WBSGVS Chapter 203 V1

Sima Qinghe’s brief moment of losing her composure went unnoticed; all eyes were turned toward the entrance, including Fu Cheng and Yi Han.

A brief ripple of surprise passed through the crowd, followed by exclamations and respectful greetings. “Your Highness, Prince Duan!”

“How come Prince Duan is here? He never attends events like this.”

“Prince Duan is here… Did the prince’s heir come with him?”

“It seems not. So what’s going on here? Why would Prince Duan show up, and with his grandson in tow?”

Prince Duan hadn’t made a public appearance in a long time. Even when the Empress Dowager previously held birthday banquets, he hadn’t come forward.

As everyone whispered in bewilderment, Prince Duan exchanged greetings with a few veteran ministers and then walked directly toward Princess Leyi, who was surrounded by a crowd.

“So it’s Princess Leyi’s face that drew him here.”

“I told you—the Prince expressly asked his grandson to bring Princess Leyi here.”

“Princess Leyi is something. I hear she’s especially skilled at divination. I wonder if she can do feng shui. There’s nothing much going on at home, but the flow of energy in the estate isn’t great…”

Sima Qinghe and the two people with her grew increasingly sullen.

Just then, Prince Duan lowered his voice, and the conversations around him grew more animated, making it hard for them to hear what Prince Duan and Sima Qingli were discussing.

But it didn’t matter much; the two believed that their conversation was surely about marriage.

Sima Qinghe and her allies remained vigilant, afraid that Prince Duan might propose a change to the marriage. If his attitude were tough, the Royalist Party would certainly move in force.

They teamed up with Zhou Xing and thought everything was well in hand. Zhou Xing held a majority of power at court; there was no room for Sima Qingli to act against their plans.

But when the banquet started and Sima Qinghe saw the people who had previously received favors from Qingli, it seemed not all were in Zhou Xing’s camp.

A simple swap — replacing Sima Qingli with Sima Qinghe — would resolve everything smoothly. The only sacrifice would be her, and Zhou Xing’s faction certainly wouldn’t resist.

Everything hinged on Zhou Xing’s attitude.

Eventually, the Regent, Zhou Xing, arrived, late as always.

He’d been injured in an assassination attempt and had rested for a long time. His strong frame seemed weak now, but his piercing eyes remained the same. His face was a bit rosier, thanks to his growing ties with the Fu and Yi families.

Walking in, he noticed Prince Duan’s presence and faltered briefly, then casually nodded a greeting.

Prince Duan was his senior, and Royal etiquette demanded that Zhou Xing show him proper respect, or it would reflect poorly on him and undermine his future ability to win over the people.

Afterwards, Zhou Xing openly greeted the Yi and Fu families.

The heads of those two houses remained indifferent, prompting a sigh of relief from the Royalist Party.

Sima Qinghe and her people were also reassured — Zhou Xing valued these two houses, which meant it was less likely he’d approve swapping marriage candidates. Otherwise, their cooperation would collapse immediately.

Once the Regent was present, Sima Heng entered the hall with the Empress Dowager’s arm on his, and the banquet was officially underway.

By this time, Fu Cheng was already more at ease, but Yi Han and Sima Qinghe remained vigilant, eyes fixed on Sima Qingli and Prince Duan.

They were afraid the two might cause trouble at any moment.

This nervous state made them distracted, drawing glances from those nearby.

Sima Chang sighed quietly upon seeing their nervousness. After all the pressure from Qingli’s actions in recent days, seeing Sima Qinghe possibly put forward for marriage seemed, to him, a kind of release.

Every day, teaming up with Zhou Xing felt like agony.

Now that their cooperation was falling apart, he felt a strange sense of relief, although it meant letting Sima Qinghe down.

Sima Qinghe and Yi Han were the ones suffering the most.

Sima Qinghe, in particular, was sitting close by and couldn’t help but watch Qingli’s every move. Whenever Qingli raised her hand, their hearts jumped; when she sipped water, they wondered if she was about to clear her throat and speak.

This nervous feeling gnawed at them all evening.

Then, halfway through the banquet…

Qingli stood up.

“It’s happening!” Sima Qinghe said to herself. Her hands and feet turned icy, but all she could do was grip her handkerchief tighter.

As a princess, she was sitting separately from Yi Han. There were only two young princesses nearby; there was no one else to draw strength from.

Her nervousness didn’t go unnoticed by the seventh princess. The little girl asked with concern, “Imperial Sister, are you all right?”

Sima Qinghe didn’t even hear her; her eyes were fixed on Qingli, her heart hammering in her chest.

Would she say it now? Would Prince Duan help her? What would the Regent do?

Qingli stood up; she indeed had something to say.

The banquet fell silent, and all eyes turned toward her in anticipation. Everyone was guessing what she was about to do.

Sima Heng was in the middle of talking to a minister. He turned, saw his daughter rise, and furrowed his brows slightly. “Leyi, what’s the matter?”

Qingli walked forward to the center of the hall and raised her voice. “Your Majesty, Royal Grandmother, by the grace of Royal Grandmother, last night I observed the heavens and received a warning from the heavens for the people of Great Jin. A flood will come in a month — the water in the protective city moat will rise and flood many nearby homes. Now we have warning, I beg Your Majesty and Royal Grandmother to show mercy and order the relocation of those living south of the protective moat.”

Sima Qinghe listened in disbelief, her wildly beating heart suddenly freezing.

…This was it?

It was all about this?

Relief washed over her, followed by a rush of amusement. The protective moat sometimes rose, sure, but in all her years, it had never gotten close to flooding nearby houses.