Chapter 100 Excellent Performance at the State Banquet
Feeling someone pushing her, Meng Xinzhu woke up leisurely. "Mother, please wake up, it's getting late."
Meng Xinzhu propped up her body and looked at Eunuch Chen. Before she could say anything, Eunuch Ming came in holding a brocade box. It was a robe specially chosen by the emperor for her, a light green robe, simple yet noble.
After bathing and changing clothes, Meng Xinzhu looked at herself in the bronze mirror. The dress fit her well and the color matched her skin. Then she chose a pearl hairpin from a tray brought by Eunuch Ming and inserted it into her head.
, among the many jewelry, her favorite was pearls. Then she sat at the dressing table. After all, today was also a state banquet, so she had to put on a little makeup. After everything was ready, she looked at herself in the mirror, deeply
Take a breath, showtime!
Hongde Longqiu stood at the door of the small building with his hands behind his back. He heard the sound of someone coming downstairs behind him. He turned around and met those bright eyes.
"Your Majesty, you have been waiting for a long time!" Meng Xinzhu smiled.
She still has a smile like spring breeze, but today she looks more beautiful and charming.
Hongde Longqiu looked at the person in front of him, "Xinzhu, you are so beautiful today!"
"After all, we are attending a state banquet. If we don't dress up nicely, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the emperor?"
Farewell to Concubine Zhu, Concubine Lin and Concubine Yue both looked kind and friendly, pulling her to greet her. Meng Xinzhu responded to the two concubines' questions with a smile until three bells rang outside the palace. Hongde Longqiu pulled her to his side and sat down.
She did not let go of the flash of jealousy in Yue Fei's eyes. She shook her head secretly. When she decided to come back, she already knew that such a situation would happen.
Princess Yu Ling still wore a gauze hat and slowly walked into the hall. She looked at Meng Xinzhu sitting next to the emperor and frowned. This woman was very plainly dressed, but she was undoubtedly the most beautiful in the room. The two concubines next to the emperor
She even pales in front of her. She is sitting next to the emperor, and it seems that the Moon Emperor loves her very much. Hum, Bamboo Concubine, let's get the show started.
Meng Xinzhu held her head, watching the singing and dancing in the hall, and then turned to look at the Tenth Princess, who was also looking at her. She was too busy today, so she didn't even say hello to her properly. Even the Nine Emperors Uncle and his wife knew that she was back in the palace.
, wanted to enter the Bamboo Garden, but was stopped by the emperor on the pretext of not disturbing her rest. But the emperor's uncle and godfather were making faces at her, so she couldn't help but lower her head and smile.
The music and dancing stopped, and everyone retreated. Princess Yuling suddenly stood up. Meng Xinzhu looked at her with a smile, knowing that the highlight of the day was about to begin.
"Your Majesty, Yu Ling came to the Moon Kingdom to ask Master Zhu for advice. He never thought that Master Zhu was the Concubine Zhu, which really surprised Yu Ling. The Concubine is a noble person, and Yu Ling shouldn't make mistakes. She just admires her too much.
I would like to ask your Majesty for some advice on your talents and knowledge. I hope the Emperor will understand Yu Ling’s desire for knowledge. Don’t be surprised!”
Hongde Longqiu straightened up, "The princess's eagerness to learn and make progress should be a model for the world. How can I blame you?"
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty," she said, facing the Bamboo Concubine, "Since your Majesty is the Princess of the Moon, and Yu Ling is the Princess of Asia, why not represent the two countries and compete with each other!"
The main hall suddenly became quiet. The princess's visit to the Moon Capital for Mr. Zhu was originally a personal act, but now she wants to compete with the imperial concubine, which has become a national event. Everyone looked at the dragon throne at the top, wanting to see what the emperor would do to her.
What's your opinion on this?
"How are the princesses going to compete?" Hongde Longqiu said calmly. Everyone had already discussed this issue in the imperial study room before, so her sudden request was not surprising.
The princess smiled and said, "Your Majesty's views on 'people' and 'food' are very insightful. Yu Ling does not understand state affairs and is not as good as your Majesty in this regard. Besides, we are both girls after all, so it is not easy for us to talk about state affairs. And
Reciting poems and writing poems is still an elegant thing, and meeting friends is enough, but using it in battles is just vulgar. As the saying goes, talents do not distinguish between families, and if a queen is talented, she must be smart. Since there have been competitions for literary talents in Asia before, Yu Ling is bold,
Let’s compete with the empress in a battle of wits and pleasure.”
Prime Minister Lin raised his eyebrows, "Since it's a competition, there must be a requirement for results?"
Yu Ling smiled and said, "Yes, if the empress loses, she will become her teacher and go to Asia to study for three years!"
Everyone in the main hall was in an uproar. "The princess is talking too much. How can I be allowed to go to Asia to become a disciple of the imperial concubine?" Many people in the main hall had already raised objections.
Princess Yuling smiled and continued to say calmly: "Why not? Since the empress represents the moon, if the empress loses, the moon loses. It is natural for the loser to go to study."
"What if the princess loses?"
"If Yu Ling loses, you should marry in the Moon Kingdom and listen to the teachings of the Moon Emperor and the Bamboo Concubine."
The hall suddenly became quiet. Meng Xinzhu sighed: "The princess's bet is too big!"
"Your Majesty, since it is a comparison between the two countries, you should take it seriously. If your Majesty loses, she will become a disciple. If Yu Ling loses, she will naturally get married so that they can have equal weight. What do you think?"
Meng Xinzhu couldn't help but smile. Although she couldn't see the expression behind her gauze hat, she could imagine that Yu Ling must also be laughing at this moment.
Princess Yu Ling is so awesome! As a royal concubine, if she loses, the Yue Kingdom will bear the shame of the royal concubine's defeat and going to study in Asia. This is really a shameful and humiliating thing that cannot be tolerated. In order to prevent Yue from being humiliated, she has no choice but to win.
Can't lose, Yu Ling has created heavy psychological pressure on the opponent before the competition. And if he wins, Yu Ling will marry Yue, which means to add a princess wife to the emperor, and an opponent to compete for favor.
Which concubine can endure it? Before the competition even started, this girl threw a dilemma question to her.
Hongde Longqiu frowned. He turned to look at Meng Xinzhu, who was smiling deeply. She also turned to look at him and whispered: "This makes me a little embarrassed. The princess is wearing a gauze hat, and I don't know what she looks like."
?If it’s a beauty, that’s fine. If it’s..."
"No matter how she looks, I will never want her."
"If you don't want it, then I will lose."
Hongde Longqiu couldn't help but glare at her, and held her wrist tightly, "I will never let you go to Asia!"
"Oh, it's really difficult to handle. Your Majesty doesn't want this or that. Losing is neither winning nor losing. Forget it, why not let me make my own decision. Maybe I can help you win a beautiful woman back to accompany you.
"After that, she stood up and said, "Okay, I promise you! Since the princess invited the game, let's ask the princess to tell you the rules."
"Okay, since it is Yu Ling who is challenging, Yu Ling will ask the questions first, and the queen will answer, and then vice versa. The number of questions is not many, so just seven questions for each person. In the end, it depends on the number of games won or lost."