GTB Chapter 60
by VolareChapter 60 The Hundred Flowers Banquet (2)
Shí Jìn’s naked gaze made Jiang Jiuchu feel a chill, and she quickly denied, “We were just admiring the scenery up here. We don’t understand what the Second Prince means by peeking. We also don’t admire the Second Prince. It must be that the Second Prince has misunderstood something. Please watch your words.”
Ji Shutíng also didn’t expect the Second Prince to shamelessly say such things, so she quickly said, “Yes! We were just admiring the scenery and didn’t notice the Second Prince was here at all.”
Shí Jìn chuckled and didn’t plan to force them to admit it. “Alright! But your greeting is a bit casual! You didn’t even announce your names when you saw this Prince. What? Is this Prince not worthy of knowing, or…”
He deliberately paused, meaningfully saying to Jiang Jiuchu, “Or did someone get caught by me… picking a large bunch of wildflowers?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiuchu’s face turned pale. Her dislike for the person in front of her instantly reached its peak, and a hint of disgust couldn’t help but surface in her eyes as she looked at Shí Jìn.
She thought to herself, this person is indeed not a good person, so ungrateful and unjust.
If Brother Fu hadn’t allowed him on the boat, he might have drowned long ago. How could he be standing here safe and sound, mocking her like this?
She suppressed a breath and pretended not to know him, saying, “I don’t quite understand what the Second Prince is saying.”
After she finished speaking, she directly gave another greeting, “This humble woman, Jiang Jiuchu, greets Your Highness the Second Prince.”
Seeing this, Ji Shutíng also followed suit, announcing her name and giving a greeting.
After the two finished their greetings, they took a step to the side, wanting to leave. However, the next moment, Shí Jìn’s arm blocked Jiang Jiuchu’s path.
“Jiang Jiuchu, right! You have quite the nerve. Your eyes are telling this Prince that you seem to dislike this Prince very much.”
Jiang Jiuchu’s steps faltered as she was blocked, and she quickly retreated. If she felt disgusted just now, then now she was filled with surging anger.
Already in a bad mood, she really couldn’t put on a flattering smile for the person in front of her.
She ignored Shí Jìn, only staring fixedly at the person in front of her, refusing to believe that he could stop her from leaving until the end of the banquet in this palace.
Seeing this, Ji Shutíng quickly said, “Your Highness has misunderstood. Jiuchu is just like this, she doesn’t dislike Your Highness.”
“Oh! Is that so?” Shí Jìn looked at Jiang Jiuchu, who seemed about to explode, with a mischievous smile. He found it very interesting and deliberately added fuel to the fire. He wanted to see how bold this little woman could be, and what she would look like when she got angry.
“Then does that mean you like this Prince?”
Ji Shutíng was completely stumped by this. She complained in her heart, is this Second Prince seriously ill? What kind of person is he? Was that what she meant?
No, she was about to lose it. Wasn’t he clearly forcing Jiuchu to say whether she liked him or not?
“Jiuchu.” A familiar voice came.
Jiang Jiuchu looked over upon hearing the voice and saw that it was her sister-in-law and mother. She quickly called out, “Sister-in-law, Mother.”
Shí Jìn lowered his arm and turned slightly to look at Shí Qingya behind him. He didn’t expect that this fairy-like girl was actually Qingya’s sister-in-law.
“Second Brother,” Shí Qingya greeted him, then stepped forward and said to Jiang Jiuchu, “So you’re here! Mother and I have been looking for you for a long time. Let’s slowly stroll back. The banquet is about to begin.”
“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu pulled Ji Shutíng over and, after walking a distance with Shí Qingya, said softly, “Sister-in-law, you came just in time. Otherwise, I would have offended this Second Prince today.”
Heaven knows, she almost cursed out loud just now.
Ji Shutíng also quickly complained, “Yes, Princess, the Second Prince just blocked us on purpose and made things difficult for us. What he said was so nasty, extremely shameless.”
