Chongming Palace.
Tables and chairs had already been prepared inside and outside the palace.
The seats have also been arranged.
The etiquette officer stood at the door, personally greeted the guests and took them to their seats.
Princes from neighboring countries, top leaders of the five major sects, and members of the royal family all entered the palace.
The rest of the guests could only sit outside along the seats on both sides of the red carpet.
When the distinguished guests in front sat down and began to enjoy the royal hospitality, the people behind were still walking towards Chongming Palace one by one.
The Qin family followed at the back.
When turning into the gate of Chongming Palace, Luo Qingzhou suddenly saw a tall and cold figure dressed in green, looking lonely and cold, under a big tree at the intersection.
Bailing also looked over there.
Linghu Qingzhu stood under the tree, looking away with a grim expression, as if waiting for someone in another direction.
When the Qin family members passed by her, she continued to look into the distance with a calm expression.
Song Ruyue glanced at her, her eyes lingered on her towering chest for a moment, then she looked down at her own chest and left silently, muttering something under her breath, but no one knew what she was saying.
When Luo Qingzhou passed by her, she was still looking in the other direction, without looking away.
Luo Qingzhou didn't dare to look at her any longer, nor did he dare to stop to talk to her, and continued to walk forward.
But at this moment, a cold voice suddenly came to his ears: "Chu Feiyang, my uncle hopes that you can come to the palace today to win glory for our Lingxiao Sect. Huashan Sect is also here, and we must defeat them. You will pretend to be drunk and leave. When the competition is about to start, I will go out of the palace to pick you up."
Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but still did not turn around to look at her.
But suddenly, Bai Ling's clear voice came from behind: "Sister, what's your name?"
Luo Qingzhou's face froze, he stopped and turned around to look.
Bailing stopped in front of Linghu Qingzhu and looked at her with a smile on her face, looking innocent.
Linghu Qingzhu retracted his gaze from the distance, looked at her coldly, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Bailing smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just saw that my sister is pretty and wanted to talk to her."
Linghu Qingzhu glanced at her pretty pink face and her harmless pretty eyes, and said expressionlessly: "I don't want to talk to you."
Bai Ling blinked and asked, "Why?"
Linghu Qingzhu glanced at her coldly, ignored her, turned around and walked straight into the palace.
When passing by Luo Qingzhou, she still looked straight ahead, without looking to the side, as if she didn't know him.
Bai Ling looked at her proud back, pouted her lips and snorted, then walked to Luo Qingzhou and muttered, "It's just that it's bigger, why are you so proud?"
Then he added: "I'm still growing, sooner or later I'll be better than her, humph!"
Luo Qingzhou ignored her and continued walking forward.
Bailing quickly followed behind him and asked in a chirping voice, "Uncle, you really don't know her? Is it because she has a big vagina that you have been peeking at her? Uncle, you... um..."
Luo Qingzhou suddenly stretched out a finger to block her chattering mouth, and whispered intimidatingly: "Talk less, if someone finds out that you talk too much, you will be dragged out and have your tongue cut off."
Bailing opened her eyes wide, stood still, and her mouth slightly opened, wondering if she was frightened.
"Boom~"
Luo Qingzhou pulled his fingers out of her mouth and walked forward quickly.
"Pooh! Pooh! Pooh!"
Bai Ling froze in place for a few breaths, and suddenly spat, wiping her mouth with her sleeve, while chasing after him and whimpering, "Uncle, how could you..."
Luo Qingzhou turned his head and glared at her.
Bai Ling shuddered with fear and immediately swallowed back the words in her mouth.
The group entered the palace and, at the invitation of a ceremonial officer, sat down in the last row of the courtyard.
The road in the middle leading to the palace was laid with a red carpet. The roadsides on both sides of the red carpet were lined with tables, and the seats behind the tables were already full of people.
Of course, only two people can sit in one seat, and the rest stand in the back.
Qin Wenzhen and Song Ruyue sat down.
Luo Qingzhou and Qin Chuan, as well as Bailing and Mei'er, all stood behind the two of them.
Tea and pastries were served on the table first.
Everyone had been standing in the square for most of the day, and they were naturally hungry and thirsty, so they were all talking in low voices while drinking tea and eating.
In the palace, the eunuch's sharp voice was faintly heard.
