Shanhe Festival 194 Welcome Dinner

At the gate of Ruyang City, Feng Zhiyao stood with a smile, and led several officials in the city and many people who were watching the excitement to watch the slowly approaching team. The officials in Ruyang City were all in casual clothes, which made the third son of Feng in red look even more impressive. Compared with the casualness of the host, the other side was all in official uniforms, which looked particularly solemn and strange. Feng Zhiyao held a folding fan, leaned against the city wall, and asked casually: "It's so hot, aren't they hot wearing so many clothes?" So he said, what's good about being an official? On hot days, the court officials still have to wear three layers of clothes inside and outside, and they are not afraid of getting sick. You know, Great Chu was known as a country of etiquette. Even the court robes in summer had four or five layers. What's more, the court uniforms were not made of soft and breathable gauze. In order to show the majesty of the royal family, court robes were generally made of thick and gorgeous brocade. Just look at the sweaty appearance of those guards to know how hot it was.

No one answered his question, because the team in front had already reached the city gate. The people of Ruyang City were still very curious. If nothing happened in the remote northwest, they would not see a real nobleman for decades. The most important person the people could see was the governor of the city. Now there was a Ding prince living in Ruyang City, and now two more princes and several high officials came at once. Naturally, the people flocked to the city gate to see the excitement... and welcome the imperial envoys.

Hundreds of guards escorted the long procession to the city gate. The first red sandalwood carved carriage got off a slightly wealthy old man, wearing a crimson dragon robe, with gray hair and beard, but with an arrogant look that looked down on everyone. He stepped on a guard's blanket and landed, and glanced at the people standing at the city gate. His face suddenly darkened. Feng Zhiyao pretended not to see his expression, and greeted him with a smile, bowed and said, "Feng San from Dingwangfu is here on the orders of the prince to welcome the two princes and the adults. Feng San has met the prince of De."

"Feng San, Feng Zhiyao?" Prince De looked at Feng Zhiyao with a sullen face. Prince De had naturally heard of Feng Zhiyao's reputation. Under normal circumstances, he would not mind giving a little face to the younger generation, but at this time, Mo Xiuyao sent a commoner who was an official to greet him, which was a slap in his face. Prince De was so old that even the emperor had to respect him. How could he tolerate this? Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, "It's true, Your Highness Prince De has a good memory."

Prince De said coldly, "Where is Mo Xiuyao?" Although Prince De was old, he was equal to Mo Xiuyao in terms of seniority. In addition, Prince De had to address Prince Ding as Prince Ding because of the status of Prince Ding's mansion. But now that Mo Xiuyao didn't give him face, he naturally didn't intend to give Mo Xiuyao face, and called him by his name without any courtesy. Feng Zhiyao didn't get angry, and said with a smile, "The princess is pregnant, and the prince is concerned about the princess and the young prince, so he has no time to come to greet you. Please forgive me." Prince De's face turned pale and blue, and Feng Zhiyao spoke tactfully, but the meaning behind his words was very clear. Prince Ding was busy accompanying the princess and had no time to greet you.

"How dare you! The Emperor has already seized Mo Xiuyao's title, how dare you still call him Prince!" Prince De shouted angrily.

Feng Zhiyao lowered his eyes slightly. The officials standing behind him were all close confidants of Prince Ding's mansion. How could they tolerate Prince De's rudeness? Just as he was about to step forward to argue, Prince Yu Mo Jingyu in the carriage behind him had already rushed up and quickly pulled Prince De to smooth things over. "What's wrong with the emperor's uncle? We have finally come to Ruyang from thousands of miles away. Why are you standing at the city gate and getting angry? Hey... Is this the third son of Feng?" Feng Zhiyao was well-known in the capital in the past, so Mo Jingyu naturally knew him. Feng Zhiyao smiled and bowed, saying, "Feng San has met Prince Yu, Lord Su, and Lord Mo."

Su Zhe was the oldest, and his face was tired and pale after a long journey, but he nodded to Feng Zhiyao. Feng Zhiyao looked at Su Zhe, sighed slightly, and opened the city gate to let the group enter the city. When he was young, he followed Mo Xiuyao and received a lot of teachings from Su Zhe. Thinking of Su Zuidie who was still imprisoned in the dungeon, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"You two princes and your Excellency must be tired after such a long journey. Please come into the city and rest for a while. The prince and princess will welcome you later."

