12dz Chapter 173 A very interesting story
Chapter 173 A very interesting story
Although the cultures of Nanyuan and Beichen are similar, they are not in their own territories after all.
Some troubles should be avoided if possible.
"Don't worry. Even if I haven't eaten pork, I have seen pigs run." Shen Muxi straightened his back, looking as if "there is no problem at all."
Just as Murong Jingyan thought.
She has never attended a palace banquet.
But she is not a fool.
When I was in Danyang, I occasionally attended some chambers of commerce in men's clothing.
I saw from afar what the merchants' wives were doing during the banquet.
It's nothing more than drinking tea and chatting. It won't be wrong if you don't talk too much.
In addition, this is a welcoming banquet for the envoys from Nanyuan. If something happens to her at the palace banquet today, it will be a disgrace to Emperor Beichen. As long as Emperor Beichen is not stupid, he will not allow anyone to attack people from Nanyuan at the welcoming banquet.
At most, I could test Murong Jingyan with words...
Thinking about it.
Shen Muxi and Xia Chan had already arrived at Tianbao Lintai where the banquet was being held.
Tianbao Lintai is a huge water pavilion, next to which is a huge artificial lake.
The green and pink lotus flowers on the lake surface complement the bright red palace lanterns by the lake, making the scene look prosperous.
From afar, there were many ladies and noble ladies admiring the lotus by the lake in groups of three or five.
They seemed to be discussing something interesting, and chuckles could be heard from time to time.
The exquisite hairpins and rings sparkled in the light of the palace lanterns.
Soon, palace maids began to enter the pavilion holding teacups and flowers.
The other women who were chatting also began to take their seats.
Unlike the round table banquets in Danyang, the palace banquets were held at individual tables.
When Shen Muxi took her seat, the other wives of officials had basically already taken their seats.
The huge Tianbao Lintai was so quiet that even the slightest steps of the palace maids could be heard.
The whole environment is solemn and depressing.
At this moment, a little palace maid placed a small plate of delicate, fragrant red bean pastry in front of Shen Muxi.
Among the palace maids arranging flowers and plants, Shen Muxi's small plate of red bean pastry looked particularly out of place.
The procedures of palace banquets have always been rigorous. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they are basically uniform. Even the emperor would not give special care to anyone on a whim.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be anything written in the storybook about tampering with the cups or the drinks...
Those things can easily destroy evidence.
In contrast, a snack can be fatal at any time if not handled properly...
Shen Muxi used the handkerchief in her hand to gently move the small porcelain plate containing the red bean cake through her fingers.
A small piece of paper was sticking out from the bottom of the porcelain plate.
She pulled out the small slip of paper and glanced at it quickly.
When she saw all the contents on the note.
Finally, he couldn't help but chuckle in disdain.
Gu Shi is really stupid and despicable.
He actually wanted to test her out with this small dish of red bean pastry?
In the past, Shen Muxi was almost irresistible to red bean pastries.
The crispy texture of the thousand-layer pastry that melts in your mouth was so delicious that Shen Muxi even dreamed of having a bite of it.
But Gu Shi said that eating red bean pastry is a delicate enjoyment, and if you don’t have the leisure time, you can’t appreciate its depth at all.
He also said that letting her eat red bean pastry was like feeding peonies to a cow, which was a waste of food.
From then on, she could only eat red bean pastry secretly with Xiaoxiao.
There were two times when she ate secretly. Xiaoxiao didn't wipe off the red bean crisp crumbs on her clothes, and some of them got on her clothes. The old princess and the servants around her made fun of her for a long time.
Xiaoxiao was only three or four years old at the time. She didn't understand why the older sisters around her grandmother laughed at her, but she knew what was good and what was bad.
Their laughter was a mockery, a malicious laughter.
Knowing that eating red bean pastry will cause others to laugh at me, I still don’t want to touch it.
so...
How could Gu Shi have the nerve to test her with red bean pastry?
How could I have the nerve to hand her a note?
Recalling the self-deprecating look of little Gu Xiaoxiao, Shen Muxi's eyes became sore, and his disgust for Gu Shi increased a little more.
She withdrew her gaze from the red bean pastry as if nothing had happened, handed the note to Xia Chan, and whispered a few words in Xia Chan's ear. After Xia Chan left, she sat up straight again, as if nothing had happened.
...
at the same time.
Gu Shi waited in a giant rockery fifty feet away from Tianbao Lintai. Seeing someone gradually approaching, his heart began to beat wildly.
As he waited to see who was coming, a flash of shock crossed his eyes, but soon returned to normal.
"Why is it you?" he asked in a light tone.
