svetikya Page 167
Page 167
"How dare you sit here! Your mother is coming soon!"
Li Chang'an seemed not to hear Zhan Doudou's soft plea.
"This is a good spot, I like it."
Zhan Doudou could only bend down and plead softly, "Brother Chang'an, please don't make a scene here..."
"Cough cough!"
Li Chang'an coughed loudly twice, and then the hall instantly became much quieter.
"Your Majesty, I ask you, what day is it today?"
Zhan Doudou had no choice but to stand up straight and answer formally, "Today is Mother's birthday."
Li Chang'an nodded in satisfaction. "Since it's the Empress Dowager's birthday, why didn't the Eldest Princess come?"
The current scene is extremely bizarre.
Li Chang'an sat on Zhan Doudou's throne, while Zhan Doudou stood beside him answering questions, a complete reversal of the Heavenly Gang.
“Your Highness Prince Yong, you are engaged to the Imperial Sister, and it is not appropriate for you to meet before the wedding.”
"Your mother admires your talent, so she invited you to the birthday banquet. Your elder sister will privately wish your mother a happy birthday."
Li Chang'an looked at the assembled officials in the hall and said, "Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. My beloved concubine Pianpian is not here, but I am."
"If Pianpian comes, may she sit downstairs?"
Zhan Doudou said helplessly, "Of course not. If my elder sister comes, she will naturally sit with me."
Li Chang'an clapped his hands and said, "That's it! This king and Pianpian are husband and wife."
Since she is unable to come, I will naturally offer my birthday wishes to the Empress Dowager on her behalf.
At this moment, a minister immediately said, "Your Highness Prince Yong, you and the Princess are not yet married."
Upon hearing this, the envoys from the Southern Qing side were relentless in their objections.
"What? Do you want to call off the engagement?"
"Breaking off the engagement is fine, then let's go to war!"
"Your Jinyiwei headquarters has been burned down; if we fight again, we'll only lose more land!"
Seeing that the two sides were arguing again, Zhan Doudou had no choice but to speak up and stop them.
"Enough, everyone, stop arguing!"
She glanced down at Li Chang'an; she simply couldn't stand up to this man.
The Northern Qi emperor was a woman, and Li Chang'an not only held this weakness firmly in his grasp, but the young emperor himself was also completely taken advantage of by him.
Zhan Doudou had long admired Li Chang'an, and their relationship was now incredibly sweet; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was head over heels in love with him.
Logically speaking, if anyone knew she was a woman, Zhan Doudou would definitely kill her without leaving any future trouble.
But Zhan Doudou has no such thoughts at all.
“Your Highness Prince Yong is right. He is my brother-in-law, so there is nothing wrong with him sitting with me.”
The Northern Qi ministers in the hall offered their advice one after another.
"Your Majesty, no!"
"How can you allow a prince from another country to sit with you!"
"Your Majesty, this is against propriety!"
Standing behind the emperor, Haitang sighed softly. Sitting together is nothing; they're already sleeping together.
At this moment, Li Chang'an began to angrily rebuke the officials below.
"Did you all hear that? Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, and I am His Majesty's brother-in-law."
"Where I should sit is His Majesty's family matter!"
"How dare the ministers of Qi be so disrespectful, interfering in Your Majesty's family affairs?"
After Li Chang'an finished speaking, he turned his head and whispered, "Don't be afraid, Dou Dou, I'll support you."
Zhan Doudou was both amused and exasperated. It was clearly I who was helping you out of a predicament, but now it's you who's backing me up.
This man is really shameless!
Zhan Doudou knew that since Li Chang'an was sitting here, it was impossible to get him to stand up.
She sighed softly, lifted her dragon robe, and sat down next to Li Chang'an.
"Brother Chang'an, please give me some face and move in a little."
Seeing that Zhan Doudou was so sensible, Li Chang'an moved to the side and shared the seat with Zhan Doudou.
Fan Xian stared dumbfounded at Li Chang'an and Zhan Doudou sitting together, completely stunned.
