met free Chapter 541 Snow Appreciation Banquet
Chapter 541 Snow Appreciation Banquet
Lin Jie lowered his head, "Your Highness, please forgive me. Since I came to the Jiang family, Jiang Suining seemed to have focused on business and the affairs of the female officials. There was nothing wrong with it. I am incompetent and did not find any handle. As for the weak spot... it should be the Jiang family. Although Jiang Suining is not the biological daughter of the Jiang family, she has a very good relationship with the Jiang family."
Xiao Yi shook his head, "The Jiang family cannot be moved for the time being. What this prince wants is for them to be too busy to do anything, not for them to be desperate."
If he really pushes them into a corner and ends up with a fight to the death, it will be of no benefit to him.
"It is my incompetence that has exposed my plan early on, and I have gained nothing after such a long time. I have even implicated Your Highness. Please punish me." Lin Jie kowtowed to Xiao Yi, leaning very low, feeling extremely nervous and uneasy.
After returning to the Fourth Prince's Mansion, he began to kneel there, but His Highness ignored him. It felt like a sharp blade was hanging around his neck, and he didn't know when it would fall down. It was extremely uncomfortable.
Now he only hopes that His Highness can give him a quick death, and he will accept any punishment!
Xiao Yi looked at Lin Jie, and after a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Lin Jie, you are the best among your batch. When I chose you, I had high hopes for you."
Lin Jie's body trembled, and he bent even lower.
"However, the fact that you were discovered cannot be entirely your fault. Jiang Suining is so sharp and vigilant that even this prince did not expect it."
"Your Highness..." Lin Jie raised his head and looked at Xiao Yi carefully.
"Forget it this time. From now on, you will stay in the mansion and wait for orders. But if you fail again next time like this time..."
Lin Jie hurriedly said: "I will die as an apology!"
Xiao Yi then said, "Get up," raised his eyebrows, looked away, and returned the topic to the previous question.
"Your Highness, how about I find a way to cause some trouble for the shops under Jiang Suining? Together with the affairs of the female officials, it will be enough to keep her busy." The leader of the secret guards spoke after thinking.
Xiao Yi did not respond. After a moment, a smile appeared on his face. "Don't bother with business. This prince has thought of a more suitable candidate."
The next day.
Jiang Suining and He Qingrui checked together the list of all the utensils for the banquet. When they were about to go to the warehouse to take a closer look, they received news that the fifth princess summoned them.
When the two followed the maid over, Xiao Yue was sitting in the pavilion in the imperial garden drinking tea. She was wearing the latest winter clothes and a high-quality white fox scarf around her neck, which made her look more elegant.
When Xiao Yue heard the maid report that Jiang Suining and others had arrived, she just raised her eyelids and saluted at Jiang Suining and others.
Only after the ceremony was over did she put down the teacup in her hand and said straight to the point: "Everyone, get up. I asked you to come here today because I want to hold a banquet."
He Qingrui frowned subconsciously. It was almost the end of the year and the palace was very busy. Why would they hold a banquet at this time?
Of course, she didn't dare to say such words in front of Xiao Yue, so she could only ask: "Princess, what kind of banquet do you want to hold?"
"I heard from the Imperial Observatory that it will snow in two days. This princess plans to hold a winter snow-viewing banquet and invite some noble ladies and officials' wives to the palace to have fun. This matter will be handed over to..." Xiao Yue stared at Jiang Suining, paused for a moment, and then changed the subject, "It will be handed over to the two of you. You must make it beautiful and don't lose face for this princess and the dignity of the royal family."
Jiang Suining lowered his head slightly and said, "Princess, it is the end of the year and there are many banquets in the palace. If the princess wants to hold a snow-viewing banquet, she must first ask the queen for permission, otherwise we dare not make the decision on our own."
"The Queen has already reported it, and the date is set for two days from now. You just need to prepare everything in these two days. This is the first time that I have taken the lead in hosting a banquet. If you make me lose face..." Xiao Yue snorted coldly as a warning, "I will not let you off easily then!"
"Yes, Princess, I will remember it." Jiang Suining responded.
He Qingrui also said: "I will remember this, Princess, please rest assured."
Xiao Yue looked satisfied and waved her hand to signal them to leave.
After leaving the Imperial Garden, He Qingrui frowned suddenly.
"It's getting closer and closer to New Year's Eve, and we are so busy. Why are we holding a snow-viewing banquet at this time? Isn't it obvious that they are deliberately causing trouble for us?"
This fifth princess seemed quite nice before, but now she is becoming more and more annoying.
Jiang Suining recalled Xiao Yue's eyes and tone just now, "I'm afraid the Fifth Princess's purpose is not as simple as a snow viewing banquet."
He Qingrui was stunned. "Sui Ning, what do you mean by that? Could it be that the Fifth Princess is deliberately making things difficult for us?"
Jiang Suining thought for a moment and said, "I've been busy lately and I've been taking leave frequently, which has delayed progress. You should focus on the banquet later. I'll take care of the preparations for the snow viewing banquet."
If Xiao Yue really had other purposes, then it was most likely targeting him, so there was no need to implicate others.
"Sui Ning, no, since we are asked to prepare together, there is no reason to push everything to you. Even if the Fifth Princess really wants to make trouble, we will face it together."
"Don't worry, this is just my guess. Maybe nothing will go wrong. Besides, there have been problems at banquets before, but they were all resolved smoothly in the end."
"Can……"
"Compared to the Snow Viewing Banquet, the banquets at the end of the year are more important. You can't make any mistakes. You should focus on them. This Snow Viewing Banquet won't be very large. I can arrange it in two days.
Jiang Suining spoke in a firm tone. Although He Qingrui was a little worried, she was ultimately unable to persuade Jiang Suining.
After returning to the duty station, He Qingrui continued to prepare for the subsequent arrangements.
Jiang Suining first went to see Queen Shi to confirm that the snow-viewing banquet had really been agreed to before he began to prepare.
There were fixed rules for this kind of banquet in the palace, so it was not difficult to prepare for it. At noon on the second day, Qiao Rong brought the list of noble ladies and officials' wives that Xiao Yue wanted to invite. Jiang Suining needed to have someone prepare the invitations and then send them one by one.
Jiang Suining took a closer look. There were more than 30 people in total, which was similar to the list of people invited to the banquets of the royal women on weekdays.
However, when he saw Chu Jingyue's name, Jiang Suining frowned.
"Princess Chu also wants to be invited? She is pregnant now, I'm afraid she won't attend such a banquet."
"Madam Jiang, the princess said that Princess Pinghu is of noble status, so she must be invited. Madam Jiang can just have someone send the invitation over. If Princess Chu doesn't want to come, she won't force her."