The people following behind Prince Qin surrounded him like stars surrounding the moon. Mingyu could only hear the noise of the crowd, "Your Highness, are you free these two days? I have admired your painting skills for a long time. I wonder if I can have the honor of receiving your guidance?"
"Your Highness, the wintersweets on my farm are in bloom. Would Your Highness be so kind as to visit my farm when you have time?"
Prince Qin, who was surrounded in the middle, seemed a little impatient. His handsome brows were slightly frowned, and he said nothing. Only when he saw Mingyu did he slow down his pace.
Mingyu didn't expect to meet him here. She was stunned for a moment and was shocked. After she came to her senses, she hurriedly glanced away, lowered her head, stepped back a few steps and hid on the side of the road. She made a standard bow in the direction of Prince Qin and never raised her head to look at Prince Qin again.
Prince Qin's face remained calm and indifferent. He looked at her deeply, turned his head, and walked away in silence.
Mingyu didn't dare to raise her head until Prince Qin walked away.
Su Xin saw all of Mingyu's actions and smiled calmly, as if she hadn't seen anything. She continued to say to Mingyu, "The Queen is in good health. She is just a little tired after working hard all morning. These things were given by the Queen. You can take them back. The Queen has always liked you and hopes that you will live well."
She emphasized the word "good".
Mingyu couldn't figure out what Suxin meant, but she had a vague feeling that something was going on. Under Suxin's instruction, Mingyu kowtowed in the direction of the Queen's Palace as a token of gratitude.
After Su Xin left, the eunuch sent Ming Yu home. Just as Ming Yu was about to get on the carriage, she heard someone calling her from behind, "Hey. Isn't that Ming Yu?"
Mingyu turned around and saw Luo Lingxian, who was dressed up carefully, smiling at her in a hypocritical manner.
Luo Lingxian could guess that Mingyu came to see the Queen. However, looking at the situation, the Queen must have waited until the afternoon and still didn't summon her. Just thinking about it made Luo Lingxian laugh so happily that her stomach hurt. Xu Mingyu was really embarrassed, so when she called Mingyu, her voice was particularly warm and gentle.
Mingyu glanced at her. She could see the gloating on her face. She was already unhappy and didn't want to bother with her. However, she didn't want to get involved at the palace gate. She said calmly, "It's Miss Luo. Long time no see."
Luo Lingxian came over to Mingyu, smiled warmly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Mingyu, where are you going? Have you seen the Queen? Not yet? I just came out from Concubine Xie's place, and I spent the whole morning talking with the Princess and Concubine Xie!" She was showing off in her words, she was deeply favored by Concubine Xie. She had a lot of face in front of Concubine Xie and the princess, while Mingyu could only wait outside the palace in the cold and lonely waiting for an audience, and the Queen was not willing to see her!
"You've been talking all morning and you're still talking..." Mingyu laughed, looked Luo Lingxian up and down, and also concluded in a low voice. "I guess you didn't get to say a few words in front of the Imperial Concubine and the Princess."
Luo Lingxian’s eyes widened, and she raised her finger angrily to point at Mingyu, gritting her teeth, “You…” This annoying Xu Mingyu’s words were becoming more and more vicious.
Before she could think of what to scold, she saw Mingyu smiling calmly, getting on the carriage neatly, and waving at her, "I still have to go home, so goodbye, Miss Luo, take care!"
Mingyu sat in the carriage, thinking about Luo Lingxiu's fighting ability in the past, and couldn't help but lament the decline of talent in the Luo Mansion. It's really like each generation is getting worse than the previous one!
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky, which had been gloomy for several days, finally cleared up. Fortunately for God, this day was the day when Marquis Anxi went to the parade ground to present two thousand Tartars to the emperor.
Mingyu instinctively didn't want to go. After much thought, she decided that she should avoid occasions where Sima Hong was in the limelight. Otherwise, when others saw Sima Hong, they would remember that he had been divorced, and when they remembered that he had been divorced, they would definitely think of his ex-wife - that is, Mingyu herself.
However, she could not resist Fu Lemei's nagging and the girl's emotional accusation that it was Miss Fengqin who played with her before, but for Mingyu, she offended Fengqin completely. Now only Mingyu had to take on this responsibility instead of Fengqin.
These words completely aroused the gratitude and guilt in Mingyu's heart, so she had no choice but to agree. After all, there were so many people on the training ground, and she might not see anyone she knew.
In the morning, the imperial guards of the capital were already guarding outside the gate of the parade ground. Because the emperor, empress, and important princes and ministers would be present, ordinary people were not allowed to enter or leave the parade ground. However, many people still lined the streets at the intersection of the parade ground, expecting to witness the scene of Marquis Anxi escorting the Tartars in again.
When Mingyu arrived with Fu Lemei, Fu Lemei handed out her father's business card from the carriage, and the carriage entered the parade ground smoothly. After getting off the carriage, the two followed Mingyu's wishes and found a corner to stand. Mingyu originally wanted to wear a veil hat, but the sun was fine today, and there were many young ladies in the parade ground watching the fun, but no one wore a veil hat. Mingyu could only leave the hat on the carriage regretfully.