The Emperor and the Empress Dowager arrived and walked out from behind the curtain.
The distinguished guests in the palace immediately stood up, bowed their heads, and paid homage respectfully.
Although the people outside the house were envious, they did not dare to go in casually. They could only stretch their necks to peek inside.
At this time, an old eunuch came out and came to the back. He took out the list in his hand and read out: "The talented men Liu Sansi, Zheng Yinong, Bai Yulou from Jiangnan, the talented man Zhang Hua from Yujing, and the talented woman Su Wanqiu, please follow me into the palace."
At this time, several scholars in Confucian robes immediately walked out from behind the seats on both sides, followed him into the hall with excitement and nervousness on their faces.
After they all left, Song Ruyue whispered, "Master, why is our Qingzhou not here?"
Qin Wen Zheng looked into the hall calmly without saying a word.
At this time, Nangong Xueyi, dressed in a snow-white dress, walked out of the hall quickly, waved excitedly, "Mr. Luo, come in with me."
Luo Qingzhou was about to walk towards her when his wide sleeves were suddenly pulled by someone. He turned around and saw Bailing blinking her eyes and pleading pitifully, "Son-in-law, can you take Xiao Bailing with you? Xiao Bailing wants to go in, too."
Luo Qingzhou frowned slightly and was about to refuse, but Nangong Xueyi, who came over, immediately said, "Bai Ling, follow me and be my maid, then you can go in."
When Bai Ling heard this, she immediately smiled and let go of Luo Qingzhou's sleeve. She went over and grabbed her sleeve affectionately, saying in a flattering manner, "Princess Xue Yi, you are so kind."
Nangong Xueyi smiled and said, “Just don’t talk nonsense later.”
Bai Ling immediately covered her mouth and said, "Well, I won't say anything."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and followed her.
Nangong Xueyi led them into the palace, walked directly behind a row of seats on the right, and stopped behind Prince Nangong and the Princess.
Nangong Meijiao and two maids were also standing there.
And the talented people who had just come in also stood quietly in the corner.
At this time, in the hall, several princes from neighboring countries were introducing themselves.
On the high platform.
Emperor Nangong Yang was sitting on the dragon throne. In the inner room behind him, behind a pearl curtain, sat the graceful empress dowager and the eldest princess in a fiery red dress. One could only see their clothes and outlines, but not their faces.
The dishes have already been served on the table, with all kinds of delicious delicacies.
The aroma of food and wine wafted throughout the hall.
A total of five princes from neighboring countries came this time, namely, the third prince Damor of Badan, the fifth prince Gray of the Dameng Empire, the second prince Lang Xiao of Beicang, the crown prince Jin Shitai of Gaoqi, and the seventh prince Lou Zijun of Loulan.
Behind each prince stood several scholars and warriors.
At this time, Prince Gray of the Great Mongol Empire was introducing the Great Mongol's most talented and brave man behind him, and he looked quite proud.
The Great Mong Empire is located in the north of Dayan. Its land area is even larger than Dayan. It is the most powerful of the five countries and is not inferior to Dayan.
Minor frictions often occur between the Mongol Empire and the Yan Empire, but both are wary of each other's strength, so they exercise restraint and mostly rely on negotiations.
So this time the Mongol Empire came to congratulate and proposed a marriage with Dayan. Everyone in Dayan, from the Queen Mother to the court officials, strongly agreed.
Of course, there is quite a bit of controversy regarding the marriage partner.
Some people were in favor of the eldest princess's marriage, while others were strongly opposed.
Most of the ministers or nobles who opposed the proposal were old ministers. They all said in their memorials that the princess was the national treasure of Dayan and a military genius, and that she must not be allowed to benefit the Mongol Empire.
In addition to the Great Mongol Empire, the Badan Kingdom is located to the west of Dayan. Its location is also extremely important, and its national strength should not be underestimated.
The Beicang Kingdom has a feud with Dayan, and hopes to turn hostility into friendship through this marriage.
As for Gaoqi and Loulan, they were both small countries. Neither the queen mother nor the court officials would agree to marry the eldest princess to them.
However, after all, the other party is also a friendly neighboring country, so it is still important to maintain good relations. Therefore, after discussion, the monarch and his ministers of Dayan unanimously decided to send other princesses or counties to marry them and win them over.
