Chapter 68 Birthday Banquet
Huainan Palace.
The King of Huainan had a very gloomy face these days since he learned that all the gold ingots he had hidden in Baiyun Villa had been stolen. Unexpectedly, a few days later, all the privately made weapons in Daliang Mountain were stolen, even the semi-finished products were stolen. What was even more hateful was that all the coolies and their wives and children had escaped. The guards inside were all unconscious, and no abnormalities could be found at all.
The King of Huainan was like an enraged lion, and no one dared to approach him. The servants were either beaten or sold out if they did something wrong. In recent days, many servants were beaten to death and dragged out to be thrown into mass graves.
However, today, the King of Huainan had to force himself to smile and entertain the guests. He knew that today's birthday banquet was a grand banquet, and as the host of the Huainan Palace, he had to maintain the proper demeanor and manners.
Zhan Xiao brought General Shen and Mr. Sun and his party to celebrate the birthday. Other princes and nobles were also released to attend the banquet today. Everyone was talking and laughing, and they were very relaxed, as if the incident of King Huainan sending troops to besiege them had never happened.
This indifferent look made the King of Huainan even more angry. He wanted to find the culprit who stole the weapons and gold ingots immediately. However, he couldn't find any clues until now, as if those weapons and gold ingots disappeared out of thin air.
The reception hall was separated by a screen to separate male and female guests. The King of Huainan entertained the male guests, while the Princess of Huainan was surrounded by other ladies in the female guest area, chatting and joking, looking very harmonious.
Princess Huainan was wearing a bright red gown today and a gold hairpin inlaid with gems on her head, looking bright and charming.
Maids brought various dishes to the table one after another, and the banquet officially began.
The male guests were toasting each other and having a great time, while the female guests were sipping fruit wine and gossiping.
Princess Ping'an, the only daughter of the Huainan Princess, sat at a table with a group of young ladies. Next to Princess Ping'an was Nie Linglong, the daughter of the Qingzhou governor. The two were close friends and both in their twenties.
Princess Ping'an has loved Zhan Xiao since she was a child, but love is unrequited.
Princess Ping'an thought of the glimpse she had just taken at the Moon Gate.
Today, Zhan Xiao was wearing a dark brocade robe and a jade hairpin, and he looked cold and deep. This attracted Princess Ping'an's attention even more.
Princess Ping'an gave her maid Liu'er a wink, and Liu'er nodded and quietly left.
In the men's section, Zhan Xiao was toasted by several guests one after another. Fortunately, General Shen and Mr. Sun helped to block a lot of them.
"General Zhan is a mighty and brave man. How can he be frightened by a few glasses of wine? We can't let these two people beside him help block the wine."
The speaker was Yuan Sheng, the son of Ning'an Marquis from the capital. The Yuan family was the mother's family of the Princess of Huainan.
Zhan Xiao raised his eyes and glanced at Yuan Sheng, grinning foolishly, "My mighty and bravery is meant to be used in the battlefield to kill the enemy, not to be coaxed into showing off my bravery like I am doing now."
Yuan Sheng's face turned red at this unconventional answer, but he secretly cursed Zhan Xiao for being ungrateful.
Yuan Sheng was uneducated and unskilled in the capital, and the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion had long been in decline. He relied on his aunt's status as the Princess of Huainan to bully men and women and commit petty thefts.
As they were talking, a maid came in and served tea to everyone. When it was Zhan Xiao's turn, the maid accidentally spilled the water on him.
The maid immediately knelt down and apologized: "I deserve to die, please punish me, General."
Zhan Xiao glanced at Mr. Sun, who immediately said, "Since you know you are wrong, and you were so reckless at such a big banquet as the Princess's Birthday Banquet, spilled the tea, and offended the guests, you should go to the host of the birthday banquet, your Lady Princess, to receive punishment."
The maid paused for a moment and begged for mercy from Zhan Xiao: "Please spare my life, General. I didn't mean it."
General Shen said, "I have never seen such an unruly maid as the one in the Huainan Palace. Normally, for a grand banquet like the birthday banquet, the maids who serve will be those who know the rules. This girl was careless and deliberately poured water on the guests, asking General Zhan to accept the punishment. If she was punished, she would ask for mercy. It seems that she was deliberately teasing General Zhan."
The King of Huainan had to force a smile on his gloomy face. "General Shen is right. The servants in the palace are not well disciplined. Let's not let these ignorant people disrupt everyone's interest today. Come, take this ignorant servant away and beat her to death."
The maid turned pale with fear and immediately kowtowed and knelt down to beg for mercy: "Please spare my life, my lord. It's the county..."
Before he could finish his words, the servant next to him covered his mouth and dragged him away.
Now Liu'er was trembling all over. The one who was dragged away was her own sister Ya'er. It was she who instructed Ya'er to find a chance to wet General Zhan's clothes.
King Huainan then looked at Zhan Xiao and said, "General Zhan, I am sorry for my poor hospitality. Please forgive me. Since your clothes are wet, please follow the maid to the guest room to change your clothes."
Zhan Xiao's eyes lit up. He came, so he should leave early. He really didn't have the interest to deal with them hypocritically. So he nodded and said, "Okay."
Liu Er calmed down and took Zhan Xiao out of the hall. Liu Er took him to a guest room after many twists and turns. Liu Er bowed and left, then closed the door.
Zhan Xiao looked at the incense in the incense burner and sneered. He looked around. The room was not big. There was only room for a bed, and the window at the back had been locked from the outside.
Zhan Xiao pulled the door and found that it was locked from the outside.
In the female guest area, Princess Ping'an got the news from her maid Liu'er and immediately stood up excitedly. Nie Linglong beside her stopped her and whispered, "Princess, we haven't toasted the princess yet, where are you going?"
"It's okay, I'm going to the toilet and will be back soon." Princess Ping'an said and left in a hurry. No one noticed the sinister smile on Nie Linglong's face.