The others were speechless too many times today and were completely indifferent. Everyone was watching the main hall and the court officials who came to attend the banquet with great interest. Because of this important event, everyone who came in had to say congratulations to the Lu family. Even Mingze and the others who were not involved in the court were flattered.
That's really impressive.
Soon the emperor and empress arrived, along with their three children, making them a happy family.
After arriving, the eldest prince habitually came to the Lu family's place to sit with Gou'er, and the second princess also greeted Jiang Jiuniang first. Only the youngest prince glared fiercely at Jiang Jiuniang, refusing to forgive her for bullying the child that day.
The emperor and empress never stopped smiling, showing that they were truly happy. Everyone stood up to greet them, but the emperor exempted them from kneeling and they simply exchanged a few polite words before sitting down.
Only then did the emperor begin his actual speech.
"Today, I am both angry and happy. I am angry that there are so many parasites in my court, constantly eroding the power of my Northern Yan. I am happy that I still have pillars of the state like the Lu and Qin families by my side, who are working hard and contributing to me and to Northern Yan! Although there are still countless foreign enemies, especially the envoys from the island nation who are still eyeing the capital with predatory intent, I believe that the remaining ministers are all talents who are beneficial to the country and its people, the pillars of the nation. They will surely work together to drive the foreign enemies out of Northern Yan and restore peace to the people!"
"I raise a toast to you all! I hope you will continue to persevere and strive for the prosperity of Beiyan!"
With that, the emperor raised his wine cup.
"Continue to strive for the prosperity and strength of Beiyan!"
Everyone echoed loudly, raising their wine cups and drinking them down in one gulp, just like the emperor.
Although it was a banquet, matters of the court inevitably came up during the meal. The emperor took the initiative to bring up the island nation's envoys, saying, "Now all those who had colluded with the island nation's envoys have been arrested, but these envoys refuse to leave Beiyan. I am very troubled by this. I wonder if any of you have any good ideas?"
Today is a banquet, with men, women, young and old present. In principle, such matters should not be discussed, but since the emperor brought it up, the civil and military officials could not say much and simply lowered their heads to think of a solution.
Before long, someone spoke up: "Your Majesty, the islanders' goal is the Pangu Jade and the treasure behind it. Why don't we just go along with their wishes and give them the Pangu Jade? Madam Lu didn't have a fake Pangu Jade before, which was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Since it could fool the people of Dongting, why can't it fool the islanders?"
"This is a good idea; I think it's feasible!"
"I find this inappropriate. This island nation is just a small country. Why should we give them the Pangu Jade just because they want it? We had no dealings with them before, and now they want our national treasure. If we just give it to them like that, aren't we giving them face? Besides, their motives are impure. They've been causing trouble on our territory, and we haven't even held them accountable yet. Why should we give them the Pangu Jade? Even if it's fake, it's unacceptable!"
"Your Majesty, I agree!"
...
Several ministers started arguing, and a situation of confrontation between the two sides was formed in an instant.
One side advocates giving a fake one to quickly get rid of these plagues and reduce trouble, while the other side is stubborn and doesn't want to give one even if it's fake.
The emperor felt that what they said made a lot of sense, and for a moment he didn't know which side to take.
After all, giving them fakes would make them seem like they were afraid of the small island nation, but if they didn't give them any, they worried that these little Bitdens would cause some trouble in Northern Yan.
After all, the safety of the people is the most important thing.
Jiang Jiuniang kept her head down and ate her rice, barely paying attention to the ministers who had started arguing. After she finished eating, she turned to Lianhua beside her and asked, "If you were in this situation, how would you handle it?"
Lianhua didn't expect Jiang Jiuniang to ask her such a question, after all, she didn't have any official position and was just there to freeload.
However, since they were just talking about it in private, it shouldn't be a big deal, so she said, "I think I'll bite back."
Jiang Jiuniang immediately became interested and continued to ask, "Oh? How does it bite?"
Lotus continued in a low voice, "Just because they brought a prostitute to the marriage alliance and said they wanted our Pangu Jade, we can say they are maliciously offending us and disrespecting our country and monarch, and demand an explanation. Although we're using a pitiful woman as a scapegoat, since she was chosen to do this, she can't escape the consequences. Of course, our main focus is on the island nation's court, taking the opportunity to belittle them for not being able to offer anything of value and only resorting to underhanded tactics. Third Aunt, do you think my idea will work?"
Lianhua spoke very carefully. After all, in the entire Northern Yan, apart from Jiang Jiuniang, no other woman was allowed to discuss politics. She was at a palace banquet, and if someone with ulterior motives overheard her, who knew what trouble it would cause? She didn't want to bring trouble to her family.
Jiang Jiuniang replied with a smile, "Of course, why not? Your Majesty, I have something to say!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand high, drawing everyone's attention to herself.
Lotus was startled and had a bad feeling. She hurriedly tugged at Jiang Jiuniang under the table, but it was no use.
The emperor looked at her expectantly and asked, "Does Madam Lu have any good ideas?"
Jiang Jiuniang pointed at the lotus flower and said loudly, "I don't have any good ideas, but my niece does!"
Turning to Lotus, he encouraged her, "Quick, stand up and say something!"
The surrounding courtiers were immediately displeased. They were discussing important matters; what right did the woman have to interrupt?
If it were Jiang Jiuniang, it would be understandable, since she has the strength to back it up and they are no match for her. But what's the point of calling out a little girl to speak?
Some people instinctively wanted to object, but then they remembered that the banquet was for someone else, so they immediately fell silent. The emperor was in high spirits today, and if someone was angered, they would surely be one of those who had to contribute to the national treasury.
Forget it, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I'll just have to survive as long as I can.
Thinking this way, no one actually spoke up.
The emperor had a great fondness for the children of the Lu family, knowing that they were all carefully taught by Jiang Jiuniang and would certainly be excellent. So he said, "Tell me about it. If you do well, you will be richly rewarded; if you don't, it doesn't matter."
So, encouraged by Jiang Jiuniang, Lianhua stood up.
The others assumed that a young woman in such a situation would be trembling with fear and wouldn't be able to come up with any good ideas.
But Lianhua wasn't intimidated at all. After standing up, she gracefully bowed to the emperor and said a few nice words to make the emperor and some of the ministers who had previously opposed her feel comfortable. Only then did she repeat what she had just said to Jiang Jiuniang.
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