Never take a concubine
In an instant, the heavenly sound of the pipa flowed through the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The beauty parted her lips slightly and began to sing:
Ten miles of misty rain
The lamp flame drifts with the water
The grand banquet remains as before.
The pipa's melodious sound
Fragrant fan with peach blossom embroidery
A new poem is presented to you.
..."
The beauty's singing voice was delicate and melodious, making one feel as if they could see the misty, ethereal Jiangnan region.
Everyone in the hall listened with rapt attention, their eyes glued to the beautiful woman.
Xu Zhixun was also attracted by the beauty and looked at her curiously.
No wonder people in ancient times loved listening to music; she loved it too!
Who wouldn't love such a delicate and stunningly beautiful woman?
I love it!
Xu Zhixun even stopped eating and continued to enjoy the beautiful woman playing the pipa.
However, Xu Zhixun is clearly not the only one who doesn't eat!
Apart from Xu Zhixun, the Emperor, Long Qian, Marshal Zhang, General Zhao, and others all stopped eating!
Everyone stared at the beauty, their expressions varied.
A few minutes later, the sound of the pipa gradually stopped.
A palace maid stepped forward and took the pipa from the beauty's hands.
The beauty rose again and curtsied to the emperor, empress dowager, and others.
Then, the beauty looked at Long Qian with affection in her eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Zhixun suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Long Qian whispered to Xu Zhixun, "Zhixun, the girl playing the pipa is called Mingyue, and she is my personal maid."
“A few months ago, an assassin tried to kill me, and Mingyue took the blow for me.”
Xu Zhixun was a little unhappy: "Mingyue is so good to you, do you like her?"
Long Qian said with a complicated expression, "I like her, but my liking for Mingyue is not romantic love."
"Because I'm so close to Mingyue. We grew up together, and she's like my little sister."
Xu Zhixun pouted her pink lips: "I understand, you two are childhood sweethearts, right?"
Long Qian: "Yes."
In fact, although he didn't like Mingyue, Mingyue liked him very much.
He originally planned to take Mingyue as a concubine after returning home from the war.
However, he now likes Xu Zhixun, so he has no choice but to give up Mingyue.
He planned to help Mingyue find a good husband in the future…
Just as Long Qian was thinking about this, Mingyue walked to Long Qian's side and stood beside him.
Because Mingyue was Long Qian's personal maid.
She wasn't entitled to sit; she had to stand the whole time.
The Empress looked at the bright moon and said with a smile:
"Mingyue must be 19 years old this year, right? Not only is she beautiful, but she also plays the pipa very well."
At this point, the Empress looked at Long Qian:
“My son, you are not young anymore, it’s time for you to get married.”
"Yes!" The emperor nodded, echoing the empress's words.
“Ah Qian, Mingyue once shielded you from a knife, and the second young lady of the Marshal’s Mansion is also deeply in love with you.”
"I believe you can marry the Second Miss as your principal wife, and at the same time take Mingyue as your concubine. What do you think?"
Long Qian frowned deeply and stood up from his seat:
"Father, Mother, I admire the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden."
"Your subject wishes to marry the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden as his principal wife and will never take a concubine."
"What? You want to marry the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden? And you plan never to take a concubine?" The emperor was greatly surprised.
The Empress was also shocked.
However, the Empress quickly regained her composure and asked Xu Zhixun with a smile:
"Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, A-Qian likes you very much. Would you be willing to marry him?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the Baohe Hall turned to look at Xu Zhixun.
Zhang Fuyao and Mingyue were both extremely nervous.
Mingyue's eyes reddened, and she was on the verge of tears, her two little hands tightly clasped together.
Xu Zhixun looked at the bright moon and felt a little sad.
Because Xu Zhixun has already realized that Mingyue really likes Long Qian.
Therefore, Xu Zhixun said to the Empress with a complicated expression:
"Your Majesty, I have only known Long Qian for a few months. We are just good friends and it is not yet time to talk about marriage."
"The second young lady is very fond of Long Qian, and Mingyue is Long Qian's savior."
"I feel like I shouldn't be with Long Qian."
Upon hearing this, Long Qianjun's face turned ashen:
"Zhi Xun, I really want to marry you. Please think about it again and don't rush to reject me, okay?"
This statement caused an uproar among the crowd, who began to discuss it animatedly.
"It seems that Xu Zhixun really is a fairy!"
"Yes, yes, yes, apart from fairies, what woman in the mortal world would refuse the Sixth Prince's marriage proposal?"
"Good heavens! The Sixth Prince said he would never take a concubine, yet Xu Zhixun still refuses to become his principal wife?!"
"It's perfectly normal that the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden doesn't agree to marry the Sixth Prince."
"Because if a fairy marries a mortal, it's considered a marriage of descent!"
"The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden definitely wants to marry into a higher realm, to marry a male immortal!"
...
Everyone chattered excitedly.
The Empress was unaware that Xu Zhixun was a modern person.
Therefore, the Empress believed that Xu Zhixun, being a fairy, might not want to marry the mortal Long Qian.
So, the Empress smiled and said to Xu Zhixun:
"Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, A-Qian is right, you should reconsider!"
"If you think about it for a few more months, you'll find that Ah Qian is a great man and very suitable to be your husband!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fuyao was furious:
"Your Majesty, you once said that you would make me the Sixth Prince's principal wife!"
The Queen gave an awkward but polite smile:
"Oh dear, look at my memory! My memory is so bad!"
"I did say before that I wanted you to be Ah Qian's primary wife."