"Why can't it be me?" Su Liuxi raised an eyebrow, her brows gloomy, as if she was suppressing a great deal of anger. "Why, who do you think is coming?"
"No," Gu Shi swung his sleeves and turned around, "I still have to go to the Yulin Guard and the Imperial Guard, and then I have to go to the Ministry of Food. You go back to the banquet first."
"You want to get rid of me with just a few words?" Su Liuxi didn't care about her appearance. She strode forward and grabbed the sleeve of his official robe. "Gu Shi, do you know what stupid thing you are doing right now? That's the Crown Princess of Nanyuan. You can't mess with her."
"Shut up, you stupid woman."
Gu Shi was so angry that he shook her hand off.
The force was so great that Su Liuxi lost her balance, staggered two steps, and bumped into the rockery.
She suddenly felt a piercing pain in her right arm.
Gu Shi hurriedly wanted to reach out and help Su Liuxi up, but halfway through, his hand stopped in mid-air.
As if afraid of attracting attention, he put down his hands and lowered his voice again, "I know what's going on with this matter. You don't have to worry about it."
Su Liuxi was so angry that her eyes turned red.
But Gu Shi turned around and left without even stopping or looking at her.
"Miss," Cui'e saw Gu Shi angrily leaving the rockery and hurried into the rockery, "What's wrong with you?"
Because of the collision just now, the hair crown on Su Liuxi's head was tilted a little due to inertia.
Her hair was neatly combed into a bun, with a few strands of hair scattered, making her look broken and fragile.
In this situation, even Cui'e, a woman, wanted to step forward and comfort her young lady.
But the prince is a heart of stone...
"How can the prince be so cruel?"
She had already preconceived that it was Gu Shi who attacked Su Liuxi.
Su Liuxi stopped her from continuing, "The banquet is about to begin, let's go back first."
"Are you really going to let the prince continue like this?"
Cui'e helped Su Liuxi tidy up her appearance with a worried look on her face.
If she could, she would have wanted to go back to the banquet immediately, grab the clothes of the Crown Princess Nanyuan, and ask her why she wanted to destroy her family's little home?
But she knew she couldn't.
As if she had seen through Cui'e's thoughts, Su Liuxi said calmly, "The fault doesn't lie with the Crown Princess Nanyuan, but with that ungrateful and cowardly Gu Shi. Don't do anything stupid, or you'll end up causing more trouble later."
Cui'e was about to cry, "But we can't just let the prince act like this forever, can we?"
Su Liuxi smiled bitterly, her eyes fixed on the void.
"Since we can't stop him, let him bang his head against the wall."
...
Murong Jingyan came back not long after Xia Chan left for work.
At this time, people at the banquet had already started whispering and chatting.
Because the banquet had not yet started, Murong Jingyan's seat was next to Shen Muxi.
The two couldn't help but bite each other's ears——
"We've already found out. Su Yong is not dead. He was saved by the Huijiang Saintess using a vicious and evil substitute witchcraft. He's just still in a coma.
On the day you and your daughter fell off the cliff, Gu Shi went to the cold pond at the bottom of the cliff. Now your body and ice coffin are placed in a natural stone cave next to the cold pond. It seems that Gu Shi does not intend to bury you..."
Shen Muxi was a little surprised. "It's been so long, and the ice coffin hasn't melted? What is Gu Shi trying to do?"
What happened to her body?
And it has to be chilled and placed beside a cold pond?
How humid is this?
Murong Jingyan gave her a complicated look, "Maybe he really still has feelings for you?"
"Please stop it." Shen Muxi frowned in disgust, "Don't say such disgusting things in front of me. It will affect my appetite."
Murong Jingyan touched his nose and took the opportunity to whisper, "Do you still have the medicine you used on my father?"
Shen Muxi looked at him warily, "What are you going to do?"
Could it be that he just doesn't like Gu Shi and wants to kill him first?
"Fu Junjing needs it."
Fu Junjing, the King of Beichen.
These two are trying to usurp the throne of a certain dynasty.
Shen Muxi looked at Murong Jingyan in disbelief.
The latter coughed guiltily, "I'm just asking, asking..."
The two of them touching heads and talking in a low voice obviously attracted the attention of others.
Unfortunately, their voices were barely audible, and those closest to them couldn't hear a sound at all. Add to that Murong Jingyan's occasional guilty gestures, and one couldn't help but wonder—could this Prince Nanyuan be henpecked?
"The Emperor has arrived——"
A eunuch announced the singing.
Tianbao Lintai, which was originally filled with various chattering sounds, suddenly became quiet.
The court officials and ladies all knelt down.
