"Prime Minister Chen's banquet invitation?" Princess Xinyue asked, a little puzzled.
"I have no dealings with Prime Minister Chen, why would he suddenly invite me?"
Although Princess Xinyue was very confused by Chen Yuanliang's inexplicable invitation, she still planned to attend.
After all, Princess Xinyue had grown up in the palace since she was a child and had never been invited to a banquet by a minister, so she was very interested in this matter and was determined to go and see.
Chu Chen, as a eunuch, felt his heart was willing but his strength was insufficient. He wanted to dissuade Princess Xinyue from meeting the Prime Minister, but he had no standing to stop her.
As for pointing out the dangers and directly telling Princess Xinyue that the Prime Minister had ill intentions, he lacked evidence and dared not act rashly, so he knew this method would not work.
If this matter reached the Empress Dowager's ears, what would she think of him?
If the Empress Dowager thought he wanted to be like an imperial tutor, would she suspect him of having ulterior motives and even punish him?
Even with a one in ten thousand chance, Chu Chen was unwilling to take the risk.
Even with the Life Simulator in hand, he was unwilling to take this risk.
Human hearts are complex. Perhaps the Empress Dowager would not think much of it now, but one day in the future, if she remembered it and felt displeased, and wanted to vent her anger on him, Chu Chen would have no recourse.
Moreover, Chu Chen had prepared another plan with extremely high feasibility and did not need to resort to such a risky move.
...
Prime Minister Chen hosted a banquet at his home to invite Princess Xinyue.
Seeing the furnishings in Prime Minister Chen's home, even Chu Chen, who had seen grand occasions, couldn't help but gasp slightly.
The reason was simple: the mansion was too magnificent.
Carved railings and jade terraces, pearl palaces and jade halls, it was a feast for the eyes.
Chu Chen even vaguely saw that the style in some places seemed to be exceeding the proper limits.
Glancing at the happily beaming Princess Xinyue, Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh slightly.
With such a powerful Prime Minister, it did not bode well for the royal family.
Yet, Princess Xinyue was so naive that she didn't realize the crisis behind it or Prime Minister's intentions in inviting her.
But on second thought, Chu Chen could understand Princess Xinyue's perspective.
From her point of view, the position of Empress Dowager had always belonged to her elder sister and had nothing to do with her.
Therefore, she would not invest too much thought into politics.
However, what Princess Xinyue failed to realize was that even if her intention was not to contend for the throne, some ministers did not see it that way.
"I heard that Your Highness the Princess recently executed a corrupt official. Truly admirable, truly admirable!" Chen Yuanliang said with a smile, bowed deeply, and then lavished praise, making Princess Xinyue a little embarrassed.
"It was just a small effort to share the burden with my mother." Princess Xinyue forced herself to remain calm.
But any discerning person could see that she was very pleased with Chen Yuanliang's praise.
For a princess who had always gotten into trouble and only ever received scolding since childhood, receiving the recognition of such a minister was enough to make her excited.
Since it was a banquet, there was naturally food and drink.
"Your Highness, please look." Chen Yuanliang smiled and introduced the food before Princess Xinyue.
"This is a specialty from the East Sea. It took a great deal of effort to transport it inland, and it is very expensive!" Chen Yuanliang said with pride.
Chu Chen, however, was indifferent to this.
The Yunyue Kingdom was an inland country. Apart from a large river that ran through the entire country, it had no access to the sea, so it was naturally difficult to see seafood.
It was not difficult to understand why seafood was so expensive in Yunyue.
But to Chu Chen, this seafood that others found rare was something he had long grown tired of.
However, at this moment, he could not be too conspicuous and could only pretend to be very surprised.
Princess Xinyue had naturally seen the seafood on the table. As a member of the royal family, many things were not unfamiliar to her.
But she still ate with great joy.
The important thing was not the taste, but the feeling of being invited to a banquet in such a setting, which Princess Xinyue found very satisfying.
Although it was a banquet with only a few people present, all the necessary procedures and etiquette were observed.
During their conversation, Chen Yuanliang had also tried to probe Princess Xinyue multiple times.
But Princess Xinyue, this little fool, had not noticed anything and had basically revealed everything she shouldn't have.
Fortunately, she had little contact with political affairs, so there wasn't much she could reveal.
During this time, Chu Chen had repeatedly wanted to interject, but due to his identity, he could only refrain.
Of course, the main reason was that Chu Chen noticed that although the Prime Minister was chatting with the Princess, his attention had never left him.
This made Chu Chen afraid to act rashly, for fear of revealing his abnormality.
The banquet lasted for a considerable time. By the end, Princess Xinyue was slightly tired.
Chen Yuanliang thoughtfully arranged for someone to prepare a guest room for Princess Xinyue.
After much deliberation, Chu Chen decided to remind Princess Xinyue.
"Your Highness, you must not stay here tonight," Chu Chen reminded her softly.
"Why?" Princess Xinyue was stunned. "It's so late. If we don't stay here, do we have to travel all the way back to my residence?"
Princess Xinyue was clearly a little unhappy.
The banquet had lasted so long, and she was already very tired. Now, all she wanted was to wash up quickly and then sleep soundly in bed until dawn.
And then tomorrow, she could return to the palace to report to her mother!
"This..." Chu Chen gave a wry smile. "Your status is really not suitable..."
"What's not suitable about it?" Princess Xinyue's expression turned displeased. "If you don't explain clearly today, be careful that this princess doesn't pull out your tongue!"
Clearly, Princess Xinyue had misunderstood something.
"Your Highness, you are a princess!" Chu Chen reminded her. "And Prime Minister Chen is a subject of the Yunyue Kingdom..."
"So what if he's a subject?" Princess Xinyue said with some displeasure. "It is precisely because he is a subject of our Yunyue Kingdom that I have graciously allowed him to let me stay."
"Otherwise, do you think any cat or dog is worthy of me staying?"
Chu Chen clapped his hands. "Yes, that's the problem!"
"You are a noble princess. No matter where you stay, it is a great favor to a subject, indicating that you are willing to be close to this subject."
"Yes, what's the problem with that?" Princess Xinyue was still somewhat confused.
Seeing that Princess Xinyue still didn't understand, Chu Chen gritted his teeth and decided to go all out.
"His Majesty is still here. Although everyone knows who the throne will be passed to, your sudden display of willingness to be close to a subject, do you know what this implies?"
"Does it mean you want the subject to support you in ascending the throne? Or does it make people think you want to contend with the Eldest Princess?"
"Audacious!"