Sima Yao hurried in, not even paying attention to his beloved Zhang Guiren. After he took a breath, Zhang Guiren put on his embroidered shoes and finally caught up.
All the ministers present were frightened to the tenth degree. Who would have thought that, in the absence of an invasion from a foreign enemy and the fact that he was not holding back his urine, His Majesty the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty would panic and flee.
In the end, Yuan Yuezhi, who was responsible for welcoming the guests, was the first to react and introduced Sima Yao and Zhang Hezi to the main seat.
Zhang Guiren said nothing and took his seat calmly. Sima Yao didn't even remember that there was another person in the car anyway, so why did she need to remind him?
That woman should be thrown in the car and not allowed in.
Thinking of that priceless hairpin, Zhang Guiren gritted his teeth with hatred.
There is no way, who would let her be the daughter of a noble family?
Although she also married into the poor Sima family, the treasures that Wang Zhenying, a powerful woman from her mother's family, could possess were still very different from those of Zhang Hezi, who was born in poverty.
"Yue Zhi, where is the Queen?"
Fan Ning, who lost money, still refused to give up. The money lost was small, but his judgment was questioned.
Yuan Yuezhi was busy arranging seats, but after hearing these words, he lost his mind for a moment.
"Queen, didn't you see it?"
"Did you not come?"
In the eyes of the ministers, they had long been accustomed to Sima Yao and Zhang Guiren traveling in the same car without the Queen.
Even though Empress Wang claimed to come to the birthday banquet today, people still doubted that she would be able to attend.
"impossible!"
"I heard that Aning went to the palace yesterday and gave a lot of jewelry to the queen. They were all exquisitely made and of high quality."
"If you think about it, since the queen entered the palace, we have almost never heard of her buying new jewelry, or even having a few new clothes made."
"Why do you ask your parents for new jewelry at this time? It must be for today's birthday party!"
Yuan Yuezhi was a little hesitant. When he looked up, he saw that Zhang Guiren was already sitting side by side with the emperor. He could only say perfunctorily: "What you said makes sense, but it is just hearsay after all. I am too busy now and have no time to think about it.
Let’s do this for now!”
This answer was just as Yuan Yuezhi said, just a perfunctory one. Wang Guobao leaned into Fan Ning's ear and said, "Uncle, please stop struggling. What I said is absolutely right."
Fan Ning was so disheartened that even the lively birthday party that was about to begin in front of him felt boring.
Could it be that I really saw it wrong?
"Queen!"
"The Queen is here!"
Xie Shi, who was at the end of the team of flatterers, was now in the best observation position. When he saw Wang Zhenying, he immediately shouted.
Yuan Yuezhi hadn't finished speaking yet and was pouring wine for Sima Yao. When he heard the shout, he was stunned.
He raised his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, is the Queen here too?"
When Sima Yao saw the wine, he didn't even recognize his own mother, so he couldn't remember Wang Zhenying.
He raised the lamp and thought deeply: "It seems that it has indeed come."
Yuan Yuezhi's heart skipped a beat and it fell to the ground, unable to pick it up. He looked at Sima Yao in disbelief.
What kind of person is this!
Isn’t this harmful to me?
"Give me the money, give me the money quickly!"
Wang Guobao got the money, but before he could warm it up, Fan Ning snatched it back again.
This bag of money is really ill-fated.
"Your Majesty, how should we arrange these seats?" Yuan Yuezhi was worried. In ancient times, the most important thing was the arrangement of seats. Not to mention royal nobles, even ordinary wealthy families, the owner and his wife should sit in the front seats.
This is absolutely non-negotiable.
Although today is to celebrate Zhang Guiren's birthday, to put it bluntly, her status is still a concubine, and she should sit at the bottom of the seat, the first seat.
If the queen hadn't come, they would have been sitting together like this couple, and everyone would have turned a blind eye.
