Big Song Xiaohou Ye

Chapter 165 Zhao Zhen's Gift

Everyone thought, with Prince Xiao Yuan's dazzling diamond, what is the prime minister offering, and dare to be so high-profile.

Ding Wei took out a small wooden box. The wooden box was made of sandalwood, brown in color, and extremely exquisite in appearance. The whole wooden box was only the size of a palm, but he didn't know what was inside.

Lei Yungong took the wooden box carefully, and looked at Ding Wei with searching eyes.Liu E also straightened up. Ding Wei made it so mysterious that she didn't know what kind of treasure it was. She reached out to take the wooden box, opened it, and found that it was indeed a black pill the size of a pearl, and there was a faint smell from the pill. Fragrance.

"Prime Minister, what is this?" Liu E asked suspiciously.

Ding Wei bowed and said, "Report to the Queen Mother, this is Zhuyan Pill."

"Zhuyan Pill?" Liu E asked with brilliance in his eyes.

"Yes, this is made by the female Taoist priest in the old minister's mansion after seven to seven 49 days of refining. It has the effect of rejuvenating the face and delaying aging."

"Really?!" Liu E suddenly asked a little excitedly. She is 60 years old this year, and even if she pays attention to maintenance on weekdays, she is already old at this time.And the most unwilling thing for a woman is that her appearance is getting old. Even though they know that this is unstoppable, they still don't want to face the reality, especially Liu E.

"The old minister dare not lie to the queen mother. The female Taoist priest in the old minister's mansion is over fifty years old this year, but her appearance remains in her 30s. This is the best proof." Ding Wei said confidently.

Sure enough, when Ding Wei said this, Liu E was overjoyed instantly. She carefully took out the Zhuyan Pill, looked at it carefully, and finally sniffed it to her nose, she seemed to like it very much.

"Ding Wei, you dare to use the so-called Zhuyan Pill to deceive the Queen Mother. What is your intention?" Chen Yaozuo suddenly stood up and cursed at Ding Wei.

As soon as Chen Yaozuo spoke, several officials behind him also started talking, especially some elderly officials looked worried, as if there was something unspeakable.

It turns out that during the reign of Zhenzong, Zhenzong was extremely obsessed with asking gods and gods in his later years. At that time, a large number of so-called immortals and Taoists were raised in the palace. They actually advocated "auspiciousness from heaven", forged "Books from Heaven", and encouraged Zhenzong to direct one farce after another.

At that time, many ministers spoke uprightly, but Zhenzong had already been deeply involved in it and couldn't extricate himself. As a result, all ministers who opposed it were demoted, making the whole court a mess.It wasn't until Zhenzong's death and Liu E drove a group of Taoist priests out of the palace after he took power that the matter came to an end. However, after such a long period of tossing, the politics and economy of the Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses.

So some old ministers couldn't help being a little shocked when they heard that Ding Wei was advocating some elixir of immortality. They didn't expect that the queen mother would follow in Zhenzong's footsteps after she got old.

Chen Yaozuo yelled at him, but before Ding Wei could speak, Empress Dowager Liu E was not happy. She put Zhuyan Pill back into the wooden box, and said with some displeasure: "Mr. Whether the elixir is real or not, you will know once you try it?
"Queen Mother, you must not believe Ding Wei's lies. There is no beauty pill in this world! Birth, old age, sickness and death are human nature, and no one can stay young and youthful forever." Chen Yao Zuopiao persuaded earnestly.

"Enough! Chen Yaozuo, today is my [-]th birthday. Even if the prime minister lies, Aijia is happy. Do you want to spoil Aijia's mood!" Liu E snorted heavily.

"I don't dare." Chen Yaozuo sighed when he saw that the Queen Mother's face was ashen, and retreated slowly.

Ding said that when he offered the Empress Zhuyan Pill, the Empress Dowager held it directly in her hand, and she didn't even put it aside. The love was beyond words, and those who hadn't presented the gift later regretted that it was too late.

