Mountain and River Festival 208. Reactions from all parties

The Xu family's welcoming banquet was held at the Dingguo Palace. To show respect for the Xu family, Mo Xiuyao invited all the civil and military officials of Ruyang and even notified the Dingguo Palace's confidants and elites stationed in other prefectures in the northwest in advance. He solemnly introduced the Xu family to the generals and officials in the northwest, and made people understand that the Xu family is not just the maternal family of Princess Ding, but will have an important position in the northwest in the future. Because of the original reputation of the Xu family, people naturally did not have any rejection or jealousy. Anyone with a little knowledge would understand that the Xu family's arrival in the northwest at this time would only benefit the Dingguo Palace and the Mo family army.

The banquet was naturally very lively, and the atmosphere was harmonious and festive. Even though Ye Li had to look after the baby, she left the table a little early. As she led the group back through the garden, she saw Qin Zheng sitting alone in a pavilion beside the pond, lost in thought. Ye Li stopped and asked softly, "Why is Sister Zheng'er here?" Qingyu behind him said, "Just now at the banquet, Miss Qin seemed a little uncomfortable and left first." Qingshuang said, "Miss Qin came to the northwest alone, maybe she is not used to it." Ye Li lowered his brows and thought for a while, then said, "Wait here for a while."

Ye Li walked into the pavilion lightly and said with a smile, "Why are you sitting here, Sister Zheng'er?"

Qin Zheng was obviously startled. She turned around and saw Ye Li, then she breathed a sigh of relief and stood up and said, "Princess..." Ye Li held her down with her hands and said helplessly, "It's only been more than a year since we last met, but Sister Zheng'er has become quite unfamiliar with me." Qin Zheng looked at Ye Li in embarrassment, not knowing what to say for a moment. Ye Li smiled and said, "Could it be that after Sister Zheng'er and my second brother get married, she will continue to call me Princess?" Qin Zheng blushed, staring at Ye Li helplessly, but she was a little more relaxed than before.

After the teasing, Ye Li sat down, stretched out her hand and held Qin Zheng's hand and said: "I see that sister Zheng'er is unhappy. Is there something you are not used to or is there something that has neglected you in the mansion?" Qin Zheng shook her head quickly, her eyes reddened a little, and whispered: "Everyone is very nice to me, but... I miss home. My parents raised me and obeyed me in every way. But I have never repaid them in the slightest and have left them. I am really unfilial." Ye Li sighed softly. , patted Qin Zheng's hand gently, and said softly: "Lord Qin and Madam Qin are willing to let you leave the capital, naturally for your happiness. Just stay in the northwest with peace of mind, it's not like we will never have the chance to meet again in the future. The most important thing now is the marriage of my second brother and Sister Zheng'er. My eldest aunt and second aunt both talked to me about this in the evening. It seems that my second brother and second aunt are also anxious to marry Sister Zheng'er home."

"Li'er!" Qin Zheng's beautiful face suddenly turned red as if blood could drip out, but she could not avoid Ye Li's teasing and had to cover her face with her hands, and said dissatisfiedly: "I haven't seen you for a year, why are you imitating Murong, Li'er?" Ye Li smiled and said, "What's wrong with imitating Murong? Say whatever you want to say, otherwise you will hurt yourself by keeping it in your heart. Well, sister, don't be shy. If it weren't for my second brother to accompany me to the northwest last year, you would have been married a long time ago. Sister Zheng'er, just be a bride with peace of mind. Li'er will definitely prepare a grand wedding for you and second brother." Qin Zheng lowered her head, hid the tears in her eyes and whispered: "Li'er, thank you." Ye Li smiled and said, "We are a family, what is there to thank you for?" Qin Zheng smiled and said nothing. How could she not feel uneasy when she, a girl in her teens, left her parents and the capital to go to the northwest? Although the Xu family was not difficult to get along with, and the second wife of Xu was very caring towards her, Qin Zheng, who was raised in a secluded family, still felt uneasy without her parents to rely on. Moreover, the second son of the Xu family, Xu Qingze, was a cold person himself, and naturally would not ask about Qin Zheng's well-being, which exacerbated Qin Zheng's worries.

After carefully comforting Qin Zheng, he called the maid who was supposed to serve Qin Zheng and asked Qingyu to personally send Qin Zheng back to the small courtyard where she was temporarily staying.

