Soon, cheers erupted throughout the Changlan Hall.
The ministers and their wives were all watching, after all, this was something the younger generation was playing.
For the ministers and their wives, Guan Zhiyue arranged for them to watch plays or play mahjong in a side hall.
However, the ladies weren't interested in mahjong at all; they were all engrossed in some other fun game.
"I wonder what game the Queen will play this time?"
"Hey, who can argue with that? The Emperor really dotes on the Empress!"
"Yeah, her belly is so big already, why isn't she taking care of herself and going out to play around?"
"Her belly is so big, I don't even know how many months pregnant she is."
One of the ladies made a somewhat disdainful remark.
A woman standing nearby, somewhat displeased, coughed softly and said curtly, "Madam, please watch your words!"
"As everyone in the land knows, our Empress is pregnant with twins."
This belly is bigger than that of a woman pregnant with her first child, which is perfectly normal. You all shouldn't spout nonsense here.
"Now we are right under His Majesty's nose,"
"You dare to spout such nonsense? Do you really think your master's position is too secure?"
The woman spoke slowly, her voice tinged with a hint of anger, making the other women who had been talking earlier lose face. They all glared at the woman who had spoken.
The woman was petite and slender, appearing somewhat frail.
Her delicate and quiet oval face always revealed her fragility.
Her face was so pale that no amount of powder could hide her delicate fragility.
Guan Zhiyue heard Xiao Tuantuan's thoughts in her mind, "Master, someone is cursing you!"
Guan Zhiyue looked around the entire hall.
Seeing that some of the women dared not look her in the eye, and even had guilty expressions, Guan Zhiyue's lips curled into a mocking smile.
Li Qiji sensed Guan Zhiyue's discomfort and immediately turned his head to ask softly, "Yue'er, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Guan Zhiyue shook her head and said softly, "Ask them if they've finished the statistics. If they have, let's start the first game."
"Um!"
"Hua Quan!" Li Qiji called out, and Hua Quan instantly understood. He flicked his whisk and shouted, "Is everything tallied up?"
"Have all the talented men and women registered? If so, let's begin our first game of the day."
Hua Quan's shrill voice immediately resounded throughout the entire hall.
Everyone fell silent, and the two eunuchs in charge of the statistics brought up the papers they were holding.
Li Qiji and Guan Zhiyue looked down and saw that there were more men than women who had signed up!
"No, they can't be paired up. If all else fails, have both men and women step forward and pair up on the spot. Eliminate them in one round, and then we'll talk about the rest."
After hearing Guan Zhiyue's words, Li Qiji said nothing and turned to look at the officials below the stage, saying, "Since no one wants to participate, then I will take the liberty of having all unmarried men and women pair up and play games on the spot."
"All talented men and women, step forward and stand in two lines. The person opposite you will be your partner for this game."
The ministers and their wives were completely bewildered. What was the emperor trying to do? What kind of behavior was this? How could he do such a thing?
Before the ministers could utter a single word, Li Qiji silenced them with a single glance. However, some were quite pleased.
After all, some of their own children are already past marriageable age and haven't found a suitable partner yet.
Now that the Emperor is hosting this banquet, perhaps their own children will be able to find wives or sons-in-law sooner.
Guan Tuantuan stood at the very back, surrounded by several men, but she didn't like any of them. Looking at Li Qishang on the stage, she shouted loudly, "Prince Brother, come and play games with Tuantuan!"
Upon hearing this, two words dominated everyone's minds.
Holy crap!
What's going on here? Is the second young lady of the Guan family really this fierce? She can directly challenge a prince.
Empress Dowager Xin looked at Tuantuan with great satisfaction and urged Li Qishang, "Shang'er, hurry up! Don't keep that girl Tuantuan waiting."
Li Qishang: Mother, you don't love me anymore.
Everyone was watching Li Qishang to see what decision he would make. Amidst the tense atmosphere of watching,
Li Qishang walked off the stage with a dark expression and strolled to Guan Tuantuan's side.
Guan Tuantuan reached out and grabbed Li Qishang's arm. No matter how hard Li Qishang tried to shake her off, she wouldn't budge. She was like a leech, which was terrifying.
Li Qiji and Guan Zhiyue exchanged a glance, both seeing in each other's eyes the phrase, "One thing subdues another."
Our game is called "Charades," and the other spectators are not allowed to speak.
Just watch others demonstrate.
Hua Quan's voice resonated throughout the entire hall, leaving all the talented men and women who had been forced into this role speechless.
This is treating them like monkeys, it's outrageous! But what can we do?
If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die!
The man demonstrates, and the woman guesses. The more people who guess correctly, the bigger the mystery prize awaits them.
The 'mysterious grand prize' immediately piqued everyone's curiosity.
Everyone knows the Queen is a genius inventor; she's always coming up with all sorts of strange and wonderful things.
I heard there's some kind of "sunshine award" for those who participate in the game.
Even if I don't know what it is, it's good to have something to take.
The scene was bustling with excitement. Guan Zhiyue looked at the handsome men and beautiful women below the stage and couldn't help but sigh!
"Youth is wonderful! Look at them, so full of vigor and vitality, so in the prime of their lives, they are the future of our Nanding Kingdom!"
"These are all pillars of the nation! We must make good use of these talents in the future!"
When Li Qiji heard Guan Zhiyue say that, he looked at them and nodded, appearing to agree.
The ministers' wives, who were initially skeptical, now see their own children and the children of others...
They were all making funny faces and performing those actions, and everyone burst into laughter.
It's never been so much fun; from initial opposition to current laughter.
One has to admire how the Empress's brain works.
The game had been going on for about half an hour, and the final results were in.
The pairing that guessed correctly in so many ways was actually Li Qishang and Xiao Tuantuan.
This is enough to prove how well the two understand each other and what they have in common.
"Handsome men and beautiful women are the standard! That's an age-old rule!" Guan Zhiyue looked at the three couples who won the final mystery prize with great satisfaction.
"The bicycles are already at the back. Have someone get them out and distribute them to the six people!"
Guan Zhiyue's calm voice rang in Li Qiji's ears.
Li Qiji, who had ridden a bicycle in the space before, said excitedly, "What about me? I want one too."
Guan Zhiyue laughed and said, "We have a car, why would we need a bicycle?"
"I want it."
Guan Zhiyue had no choice but to agree to give him one when they returned to the Cold Palace. Only then was Li Qiji satisfied and had Hua Quan push out the six bicycles.
Little Tuantuan took one look and exclaimed, "Wow, a bicycle! That's pretty good!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the Empress's generous gift!"
Little Tuantuan was the first to run out and grab a bicycle.
Everyone on the field was dumbfounded. What was this thing? It was pitch black, they'd never seen anything like it before. And what were wheels?
“These are bicycles, which can replace horse-drawn carriages and can be ridden for a long distance. Each of you six can have one,” Li Qiji said.
Li Qishang was the second to rush over happily; the things his sister-in-law made were always different.
Those who didn't win the mystery prize were somewhat annoyed, wishing they had tried harder earlier.
However, Li Qiji had a simple glass tea set given to all the other participants as a kind of "sunshine award" to everyone.
Everyone had a great time at the banquet, which concluded amidst laughter and joy...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com