Lin Tingwan followed Song Yingyue closely, and the two of them walked to an empty pond.

Song Yingyue looked serious, "What's wrong with you? Didn't your father tell you not to come to the He Mansion?" After saying that, she looked Lin Tingwan up and down.

"Also, why are you wearing the clothes of a maid in the He Mansion? What are you doing here?"

Now that she had been recognized, Lin Tingwan didn't want to pretend anymore. "I've never been to the He Mansion before. I was a little curious. Today, I saw you and dad were here, so I mixed in with the maids and followed them to the He Mansion."

"You are really fooling around!" Song Yingyue's tone was a little unkind, but she soon reacted and softened her tone, saying, "Yangyang, your father did this for your own good. He will not harm you suddenly. You should not have come today."

Although the relationship between the two had become much closer, there was still an invisible barrier between them, and Song Yingyue didn't dare to say anything harsh to her.

"Mother, I know I was wrong." Lin Tingwan lowered her head, her expression somewhat downcast. After all, she was her daughter, and Song Yingyue couldn't do anything to her. She could only sigh and say, "Change clothes with Hanmei later, take her badge and go out to wait for me and your father in the carriage."

Lin Tingwan had already found everyone he wanted to find, so there was no point in staying here any longer. "Okay."

……

In the hall, He Sikong sat in the first seat.

Dozens of ministers were sitting on the tables and chairs on both sides, talking to each other and laughing constantly.

From time to time, someone stood up to toast He Sikong, and everyone drank to their heart's content, bringing them closer to each other.

On this special day, they seemed to have put aside their factional differences in the court, but whether they had really done so, only they themselves knew.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived - Prince Gong has arrived -"

Following the eunuch's shout, everyone knelt on the ground, "Your Highness, we respectfully welcome the Crown Prince, and Prince Gong——"

"Stand up. Today is He Sikong's birthday banquet. There's no need to be so formal." The speaker was Pei Yanli, his voice soft.

He Sikong said respectfully, "Your Highness, what are you talking about? Etiquette cannot be abolished since ancient times."

Pei Yanli turned around and threw the question to Pei Jinan, "I wonder what the eleventh uncle thinks?"

Pei Jinan's expression was calm, "What He Sikong said makes sense, and the logic cannot be abandoned."

Pei Yanli laughed loudly, "Since the eleventh uncle has said so, I will not refuse."

"Your Highness, please take a seat." He Sikong lowered his head respectfully.

"Eleventh Uncle is my elder. If anyone wants to sit, he should be the elder. Why should a junior like me take the seat?"

"Your Highness, what you said is inappropriate. You are the crown prince and I am just a small prince. How can I sit above you? This is against the rules." Pei Jinan's voice was soft, and no emotion could be heard in his words.

Hearing this, Pei Yanli no longer refused, "Since the eleventh uncle has said so, then I will have no choice but to respectfully obey your order."

After the two giant Buddhas sat down, all the ministers sat down one after another. Because of the arrival of the two men, there was no more laughter and joy in the hall, and the atmosphere became extremely serious.

Pei Yanli felt a little strange. "Just now when my uncle and I were outside the house, we heard that you were quite lively. Why are you so excited now that we are here? Could it be that my uncle and I came at the wrong time?"

What a joke. Who in the world would dare to continue what Pei Yanli said? Everyone shook their heads, "Of course it's not the relationship between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke. We are honored that you two can come here today."

As soon as they finished speaking, they realized that this was in the He Mansion, not in their residence. It was really against the rules for them to say this before He Sikong, the head of the He family, spoke. Everyone looked at He Sikong hesitantly.

It’s not that they are stupid, but they really can’t afford to offend either of the two people sitting in front of them, so they can only make things difficult for He Sikong.

People always pick the softest persimmons.

As expected, He Sikong did not argue with them. "It is an honor for me that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Gong can come to He Mansion to attend my birthday banquet."

Lin Mingqian sat below and secretly looked at Pei Jinan. They hadn't seen each other for many years. Now, apart from being a little thinner, he seemed to be in good spirits. He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yuehong lowered his voice, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Dad, last time I saw that the two of you were getting along well, what happened today?"

Lin Mingqian glared at him and said, "What kind of place is this? Do you think you can say these things? Don't cause trouble for your father. If you have nothing to do, eat more and shut up your big mouth."

Lin Yuehong curled his lips and took a bite of the pastry in front of him in revenge.

Okay, you don’t want to let me talk, right? You want me to eat cakes, right? Today I will be a starving ghost in this He Mansion and make you lose all your face.

Then, Lin Yuehong devoured the food like whirlwind, as if he had not eaten anything at all.

A real man should stick to his word. If you think of something, you should do it!

Pei Yanli suddenly changed the subject and turned to Lin Mingqian, "General Lin is truly extremely brave. He defeated the southern barbarians. I was in the capital and read the victory report from Liangzhou. I was very happy."

"Your Highness, I am too kind to praise you. I was just lucky for a moment."

Pei Yanli waved his hand, "General Lin, you are really too modest. Have you forgotten that I was also present when the southern barbarians attacked Liangzhou three years ago? I have seen how cruel and reckless the southern barbarians are."

He suddenly turned around and looked at Pei Jinan, "Uncle Eleven, what do you think?"

His expression was calm, as if he was just answering the most common question. "I have heard that the barbarians are fierce and ferocious. General Lin must be extremely brave to be able to defeat the southern barbarians."

Pei Yanli suddenly looked at him intently. "I met a man in Liangzhou three years ago. He looked very much like the Eleventh Uncle." He turned to look at Lin Mingqian. "He was the guard who protected the General of the Central Army. I wonder if he is okay?"

Just as Lin Yuehong was about to respond, Lin Mingqian stepped on him hard, "That's because the guards died in this battle."

Pei Yanli looked at Lin Yuehong with a half-smile, "That's really a pity, General Zhonglang, don't be sad, this matter of life and death is a normal human emotion."

Lin Yuehong's expression was a little ferocious, "Your Highness, you are right."

It was obvious that He Shiyi had left and had never been to the battlefield. It was obvious that Lin Mingqian was fooling the crown prince.

He couldn't help but pray in his heart over and over again that He Shiyi would never appear again, otherwise Lin Mingqian would be guilty of the great crime of deceiving the crown prince.

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