When she returned to the room, she saw that Mo Xiuyao had already returned and was lying on the side of the cradle with a bored look, poking Mo Xiaobao's delicate little face. Ye Li washed up, changed her clothes and came out, helplessly saying, "Prince, do you want to poke the baby's face into an ugly monster?" He was playing when she came in, and he was still playing when she came out after washing up. Even if she didn't use force, the baby's pink skin couldn't stand his nonsense. When she walked to the side of the cradle, she saw that the little guy had woken up and was looking at her with his big round eyes. Maybe because he just woke up, his big eyes were watery and looked very aggrieved. Leaning over and picking up the little guy, Ye Li patted him with a loving look and said, "Good boy, Daddy is bad, let's ignore him." While whispering softly to the baby, he slowly walked around the room to coax the baby to sleep. He didn't notice the gloomy face of someone behind him. He is bad? The bastard boy is indeed his natural nemesis. Ah Li actually said he is bad for him? !

Mo Xiuyao's tangible resentment finally caught Ye Li's attention. She turned around and looked at the man sitting beside the bed, staring at the gloomy face of the baby in her arms, and sighed helplessly in her heart. Other men wished they had a precious son, but this man in front of her was like a son was his enemy in his previous life. She carefully placed the baby in Mo Xiuyao's hands and smiled, "Prince, are you still young? Why are you so angry with the baby?"

Mo Xiuyao snorted softly, and rubbed the little meat ball in his hands with great pity, "You raised him so fat, are you going to eat him?" Ye Li rolled her eyes. The baby was round and plump, white and tender, but he was far from being fat, okay? Fortunately, Mo Xiuyao also knew that his Ah Li didn't like others to dislike her precious son, so he didn't say anything more. He just disdained Mo Xiaobao who knew nothing and was powerless to resist his abuse, and asked: "Why did you come back so late?" Ye Li told her about what she saw Qin Zheng in the garden just now, and finally asked: "Aunt and second aunt mean that the wedding date should be set after the baby's full-month banquet. Aunt means that Sister Zheng'er should marry from eldest uncle's house. In my opinion, it is better for her to marry from the prince's palace. What do you think?" After all, marrying from eldest uncle's house to second uncle's house always seems to be wrong.

Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and said, "We don't have any elders in our house. You can't just send Qin Zheng out of the house, you are much younger than her in terms of age. So... General Lu and General Zhang and their families are all in Ruyang, you can choose which family is suitable to let them recognize Qin Zheng as their adopted daughter, and then marry her off from the general's house. General Lu and General Zhang are both the most famous generals in the Mo family army, Qin Zheng Paying respects at their house is not an insult. In this way, it can be considered a marriage between the Xu family and the Mohist army. After all, the Dingwang Mansion was founded on military merit. With this relationship, it will be much more convenient for the Xu family members to move around in the northwest. "Both Zhang Qilan and Lu Jinxian are highly prestigious veterans of the Mohist army. With their support, the Mohist army's soldiers will be less repulsive to the Xu family, an outsider. In the final analysis... as long as it is a military, there is no non-exclusive.

Ye Li didn't expect that in just a short while, Mo Xiuyao had already thought so much, many of which were for the Xu family. With a sweet feeling in her heart, she said softly, "Thank you for thinking so much for the Xu family." Mo Xiuyao snorted and lowered his head to play with his son. Ye Li looked helplessly at the man who lowered his head and ignored her, and wanted to ask: Lord, are you arrogant?

The news of the birth of the young prince of Dingguo Palace spread to the surrounding countries at an extremely fast speed, not to mention that Mo Xiuyao also sent invitations to various countries to attend the full moon banquet of the young prince in Ruyang. After receiving the gorgeous invitation marked with the mark of Dingguo Palace, countless people smashed the priceless antique calligraphy in the study.

Xiling Town Nanwangfu

In the study, the King of Zhennan stared at the gorgeous invitation on the table and narrowed his eyes dangerously. The King of Zhennan did not speak, and naturally the others in the study did not dare to speak. For a while, the atmosphere was heavy and depressing. After a long time, the Prince of Zhennan, Lei Tengfeng, who was standing on the side, spoke: "Father, what does Mo Xiuyao mean? Are you really going to break with Da Chu?" As the King of Dingguo of Da Chu, no matter how famous the Dingguo Palace is, it is not qualified to entertain the dignitaries of various countries for the full moon banquet of a prince. In fact, even the royal families of various countries would hardly invite the dignitaries of other countries for the full moon banquet of a prince or even a crown prince. But if Mo Xiuyao breaks with Da Chu and declares himself king, then at least he is qualified to talk to the royal families of various countries, so this invitation is not considered rude. As for whether Mo Xiuyao was willing to hold such a full-moon banquet for his son, no one had any right to interfere.

