of the left side. As for why he was only half, who would dare to claim to be the biggest protagonist when the emperor was present?

After the officials paid their respects, Beitang Zhen announced the start of the banquet. At the same time, the music began, telling the officials not to be reserved and to congratulate General Hua on his victorious return. However, halfway through the banquet, the entire Linde Hall remained largely the same as it had been when Beitang Zhen entered. Occasionally, there were sounds of conversation and laughter, but they were all kept low.

The only thing that could be considered a welcoming banquet was that after Beitang Zhen toasted the Zhenbei Army, the other court officials began to praise the Zhenbei Army's achievements. However, the main point was to praise Beitang Zhen's great achievements. Afterwards, several military officers toasted Hua Yuanshan. After drinking a few cups, Hua Yuanshan declined the subsequent toasts, citing his advanced age as the reason that he could not drink any more.

The elegant music filled the entire Linde Hall, but Beitang Xinyue had heard it so many times that she lost interest. The only way she could pass the time was to occasionally look up at Jiang Peier.

The rest of the people were much the same. They echoed the emperor when he spoke, but when no one was speaking, few of them dared to stand out and attract attention. In the end, the welcoming banquet ended with a very mediocre experience.

However, Qin Suiyou found it somewhat enjoyable. He listened to the entire performance of classical music and gained some understanding of the musical art of this era. Apart from that, there was also the guy Beitang Yan.

At such a formal banquet hosted by the royal family, there would be palace servants serving food. When a palace servant standing next to Qin Suiyou was about to serve him food, he was stopped by Beitang Yan. Seeing this, Qin Suiyou also told the palace servant to stand back down.

Although Beitang Yan had not received professional training, he had rich practical experience and understood Qin Suiyou's tastes. It was his serving that made Qin Suiyou feel most comfortable. Watching the person in front of him carefully watching when he needed to pick up food and when he needed to add some tea, Qin Suiyou's eyes were filled with a gentle smile.

After the banquet, on the way back to the Prince's residence, Princess An rubbed her temples.

"I haven't even spoken a few words to my father today."

Because the seats were spaced out, Princess An only had a brief moment to speak a few words of concern to Hua Yuanshan when she was toasting him, and she didn't have another chance after that.

Prince An embraced his wife and gently patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"After your father-in-law has rested for a few days, I will take you to the Hua Mansion to visit him."

He had expected to receive a gentle thank you from his beloved wife, but instead, he was punched in the chest. Prince An lowered his head in slight surprise and looked at the person in his arms with a puzzled expression.

Princess An said, "Father is a man who refuses to admit he's old. If he finds out you call him an old man, he will definitely not let you in."

Upon hearing this, Prince An chuckled awkwardly.

“I was wrong, madam. You can’t go to your father-in-law to complain. He’ll probably be bringing the children with him. You have to let me have some dignity in front of the children.”

Princess An lowered her eyes, avoiding eye contact with the person behind her, and said, "Let me think about it."

"That's not a question..."

In the carriage behind, Lu Xi dozed off while complaining, "Ah~ how boring. They all look dignified and composed, but they all look down on everyone in their hearts. I thought there would be some kind of trouble, but it ended so boringly. That Wang Yiran didn't even cause any trouble for Jiang Peier."

"Reality is not a storybook; it's impossible for something thrilling to happen all the time."

Beitang Yan nodded seriously and said, "My wife is right."

Lu Xi shook his head and said lazily, "Yes~ whatever Youyou said, I'll fuck it!"

Lu Xi, who was still half asleep, was pulled to the other side of the carriage by Beitang Yan. He was so frightened that he blurted out an indecent word. When he immediately woke up and looked at the spot where he had been sitting, there were two sharp arrows stuck in the carriage wall. Judging by their length, even if they couldn't pierce Lu Xi through, they would be enough to kill him.

In an instant, Lu Xi's face turned extremely ugly, and before he could say anything, he heard several screams coming from ahead.

This narrative, though seemingly long, is actually condensed in the blink of an eye.

After pulling Lu Xi away from that position, before he could react, Beitang Yan pulled him and Qin Suiyou off the carriage, also taking Chen Xiaodong with them. The moment they jumped off the carriage, several more arrows were shot at it.

After rolling to the ground, the group realized they were almost at the Prince's Mansion. They were on a nearby street that was almost entirely lined with houses, with few shops around and most of the houses still empty.

"You all need to hide!"

After giving a soft shout, Beitang Yan leaped onto the opposite wall.

After Beitang Yan left, the three of them didn't just find any idle house to hide in. Given the current situation, there might be someone hiding in the shadows here as well.

Fortunately, each of their three carriages was accompanied by a guard on either side, who were now surrounding them and watching their surroundings warily.

The carriage carrying Prince An and his wife was in a similar situation, but their carriage was spared. When the arrows came, they were blocked by a guard. However, because there were two arrows at once, the guard's arm was pierced through. Now he and another guard are escorting Prince An and his wife down.

The attackers seemed to have vanished after Beitang Yan went to look for them, and now only the slightly heavy breathing of a few people remained in the air.

"Wait, why hasn't Xinyue gotten off the carriage yet?"

Beitang Xinyue and her maid Yunying were traveling in the same carriage for this trip, and neither of them had gotten off yet.

"Lu Xi, you look around, I'll go take a look."

Chen Xiaodong and two guards tried to stop him, but Qin Suiyou was very fast. In just a few steps, he jumped onto Beitang Xinyue's carriage. His agile and explosive skills were completely different from his usual persona.

Lifting the carriage curtain, Beitang Xinyue was indeed still inside, seemingly holding someone in her arms, while a guard stood beside their carriage.

"Where is the other guard?"

The guard in front of him quickly replied, "He saw the direction the assassin fled in and has already given chase."

While the guard was giving his reply, Qin Suiyou entered the carriage.

"what happened?"

Beitang Xinyue held the person in her arms tightly, her voice trembling with tears as she said, "Sister-in-law, please save Yunying! She's been shot in the back with an arrow!"