Prince De glanced at the officials and people who were staring at him with unfriendly faces, and knew that if he continued to make trouble here, he would be the only one who would be embarrassed. He snorted and walked into the city with his sleeves. Mo Jingyu looked around and followed him with a smile. He felt that Mo Xiuyao had only been in Ruyang for half a year, but he could make the people and officials in the city wholeheartedly support him. The strength of Prince Ding's Mansion and its influence on the people were indeed unfathomable.

Prince De was a hot-tempered person. After being irritated by Feng Zhiyao at the city gate, he naturally could not get angry at Mo Xiuyao at the welcoming banquet in the evening. After entering the city, he ignored the temporary inn arranged by Feng Zhiyao and went straight to the governor's mansion. In fact, he didn't understand that Mo Xiuyao had not planned to send anyone to welcome him. If Feng Zhiyao didn't bring anyone with him, he would have come to the city gate with such a big show but there was no one there, which would be even worse. When he arrived at the governor's mansion, he was told that the prince and the princess had just moved to a new mansion. From now on, the governor's mansion is the mansion of the governor of Ruyang. So, furiously, Prince De led his people to the Dingwang Mansion in the southeast of Ruyang City. This trip to the northwest was led by Prince De. He could not rest and had to find Mo Xiuyao to argue. Naturally, the others could not rest either, so they had to follow along.

Prince Ding's Mansion is located in the southeast of Ruyang City, on Xuanwu Street, the main axis of the city. Of course, it is not as large and magnificent as Prince Ding's Mansion in Chujing, but after a few months of reconstruction, it is also quite large. After all, the prosperity of Chujing has more of the simplicity and grandeur of the northwest, and even more of a murderous atmosphere. On the gate, there are three simple words "Prince Ding's Mansion", which are majestic and majestic. Prince De's fingers were shaking with anger, "How presumptuous! Too presumptuous, what does Mo Xiuyao want to do?" Everyone around him was silent. Prince De just wanted to vent his anger, not really wanting anyone to answer. Mo Jingyu stood aside as if he had nothing to do with it, as if he was leisurely watching the scenery.

Soon, someone came out to invite the group in. At the same time, Prince De's face became even uglier. It was not enough that Mo Xiuyao did not come out of the city to greet him, he did not even come out of the gate of the mansion. The other three people behind him also had ugly faces, but it was not because of the face problem, but Prince Ding's behavior showed that he was not going to give face to the court. In this way... their mission this time would be difficult to handle. Mo Jingyu cursed Mo Jingqi in his heart. He was originally an idle prince, and it didn't matter to him who became the emperor. Mo Jingqi himself had ruined the relationship of Prince Ding's mansion, and now he had to travel thousands of miles to the northwest. If Mo Xiuyao really had the intention of rebelling, would they still be able to return to the capital?

Wei Rui led the group into the palace with a wooden face. His young face made him look like a steward who could manage the affairs of the palace. Of course, in fact, he was not, but he was not as quick as Zhuo Jing and Lin Han in hiding, so he was caught by the prince to temporarily serve as the steward. Looking sideways at Feng Zhiyao who was leisurely following him, Wei Rui silently agreed with his opinion in his heart. The position of steward sounded very prestigious, and it was really not suitable for young people like them who were in the prime of their life. When Wei Rui heard people call him steward Wei, he felt a slight stomachache.

In the hall, Mo Xiuyao was sitting and talking to Ye Li. When he saw Wei Rui leading people in, he was not polite and smiled lightly: "Prince De, Prince Yu, Lord Su, Lord Mo, please sit down." Seeing Mo Xiuyao's white hair casually tied up, his smiling face clearly showed a little more warmth than the gentle and distant appearance in the capital before, but it did not make people feel close at all. Instead, it made people feel more shocked. Mo Xiuyao had been hiding his identity before, so even though Mo Jingqi managed to plant a lot of spies in Ruyang, no one in Chujing knew that Mo Xiuyao's hair turned white overnight. Now, when they suddenly saw him, they were shocked.

Prince De squinted his eyes and snorted coldly, "You've been away from the capital for a while. Have you forgotten your manners? It seems that the emperor was right when he said that you are arrogant!" Mo Xiuyao looked at the furious Prince De in front of him with a playful look. Manners? Did he want him to salute? In Prince De's view, Mo Xiuyao was just a commoner whose title was taken away by the emperor. It was reasonable for him to salute him. But unfortunately, Prince De was destined to be depressed from the moment he entered Ruyang City.

