Chapter 337 Longan

Chapter 337 Longan

After everyone had taken their seats, Emperor Xingyuan said to Consort Xian, "The Empress Dowager's chronic headache is acting up again, so she can't come to the pavilion to avoid the breeze."

Consort Xian understood that there was no need to wait for the Empress Dowager and gave the signal to start the banquet.

At the same time, the sound of silk and bamboo music started, and palace maids with elaborate hairdos danced gracefully in the open space outside the long pavilion.

"Is Her Majesty doing okay?" Princess Zhaoyang suspected that her mother was deliberately not coming to slight Xin You, but filial piety was paramount, and she had to show concern.

"She's fine, don't worry, sister."

Seeing her brother's response, Princess Zhaoyang was indeed not worried.

Her mother was indeed pretending to be sick to avoid coming.

Emperor Xingyuan looked at Xin You, "Ayou, did you come here with your aunt?"

"Yes."

"Have you gotten used to living at your aunt's place?"

Everyone in the pavilion listened silently to Emperor Xingyuan's questions, feeling quite mixed.

Why is the Emperor acting so differently today?

"My aunt is very kind to me, and my cousins look out for me too."

Emperor Xingyuan smiled upon hearing this, "Since everyone's here, you should meet them too. This is Consort Xian, the mother of the Third Prince."

Consort Xian smiled warmly at Xin You.

"Hello, Consort Xian."

"No need for formalities, Miss Xin," Consort Xian took the initiative to introduce, "This is Consort Duan, the Fourth Prince's mother."

Xin You greeted them one by one, so she got to know the important consorts in the harem, as well as princes and princesses she hadn't met before.

During this time, the tables in front of everyone were loaded with dishes.

"Now that everyone's met, let's start the banquet."

Emperor Xingyuan raised his cup, and once he picked up his chopsticks, the family banquet officially began.

Xin You lowered her gaze to the dining table, her eyes immediately landing on the fruit platter.

The green, lotus-shaped fruit platter contained pomegranates, honeydew melons, jujubes, longans, and other fresh fruits. The pomegranate seeds were peeled, the honeydew melon was sliced, and even the longans were shelled, each one as clear and shiny as a large pearl.

Xin You's expression changed slightly.

So, the Third Prince had eaten longans!

The vision vanished too quickly, and after the Third Prince showed signs of abnormality, he was immediately surrounded by people, making it impossible for her to figure out exactly what had happened.

However, in Xin You's mind, she was leaning towards one of three possibilities: the Third Prince was only eleven years old and had access to the best medical care, making a sudden illness highly unlikely. It was more probable that he was either poisoned or accidentally choked.

As for whether it was poisoning or choking, there was neither the condition nor the priority to figure it out now. The most urgent thing was to stop the Third Prince from eating the longans.

Xin You felt troubled.

Normally, she wouldn’t hesitate to warn even strangers, without worrying about causing trouble. But at a palace banquet, where the most elite of Great Xia are gathered, if she suddenly says the third prince is in mortal danger, wouldn’t she be kicked out?

Though Emperor Xingyuan was conversing with Princess Zhaoyang and others, his attention remained fixed on Xin You. Noticing she hadn’t touched her food, he smiled and asked, “Isn’t there anything Ayou likes to eat?”

“These are all delicacies I’ve never seen before, and they look incredibly appetizing,” Xin You replied, raising her silver chopsticks.

Emperor Xingyuan smiled warmly and continued chatting with Princess Zhaoyang and others.

Xin You knew that no matter how low-key she was, she couldn’t escape the discreet attention of many at the banquet. When she saw the third prince reaching for the fruit platter, she addressed him openly, “Third Prince.”

As the third prince reached for the fruit platter, he heard someone call him. He looked up in confusion.

“Sister Xin, do you have something to tell me?” Though the third prince felt awkward, he still referred to her as instructed by Consort Xian.

Sure enough, Emperor Xingyuan smiled approvingly upon hearing the third prince’s address.

Others looked at Xin You with curiosity, wondering why she had addressed the third prince.

“Just now, the third prince said he likes Sun Wukong from *Journey to the West* the most. I have two questions about Sun Wukong to ask the prince.”

The third prince frowned. “Sister Xin, are you quizzing me?”

He disliked being questioned by his teachers the most.

“Of course not. As the person who helped Mr. Songling write *Journey to the West*, it’s the first time I’ve met a fan of the book at your age, so I just wanted to have a little chat,” Xin You said with a smile. “If the prince can answer one of the two questions, I’ll present him with the sixth volume of *Journey to the West*.”

“The sixth volume?” The third prince was stunned, his face lit up. “The sixth volume hasn’t been released yet. Are you really giving it to me?”

Xin You nodded.

“Then ask away,” the third prince said eagerly.

His reaction was what Xin You expected.

As the magnificent and mystical story of *Journey to the West* progressed, those who became engrossed would only grow more obsessed.

“What is Sun Wukong’s most beloved fruit?”

“Peaches,” the third prince answered immediately.

Xin You replied with a smile, “Correct.”

The third prince proudly raised the corner of his mouth.

The fourth prince pouted and muttered, “That’s hardly a question.”

Clearly, she just wanted to give the unreleased *Journey to the West* to the third prince for free.

Even some consorts wondered silently: Is this de facto princess trying to curry favor with Consort Xian and her son?

One is a high-ranking consort managing the harem, and the other is the eldest prince after the crown prince, who can also show brotherly love in front of the emperor. Miss Xin is indeed not as indifferent as she appears; she knows how to play her cards.

“What’s the second question?” The eleven-year-old third prince didn’t know when to stop and was eager to try.

“The second question is, what fruit does Sun Wukong dislike the most?” Xin You asked with a smile.

“Dislikes the most—” The third prince tried hard to recall.

Among those present who had read *Journey to the West*, they also couldn’t help but silently search their memories.

Among them was Emperor Xingyuan.

Which fruit does Sun Wukong hate the most? Why doesn’t he recall it being mentioned in the story? Or did he overlook something?

The third prince thought hard and shook his head, "I don’t recall."

Xin You glanced at the lotus leaf fruit platter and smiled, "It’s longan."

It would be odd if he remembered, since it wasn’t mentioned in the story. Naturally, whatever she said would be accepted as truth.

"Longan?" The third prince couldn’t help but glance at the longan on the fruit platter, unconsciously showing a look of disdain.

Seeing this, Xin You felt somewhat relieved.

Young teens naturally idolize characters they truly admire. The third prince had just publicly asked about "Journey to the West," showing his great fondness for Sun Wukong. So, it was likely he’d also dislike the longan that Sun Wukong supposedly hated.

As expected, after this little incident, when the third prince went to grab some fresh fruit, his hand instinctively hesitated over the longan and instead picked up a slice of honeydew melon.

Xin You noticed this out of the corner of her eye and quietly sighed in relief.

She didn’t know the third prince’s temperament, nor the virtuous consort’s character, but she couldn’t ignore the chance of a child getting into trouble.

"Ayou," Emperor Xingyuan asked gently, "How many volumes of 'Journey to the West' are yet to be published?"

"There are ten volumes in total."

"Is that so—" Emperor Xingyuan felt a growing itch of curiosity.

If he showed interest, would Ayou take the initiative to give him a set of the yet-to-be-published storybooks?

Just as Emperor Xingyuan was about to speak, a sudden noise broke out.

Xin You immediately looked over and saw the third prince standing up with a pained expression.