After the King of Jin left, Gu Zhongjiao bowed to Chen Daochang and said, "I wish Master Chen a successful promotion."
Chen Daochang smiled widely and returned the greeting with a cupped hand. "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Gu. Thank you for your introduction today."
Gu Zhongjiao glanced at Chen Dingding who was standing behind him and said with a smile, "We are all people who work for the prince. We should keep in touch with each other in the future."
"Okay, okay." Chen Daochang nodded.
Gu Zhongjiao is the cousin of King Jin. He is the most trusted confidant among the trusted confidants. It would do no harm to have more contact with him.
After Gu Zhongjiao left, Chen Daochang also took his daughter home.
Mrs. Chen saw the father and daughter and asked anxiously, "How is it?"
"There is hope for reinstatement, but King Jin did not accept Dingding." Chen Daochang said.
"Will Prince Jin still be dedicated?" Mrs. Chen asked worriedly.
"Dad, what mom said is right. Just by inviting Prince Jin to a meal, the official position can be decided. It's too easy to get this official position." Chen Dingding said.
This made sense. Chen Daochang was not the kind of pedantic person who would not listen to women. He asked the mother and daughter, "So what do you think we should do about this?"
"Dad, only if your daughter enters Prince Jin's mansion and becomes his concubine, can you be considered Prince Jin's own person." Chen Dingding said.
"Only in this way can King Jin use you with confidence." Mrs. Chen agreed.
Chen Daochang frowned and said, "But the King of Jin has already refused."
"It's right to refuse. If Prince Jin accepts it as soon as you offer it, then he would be too impatient. How can he be called a peerless gentleman?" Mrs. Chen analyzed.
"Send it again?" Chen Daochang felt that Prince Jin's recommendation did not seem to be a false excuse.
Mrs. Chen sighed, "Send it again."
She was reluctant to give her daughter away as a gift, but for the sake of her master's official position, she had no choice but to let her daughter suffer.
Fortunately, the Prince of Jin is not only powerful, but also young and handsome. It would be a good choice for my daughter to follow him.
The Chen family made their decision on their own.
After coming out of the restaurant, Prince Jin went straight home.
When I saw Jiang Changning, I told her, "I had a delicious dish in the restaurant today. I'll take you there some other day."
"Okay." Jiang Changning replied with a smile.
"Don't move." King Jin saw that there seemed to be something stuck on Jiang Changning's hair, so he reached out to help her, and his sleeve fell in front of her nose.
Jiang Changning is good at blending perfumes and is very sensitive to scents. He immediately smelled the faint scent on his sleeves and his eyes flickered. "Who are you having dinner with today?"
"He Gu Zhongjiao, there is also an idle official waiting to be reinstated." Prince Jin replied.
"It's just the three of you, no one else?" Jiang Changning asked.
King Jin looked down at her with a faint smile on his lips, "Ningning, are you asking if there are any hostesses?"
"Is there?" Jiang Changning admitted frankly. She really wanted to know.
"There are no hostesses, but that idle official brought his daughter with him and wanted to give her to me as a concubine."
Jiang Changning took a step back, his eyes slightly cold, "Did the prince bring the person back?"
"There are enough freeloaders in the mansion, no need for another one. This king does not run a charity."
"Is she pretty?" Jiang Changning had time to care about other things.
"I don't know. I didn't pay attention."
"What is your name?"
"Chen, what's your name?" King Jin frowned, "I don't remember."
"Your Highness has a good memory." Jiang Changning didn't believe that he had forgotten.
"I only remember the useful things. I don't remember the useless things." King Jin laughed.
Jiang Changning curled his lips, "Such a silver tongue."
After making sure that Prince Jin had no intention of recruiting anyone into his mansion, Jiang Changning did not ask any more questions and sent Prince Jin to take a bath and change his clothes.
The King of Jin did not completely believe what Chen Daochang said, and ordered Cao Jiang to send someone to find out the truth.
Two days later, the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet arrived as scheduled.
As the queen mother of a country, her thousand-year banquet was naturally held with grandeur.
Although the Concubine Dowager and Jiang Changning did not attend, the birthday gift for Prince Jin's Mansion was still prepared.
First up were four jade ruyis, essential gifts for the palace. They were associated with auspicious meanings.
Green jade ruyi with phoenix and bat patterns, yellow jade ruyi with double happiness of fortune and longevity, white jade ruyi with gold inlaid flower patterns, and black jade ruyi with pine and crane patterns of longevity.
There are also ruby plum longevity bonsai, coral ivory bonsai, Duobao flower tree, gold engraved flower longevity double happiness pot
After reading the gift list, Jiang Changning commented: "The Queen Mother made a fortune on her birthday. The palace's storehouse is almost full of gifts from all the mansions."
At the Qianqiu Banquet, in addition to the highlight of presenting birthday gifts, there were also wonderful singing and dancing performances, acrobatic performances, and so on.
The Emperor suddenly said to the Queen Mother, "My son has ordered people to practice a dance to congratulate you on your longevity."
The Queen Mother smiled, "My prince is thoughtful."
"Let them come." The emperor ordered the eunuch.
Seventeen girls dressed in exquisite silks and gorgeous clothes came out to dance in charming postures. They danced the long-sleeved dance.
The breeze blew, the ornaments fluttered, and the fragrant herbs they wore gave off a sweet aroma.
The girl leading the dance swung her arms vigorously, and the long sleeves in her hands spread out to both sides.
The sixteen girls, under her command, lined up in neat rows, shaking their long sleeves back and forth.
The leading girl started to sing: "There is a girl riding in the same carriage, her face is like the flower of Shun. She will soar and fly, wearing jade and jade pendants. That beautiful Meng Jiang, she is really beautiful and elegant. There is a girl riding in the same carriage, her face is like the flower of Shun. She will soar and fly, wearing jade and jade pendants. That beautiful Meng Jiang, her virtue and kindness will never be forgotten."
She sang "A Girl Riding in the Car" from the Book of Songs, an ancient poem.
But if one thinks carefully, one will know why the emperor asked her to sing this song.
The beautiful Miss Jiang has graceful and generous manners.
The beautiful girl's surname is Jiang, and her good reputation is unforgettable.
The Princess of Jin, whom the Emperor is concerned about, has the surname Jiang, which is obviously a hint of something.
Does the Emperor just want to ride in the same carriage with Princess Jin
No, he wants to sleep in the same bed with Miss Jiang!
The emperor's actions made Prince Jin feel sick as if he had swallowed a rat alive.
Looking at the emperor on the throne, a hint of murderous intent flashed in Prince Jin's deep eyes.
A monarch who wants to take his minister's wife is not worthy of being a monarch.
As the music played, the dancers quickly stepped on the ground, spun, jumped up, leaped, spun, knelt down from high, kicked high and fell, and jumped far with their waists bent.
The long sleeves swayed and flickered left and right, up and down, high and low. Sometimes she rolled up her sleeves and smiled, sometimes she waved her sleeves and spun around, and sometimes they overlapped and crisscrossed.
No matter how the dancers waved their long sleeves, every glance they turned back was in tune with the music.
The dance is gentle, winding and slow, like the white clouds floating in the sky.
After the dance, the audience praised it highly.
"Mother, this banquet of yours is organized thanks to Prince Jin. What do you think we should reward him with?" the emperor asked with a smile.
The ministers were startled, the sex scene is about to begin!
The Queen Mother looked at the seventeen dancers who had not yet left and immediately saw through the Emperor's intention. She smiled and said, "These days, the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works have been very hard-working. My son, why not give these beauties to them as a reward to comfort them for their hard work."
(End of this chapter)