Help! The innocent prince always tries to seduce me clumsily

"Does this prince need your money for the sour plum soup?" Si Jingli snorted and said, "This prince's sour plum soup is more than enough for one person. If you want to leave, you must drink it up. If you can't finish it, you must pour it out and send it back. Do you understand?"

"Your Highness is generous, don't worry, I will definitely finish the drink. Xiao Qi is still here, I will drink with her."

Si Jingli suddenly asked, "Why? Didn't the Seventh Prince prepare sour plum soup for her?"

"Don't you know how poor she is, Your Highness?"

Just a few words made Chu Shifan feel that Si Jingli was mentioning Chu Shitong in his words and deeds. He should still want to play with Chu Shitong, but perhaps it was because Chu Shitong had a bad temper that he didn't want to.

Si Jingli motioned for the servants to bring the sour plum soup forward, and said, "What does she have to do with me? If you want sour plum soup, I can give it to you for free, but you are not allowed to give it to her."

"Ah?" Chu Shifan was stunned. "Why?"

If Chu Shifan was forced to drink in front of Chu Shitong and no one shared the drink with Chu Shitong, he might as well not drink at all.

"Because you were the one who asked me for it alone, you are not allowed to drink unless Chu Shitong comes."

Chu Shifan hurriedly explained, but he couldn't say that it was Chu Shitong's excuse of "people with different beliefs cannot work together". In a hurry, he said nonsense: "Xiao Qi...she is just embarrassed to come! Xiao Qi attaches great importance to face! She...she also wants to drink! Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to come here presumptuously!"

Chu Shitong, who was on the other side of the tree, was caught off guard when he heard this and choked on the rice in his mouth. He couldn't help but start coughing.

What the hell is Chu Shifan talking about? Is Chu Shitong the kind of person who would want a sip of iced sour plum soup?

When Si Jingli heard Chu Shitong's cough, he finally showed a little better expression, and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously, as if he thought the reason given by Chu Shifan was very good.

"Forget it then. You can deal with the things given to you yourself."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Chu Shifan came back happily holding a jar of iced sour plum soup, but the moment he saw Chu Shitong, he felt like he was being silently killed thousands of times by Chu Shitong's gaze.

"..."

Chu Shifan swallowed his saliva, laughed dryly, raised the jar, and said, "Look, Xiaoqi, His Royal Highness the Prince gave it to us."

Chu Shitong covered his face silently.

Why do we have to add a "们".

"Cousin, drink your soup and stop talking."

Chu Shifan was already happy to have the iced sour plum soup, and when he heard what Chu Shitong said, he didn't think much about it. He felt so comfortable drinking the sour plum soup while eating.

Chu Shitong was eating the rabbit meal quietly. After a while, he heard some noise coming from the other side of the tree.

"My Lord, are you...going to eat?"

"What else? Am I picking up chopsticks to eat your meat?"

Si Jingli picked up his chopsticks, and the servants of Prince Rong's Mansion carried plates back and forth, placing dishes in front of Si Jingli one by one. However, based on Si Jingli's personality, he would probably stop eating after only a few bites of a dish.

Chu Shifan poured a bowl of sour plum soup for Chu Shitong and handed it to him, but Chu Shitong did not take it.

"Thank you for your kindness, cousin. It's not necessary."

Chu Shifan said, "How can that be possible? I told His Royal Highness that I would give it to you."

"I don't like sour plum soup, cousin, please drink it for me."

Chu Shifan said with some regret: "Don't you really want to try it? The sour plum soup in Prince Rong's Mansion is very delicious."

Chu Shitong politely declined, "No, thank you, cousin."

Chu Shifan had no choice but to take back the bowl of sour plum soup. Just as he put it to his mouth to drink, he heard Si Jingli throw his chopsticks on the other side of the tree.

The servants of Prince Rong's Mansion immediately put down the plates in a hurry.

"My Lord... Is the food not to your taste or is it stale? Your servants will go get a new table right away!"

Si Jingli had a cold face and didn't say anything, and everyone was in panic for a while.

Chu Shifan felt as if he had suddenly realized something. His slow brain was suddenly illuminated by a ray of wisdom. He immediately stuffed the sour plum soup into Chu Shitong's hand and even raised his voice a little, saying, "This is given to you by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. How can I drink it for you?"

Chu Shitong really didn't like sour plum soup, and said, "Didn't my cousin just promise me..."

"What did I promise you?" Chu Shifan interrupted her, and his expression changed drastically on the spot. "I didn't promise anything, so stop talking nonsense! Drink it quickly! Are you dawdling for so long because you don't want to give face to your cousin?"

Chu Shitong held the sour plum soup and looked at Chu Shifan, who wished he could retreat three steps away from him immediately. He guessed the reason and spoke patiently.

"Okay, drink."

Chu Shitong took a sip and said with a guilty conscience, "The sour plum soup from Prince Rong's Mansion is indeed delicious."

