Chapter 239 There Must Be Something Lucky
Yun Qingqing originally thought that since Xiao Changheng had specially sent someone to dress her up, she would dress up as grandly as other distinguished women to show off her status.
After all, it was a palace banquet attended by envoys from several countries, so she had already prepared herself mentally.
But the woman in the mirror at this moment was wearing a palace dress with dark flowered brocade. It was gorgeous but not gaudy, expensive but not vulgar. Her hair was simple yet dignified. The cloud-shaped and green hairpins decorated her dress just right. There was not a single piece of superfluous ornament on her body. From head to toe, it was obvious that the dress was carefully designed and tailored for her.
"Hiss...Miss is usually beautiful enough, but she is especially beautiful today!" Qiao'er's gasp sounded behind her.
Mammy smiled and said:
"Of course, these clothes and jewelry were all selected by the prince himself. He and the princess don't like complicated things, so he asked us to draw a hairstyle book a few days in advance. This one was selected from hundreds of hairstyles, and it really suits the princess perfectly!"
Yun Qingqing picked up the green jade hairpin on the dressing table and put it back on her head. She saw that the flower-adorned hairpins around it matched the green jade hairpin perfectly, without any sense of abruptness.
She pursed her lips, turned around and walked out, facing the astonished and envious gazes of the maids.
Under a tree in the yard, a tall and slender man in a black robe turned around when he heard the voice and met her gaze.
The man's deep eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the shadows of the trees, and his expression could not be seen clearly. Only the elegant curve at the corners of his lips was clearly visible.
"Qingqing," he strode forward and looked down at her, "it's time to set off."
Yun Qingqing was not short, but when she looked up at Xiao Changheng, she realized that he was a head taller than her.
At this moment, the bright sunlight shone diagonally on his side face, casting a layer of golden light on his drooping long eyelashes, making his already perfectly contoured face look like a god.
A clear light was faintly flowing in her black pupils, and the pure purple air and the man's figure were reflected in her eyes, making her dazed for a moment.
Yun Qingqing suddenly felt a little happy for no reason.
This is what a son of luck should be like, free and easy, without any bad luck entangled in him. As long as he stands there, he will always be the most eye-catching one.
It was worth it that she spent so much effort to protect him.
"What's wrong? Are you stunned?" Xiao Changheng's magnetic voice sounded in his ears, with a hint of smile.
Yun Qingqing was stunned for a moment, then retracted her gaze, coughed lightly, and answered the question irrelevantly:
"The palace banquet has already started. What are you going to do if the regent is late for such an important occasion?"
Xiao Changheng laughed softly:
"Anyway, I have the princess with me, so I am not afraid."
Yun Qingqing: “…”
Who asked you if you were scared or not? What the hell are you talking about, you evil prince?
Xiao Changheng's eyebrows curved slightly, and he took her hand as if nothing had happened:
"Let's go, don't keep my brother waiting too long."
Yun Qingqing lowered her head to look at the two people holding hands, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the gleaming gazes of the maids and servants.
...Forget it. Anyway, the showdown will have to wait until all the envoys leave, so let's not worry about it for now.
She didn't say anything in the end. She let Xiao Changheng lead her, and together they went to the gate to get on the carriage and went straight to the palace.
…
Inside the palace.
Because the palace banquet was to be held in the main hall to receive audiences from envoys from various countries, the venue has now been moved to the parade ground.
The emperor sat in a makeshift greenhouse, his seemingly calm face revealing a hint of anxiety.
He lowered his chin and coughed twice, and the chief steward Li Liangui beside him immediately came up to him with a look of understanding.
"Why hasn't the Regent arrived yet? Where is the person we sent to urge him?" The Emperor lowered his voice with a hint of anger.
Li Liangui quickly replied:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. According to the time, the person sent out should have just arrived at the palace. I think there will be a response soon."
The emperor took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, frowned and looked towards the center of the training ground.
A competition was going on over there, and all the civil and military officials as well as many of their families were surrounding them, all looking unhappy.
