Chapter 851 Two Drunk Princes Fight
To be honest, Shao Hua’an’s wedding was not worthy of a guest like Chu Liuchen, who was a descendant of the royal family.
However, Prince Chen came and gave his blessings, which was owed to the fact that Shao Wanru was going to marry him. Unexpectedly, Prince Chen not only came here in person but also was accompanied by his two brothers. Because of this, the atmosphere of the wedding turned a bit solemn.
It should be pleasant that Prince Chen came to put up a front for his future wife, and the whole Duke Xing’s Mansion was also happy for that.
Those princes were invited to the banquet. Making sure that they wouldn’t be disturbed, they specially arranged a private table in a quiet place for them. And Shao Jing played hosts to the princes in person. Shao Hua’an also went to their table and drank a toast to them after he had done it to the other guests.
Chu Liuchen was in poor health, so no one dared to persuade him to drink. Prince Yue and Prince Zhou drank with Shao Jing. Everything was in harmony. So no one knew why there would be a scene when Shao Hua’an went there.
It seemed that Prince Yue and Prince Zhou both were unwilling to submit to each other. So they ignored the bridegroom and began to compete in drinking.
In the end, the two of them got drunk and fought against each other. The guests next to them wanted to stop the fight because they didn’t dare to do nothing when seeing the royal members beating each other. However, it was not easy for them to stop the two, and even their servants joined in the fight later. Instantly, the inner court was in a mess. The only one who could stop the fight was Prince Chen, but he sat around far away and showed no intention of ending it.
Though, everyone knew that Prince Chen couldn’t get close to the mess because it would be a big deal if he accidentally got hit.
When it came to a person they could ask for help, Duke Xing’s Mansion could think of no one else but Prince Chen. However, the servant of Duke Xing’s Mansion sent to ask for help was unable to get close to Prince Chen.
The servants of Prince Yue’s Mansion were fighting against those of Prince Zhou’s Mansion, while the people of Prince Chen, afraid that their master would be hurt, stood into a man-circle which Prince Chen was sitting inside, safe and sound.
Old Madam had no choice but to turn to Shao Wanru. She wanted Shao Wanru to persuade Chu Liuchen to cease the fight.
Old Madam didn’t forget that Prince Chen came in person to deliver the betrothal gift at that time, which indicated that he cared much about his marriage. Whether it was due to Shao Wanru herself or Empress Dowager’s order, Old Madam thought that it was worth a try to make use of his love to Shao Wanru. At such a moment, she had to try everything possible!
“Grandma, I’m afraid that I can’t invite Prince Chen here, but I think I am able to send a message to him…” Shao Wanru hesitated for a moment and said. Apparently, she had little confidence.
It was reasonable, though. After all, she had not married Prince Chen yet and knew little about his personality. After thinking for a while, Old Madam made a concession and said, “Send a message to Prince Chen for me. Tell him that we need him to stop Prince Yue and Prince Zhou, and Duke Xing’s Mansion will be grateful for that!”
At this point, Old Madam only hoped that no more people knew about the event. The guests outside were still there, but the situation inside had got worse. If it got around, not only the reputation of the royal family would be ruined but also the entire Duke Xing’s Mansion would be implicated.
Shao Wanru was silent for a moment. She called Yujie and asked her to pa.s.s on the message.
With caution, Yujie came to the door of the main room and peeked inside. In fact, the two princes in the main room had been stopped by their servants, but they were still a little drunk, struggling to get rid of the restraint to have another fight.
Chu Liuchen held the teacup in his hand and looked down with his eyes as mild as water. He looked calm and leisured as if he didn’t hear the noises around him.
“Master, Yujie is here!” Said Xiao Xuanzi. Standing on the side, he suddenly saw the servant girl looking around at the door.
“Call her over!” Chu Liuchen said.
Xiao Xuanzi answered, got out of the crowd, and led Yujie here.
Yujie stepped forward and bowed. She repeated what Old Madam had just said to Prince Chen. Then, a secret idea flashed in Chu Liuchen’s mind. He sorted of his wide sleeves and stood up. It was just at the right time.
As he stood up and walked out of the circle, Xiao Xuanzi hurriedly caught up with his master and asked others of Prince Chen’s Mansion to follow up.
The two groups were still quarreling with each other to back up their own masters. When Chu Liuchen’s men forced their way in, Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou kept trying to make trouble again.
Both of them drank so much that their faces and necks were red. They were still struggling to get rid of the control of their servants.
“Keep the two masters apart!” Chu Liuchen said coldly with a gloomy face, “Anyone who can’t even hold his own master will lose his life!”
His words frightened the people of Prince Yue and Prince Zhou so much that they trembled. They had not intended to catch their masters with forces, but now they held them tightly with their hands and didn’t dare to let go, for fear of provoking Prince Chen.
How could people who lived and worked in the palace not know that Prince Chen was not as gentle as he looked? No one dared to comfort him when he got angry.
“Hurry up! Are you going to wait until my master is hurt by the two princes?” Xiao Xuanzi shouted and glared at the two groups of people.