"Haughty? How come I remember that His Majesty was talking about treason? Um, Feng San?" Mo Xiuyao spoke lightly with a smile, but his eyes revealed a hint of coldness.

Feng Zhiyao waved his fan and smiled, "To answer your question, Your Majesty, that is exactly what His Majesty's decree said."

"How dare you, Mo Xiuyao! You..." Prince De was furious after being exposed by the two men.

"Pah." A strange crisp sound covered the roar of King De. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the white jade teacup in Mo Xiuyao's hand shattered instantly. Several pieces of broken jade fell to the ground with a crisp sound. Mo Xiuyao slowly spread his hands, and white powder slid from his palms and fell on the ground in front of him. King De's throat suddenly seemed to be blocked by something. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word for a long time. Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "King De, keep your voice down. If you scare my beloved concubine and the prince... it will really make it difficult for me." Facing Mo Xiuyao's cold eyes, King De couldn't help but shudder in his heart. Somehow he thought of the seven thousand soldiers killed by Mo Xiuyao. After being stunned for a long time, Prince De finally did not dare to say anything. His well-maintained face kept turning blue and red.

Mo Jingyu looked at the people in the hall and said with a smile, "Uncle Emperor has come a long way, so it is inevitable that he is a little angry. I hope Prince Ding will forgive me."

Mo Xiuyao glanced at him and smiled faintly, "So that's the case. That's not a problem. It's inevitable that people get angry when the weather is hot. The northwest is not as prosperous as the capital. I'll ask people to prepare more food to reduce heat for Prince De." Mo Jingyu's smile was a little stiff, but he still had to say what he had to say. He could see that if the uncle, who had a bad temper, said something, Mo Xiuyao might be angry and none of them would be able to return alive. "The northwest is bitterly cold, cold in winter and hot in summer, and the place is very remote. Prince Ding has been on the expedition for a long time. Now that the northwest has been pacified, why not return to the court as soon as possible? It will also save the princess and the young prince from suffering here?"

"Return to the capital?" Mo Xiuyao looked at Mo Jingyu with raised eyebrows, as if he had heard something interesting. After not seeing each other for a long time, Mo Jingyu, the lazy prince, had become more skilled at lying. Mo Jingqi had even issued an edict to strip him of his title and military power, and he had also been accused of treason and treason, which the whole world knew about. Now Mo Jingyu was telling him that it was time to return to the capital? Was there something wrong with Mo Jingyu's brain, or did he think that there was something wrong with his brain?

Mo Jingyu's brain is fine, it's the people above him who have problems! Trying his best to keep a smile on his face, Mo Jingyu cursed Mo Jingqi countless times in his heart. Not to mention that Mo Xiuyao finally couldn't stand him anymore, not to mention that his own brother had rebelled against him, and he would want to rebel no matter what. Glancing at Su Zhe who was sitting opposite him, Mo Jingyu hoped that Mo Xiuyao could give this old man some face. After all, Su Zhe was half of Mo Xiuyao's teacher, and Mo Xiuyao had always respected this old man.

Su Zhe looked at Mo Xiuyao's white hair and sighed deeply in his heart. These old men can be said to have witnessed how Mo Xiuyao grew from a young man with high spirits and dazzling like fire to where he is today. Mo Xiuyao was once his most proud student and his future grandson-in-law who he had high hopes for. However, in the past ten years, he watched him move forward step by step with difficulty, but he was powerless. Su Zhe didn't know whether it was Mo Xiuyao's fault this time, because the core of the Su family's court was too far away. But there was one thing Su Zhe knew very well, that is, Mo Xiuyao absolutely could not return to Beijing now! So, when he noticed Mo Jingyu's gaze towards him, Su Zhe just lowered his eyes and drank tea calmly, as if he knew nothing. Su Zhe refused to speak, and Mo Ran, who was of low status, naturally had no say. Mo Jingyu was secretly angry but could do nothing about it.

The atmosphere in the hall had been getting a little tense. Ye Li's calm eyes swept over everyone and she said softly, "You all must be tired after coming from a long distance. Why don't you take a rest and wash up first? We can talk about it in the evening."

Mo Jingyu, who was in a dilemma, naturally wanted it very much, and quickly said with a smile: "Princess, you are right, it was the prince who was abrupt."

