Chapter 256 Greed
What Prince He presented was a pair of auspicious beasts, Qilin handicrafts, about half a foot tall, made entirely of gold, and shining brightly under the light.
Of course, Prince He's family is not well off, and there is no one in the mansion holding a lucrative position in the court, so this Qilin is hollow.
Outsiders could not see this. They only felt that it was golden all over and had an air of wealth. Prince He had invested a lot of money in it, and many people expressed envy.
He Yao and He Shu were very proud, so they stood beside the people who were singing the ceremony and waited to see Lin Shiqi make a fool of himself.
How dare two country folks come to congratulate the old lady on her birthday? They really don't know how big their shame is!
Even Cui Shaoyin said that you two just need to show your appreciation, no gifts are needed, the Cui family doesn't care about this, they just want to meet you two. He said this when he invited us a few days ago.
Lin Shiqi smiled and nodded without saying anything.
Zhou Lang placed a gift box in his hand on the table and opened it. It was a longevity peach ornament. The outer part was in the shape of a flower basket, with the characters "Fu" and "Shou" engraved on the base. There were two big longevity peaches inside. It was a modern handicraft made entirely of fiberglass. It was magnificent, pink and white with a translucent red, and looked exactly like the real thing. When you see it, you can't wait to take a bite.
Both the materials and craftsmanship are cutting-edge modern technology. All the guests exclaimed in amazement, saying it was so beautiful. They had never seen such exquisite handicrafts!
Lin Shiqi also explained that if it is exposed to light during the day, it will glow at night.
This made everyone even more curious, and they took it directly to the inner room, intending to admire it on the spot.
Old Lady Cui, several family members, and some familiar guests followed him in.
Close the doors and windows, then open the box and take a look, wow!
The two big birthday peaches both show a hazy fluorescence, as if there is a small moon inside, which makes the peaches look even more pleasing and attractive. If they were exquisite before, now they are also noble and mysterious!
"This, this is simply a divine object!"
"It's so beautiful, so exquisite! It's worth my life to have this blessing!"
Everyone was talking about it, and some even had greed in their eyes.
"This thing should only exist in heaven, and it is priceless and unmatched in the world!"
Several literati sighed.
The old lady was so delighted that she looked at it again and again. Only after Cui Hanlin reminded her did she realize that now was not the time to admire it. She immediately had it put away and sent directly to her room.
The wrinkles on Madam Cui's old face became much lighter. She looked at Lin Shiqi and Zhou Lang and said:
"I love the gifts you gave me! You really put a lot of thought into it!"
He also asked Cui Hanlin and Cui Shaoyin to look after them.
As for the Duke, it is impossible for him to join in the fun of such an event as he has to accompany the distinguished guests.
Lin Shiqi said modestly:
"Old lady, this is not a valuable item, I just want to have fun, as long as you like it!"
She didn't lie. It's really not expensive. It's made of fiberglass with fluorescent agent inside. It's that simple. I bought it on Taobao for a few hundred dollars.
However, everyone thought that this was Lin Shiqi's humble statement. How could such a good thing not be expensive?
When a group of people filed out of the dark room, other people in the hall looked over and were a little stunned. Why were these people so excited?
When they saw the smiling old lady personally holding Lin Shiqi's hand, they all understood that this was a great gift!
"This thing should only exist in heaven, and it is priceless and unmatched in the world!"
The old lady read the words loudly again, confirming everyone's speculation.
Some people who didn't go in to watch it regretted it.
Prince He and his three sons frowned at the same time.
Only Mrs. He was very happy. Being loved by the old lady, Zhou Lang and Lin Shiqi's situation in the capital should be much better.
He Yao and He Shu were both extremely unhappy, their faces looking so gloomy that water seemed to be dripping from them.
Lin Shiqi took the entire scene in.
She didn't take the two women seriously. They were just small characters. If they didn't take the initiative to act like a slut, she wouldn't bother with them.
After everyone sat down, Cui Hanlin chatted with Zhou Lang for a while. He had never expected that his casual action would lead to a top scholar.
Moreover, his wife, Lin Shiqi, was also very surprising. She was able to conquer and manage Tianxuan Pavilion so well that even Prince Gong suffered a loss when he went there in person. This was a big event circulating in the core circles of the capital.
Zhou Lang was also very grateful for his help back then. Now, he had another chance to pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar, all thanks to Cui Hanlin.
Cui Hanlin also kindly reminded him that although taking down Tianxuan Pavilion was a great achievement, it was a double-edged sword and he might get himself into trouble because there were too many people who were wary of this organization. Once someone wanted to burn their boats and mobilize a large force to destroy it, then they would be in danger and they had to be on guard.
The attack by Prince Gong does not count, because he had no intention of completely breaking up with Tianxuan Pavilion, and still had the fluke mentality of taking it back, so he probably did not use his full strength that time.
This is real concern, Zhou Lang expressed his gratitude again.
However, he and Lin Shiqi had anticipated this possibility and were fully prepared, so they were not too worried.
Prince He, who was sitting a few tables away, was impressed when he saw that Cui Hanlin of the current dynasty was actually talking and laughing with Zhou Lang. He wondered what their reason was.
When Cui Hanlin met him, he just nodded and said a few irrelevant words at most.
Is there something here that I don't understand?
But it was useless for him to doubt. He couldn't ask Zhou Lang. He didn't stand on Zhou Lang's side before, and he couldn't bring himself to do it now.
The birthday banquet officially begins.
Men and women are seated separately.
Prince He discovered another problem. There were actually quite a few people toasting Zhou Lang, even more than him!
Moreover, many of them have prominent positions and are real high-ranking officials in the court!
He is just a scholar, why?
Just because they see that Lady Cui likes them, do they all go up to flatter her?
snort!
The Cui family is very powerful, but it's just a gift. They might forget about it later. You people are too short-sighted.
But he only dared to say these words in his heart, he dared not show it on his face, and he had to put on a smile all the time.
The overall situation here is good and everyone is talking and laughing.
On the other side, the women of the He family were arranged to sit at the same table with Lin Shiqi.
Lin Shiqi ignored them. She was very interested in the dishes on the table. It was her first time attending such a high-end banquet, so she had to taste them carefully.
She would try anything she had never seen before and that looked high-end. In general, the condiments of Dayu Kingdom were not as rich as those of modern times, and the stimulation to the taste buds was a little weaker, but the ingredients were good, fully reflecting the beauty of the original flavor, which was also very good.
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