The carriage was heading towards Hengting Pavilion. From time to time, the sounds of vendors hawking their wares could be heard from outside. There were many pedestrians on the street, so the carriage was not moving very fast.
Xiao Yan sat in the car and chatted with Tang Ning from time to time, talking about court affairs and interesting stories from the outside world.
Tang Ning leaned against the wall of the carriage, her posture very relaxed. Even when she was just chatting, she was smiling the whole time, and it was obvious that she was in a very good mood.
After a long time, the carriage stopped.
Jinyun whispered, "Master, Hengting Pavilion has arrived."
The servants of Hengting Pavilion came over with stools and set them up. After Xiao Yan went down first, one of them recognized him and bowed quickly.
He originally wanted to lead Xiao Yan in, but he didn't expect him to stop beside the carriage. After a while, the curtain was lifted again, and a woman wearing a veil and a green silk dress got out of the carriage.
When Xiao Yan stretched out his hand, Tang Ning subconsciously held his arm and got off the carriage.
After standing firmly, Xiao Yan glanced at the stunned guy standing beside him.
The man was startled and quickly came back to his senses: "Master Xiao, please come in."
"Let's find a private room, a quiet one."
The man quickly responded and led Xiao Yan and the others inside.
Hengting Pavilion is the property of Prince Huan. Unlike Prince Cheng who was treated coldly after competing with the emperor for the throne, Prince Huan, although he also competed with Emperor An for the throne and had been at odds with Emperor An since he was a prince, his mother's family was of noble origin and the family of Prince Huan's wife also held great power.
Although Emperor An disliked Prince Huan and rarely allowed him to interfere in state affairs, Prince Huan still managed the Zongzheng Temple and held a high position in the court.
Prince Huan was not as cunning as Prince Cheng. Instead, he had a violent temper and would fight with others at the slightest wrong. He was unreasonable when he was angry and was a well-known tough guy in the capital. Sometimes he would go against Emperor An when they had different opinions.
This Hengting Pavilion is the property of Prince Huan's Mansion. Apart from being the best in the capital for eating, drinking and entertainment, the most important thing is that no one dares to cause trouble here easily, so both court officials and dignitaries and literati all love to come here.
Tang Ning had heard of the great name of Hengting Pavilion for a long time, but this was her first time here in either her past or present life. She looked around curiously through her veil, and her eyes missed the people who were talking loudly in the hall downstairs.
After entering the private room, Xiao Yan had someone bring over tea and snacks.
Tang Ning took off his veil and asked, "What on earth did you want me to see, brother?"
"You'll know in a moment." Xiao Yan pushed the things on the table and said, "This white jade lotus cake from Hengting Pavilion is really good. Try it."
Seeing that he was keeping it a secret and full of doubts, Tang Ning took a piece of cake and took a bite. His eyes, which had been a little absent-minded, suddenly brightened up.
"tasty."
This white jade hibiscus cake is soft and dense when eaten, but not as pure sweet as those from other places. Instead, it has a fruity aroma.
She looked down and realized that there were some dried nuts mixed in the dessert, and a layer of sauce spread in the middle. The faint sour taste just now should have come from this.
Xiao Yan laughed, "Prince Huan knows how to enjoy life the most. Almost all the chefs in Hengting Pavilion are imperial chefs from the palace. He also likes to send people to search for recipes of food from all over the place. There are a few dishes here that taste good. Let's try them later."
Tang Ning bit into the lotus cake and said, "King Huan seems to be living a very carefree life."
Xiao Yan said: "His mother's family is powerful, and his wife's family is also powerful. They guard the Zongzheng Temple without fighting or competing, and do not involve themselves in the court power. In addition, they have no shortage of money, so they are naturally willful."
If he had ambitions, Emperor An would naturally not tolerate him.
But King Huan has been law-abiding for many years. He was too lazy to even enter the court, let alone ask about state affairs. He was a prince with no ambitions and only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, but he was also a hornet's nest with a powerful background.
Emperor An can tolerate it if you are a little more unbridled.
Xiao Yan spoke to Tang Ning for a few words when suddenly there was a commotion outside.
Xiao Yan stood up: "Let's go and watch the fun."
Tang Ning hurriedly followed Xiao Yan out. As soon as the door opened, the noise outside became louder and they could vaguely hear someone scolding.
"Xie Pingjia, what do you mean? Get out of here!"
Xie Pingjia?
Second prince?
When Tang Ning heard the name of the Second Prince, he quickly looked in the direction where the voice came from, and saw a group of people gathered not far downstairs.
There were servants on the sides, and two young men in gorgeous clothes were confronting each other in the middle. The man with his back to this side spoke apologetically to the man opposite who had a ferocious and angry look on his face.
"Don't get me wrong, fourth brother. They were just chatting casually and didn't mean to offend you..."
The Fourth Prince interrupted him, "Who do they think they are? How can they gossip about my affairs?" He looked at the people standing beside the Second Prince fiercely, "They are discussing the prince privately, which is a crime of rebellion. Beat them up and smash their mouths!"
The servants following the Fourth Prince hurriedly wanted to step forward, but the Second Prince frowned and blocked them: "Fourth brother, it's just a few words about court affairs in private, why is it worth you getting so angry? Besides, this is Uncle Huan's place, and if we make a big fuss, it will hurt Uncle Huan's reputation."
The Second Prince tried to persuade him, then turned to the people beside him and said, "What are you guys still standing there for? You've lost your sense of propriety after drinking a little wine. Why don't you apologize to the Fourth Prince?"
Those men were pale. They were all sons of officials. They met together and after a few drinks, they talked about recent events in the court. Naturally, they also mentioned Prince Cheng's Mansion and the Lu family.
They talked about Empress Lu who had suddenly fallen ill, and the Fourth Prince who had been having troubles recently. In the past, the Fourth Prince had the support of the aristocratic families and was in the limelight in the court. Everyone said that the position of crown prince would be in his pocket in the future. But now that the Lu family is gone, he is no longer as powerful as before, and it might be difficult for him to ascend the throne in the future.
Moreover, although the Lu family had tried their best to cover up the affair between them and the Princess of Yi Yang, there is no wall that is impenetrable in the capital. The news that the Fourth Prince used the dowry of the Lu family's unmarried daughter and the "relics" of the Rong family to win over court officials had leaked out.
It happened that one of these people was a relative of the family to which the Fourth Prince had once given a gift. When he talked about this matter while drunk, he naturally attracted a lot of ridicule. Who could have thought that he was so unlucky to be overheard by the Fourth Prince.
The man who revealed the Fourth Prince's "secret" had already sobered up. He stepped forward with a pale face and trembling voice, "I was drunk and talked nonsense, and I shouldn't have talked about Your Highness. I hope Your Excellency will forgive me for once. I..."
Snap——
Before he could finish his words, the Fourth Prince raised his hand and slapped the man in the face, then kicked him hard, knocking him to the ground.
"Forgive me, do you deserve it?!"
He walked up to the man and kicked him hard several times, causing him to scream in pain.
The second prince quickly reached out his hand: "Fourth brother..."
"Get lost!"
The Fourth Prince waved his hand and pushed the Second Prince, causing him to stagger. He looked at the person in front of him with fierce eyes and said, "Xie Pingjia, don't think that just because I lost the Lu family, you can be on equal footing with me. Who the hell are you? How dare you stop me?"
"Get out of my way, or I'll beat you up too!"