Although Shen Muxi and Murong Jingyan did not have to kneel, they still had to bow their heads and look at the ground to show respect.
It was not until two figures, one in bright yellow and one in scarlet, passed by him that Shen Muxi heard the words "stand up".
Only after being allowed to sit down did Shen Muxi have time to secretly look at the middle-aged man wearing a bright yellow dragon robe sitting in the main seat.
The current Beichen Emperor Fu Yuanhuai is about the same age as the current Nanyuan Emperor.
Perhaps because of his living habits, or perhaps because he has been busy with state affairs for many years, Fu Yuanhuai's eyes are not as distracted as Murong Mingkun's.
In his clear eyes, his gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, as if he could see through people's hearts at a glance.
Feeling that he wanted to look over, Shen Muxi immediately retracted her gaze and fixed her eyes on the delicacies in front of her.
"Today is just a simple banquet, Xiaojing, you must enjoy it to the fullest."
Emperor Beichen raised his glass towards Murong Jingyan, and the words between the lines showed his affection for Murong Jingyan.
"It's amazing that the emperor still remembers Xiaojing. Xiaojing is honored." Murong Jingyan smiled and raised his glass in return.
The attitude is clear at a glance.
"Don't put everything in your mouth. It will harm you."
Shen Muxi was busy grinning at the other palace maids who were pouring wine for her, without much other expression on her face.
Murong Jingyan smiled and replied in the same ventriloquism, "I know."
The Emperor Beichen kept expressing his thoughts on Nanyuan's special decision to send the crown prince to Beichen, which showed the importance Nanyuan attached to Beichen.
Suddenly seeing Shen Muxi and Murong Jingyan exchanging glances, he couldn't help but draw everyone's attention to them again.
"I've always heard that you didn't want to marry, and I was worried that your father's hasty marriage would upset you and affect the relationship between you and me. Now it seems that my worries were for nothing."
Murong Jingyan smiled and said, "Uncle, you don't know that my father didn't know that I had met my Crown Princess several times when I was a child. Although the Crown Princess was away for training, we have exchanged letters over the years. We can be considered childhood sweethearts. Jing is happy to have such a beloved wife. Jing, this is enough for my life."
When you are out, you have to create your own identity.
Murong Jingyan spoke with deep emotion. When he looked at Shen Muxi, his sparkling eyes seemed to reflect the entire galaxy, bright and affectionate.
If it weren't for the fact that she knew Murong Jingyan had a bigger plan, even Shen Muxi herself would have almost believed Murong Jingyan's lies.
She quickly lowered her head to express her embarrassment.
Fu Yuanhuai laughed heartily, "Great! I didn't expect your Murong family would have such a romantic."
Murong Jingyan just smiled and said nothing.
The atmosphere at the banquet suddenly became much more familiar.
Many discerning officials have begun to flatter Murong Jingyan and Shen Muxi, saying things like they are a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman.
Only Gu Shi drank silently.
His eyes were on Shen Muxi from beginning to end.
His eyes never wandered, taking in everything about Shen Muxi, including her eating habits and the way she held her chopsticks.
As more and more flaws appeared on her body, Gu Shi's gaze became more and more intense, almost burning a hole in Shen Muxi's back.
Shen Muxi ate and drank naturally, as if he was not affected by anything.
Su Liuxi sat next to Gu Shi, watching him looking at Princess Nanyuan in an inappropriate manner all night long, and she could hardly maintain the calmness on her face.
After three rounds of drinking.
Murong Jingyan seemed to suddenly become interested and began to talk incessantly.
"Before, in Nanyuan, I heard a very interesting story that was spread from Beichen. I'm telling it now just for fun. I hope everyone will laugh and forget it."
After he finished speaking, he didn't care whether the people present allowed him to continue the story or not, and just started talking.
"There was a young man from a wealthy family who fell into poverty..."
As Murong Jingyan's stories became more pointed, some of the Ming court officials were about to lose their smiles.
isn't it?
Isn’t this the folk story about Prince Rong abandoning his wife and daughter before returning to Beijing?
How did it spread to Nanyuan?
And His Highness Nanyuan just happened to hear it and came back to repeat it?
What’s the difference between this and bringing shame to the neighboring country?
"Okay, that's almost it."
Shen Muxi stopped Gu Shi from continuing with a forced smile, even though she had changed her appearance.
But liking Gu Shi was simply a stain on her life...
Someone mentioned, "What His Highness Nanyuan is talking about sounds more like the commoner wife who was widely rumored when Prince Rong returned to the capital."
"But didn't the prince say later that it was just a misunderstanding? The prince has already remarried. If Your Highness continues to talk about this, where will the Princess be placed?"