"Your Majesty, this is Su Tu, the most talented scholar in the Great Mongol Empire. He has loved your Great Yan culture since he was a child. He is proficient in your Great Yan poetry, songs, music, chess, calligraphy and painting..."
"This is Ashilan, the number one warrior of the younger generation of our Great Mongol Empire. He has been gifted since childhood and has great strength. He is only twenty years old this year and has just broken through to the mid-stage Great Martial Master. He won first place in last year's martial arts test..."
Prince Gray of the Great Mongolian Empire spoke the Great Yan language not very fluently. After the introduction, he smiled and said, "They have always admired the scholars and warriors of Great Yan. This time, in addition to wanting to see the prosperity of Great Yan, they also want to learn from your scholars and warriors and exchange the culture and martial arts of the two countries..."
"At the same time, my father also asked me to bring some gifts to congratulate your country on its prosperity and hope that the friendship between our two countries will last forever..."
After he finished speaking, Nangong Yang first expressed his gratitude politely, and then said: "The two countries have been exchanging culture and martial arts since the time of our ancestors. Naturally, I will not let the Fifth Prince down this time..."
Gray heard this and left with satisfaction.
Then, the third prince of Badan, Damor, also stepped forward to offer his blessings and gifts, then bowed his head and begged sincerely, "I hope Your Majesty can allow your eldest princess to marry my Badan. I have long heard of your eldest princess's unparalleled charm and have admired her for a long time. This time, I came here specifically to ask for marriage... If Your Majesty agrees, my Badan country is willing to offer the Luoyan City, which has been disputed for a long time between our two countries, to show our sincerity. At the same time, my Badan country will help your country conquer the ten countries in the Western Regions, and our friendship will last forever, and we will always be brother countries!"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the eyes of the Great Yan monarch and his ministers light up, but the prince of the Great Mongolian Empire and the other three princes also had different expressions.
If this is really the reward, it would be very sincere.
Despite this, Nangong Yang still did not express his opinion in advance. He thanked him politely and asked him to sit for a while.
Then, the second prince of Beicang, Lang Xiao, the crown prince of Gaoqi, Jin Shitai, and the seventh prince of Loulan, Lou Zijun, came out one after another to offer their congratulations and gifts. At the same time, they put forward their own requests, hoping to form an alliance with Dayan through marriage.
The second prince of Beicang, Lang Xiao, also directly said that he had long admired the eldest princess of Dayan and hoped to marry her.
As for the Crown Prince of Gaoqi and the seven princes of Loulan, they did not ask for the eldest princess because they knew that with their national strength, they could not compete with the other three countries, so they had to settle for the second best and hoped to send a princess at random for marriage.
As for whether she is a real princess or a fake princess, I guess they don’t care.
It is worth mentioning that Jin Shitai, the crown prince of Gaoqi, spoke the language of Dayan very fluently and was himself a very talented writer.
He even directly proposed: "I heard that there is a girl named Changsun Wan'er around the Queen Mother, who is extremely talented in writing. I hope to meet her and exchange poems with her."
What he meant was that if Changsun Wan'er was someone he liked, he would want to marry her directly.
Nangong Yang still didn't give him a clear answer.
Although Changsun Wan'er was not a princess, she was the empress dowager's niece and was very much loved by her. He did not dare to act on his own.
The seventh prince of Loulan, Lou Zijun, was handsome and elegant. He was said to be both civil and military, and he could speak the language of Dayan fluently.
I don't know if he got the news in advance and knew that the king and his ministers of Dayan intended to marry the princess of the Southern Prince's Mansion to him, so his eyes were always looking towards the Southern Prince's Mansion.
However, there were two princesses there, with very similar eyebrows and eyes, both of them were first-class beauties. One looked cold and arrogant, and the other looked gentle. I don’t know which one she is.
So he kept looking at the beautiful sisters from time to time, feeling quite happy.
Nangong Yang thanked him with a smile for his gift and request, but did not explicitly agree.
Because the royal family needs to win over more than just small countries like his.
After the five princes finished speaking, Nangong Yang stood up from the dragon throne and personally helped introduce the people from the five major sects of Dayan.
The five major sects of Dayan are Jinchan Temple, Qingyun Temple, Xianyun Pavilion, Lingxiao Sect, and Huashan Sect.