Seeing that everyone had almost offered congratulatory gifts, there was still one person who didn't offer them——Emperor Zhao Zhen.

Although Zhao Zhen kept smiling on the surface at this time, in fact, his inner strength was already burning with anxiety. Seeing that everyone had finished offering their gifts, but his own gift hadn't been delivered yet, how could this make him not anxious!
Finally, Zhao Ji, the king of Xiaoyuan, was the first to discover something was wrong. Ding Wei’s Zhuyan Pill suddenly overwhelmed his limelight. After Zhao Ji’s failure in the Cuju competition, he has been brooding about it all the time. Thinking of being robbed of the jackpot in the end, he was annoyed and glanced to the side, but accidentally saw something wrong with Zhao Zhen.

He secretly observed Zhao Zhen, seeing him quietly looking outside the hall after a while, he seemed quite anxious, obviously absent-minded.Hmph, even though I was robbed of the limelight, it wouldn't be too bad if I could make Zhao Zhen make a fool of myself in public.

"Brother Huang, I don't know what big gift you have prepared for this year? You have been reluctant to show it for so long. Could it be that you want the finale, haha..." Zhao Jipi asked with a smile.

Zhao Zhen had no choice but to bite the bullet and said according to Li Ce's teaching: "The gift I prepared is naturally different, and I bet that all the gentlemen will be shocked when they meet."

"Oh? Is that so? Brother Huang, why don't you show it to everyone?" Zhao Zhen sarcastically said.He didn't believe that Zhao Zhen could have any good things that he could sell. Every year on the Queen Mother's birthday, the things he produced were very shabby. The emperor of a country could not compare with some courtiers.

When Empress Dowager Liu E heard this, she couldn't help but think that the emperor hadn't presented a gift until now.She looked at Zhao Zhen with some dissatisfaction. Zhao Zhen's heart was burning, but he pretended to be calm and said: "The Queen Mother wait a moment, the gift is already on the way."

At this moment, all the eyes of the audience were on Zhao Zhen. Zhao Zhen regretted letting Li Ce prepare gifts. This kid is usually very free. At such an important moment today, he wouldn't make any fools, would he?Alas, at this moment, even if this guy brings back a pair of jade bracelets... Zhao Zhen scolded Li Ce countless times in his heart.

"Your Majesty, Li Cui asks to see you." Just at this moment, a young eunuch reported in a low voice.

Zhao Zhen can do it if he sees it, and hurriedly motioned to bring him in.The bastard finally arrived.

Li Ce strode in with a long cylinder on his back, and everyone's eyes were attracted by him. This guy was full of vigor, and he didn't have the slightest fear in front of so many civil and military ministers.

Chen Yaozuo winked, reminding him to be careful.Li Ce nodded secretly, a little moved in his heart, it was still his master who remembered him at critical moments.

"Li Ce, did you bring the Queen Mother's gift?" Zhao Zhen asked in a pretentious and unhurried manner.

"Please take a look, Your Majesty." Li Ce untied the long cylinder behind his back, bowed and handed it to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen took the long tube he handed over with some hesitation. He couldn't help but weigh it in his hand and felt that it was very light. There seemed to be nothing in it. What is this guy doing?Zhao Zhen hastily cast a reproachful look at him.

Li Ce just smiled and motioned him to open it first.

Zhao Zhen had no choice but to open the long tube, only to find that it looked like a painting scroll. He glanced at Li Ce suspiciously again, where did this kid find a pair of calligraphy and paintings by famous artists?But there are quite a lot of similar collections in the palace, besides, the Empress Dowager is not interested in antiques such as calligraphy and paintings at all.

"It's just calligraphy and painting from afar, what did I think His Majesty prepared?" Zhao Ji sneered dismissively.Liu E also seemed to be bored, and lowered her head to play with the diamond in her hand.

