Murong Jie's body was stiff for a moment, of course not because of the close contact with the woman, but because she buried herself in his chest like a cat, causing his heart to be agitated for a moment.
However, this feeling is mysterious and comfortable.
Just when I stretched out my hand and wanted to hug her, she had already moved away. Then she fumbled around her body and finally could only take out a needle bag and a very dirty handkerchief from her sleeve pocket.
She felt a little embarrassed and touched her hair bun again. It was only held in place by a hairpin. If she took it off, her hair would become loose.
However, she still took it off, put the needle bag away, and then spread the handkerchief and hairpin on the palm of her hand, "Which one do you want?"
Murong Jie looked at her hand, and then at the Soul-stealing Ring. "This ring..."
"No, this won't do. The ring won't do. It's very important and has commemorative value." Zi'an was startled and quickly hid his hand.
Murong Jie knew that this ring was somewhat special. He had seen her use the ring to block the acupuncture treatment on King Liang.
"I mean, this ring is ugly, I don't want it." He took the hairpin and put Zi'an's hair up. It was ugly, but it was still fixed. "You don't have to give me any gifts. If you insist, embroider a sachet for me."
It would be relatively quick to buy one. She didn't know how to embroider, but that wasn't a problem for her. She could go back and ask Madam Yang or Xiaosun for help.
The atmosphere in the room became very warm. Zi'an actually felt that his rough movements were very comfortable. Although he broke at least ten hairs when he was doing her hair, which made her grimace in pain, she felt very good. Especially when she saw him secretly throwing away the broken hair, she actually had an embarrassed expression on her face.
Just as they finished their meal, they heard knocks on the door, followed by Xiao Tuo's constipated and impatient voice, "What are you talking about? Have you reached an agreement? We're leaving soon."
Zi'an drew the dagger in his hand, then quickly put it back, resisting the urge to kill Xiao Tuo. He walked over, opened the door, and said expressionlessly, "We can go now."
Xiao Tuo looked at the dagger in her hand, exclaimed, and looked at Murong Jie in surprise.
Murong Jie stood up and said, "Let's go!" There was no expression on his face. He didn't even look at Xiao Tuo, allowing Xiao Tuo to stare at him with a puzzled look.
Xiao Tuo muttered to himself, this dagger was a gift from the late emperor, he has always regarded it as a treasure, unwilling to let it be stained with blood, but now he gave it to Xia Zian
However, the life-saving grace is more important than anything else, so giving a dagger is nothing, Xiao Tuo thought.
Night banquet in the palace.
Prime Minister Xia was late this time, and he brought Yuan and Madam Linglong, mother and daughter, with him.
Yuan was dressed very elegantly tonight, with a scarlet pleated satin skirt wrapped around her slender and well-proportioned body. Her lightly made-up face had a calm expression. She did not wear too many jewelries, and her earlobes were still decorated with jade nails. She looked simple and generous, yet indescribably noble.
She, Madam Linglong and Xia Wan'er walked in together. Her beauty and grace even surpassed the young Xia Wan'er. Madam Linglong was even more so. Even though her hair was covered with pearls and jade and she was wearing the most expensive silk clothes, she looked rich but not noble.
Because the marriage between the Crown Prince and Xia Wan'er has been finalized, Prime Minister Xia specially brought the mother and daughter into the palace tonight so that they could show their faces in front of the royal family and civil and military officials.
Yuan's appearance attracted many eyes of attention. This talented woman who had disappeared from everyone's sight for more than ten years seemed to have walked out of a painting, making many people present recall the time when talented men and nobles in the capital were chasing after her more than ten years ago.
Ever since Yuan appeared, Prince An's eyes have never left her face.
Prince Qi was sitting next to Prince An and whispered, "Miss Yuan is no different from before."
When the two countries were at war, Prince An and Prince Qi began to have contacts. Although they were enemies at the time, a hero recognizes a hero. Prince Qi also knew that Prince An admired Yuan.
This relationship eventually ended in failure, and he expressed regret at the time.
Prime Minister Xia was very satisfied when he saw that everyone's attention was on Yuan.
He brought Yuan to attend tonight with a clear purpose, which was to use Yuan to attract everyone's attention. Before leaving, he had already taught Yuan a lesson, and when there was a dispute over the administration, she would stand up and speak for the prince.
He was well aware of Yuan's influence. The reason why Yuan had such a reputation was not only because she was a talented woman, but also because she had obtained the emperor's permission to set up a forum to discuss state affairs. Even the emperor attended this forum in person, and the political views she expressed amazed everyone present. Even the emperor praised her and said that if Cui Yu was born a man, she would definitely be my right-hand man.
Madam Linglong and Xia Wan'er were unhappy to see that Yuan stole the limelight. They had thought that they would become the focus because the Queen had already issued the decree to grant the marriage. Xia Wan'er felt that she would be the object of jealousy among the noble ladies tonight. However, she had no idea that the decree was issued in secret. Even the Queen Mother did not know about it, so how could others know
Naturally, the concubines in the palace had to attend as well. Although Concubine Mei and Concubine Yi sat together, Concubine Yi was very cold towards Concubine Mei. Concubine Mei wanted to talk to her several times, but she turned her head away and ignored her.
Concubine Mei was really furious. When she saw the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince being scolded and sent away by Concubine Yi while playing together, she could hardly hold back her anger.
The delegation brought by Prince Qi consisted of more than ten people. The scale of the evening banquet was so large that even the huge palace seemed a bit crowded.
Palace servants serving food were walking around, holding exquisite plates filled with delicious dishes. The aroma of wine filled every corner of the hall. People were toasting and laughing, as if today was a grand wedding banquet.
Everyone was trying to pretend that everything was fine, but each had their own concerns. Everyone knew that once the banquet was over, the main event would begin.
The prince toasted Prince Qi several times, showing his noble demeanor. Whenever the prince raised his glass, Taifu Liang hurriedly joined in, inviting everyone to raise their glasses together, to toast Prince Qi and the prince.
Some of the royal relatives and ministers who remained neutral knew what was going on with Taifu Liang's actions: he was trying to push the crown prince to the throne.
After three rounds of drinking, Prime Minister Xia stood up, holding a glass of wine in his hand, and said with a smile: "Today, so many ministers from the imperial palace are gathered here, and Prince Qi of Beimo is also here. I would like to offer a toast to everyone and also announce a good news."
Everyone stopped and looked at Prime Minister Xia curiously. Announcing good news at this time? It was inappropriate. Although it was a banquet to entertain the envoy, the death of the Regent should have been a national mourning. It was not appropriate to announce any happy events at this time.
The Queen's expression froze for a moment. She had not yet reported the matter to the Empress Dowager, thinking that she would report it after the matter was settled tonight. She did not expect that Prime Minister Xia would be so anxious and disrupt her plan.
The Queen did not understand. Prime Minister Xia was not anxious. He was different from Madam Linglong. He thought that the Queen personally issued an order to show her importance. This order should have been issued by the Empress Dowager. Therefore, he was afraid that the Queen would not admit it afterwards, so he had to announce it in public so that the Queen would not have room for regret.
When the Queen Mother heard what Prime Minister Xia said, her face darkened. Announcing good news at this time? What a good Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
She wanted to speak out to stop him, but Eunuch Sun said, "Queen Mother, you can't stop it now. Let's talk about it later."
(End of this chapter)