Chapter 259 The Undercurrent of Concubine Selection Banquet
The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was attended by either dignitaries or important officials of the imperial court, and the atmosphere was warm but somewhat heavy.
He Lianxu was on the right side of Helian Bobo, and on the left was his biological mother Qing Niangniang. Countless congratulatory voices and smiles filled his eyes and ears, but he just drank in silence, did not speak, and did not even speak the most basic words.
There was no hypocrisy or cowardice. The ministers saw that he paid no attention to his flattery. No matter how much they had to say, they could only hold back and dare not say any more for fear of offending him.
The prince's aloofness was well-known in Hu Xia, and no one at the table knew this.
Helian Bobo had nothing to do about it. He threatened Yang Xi's life and asked him to choose a woman to be the crown prince at the banquet tonight. Although he knew that the woman would not be able to win the prince's heart even if she entered the prince's palace, but...
He believed that as time went by, he and the prince would be in love for a long time.
He does not reject Yang Xi, and even likes this smart daughter-in-law a little bit, but when it comes to the fate of the country, he cannot let Xu'er let it go. Yang Xi, although this woman is good, she does not belong to Xu'er alone. She does not
Greedy for money but not fame and fortune, she was not under his control at all, so Xu'er only stayed with her all day long, and Hu Xia's future was worrying.
"General Duanmu, I heard that Ling Qianjin is also on the list this time. Congratulations." Prime Minister Liu Ren said with a smile towards General Duanmu Qinghe, who was not far away.
Duanmu Qinghe smiled brightly and said: "Where is it? This banquet has not started yet, and the result is still unknown. The Prime Minister is laughing."
"What the general said is true. The banquet has not yet begun, and it is still uncertain who will win in the end. It seems that Prime Minister's congratulations are a bit early." Zhang Dongyu, the Minister of War, said coolly, and glanced sideways at Duanmu Qinghe, his eyes filled with tears.
It means provocation.
Duanmu Qinghe's face darkened, and he returned his sharp gaze. "It is said that Lord Shangshu's niece is also one of the ten beauties. I wonder if you are ready for tonight's examination and selection? Choosing a crown princess is not a martial arts battle, what is important is
A well-educated, gentle and virtuous woman cannot just use a knife or a gun."
Everyone knows that Zhang Xiaocui, the niece of the Minister of War, has been fond of martial arts since she was a child and has developed good skills. She is a heroic daughter who is not worthy of any other woman. However, she basically knows nothing about the study of chess, calligraphy, painting and boudoir workers. She is basically ignorant.
Although there is a backstage to join the ranks of candidates, tonight is the selection by the Crown Prince and the Emperor himself, so there can be no falsehoods.
Zhang Dongyu also darkened his face, snorted coldly, and was speechless.
Liu Ren glanced at these two people and did not dare to say anything more. A general who controls the country has the actual military power of thousands of troops outside the pass, and a minister of the Ministry of War is in charge of hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops and royal troops in the city. This
He couldn't afford to offend either of the two people. At that moment, he had no choice but to laugh twice, lower his head and drink, and stopped talking to cause trouble.
Above the first seat, Ye Qing whispered a few words to Gong E behind him. Gong E walked to Helianxu's table, carefully poured wine for him, and said: "Prince, Empress Qing ordered your servant to pour a cup of century-old wine for the prince.
I wish the prince and the future prince concubine a long life together and a happy life."
He Lianxu's eyebrows moved slightly, without looking at anyone, he raised his glass and drank it with his head held high. He would live a happy life!
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for me." Although his deep voice was small, it could be clearly heard by Ye Qing who was not far away.
Ye Qing's hand holding the wine glass shook unconsciously. He felt extremely relieved, but he also sighed silently. It seems that if he wants to have a good relationship with his son, he must start with Xi'er. Tonight, these Yingying
Yanyan, I'm afraid no one can catch Xu'er's eyes.
She understood that she couldn't help herself when she was in the royal family, but her resentful eyes still fell on Helianbobo involuntarily. If he could be half as infatuated with her as Xu'er was with Xi'er, then she wouldn't have become obsessed with her in the past ten years.
He had to spend time alone, let alone let Xu'er leave, which led to this regret.
Helian Bobo's eyes happened to fall on her, and the two people's eyes were locked like this. For a long time, Helian Bobo turned away, feeling a little guilty and desolate in his heart. He only heard Eunuch Li's strange call: "Jade
Concubine Liu has arrived, Concubine Liu has arrived."
Ye Qing's fingertips were slightly cold and he almost didn't have the courage to look at the person. He had long heard that there were two concubines in the harem who were very favored, one was Concubine Liu and the other was Concubine Yu. Especially, Concubine Yu was pregnant with the dragon seed for more than three months.
, it was only a short time since she returned to the palace, and she had not yet had time to meet these two legendary concubines of his.
Concubine Yu and Concubine Liu walked to Helian Bobo's seat, leaned forward and saluted at the same time, and sat down under Helian Bobo's golden mouth. Their eyes were fixed on Ye Qing at the same time.
It is true that she is as beautiful as the legendary one, but she is not too young, and no matter how beautiful she is, she cannot compare with her younger self. The two people who are on the same path looked at each other, and besides provoking each other, there was more
A mutual sympathy.
The Emperor must have allowed her to live in the Yulong Palace just because of an old relationship with the legendary Empress Qing who had been missing for more than ten years. Everyone knew that the Emperor was someone who missed old relationships. These things were simply not worth their while.
care.
Concubine Yu took a sip of tea, turned to Duanmu Qinghe at the next table and asked in a low voice: "Brother, how are Ronger prepared this time?"
Duanmu Qinghe smiled back and said: "I care about you. Although Rong'er is not a top-notch person, she has been proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since she was a child. In terms of talent, learning and temperament, she will never be worse than others."
Seeing the arrogance on his face, it seemed that he was 100% sure that his daughter would be selected. Seeing him like this, Concubine Yu felt a little more relaxed. She was alone in the harem, after all, she was fighting alone, and she could not make any mistakes at every step.
Wrong. Now she finally seized this opportunity and placed her own people around the prince. During this concubine selection banquet, she had high expectations for Duan Murong.
On the other side, Concubine Liu also whispered to Zhang Dongyu softly: "Cousin, is Xiaocui ready?"
Zhang Dongyu whispered back: "Everything is ready, don't worry."
It is true that Zhang Xiaocui is not as knowledgeable and talented as Duan Murong, but they have already obtained the test questions and have already thought of countermeasures. I believe these are nothing to Xiaocui. After all, Helian Bobo's life as a soldier is undecided.
There might be something like riding and archery among the test questions. If so, even ten Duanmu Rong would not be Xiaocui's opponent.
In this round, the chance of winning is very high.
Just when everyone was harboring their own secrets, they heard Eunuch Li shouting: "The beautiful lady is entering the hall."
The musicians were playing the piano and the harp. Looking from a distance, I saw ten women with light bodies, all dressed in plain clothes and with their faces covered by gauze scarves. They were wearing exactly the same style of clothes, just like dancing girls.
Wearing uniforms like dance clothes, their hair accessories and hairstyles also seemed to come and go, and each of them covered their faces. For a moment, no one present could tell who they were.
All the ministers and dignitaries looked at each other, almost stunned at the same time.