King Zhennan sneered and said, "It's only a matter of time before Prince Ding's Palace breaks up with Great Chu. It's not unexpected. I just didn't expect... Princess Ding could actually come back alive." What was even more unexpected was that after falling from such a high cliff, not only Princess Ding was fine, but even the baby in her belly was fine. Mo Xiuyao's luck is so good that it makes people hate him! Thinking of this, King Zhennan's face became even uglier. Not only did he lose to a woman, but she was also a pregnant woman!

"Ye Li!" King Zhennan gritted his teeth.

Lei Tengfeng glanced at his father, whose face was full of gloom, but he was not as angry as the King of Zhennan. Thinking of the graceful woman in green, who seemed elegant but always shocked people, Lei Tengfeng could not deny that he felt a little regretful when he heard the news of Princess Ding's death. He did not expect Princess Ding to return from the catastrophe and give birth to Prince Ding safely. Lei Tengfeng felt a little envious, but he quickly dismissed the thought, "Father, are we going to Prince Ding's full moon banquet or not?" Although Ruyang is not far from the border of Da Chu and Xiling, it is not close to the royal city of Xiling. This invitation was probably sent by someone to send Prince Ding as soon as he was born, and there was not even the name of the little prince. But even so, if they want to attend the Full Moon Banquet, they must set off immediately or they may miss it.

"Go! Of course I have to go!" King Zhennan sneered, "Do you think Mo Xiuyao is really just for his son's full moon banquet? I'm afraid Ruyang City will be very lively this time." Lei Tengfeng lowered his eyebrows and thought, and immediately understood: "Father, are you talking about the imperial seal and the treasure of the previous dynasty?" King Zhennan nodded and said, "That's right. Instead of letting people secretly come in and out in the northwest, it's better for him to open the door and invite people in generously. At least these people can still be under his surveillance. Mo Xiuyao thought of a good..." Lei Tengfeng frowned and said, "In your opinion, is the imperial seal really in Mo Xiuyao's hands? The news we got... seems that people in Dingwang Mansion are secretly looking for a person named Lin Yuan, and it is related to the imperial seal."

"Lin Yuan? Lin..." The King of Zhennan pondered, Lei Tengfeng said: "Lin is the surname of the previous dynasty. This Lin Yuan is also known as Tan Jizhi. It is said that he wanted to hold Princess Ding and Prince Ding in the northwest before, but somehow the news leaked out and he was caught by Prince Ding. After that, Mo Xiuyao released him and told the news to others. Not long after, the news came out that the imperial seal was in Prince Ding's mansion. Not only Prince Ding's mansion, but Mo Jingqi was also looking for him." The King of Zhennan pondered for a long time and said: "I still have some impression of Tan Jizhi. Su Zuidi once said that he was an orphan of the royal family of the previous dynasty."

"The orphans of the previous royal family?" Lei Tengfeng curled his lips in disapproval. It has been more than a hundred years since the fall of the previous dynasty. Who still cares about orphans? If you count like this, there are countless orphans from various dynasties in this world. With each dynasty change, there will be a few royal descendants who will be exiled to the common people. And who can truly restore the country successfully? The reason why the story of sleeping on straw and daring to fight can be passed down through the ages is because he is just an exception. "Father has known the identity of Tan Jizhi for a long time?" The King of Zhennan obviously did not take Tan Jizhi seriously. He smiled indifferently and said, "It doesn't matter to us whether he is a descendant of the previous dynasty or a traitor. As long as he can help Mo Jingqi deal with the Dingguo Palace, he is not an enemy to us. In this case, the king will naturally keep his identity secret. What a pity... Su Zuidi, that woman! Since she can tell the king his identity, why wouldn't she tell others?"

Lei Tengfeng frowned and asked, "Then who do you think has the imperial seal?"

King Zhennan pondered for a moment and said, "Given the character of the people in Prince Dingguo's Palace, the imperial seal is not very important to them. Mo Xiuyao is even more arrogant than Mo Liufang back then. He simply disdains to use the imperial seal to enhance the reputation of the Mohist Army." Lei Tengfeng said, "Father, what you mean is..." King Zhennan waved his hand and said, "No, the imperial seal may not be in Mo Xiuyao's hands, but it may not really be in Tan Jizhi's hands either. So this trip... we still have to go to the northwest." At least we can't let the imperial seal fall into the hands of others.

"I understand, my son." Lei Tengfeng nodded. "Father, are you going to Ruyang in person?" King Zhennan nodded and said, "You can go with me. There is nothing important happening in Xiling recently."

"I obey your command."

