This was not the first time that Lin Bai came to the Third Prince's Mansion.
When he first arrived in the imperial capital, the third prince once hosted a banquet for Lin Bai, but at that time Lin Bai did not want to have much to do with the third prince, so he asked Bai Yifei, Zhou Xinjun and other Tianshui Sect disciples to go to the banquet on his behalf.
Later at the banquet, in order to force Lin Bai to come to the banquet, the third prince secretly instructed the strong men of the Sun and Moon Pavilion to target the Tianshui Sect disciples.
The Tianshui Sect disciples suffered setbacks in turn, and later Lin Bai was forced to go to the third prince's government office.
This time I came to the Third Prince's Mansion again, but the place had already changed.
Originally, the third prince's government office was one of the liveliest places in the entire imperial capital. The warriors who came to visit every day lined up at the door, and the greeting cards sent to the government office were piled up.
But now...the front of the Third Prince's Yamen is empty. The warriors who rushed to come to curry favor with him in the past have long disappeared. There are only a few people visiting the Yamen. There are only a few people in the palace, and the courtyard is lonely.
Even the maids and servants in the palace were listless, fearing that His Highness King Chen would get rid of them when he gained power.
The steward of the Third Prince's Mansion had been waiting at the door early. When he saw the Tianshui Sect disciples coming in a chariot, he greeted them with a flattering smile on his face, and he even thoughtfully opened the curtain for Lin Bai and others.
This look is completely unlike the domineering butler back then.
In the past, the housekeepers of the Third Prince's Mansion were all arrogant and arrogant people who looked at people with their nostrils raised. Even the saint sons of the five families and seven sects of the Chu Kingdom were disdainful to him.
After all, the third prince at that time was at the peak of his power, and he was the candidate with the best chance of becoming the Emperor of Chu within the territory of Chu State.
But now, the situation of the three princes is over, and His Highness King Chen has become the crown prince.
Then everything will change again.
"Master Langhou, His Highness has already hosted a banquet at the Waterside Pavilion. Please come with me, Master Langhou."
The steward led the way with a smile on his face, followed by Lin Bai and the Tianshui Sect disciples.
Entering the third prince's yamen, the courtyard was extremely deserted, the maids and servants were also listless, and an atmosphere of doom and gloom gathered inside the yamen.
Only the waterside pavilion in the backyard of the Third Prince's Mansion was still singing and dancing.
The third prince was leaning on a soft couch, with two beauties lying in his arms. One was holding a wine glass for him, and the other was bringing him food.
On the waterside pavilion, the most proficient singers and dancers in Mingyuefang and the musicians created a dance of gods.
There was no one else at this banquet except Lin Bai and Tianshui Sect disciples.
To be precise, the third prince only hosted a banquet for Lin Bai. The Tianshui Sect disciples were just worried that the third prince would be harmful to Lin Bai, so they followed him.
"Your Highness, Lord Wolf has arrived."
"Brother Lin is here? Come in quickly."
When he heard that Lin Bai had arrived, the third prince was delighted, pushed the two beauties in his arms away slightly and sat up.
Lin Bai walked far away and heard the music of singing and dancing coming from the waterside pavilion. When he walked in, he saw the three princes hugging each other happily.
"I have met His Highness!"
"You don't have to be polite, just sit down as you like!"
After Lin Bai met with the Tianshui Sect disciples, His Highness the Third Prince gave him a seat, and everyone sat on the waterside pavilion.
In the past, the waterside pavilion was full of guests, and the people coming and going were either the saints and direct disciples of the seven major sects, or the famous nobles of the five major families.
But now, the Third Prince's Mansion Yamen Waterside Pavilion, which was once admired by countless warriors in the imperial capital, is empty.
Even though Lin Bai and seven or eight warriors from the Tianshui Sect were here, it still seemed extremely deserted.
"Your Highness, you are so free." After Lin Bai and others sat down, the third prince watched the singing and dancing by himself and did not speak to Lin Bai again.
After Lin Bai was silent for a while, these songs and dances had no appeal to him, so he took the initiative to speak to His Highness the Third Prince.
"Haha." The third prince hugged the two beauties in his arms, with a hint of drunkenness on his face, and said with a smile: "I don't have leisure, what else can I do? Isn't it all thanks to Lord Lang that I can end up like this?
?”
When the third prince spoke, he looked at Lin Bai, the smile on his face froze slightly, and some clarity returned to his drunken eyes.
His eyes were a little frustrated, a little helpless, and a little unwilling.
He was originally the most powerful prince in the Chu Kingdom, and he thought he had the overall situation under control, but he did not expect to be defeated at the hands of Lin Bai.
The third prince couldn't help but wonder...if he had tried his best to win Lin Bai over, would the outcome today be different?
But whenever this idea appeared, the third prince shook his head again, knowing that this was impossible.
From the moment Lin Bai appeared, he was destined to be the third prince's enemy.
First of all, Tianshui Sect and Tiandi Sect are mortal enemies.
Tiandimen declared its allegiance to the third prince hundreds of years ago, and also did many things for the third prince and solved many troubles.
And Lin Bai is the holy son of Tianshui Sect.
The third prince cannot predict the future, and the decision he made at that time was completely correct.
It was impossible for him to give up the meritorious service of Tiandimen just to win over Lin Bai.
"Now that I have some free time, I have nothing else to do." The third prince stared deeply at Lin Bai for a few times, then looked at the stage again, "I have dismissed the strong men of the Sun Moon Pavilion and the five families of the Chu Kingdom.
The seven sects have also switched sides, and now I have no other use than listening to music and watching dances every day."
"This may not be a good thing." Lin Bai replied with a smile.
"Yes." The third prince smiled and said happily: "Brother Lin, I'm not afraid of your jokes. Ever since I decided to give up the crown prince, I have never been as happy as I am today in my life!"
"You don't have to worry about the affairs of the court, you don't have to worry about the military king's support of the troops, and you don't have to think about the battle between the northern and eastern regions... It's great to feel relaxed."
The smile on the third prince's face didn't look like it was against his will, but sincere.
Lin Bai glanced at the beauties dancing on the stage and asked, "Did His Highness invite me here just to watch this song and dance?"
"Of course not!" The third prince shook his head and said: "If Lord Lang likes a mere song and dance, there will be countless courtesans and oirans in Mingyue Square and Yue Palace lining up to dance for Lord Lang."
Lin Bai did not answer, but actually asked the third prince to explain the reason.
Bang bang... The third prince didn't say much, he just clapped his hands, and young women walked out from the corridors on both sides, each holding a jade plate in their hands, and each plate had a treasure box.
These maids came in all directions and came to stand in front of Lin Bai.
Lin Bai narrowed his eyes and glanced around. He saw eight maids standing respectfully in front of them.
Lin Bai's eyes fell on the treasure box in the jade plate in their hands, which must contain a large number of extremely precious treasures.
"Your Highness, what does this mean?" Lin Bai didn't know what it meant.
"Don't get me wrong, Mr. Wolf Marquis. This is not a gift from me, and certainly not from His Highness Prince Chen." The third prince said with a smile: "It is a gift from the royal family. Please accept it, Mr. Lang Marquis."