Mountain and River Festival 340. Extra Gifts

"Mother, you really don't know us?"

Concubine Liu shuddered and said in a sharp voice: "What are you talking about? I don't know you! Hurry up and leave!"

Princess Zhenning closed her eyes and said in a low voice, "Don't you feel any guilt at all..."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Concubine Liu said calmly, waving her hand to call the guards outside the door, "Come here, drive them out, and don't let them in again!"

"You!" Princess Zhenning stood up suddenly, but was held back by Mo Xiaoyun. Mo Xiaoyun held down Princess Zhenning who was about to rush forward, and said in a deep voice: "Sister, let's go back first." Princess Zhenning was dragged out by Mo Xiaoyun, but her eyes were fixed on Concubine Liu Guifei. When Mo Xiaoyun and Princess Zhenning disappeared at the door, Concubine Liu Guifei seemed to have lost all her strength, and she fell into the chair powerlessly.

Princess Ronghua looked at her leisurely and smiled faintly, "Why are you so heartless? Even if you have two children, the Beirong royal family doesn't care. Beirong is not more disciplined than us. Besides, at your age... do you still want people to believe that you are a virgin?"

"Ronghua!" Concubine Liu stared at her fiercely with a sharp look in her eyes.

Princess Ronghua stood up and said with a nonchalant smile: "Since Prince Changxing and Princess Zhenning have mistaken each other, I will excuse myself. My future sister-in-law of my seventh brother. But... will my seventh brother really marry you?" Hearing Princess Ronghua leave the hall with a smile, Concubine Liu Guifei's expression became even more sinister. Her hands hidden in her sleeves were tightly clenched, and she didn't even notice that her long nails had pinched her palms to bleed.

Why should she feel guilty? She did everything to live a good life, for revenge! Who knows how much she has suffered? Compared with the suffering she suffered before she met Yeluye, what are they? What is there for her to feel guilty about? Others just think that Yeluye is obsessed with her beauty and is infatuated with her. But if Yeluye is really infatuated with her, why would he refuse to marry her for so long? But don't worry... As long as Yeluye still needs her, she can manipulate the Beirong people, and she will definitely make Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li pay the price they deserve!

In the blink of an eye, it was already Mr. Qingyun's birthday. The whole city of Li was bustling with lights and decorations, even more lively than the Chinese New Year. In recent years, with the effective governance of the Northwest by Prince Ding's Mansion, the influence of the Xu family and Lishan Academy in the Northwest has gradually increased. There are countless people in the Northwest who have shown favor to Xu Qingchen and others, not to mention that Mr. Qingyun is the grandfather of Princess Ding. On his birthday, the people of the whole city of Li naturally celebrated more than a festival.

In recent years, as Licheng gradually expanded, Licheng imitated the Nanzhao Royal City and built a large square in the city not far from Dingwang Palace. Behind the square is a tall and magnificent viewing platform, where the people of Licheng gathered to celebrate on festivals. It was the first time to hold a banquet here, but it also allowed the people to enjoy the feast of the palace from a closer distance. Although this was a great test for security, the secret guards of Dingwang Palace were not afraid of it.

The lights were on and the whole square was decorated with lights. Countless beautiful fireworks were blooming in the sky, which made people in the square cheer. People in the city came out of their homes and gathered in the square to admire the rare and beautiful fireworks.

On the observation deck, the spacious area is enough to accommodate banquets for thousands of people. This place was originally designed for large banquets when it was built. After all, the area of ​​Ding Wangfu is not large, and Licheng itself is indeed not suitable as a real capital. If a temporary palace is built here, it will be a waste of manpower and money. Only building this square and observation deck can not only allow ordinary people to play here on weekdays, but also gather again during festivals. It also solves the problem that Ding Wangfu cannot hold large banquets. After all, it is impossible to hold banquets on the city tower every time, right?

