Lady Zhao

Chapter 16

The dinner party of the Duke's Mansion was held in a spacious place, surrounded by colorful lanterns, waterside rockery, and fiery red koi in the pool wagging their tails and swimming in circles, with little ripples.

There are seats along the side, all of which are small tables with red carpets on the ground floor. This is a venue specially set up for the court officials and the Six Princes. The environment is elegant and separated from the stage in the vestibule, which has a unique charm.

The maids shuttled back and forth in their fragrant clothes, delivering delicacies to the table one after another, and the sound of cups and cups colliding could be heard endlessly. It was Zhao Yuanjin who was paying respects to the ministers one by one, thanking them for coming to the Duke's mansion to celebrate his father's birthday.

With the halo of the prince of the Duke's Mansion, the ministers are polite. Seeing that he is responsible at a young age, his words and deeds are still calm, and his words are full of praise. Zhao Yuanjin stands up, pretending to be modest, but his heart is full of vanity Satisfied to the extreme, he deliberately went to Mr. Chen's seat, and exchanged pleasantries. The implication revealed that he hoped that Mr. Chen would take care of him in Qiu Wei.

Mr. Chen responded politely, stroked his beard and laughed, "Young Master Lingfu is extremely talented. He was very famous back then, and I still remember him writing poems in seven steps. It's a pity..." He sighed and changed his voice, "It must be two Young master, you will definitely not be on a mission, the old man wants to ask some advice today, how about the second young master composing a poem about today's scene to celebrate it and make it even better?"

Zhao Yuanjin, who was originally smiling, froze immediately, his eyes flickered slightly, showing a little panic, Zhao Hongsheng just came out, and heard all the ministers echoing Mr. Chen's proposal, looking at his son with a smile on his face, also It is hoped that he can gain a reputation for being a good writer at this banquet. Once Qiu Wei is admitted to the Dinghui official, his career will be prosperous and his family will be glorious.

However, Zhao Yuanjin didn't have much ink in his stomach at all, and he was always taken care of by his master. Once he had to deal with it on the spot, he would only panic, otherwise, how could he steal the exam questions.Mr. Zhao thought that Zhao Yuanjin was just being confused for a while, but he didn't expect him to be so ineffective. He groaned on the spot for a long time, but he didn't do anything for a long time. The smile on Zhao Hongsheng's face also froze, and his eyes erupted like lava , with the posture of being furious and slapped.

Zhao Yuanjin shrank his neck, watching the people around him change from looking expectant to coughing in low voices, as if he felt embarrassed for Zhao Hongsheng.

When Lord Chen and the other ministers saw this scene, they understood in their hearts that no one would produce a few dudes. After all, today is a birthday banquet, so it is hard to say anything, especially Lord Chen is very guilty. Seeing that the atmosphere made him mess up , Originally, he wanted to accept a good intention and let Zhao Yuanjin show off the limelight, but who knew where it would become so embarrassing, and was about to stand up to make things right, when he heard a voice coming from a distance.

Everyone followed the sound and saw that a dark green and silver brocade robe in the bright lights drew an elegant arc in the air. He slowly stepped into the banquet, tall and slightly thin, and he seemed to be dizzy at this moment The high-spirited halo, every step of the line, composes a poem in his mouth, the words are smooth, gorgeous and durable, it is a must.

The boy who came from afar has poetic eyebrows and thin lips that seem to be forever filled with a warm smile. If it is too much, it will be too enthusiastic, if it is too small, it will be alienated, neither cold nor hot, just right.The overly fair and handsome face fell on everyone's eyes, and he could only sigh like a banished fairy, but he didn't notice the tiny beads of sweat oozing from his temples.

"This is... Eldest Young Master?" One of them asked in surprise.

"It's Zhao Yuanli, the eldest son of Duke Dingguo's family. I met him a few times when I was a child, so I won't remember him wrongly like this."

Zhao Hongsheng was stunned, his face full of surprise spread to the brows, gradually softened by Zhao Yuanjin's sullen face, he couldn't help but think of what his eldest daughter Zhao Wenwan said in the room not long ago, this is what Wen Wan wanted to do. A congratulatory gift to yourself?
Suffered from a serious illness when I was young, which damaged the foundation of my body, so I had to take good care of it. There were many demands on what I couldn't do and what I couldn't touch. I gradually developed a closed personality, and I didn't like to go out of the yard, let alone socialize with others. Seeing the child he was most proud of became like that, Zhao Hongsheng also felt uncomfortable, and he was quite accommodating to him, but he still had a little expectation in his heart.

The current scene is exactly what Zhao Hongsheng dared not reveal to Zhao Yuanli all these years, but he often dreamed about it in his heart at midnight.Zhao Yuanli was willing to come out on his own, Zhao Hongsheng was full of emotions, and was moved a lot. An eldest son means a family's future glory, he was very relieved, and his eyes were slightly moist for no reason.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Chen immediately praised, "Young master is indeed young and promising, and he is suave and suave."

The others followed suit with praise to the sky, envious of Mr. Zhao for having such a son who was astonishing in talent, learning and appearance, and the embarrassing atmosphere created by Zhao Yuanjin was already forgotten by Zhao Wenli's appearance. Lock all eyes on Zhao Yuanli.

Zhao Yuanjin flicked his sleeves, feeling itchy in his heart, he found a remote case in shame and annoyance, drank heavily, and didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.

Zhao Yuanli was not timid when he entered the banquet hall, his demeanor was calm and sophisticated, almost everyone would go up to him and ask a few words of concern, Zhao Yuanli answered them all humbly and earnestly, with thoughtful etiquette, Zhao Hongsheng was very worried about his son's health, But proud of it.

