Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

He finally spent some effort to separate the crowd so that Fan Xian and the other two could pass. At this time, Li Ang's carriage also arrived.

Unlike Fan Xian, Li An's team had several carriages, so it was obvious that he was not here alone.

"Brother Li!"

"Fan Xian, Miss Haitang. You guys are here quite early!"

Fan Xian was cautious and asked curiously, "Who are these people following us?"

"Mr. Zhuang Mohan Zhuang." Li An smiled and greeted Marquis Changning and Marquis Changan, then asked softly, "Have you prepared the gift?"

Fan Xian nodded in response. He looked at the slightly rustic and rigid carriage behind him, thinking about what was going to happen today, and seemed to be worried.

"Are you still thinking about what happened at the Qing State Banquet?"

"Not really." Fan Xian straightened his robes, got off the carriage, bowed to the back, and said loudly, "I haven't seen you for a long time. How is Mr. Zhuang?"

"My dear Fan, I am fine. Let's talk after we enter the palace!"

Zhuang Mohan's words could be heard from the carriage behind him, but his voice was a little weak and noisy, as if there were other people in the same carriage with him.

Fan Xian himself was a medical expert, and he knew Zhuang Mohan's condition as soon as he heard the voice, and kindly reminded him, "Please take good care of yourself, Mr. Zhuang!"

"Hahaha, thank you for your concern!"

Zhuang Mohan still did not show up.

Fan Xian and Li An returned to their carriages, and the carriages drove into the palace one after another.

Chapter 154 A surprising gift! (Fourth update)

When Li An came to his seat in the main hall and sat down, a figure pounced on him from behind!

Li An chuckled under the subtle feeling: "Princess Xiang, I haven't seen you for a long time, please don't make trouble."

This is the imperial palace, so there should be some rules.

Xiangge and Gina pouted, and the courage they had finally mustered disappeared in an instant with this sentence.

As the weather gets colder, the thick fur lining she wears no longer looks out of place, but instead highlights her playful and cute look!

In addition to the ninth-rank guard from that day, there was also a stranger standing beside her. He was a little older than the former, probably in his thirties.

The two guards stood on either side of the princess, both carrying weapons.

"Brother Li Li, can I call you that?"

Brother Xiang Gina said with some trepidation that she had been thinking about Li An for a long time. You must know that the barbarian country in the far north is extremely morbid in worshipping the strong, not to mention that the princess was attracted by Li An's handsome appearance at the beginning, so before returning home, she still wanted to get close to Li An again, hoping to make him change his mind.

This shows that she still has the ambition to marry a prince consort!

"Of course, I'm not much older than you."

Li An responded with a smile, looking up at Xiang Ge Gina who was blocking the sunlight. Her skin was so fair that it seemed to become transparent in the sunlight, and even the blood vessels on her face were clearly visible.

Brother Xiang and Gina breathed a sigh of relief. The handsome prince consort did not hate Gina, so she still had a chance!

Just as she was about to say something, she heard General Kang coughing behind her.

Li An was so moved that he looked to the right of the stage, directly opposite the desk where he was sitting. He saw that the person was the national teacher of Xihu, the newly promoted grandmaster - Yelu Xuan!

How dare he?

Or in other words, how dare Zhan Doudou and the Queen Mother do that?

A Western Hu national master was brave enough to march alone into the palace of another country, and the leader of that country was also confident in having such a great master so close to him. Could it be that both sides were very nervous and it all depended on a gamble?

"It's that annoying old man again!" Xiang Ge Gina gritted her teeth and even the two guards behind her did not try to stop her.

Without responding to Xiangge Gina, Li An nodded to Yelu Xuan as a greeting.

Yelu Xuan, who was sitting opposite, responded, then closed his eyes and rested without saying anything more.

"Little Princess, why are you here today?"

Xiang Ge Gina was all smiles, like the plum blossoms blooming in the snow in the north, bright in color. Her voice was soft and moving, imitating the soft whispers of the southerners, but after just two sentences, her unruly nature was exposed: "My lord, have you forgotten that after the poetry defeated the people of Xihu that night, the Emperor of Northern Qi agreed to give us another chance to persuade him, so we are here today."