Shí Qingya looked back and, seeing that Shí Jìn was no longer in sight, felt relieved.
“Luckily, a little eunuch told us you were here just now, so Mother and I curiously came over. In the future, if you see him, take a detour as soon as possible. My Second Brother is really bold sometimes and doesn’t care about anything else.”
Madam Ye was somewhat angry, “I didn’t expect the Second Prince to be so daring, flirting with the daughters of officials in broad daylight.”
Jiang Jiuchu and Ji Shutíng exchanged a silent glance upon hearing this. Although they saw the Second Prince being intimate with someone else, that wasn’t a reason for him to flirt with them.
But who exactly told the little eunuch to report the news? Were there other people present?
When the group returned to the banquet, it was a quarter of an hour before the *si* hour. At this time, the seats at the banquet were basically full, with only a few empty seats at the very front.
Because of Shí Qingya, Jiang Jiuchu’s seat was in the middle and slightly behind the first row.
This was the first time she had seen such an occasion. She really didn’t expect there to be so many young ladies and young masters from noble families in the Kyoto imperial city. Almost every madam was sitting with three or five children.
As she was looking at the colorful scene in front of her, she saw the Second Prince, Shí Jìn, enter the banquet. When he approached her, he even gave her a playful look.
Jiang Jiuchu’s anger flared up from that look. Was it really necessary to look at her like that just because he bumped into her and Brother Fu on the Cruise boatboat? She must give Brother Fu a good talking-to when she sees him next time.
As she was scolding him in her head, a low murmur suddenly came from the banquet hall, mixed with some exclamations.
The appearance of Shí Yan instantly attracted the attention of the young ladies present. A small number of them were seeing the legendary Seventh Prince for the first time and seemed to have completely forgotten his unreliable reputation, their eyes filled with infatuation.
“Look, look, the Seventh Prince has actually come. I didn’t see him participate last year. I thought I wouldn’t see the Seventh Prince at this year’s Hundred Flowers Banquet either?”
The chatter came from the seats behind Jiang Jiuchu, startling her. She quickly turned her head to look.
However, after she clearly saw who it was, she was instantly stunned. It was him. Wasn’t this the person who helped her that night? He’s the Seventh Prince?
She was greatly shocked. She subconsciously lowered her head, thinking, “It’s over, it’s over. It’ll be over if he recognizes me. After all, what kind of relatives does a young lady from a noble family visit late at night?”
She was very guilty. It seemed that she really didn’t check the almanac before going out that night. She originally thought that meeting him was the only bit of luck that night, but… Could he have guessed that she was eloping?
No, what was she afraid of? Wouldn’t it be better if he guessed? Anyway, there was no proof. If the Seventh Prince himself had doubts and directly rejected her, wouldn’t that be exactly what she wanted?
Thinking of this, she quickly raised her head again and looked straight at Shí Yan, wanting him to recognize her quickly.
However, this person walked straight past, not looking sideways at all, not even glancing to either side.
Jiang Jiuchu felt that she would have to find an opportunity to wave in front of him later. At that time, whether he thought she was behaving improperly or was incorrigible, as long as he felt uneasy, he would definitely go back on this marriage that hadn’t even been announced to the public.
“Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother, sit here with me.” Shí Yuanchen pointed to the seat next to him. He had been sitting on the seat for a long time, just waiting for Shí Yan to come over and point out which one was the Jiang family’s daughter.
“No, you’re too noisy.” Shí Yan said, sitting directly across from Shí Yuanchen, his gaze imperceptibly glancing towards the person diagonally opposite who had been staring at him since he entered.
Shí Jìn glanced at Shí Yan sitting next to him. Compared to the Crown Prince, he hated Shí Yan even more. All he had left was that face.
He thought jealously, “When I sit in that position, I will definitely make him kneel in front of me and submit.”
“The Empress Dowager has arrived, the Emperor and Empress have arrived.” A sharp, clear shout entered the banquet hall.
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look and began to kneel and bow.