"You left Baoqin there on purpose to greet me, right?" Zhao Changhe asked Tang Wanzhuang in a low voice on the way into the palace.
"Alas..." Tang Wanzhuang sighed, "I've been shoving The West Chamber under my nose. I usually just rest my head on my chin and daydream. If I don't give her a chance, the damn girl will blame me to death."
He held the zither in his arms, kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Tang Wanzhuang said, "You are not someone who would want to be with you for no reason. You would just ignore her for a long time, and sooner or later you would hurt her feelings. If you really want to have a temporary concubine, I am even more afraid that if you say no, something bad will happen. You may not understand... It is better to find a chance to get along with her first. I know that you will not be able to stand Baoqin's scolding, and you will definitely have to give an explanation. Isn't this quite straightforward... Be nicer to her in the future. She is my sister, but you really don't treat her as a maid."
Zhao Changhe pulled Baoqin's hand up and said, "Who said she was a maid? She is also my sister."
Tang Wanzhuang couldn't help but laugh: "You'd be happier if I gave you a new identity, right?"
Zhao Changhe also laughed: "No matter how many identities I have accumulated from you, I only use them to pursue you, not to play tricks on you."
"What else do you want to do?" Tang Wanzhuang glanced around secretly and spat softly: "Sometimes I really hope that what you do outside is not so outstanding. Every time I receive a message from you, I feel like you are telling me: It's time to fulfill your promise... But I get angry when I see Huangfu. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. She won't agree. You really don't know how many years we have been fighting."
Zhao Changhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Those things, once the boat has arrived, it's useless to force it. Just like today, I told you that there's really no need to force me into the palace. How can I think about those things every day?"
This time, Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling all looked at him, and they felt that you were so excited to do permutations and combinations a few days ago, but today you are not doing it right, are you not doing it? If you are not doing it, what should we do...
Zhao Changhe sighed and said, "I don't know if you have noticed that every time you quarrel, I feel helpless and don't know what to do. I am thankful that we can avoid quarreling first. I really don't dare to expect more before I get what I want. Just like when you two first met, how could you think that I would consider those things? Really."
Everyone laughed. Come to think of it, it was true. He was always helpless when faced with a quarrel, which was quite different from his performance in foreign affairs.
Then today's family dinner is even more terrible for him, with so many people coming together. At least Tang Wanzhuang knows that it is difficult for her to be angry with Huangfu Qing, and she expects the fool to see me like this.
When I arrived at the banquet hall, the first thing I saw was Xia Chichi talking to Huangfu Qing. Huangfu Qing was sipping a cup of tea and nodding with satisfaction.
I don't know what they were talking about, but the place where they were sitting was typical of those who are so shameless because they are close to someone.
This is a large round table. The seat facing the wall is obviously the "main seat". At this moment, it is empty, seemingly reserved for the "head of the family". Although the two are the queen mother and the emperor, even the little palace maids know who the real head of the family is.
The seats above and below the main seat were occupied directly by Huangfu Qingxia and Chi Chi, which meant that the seats on Zhao Changhe's left and right had been taken up in advance, so others could only sit below them.
What’s even more interesting is that Xia Chizhi didn’t wear a dragon robe, but a casual white robe, and Huangfu Qing was still in red, so there were exactly two reds and two whites on the scene, as if they had been grouped long ago, and the green Baoqin, as green as a cabbage, was the most unique.
The smiling expressions on Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling's faces as they chatted along the way suddenly disappeared.
Even if you are close to us, you can't be so direct. Do you want to divide us into big and small and make us the younger ones
Tang Wanzhuang stared at Huangfu Qing directly. Xia Chichi is fine, after all, he is the emperor. You, Huangfu Qing, are not the real mother of the emperor. You have been a fake imperial concubine since the previous dynasty. Are you still breathing? Come on, our sixteen-year war is not over yet, do you think Yujing is so great
Yue Hongling stared at Xia Chichi. Forget about Huangfu Qing, at least they fought side by side, but who are you, Xia Chichi? It can be said that Yue Hongling is open-minded and basically doesn't get jealous of others. The only thing that bothered her was the scene when Zhao Changhe stood up to Luo Qi and almost turned against her. The more she thought about it after getting along with Zhao Changhe, the more she felt sour. She refrained from asking several times if Luo Qi and I were to fight now, would you also protect her and turn against me
Should I try it today
The two here stared over, and the two over there stopped talking, staring back at them with a half-smile, who was afraid of who... It seemed as if something was crackling as they stared at each other.
Baoqin let go of Zhao Changhe's hand and began to grit his teeth, preparing to start a fight for the young lady.
The family dinner hadn't even started yet, but the atmosphere in the banquet hall was already filled with gloom, frightening the surrounding young palace maids so much that they huddled away in fear. Zhao Changhe held his forehead in his hand, speechless.
Just know.
There was no way to stop this. Today, Zhao Changhe was in full control of his position. He was no longer the Ah He of Wuxia in the past. He spoke before the other party could speak: "What were you two talking about just now?"
