"Your Majesty, on this joyous occasion, I, Yang Min, would like to compose a poem, firstly to congratulate the Princess on her birthday, and secondly to wish Your Majesty good health!"
Just as Xie Yuan was exchanging pleasantries with the women around him, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old stood up.
Although she was young, she was extremely courageous.
She was quite beautiful, with a touch of the pride of a noblewoman from a prominent family.
A young woman of sixteen, radiant and beautiful, stood before Empress Xie Yuan without flinching or showing any fear.
Xie Yuan curled his lips into a smile. "A woman from the Yang family? Is she from the lineage of the Empress Dowager?"
A few days ago, among the court officials who were clamoring for Xie Yuan to be "virtuous and capable," a minister surnamed Yang was the most enthusiastic.
Xie Yuan recognized this person; he came from the Yang family of Hongnong and was the Empress Dowager's nephew.
When the late emperor was still alive, the Yang family was considered a first-class maternal relative.
This Feng'en Gong could also be considered a powerful minister.
Unfortunately, with the passing of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager retired to the inner palace.
The newly enthroned emperor, Helian Jue, was not even close to his maternal relatives, the Xiao family, let alone the Yang family, who were a generation apart.
While the Yang family's fortunes may not have plummeted, they certainly experienced the harsh realities of life.
Having once enjoyed power, they naturally dare not face their current decline.
The Yang family branch originally obtained the title of Duke because of their status as maternal relatives.
Now that the older generation of great-aunts seems to be failing, they want to send a new generation of granddaughters into the palace.
Helian Jue's mourning period was over, and he finally took a foreign beauty as his concubine. For families like the Yang family, who were always looking to rely on nepotism, this was nothing short of a stimulant.
They were incredibly excited and eager to try everything.
Other families could still hold on, but the Yang family was too eager for power and wanted to return to their peak.
That Lord Yang became the scapegoat.
Xie Yuan didn't hold back, directly saying, "I'll treat this as if you're talking nonsense," which made the other party feel extremely embarrassed and indignant.
And from this beginning, Xie Yuan revealed her "jealous woman" side—
She kept all memorials related to the selection of beauties hidden away and never sent them out.
Whenever someone in the court advised her to be virtuous, she would either scold them or storm off!
She became jealous!
Go ahead and impeach me if you dare.
If you're so bold, wait until the saint returns and then sue me.
Xie Yuan displayed such an arrogant and fearless attitude.
Actually, Xie Yuan really wanted to say: Stop causing trouble!
I'm saving you all!
The sage is a madman. You go and provoke him. I really can't believe what will happen!
Unfortunately, no one knew Xie Yuan's good intentions.
Even young ladies like Yang Min probably misunderstood that she was acting out of jealousy.
So, having finally gotten a chance to meet Empress Xie face to face, Yang Min, just like her own father, was the first to jump out.
"Reciting poetry?"
Xie Yuan wasn't particularly interested in such talent displays.
She's more like a science and engineering woman; she likes drawing blueprints, working on infrastructure projects, and conducting experiments...
She didn't particularly enjoy composing poems, writing essays, or engaging in literary pursuits.
The original owner was a woman from the Xie family. She was well-versed in poetry and literature from a young age and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Especially in calligraphy, his strokes are vigorous and simple, like dragons and phoenixes dancing in the air.
Xie Yuan inherited everything from the original owner, and has continued to practice calligraphy over the years.
However, he still neglected his literary skills and other pursuits.
However, Xie Yuan didn't particularly like it, but he was willing to appreciate the talented men and women showcasing their abilities.
Xie Yuan knew, of course, that Yang Min's motives were impure, but since her words were quite reasonable, Xie Yuan didn't stop her.
"Very well! The young lady of the Yang family is so kind, how could I possibly refuse!"
Xie Yuan leaned on the armrest with one hand, his posture relaxed yet not impolite.
There was no way around it; with her high looks, elegant demeanor, and the majesty of an empress, she wouldn't be ridiculed even if she sat with her legs spread apart.
When Yang Min saw that Xie Yuan had agreed, a hint of confidence and pride flashed across her still somewhat childish face.
She stood proudly and recited a seven-character quatrain on the spot.
The poem is well-structured and rhymes smoothly. Apart from the slightly redundant word choice, it is quite good overall.
Xie Yuan nodded slightly, offering his praise politely.
"Your Majesty, your subject, Wang Shi Awan, wishes to offer a dance to celebrate the Princess's birthday and to add to Your Majesty's joy."
Yang Min made a small splash in the limelight.
She had just sat down when another young woman stood up.
Xie Yuan took a closer look and realized, oh dear, this person was also an "acquaintance".
Wang Yu's youngest daughter.
It's just unknown whether she's Wang Yu's own granddaughter or a distant relative's grand-niece.
However, the difference is not significant.
Large families often live together as a clan, and examples of five generations living under one roof are not uncommon.
For aristocratic families, as long as a daughter is a member of the family, whether she is a close relative, a cousin, or even a member of the extended family, there is a difference, but it is not particularly significant.
When a woman comes from a family, her glory is also the glory of the entire family!
"good!"
Xie Yuan realized that today's feast was not only a "trap" but also a "feast for beauties".
Most of the most attractive young women in Beijing are probably here. (Reading in the library)
After all, Empress Xie Yuan rarely held formal banquets except for the three major festivals and her birthday.
The young woman wanted to perform, but there was no suitable stage for her.
Xie Yuan rarely attends the birthday banquet at the Prince of Ruyang's residence, so each family seized the opportunity to try and outdo each other in their splendor.
Xie Yuan did not support this, but he was not vehemently opposed either.
The young ladies just wanted to show off their talents; they weren't crying and begging to enter the palace.
Xie Yuan wanted to refute it, but he didn't have a legitimate reason.
Alright, let's just treat this as pre-battle entertainment.
It's nice to see young girls dancing, playing instruments, reciting poems, and drawing pictures!
Xie Yuan's tense nerves relaxed somewhat after seeing the young girls vying to perform.
"Your Majesty!"
Nanling, however, guarded her empress like a loyal protector.
Helian Qi is ready and will make his move when the time comes.
Although Nanling knew that since her mistress had known about the plan in advance, she would definitely prepare for a counterattack immediately.
But even the most meticulous plans can have unexpected twists and turns.
For example, Nanling was particularly careful about the drinks and food at banquets.
We must not let the Empress stumble over such a trivial matter.
Therefore, when each young lady finished her performance and was about to offer wine to the goddess, Nanling would personally carry the wine pot and pour the wine for her.
This pot of wine was personally inspected and tasted by Nanling, and there was absolutely no problem with it!
Xie Yuan sipped his wine gently and lowered his eyelids.
She really wanted to tell Nanling: Silly child, if someone really wants to poison someone, they don't necessarily have to put it in the drink.
Wine glasses, wine pots, and other utensils can all be used to poison.
In addition, there are some "incompatible" palace intrigue tactics—alcohol itself is not poisonous, but if it is eaten with a certain thing, it will produce a poisoning effect.
These little tricks have been thoroughly explored in later palace dramas and domestic dramas.
But this time, she's really going to get poisoned!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