Soon, the Emperor, the Empress and Concubine Xie arrived. Everyone knelt down to welcome the Emperor. A huge parasol was erected on the parade ground. The Emperor and the Empress sat together in the middle, while Concubine Xie had to sit alone on the side.
When Mingyu stood up with the crowd, she silently thought that even if she was as favored and noble as Concubine Xie, as long as the Queen, the legal wife, was there, she still had no right to sit with the Emperor. A concubine was always a concubine, and the fact that she was inferior to others could not be changed...
After a while, the sound of horse hooves and chains was heard at the gate of the parade ground. Soon, the guards came forward to report to the emperor. Mingyu could only see from a distance that the emperor seemed to nod, and even the emperor's face was a little blurry.
The people on the parade ground began to talk in low voices, but when Sima Hong led the imperial guards to escort the prisoners in, the scene returned to silence in an instant.
Sima Hong was still walking in the front, his face under the helmet was heroic and majestic, his chain mail and silver armor glittered in the sun, and his body on horseback was straight and agile. People looked at this person who appeared in the public eye for the first time with awe and curiosity. There were many rumors about him. Some said he was a useless playboy, far inferior to his elder brother who had died a heroic death. Some said he was a young hero who was courageous and responsible. Some said he was a ruthless killer who not only killed people like crazy on the battlefield, but also treated prisoners by killing them in pits, strangling them, burying them alive, etc. The degree of cruelty was enough to stop children from crying at night.
When he was ten meters away from the emperor's seat, Sima Hong stopped, dismounted, and respectfully knelt on one knee in front of the emperor, saying loudly: "Your Majesty, I, Sima Hong, kowtow to you. Long live the emperor!"
The emperor looked with great satisfaction at Sima Hong and the group of Tartars behind him who were ragged, unkempt, shivering in the freezing cold, with only fear in their eyes and faces, and no sign of anger at all.
Since its founding, the Chu state has suffered from the harassment and invasion of the Tartars, but it did not have the extra manpower and financial resources to fight the Tartars. Even before the last coup, the Tartars had actually occupied the territory of the Chu state west of Longxi, and the Chu army could only rely on building tall and solid walls to passively resist and defend against the Tartars. It had never taken the initiative to attack, and had not even won a decent victory.
However, the appearance of the young man in front of him changed the situation. This was the first time that the Great Chu had won a military victory over the Tatars and recovered the lost territory, which made him see the hope of victory, although it was not the credit of this young man alone and the lost territory had not yet been completely recovered.
Ever since he heard that this young man dared to go up to the city wall alone with a sword in hand after his father was killed in battle, and led the remaining soldiers to continue to resist the Tartars in order to buy time for the people of Tianshui to escape, he felt that this young man was extraordinary and would not be a good-for-nothing dude as some people had told him.
Perhaps, this young marquis, who was only 18 years old, could help him realize his dream. The ministers in the court had been indulging in comfort for many years, and there were almost no generals available. After Sima Qing died, he went through the list of military generals in the court one by one, and was annoyed to find that he could not find anyone who could take on the task of guarding the northwest.
Now the Northwest Army's general Lu Sheng is old and can't fight for much longer. The emperor urgently hopes that this young marquis can grow up as soon as possible and take on the important responsibilities, just like his grandfather, father and brother.
The prisoner presentation ceremony was not complicated and was completed very quickly. It was just a symbolic display of hundreds of Tartars being paraded before the emperor. It was impossible to really bring all two thousand prisoners before the emperor. In case of any mishap, no one could afford the responsibility.
The ceremony was over, but the emperor was still not satisfied. After all, this was a great honor for him. He had accomplished something that his father and brother had not been able to do during their reigns.
Looking at the Marquis of Anxi standing upright, with a youthful look on his face, the emperor was moved and wanted to let him show his face again, so he said with a smile: "I heard that the Marquis of Anxi is very good at riding and shooting. The memorial handed over by Lu Sheng said that you can shoot an arrow through a willow leaf from a hundred paces. Your special skill is shooting arrows while riding a horse, and you never miss a single shot. Why don't you show us your skills?"
Sima Hong certainly did not dare to say that he was unwilling. This skill of horse riding and archery was learned when he was in the northwest. When he bullied people, he loved to ride on a horse and shoot people with feather arrows without the arrowheads. He accidentally became an expert in horse riding and archery. Thinking of his extravagant and absurd life back then, it seemed like a thing of his previous life.
The emperor waved to the leaders of the imperial guards nearby and said with a smile, "You guys come up too. Whoever takes the first prize will get a reward from the queen!"
This sentence made the queen beside him laugh gracefully and said, "Your Majesty is really calculating. He is using my things as a favor!"
The emperor was in a very good mood, he laughed loudly, turned his head to look at the queen, and said with a hearty smile: "My things are all yours!" Are husband and wife still arguing about this? ! RS