General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

The warmth emanating from the back of her hand prevented Jiang Qiqi from offering any explanation.

She nodded obediently: "Okay, I'm not afraid." She picked up a piece of jujube cake and ate it.

Hmm, this communal version of jujube cake isn't as good as the one made in the Queen's palace kitchen, but...

Jiang Qiqi moved her hand under the table, and Shen Luo gripped it even tighter.

Not bad either.

She ate her food while chatting casually with Shen Luo.

The two people below are holding hands the whole time.

Chen Zhizhi watched the two people opposite her chatting and laughing together, and her brother Shen Luo would occasionally put food on the woman's plate.

He was so angry that he broke the chopsticks in his hand.

No, Brother Shen Luo has never treated anyone like this before, so why should she?

Chen Zhizhi decided to expose the woman's disguise and prevent Shen Luo from being deceived by her.

"oops!"

Chen Zhizhi stood up abruptly, completely unaware that the palace maid behind her was pouring her wine. She bumped into the maid, spilling the wine all over her.

The palace maid quickly knelt down: "Princess, this servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die!"

"You!" Chen Zhizhi was even angrier. She had worn her favorite outfit to see Shen Luo, and now, before she could even speak to him, her clothes were already dirty.

"Hurry up and take this princess to change her clothes." Chen Zhizhi glared at Jiang Qiqi across from her, thinking to herself, "Let you pretend for a while longer, while I change my clothes."

She didn't want to lose her composure in front of Shen Luo.

Chen Zhizhi gave a few instructions to the maid beside her, then got up and left with the palace maid.

"Shen Luo, I feel a bit stuffy and want to go out for some fresh air," Jiang Qiqi suddenly said.

Shen Luo thought for a moment and figured that the palace was heavily guarded and nothing should happen.

"Okay, come back soon."

Jiang Qiqi followed the Fourth Princess and the other two out.

Inside the palace, the ministers were chatting animatedly, and no one noticed this little incident happening in their palace.

Jiang Qiqi didn't come out for some fresh air.

As soon as the Fourth Princess sat down, she noticed that something was wrong with the palace maid.

The palace maids behind the others all kept their heads down, looking at their wine cups, and occasionally left to refill the wine pots.

The one behind the princess not only looked around while standing, but also frequently left to change the wine. Although they were very similar, Jiang Qiqi still noticed that the wine pot she brought back was different each time.

And after the palace maid spilled wine on the princess, one of the ministers, who had been speaking with his back to them, turned around and glanced at the palace maid.

Shen Luo had introduced that person to her before; he was the Minister of Personnel, one of the Six Ministries.

The princess's clothes are wet, so she definitely needs to change.

Jiang Qiqi saw the Minister of Personnel give a wink to a palace maid, and then she heard the palace maid say, "Princess, there is an empty hall not far away. Why don't you go there and rest for a while until you get your clothes back?"

Interesting. A palace maid is involved with the Minister of Personnel, and it seems they have a premeditated plan to do something to the princess.

She was getting a little tired of being there, so she decided to go out for some fresh air and see what they were really up to.

Jiang Qiqi followed the palace maid and the fourth princess out, and saw them walking westward in the distance.

She was not familiar with the palace and could not tell what that place was.

Who cares where it is, just go.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The banquet was still in full swing, and the ministers were already flushed from drinking.

Shen Luo noticed that after Jiang Qiqi left the banquet, the Third Prince across from her seemed somewhat absent-minded. He tried to get up several times, but then sat back down for some reason.

He was restless and kept glancing down at the seat below him.

The Fourth Princess has already left, and the Minister of Personnel sits to the left of the Third Prince.

He knew that the Minister of Personnel was one of the Third Prince's men, but he wondered if their eye contact was a little too close today.

Shen Luo looked around for a while but couldn't find any clues, so he simply shook his head and went to eat his own food.

He never participated in the factional struggles among the princes, and only devoted himself to serving the emperor. Therefore, whatever these people did was none of his business; he was just an ordinary colleague to them.

Just like now, at the banquet, all the ministers were busy communicating with their colleagues in their own camp or winning over officials whose camps were not yet clear. Only Shen Luo's table was deserted, with no one coming up to talk to him.

He was happy to have some peace and quiet.

"General Shen," just as he was thinking this, the Second Prince turned his head and came over. Their two tables were next to each other, so even if it was noisy, he could hear the Second Prince speaking a little louder.

Shen Luo turned his head to look, and the Second Prince raised his wine cup, gesturing for him to join him.

Shen Luo also raised his glass, and the two drank together.

"General Shen is truly valued by the Emperor. Even though he injured both legs two years ago and could no longer lead troops, it did not affect his position in the Emperor's heart at all. In all these years, the military tally of our Nanyue has never been handed over to a second person."

The Second Prince is right.

Since Shen Luo took command of troops at the age of fifteen, seven years have passed, and the military seal of Nanyue has always been in his hands, never passed on to a second person.

Three hundred thousand troops! That's almost half of the entire military strength of Nanyue. Who wouldn't be envious?

It would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous. He had many excellent and capable generals under his command, and he had mentioned to the emperor many times that he wanted to replace one of them in charge of the army.

But the emperor rejected them all outright, leaving no room for negotiation.

Shen Luo was not good at navigating the political landscape, but for so long, no official, high or low, or even the princes, dared to offend him, not because they feared the troops under his command.

Even if such a person is arrogant, he must win him over, because with those 300,000 troops, his great cause would be half successful.

As Chen Chengwu thought this, the smile on his face remained unchanged: "The peaceful situation between Nanyue and Beiming is all thanks to General Zhenguo."

Shen Luo didn't understand why he was suddenly praising him, so she could only respond humbly.

"Your Highness flatters me. I have been a soldier for many years, relying entirely on Your Majesty's trust. My Nanyue region is a land of outstanding people and countless heroes, and there are certainly many skilled military strategists like myself. It is just that I am fortunate to have met Your Majesty, my patron."

These words were perfectly worded; they didn't respond to his comment but praised the Emperor, leaving the Second Prince Chen Chengwu with no room for argument.

He gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "Yes, Father Emperor is good at recognizing and appointing people. I still have a lot to learn."

He glanced to the side and noticed that the Third Prince was glancing in his direction, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Shen Luo was a highly sought-after asset, and not only did he want to win him over and recruit him, but he also knew that Chen Chengfeng had the same idea in mind.

Everyone has weaknesses; some people have money, some have power, and some have women.

But Shen Luo is a man of power, wealth, and no interest in women; he's practically an impenetrable fortress.

His advisors racked their brains but couldn't come up with a way to win over Shen Luo.

He has made many attempts to show goodwill like today, but the other party has never been moved, ignored, or accepted them.

It makes my teeth itch.

However, Shen Luo's attitude also had its advantages for him, because if he couldn't do it, Chen Chengfeng couldn't either.

If a powerful general with a large army cannot be used by him, then remaining neutral is definitely the best outcome.