When he asked, Xia Chichi still gave him face and said, "I'm talking to my mother about various situations. For example, the sweet potatoes you mentioned before have indeed been found overseas, and we're now looking for a pilot site to test grow them. As for the special exotic beasts you mentioned in your letter, the palace already has one or two kinds of exotic beasts, and we've already sent an envoy and a letter of appointment to Dali, and they'll probably arrive soon. We're sending people to look for others. As for money, my mother said there's the Silk Road in Guanlong, and in fact our maritime trade is not inferior at all. They're now being interfered with by Ying Wu, while we're in full swing. If we fight a protracted war, we'll have more and more advantages... Eh? What are you doing?" As he was talking, Zhao Changhe had already walked all the way to the table. He first glanced at the last seat facing the main seat with his back to the door. He originally intended to sit in the last seat to show that there was no hierarchy at the round table, but he immediately gave up this plan.
The priority of seats is not the key. For them, who sits on their left and right is the most important. Who cares about the priority of seats? Once they sit in the last seat, it will be convenient for Wanzhuang and Hongling to immediately occupy the left and right seats. That would be blatant favoritism, and Chichi and Huangfu would go crazy. They cannot be selected.
So he decided to go all out and walked over to Chi Chi, picked her up and put her on his lap. Before Xia Chi Chi could finish her words, the scene turned into her sitting on a man's lap and reporting to everyone.
Being held like this, Xia Chichi was happy that he was openly intimate with her, but under the fiery gazes of others, she felt a little embarrassed and struggled slightly: "What are you doing..."
"Seeing your Majesty's confidence in state affairs, I am happy." Zhao Changhe kissed her cheek: "Thank you for your hard work."
Xia Chichi quickly glanced at the people who were watching in a daze. He was still very happy in his heart and whispered, "My little thing is nothing. Tang Qing helped a lot... You are the one who has worked hard in the battles. Okay, put me down. What nonsense."
Zhao Changhe readily placed her in the main seat beside him: "Today is a family banquet, and also a state banquet. Your Majesty, please take a seat and preside over the banquet."
Then he called out, "Bring your zither and sit next to me."
Baoqin took a few steps forward with three streaks of oil on her face, looking confused, and pointed at her nose: "I am a maid, I don't have a seat."
"Who said you don't have a seat? Why does our family care about this?" Zhao Changhe stretched out his hand and pulled her to sit next to him without saying a word.
Baoqin sat there in a daze... Does this count as sitting at the same table with His Majesty
But when I turned around and looked at Zhao Changhe's smiling face, I felt like crying...
Zhao Changhe then called Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling: "Just sit down, why are you still standing there?"
At this moment, Xia Chichi was sitting in the main seat as the emperor, with Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing on his left and right, and Baoqin was sitting on Zhao Changhe's right with a dazed look on her face. No matter the feeling of main and subordinate or the feeling of being by his side, all faded away completely.
The tense atmosphere before had long disappeared without a trace. Tang Wanzhuang and Yue Hongling were both a little surprised and would not make trouble at this time. Tang Wanzhuang went to sit next to Baoqin, and Yue Hongling went to sit next to Huangfu Qing. A possible fight between the two teams was avoided.
Zhao Changhe picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Zhao Changhe has been wandering around the world and rarely has the opportunity to gather with his family. It is rare that it is the New Year and even Hongling is gathered here. I am really happy. I hope to settle the world soon and reunite every day in the future. Drink to victory!"
Everyone's eyes turned to him, watching him drink first, and everyone had an indescribable feeling in their heart.
Recalling the moments of our acquaintance is like watching a big boy transform into a man step by step.
——
PS: There will be a small chapter in the evening. Also, I realized the key point of the mismatch between the thinking circuits of the pros and cons yesterday. I wrote it in the author's statement instead of the PS to avoid a big mess, but it is very important, so you should still take a look.
Yesterday's incident finally made me realize a problem... I assumed that everyone knew the concept of a maid, but in the end I found that many people didn't know it, which was a bit surprising. As a result, the single chapter didn't actually get to the point, so I deleted it.
The original text added a few sentences, so I'll also mention them here: Unless a maid has other ideas, if the master doesn't want her, she will be discriminated against by society, and not wanting her means selling her off or marrying her off to a servant. So if she is rejected, or even just put on hold, it will be a devastating blow to the person involved, and no matter how good the reason is, it will be useless and will only be seen as an excuse.
The worst result is suicide, no kidding. The lightest is a plot of depression and enlightenment to find heartbreak.
So some of you may have good intentions, but it may be a bad thing to do what you think. At least Baoqin will really hate you.
You want her without hesitation, which is the result of her happiness. And Changhe does not treat people as maids. He accompanies people to play the piano, hold hands when shopping, and sits at the table for meals, which is more respect and warmth than expected.
Smack your head, is our morality for the sake of the person's smile, or to satisfy our own cleanliness obsession in her painful eyes
(End of this chapter)