"May the Queen be blessed with good health!"
All the ladies stood up and saluted.
Ye Jun waved his hand with a worried look on his face, "No need to be polite, I've kept you waiting for a long time. I was caught up in some matters and came late. Please sit down and we can talk while we eat."
"Your Majesty is the mother of the country. You do have a lot of things to worry about, but you should also take care of your body. I know how to make perfume, and today I happened to bring some soothing incense that I made myself. I present it to your Majesty and wish you a good sleep. This is a small token of my love." Zeng said with a smile.
After he finished speaking, he asked his maid to bring up a brocade box.
Ye Jun let Huiyue take it and smelled it politely.
"Miss Zeng is very skilled. This incense is as good as the ones in the palace. But I have too many things on my mind. No matter how good the incense is, it won't work. I'm asking you to think about it for me today. The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the Liao Kingdom has sent envoys again. How should I receive them?"
The group of girls below immediately had different expressions on their faces.
Everyone guessed that this was a test from the Queen, but some people didn't know where the test point was.
Sure enough, a girl named He who was acting as a foil said softly, "If you follow the rules, you won't go wrong."
Wu, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke softly.
"Sister He, you don't know that the Liao royal family is Tuoba Shi, and the death anniversary of their ancestor emperor is August 15. On this day, the whole country of Liao mourns and is not allowed to celebrate. This is completely opposite to our Mid-Autumn Festival."
At the end, he smiled embarrassedly, "I usually read a lot of miscellaneous books, so I know a little bit. My father often scolds me for not paying attention to serious poetry and literature. Ladies, please don't laugh at me."
This was said in a very tactful way, which not only demonstrated her own talent, but also maintained the face of other ladies.
Good performance.
Ye Jun was the first to nod to her, "Why don't you let Miss Wu tell you what to do first?"
"Yes." Wu stood up, looking very calm.
After standing still, she said, "I think we can't not hold the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet for the Liao envoys. Wouldn't it make me look like I am bowing my head? But for the sake of friendship between the two countries, we can't ignore the Liao's face at all. It's better to arrange the envoys in the Sifang Huiyi Hall and order special officials and servants to accompany them to perform the mourning ceremony. This way, both are complete."
"I don't think this is a good idea." The Shen family girl stood up and retorted, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The Liao Kingdom came to pay homage, so they should also show some sincerity. What's more, the Liao people have always had bad intentions and are ambitious. We are a great country like Nanqi, so why should we let them be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth? We should let them attend the banquet together."
Lin sneered, "This will ruin the goodwill between the two countries. You can't afford the consequences. I think Miss Wu's idea is better. It's the same as mine."
Ye Jun watched them arguing with a smile on her face, and her emotions could not be seen at all.
He tilted his head to look to the side, "What do you think, Miss Zeng?"
"This... This is such an important matter, I dare not speak rashly." Zeng bit her lip and bowed.
She really didn't know what to say, and she no longer had the eloquence she had just now.
Ye Jun withdrew his gaze calmly and finally looked at Xiao, who had been quiet from beginning to end.
"Miss Xiao, please tell me."
For a moment, everyone fell silent and looked over, wanting to see what the daughter of this poor family could say.
"Then I will respectfully obey your command." Xiao stood up and bowed gracefully.
He looks like he is confident about what he has done.
"I think that although the Mid-Autumn State Banquet is organized by the Empress, the reception of envoys is a matter of the previous dynasty. The harem should not interfere in politics. The Empress can just throw it out and ask the Ministry of Rites to draw up a set of rules. If the Empress has to do everything herself and support so many ministers, wouldn't the salaries be wasted?"
"Of course, since Your Majesty has asked, I should give you a proper solution. I actually agree with what Miss Shen said. As a great country, there is no need for us to make concessions. However, as a great country, we should also be more generous and tolerant."
"Mid-Autumn Festival in Nanqi means reunion. The Liao Dynasty designated August 15 as the anniversary of the death of the founder of the Tuoba clan. Grief is expressed on this day, which can be regarded as remembering the dead and longing for reunion. Isn't this the same as our reunion, but one is the living and the other is the dead. Yin and Yang are originally one, so it is not a bad idea to celebrate them together."
After these words were spoken, the expressions of the people present changed slightly.
No one expected that she could answer so carefully and comprehensively, including Ye Jun, whose thoughts about family background suddenly wavered.
But in the end, he didn't show anything in front of everyone.
He just smiled and spoke as if he was chatting.
"You all said very well, each with his own merits. It seems that Nanqi is indeed not short of talented women. This is Nanqi's good fortune."
Several ladies, including Xiao, wanted to catch something from Ye Jun's expression and tone, but how could these teenage girls understand Ye Jun's cunningness
When she finally left the palace, no one could know what the Queen was thinking.
All we can do is wait for the results.
On that day, Ye Jun told Ning Chen what happened at the banquet.
The couple discussed the decision on this matter for nearly five days.
During these five days, Ning Chen once used his secret guards to investigate these girls.
He really didn't want to choose a bad woman for the prince's backyard.
Ten days later, the dust settled.
The imperial edict was issued, appointing Shen as the Crown Princess, Xiao as the Crown Prince's concubine, and Wu as the Consort Liang.
Seeing this result, Xiao was expecting it, but still felt disappointed.
But it finally came true.
In fact, Ning Chen and Ye Jun had discussed for a long time these days and felt that Xiao had everything she needed to be the Crown Princess, except for her family background.
But the Crown Princess not only has to meet the standards of being a Crown Princess, she is also the Crown Prince’s wife.
It is true that Xiao is smart, but this woman is too calm, rational and purposeful. She is not as sincere and frank as Shen.
Such a woman must be controlled and suppressed by someone, otherwise it will be very easy for unexpected events to arise.
Shen is intelligent and decisive, making her a good candidate.
The prince had no objection to this result.
In fact, it was just as Ye Jun thought. After entering the mansion, Shen was decisive and efficient, and clear about rewards and punishments. She was indeed a good material for being the mistress of the house.
Xiao was intelligent and did not want to compete, so he became a good mediator.
But people always have their own preferences. Obviously, the prince still prefers Xiao, but he is also satisfied with Shen.
Ye Jun had only one request for his two daughters-in-law: no matter who they were, they were not allowed to harm his offspring.
Shen was an upright person and agreed readily. Xiao was smart and knew that this reverse scale should not be touched, so she abided by it.
In the end, the prince's backyard was very stable.
But the prince also had his frustrations, which was that he was never able to achieve the kind of love that his father and mother had in his entire life.
After living together for many years, he never had any special feelings for Shen, Xiao, or any other woman.
This is also a pity.
After all, there are not many women like Ye Jun. Even though Xiao was so special back then, she is still not comparable to her.
However, the prince also had two queens in his life. Shen died after giving birth to two daughters, and he then made Xiao the prince's successor.
In fact, Xiao only gave birth to one son, who was later made the next crown prince.
Ning Yujing's life was actually very smooth. Before he ascended the throne, his parents paved the way for him. After he ascended the throne, he made great efforts. Both queens were satisfied with him. In his entire life, no child in the harem had died due to fighting.
He had never experienced the hardships his father had experienced, but he had also not met the indispensable beloved person like his father. However, his life was considered complete, which was rare in the royal family.