Before returning to the country, the new emperor prepared a state banquet to entertain Murong Jie, Zi'an and others.
When he came, he did not show the highest etiquette, and when he left, the new emperor did not want to treat Beimo's benefactor unfairly.
Therefore, this state banquet was very grand, and officials above the third rank were allowed to attend with their families.
Is this just a simple banquet for Murong Jie and his wife? No, the new emperor also wants to take this opportunity to win over the court officials.
Prince Chu Yue is the least outstanding one among the many princes of the previous emperor. In fact, except for the one born by Empress Cao, all the princes are not outstanding. How can they be outstanding if they are suppressed? Those who are really talented also know how to keep a low profile and avoid being the focus.
The new emperor's princess was the concubine's daughter of Lord Wang, the Minister of Rites. It was a joke for a prince to marry a concubine's daughter.
However, this marriage was decided by Queen Cao, so who would dare to question it
A prince of good family background married the concubine's daughter of the minister. Now this concubine's daughter was named queen. It really is a changing world.
After Zi'an entered the palace, he talked with Queen Wang for a long time. From the conversation, Zi'an could hear the Queen Wang's worry.
The only source of her worry was Qin Zhou.
Like all women in the world, her worries were just the same: she was afraid that the emperor would make Qin Zhou the queen.
Because, she was given the title of cheap queen by Qin Zhou, and even the emperor was helped to ascend the throne by Qin Zhou. The best way to reward Qin Zhou is not to give her the status of a prince, but to give her the status of a queen. By then, they will all be a family. Even if Qin Zhou controls all the troops in the world, what does he have to be afraid of
So, after beating around the bush for a long time, seeing that Zi'an didn't seem to understand what she meant at all, Queen Wang asked directly, "I heard that the princess and the prince are very close, I wonder if she has a lover now?"
After she finished speaking, she chuckled again, "The county prince is not young anymore this year. No matter how capable a woman is, she still has to get married and have children. She has made great contributions in helping the emperor ascend the throne this time. I think that the emperor's award of the title of county prince is just a formal recognition. If he really considers the county prince, it would be best to find a marriage for her."
Zi'an sighed in his heart, "Queen, Queen, if there is anything between Qin Zhou and the new emperor, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop it."
Although she thought so in her heart, she still had to say a few polite words on the surface, "Your Majesty, in fact, the prince and I are just casual acquaintances, and we can't be considered close friends. As for whether she has a lover, I really don't know. Your Majesty's sympathy is really touching. Your Majesty can rest assured. The old lady of the Qin family is still in good health. She must care more about the prince's marriage than you do. And now that your Majesty has just entered the palace, there are still many things in the harem that need your care."
This was a roundabout way of saying it, but in fact it was telling the Queen to just take care of her own affairs first, as Qin Zhou's affairs would be taken care of by the Qin family.
Seeing that Zi'an was not interested, the Queen knew that she could not get any more out of him, so she smiled indifferently, "Yes, the harem does need to be rectified. Well, don't tell the prince what I said to you, lest she have any ideas in her mind."
Zi'an said: "That's natural."
Zi'an was sent away, and Qin Zhou was actually waiting outside.
She was dressed in men's clothes today, a yellow county dynasty robe with wide sleeves and a cross collar. The collar was edged with black and was embroidered with coiled dragons all over. The embroidery was exquisite and delicate, and it was extremely expensive.
His three thousand black hair was tied up and he wore a golden crown. He had a handsome face, clear eyebrows and features, and the lines on his face were somewhat softened, not as hard and resolute as before.
Zi'an sometimes feels that Qin Zhou is a man.
Especially now that she was standing under the locust tree, the light was dim, and the shadows of the leaves cast were like a still butterfly, with deep eyes, looking at her quietly.
"Are you here?" Zi'an walked down. She had dressed up deliberately today. She wore a brocade palace skirt in the color of autumn fragrance with dark cloud patterns and a large peony pattern. Xiaosun had specially combed her hair into a loose fallen horse bun, and inserted two silver and kingfisher butterfly hairpins in it, and embellished it with a silver enamel fan-shaped hairpin. She had a gold hairpin on her forehead. She looked completely different from her usual casual and simple look, as if she were two different people.
As she moved, her dress swayed, revealing a pair of black-soled brocade jade shoes on her feet. The pearls and jade on the toes were faintly visible, making her look indescribably noble and elegant.
Qin Zhou looked at her. When she came to him, the smell of perfumed powder entered his nose. Qin Zhou smiled and said, "You actually used perfumed powder?"
Zi'an was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "It's useless. It might be because the Queen was close to me just now, and the scent was contaminated by me."
"Really?" Qin Zhou didn't seem to care at all about what the queen said to her. "Let's go for a walk by the lake. I... I have something to say to you."
Zi'an said, "That's fine. I'm leaving in two days anyway, and I have something to entrust to you before I go."
"What about County Lady Rouyao?" Qin Zhou turned around and paced with his hands behind his back. "You don't have to ask for it. This county will send people to look for them until they are found."
Zi'an has always been worried about Rouyao. Now he doesn't know whether she is dead or alive. Rouyao's life and death is always hanging in his mind, and he can never rest in peace.
After hearing Qin Zhou's assurance, she just forced a smile and said, "Thank you!"
Qin Zhou looked at her, seeming to be hesitant to speak.
In fact, she had already received some information that someone had seen two people, and from that person's description, she concluded that it should be Ajing.
But Ajing was carrying an injured person, who was also a man.
She couldn't bear to tell Zi'an.
"What's wrong?" Zi'an asked when he saw that she looked quite strange.
Qin Zhou shook his head, "No, I just wondered where they would go if they were alive."
"Yes, now that everything has been pacified, they must have received the news. If everything is fine, why don't they come back?" Zi'an also found it very strange.
"When they escaped, the imperial guards were chasing them. Perhaps they were hiding in the mountains and didn't know the news." Qin Zhou comforted them with difficulty.
Although Zian knew it was a bit far-fetched, he also hoped it was true.
"What do you want to tell me?"
As they talked, the two walked to the lake.
In the distance, groups of palace maids carrying plates walked together through the winding corridor.
The wind was very good, causing layer upon layer of wrinkles to appear on the surface of the lake. The fallen leaves swirled in the lake, rippling the water, creating a very artistic conception.
Qin Zhou was silent for a moment, "Nothing."
Zian was stunned, "Huh?"
Qin Zhou raised his head, with a hint of sadness between his brows.
"Bo Hou proposed to me." Qin Zhou said suddenly.
"Bo Hou? You mean, General Long?"
"He proposed to me on behalf of his grandson." Qin Zhou laughed at himself, "His grandson is a few years younger than me."
"Have you met him?" Zi'an didn't expect Qin Zhou to say this to her. She thought that only best friends would talk about these topics.
“Yes.”
"What does he look like? What's his personality like? Do you like him?" Zi An paused, "Perhaps, just asking whether you like him or not is enough."
Qin Zhou sat down on the stone and raised his sleeves with a casual move, his movements graceful and neat.
(End of this chapter)