"This...this is, when the queen mother was young?" Zhao Zhen exclaimed, his eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing Zhao Zhen's stunned look, all the ministers were wondering what was so weird about this painting, and why His Majesty was so surprised.

Li Ce had expected Zhao Zhen's surprise, and he smiled complacently. It seems that the gift was chosen according to Zhao Zhen's wishes.

"Queen Mother, this is a gift prepared by the boy for you." Zhao Zhen said excitedly as he turned around and closed the scroll.

Liu E raised her eyelids, put away the diamond in her hand, and said slowly, "Grandpa Lei, take it here."

After Lei Yungong took the scroll with a bow, he slowly unfolded it...

"Ah! This... Queen Mother..." Lei Yungong's face changed drastically.

"What's the matter, everyone is making a fuss." Liu E was a little displeased. Lei Yungong was always respectful, but today he suddenly lost his composure.

Liu E glanced at Lei Yungong, and inadvertently glanced at the calligraphy and painting in his hand from the corner of his eye, and his whole body was shocked, suddenly his body seemed to freeze.

Seeing the Queen Mother staring blankly at the scroll in Lei Yungong's hand, all the ministers were puzzled as to what kind of painting it was, and why everyone who had seen it looked shocked.

I saw that the Empress Dowager's expression was first shocked, then excited, and then turned into joy, her complexion also turned pale and flushed, and finally even her eye sockets were a little moist!She reached out and took the scroll with both hands trembling.

Ding Wei frowned, squinted his eyes, and looked at Li Ce. This kid has repeatedly performed amazingly, and today's incident seems to be done by him, but what kind of Minggui's calligraphy and painting is it? The Queen Mother also stared intently.

Lei Yungong quietly handed over a silk handkerchief, and Liu E took it and wiped the corners of her eyes lightly. She took a deep breath and seemed to calm down and said, "Okay, my son did not disappoint me. The most satisfying gift I received on my tenth birthday, Zhen'er, I really don't know how to thank you for my mother!"

The ministers shook!If they hadn't heard it with their own ears, no one would believe that the always strict queen mother could say such a thing.

"Queen Mother, I have an unfeeling request. I want to see what kind of calligraphy and painting it is." Ding Wei finally couldn't help asking, he didn't believe that a pair of calligraphy and painting could be worth his Zhuyan Pill.

Liu E slowly closed her eyes, handed the scroll in her hand to Lei Yungong and said, "Eunuch Lei, let all the ministers take a look too."

Lei Yun took the scroll respectfully and held it high above his head, as if he respected it very much.

Ding Wei saw that Lei Yungong was so respectful to this painting, although he didn't understand why he was so respectful, but his experience told him that it should not be underestimated, so he bent down and took it respectfully.

As soon as Ding Wei took the scroll, the ministers behind rushed over one after another. Everyone was very curious. It had been a long time since the queen mother was so moved.

"how can that be?"

"Ah, it's the Queen Mother!"

"Lifelike and lifelike, it's really a magical skill!"

Everyone finally understood why the Empress Dowager was so moved just now, no one who looked at this painting might not be able to keep calm.It turns out that this painting is actually the appearance of the Empress Dowager Liu E when she was young: I can only see the person in the painting with peach cheeks and apricot face, picturesque eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth, and she is extremely beautiful!It was Liu E at the age of eighteen or seventeen!At that time, her skin was like creamy fat, fluff could be broken, her breath was like a orchid, refreshing, and when she looked back and smiled, she was full of charms, she was really a stunning beauty!

No wonder Liu E was in tears just now. Over 40 years have passed, and she often sees herself in her dreams when she was young. She was innocent and beautiful when she met King Xiang, who was not yet an emperor. They were in love with each other. ... The vicissitudes of life, how many springs and autumns have passed, and I never thought that I could see myself at the most beautiful time in my sixtieth year. I have no regrets in this life!

(End of this chapter)