Chapter 323 Long time no see
When Lord Zhang raised his glass, Mu Kaiji and all the officials present stood up and said, "Let's toast to the prince and princess together!"
Lord Zhang said sincerely, "With Xizhou led by a superb prince and princess, the people's lives will surely get better and better!"
Mu Kaiji and the others said in unison: "We will do our best to assist the prince and princess and create peace together!"
Huo Zheng and Chunzhi exchanged a glance, then stood up and raised their glasses, toasting everyone back. "I'm willing to work together with all of you to create peace."
After saying this, they both drank the cup at the same time.
Everyone at the banquet drank up the wine in their cups. Seeing this, the maidservant immediately stepped forward and filled the cups again.
Everyone wanted to toast the prince and princess in turn and say some polite words, but Xiaoxing went back to grab Huo Zheng's wine glass, wanting to taste it.
Huo Zheng teased his son while addressing the crowd, "Since you all say that I'm coming to Xizhou to go home, how can I be treated as a guest when I return home? Please do as you please. After dinner, go to the main hall and talk to me about the progress of the reconstruction of Xizhou over the past two months."
"yes!"
When everyone heard the prince say this, they knew that he was here to get things done, and that he had not been worn down at all by the emperor's tactics of promoting him in public but demoting him in secret.
Everyone at the table felt more at ease, spoke more casually and naturally, and the atmosphere became increasingly lively.
Someone said carelessly, "We've been hoping the prince and princess would come to Xizhou again, but the Prince of Chang'an was given the title of Prince of Xizhou and came to us as a vassal king. I don't know if it's because we've been thinking about you so much, and our wishes are so strong, that we really did bring you back!"
"To be honest, ever since the prince and princess returned to the capital, I've been praying to the gods and Buddhas every day, begging for the prince and princess to return to Xizhou. And now, my prayer has finally come true!"
The officials at the same table laughed and scolded the man, "You really know how to take credit for yourself!"
Huo Zheng smiled. Huo Yang and the others all thought that he would be devastated after being demoted to Xizhou. In fact, coming to Xizhou was not a forced choice for him.
To him, the land of Xizhou, these officials and people were the same as the rich places in the capital and Nanzhou.
Moreover, Xizhou needs him more than those places in the capital.
So he came.
Huo Zheng came here with his family, and together with the people who had suffered from banditry and war, they took root and created a prosperous and happy future.
Seeing that her brother had become friends with the officials of Xizhou, Chunzhi knew that he had been doing a lot of work in Xizhou in recent days. She nodded and smiled at Mu Kaiji.
Mu Kaiji also gave her a bright smile in return.
The brother and sister hadn't seen each other for many days, and there were many people present, so it was inconvenient for them to say much without considering the other people present. Just a look from each other told them that the other was doing well, and they felt much more relieved.
Without all the formalities, the meal was finished quickly.
Xiaoxing has been riding in a carriage with his parents for the past few days. Everything along the way was new to him, but he took a nap every day without fail. Now he felt sleepy after eating, and nodded his little head on his father's shoulder.
"Your Highness, please go to the main hall to discuss matters with the others. I will take Xiaoxing back to take a nap."
Chunzhi said as she took the child from Huo Zheng.
Huo Zheng smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Princess."
After the meal, Mu Kaiji and a group of Xizhou officials followed Huo Zheng to the main hall to report on the progress of rebuilding Xizhou in recent days.
Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Wang and others surrounded Chunzhi and took her to the backyard to rest.
Xiao Xinghui lay on his mother's shoulder, drowsy, and gradually could not see the faces of these ladies clearly. He could only see the pearl hairpins and rings on their heads sparkling in the sunlight.
Seeing that the young master was very sleepy, the ladies spoke in low voices for fear of disturbing him.
These people were quite familiar with Chunzhi, and they also knew that the prince and princess would live in Xizhou for a long time in the future. Given that the princess was compassionate to the people and did many things personally, they would have many opportunities to see the princess in the future, so there was no rush to reminisce about the past.
Mrs. Zhang led Chunzhi and others to the accommodation arranged in advance next to the county government office. She left two maids to wait for instructions and took all the ladies away.
The courtyard here is not big, but it is very clean and has all the necessary utensils.
Chunzhi carried Xiaoxing back to the couch, and the child fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.
Qingye and Cui'er fetched water to help the princess bathe.
The weather was hot, and Chunzhi was sweating all over during the meal. In addition, she was inevitably tired from traveling all day, so she took a shower to relieve her fatigue when she had some free time.
The sun is shining brightly in the sky, and even the wind carries a hint of heat.
After Chunzhi bathed and changed, she sat beside Xiaoxing's couch and fanned him. Not long after, someone came in and said, "I'm here to bring the princess some iced mung bean soup to cool her down."
It sounded like a young boy's voice.
"Thank you, little brother. The princess is resting now. Just leave the things to me."
Qingye walked out and saw that the person serving the mung bean soup was a young man. She felt a little strange, but thinking that Xizhou was a poor place and there might not be many servants and maids in the county government, so it was not so particular, she reached out to take the tray, but the man did not give it to her.
The young man raised his handsome face and smiled at her, "Thank you for passing on the message, sister. I would like to personally bring it to the princess as a token of my gratitude."
"You—"
Qingye felt that it was a bit too much for the young man to insist on seeing the princess, and was about to scold him when Cui'er came out of the house.
When Cui Er saw the young man outside the door, she first felt that he looked familiar, and then she recognized him, "It's you!"
The young man smiled and nodded, "It's me."
Seeing the two of them playing dumb, Qingye was confused. She asked Cui'er, "Do you know him?"
"She knows me." Cui'er said with a smile, "If the princess knew she was coming, she would definitely be happy."
When Chunzhi came to Xizhou before, Qingye didn't come with him. He didn't know the people in Xizhou, nor did he know how many things had happened here. After hearing Cui'er say this, he looked at the young man in front of him and said softly, "Then go in and report it."
"I'll go right away." Cui'er said, and immediately went into the house to report, "Princess... I can't bear it, Feng Teng is here!"
Hearing this, Chunzhi paused fanning herself slightly, then smiled and said, "When did she come? Please invite her in."
"yes."
Cui'er responded and went to invite someone in.
Before entering, the young man said to Cui'er and the others, "I've prepared some iced mung bean soup in the kitchen. Please come over and have a taste to cool off."
"Then I won't be polite to you."
Cui'er agreed with a smile and pulled Qingye to the kitchen.
Qingye originally wanted to stay and serve the princess, but Cuier said, "Drinking the mung bean soup won't delay anything, let's go," and dragged him away.
A moment later, a handsome young man pushed the door open and brought iced mung bean soup to Chunzhi.
Chunzhi watched the person approach step by step, lifted her chin with her round fan, looked at her carefully, and said with a smile: "Long time no see, Rendong. Your disguise skills have become more and more advanced."
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