The atmosphere in the study room of the Chu Palace became more solemn. Mo Jingqi's face turned black with anger. He threw the invitation in his hand far away, "Mo Yuchen! What a great Mo Yuchen! Mo Xiuyao, you are doing very well..." Mo Jingli, who also received the invitation and entered the palace, saw the invitation marked with the seal of Prince Ding's Mansion coming towards him as soon as he stepped into the study room. He raised his hand to take it, and Mo Jingli smiled and said, "Brother, who made you so angry?" Seeing this brother from the same mother, Mo Jingqi's face became even uglier, and he said coldly, "What are you doing in the palace?"

Mo Jingli took out another invitation and said with a smile, "I came to pay my respects to the Queen Mother. Also... it seems that my brother has also received the invitation from Prince Ding. What are your plans, brother?" He casually opened the invitation and saw the name of the prince of Prince Ding's mansion written in flying dragons and phoenixes on it - Mo Yuchen. Yuchen... what a good name, Mo Xiuyao, you finally can't help it?

Mo Jingqi looked at his brother coldly. After returning from the south, his brother had obviously become smarter and more difficult to deal with. If he hadn't suddenly come to his senses, then there must be someone behind him who was giving him advice. "What are your plans? Since Mo Xiuyao has sent you an invitation, do you plan to go?" Mo Jingli smiled and said, "Prince Ding personally sent the invitation, how dare I not go? What gift do you plan to give to Prince Ding?" Mo Jingqi snorted coldly, and suddenly showed a malicious smile, saying, "You should go, after all, Ye Li is not a stranger to you. She is even the biological sister of Princess Li."

When this matter was mentioned, Mo Jingli's face turned ugly. Whenever he thought of Ye Ying, who could only cry and complain in his house, and then thought of Ye Li, who could go to the battlefield and the court with the support of the Xu family, Mo Jingli could not help but have a stomachache whenever he thought of Ye Li as his former fiancée. What would it be like if he had married Ye Li at the beginning? With Ye Li's ability to defeat the King of the South of Xiling Town, maybe he didn't need to fight against his brother in the north and south, but directly attacked Chujing. And that Xu Qingchen, how much trouble did he cause him in the south? If his queen was Ye Li, Xu Qingchen would not only not cause trouble for him, but would help him. Maybe he could even help him take over Nanzhao, instead of being controlled by Nanzhao everywhere like now!

Seeing Mo Jingli's face suddenly turn gloomy, Mo Jingqi's mood suddenly improved a lot. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Since my brother is going, why not take Princess Li with you, so that she can reminisce about the past with Ye Li."

Mo Jingli gritted his teeth and said calmly, "Thank you for your advice, my royal brother. In this case, I will go down and prepare first. Time is running out, so I will set off for the northwest early tomorrow morning."

Mo Jingqi nodded and said, "Royal brother, please go."

As soon as Mo Jingli left, the smile on Mo Jingqi's face disappeared. Mo Jingli thought he didn't know what he wanted to do in the northwest? Congratulate Mo Xiuyao's son on his full moon? Humph! Mo Jingli would only want Mo Xiuyao's son to die earlier than he did. Because the child's mother was his ex-fiancee. Ye Li's existence is simply telling the world how blind he, King Li, is. Want to go to the northwest to find the imperial seal? Mo Jingli, your appetite is a bit too big!

"emperor?"

"Is there any news about Tan Jizhi's whereabouts?" Mo Jingqi asked coldly, looking at the gray-clothed man kneeling in the hall.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. At the moment, I still don't know where Tan Jizhi is."

Bang! Mo Jingqi grabbed the inkstone on the table and smashed it over. The man in gray on the ground naturally didn't dare to dodge. The inkstone hit his shoulder and fell to the ground again. The man in gray groaned, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"What a bunch of rubbish! Go look for him again, even if you have to dig deep into the ground, you must find Tan Jizhi for me!"

"yes."

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Xiao Lier: Feng! Where is the perfect husband you promised me? Where is my Xiuyao's wisdom? Where is his domineering nature? Did you eat them all? Why did I become a mother of two children? !

A certain Feng (wiping sweat): This is really not my fault, Xiu Yao is obviously wise, domineering and powerful. Who knows why he suddenly changed. Tears are running...

Xiu Yao (looking up at a 45-degree angle with a bright sun): I heard from the girl surnamed Feng that women are prone to excessive maternal instincts. Since Ah Li likes children so much, I can still make a sacrifice. Don’t I need that chubby meat ball to be lovable?

A certain phoenix (spurting blood): Master, you are strong!