EBE Chapter 392 Ancient Palace Maid 5
Chapter 392 Ancient Palace Maid 5
"Second brother certainly knows his brothers' preferences." A sarcastic voice came from behind.
The first prince arrived with an arrogant expression, and the other princes all greeted him, "Big Brother."
"Hmph, what are you all standing here for? Father and Mother will be here soon, so hurry up and sit down." Helianda put on airs and scolded her younger brothers.
The others knew what he looked like, so they all sat down and didn't say anything more.
Qingdai glanced at the eldest prince, Helian Da. As expected, he was the most favored prince on the surface, judging people by his own nose.
She looked around and saw that the princes were all good-looking, but the eldest prince's arrogant expression made him look ugly.
The second prince looked hypocritical and fake, while the third prince didn't seem very smart.
The fourth prince has the most composed demeanor and seems to be the best. The fifth prince is also alright, but he is still young and hasn't fully grown up yet.
"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived! His Majesty the Empress has arrived!" came the voice of a eunuch announcing from outside the hall.
Everyone in the hall stood up and waited. After the person entered the hall, they began to bow and greet him: "Welcome Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."
"No need for formalities. I have specially prepared this banquet to entertain the guests from the Western Jin Kingdom. No need for any further formalities." A majestic voice rang out.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone sat down, and the banquet began.
Qingdai glanced at everyone discreetly. The Emperor and Empress looked like a middle-aged couple, but they were both well-maintained.
Her gaze was constantly fixed on the other people, and Helian Zhou's gaze would occasionally drift back to see who she was paying attention to.
But I didn't see her gaze linger on anyone in particular; she looked at everyone as if she were curious.
Before long, the emperor began to signal for the people of the Western Jin Kingdom to be summoned to the palace.
"Summon the people of the Western Jin Kingdom to the palace!" announced the chief eunuch beside the emperor.
Everyone's attention shifted to the entrance of the main hall, and they were all curious about what the princess who was to be sent to marry a foreign ruler looked like.
"Host, the female lead has arrived."
“I know, let me see the beauty.” Qingdai looked at the entrance with great interest.
Noticing her somewhat intense gaze, Helian Zhou was puzzled. Why did she seem so interested in the people of the Western Jin Kingdom?
Next, everyone saw two officials dressed as envoys enter first, followed by a woman in fine clothes with two maids.
She wore a veil, revealing only her beautiful eyes; one can imagine she would be a beauty even without it.
The group stepped forward and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Northern Dynasty."
The Emperor turned his gaze to Xiao Yajun and asked, "Is this the princess that your Emperor sent for a marriage alliance?"
The woman stepped forward, removed her veil, and bowed, saying, "Princess Xiao Yajun of the Western Jin Kingdom greets the Emperor of the Northern Dynasty."
The Emperor showed no particular reaction, simply saying, "No need for formalities, have someone bring you a seat!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Yajun also behaved politely and gracefully.
Only then did everyone get a clear look at the princess; she was indeed a rare beauty.
However, it seems that the Emperor himself has no intention of taking women into his harem, so it will be the turn of the princes.
The emperor was a man who cared about his reputation, so he didn't make things difficult for the two envoys. He had their gifts accepted and seats arranged for them.
The emperor was in no hurry to treat them well at the banquet. As for the marriage alliance, the emperor was not anxious, but the envoys were.
As soon as they sat down, the leading envoy spoke up: "Your Majesty, may I ask which prince of your country is the one who is marrying Princess Changning of our country?"
They certainly wanted the princess to marry the eldest prince, who was the most likely to inherit the throne, but unfortunately the eldest prince already had a princess consort.
"There's no rush. Let them get to know each other first, and then I'll bestow the marriage upon them," the Emperor said with a smile.
He appeared to be a refined and easy-going emperor, but in reality, he said this to see who would marry the princess in the future.
After all, marrying him would mean losing his inheritance rights, so I imagine his good sons wouldn't be very willing to marry him.
The Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at the five princes below, pondering this matter.
The eldest prince has already married a princess, so naturally he is not being considered.
The third prince clearly wasn't interested in the princess; he didn't even glance at her. How could he possibly give up the throne for a woman?
The second prince wore a gentle smile, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
The fourth prince's face remained expressionless, as if he didn't care at all what was happening in the palace.
His gaze swept over the Fifth Prince, but the Emperor simply ignored him. The child was not old enough, so there were only three princes to choose from.
The Emperor's attention was mainly focused on the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince.
Noticing the Emperor's gaze, both the Second Prince Helian Xuan and Consort Xian felt a chill in their hearts.
Helian Zhou's face remained expressionless, but he was calm inside; he knew it wouldn't be his.
He has two unmarried princes above him, so there's no way he'd be given priority, and besides, he poses no threat to anyone else right now.
Sure enough, after a while, the Emperor’s gaze shifted from him and he took a few more glances at the Second Prince, Helian Xuan.
"Xiao Qi, in the original story, who tricked the male lead into marrying the female lead?"
It wasn't written in the plot, and Qingdai didn't know exactly who it was, only had some guesses.
"Host, it's the Empress and the First Prince. They originally wanted to plot against the Third Prince, but the Emperor intervened, and it became the Second Prince. So the male protagonist turned the tables on them," Xiao Qi explained.
Upon hearing this, Qingdai was not surprised, but this Third Prince Helian Yi really is the Emperor's true love.
Upon hearing the emperor's words, the people of the Western Jin Dynasty had no choice but to remain silent for the time being.
They thought they could have Princess Changning interact with the princes privately.
Princess Changning, the person involved, had a hint of irony in her eyes; she had no say in anything.
Xiao Yajun's gaze swept over the princes opposite her, her thoughts unreadable.
After the banquet ended, Qingdai followed Helian Zhou back home.
Helian Zhou walked ahead, then turned to look at the person behind him who was looking down at the road: "What do you think about tonight's events?"
Qingdai fell silent upon hearing this. She looked around and saw no one else besides the young eunuch who had led the way.
Just when Helian Zhou thought she wouldn't speak, he heard her lower her voice and say, "The princess from the Western Jin Kingdom will probably be betrothed to the Second Prince."
She felt it was time to reveal herself, as there hadn't been any progress recently, so when Helian Zhou asked, she chose to be direct.
"Oh? How do you know?" Helian Zhou was somewhat surprised, and his gaze towards her became more meaningful.
Qingdai smiled at him, and when Helian Zhou saw that she had dimples when she smiled, he was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at her a few more times.
As he looked at her, he noticed that the palace maid had become even more beautiful than she had been a few days ago.
Ignoring what he was thinking, Qingdai continued speaking to herself:
“The eldest prince has married a princess, and the fifth prince is too young, so they are excluded. That leaves only Your Highness, the second prince, and the third prince.”