Chapter 303: Birthday Gift Makes a Fool

of Herself Xia Miaoyuan looked at the signature of the painting and saw the words "Gao Chi" on it. Her eyes immediately lit up.

[Gao Chi! Painter Gao Chi! ]

[That's a famous painter in the book! ]

[The author set him up as a famous artist whose paintings are worth thousands of gold. High officials, nobles, and royal relatives are all honored to receive Gao Chi's paintings. ]

[When nobles give gifts to each other, if they give Gao Chi's paintings, it is more valuable than any gold, stone, or jade. ]

[Dad really thought about preparing a birthday gift for grandma this time! Kezun

had lived in the northern border for a long time and was not familiar with the reputation of Gao Chi in the Central Plains. At first, he did not realize the value of this painting, but after seeing the reactions of the guests below and hearing Xia Miaoyuan's thoughts, his heart skipped a beat.

"Is this painting too expensive?" Kezun asked.

The Queen smiled and said, "Mother, you may not know that Gao Chi is a famous artist in the Central Plains, and a painting is hard to come by."

"If you want to ask for his painting, not only must you give enough money, but you must also be pleasing to Gao Chi."

Hearing this, Kezun became even more excited.

"This is too expensive!"

Unexpectedly, Xia Zhengqi said: "Mother-in-law, I have prepared a house in the capital for you as a birthday gift this time!"

"This house will be kept for you and father-in-law to live in when you come to the capital."

[Mommy, what is the emperor father going to do this time! This birthday gift is too much and too expensive! ]

[Dad is simply a model of a good son-in-law in the world! ]

Xia Miaoyuan's heart was already surging with excitement.

Xia Zhengqi listened to his daughter's voice, his heart was happy, and his eyes were full of pride.

However, when he lowered his eyes, a trace of cunning flashed in his eyes that was not easy to detect.

This time, the public gave Kezun a big gift, not only out of filial piety, but also a little calculation of Xia Zhengqi.

Kezun's eyes were deep, and his face was full of emotion.

"Your Majesty, this... I feel I can't bear it!"

[The emperor father is too exaggerated this time. The birthday gift is a hundred times heavier than in previous years, which makes my grandmother shocked. ]

Seeing this, Xia Zhengqi stepped forward, stretched out his hands, shook Kezun's hands, and said respectfully: "Kezun, you are the mother of the empress and my mother-in-law."

"People often say that a son-in-law is half a son. Although we are in the royal family, I think this is true."

"So, you can rest assured to accept these birthday gifts."

At this time, the guests in the hall were completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at Xia Zhengqi above.

Some people showed panic on their faces and started to talk anxiously.

The man with goatee said, "Oh, who the hell made up that Kezun was a hostage? Now that the emperor respects her so much, he still gave her such a generous birthday gift! She is obviously the emperor's guest of honor."

The fat man agreed, "That's right! The birthday gift is worth a fortune, how could they want to mess with the Xiao family!"

The old man sighed, "Well, it's useless for you to say these now. What's urgent now is, what should I do with the birthday gift? I prepared a birthday gift to fool people!"

The man with goatee lamented, "Me too. What if the emperor finds out about this gift?"

The fat man said, "I hope it won't be a public gift later, so that we can save some face."

The problems of the three men with goatee are not isolated cases.

Most of the guests present had heard the rumors about Kezun and the Xiao family, and some believed them to be true, so they just picked up something worthless as a birthday gift.

At this time, they were all terrified.

Xia Miaoyuan looked at the guests with strange expressions and fell into deep thought.

[How do I feel, what is Dad playing this time? ]

Xia Zhengqi looked at the guests and said, "Next, please come forward one by one and present birthday gifts to Kezun!"

As soon as the words fell, the audience immediately became chaotic.

"What should we do? What should we do? It's actually a public gift. This gift is really not presentable!"

"This...this...if we present this gift later, we will not only offend the empress, but also offend the emperor!"

Those guests who prepared cheap gifts to fool people were extremely nervous.

For a moment, the guests pushed each other, wanting others to present gifts first.

And those who were wise in their hearts, did not listen to the rumors, and did things according to the rules and regulations, and did not want to cheat, were as stable as Mount Tai at this moment.

Because they did not do anything to the birthday ceremony, they prepared a birthday gift carefully according to the identity of the empress's mother.

Xia Miaoyuan observed the strange behavior of the guests, and the doubts in his heart seemed to be clearer.

[I think I know what Dad wants to do.]

After some arguing, the gift-giving finally began.

Undoubtedly, the guests with a clear conscience came up first with birthday gifts.

"Prince Jin sent a jade headpiece!"

"Lord Han sent a handwritten copy of the Buddhist scriptures! A string of consecrated Buddhist beads from Fuyuan Temple!"

"Lord Yan sent a set of glass cups!"

The guests came forward one by one and presented the birthday gifts they prepared for Kezun in person.

Then, someone nearby received and inspected them, and there was a document recorded on the spot.

The little eunuch shouted out the birthday gifts from the guests at the top of his voice.

Those guests who have a clear conscience may give birthday gifts of high value, such as Lord Yan, King Jin, etc. Even if their families are not rich and cannot afford expensive gifts, they will prepare birthday gifts carefully, such as Lord Han Qingbo.

Whether it is valuable or thoughtful, they are all very presentable.

When the gifts came to the second half, the content shouted by the little eunuch began to be magical.

"Master Jiang gave a fake ancient painting!"

[Wow, no way! You actually gave a fake to my grandmother? ]

[Even if you look down on my grandmother, you can't fool her like this! ]

Jiang Taishi was extremely embarrassed. He bowed his head and explained, "Your Majesty, I was deceived!"

"I was stupid and blind, so I was deceived by the painting seller!"

Xia Zhengqi stroked his beard and said lightly, "Well, I will trust you once. You have seven days to bring out the authentic product and give it to Ke Zun."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace, thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Jiang Taishi kowtowed repeatedly.

"For those who are fifty years old or older, I will give you a yellow old pearl necklace!"

[Oh my God! This is too much!]

[Huguo Gong, did you bring your wife's old pearl necklace?]

[Do you think my grandmother is a rag collector? 】

The following guests were all similar, either with counterfeits or worthless items.

Xia Zhengqi stared at these guests who played tricks at the birthday party, lost in thought.