Ci Jinzhi

Here in the lotus garden, the banquet has just begun.

The palace woman with high temples and long sleeves twirled and danced on the field covered with thick carpets, and the sound of silk and bamboo lingered in people's ears.

Beautiful people, beautiful music, indoors as warm as spring, and snow flying all over the sky.Everyone in the hall was already drunk before they even had a drink.

King Xiu picked up his wine glass and raised it in several directions: "Thank you for your donations. On behalf of my father and the disaster victims in Dingbei, Xiao Wang, I would like to offer a toast to everyone."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Xie Xiu Wang." Everyone responded.

"You don't have to be restrained, just stay at home."

King Xiu has a dignified appearance and a calm demeanor, without any pretensions of a prince.The originally nervous people gradually relaxed, and the atmosphere became lively.

King Xiu came to Xinyou with a glass of wine in hand: "Xiao Wang has admired Miss Kou for a long time, and today I finally have the opportunity to offer Miss Kou a drink, and I hope Miss Kou will appreciate it."

Everyone was toasting each other, and from the corner of their eyes they desperately glanced here.

A few days ago, at Princess Zhaoyang's birthday banquet, they still haven't forgotten that King Qing asked Ms. Kou for a drink. Will King Xiu also ask Ms. Kou for a drink today?

Tsk tsk, let's not say whether this matter is good or bad, there are a total of two princes who came out of the palace to start a mansion, and they all toasted to Miss Kou, and Miss Kou was the only one among the girls in the capital.

Everyone held their wine glasses as if nothing had happened, but they couldn't wait to see how Miss Kou would respond.

Looking at this scene, He Qingxiao also thought of that day.

After that day, everyone said that Miss Kou could drink a thousand cups, but he knew she was drunk.

Her drunken words are still in my ears: Mr. He, why are you looking better today than usual?

Thinking of this, He Qingxiao bent her lips unconsciously.

It was also because of Miss Kou's words that he returned to Changle Hou Mansion that day and took a good look in the mirror for the first time.

Looking in the mirror, the memories that Aunt Gui found were not very good, He Qingxiao withdrew her thoughts, and slightly exerted force on the hand holding the wine glass.

King Xiu has always kept a low profile, why is he so enthusiastic about Miss Kou today?

It is true that Ms. Kou is the one who donated the most money among the people present, but she is a young girl, and it seems a little too much for the status of King Xiu.

But looking at King Xiu's expression, he was calm again.

He Qingxiao pursed her thin lips slightly, watching the changes quietly.

Xinyou's eyes swept over the tray that Gong'e was carrying, and she picked up the wine glass placed in front of her.

The seats for the banquet had been reserved long ago, and the first thing she served at this table was fruit wine.

"His Royal Highness Xiu Wang is polite." Xin You raised his wine glass, lowered his eyes and drank the fruit wine.

King Xiu happily drank the wine in his glass, and said softly, "Miss Kou eats more vegetables. This dish of preserved deer in honey sauce is a specialty dish of the royal chef in the palace. Miss Kou can try it."

"Thank you His Royal Highness Xiu Wang." Xin You thanked generously.

She hadn't had much contact with King Xiu, so she didn't know whether it was because she donated the most that King Xiu treated him differently, or whether King Xiu was gentle and polite to others.

Either way, it didn't matter to her.

Xiuwang nodded at Xinyou and walked to the next table.

Seeing that there was no excitement, everyone silently withdrew their attention.

"Miss Kou, I offer you a toast." A girl at the same table toasted Xinyou.

The girl has long eyebrows, and she has a heroic beauty. When she introduced herself, she showed no sign of coyness: "My name is Bai Ying, and I came to the banquet for my mother. My mother used to be a general under General Xu..."

As soon as Xin You heard it, she knew the identity of the girl.