Near the emperor were envoys from the three countries of Nanyu, Xilan and Beicang, and behind them were envoys from several barbarian tribes in the northwest.
The visit of the envoy from Beicang was completely unexpected. He suddenly appeared early this morning, and the envoy was the third prince of Beicang, Prince Li, Yuwen Ye.
It was originally very against the rules for the royal family of the Lin Kingdom to visit across the border without submitting a letter of credence. It might have been fine in private, but the fact that Yuwen Ye appeared in public was tantamount to a slap in the face of the Liang Kingdom.
However, Beicang's strength should not be underestimated, and it happened to appear when the envoys from the other two major countries were present. The emperor was not sure whether there was any fishy going on between these countries. If he turned against them directly, Liang would become the target of public criticism.
He had no choice but to suppress his displeasure for the time being and wait until the Regent arrived before making any plans.
As a result, when the palace banquet began, Xiao Changheng was late to arrive, and Beicang started trouble.
The cause was that at a palace banquet, the envoys of Xilan were mocked by the officials of Liang State for having no generals available.
A full army of 200,000, plus the barbarian army of 50,000, was still defeated by the regent and almost wiped out. Not only did the commander lose his head, but the deputy commander was also captured alive. It was only because of the regent's mercy that they were able to return home.
The envoy from Xilan was none other than an elder from the Deputy Commander Qiu's family, who held a high position as a Duke. He was so humiliated that he had nothing to say.
Prince Lu Fan of Nanyu and Deputy Envoy Chu Jingyan just watched the fun calmly.
But the Li King of Beicang suddenly interrupted.
"So, Liang State is very confident in the strength of its generals!"
As soon as he said this, he immediately attracted the attention of the generals in the court.
"Why, Your Highness Prince Li, do you doubt the strength of our Daliang generals?" A general spoke frankly and unhappily.
In fact, other people had similar thoughts, not to mention the emperor, who was already dissatisfied with Prince Li's almost provocative words.
"The general is overthinking it." Yuwen Ye tapped his palm lightly with his folding fan and laughed nonchalantly.
Everyone thought he knew he had said something wrong and wanted to smooth things over. Just as the atmosphere eased a bit, they heard him speak in a nonchalant tone:
"But we just barely won one match against Xilan, so it's not worth it for me to doubt you." Yuwen Ye raised his lips without hiding his contempt, "You are just the tallest among the short guys."
Now the officials of Liang State could no longer pretend they didn't hear anything, and their expressions changed immediately.
The general even slammed the table and stood up, saying angrily:
"What did you say! How dare you look down on my Daliang generals? Come and compete with me if you dare. I want to see if you have the strength to brag!"
Yuwen Ye glanced at him lightly and said with a chuckle:
"Do I need to do it myself? One of my guards can beat ten of you."
The general was so angry that he stood up and knelt before the emperor:
"Your Majesty, the Northern Cang envoy has insulted Daliang in this way. I really cannot tolerate it! Your Majesty, please order me to compete with this boy!"
Yuwen Ye's attitude was too arrogant, and just a few words made all the civil and military officials in the court so angry that they wanted to kick him out, and many ministers immediately agreed.
The emperor had been worried about why Xiao Changheng hadn't arrived yet, and didn't want to cause any more trouble, but Yuwen Ye's words were indeed excessive, and he was unhappy, so he nodded:
"Since Prince Li is so confident, why not have a competition with my Daliang warriors, so that people won't think you are just showing off your ability with words."
Yuwen Ye curled his lips and smiled:
"It is said that when His Majesty Liang makes a request, the ministers should be respectful and obey. However... these generals in your court seem really incompetent. Even if I only send an attendant to compete with them, it would be too cheap!"
The emperor's face darkened.
Yuwen Ye didn't wait for him to speak and said with a smile:
"It's okay for me to agree to the competition, but I wouldn't feel honored even if I won. So there should be some reward, right?"
The emperor said coldly:
"What do you want to win?"
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