The two sides of the viewing tower are designed to be concave forward, forming a semicircle. No matter where you sit, you can see the whole square. It is a three-story staircase, so all guests can see the host at the top. Ye Li originally mentioned this, but Xu Hongyan finally drew it himself. In the past two years, many banquets in Dingwang Mansion have been held here every year, which can be regarded as a way to share the joy with the people.

In the center of the top of the building hangs a huge golden character with a red background. If you look closely, you will find that this character is composed of countless small characters of different shapes. The characters are elegant and graceful, and they are the work of Master Qingchen.

Tonight, the people sitting at the top are no longer Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li, but Mr. Qingyun, who has white hair and beard and looks like a Taoist immortal. Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao sit on his right hand side, and a little below his left hand side are Xu Hongyu, Xu Hongyan and several sons and families of the Xu family. Further down are the dignitaries who came to celebrate the birthday from various countries and the civil and military officials of the Dingwang Mansion. With such an arrangement, how could the people present not see the status of the Xu family in the entire Dingwang Mansion?

When the banquet started, Ye Li and Xu Qingyan helped Mr. Qingyun to his seat before Ye Li walked over to Mo Xiuyao and sat down. After the guests were seated, a space was cleared in the square below. Hundreds of women in colorful clothes danced to the melodious music with colorful lanterns in their hands. Such a grand scene was naturally much more magnificent than the banquets held in the palace that people were used to. Many people who gathered here to watch the fireworks also feasted their eyes.

Mo Xiaobao sat between Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, also looking at the grand scene in front of him with curiosity. Although he was the young master of Dingwang Mansion, Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li had never hidden him at home since he was a child, and he had seen all kinds of scenes and people. But this was the first time to see such an unprecedented grand scene. The dignitaries from various countries below also noticed the child in black clothes between Dingwang and Dingwangfei. At a young age, he was already very handsome, with a pair of big black eyes looking at the people below curiously without any fear. This child was the eldest son of Dingwang Mansion, named Yuchen by Mr. Qingyun himself. Not to mention that Dingwang and Dingwangfei had just got a pair of twins, just looking at the child in front of him was much more handsome than everyone present.

The Prince of Ding's Mansion has such momentum and composure at such a young age. It is enough for the Ding's Mansion to be proud of having such a son.

There was singing and dancing below, and the guests on the observation deck were not idle either. While enjoying the rare magnificent singing and dancing, they chatted with the people sitting next to them, and then they came forward to present Mr. Qingyun with birthday gifts. Perhaps they learned from Yelu Ye's lesson at Mo Xiaobao's full-moon banquet, so the gifts this time were quite well-behaved. The gifts sent by the guests were all festive and timely birthday gifts. Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li were also very satisfied with this. After all, they prepared a banquet for Mr. Qingyun's birthday, and naturally did not want to sweep the old man's letter except for some accident. Even Mo Xiaobao personally presented a picture of a hundred years of life that he had drawn himself. Although Mo Xiaobao is not even eight years old, he has done very well in his studies under the guidance of Mr. Qingyun in the past two years. His handwriting is also quite decent, which makes Mr. Qingyun very pleased.

Mr. Qingyun was old after all, and after receiving so many birthday greetings, he just sat for a while and then went back to rest. Ye Li heaved a sigh of relief only after Mr. Qingyun left. In fact, although it was indeed very grand to invite so many people to celebrate the birthday, these people were not easy to get along with. If something happened in front of grandpa, it would make the old family unhappy for nothing. Therefore, seeing that the banquet went smoothly before Mr. Qingyun left, Ye Li was in a much better mood. As for if there were still people who wanted to make trouble later, Prince Ding's Mansion was not afraid.

Mo Xiuyao looked down and saw the smile on Ye Li's lips. He raised his hand and held her slender jade hand and smiled softly, "No matter how much those people want to make trouble, they still have some vision. They won't make trouble at Grandpa's birthday banquet." Ye Li nodded with a smile and said, "I know, but I'm always a little worried. Now that Grandpa has gone back to rest, it won't be a problem." Knowing it is knowing it, but there are always people who like to make trouble at this time. For Ye Li, nothing today is more important than Mr. Qingyun's mood.