Today, the leaders of the five major sects gathered together, looking quite impressive.
Even the prince of the Great Mongol Empire, who had been quite unruly just now, looked solemn and polite when he saw the masters of the five major sects.
While they were greeting each other, Nangong Meijiao quietly pushed Nangong Xueyi away from behind Prince Nangong, then approached Luo Qingzhou and whispered, "Did you see that? The prince of Loulan has been secretly staring at me."
Luo Qingzhou whispered: "Yeah."
Nangong Meijiao hooked the finger in his sleeve with the hand in his wide sleeve and whispered, "Are you angry?"
Luo Qingzhou ignored her.
At this time, Emperor Nangong Yang was introducing the people of Lingxiao Sect to the five princes. After the introduction, he suddenly looked at Fairy Zixia and asked, "Master Zixia, I heard that your sect has a new genius disciple. I think his name is Chu Feiyang. Didn't you bring him here today?"
Fairy Zixia said calmly, "He has something to do for now, so he will come over later."
Nangong Yang smiled and said, "It's good that you can come. Later, these five princes want to spar with our Great Yan Warriors. I don't have any good candidates in my palace, so I can only rely on your five major sects."
Fairy Zixia said: "The students of Dragon and Tiger Academy are no worse than the disciples of our five major sects."
Nangong Yang smiled and said, "Fairy, you also know that our Dean Li is very strict in management and is unwilling to let the disciples of the academy come here. Alas..."
Fairy Zixia smiled and said nothing more.
Nangong Yang looked at the woman in green behind her and said with a smile, "This must be the Linghu Peak Master of your sect's Sword Peak, I have heard of you for a long time."
Linghu Qingzhu still had a calm expression and lowered his head slightly.
At this time, Nangong Meijiao's fingers, under the cover of his sleeves, reached into Luo Qingzhou's sleeves again and began to tickle his palms, whispering: "Good brother, your uncle seems to have recognized you, right?"
Behind the two of them, Bai Ling, in a pink dress, was standing there quietly, looking at the sleeves of the two people standing close together, the moonlight flickering in her eyes.
At this time, everyone has finished their introductions.
Nangong Yang returned to the dragon throne and announced the start of the banquet with a smile on his face.
The eunuch passed the message outside in a shrill voice.
The musical instrument team that had been waiting in the corner began to play music.
A group of dancers wearing long-sleeved dance skirts and graceful postures, with their heads lowered and lotus steps moving, entered the door in an orderly manner and began to dance to the music...
She was not wearing any shoes under the gauze skirt, revealing a pair of white and tender girlish feet.
At this moment, Luo Qingzhou clearly felt that several pairs of eyes were suddenly looking at him.
The palm of my hand suddenly felt itchy, and the princess's cold snort came from my ear: "Does it look good?"
Luo Qingzhou ignored her and suddenly turned around, and found Bailing, who was standing behind him, was also looking at him with her eyes slightly narrowed, and the expression on her face looked quite wrong.
Seeing his gaze, Bailing's eyes passed by him and looked at the dancer who was dancing in the middle. She was quiet and peaceful with a calm face.
Luo Qingzhou suddenly took a step back, avoiding the princess's finger teasing, and suddenly held Bailing's small hand behind him with his sleeve, whispering: "Is it beautiful? Remember to watch carefully, and dance for your son-in-law when you go back."
Bailing narrowed her eyes slightly, stood still and said nothing.
At this time, Nangong Yang picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Only wine and poetry can liven up the atmosphere. Didn't the princes just say that they wanted to discuss poetry? Now I will ask a question first. Of course, I have to offer a prize."
As he spoke, he took out a jade pendant from his bosom and said with a smile: "The winner of the first round will be awarded this Qilin Jade."
The guests below all cheered and applauded.
At this time, the Queen Mother's voice came from behind the beaded curtain in the inner room: "Your Majesty, let Wan'er go out and try. If Wan'er wins the Qilin Jade, you can't take it back."
Nangong Yang laughed and said, "Don't worry, mother. If Sister Wan'er wins, it will naturally belong to her. I am not a stingy person."
Then he suddenly looked at the beaded curtain behind him and said with a smile, "Royal sister, are you going to send someone out to liven things up as well?"