At the banquet, although Zhao Yuanli was a little tired, he specially nourished his body for a few days before, and today he took a few slices of ginseng to support himself, which was barely enough. Fortunately, he didn't cough all the time, and only covered his lips and coughed a few times in the empty space. Voice.

"Brother, now there is only you and me in the mansion. Do you want to be like this for the rest of your life? When grandma can't protect us, Aunt Ye's Xia looks at her like a tiger. People. Do you really want to be that useless person who makes people look down on you and feel sorry for yourself, or let those who have ridiculed you regret it because of their ignorance back then? Brother, you can make your own choice."

Zhao Yuanli stared at the leaving figure of his sister, and stayed there for a long time. His words disturbed everything, and the sudden storm that overwhelmed the river and the sea drenched him thoroughly. It was like waking up from a dream. There is nothing arrogant and self-sufficient, just unwilling to admit his weakness and lost brilliance, such a way of living is simply what a coward does.

He wants to come back alive, and...to live well for those he loves and those who love him.

"Father, my son has prepared a special congratulatory gift for you on today's birthday. The performance will only be performed after the sixth prince enters the venue. My son will go back and prepare."

Zhao Hongsheng nodded, knowing what he meant, the sixth prince is the most valuable guest today, and Yuan Li is prudent, so this congratulatory gift must be able to please the sixth prince, "Well, the prince should be entering the venue soon."

"The son left first."

Zhao Hongsheng smiled in satisfaction, and continued to drink with his colleagues.

After a while, Gu Jingxing really came, stepped on luxurious black boots and sat on the main seat, and Zhao Hongsheng, who was carved with pineapple and carved with dragons, sat down next to him, and dozens of ministers sat down in order according to their ranks, paying respects to the prince .

Gu Jingxing smiled lightly: "Ministers, you don't need to be too polite. We don't have any monarchs and ministers today. This king is here to celebrate Zhao Guogong's birthday. Just like you, everyone can enjoy the banquet to the fullest."

Zhao Hongsheng hurriedly made a gesture of gratitude, folded his sleeves and nodded, "Thank you, my lord, I'm not very frightened."

"Hey, Mr. Zhao Guo is the pillar of the country, as it should be. I heard that the eldest son is going to send congratulatory gifts here when I just came here. It must be extraordinary. Let's start now."

After finishing speaking, a young servant set up a large black lacquered table in the center, with pens, inks, papers and inkstones on them, one by one.

The little servant retreated, and everyone looked at the banquet entrance very curiously, but Zhao Yuanli didn't see him coming up, and they looked at each other for a while, talking a lot.Gu Jingxing wore a shallow smile, but his appearance was majestic.

A section of elegant tune suddenly sounded, like a mountain spring meandering from a deep valley, flowing slowly, everyone stopped discussing in an instant, only listening to the tune coming from the octagonal wind-bell pavilion in the water pavilion, Gu Jingxing was attracted by the sound and couldn't help but follow the crowd to watch , the pavilion is not far away, but it is covered by a white gauze, and a graceful beauty can be vaguely seen from the inside, and the elegant sound of the piano is flying in. Inside the gauze are the shadows of many colorful butterflies, dancing gracefully, which is extremely beautiful.

"Who is this playing the piano?" Gu Jingxing asked curiously, it was really very comfortable to play.

Zhao Hongsheng has excellent eyesight, isn't it his eldest daughter Zhao Wenwan who won the reputation of the most beautiful woman in the capital?The face is even more proud, "Back to the prince, it is Zhao Wenwan, the eldest daughter of the minister."

Gu Jingxing raised his eyebrows, his black eyes were deep, and he looked into the pavilion a few more times.

The sound of the piano gradually became better, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Only then did Zhao Yuanli come out slowly, and walked to the front of the wooden table to paint with a pen.When the ink was slightly dry, Butler Ding carefully took it and presented it to his master and prince, causing both of them to look away.This imitates Yan Gong's painting style, Cranes celebrate birthday, the brush and ink are rich, vigorous, and the painting style is clear, it is an absolute masterpiece.

The sixth prince loves painting, especially when he saw this one, he couldn't help but say, "Blue is better than blue, Yuan Li should not be underestimated."

The minister who heard the prince's praise said, "The prince is really happy, a pair of sons and daughters are so talented, it's really enviable!"

Zhao Hongsheng was so satisfied that he couldn't help laughing out loud.

Zhao Wenwan in this pavilion is playing the piano gracefully. When you look carefully, her five fingers are still a few minutes away from the strings, and she hasn't touched the strings at all. It is a professional account, and only needs to be dubbed later.

Of course she doesn't know how to play the piano. The real player is behind the rockery, and she hired a technician from the band workshop to prepare it for this banquet. Her purpose is very simple, as long as her elder brother and herself shine in this banquet. , In the future, the future candidate daughter-in-law circle will definitely be more liked by the husband's family, and it is also paving the way for a better life for myself and my eldest brother in the future.

Zhao Wenwan heard that the male protagonist, the Sixth Prince, was also here, so he wanted to see what kind of evil this male protagonist who was going to kill him was. Seeing that Zhao Wenwan was fascinated before, when the breeze blew out a corner of the gap, Zhao Wenwan poked his neck and took a look. There was no one sitting on it!
What about others?
As soon as he was distracted, he heard the sound of the piano stop abruptly, and then there was an extremely ear-piercing sound. Zhao Wenwan frowned and said badly to himself.

(End of this chapter)