After the birthday star left, the guests felt much more relaxed. Even the dignitaries from various countries could not help being a little restrained by a contemporary scholar like Mr. Zhen Qingyun. Soon, the atmosphere on the observation deck became lively. Lei Zhenting, who was sitting below, drank the wine carelessly while looking at Ye Li, who was sitting above Mo Xiuyao and carefully wiping Mo Xiaobao's mouth. Under the bright candlelight, the faint smile on the woman's lips looked particularly gentle and moving.

Lei Zhenting narrowed his sharp eyes slightly and glanced over Mo Xiuyao.

"I heard that Prince Ding and Princess Ding had twin dragon and phoenix babies a month ago. I haven't congratulated them on such a happy occasion yet." Lei Zhenting suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but the internal force behind him easily spread throughout the entire viewing building. The guests present also woke up one after another and congratulated Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao raised his lips and smiled faintly, raised his glass and said, "I would like to thank the King of Xiling Zhennan and everyone else."

Lei Zhenting smiled and said, "How can we not send gifts for such a happy event? I have prepared a great gift for Prince Ding, and I hope Prince Ding will not refuse it. It will also show the deep friendship between our two countries."

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows slightly and gave Lei Zhenting a questioning look. He didn't believe that Lei Zhenting would really give him a gift for having twins, considering that he had just killed his grandchildren not long ago.

Lei Zhenting smiled and said, "This gift was obtained after I sent people to search for it for a long time. It is absolutely invaluable." Mo Xiuyao curled his lips slightly, "If it is too expensive, King Zhennan can keep it for his own use." Lei Zhenting smiled and said, "Such a treasure can only be admired by King Ding. If I were to waste it, I would be wasting it. Someone..." After a while, several Xiling guards came in carrying a tall box. They gently placed the wooden box on the ground and stood aside respectfully waiting for orders.

Rather than a box, it is more like a beautifully carved wooden cabinet. Everyone's eyes were focused on the carved sandalwood cabinet in the hall. I wonder what gift the King of Zhennan gave to the King of Ding that made him so cautious. Looking at everyone's reactions, the King of Zhennan smiled with satisfaction and said, "Open it and have a look."

A guard stepped forward, the wooden cabinet was pulled out, and a faint fragrance immediately filled the observation deck.

Everyone exclaimed in surprise. A woman in white was kneeling in the place where the wooden cabinet was originally placed in the hall. This woman looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, and her appearance was not particularly beautiful. At least there were at least four or five women present, including Princess Ding, whose appearance was better than hers. But she had a very strange attraction, attracting the attention of the guests. They felt that this woman was perfect in every way, and even made people feel that her appearance, which was not absolutely beautiful, was flawless. If she had a more beautiful face, it would destroy this temperament.

The woman was wearing a plain white dress, with her hair loose. She had no jewelry or makeup on her body, and even her beautiful eyes were calm and motionless. However, anyone who looked into her eyes could not help but hear their own heartbeats.

"King of Zhennan, what do you mean?" Before Mo Xiuyao could speak, Xu Hongyan on the other side had already frowned. Apart from other things, today is Mr. Qingyun's birthday, but Lei Zhenting was a little rude to give a beautiful girl to King Ding. Lei Zhenting didn't care, and smiled at Xu Hongyan: "This king knows that today is Mr. Qingyun's birthday, but it is a little rude to do so. However, this king just got this treasure and hurriedly sent it to Licheng. I wanted to give it to King Ding as soon as possible. After all... Such a treasure, it is really hard to keep it in my hands..." Lei Zhenting showed a tacit smile and nodded to Xu Hongyan.

Mo Xiuyao looked down at the woman in white and raised his eyebrows and asked, "What does the King of Zhennan mean?"