Chu Shifan did not respond. The two of them just sat there quietly. The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Until the messy sounds of the servants were heard from the other side.

"Didn't you see the prince reaching out his hand? Why don't you quickly grab some new chopsticks?"

"Come here, come here!"

"The prince doesn't like white jade chopsticks! Hurry up and get the ivory ones!"

"I'm coming!"

"My Lord, please try this. It has just been delivered."

Chu Shitong suddenly laughed softly. Chu Shifan breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Prince Si has a very strange temper. He is always gloomy and unstable. Xiaoqi, what are you laughing at?"

Chu Shitong shook his head and said, "Nothing, just a little childish."

Chu Shifan didn't understand, "Ah? What do you mean by childish?"

Chu Shitong said disdainfully: "Cousin, please keep your voice down."

A cool breeze blew into the yard, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

On the other side of the tree, Si Jingli was holding a pair of pure white ivory chopsticks inlaid with gems, casually picking up dishes from the plates held above their heads by a group of servants. Chu Shitong's words were carried to Si Jingli's ears by the wind. He paused and casually picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into the bowl.

Confused, he muttered to himself in a low voice.

"You are childish."

......

The tenth day of June is the second princess’ birthday.

The banquet was held in Qingle Palace. Originally, birthday banquets for princes and princesses were mostly held in their own residences or their mother's palaces, but the second princess's biological mother died at the hands of an assassin while trying to protect the emperor, so the birthday banquet was organized by the queen.

Chu Shitong got up very early. The palace banquets of Beiqing Kingdom were held for a whole day. On the day of the banquet, civil and military officials did not need to attend court. The banquet started at chenshi and lasted until youshi.

Chu Shitong was still dressed in black, his simple attire that never changed. He took the gifts he had prepared in advance and, after giving instructions to everyone, he headed towards the palace.

Generally speaking, carriages from outside the palace are not allowed to enter the palace, especially on the day of a palace banquet, as it would not only block the road to the palace but could also delay matters.

Chu Shitong was no exception. After the carriage stopped at the palace gate, he walked among the crowd all the way to Qingle Palace.

With numerous courtyards and palaces, the palace was neat, solemn and grand. She met many people passing by on the road, but Chu Shitong did not choose to travel with any of them.

Qingle Palace is located in the northwest of the imperial palace. It was originally a place for singing and dancing, but now it has been cleaned up by the Queen's order and will be used as the venue for the Second Princess' birthday party today.

The buildings on both sides of the palace gate are neat and symmetrical. The magnificent roofs shine with the light of the morning sun, and figures float on the vermilion wooden columns and the wide white marble steps.

The seats for the guests at the banquet were neatly arranged. The seats for the concubines, princes and princesses, royal relatives and nobles, officials and their children had all been assigned. Chu Shitong sat down according to the assigned seats.

Everyone present had arrived early, and the banquet officially began only after the emperor arrived.

The hall was packed with people. Chu Shitong knew that his ears would suffer again today. Wang Zexu arranged his seat close to the emperor, which was convenient but also had many inconveniences.

"Your Majesty has arrived——"

I don't know how long it took, but Chu Shiyu finally arrived. He walked into the hall tall and majestic in a dragon robe, and everyone in the hall stood up and saluted at the same time.

Chu Shiyu ignored him and walked all the way to the dragon throne and sat down, then waved his hand and said, "Get up."

Everyone, please take your seats again.

Master Chu said: "Today is Xuan'er's birthday, and it is also a family banquet, everyone, please don't be restrained."

Chu Shitong, who had just sat down, stood up and saluted with everyone else.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"No gift."

She was already looking forward to having fun today, but when she stood up and looked back, she suddenly saw a figure in red not far away.

Chu Shitong was stunned. Didn't Si Jingli promise him not to come today? Why did he come again?

Si Jingli stood up, and their eyes met for a moment. He looked at Chu Shitong from afar, seeming to feel guilty and a little flustered because of Chu Shitong's serious expression.

He seemed to want to explain something, but because they were quite far away, he gave up.

Seeing that he looked guilty and uncomfortable, Chu Shitong guessed that Si Jingli originally did not want to break his appointment with him, but for some reason, he was forced to do so by some force majeure reasons.

When Chu Shitong sat down, he began to think with a serious face. Si Jingli was present at the birthday banquet in his previous life, and he almost suffered a great loss at the banquet. Fortunately, the fourth princess came back and saved Si Jingli, otherwise Si Jingli would have been disgraced.

Chu Shitong was looking for the Fourth Princess at the banquet, but strangely, he did not see her there. Instead, he saw Yun Xiangrong by chance. Yun Xiangrong was dressed very simply today, but her beauty could not be concealed.

Although they are mother and son, Yun Xiangrong never looked at Chu Shitong from beginning to end.

Zhao Heng also came today, sitting at the table in a respectable manner. Next to him sat a beautiful woman who was carefully dressed up. If Chu Shitong was willing to take a closer look, he would find that this woman was Ying'er from Hua Xilou.