"How about this, we'll discuss Ah Qian's marriage later and see what we should do?"
The emperor smiled slightly: "Indeed, A-Qian's marriage is very important and must be carefully considered."
And so, the group chatted for a while.
Immediately afterwards, the emperor looked at Long Qian and said in a deep voice, "Sixth Prince, you have rendered meritorious service in conquering Yangcheng and protecting the country."
"I will reward you with ten thousand taels of gold, a thousand acres of fertile land, three cartloads of silk, and a hundred chests of jewels."
"I will also reward you with fifty fine horses and fifty beautiful women!"
Long Qian quickly stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt down to express his gratitude:
"Thank you for the reward, Father! Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor smiled slightly and then said to Xu Zhixun:
“Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, you helped the Sixth Prince attack the Xia Kingdom, which is also a meritorious service in protecting the country.”
"Just now, you saved my life again."
"Therefore, I will bestow upon you ten thousand taels of gold, a thousand acres of fertile land, three cartloads of silk, and one hundred chests of jewels."
At this point, the emperor paused for a moment:
"I will also give you a palace, two hundred guards, and fifty maids!"
Xu Zhixun was overjoyed and immediately stood up from her chair, walking to the center of the Baohe Hall:
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
The emperor smiled kindly: "Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, the palace I bestow upon you is located next to the Imperial Garden."
"I intend to name that palace 'Fairy Palace,' what do you think?"
Xu Zhixun beamed: "I think the name Fairy Palace is very beautiful, thank you Your Majesty!"
After speaking, Xu Zhixun presented gifts to the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager.
A Wuliangye liquor gift box and two bottles of Chanel perfume.
After receiving the gifts, the emperor and his entourage were all beaming with joy.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress also presented Xu Zhixun with a gift upon their first meeting.
The Empress Dowager gave Xu Zhixun a set of ruby and gold jewelry, while the Empress gave Xu Zhixun two sets of winter clothes.
Next, Long Qian presented the large pearl, the size of a pomelo, to the emperor, and then presented the three gift boxes of nutritional supplements to the emperor, empress, and empress dowager.
Upon seeing the large pearl, the emperor was overjoyed and immediately bestowed upon Long Qian a rich fiefdom.
That fiefdom was a prefecture called "Qinchuan".
Therefore, the emperor bestowed upon Long Qian the title of "King of the Qin" (a type of zither).
From now on, Long Qian will be in charge of managing Qinchuan and will receive Qinchuan's taxes and military.
In addition, Qinchuan is adjacent to the capital city and is very close to it.
If Long Qian wants to manage Qinchuan in the future, it will be very convenient...
At six o'clock in the evening, the emperor announced the end of the banquet.
Next, the emperor, empress, and others left the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The prime minister, the grand tutor, the minister of war, and others all came to congratulate Long Qian on his investiture as a king.
Meanwhile, Long Qian's enemies, including the eldest prince and Consort Li, were so angry that they vomited blood, filled with both jealousy and hatred towards Long Qian.
Half an hour later, Long Qian smiled and said to Xu Zhixun:
"Zhi Xun, let me take you to see the Fairy Palace! It's a palace that the Emperor gave you."
Xu Zhixun was very happy: "Okay!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a guard rushed into the Hall of Preserving Harmony in a panic, shouting:
"Sixth Prince, something terrible has happened! The large pearl you presented to the Emperor has been stolen by assassins!"
Xu Zhixun: "???"
Long Qian was shocked: "Where was the big pearl stolen? Take me there quickly!"
So, the guards led Xu Zhixun, Long Qian, and the others to the distant treasure vault, "Treasure Pavilion".
————————————————
The palace of the Dragon Kingdom was magnificent, with carved railings and painted beams.
The palaces were all made of red walls and golden tiles, with flying eaves and painted red decorations.
Xu Zhixun and her entourage, accompanied by guards, arrived at a square in a grand procession.
There is a row of bungalows in the square.
Those were the houses where the maids and eunuchs lived.
On the far right of those bungalows, there is a toilet.
In ancient times, toilets were called "clean rooms".
At this moment, the emperor, empress, concubine Li, and others were all standing in the square.
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, their faces grim.
"Your Highness, just now when we were carrying the large pearl and approached the washroom, Chief Guard Chen suddenly had a stomachache, so he went into the washroom."
The guard explained to Long Qian with trepidation.
"Who would have thought that after Chief Guard Chen entered the washroom, a group of assassins descended from the sky and stole the large pearl!"
The "Chief Bodyguard Chen" mentioned by the guards refers to Chen Qian, the chief bodyguard of the emperor.
Long Qianjun's face turned ashen: "Where is Chen Qian now?"
The guard looked dejected: "The head guard has led men to capture the assassin. I don't know where he is either."
"This is outrageous!" Long Qian roared in fury. "Keep searching for the Great Pearl, you must find it!"
"Yes!" The guard had no choice but to leave with the other guards to find the big pearl.
Xu Zhixun thought for a moment, then said softly:
"Long Qian, could there be something wrong with Chen Qian? Could he be in cahoots with the robbers?"
Long Qian's eyes were deep: "I don't know either, but Chen Qian usually appears to be very loyal. My father and I both have a good impression of Chen Qian."
"My son, it seems that the large pearl has long been targeted by assassins!" The emperor walked up to Long Qian and spoke in a deep voice.
"Father, rest assured, your son will definitely find a way to find that big pearl!" Long Qian said solemnly.
The emperor was annoyed and sighed, "Fine, then take your men and go find the pearl!"
"I am tired. I am going back to my palace to rest."
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