Lei Zhenting said with a smile: "Prince Ding and his wife have been married for nearly ten years, but they have not taken in any concubines or maids. I know that since Prince Ding has such a wonderful woman like his wife, the common women in this world will definitely not be interested in her. That's why I sent this girl to him. I believe that this girl is definitely worthy of being a match for Prince Ding." Although many people did not care about Lei Zhenting's words, after all, Princess Ding was indeed a wonderful woman in the world, and even in terms of appearance, she was not inferior to the woman in white. But looking at the woman in white, I couldn't say anything bad about her. On second thought, Princess Ding was always the legitimate wife of Prince Ding, but if she had a few more beautiful concubines and concubines, it would also be a good story. Thinking of this, not only did they not have any thoughts about the woman in white, but many people even had other thoughts. Of course, the envoy sent by the Emperor of Xiling was an exception. At this time, the envoy sent by the Emperor of Xiling just lowered his head and stared at the fine wine in the cup in front of him, as if the fine wine had suddenly turned into pure jade liquid.

In fact, until Lei Zhenting mentioned this, the people present noticed that for so many years, Prince Ding had not even taken a concubine. The entire Prince Ding's Mansion knew only one woman, Princess Ding. Although Princess Ding was a rare and extraordinary woman, in this male-dominated world, the nobles in the eyes of the prince Ding's behavior was absolutely unbelievable. Not to mention the nobles in other countries, even many people under the Prince Ding's Mansion now had some disapproving thoughts. This was not because they had any opinions about Ye Li, but because it was the rule of three wives and four concubines since ancient times. Moreover, as the owner of Prince Ding's Mansion, Mo Xiuyao was destined to ascend the throne in the future in the eyes of many people, and he absolutely could not focus on a woman.

Seeing many people showing expressions of approval and envy, Lei Zhenting smiled with satisfaction and looked up at Ye Li who was sitting next to Mo Xiuyao. Ye Li looked calm as usual, and even had a faint smile on her lips.

On the other side, Xu Qingyan's eyes flashed with anger, and he was about to stand up. Xu Qingbai, who was sitting next to him, held him down. Xu Qingyan whispered angrily: "Fourth brother, what are you doing!" Xu Qingbai glanced at Mo Xiuyao, who had a calm expression, and said: "This is a matter between Prince Ding and Li'er." The Xu family would not ask Mo Xiuyao to have only Ye Li for the rest of his life, and if he was not willing to insist on such a thing, no matter how many promises he made, it would be nothing but nonsense. All the Xu family could do was to unconditionally support Li'er after Mo Xiuyao's choice and Ye Li's choice, no matter what choice she made.

"Definitely enough?" Mo Xiuyao's cool voice echoed faintly in the observation building, leaving a quiet atmosphere that made the outside even more lively. "Why can't I see that this woman is no match for my princess?" Lei Zhenting smiled confidently and said, "The princess is naturally a rare and extraordinary woman in the world, but this one is not bad either. I can guarantee that her martial arts, talent, ability, and even medical skills and miscellaneous studies are outstanding among all women in the world. If you don't believe me, why not ask the princess to come down and compete with her?"

"How dare you!" Mo Xiuyao shouted angrily, and a white shadow passed through the air, and everyone couldn't help but scream. At some point, Mo Xiuyao had already rushed to the front of the woman in white, and mercilessly raised his hand to hit the woman's crown. Just when everyone thought that the woman was going to die, the woman in white suddenly raised her head, backhanded upwards to block Mo Xiuyao's attack. Mo Xiuyao snorted lightly, and once again changed his palm into a claw to grab the woman's shoulder. This time, the woman in white did not take it head-on, but flew away. Mo Xiuyao's claw missed, and the wooden cabinet next to him was almost broken by the blow. From this, it can be seen that if this claw had really grabbed the woman's left shoulder, it would have been broken.

Mo Xiuyao's two moves failed, so he didn't pursue. He waved his sleeves and flew back to his original seat. However, the strong wind from the wave of his sleeves shot straight at the woman in white. The woman had just narrowly avoided the move, but she couldn't avoid this one after she stood firm. She had to raise her hand and take it hard. She only took a step back, and her expression didn't change at all. She just stood silently beside Lei Zhenting.

