Chapter 760 - 762: The Little Prince Really Has Ulterior Motives
There were no overly rigorous ceremony proceedings in Danliang Country, unlike the historical dramas that Bai Ruozhu had watched in her previous life, where they would have to kneel and bow their heads whenever an emperor or a queen came into view. Even during the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, there was no need to kneel and wait for the Empress Dowager to attend.
So, when Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun were guided to their assigned seats, they became very curious and started observing the people around them. Some ladies were dressed in decree command court dresses like Bai Ruozhu, which allowed them to easily assess ranks and statuses, and they seemed to be enjoying their conversations, without being formal or solemn, let alone being quiet as they would have to be in the palace.
Bai Ruozhu mumbled to herself that the Empress Dowager was correct in deciding to host a buffet as the atmosphere was very casual indeed.
Leng Wanhua’s seat wasn’t far from Bai Ruozhu, but their seats had already been arranged so they couldn’t switch seats freely until the Empress Dowager allowed them to move to get their buffet.
When Leng Wanhua smiled at Bai Ruozhu, a pair of eyes not far away were also looking at Bai Ruozhu. She quickly noticed and looked in the direction of the gaze, and saw that it was Prince Xue who was looking at her. He even nodded slightly at her when their eyes met.
Jiang Yichun naturally noticed that someone was acknowledging his wife and he looked over, provocatively staring at Prince Xue. He even intentionally put his arms around Bai Ruozhu’s shoulders as if proclaiming his ownership.
Bai Ruozhu was amused by Jiang Yichun’s actions, she barely held back her laughter. She thought to herself, was he so funny that he needed to proclaim his territory just because someone looked at her? Would the man fly into a rage if someone talked to her?
Just as Bai Ruozhu was laughing in her heart, the arm that Jiang Yichun had around her shoulder suddenly tightened, as if he had frozen, his body leaning forward as if to get a better look. Bai Ruozhu immediately detected his change. He looked surprised with his mouth slightly open, his lips pale, due to either excitement or nervousness.
An alarm went off in Bai Ruozhu’s heart. Jiang Yichun’s reaction was absolutely not due to dislike towards Prince Xue. Following Jiang Yichun’s gaze, she saw a young woman sitting next to Prince Xue, and a table was placed in front a couple. The man looked somewhat like Xue Wenqian, so it was immediately clear that he was the Duke Xue, and the woman next to him...
Bai Ruozhu was also taken aback. She looked at the woman, then back at Jiang Yichun. They looked so alike!
It finally dawned on her. The word Jiang Yichun had been trying to articulate was "Mother!"
She stared at the woman with a somewhat blank expression. If she was able to sit together with Xue Wenqian and his folks, moreover next to Duke Xue, she must be Duchess Xue.
Had Jiang Yichun’s mother, who had divorced his father years ago and about whom no one heard anything after, remarried to Duke Xue?
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t resist and squeezed Jiang Yichun’s hand, whispering, "Achun, stay calm. I’m here with you."
If he acted recklessly in such a situation, he would probably become a laughingstock, and he might eventually be the one who gets hurt.
Bai Ruozhu then glanced at Duchess Xue, that is, Jiang Yichun’s mother. She looked neither surprised nor shocked, which indicated that she knew Jiang Yichun would be present, meaning she knew all along that Jiang Yichun had returned to the capital, yet she did not take the initiative to look for him...
Upon this realization, Bai Ruozhu no longer harbored any affection for Duchess Xue. Coincidentally, her eyes met with Duchess Xue’s, and she detected a hint of disdain in the latter’s gaze.
Recovering her gaze, Bai Ruozhu sneered inwardly. How dare she look down upon her? A woman who abandoned her own son, what right did she have to be conceited? Even if she had remarried successfully, it didn’t mean she was honored or had glory.
Not far away at the Leng family’s table, Leng Bin whispered to his sister, "Do Bai Ruozhu and her husband not know about Duchess Xue?"
Leng Wanhua looked in Jiang Yichun’s direction, sighed, and said, "It’s a blunder. I thought it was strange when Xue Wenqian took the initiative to talk to Bai Ruozhu last time. I inquired and found out that Duchess Xue was remarried, but I assumed Bai Ruozhu and her folk would have known it since they returned to the capital quite a while ago. It would have been inappropriate for me to bring up such an awkward matter, but unexpectedly, they didn’t know it already."
"Humph, Xue Wenqian surely didn’t mean well, whether he disagrees with his stepmother or intends to harm Miss Bai," Leng Bin said coldly.
"I need to apologize to Sister Ruozhu later, I blame myself for not warning her beforehand," Leng Wanhua sighed again.
The Jiang family’s matter had occurred several years ago, and the younger generation in the capital didn’t know much about it. Nobody purposely inquired into it and even after nine years, many had forgotten that Duchess Xue, originally from the Gai family, was the ex-daughter-in-law of the second son of Elder Jiang Ge.
Bai Ruozhu cast a cold glance at Xue Wenqian. No wonder he had previously invited her so enthusiastically to a banquet at the Xue family. He did have a tricky plan. He wanted her appearance to remind the people in the capital about Jiang Yichun’s mother’s remarriage to embarrass his stepmother, right?
She didn’t care about the Xue’s family’s internal conflicts. She wasn’t interested in participating in any power struggle within the family, and above all, she hated being used by others.
Xue Wenqian noticed Bai Ruozhu glaring at him and touched his nose awkwardly, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness.
Bai Ruozhu withdrew her gaze, not wishing to look at the Xue’s family anymore. As for whether or not Jiang Yichun would recognize his mother, she would let him decide.
By this time, Jiang Yichun had managed to calm his emotions. He turned to Bai Ruozhu, his eyes full of affection, "Ruozhu, I’m so glad you’re here."
Seeing him like this, her heart ached. She really wanted to hold his head, comforting his flustered emotions.
At this moment, a eunuch’s shrill voice announced, "The Emperor is arriving, the Empress Dowager is arriving!"
Everyone stood up, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun included, following everyone else’s lead in paying their respects, shouting "Long live the emperor, long live, live forever," and "Thousand-year life to the Empress Dowager, thousand years, thousand thousands of years,". After the Emperor granted permission for everyone to rise, everyone stood up straight.
The Emperor helped the Empress Dowager to her seat, his actions were attentive and detailed, and highly proficient, showing that he must often take care of the Empress Dowager in their daily lives. It appeared that he was highly filial in private.
Bai Ruozhu’s negative impression of the Emperor improved somewhat, but considering he had said that she was "only suitable as a concubine," she still held a grudge and didn’t consider him an enlightened ruler because he lacked discernment.
The Empress Dowager sat down with a smile, the Emperor taking a seat lower than hers, showing his respect for her.
"Today is my birthday, but I don’t like conventional banquets. So, I followed the popular fashion in the capital and decided to have a buffet. You all can enjoy watching the dance while freely taking dishes later, do not be restrained. If anyone has prepared some performance, you can also perform on the water stage later, one by one. I will definitely watch each one," the Empress Dowager said cheerfully.
Everyone complimented the Empress Dowager for being wise. Then, the dance began and the buffet officially started.