The two groups of servants were recovered at once and held their masters tightly. If Prince Chen was hurt, no one present would get away from it. Those people, who hadn’t been daring to use forces before, now tried their best to control their masters with all their strength.
The two princes were finally forced to sit back on their chairs, but they still glared at each other, as if the next minute they would pounce at each other to fight again if no one was keeping an eye on them.
It was obvious that they were still sozzled. The best way was to pour cold water over their heads to sober them up, but no one dared to do that because of their status.
“Bring two bowls of icy water for the two princes. The colder, the better,” said Chu Liuchen, who took a look at Shao Jing and Shao Hua’an standing on the side.
Shao Hua’an reacted fast and turned around to order his servant. Later, the servant brought two bowls of water and presented them to the two princes respectively.
“Feed them!” Chu Liuchen said in a cold voice and with an expression of indifference on his handsome face. He looked distant and no one dared to get close to him. Because of the tension he made, the people on both sides did as he said, though they had hesitated for a second.
Both Prince Cheng and Prince Zhou were forced to drink more than half of a bowl. They struggled and pushed off the people around them. Feeling uncomfortable, they took a few steps back, covering their mouths tightly.
It worked on Prince Yue first. The servants moved quickly to serve him when he vomited. Before long it worked on Prince Zhou too and he was also taken aside to vomit.
Intolerant of the messy room, Shao Jing asked someone to clean it up.
“Your Highness, what should we do now?” Shao Jing came up to Chu Liuchen and said with a worried face. It was impossible to cover it and people in the palace would definitely be informed.
“Duke Xing, aren’t you going to investigate the cause of the whole thing?” Chu Liuchen asked with cold eyes.
Shao Jing was stunned and didn’t react to Chu Liuchen’s question. He looked at Chu Liuchen in astonishment and didn’t understand what he meant.
“My eldest brother and second brother have always been self-disciplined men. How could they lose their control like that? Duke Xing, you’d better find out the reason, lest you have nothing to explain to Uncle the Emperor when he asks you about it,” Chu Liuchen said and then walked out. The smell in the room was a little strong, which was really not suitable for him to stay. “Find another flower hall and help Prince Yue and Prince Zhou there!”
“Your Highness, it has been ready long before. It’s just in the courtyard next here,” Shao Jing was stunned and then immediately replied.
All kinds of smells were filled with the room, which was indeed not a good place to talk.
Shao Jing asked Shao Hua’an to lead Chu Liuchen away first. Standing in the corridor for a while, he rushed to the wing room next and reported to Old Madam. It was so chaotic in the main room that it was not convenient for Old Madam to come over.
In the wing room, Old Madam and Shao Wanru were both waiting for the news. Yujie had come back to report to them once before and they also saw from the window that the two princes had been helped out. But Yujie couldn’t explain what had exactly happened.
“How is it going?” Old Madam looked very anxious and asked as soon as she saw Shao Jing come in.
“I think the two princes will recover themselves…” That was what Shao Jing could say. He couldn’t figure out the cause behind it. With his eyebrows frowned, he was still in surprise and confusion.
How could the two princes, who had always been decent in front of others, fight each other like that? What’s worse, both of them had such a fierce fight that it made a bad impact on their reputation.
“What is going on? Why did the two princes fight against each other?” Old Madam pounded the table hard and questioned with anger. Duke Xing’s Mansion must dig out the cause of it.
So they could explain when the Emperor asked them about it.
“Prince Chen had just said…” Shao Jing paused and glanced at his niece, who was just sitting around with her head lowered, and then he took his eyes back and continued, “We need to check whether something unusual has happened at the banquet because both of the two princes are self-disciplined people and would never act like that!”
Shao Jing was anxious and annoyed. He didn’t want to get involved in the trouble between Prince Yue and Prince Zhou. His eldest daughter’s plot had been a failure. Now, he shouldn’t keep close to these two princes. As for his son’s wedding, he had done nothing but just sent invitation cards to them according to etiquette. He didn’t expect that the two princes would accept the invitation and come to the wedding.
Since they had come, Shao Jing had to receive them. However, it was out of his expectation again that the two princes, who had always been dignified in front of other people, would behave like that.
“Then ask someone to check it out!” Old Madam gritted her teeth and said.
“But… but… how could it be possible?” Shao Jing looked at Old Madam with his eyes widely open. He couldn’t believe it! “Is it possible that someone of my mansion caused it?”
“No matter whether it is possible or not, we have to investigate it! If necessary… we can find someone to be…” Old Madam said with her eyes becoming spooky.
Old Madam paused, turned her glance at Shao Wanru, took a deep breath, and said with a soft face, “Wanru, you can go back first. I’ll call you again if anything else happened. You must be tired. Go back to your courtyard and have a rest!”
Of course, it meant that she didn’t want Shao Wanru to be present.
Shao Wanru was sensible. She stood up and bowed deeply to Old Madam and then to Shao Jing, after which she just left with Yujie.
She blinked her eyes to hide the inexplicable suspicion in her eyes. The mother and son had always been sneaky in her eyes. Now G.o.d knew what plots they were going to make…