Li Chang'an's current behavior in the Northern Qi court is much more arrogant than Shen Zhongke's before.
Not long after, Empress Dowager Wei, the God of Longevity, also arrived at the main hall.
At the same spot at the entrance of the main hall, Empress Dowager Wei stood frozen in place.
She could hardly believe her eyes; Li Chang'an was sitting side by side with the young emperor!
"Li Chang'an! How dare you!"
The Empress Dowager gave a furious rebuke, and the ministers of both countries knelt down to pay their respects.
Even the young emperor knelt down, while Li Chang'an stood there smiling.
As Empress Dowager Wei walked towards the throne, she shouted to the outside, "Guards, seize Li Chang'an!"
Just as the Imperial Guards were about to rush into the main hall, Li Chang'an held down Zhan Doudou, who was about to get up, and smiled at Empress Dowager Wei.
"Your Majesty, I am attending your birthday banquet on behalf of Pianpian. Is it inappropriate for me to sit with my brother-in-law?"
As Empress Dowager Wei rushed up the platform, she angrily said, "This is the emperor's throne. How dare you sit on it so casually?"
Li Chang'an walked up to Empress Dowager Wei and said in a low voice, "Empress Dowager, was today's seating arrangement deliberately designed to make things difficult for me?"
"If you anger me, and I accidentally hurt your sister-in-law, it won't be good for the State of Qi either."
Upon hearing the words "sister-in-law," the Empress Dowager was stunned!
Li Chang'an found out; he knew that Zhan Doudou was a girl!
How on earth did he know that!
For more than a decade, this secret has been Empress Dowager Wei's greatest weakness.
But now that Li Chang'an knows, does that mean the Emperor of Nanqing also knows?
As quick-witted as Empress Dowager Wei was, she reacted instantly.
In any case, we must first stabilize Li Chang'an.
Li Chang'an might actually know, or he might just be bluffing her, but she absolutely mustn't let Li Chang'an spread this around.
Empress Dowager Wei, who had been looking stern, suddenly smiled with a slight upturn of her lips.
"Imperial Guards, you may leave."
"Today is my birthday banquet, and Prince Yong is my son-in-law. It is proper for my son-in-law and son to sit together."
The ministers of Northern Qi were dumbfounded. What was it about Li Chang'an that made the Empress Dowager and the Emperor so favored?
Haitang sighed quietly. Northern Qi was probably doomed. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were both being manipulated by Li Chang'an.
The problem is that Li Chang'an is also a near-Grandmaster, and no one can do anything about him.
At this moment, Li Chang'an put his arm around the young emperor's shoulder, appearing very intimate.
Zhan Doudou was so frightened that her face turned red with anxiety. She heard Li Chang'an say sincerely.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty and I are like brothers, inseparable and as close as family!"
Zhan Doudou breathed a sigh of relief. Although she didn't know what "Guan Bao Zhi Jiao" meant, it probably meant a very good relationship between men.
"Yes, Mother, my brother-in-law and I hit it off immediately."
We had a particularly in-depth exchange on the art of poetry and lyrics, and gained much insight.
Li Chang'an said politely, "Your Majesty is too modest. You are quite knowledgeable in poetry."
"I must teach in a way that is both profound and easy to understand, so that it may be deeply ingrained."
When the Empress Dowager saw Li Chang'an embracing Zhan Doudou, she was furious!
However, she could not show it out loud. "Your Highness, I hope Your Majesty will put more effort into His Majesty's poems."
Since you two are such good friends, why don't you sit down together?
The seating arrangement was finally settled. Zhan Doudou breathed a long sigh of relief and then happily arranged her seats with Li Chang.
The downfall of two powerful ministers in Northern Qi and the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, which was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era, were suddenly disrupted by Li Chang'an.
The birthday banquet had just begun, and after a song and dance performance, Wolf Peach jumped out unwillingly.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I, Lang Tao, would like to have a martial arts contest with His Highness Prince Yong of Nanqing to add to the festivities and make this birthday banquet more lively."