95: Chapter 95 Living Better Than You: The General Male Supporting Character 13

Time passed by in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the flower viewing banquet hosted by the Empress arrived.

Numerous carriages pulled to a stop before the palace gates, mostly carrying young gentlemen and noble ladies, their faces full of smiles.

Nan Jin, accompanied by Bai Ni, stepped gracefully off the carriage.

Today, she had chosen a smoke-hued, chest-high ruqun, with large golden peonies embroidered on the skirt hem—not overly extravagant, but beautiful and dignified.

At the beginning, the men and women were separated.

For such banquets, women had to go pay their respects to the Empress, while men spoke with the Emperor.

After some formalities, they would be free to move about.

Nan Jin was in a relaxed mood now, and naturally, she was cheerful; she felt not a shred of fear regarding Meng Zhu's departure.

Besides, as for today's banquet.

For one, it had nothing to do with her, and for another, she was here to watch the show, so naturally, her heart was leaping with joy.

The flower viewing banquet was set within the "Wanfang Pavilion" in the Imperial Garden; outside the pavilion, a hundred flowers vied for beauty, while inside, it was already filled with the rustling of silk and the sound of laughter.

By the time Nan Jin arrived, most of the noble ladies and official wives had already assembled.

The moment she appeared, she attracted quite a few gazes.

Everyone followed custom and first paid their respects to the Empress on the main seat.

The Empress was in good spirits today, dressed in her phoenix coronet and robes, looking graceful and luxurious.

She symbolically excused everyone from the formalities, and her gaze then fell upon Princess Consort Yu, Nan Li.

It was actually quite laughable.

Everyone said that Prince Yu had no real power, yet he had the qualifications to vie for the throne.

If one calculated carefully, his greatest asset was actually that he resembled the Emperor most when the Emperor was young.

Next was his good relationship with the Minister of Revenue, said to be due to his late mother, the consort.

Afterwards, because his mother came from Jiangnan, Prince Yu was accustomed to doing business and possessed considerable wealth.

As for his close private relationship with the wealthy of Jiangnan or anything of that sort, no one cared at all.

But things were different now; Prince Yu finally had real power.

And it was the power over the Capital Patrol Battalion, managed by the Prime Minister.

It was no wonder the Empress would overthink it.

Looking at Nan Li now, the Empress also felt somewhat displeased.

"Nan Li, come to my side."

The Empress's voice was gentle, making it impossible for anyone to detect anything unusual.

Upon hearing this, Nan Li wore an expression of just the right amount of pleasant surprise and hurriedly walked with small steps to the Empress's side.

"Prince Yu has been married for a short time, and as his mother, I am always afraid that he might have overlooked something."

The Empress took Nan Li's hand, patted it gently, her tone filled with concern.

"If you suffer any grievances in the Prince's Manor, just come and tell me, and I will certainly uphold justice for you."

These words were spoken flawlessly, fully displaying her "love" for her daughter-in-law.

Nan Jin watched this scene coldly, her heart devoid of ripples.

In her past life, the Empress had said the same to her, yet when Prince Yu became a monk, the Empress had not stopped him in the slightest.

After the greetings were over, the atmosphere became much more relaxed; groups of noble ladies found their familiar circles and began to chat in low voices.

"Bai Ni, why do I always feel like someone is looking at me?"

Before long, Nan Jin confirmed that this was not her imagination.

Bai Ni leaned in to Nan Jin's ear at the right moment.

"Madam, most of those civil official families do not know you, or they know of your status as the legitimate daughter of the Prime Ministers Manor. Those who are secretly looking at you are all the families of military generals."

Nan Jin looked in the direction she indicated and noted down several faces.

There were families of generals who got along with Meng Zhu, and naturally, there were those who did not.

This matchmaking gathering was also interesting.

Those high-ranking noble ladies mostly formed one circle, while the families of the various officials formed several small circles of their own.

The relatives of the military families formed yet another circle, which Nan Jin found quite interesting.

Before long, some military families even came over to strike up a conversation, and Nan Jin went with the flow, chatting with everyone.

Upon learning that those high-ranking noble ladies mostly looked down on the families of military generals, Nan Jin gave up the idea of making friends with them.

