Sir, can you marry me?

Chapter 237

The queen sized her up and praised: "As expected of the granddaughter of Emperor Mingshan, she has the fresh and elegant demeanor of Emperor Mingshan at a young age." She laughed, "From now on, you can come to the palace with your grandmother more often." This is a polite remark. King Qi and the crown prince are very close. Princess Ming Shanchang's family supports the crown prince, so the queen who supports her son, King Qin, is a little estranged from this sister-in-law.

"Yes, empress." The little girl said lightly.

Princess Mingshan saw that the queen had nothing to say, so she said: "The concubine will take the granddaughter to see the girls from other wives' families."

The queen nodded slowly.After Princess Mingshan took her granddaughter down, another married woman led her own daughter-in-law to kowtow to the empress.

In the Jiaotai Hall, the noble ladies introduced the girls they had brought one by one, and the other noble ladies watched with smiles and talked in a low voice, and began to choose a future daughter-in-law for their legitimate sons of the right age.

After the eleven or twelve young ladies were introduced, they couldn't help but praise their empress and said with a smile, the beautiful and lovely girls entered the palace for the first time, how could she, as a queen and elder, not give a meeting gift?Each of the girls rewarded a pair of gold wreaths, four gold and silver wishful-shaped ingots, and four bolts of colored satin.

The noble ladies who brought the girls into the palace led the girls out one after another to express their gratitude.

It was evening after some interviews, and the queen ordered the banquet to begin.The maids and eunuchs waiting outside the palace immediately filed in with delicious food and wine from the palace, and placed them on every table.

Xiao Wenqing looked at the delicacies on his table and lost his appetite.The dishes are well prepared, but are basically cold cuts and soups, which don't look very hot anymore.Thinking of the distance between the imperial dining room and the Jiaotai Hall, she understood that going to the royal banquet is an honor and a sight, but if she wants a good meal, she should go back to eat.No wonder Yuxuan asked her to prepare pastries in the sedan chair. It turns out that he already knew that she was here today to taste the cooking skills of the imperial dining room.

"Today's Shangyuan Festival, I wish the emperor a healthy dragon and a long life, and wish me a prosperous country and a prosperous life. Madams, please." The queen said loudly, raising the glazed cup to invite everyone to drink.

"Please, empress." The ladies immediately stood up and toasted, and then gracefully handed the blue and white porcelain wine cup to their mouths and took a sip of the wine.The little ladies also stood up, but they were holding small celadon bowls filled with honey water.

Xiao Wenqing didn't dare to drink, so she touched the wine cup with her lips.

Behind the queen, she motioned for the ladies to sit down.After the wife and the little girls were seated, an eunuch screamed: "Play the music, dance—" Immediately, there was a cheerful sound of silk and bamboo in the right corner of the Jiaotai Hall, and there were two rows of maikos in gorgeous dresses outside the hall. Out of the dancing posture, he trots in like a butterfly and dances in the Jiaotai Palace.

"Mrs. Ling Si, I heard that the reason why the emperor asked boys and girls aged 12 to 15 to enter the palace at the Shangyuan Festival banquet is because the emperor's grandchildren want to see your younger brother Xiao Wencong." Mrs. Guan, who was sitting with Xiao Wenqing, smiled. Said.

"Madam Guan, I've heard about it too. But I think it's mainly because the emperor dotes on his grandson, and by the way, it also allows young girls of similar age to have more contact with each other." Xiao Wenqing replied with a smile.

"Mrs. Ling Si, your younger brother is really amazing. It's a pity that my daughter is five or six years older than your brother, otherwise I would pester you for matchmaking." Mrs. Guan said, her tone was friendly and gentle.The emperor has used Ling Tongzhi a lot in recent years. If Ling Tongzhi can also be reused by the new emperor in the future, the members of Ling Tongzhi's faction will rise to the top.Xiao Wencong, as a young genius known by the emperor, can be expected to be an official in the third class in the future.

Xiao Wenqing covered her mouth and smiled lightly, and said: "It's too early to talk about marriage. My brother's memory is only better than ordinary people, and the rest is just mediocre." She was proud of her brother in her heart, but she still wanted to Be humble.

Mrs. Guan also knew this, so she continued to talk to Xiao Wenqing in a low voice, enjoying the singing and dancing in the hall, and occasionally took a bite of food with the silver chopsticks.Xiao Wenqing observed secretly, and the other wives did the same. They always took two pieces of food in front of her, and her movements were elegant and quiet.

Xiao Wenqing hadn't had dinner at this point in the past, and she ate two pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake in the sedan chair when she came here. Now she is not hungry at all, so she picks up the silver chopsticks and moves the delicacies in front of her like other ladies, very delicate to taste.

After a song and dance in the palace, the queen smiled and asked the wives, did the girls learn from the past?What are you learning?
All the wives guessed that the girls might be required to show their talents today, and they all made preparations at home, but none of them wanted their girls to perform first, so they pushed each other.Seeing this, the queen said, then let's start with the order in which the girls were introduced just now.

This is entertainment, and the banquet will be more festive, and the adults will not force the girls to come out and show their talents.Therefore, the fourth granddaughter of Princess Mingshan had no choice but to leave her grandmother and walk to the jade steps, saying that she was learning to play the piano, but she was not good at learning, and playing in public was afraid that it would pollute the mother's ears.

The empress comforted her a few words and asked her to play.Princess Ming Shanchang had already made preparations, and when the queen gave permission, she asked an eunuch to go out and spread the word, and asked her maid in the mansion to bring the guqin.

Clank, clank, a brisk and skillful piano piece was played.The queen nodded in approval, and immediately sent an order to reward her.The fourth granddaughter of Princess Mingshan immediately thanked her and withdrew.

In the Jiaotai Palace, the little noble ladies showed off their talents one after another, entertaining the empress and all the wives.In the Palace of Preserving Harmony, the emperor and other ministers were also enthusiastically testing the talents of the youngsters.The noble girls show off their talents in order to increase their social status and find a good husband for the future; the young boys do their best to accept the poetry, couplet, and essay exams of the emperor and ministers, and work hard for their future.

(End of this chapter)