"Of course, it's mainly because Gina missed you and thought she would see you again at the Queen Mother of Northern Qi's birthday banquet today. Sure enough, you came just after I arrived!"

She emphasized her longing, smiling and showing her white teeth, not feeling shy at all because of Master Li Ang's cultivation.

The two guards behind them looked at each other and thought that the princess was worthy of being a princess. What a roundabout way to save the country. It was really admirable!

"Well, after the banquet, you should fight for your country! I support you!"

Ang Lee laughed out loud, and his mood became wonderful because of this elf-like person.

When Xiangge Gina saw Li An laughing, she also laughed. These laughs made Fan Xian look at them with doubt.

Li An took out a piece of paper and asked Wang Shisanlang, who was sitting on his lower right, to pass it to Fan Xian. He then stopped paying attention to what was happening on the scene and imitated the master's movements of Yelu Xuan, closing his eyes and resting.

It's not for anything else, I just don't want to see the eldest disciple destroying the fruit before the main dish is even served.

After a while, when the guests were seated, it was time to start the banquet.

"Your Majesty is here!"

"The Queen Mother is here!"

Following the eunuch's chanting, Zhan Doudou and the Queen Mother came out one after another, accompanied by Haitang Duoduo, and sat at the top seats.

Zhuang Mohan also walked out and sat to the right of Li An in the audience.

"Your Majesty, Holy Ann!"

"Her Majesty Queen!"

After the greetings, the ministers took their seats one by one, and the opening ceremony was over.

At this time, a eunuch stepped forward and read aloud how the Queen Mother was and how His Majesty was. Under the leadership of the two, the world was like this and that.

These classical Chinese texts are totally incomprehensible to Ang Lee, who is well-read and has received nine years of compulsory education in modern society!

He strained his eyes to look at the scroll in the eunuch's hand, but was unable to recognize the characters on it.

This twisted seal script is actually a font inherited from the previous dynasty!

After a long time, the torturous foreplay was finally over, and the banquet officially began!

Next, the eunuchs sang and recited the gifts given by the officials.

"The Minister of Revenue, Lord Zhang, presented a golden Guanyin statue to wish the Queen Mother a thousand years of longevity!"

"Mr. Tian, ​​the Minister of Works, presented a pair of six-foot red corals."

"Marquis Changning presented the original painting of Maple Mountain from the previous dynasty."

"Marquis of Chang'an"

"Zhuang Mo and Han Zhuang sent me two volumes of surgery written by themselves."

When everyone was listening with great interest and sighing as everyone took out two circles of their own handwriting, the gift from the Northern Barbarian Princess Xiangge Gina surprised everyone even more!

"Princess Xiang Gejina of the Northern Barbarian Kingdom offered 3,000 cattle, 10,000 sheep, 5,000 horses, iron ore, and some tiger skins."

This! What a big deal!

You must know that this is not tribute, nor is it war reparations, it is just a gift for the Queen Mother's birthday. Besides, this is not the Queen Mother's full birthday, it is just her 36th birthday!

This shows the sincerity of the Northern Barbarian Kingdom in wanting to form an alliance!

I believe that when the deal is done, there will be gifts.

As the ministers in the field continued to talk, Brother Xiang and Gina's face became more and more proud. No matter what, they would complete their father's instructions!

Regardless of the discussions in the room, the eunuch kept talking and in a flash he was talking about the Western Hu Kingdom.

"The Xihu State Master offers 6,000 well-dressed slaves."

Fan Xian, who was sitting a little further away, frowned when he heard this. Even Wang Shisanlang and Hong Kaijia no longer had a good impression of Yelu Xuan.

"Nanqing envoy Fan Xian presents this. Presents this."

The eunuch's duck-like voice was like a duck being strangled by the neck. The sound was intermittent, getting smaller and smaller until there was no volume at all. He looked back at the emperor, looking embarrassed, not knowing whether he should continue reading.

Zhan Doudou smiled gently, making people feel like spring breeze, and said: "It's okay, just read it. No matter how valuable the gift is, I'm sure the Queen Mother won't blame you!"

The tone was set in just one sentence, and even the Queen Mother nodded in approval with a smile.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The eunuch turned around and sang loudly, "Envoy Fan Xian from Nanqing presents a load of birthday buns!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar!