Ye Li spoke, and Mo Xiuyao naturally had nothing to say. He looked at Ye Li with concern and asked, "Are you tired? I'll take you back to rest." After that, he ignored the guests who were still sitting in the hall, helped Ye Li to stand up, and said to Feng Zhiyao and Wei Rui, "Take good care of the guests," and then left with Ye Li.

Watching Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li disappear at the door, the Prince of De finally caught his breath. Pointing at the door, he panted and said, "What's his attitude?" Mo Jingyu smiled bitterly, held the Prince of De and said, "This is the first time that Princess Ding is pregnant and she just survived a disaster. It's inevitable that Prince Ding is nervous. Why is the Emperor's uncle angry?" The Prince of De snorted, picked up the tea beside him and took a gulp before he suppressed his anger. Feng Zhiyao on the side raised his eyebrows and smiled, "My two princes, originally our prince lived in the prefect's mansion, but the place was too small, so we arranged to stay in the guesthouse. Now it happens that the prince and the princess have moved to the new mansion, so please rest in the mansion with the two adults." The Prince of De rolled his eyes at him. Of course, he couldn't stay in the inn. As the emperor's uncle who also serves as a court envoy, if he were thrown into an inn to live, wouldn't he be laughed to death when he returns to the capital?

Wei Rui looked at everyone expressionlessly, turned around and told people to arrange accommodation.

At night, the whole city of Ruyang was brightly lit. Unlike the earlier reception when only a few people came, the welcoming banquet was particularly grand. The welcoming banquet was held on the tower of the east gate of Ruyang City. Facing Xuanwu Street, looking down from above, the street was full of people, and the streets were decorated with lights and colorful decorations. On the tower, there were also toasts, singing and dancing. All the civil officials and military generals in Ruyang City or nearby, as well as the local celebrities and prominent families of Ruyang, attended the banquet tonight. Although Prince Ding had been stationed in Ruyang City for half a year, only a few people in the city had actually seen Prince Ding. As for Princess Ding, it can be said that she had never shown her face outside. Therefore, when everyone saw the prince Ding, who was dressed in a white robe with silver dragons and white hair like snow, and had a great momentum, holding a beautiful and graceful woman in green, walking up to the tower, they were all stunned. The two figures, one white and one green, stood side by side, and they seemed extremely harmonious and natural, as if they were born to be this way.

Mo Xiuyao helped Ye Li step onto the platform and carefully helped her sit down. Many of the soldiers sitting below had not seen Mo Xiuyao for a long time, and the soldiers who had followed Ye Li before were particularly excited, shouting in unison, "Your subordinates pay their respects to the prince and princess!" Inspired by them, the civil servants on the other side also stood up and paid their respects, "Your subordinates pay their respects to the prince and princess, and wish the prince and princess a happy birth of the little prince!"

Although he didn't like the little thing that was lingering in Ah Li's stomach and refused to come out, Mo Xiuyao was in a good mood at the moment. He waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite, everyone."

At the same time, the noise from the city wall also affected the people who were having fun below. The people who were originally playing and having fun below the city wall turned around and knelt down in the direction of the city wall. Someone took the lead and shouted, "Congratulations to the prince and princess for a thousand years of health and happiness. Congratulations to the princess for her safe return!" With someone taking the lead, the people behind them naturally followed suit and the sound almost penetrated the entire Ruyang City.

Mo Xiuyao picked up a glass of wine, stood up, looked at the people below the city and said, "No need to be polite. Officials and citizens are having fun together tonight. Everyone is welcome to enjoy themselves. I will offer you a glass of wine." The voice with inner strength spread far and wide. The people below the city stood up and cheered in unison. The atmosphere became even more lively than before.

On the tower, everyone stood up, raised their glasses and said, "Thank you, Prince, Princess."

After drinking a cup, Mo Xiuyao sat down and said, "Everyone, please feel free to come and join us."

Singing and dancing started again, and the people on the tower were in a happy mood. However, the faces of Prince De and Prince Yu, who were sitting in the front guest seats, were extremely ugly. They really didn't expect that when the court was trying hard to destroy Prince Ding's reputation, in just half a year, Mo Xiuyao could make the officials and people of Ruyang City still love and submit to him so much. It was not a welcoming banquet, but it was better to say that Mo Xiuyao wanted to give them and the court a loud slap in the face.