During the years when Emperor Xingyuan conquered the world, Empress Xin has been walking hand in hand with him. This has set an example for many women. In the troubled times, there have been several famous female generals. Unfortunately, these female generals either died in the war or were injured. Retire, or marry and have children, never to be seen again in court.Among them, General Bai is the most famous and has the highest combat exploits.

Although people seldom mention General Bai anymore, Xin You has heard of it.

After the founding of Da Xia, General Bai lived in seclusion due to old injuries, and then suddenly gave birth to a daughter, but General Bai was not married at that time.This caused an uproar at the time, and many courtiers angrily wrote a letter requesting to take away the canonization of General Bai, but Emperor Xingyuan refused.

It is said that Empress Xin slapped the dagger in front of Emperor Xingyuan and said that whoever mentions depriving General Bai of his merits will destroy his house.

It is also said that in the years when Empress Xin had not left, there were few officials and nobles who took concubines. Firstly, they did not want to impress the Empress Empress badly, and secondly, the shrew at home really dared to carry a knife...

Bai Ying looks to be in her twenties, and she still looks like a girl who hasn't left the court.

Xinyou toasted: "My name is Kou Qingqing, to Miss Bai."

Presumably Miss Bai's mother had had a drink with her mother, Xin You couldn't help feeling fond of the girl in front of her.

Sensing Xinyou's kindness, Bai Ying drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.

In fact, she didn't look so calm and breezy, and she was worried about the embarrassment after being rejected when she picked up the wine glass.

She is a person whose father is unknown. Since she was a child, those people were polite on the surface, but they were contemptuous in their hearts, and many people said some nasty things to her face.

She just thought that Miss Kou, who donated 5 taels of silver, was amazing, and it would be a pity if she didn't even say a word to sit at the same table.

"What does Miss Bai do on weekdays? If you have free time, you can often come to Qingsong Bookstore to play..."

Bai Ying couldn't help but nodded.

She is not a person who likes to read scripts, but she decided to go back and buy all the scripts from Qingsong Bookstore and take a good look.

He Qingxiao looked into the distance and couldn't help raising his lips.

Miss Kou seems to have made new friends again.

After drinking for three rounds, the atmosphere was in full swing, and suddenly an announcement sounded: "The emperor is here——"

Everyone in the hall paused, many of them dropped their chopsticks in shock, and then hastily prostrated themselves, saying "Your Majesty".

Emperor Xing Yuan walked into the hall surrounded by the crowd, and the heat that hit his face made him squint his eyes.The beautiful cloak that had fallen a lot of snow was taken off by the eunuch Sun Yan, and handed over to the servant at the side.

King Xiu came over: "Royal Father."

Emperor Xing Yuan nodded slightly, his eyes slowly swept across the people in the hall, and he saw Wu Ya pressing the back of his head.

"The earthquake in Dingbei caused me to be unable to sleep at night thinking about the suffering of the people. Thanks to your kind deeds, you have helped the disaster victims in Dingbei to tide over the difficulties. Get up, I came this time to see the benevolent people in my capital with my own eyes. "

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Many people quietly wiped their eyes when they got up, and some even trembled with excitement.

Oh my god, I can see the emperor by donating some money, and I will donate again next time I have this opportunity!
When Emperor Xing Yuan saw the expressions of these people, he guessed their general thoughts, and there was a faint smile in his eyes.

He came here because he was curious about Miss Kou, and it would be a surprise if he could inspire these rich households to donate actively in the future.

"I heard that the owner of Qingsong Bookstore, Ms. Kou, donated the most money to the disaster area."

As soon as Emperor Xingyuan said this, some wealthy businessmen with exceptionally rich family backgrounds regretted it.

If I knew that donating 5 taels would be named by the emperor, it is not impossible to donate.

Why didn't you tell me sooner!
But Duan Shaoqing was in a different mood: Why didn't the emperor say that she was Duan Wensong's niece, but the owner of Qingsong Bookstore?
Regardless of everyone's concerns, Xin You stood up and saluted after being ordered by the emperor: "Minister Kou Qingqing, I have seen Your Majesty."