As Lan Tianjiao sat at the seat of honor and chatted with the others, he also kept part of his attention on Zhao Hongming.
He heard their conversation clearly.
Seeing Zhao Hongming reject Li Shengnan outright, he felt that the Fifth Prince was still too young, too unable to keep his cool. He had cast both his and his sister's advice to the winds.
Not everyone got an opportunity like this.
Didn't he know his own situation?
However, Lan Tianjiao had secretly made inquiries. The Princess Wu Yin's relationship with the Fifth Prince was actually rather ordinary.
The main reason she had been willing to intervene this time was that she wanted to use Zhao Hongming to forge more solid connections for herself within the Zhengyi Sect.
Otherwise, alone in the Zhengyi Sect, she truly would be like a lone tree unable to hold up the forest.
As for whether the Fifth Prince himself would be happy, that was secondary.
But since Zhao Hongming was unwilling, the matter was dropped.
A mere Fifth Prince was not worth his excessive concern, much less making him play matchmaker by force.
At the side, the Princess Wu Yin's gaze dimmed.
She could see it clearly as well. Zhao Hongming and Li Shengnan sat together without speaking further, so she knew there was no hope.
In the future, she would still have to rely on herself in the Zhengyi Sect.
The princes who had come to the banquet were all young men in their teens or twenties, at an age when their blood ran hot and they were filled with curiosity about the world beyond themselves.
They had never seen a Dragon Steed, a horse that carried the bloodline of dragons. Every one of them was impatient to witness the novelty.
Under such circumstances,