Isn't this a provocation to His Majesty and the Queen Mother?

For such a big event, you, as a representative of Qing Kingdom, only sent a load of birthday buns that were worth very little!

This is really too much!

For a moment, the noise in the field could not be suppressed. If Fan Xian had not defeated many challengers standing on the roof of the car when he entered the city, someone would definitely have gone up to teach him a lesson!

Even so, those unpleasant words still came out one after another, directed directly at Fan Xian who was sitting quietly!

In the first half, Li An, Zhuang Mohan, and Yelu Xuan were all staring at Fan Xian with interest, wanting to see what kind of rat poison he was up to!

Chapter 155: Birthday party in progress. (th update)

"Master Xiao Fan, I wonder if there is any auspicious meaning in this?"

The Queen Mother asked gently with a smile on her face.

But she couldn't help but wonder in her heart what the henchman was up to.

"Empress Dowager, this load of birthday gifts was sent by a foreign minister in his own name. The money and property sent by the envoys are not included in this list."

Fan Xian stood up, bowed and explained, "When I was young, I was happiest when I ate this bean paste birthday bun on my birthday. It is more sincere and pleasing than all the gold and silver!"

He gasped and paused for a moment. When he saw the noise in the room gradually died down, he smiled and continued, "Of course, in addition to this birthday package, I have other gifts for the Queen Mother!"

"Oh? That's interesting!" The Queen Mother looked elegant, spoke in a gentle tone, and opened her cold and beautiful red lips: "In that case, let me take a look!"

"Yes!"

Fan Xian smiled confidently and shouted loudly to the outside of the hall: "Master Shen, come in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Zhong walked into the hall with brisk steps. What was strange was that although Shen Zhong had a smile on his face tonight, this smile revealed a sense of ease that was different from the past?

Yes, it was that relaxed feeling that even made his steps more agile!

No wonder Lord Shen didn't show up on the Queen Mother's birthday today. It turned out that he had been waiting outside the door! But what does this have to do with the gifts from the Southern Dynasty envoys?

While everyone was thinking, Shen Zhong knelt on the ground, bowed solemnly, and said in a loud voice: "Shen Zhong is late, I hope Your Majesty and the Queen Mother will forgive me! I wish the Queen Mother good health and a long life!"

"Nonsense!"

The Queen Mother laughed and scolded, "Today is a happy occasion. You are a minister in the court, so there is no need to perform such a grand ceremony."

"Thank you Queen Mother!"

Shen Zhong stood up and stared at Fan Xian with a not very friendly look.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Fan Xian bowed slightly and said, "This is the second gift from the foreign minister!"

"Haha!" Zhan Doudou seemed to understand something, but she wanted to borrow Fan Xian's words to say it, and couldn't help but jokingly said: "Master Fan, this Lord Shen is an official of my Northern Qi, how come he became your gift?"

Fan Xian pretended to be indignant and explained with a slight distress: "I have heard some gossip in Shangjing City in recent days, all of which are saying bad things about Lord Shen. I feel indignant for Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and Lord Shen! So I changed my mind and went to Lord Shen's house to try my best to comfort him. Now that it has worked, I will naturally present it to you on the occasion of the Queen Mother's birthday!"

As soon as Fan Xian finished speaking, Shen Zhong knelt on the ground again and shouted, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I have an unreasonable request. I hope Your Majesty and Queen Mother will grant it!"

The Queen Mother still didn't understand what was going on. She just glanced at the Crown Prince and smiled: "You can speak freely. Today is my mother's birthday. I will grant you any request you have!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Shen Zhong stood up straight, straightened his appearance, and abruptly took off his official hat. He said excitedly: "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to resign and return home!"

The place was silent, and even the ministers' breathing was deliberately lowered.

Marquis Chang'an looked puzzled, Marquis Changning was not interested, but Wei Hua seemed to be thinking about something.

Zhuang Mohan had a look of regret on his face. He sighed slightly but didn't say anything. He just glanced back and forth at Fan Xian and Li An's faces, as if he was confirming something.

Zhan Doudou on the stage, however, did not show any surprise. After thinking for a moment, he laughed and said, "Master Fan, Master Fan, your gift is really embarrassing!"