Chapter 80
Xu Heming frowned, wondering which imperial concubine could be so lacking in restraint.
He first shot an annoyed glance at Zhu Jingchen, as if demanding, "Can’t you control your women?"
Hearing the woman’s voice, Wei Jing'an peeked out and glared at Lin Ziyi, his tone laced with warning.
Unfortunately, Lin Ziyi completely ignored him.
Xu Heming then turned his gaze toward the source of the voice, intending to intimidate the foolish woman with his icy demeanor.
But when he saw the excited Lin Ziyi and the visibly embarrassed Li Zhiwei, he froze for a moment.
However, Xu Heming quickly pieced together the situation.
Not only had Zhu Jingchen allowed his concubines to watch him put on this ridiculous show—he had even invited Li Zhiwei!
Qinghua and Qingyue hadn’t even informed him about this!
Qinghua and Qingyue: My lord, you’re truly wronging us! You’ve been so busy lately that we couldn’t even catch a glimpse of you. Even if we wanted to tell you, we had no chance—after all, we’re supposed to protect Li Zhiwei at all times.
In the palace, it was unavoidable—no one was allowed to bring their maids.
And the Emperor had deliberately ensured today’s events wouldn’t spread.
Xu Heming felt a pang of regret. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have worn such revealing clothes.
"Sister Lin!" Li Zhiwei was mortified.
The stares from the crowd made her extremely uncomfortable.
Every single one of them looked like they wanted to devour her.
At this moment, she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself. She had no idea what Xu Heming must think of her now.
"What’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t this performance meant for everyone to enjoy? If we want to watch, we should say so! How else will he know what you want?" Lin Ziyi patted Li Zhiwei’s hand, speaking as if her reasoning were perfectly justified.
"Lady Li, you mustn’t keep such a spectacle to yourself! This concubine hasn’t had her fill of the show yet!" One of the imperial concubines chimed in, addressing Li Zhiwei directly.
Li Zhiwei closed her eyes briefly, wondering if she was dreaming.
An imperial concubine was openly telling the Emperor that she wanted to watch her fiancé perform in such revealing attire?
Wasn’t this practically seduction?
Would the Emperor punish Prince An for this?
The thought made her nervous.
Would the Emperor really punish Prince An?
After all, their marriage was arranged by imperial decree. If he were to be punished, she’d be implicated too.
At this realization, Li Zhiwei shot Xu Heming an irritated look.
What kind of fate is this?
I haven’t even enjoyed any blessings, and now I might have to die alongside him?
Gritting her teeth, she forced out, "Watch? Of course we’ll watch!"
If she didn’t take the chance now, she might never get another opportunity!
"Your Highness Prince An, did you hear? Lady Li said she wants to watch!" Eunuch Liu thought to himself, The Emperor’s move is truly brilliant.
Xu Heming hadn’t expected Li Zhiwei to be here, and now he felt awkward too.
After all, he had always been refined and composed in the past. What if she thought he was some kind of libertine now?
But then again—Li Zhiwei wanted to see him carry this ridiculous wooden beam?
With a sigh, Xu Heming hoisted the beam and vanished in an instant.
"Where… where did he go?" The crowd was dumbfounded. Weren’t they supposed to watch him carry the beam?
Now, not only was the beam gone—so was the man!
All they could see was a blur of movement.
BOOM!
A deafening crash sent everyone scrambling under the tables—even the Emperor and Empress were startled.
"Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!" Eunuch Liu shrieked in panic.
Guards immediately swarmed around the Emperor and Empress.
Li Zhiwei and Lin Ziyi also ducked under the table, hearts pounding.
"Your Majesty, this subject has fulfilled today’s task!" Xu Heming’s voice echoed before he disappeared again.
"Good heavens! So it was Prince An who shattered that wooden beam!" Eunuch Liu gasped, staring at the pile of splinters in the distance.
"It’s fine, it’s fine!" Zhu Jingchen exhaled in relief. For a moment, he’d thought it was an assassin.
"Your Majesty, are you unharmed? Prince An went too far—performing is one thing, but scaring people like this?" Concubine Lan rushed to Zhu Jingchen’s side, eager to make her presence known.
"We are unharmed. All of you, return to your quarters. Not a word of today’s banquet leaves this place—if rumors spread, the punishment will be severe!" Zhu Jingchen warned the concubines sternly.
"Your Majesty need not worry. This concubine and the others will remain silent," Consort De assured him promptly.
Honestly, banquets like this could happen every day for all I care.
Just getting to feast her eyes was reward enough.
With that thought, she turned to Li Zhiwei with a smile. "This must be the future Princess An. What a fortunate match." She removed a golden hairpin from her own hair and tucked it into Li Zhiwei’s.
Li Zhiwei didn’t know how to respond, so she simply bowed in thanks.
Seeing Consort De’s gesture, the other concubines followed suit, showering Li Zhiwei with gifts.
Even Lin Ziyi received quite a few.
By the time the concubines left, both women’s hair was weighed down with jewelry.
They exchanged glances, taking in each other’s "tragic" state.
"My neck is about to break!" Li Zhiwei groaned.
Thankfully, she wasn’t used to wearing heavy accessories—otherwise, the sheer weight would’ve been unbearable.
"Assist these two ladies in freshening up," the Empress instructed, barely suppressing a laugh at their predicament.
"Empress, please escort them to the imperial study afterward," Zhu Jingchen added quickly.
After all, Xu Heming and Wei Jing'an were probably waiting for him there.
He hadn’t told either of them that Li Zhiwei and Lin Ziyi would be attending today’s banquet.
"Your Majesty may attend to your duties. I will handle matters here," the Empress replied gently.
She still needed to soothe Li Zhiwei and Lin Ziyi’s nerves.
Li Zhiwei stared at the tray of hairpins, puzzled.
"Sister Lin, does this happen every time you enter the palace?"
"Today, I was merely benefiting from your presence," Lin Ziyi said wryly.
She knew exactly why the concubines had given her gifts too—Li Zhiwei’s hair had simply run out of space!
At least they hadn’t been too rough while decorating her.
"Me?" Li Zhiwei blinked. "What does this have to do with me?"
The maids combing their hair remained silent, focused on their task.
"Ladies, your hair has been properly arranged. Please wait here for further instructions."
Once the maids left, placing the tray on the dressing table, both women exhaled in relief.
Today’s banquet had been nothing short of a rollercoaster.
Unbeknownst to them, however, someone outside was quietly blowing smoke into the room.