In any case, she had never cared for the status of being the legitimate daughter of the Prime Ministers Manor.

Just when Nan Jin was feeling bored, Meng Zhu and the others finally arrived.

"Has Madam made some new friends?"

Taking Nan Jin's hand, Meng Zhu had eyes only for her, despite the countless beauties in the entire garden.

"Yes, I've seen quite a few, and I was just preparing to scout a few younger sisters for my husband."

Nan Jin smiled charmingly; no one could tell if she was teasing or if she had the intention of testing him.

Meng Zhu squeezed her hand.

"Is Madam joking? Your husband has a tall stature, but my heart is very small; it can only hold you, Madam."

"Hmph, who knows if what you say is true or false?"

Nan Jin deliberately turned her head away to avoid looking at him, but she did not pull her hand back.

Come to think of it, Nan Jin had been feeling a bit flustered these past few days.

Clearly, she had never drunk any contraceptive soup, yet she didn't know why there were no signs of pregnancy.

If one were to ask Meng Zhu, he naturally knew the reason.

Actors in a movie world simply cannot make their wives pregnant.

Even though it was just creating a new infant character, nothing more than an artificial intelligence, it just wouldn't work.

Meng Zhu squeezed Nan Jin's hand and was about to say something else to tease her, when the corner of his eye caught a scrutinizing gaze.

He raised his eyes calmly and saw that not far away, by the rockery, Prince Jing, Xuan Yuan Jing, was quietly watching them, his gaze deep and ambiguous.

Meng Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly. Prince Jing held most of the power in the military, and his hope of seizing the throne was on par with Prince Liang.

Most importantly, influenced by his maternal grandfather, his attitude toward Meng Zhu had always been strange.

Just as he was pondering the intention behind Prince Jing's actions and whether it was possible he was plotting something detrimental to Nan Jin, on the other side, at the water pavilion by the lake, an argument suddenly broke out.

The plot point had arrived as scheduled.

"What kind of thing are you! You are not worthy of Cousin Prince Yu! You are just a concubine-born daughter!"

This voice was arrogant and overbearing; everyone followed the sound and saw Li Ruolan, the granddaughter of the Prince of Zhenbei, pointing at Nan Li with a face full of fury.

Nan Li stood where she was, her face cold; although she did not speak, her tightly pressed lips revealed her refusal to be cowed.

A curve appeared at the corner of Nan Jin's mouth; she knew the good show was beginning.

Meng Zhu also temporarily put aside the thought of observing Prince Jing.

"The Emperor bestowed this marriage, and you have the audacity to oppose it; why haven't I seen you go and oppose the Emperor?"

Nan Li's retort was understated but had great power.

"You!"

Li Ruolan was choked so that her face turned red, jealousy burning in her heart, but she could not refute it.

Next, the two spoke a few more sentences.

But their voices were much lower, making it impossible for people to hear clearly.

But unexpectedly, Li Ruolan suddenly pulled at Nan Li, and they both fell toward the lake water.

Seeing this scene.

Everyone let out a gasp!

Nan Jin watched with composure, waiting for the scene from her past life to repeat itself.

However, in a flash of lightning, scenes of falling into the water flashed before the eyes of the bullet screen audience.

It was the scene of Nan Li falling into the water, and the scene of Meng Zhu jumping into the water to save her.

At that very instant, Meng Zhu's mind was boiling, and a massive amount of memories were violently shoved in.

An unexpected scene occurred.

Meng Zhu tapped his feet lightly, and a small pebble flew past, striking Li Ruolan's wrist.

The force was controlled just right; it only left a touch of redness, but it pained her enough to make her let go.

No one noticed this scene.

But everything was already different.

Li Ruolan's plan completely fell through; her grab, which she had been certain would succeed, missed.

She herself could not stop, and with a scream, her whole body went "splash" and plunged straight into the cold lake!

"Ah! Help!"

For a moment, the scene was in chaos!

Li Ruolan struggled desperately in the water; her gorgeous dress, soaked through, felt as heavy as a thousand catties, dragging her constantly under the water.

She choked on several mouthfuls of water, her exquisite makeup smeared, looking utterly disheveled.

"Cousin! Cousin Prince Yu! Save me! I can't swim... Help!"