Mo Xiuyao stood above, looking down at Lei Zhenting and the woman in white, and said calmly: "You are really capable to be able to take three of my moves without losing." In fact, this is more than just some ability. Mo Xiuyao used at least 80% of his strength in those three moves, and the woman in white was able to take it without changing her expression, which proves that her moves, reactions and internal strength are absolutely not bad. She is definitely ranked in the martial arts world, and most importantly, she looks no more than sixteen years old. Such skills are almost the same as Mo Xiuyao himself at this age.

Lei Zhenting was not surprised, and said with a smile: "I have said that I will definitely satisfy Prince Ding."

Mo Xiuyao looked at him with a sneer of sarcasm, "Who said that I must accept her if I am satisfied? In view of her real ability, I will not care about this offense. Go back to where you came from!" As soon as these words came out, everyone couldn't help but sigh, even the girl in white who had always had a calm expression couldn't help but change color slightly. Such a beauty was rejected by Prince Ding without hesitation, which was tantamount to wasting natural gifts in the eyes of everyone. After all, no one in the world forced him to choose between the beauty and Princess Ding. Isn't it what men dream of to have Ehuang and Nuying with many wives and concubines?

Lei Zhenting frowned slightly, looked at Mo Xiuyao with some embarrassment and said, "Prince Ding really wants to refuse?"

Mo Xiuyao sneered and said nothing. Lei Zhenting seemed a little helpless and sighed, "Does Prince Ding know where she came from?"

Mo Xiuyao said, "I said, go back to where you came from."

"She comes from Cangmang Mountain." Lei Zhenting's words splashed into a drop of water in the oil pan, and immediately exploded the entire viewing building. In fact, the people of Da Chu are not unfamiliar with Cangmang Mountain. The only main peak among the mountains in the central and southern parts of Da Chu is currently in the hands of Lei Zhenting. But the reason why people are familiar with it is not because of its beautiful scenery or any magical wonders. In fact, Cangmang Mountain is hidden among countless mountains, and the surrounding peaks look similar. If there is no acquaintance to lead the way, or even if you can't recognize which one is Cangmang Mountain, you are very likely to get lost in the mountains.

According to legend, there is a hidden family on Cangmang Mountain. The family members are well-versed in astronomy, geography, medicine, and astrology. The men have the talent to govern the world, and the women have the wisdom to assist the king and support the country. Every sixty years, a descendant will go down the mountain to gain experience. However, the yin is strong and the yang is weak in this family. In the past few hundred years, it has been rare to hear of men appearing. And the women who go down the mountain to gain experience all have extraordinary talents. The most famous among them are the queen of the previous dynasty's revival, the queen of the second generation of the king of Da Chu, and the queen of Xiling sixty years ago, Lei Zhenting's deceased grandmother. It is said that the ancestor of the Xu family also married a woman from Cangmang Mountain, although the Xu family has never admitted it. However, it is precisely because of the fact that in just a few hundred years, three queens have emerged, and their appearance has brought prosperity to the dynasty. From then on, Cangmang Mountain had a secret connection with the rise and fall of the dynasty. Now, this girl in white chose Prince Ding. Could it be that... the eyes of the people present looked at Mo Xiuyao differently.

Lei Zhenting smiled and said, "Does Prince Ding understand now? It's not that I want to make things difficult for Prince Ding and the Princess and deliberately destroy their relationship. It's really..."

Everyone understood a little. This matter was of course not something Lei Zhenting could decide. If Lei Zhenting could decide, then even if he couldn't marry the woman in white, he could let his son marry her. How could this be a bargain for his enemy? Everyone couldn't help but look at Prince Ding. Prince Ding, who had just vowed to send the woman back to where she came from, could he still be so firm in the face of a girl in white with such a background?

The observation deck was silent for a long time. Just when many people thought that Prince Ding was going to agree, Mo Xiuyao's voice rang out in the hall, "Get lost."