"Bishui." Chu Shitong whispered, "Go and see if the Fourth Princess has arrived. Also, tell Si Jingli to be careful with what he eats today. If he can't do it, just leave."

Even after giving such instructions, Chu Shitong was still worried.

"Go find Wang Zexu and ask him to make sure that the things that Si Jingli used and the things he used at the entrance are not touched by anyone."

Bishui immediately responded, "Yes, I'll go right away."

Stringed music began to play, and the leisurely and relaxing music made this absurd banquet even more obvious.

Chu Shiyu looked down at the seats, actually to confirm who had arrived.

"Today is Xuan'er's birthday. Jing'er hasn't come back from Kaiyuan Temple?"

The Queen said, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess sent someone overnight to say that the temple has been very busy these days and she couldn't spare the time, so she sent a gift to Xuan'er first and will apologize to Xuan'er at the New Year's Eve banquet."

"In that case." Chu Shiyu said, "Then let's see what good things Jing'er gave Xuan'er."

The Queen immediately ordered, "Come up, bring up the Fourth Princess's gift."

Chu Shitong's expression changed again and again at the banquet.

Since her rebirth, she has never interfered with anything related to Chu Shijing. Why did Chu Shijing not come to the palace banquet in this life, even though he clearly came in the previous life?

If Si Jingli was helped by Chu Shijing who never showed up, how would he escape from danger?

Now we can only hope that Wang Zexu and Bishui’s reminders will make Si Jingli more careful. However, the banquet will last a whole day, and no matter how careful Si Jingli is, he still needs to use some things.

The gift that Chu Shijing gave to the second princess was a painting he made himself. She had been in the temple with the green lamps and ancient Buddhas for many years, so it was normal to give her these things.

The maid unrolled the scroll, and the painting depicted a pear tree and a magpie. It must be that the artist painted whatever he saw.

Chu Shiyu praised, "Jing'er's painting skills have improved a lot recently. When she comes to the palace next time, you can arrange for the court painter to learn from her."

The queen said obediently, "I obey your order."

"Xuan'er, do you like the calligraphy and painting that Jing'er gave you?" asked Chu Shiyu.

As the protagonist of today's birthday party, Chu Shixuan was dressed very gorgeously, with her hair adorned with a dazzling array of gold, jade and emeralds, and even her clothes were a bright yellow.

It's a pity that her face is like her mother's, with a pair of upturned willow-leaf eyes that look shrewd and scheming.

She stood up and said with a smile: "Father, this is a gift from my fourth sister, so I naturally like it."

"I'm glad you like it." Chu Shiyu said, "Wang Zexu, bring up the birthday gift I gave to Xuan'er."

Wang Zexu was still talking to Bishui in the previous second, and immediately responded in the next second.

"Slave, go right away."

Before leaving the hall, he exchanged a glance with Chu Shitong. Bishui should have made it clear to him.

Not long after, Wang Zexu came up with a few young eunuchs carrying a screen.

The screen is made of golden nan silk wood. The screen surface is not made of silk, but frosted crystal. It is inlaid with gold foil and jade to form four panels of "plum, bamboo, orchid and chrysanthemum". It is obviously a priceless item at first glance.

Chu Shixuan was obviously very fond of the screen and immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"My son, thank you very much, Father!"

Chu Shiyu nodded, "Get up, it's your birthday today, no need to be polite."

The basic schedule in the morning is to give gifts, have lunch at noon, enjoy singing and dancing or the talents of the young men and women in the afternoon, and in the evening people can toast and talk freely. The banquet will not end until the emperor leaves, or the emperor leaves in the middle of the banquet and the banquet continues, but the rules will not be as strict as those of the palace banquet.

To the left of Chu Shitong is Chu Shixuan, and to the right is Chu Shifeng.

Chu Shifeng whispered, "Xiao Qi, did you see how happy the Second Princess was just now?"

Chu Shitong: “Yeah.”

"I've seen that screen before. I heard it came from Nanzhao. It's worth at least five thousand taels."

Chu Shitong: "...Royal brother knows so much."

The queen presented a gift, which was a jade ruyi that was as green as ink.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chu Shifeng pulled Chu Shitong aside to whisper something to him. Chu Shitong didn't want to respond, but there was nothing he could do. Now was not the time to quarrel, so he could only respond with a smile.

Perhaps because he was too close to Chu Shiyu, he was noticed soon.

Chu Shiyu asked, "Xiao Qi, Lao Liu, what are you two whispering about?"

Chu Shitong said nothing, and Chu Shifeng said with a smile: "Father, I was just praising the jade ruyi given by the Queen to Xiaoqi."

Chu Shiyu, "Is that so? Xiaoqi?"

Chu Shitong smiled and said, "Yes, my brother praised the jade ruyi given by the queen for its excellent quality and said he also wanted one."

Chu Shifeng: “…”