"How else can we arrange it? Anyway, I'm just sitting here!" Before Sima Yao could reply, Zhang Guiren grabbed the spot in advance.
Women are very sensitive to crises, and Zhang Guiren is no exception.
She hugged Sima Yao's arm tightly. As the birthday girl, she must keep this position no matter what today!
"Your Majesty?" Zhang Guiren asked stickyly, and Sima Yao immediately obeyed the command.
He said seriously: "No need to ask!"
"Of course I am sitting with you, the noble one!"
The ministers were in embarrassment. For a moment, no one said a word in the bustling venue. Queen Wang walked towards Sima Yao with light and firm steps. As she walked, she was also observing the situation in the banquet hall.
Regarding her appearance, some people were confused, some were shocked, and many people were looking at her with disgust.
Beside Empress Wang, her brother Wang Gongzheng followed closely. His sister did not invite him to help support her, but he was also prepared.
"Yes, he is here today too." Wang Guobao sipped the wine in his mouth and looked forward with interest.
"You mean Wang Aning?"
"Are you two not very close?" Fan Ning asked tentatively.
"Of course, if we were close, I would have been without him, and he would have been without me." Wang Guobao, who was born in a jade tree, unexpectedly spit out such vicious words.
Fan Ning was also shocked.
Wang Guobao and Wang Gong came from the same Wang family in Taiyuan. As Guobao said, they were quite distantly related and belonged to a distant ancestry.
"You don't have to feel grievances. You are young, and you are Mr. Xie's beloved son-in-law. You have a much brighter future than Wang Gong."
Wang Guobao laughed, and Fan Ning felt that he was not happy at all when Xie An was mentioned.
"I still love my son-in-law. Ever since I entered his Xie family, every time I see Xie An, I never get a good look."
"Instead of relying on him, it's better to rely on myself."
The so-called marriage between Wang and Xie from generation to generation can be described by a common saying, that is, the Xie family is made of iron and the Wang family is made of water.
In most cases, this "king" refers to the Wang family of Langya, but it can also be the Wang family of Taiyuan. Xie An made the decision to marry his daughter to Wang Guobao.
At first, he thought he had found a happy son-in-law. Wang Guobao was born well and his appearance was not outstanding. However, when Guobao grew up, Xie An realized that he was blind.
Wang Guobao didn't care about Xie An's indifference.
You old man looks down on me, and I still look down on you!
"The Queen is here!"
"The Queen is really here!"
"What do you think she will do?"
It was obviously Zhang Guiren's birthday party, but all the guests' eyes were attracted to Wang Zhenying.
They are so curious!
This queen, who had been living in the palace for many years and had basically been suppressed by Zhang Guiren, suddenly left the palace and wanted to do something.
"Your Majesty, you must not let the queen take the throne. It is really unbecoming."
Before Wang Gong could take action, Xie Shi had already jumped out. The task given to him by Xie An was to closely observe Wang Zhenying's every move. Xie Shi was good at seeing the queen suffer a loss, so he immediately jumped in front and spoke up for her.
.
This doesn't seem to be the task Xie An gave him...
Compared to Wang Gong, Xie Shi still has some status here with Sima Yao.
His words successfully embarrassed Sima Yao for a while. However, when he saw Wang Zhenying's proud steps, he immediately strengthened his belief.
"Xie Pushe, this is my family matter, so don't worry about it."
Xie Shi became anxious upon hearing this.
"Your Majesty, why is this a family matter?"
"Emperors and queens, yin and yang are in harmony, and are one body. This is stipulated by etiquette and law. As the lord of ten thousand chariots, your majesty should also act in accordance with etiquette and law."
What he said was so eloquent and impassioned that Xie Shi felt that he had not been so excited for a long time.
Sima Yao stared at the ministers present and thought only: Haha.
Etiquette?
How dare these wealthy families have the nerve to discuss etiquette with him?
If they talked about etiquette, would Sima Yao still be a puppet emperor?