Hai Tang continued, "The stepmother then urged the Emperor of Xiliang to marry off Princess Qiulu as a subsequent wife to her own nephew, a man indulgent in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, with a full array of vices, and moreover, he had peculiar tastes; his first three wives all perished from his abuse;
Princess Qiulu resisted to the death, and when the stepmother plotted to have the man tarnish Princess Qiulu’s purity, fortunately, Qi Zongyu saw through the scheme in time and saved her. With no other choice and utterly despairing, Princess Qiulu chose to renounce the secular world and become a nun, which finally made the stepmother give up;
Now the struggle between Qi Zongyu and Qi Zonghao is extremely fierce, regrettably, the stepmother’s family controls the military power, and Qi Zonghao is favored by the Emperor of Xiliang, making Qi Zongyu’s situation extremely precarious."
Lowering her eyelids, her long lashes cast a small shadow over her clear, lucid eyes, on Yang Mengchen’s fair face.
Suddenly, Mo Mei interjected, "Prince has verified that the fire gun was developed by Qi Zonghao’s people and it was under Qi Zonghao’s orders that our border citizens and soldiers were massacred."
Although the Emperor suppressed the matter, Sister Jin and the others, as confidantes of Yang Mengchen, were naturally very clear about it.
"Tell me about the Four Nations’ Grand Ceremony," Yang Mengchen said slowly, swaying the teacup in her hand, her voice calm, devoid of any inflection.
The change in topic was so abrupt that it took everyone a moment to catch up, but after a brief pause, Mo Mei responded truthfully.
The Four Nations’ Grand Ceremony involved selecting three of the most outstanding young men and women from each country to compete in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, dance, riding and shooting, and arithmetic. The winners would receive treasures put forth by the four countries. It was a matter of national pride and thus taken very seriously by all countries.
The last event was held in Beiyue Country, where the men of Dong Chu won three first places, and only the women’s musical skills took first place; it could be said that they returned in utter defeat.
On the evening of the ninth day of the fifth month, the Emperor held a banquet in the palace to welcome envoys from the three countries and the guests from Qing’an Country.
Yang Mengchen paid particular attention to Qi Zonghao.
He wore a White Jade Crown on his head and a Golden Forehead Band with Two Dragons Snatching A Pearl, his thick brows framing narrow eyes that shimmered like trickling spring water, his demeanor gentle as a spring breeze, his nose finely chiseled, looking like dark blue, distant mountains, his lips the color of warm jade. With a slight curve at the corners of his mouth and a faint smile, his movements were graceful and elegant, naturally aristocratic, making onlookers yearn to bow their heads to the ground in admiration.
No wonder most of the young maidens in the room were stealing glances at him, their cheeks blushing.
Unfortunately, not only did Yang Mengchen feel no fondness, but she was also on guard.
For it is known, the more handsome and refined a man appears, he’s either truly as kind-hearted as he seems, or his scheming runs very deep. The following two incidents were enough to prove Qi Zonghao belonged to the latter.
First, both Wende and Brother Jingqi were highly capable and dearly loved by the Emperor and their adoptive father, but even they did not act as if they were practically Emperors themselves, without arousing opposition from most of the country’s subjects, unlike Qi Zonghao.
Second, regarding last year’s contract issue, the steward of Xiliang obeyed Sixth Brother’s orders, declaring that they’d only negotiate with Qi Zongyu. The Emperor of Xiliang flew into a rage, wanting to issue a decree to obliterate the industries of the Yang family, Luo family, and Nangong family, but eventually desisted after listening to Qi Zonghao’s advice. Of course, all the fame and profit went to Qi Zonghao. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm
Realizing Yang Mengchen’s gaze upon him, Qi Zonghao turned his eyes toward her, his face lifting into a gentle, springlike smile.
Yang Mengchen nodded slightly and then turned away, carrying on a soft-spoken conversation with Long Xuanmo at her side, not glancing at Qi Zonghao again.
Picking up the cup of fine wine from the table and taking a small sip, Qi Zonghao lowered his eyelids, hiding the cold, venomous spirit lurking in the depths of his eyes.
"It’s been many years since Qing’an Country has participated in the festivities; surely this year’s event will be quite lively."
Not just Wu Zhenglie; everyone present felt tense and uneasy. Not to mention that in previous ceremonies, Qing’an Country would often sweep the first place in every competition. Now with Meng Jingqi outdoing the former by being even better, and those accompanying him were also famed for their talents, victory for anyone else seemed as impossible as ascension to the skies.
Reading the thoughts of all present, Meng Jingqi spoke leisurely, "The Emperor and I, the Crown Prince, will not violate the ancestral teachings and withdraw from participating in the festivities from now on. My family and I are here this time solely to visit Imperial Younger Sister, Princess Yong’an, and have no other intentions."
Everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief, thankful that Qing’an Country was not participating, for they might as well have conceded defeat. They also marvelled in horror at how dearly Qing’an Country cherished Princess Chen.
Seeing everyone’s evident relief, Yang Mengchen smiled amusedly, giving Brother Jingqi an inconspicuous wink: Brother Jingqi is truly remarkable!
Meng Jingqi raised an eyebrow, his handsome face beaming with a springlike smile, his dark eyes twinkling warmly.
Suddenly feeling her right hand being held, Yang Mengchen turned to look and saw Long Xuanmo’s eyes filled with a silent reproach. He whispered, "In my heart, Wende is the best in the world!"
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