Chapter 263 Preparations before the Welcome Banquet
Zhao Lingmeng has been very low-key these days. It can be said that he has not left the house. This is mainly because the envoys of the surrender negotiation of the Nangan Kingdom have arrived in Yuanjing and are staying in the Honglu Temple in Yuanjing.
The emperor and his ministers had decided to leave them alone for a few days before hosting a welcoming banquet. However, since they were staying at the Honglu Temple and their itinerary was not restricted, they could still travel around Yuanjing.
Zhao Lingmeng didn't want to have any of those bloody scenes with them, such as chance encounters, heroes saving beauties, or acquaintances through fighting, so she just stayed quietly in the princess's mansion, eating and drinking with Zhao Houyang, and staying away from those troublesome people completely.
But there's a saying that goes, "You can avoid the first day, but you can't avoid the fifteenth!" Zhao Lingmeng stayed at home for four days. On the fifth day, someone came to inform her that she would be attending a welcoming banquet prepared for the envoys from the Nangan Kingdom that evening.
When Zhao Lingmeng received the notice, she and Zhao Houyang were in the garden of the Princess's Mansion, making beggar's chicken. Two spoiled children like them, their food was only half-cooked! As for the mushy patches, they could only pretend not to notice.
Fortunately, Zhao Lingmeng and Zhao Houyang were particularly interested in what I made. They didn't mind the mushy part and ate quite a bit with their hands. It wasn't a waste.
In reality, only Zhao Lingmeng had trouble eating. Zhao Houyang, on the other hand, ate with relish. This was mainly due to his previous life being too difficult, especially after his father remarried. He and his brother had eaten everything. Therefore, he was now a good kid who wasn't picky about food.
"Mom, are you going to the palace tonight?" Zhao Houyang finished eating the chicken leg in his hand, and wiped his hands with Qiuyue's help. He looked at his mother curiously. He had never been to the palace in his two lives! He was definitely curious.
Zhao Lingmeng nodded, "Do you want to go?"
Zhao Houyang thought his mother was going to take him with her, and immediately nodded happily.
"Wait until you're a little older! You're too young now, and it's inconvenient for you to have to go to the bathroom all the time."
It was impossible for Zhao Lingmeng to bring such a young child into the palace. It was a place where people were killed. If any conspiracy affected him, there would be no place to regret. She could only give a reason that Zhao Houyang could not refute.
Zhao Houyang had thought of many reasons to refute his mother, but when his mother said this, he instantly wilted. He couldn't control this physical matter even if he wanted to, so he could only helplessly respond, "Okay!"
Zhao Ling dreamed that Zhao Houyang had compromised, and she smiled slightly. She thought to herself, "Little guy, I can't handle you."
Chunshui and Qiuyue, who were around, were no longer surprised. Their prince would bully the young masters in a few days anyway. They went from being frightened to calm, and even now they could laugh along.
"Aunt Qiuyue, why are you laughing? I will grow up."
Qiuyue could only quickly suppress her smile and comfort Zhao Houyang immediately, otherwise it would be even worse if he cried later: "Yes, my little master will grow up soon."
Zhao Lingmeng laughed even harder, staggering from side to side. "How big can he get? He'll still have to go to the bathroom soon."
"Mom, you guys are bad. I won't play with you anymore." Zhao Houyang ran away in anger. Dong Yuan, who was standing next to him, immediately chased after him.
"Your Highness, it's not okay for us to tease the Third Young Master like this!" Qiuyue still felt a little guilty, as if she was bullying the weak.
"Don't worry! He won't be bullied for a few more years. This little guy is very shrewd. When he grows up, it will be impossible to bully him." Zhao Lingmeng was still a little helpless when she said this. Now that her two eldest sons have grown up, Qian Yi can no longer deceive them.
"Let's not talk about this anymore, Qiuhua. Tell me who came from Nangan Country so that we can know ourselves and our enemies." Zhao Lingmeng said as he changed to a comfortable sitting position on the chair next to him.
"Your Highness, according to what I have heard these days, nine people have come from the Nangan Kingdom. The leader of the entire delegation is the famous Nangan general, Cheng Shifan, also known as General Cheng.
Then came the fifth prince of Nangan. Although he was not born of a legitimate wife, he was the son of a noble concubine. It was said that his mother was very favored in Nangan. Then came the eldest princess of Nangan. This was quite normal. Although she was the eldest princess and a concubine's daughter, she was very beautiful and was also very favored in Nangan. She must be very scheming.
The two people in charge of the negotiations in Nangan Kingdom are Jiang Yun and Cheng Shen, who are said to be good negotiators.
Of the other four people accompanying General Cheng, two of them were not very skilled in fighting, but our people said they were very familiar with weapons. The other two were also very skilled in martial arts. The rest were guards and palace maids.
"This configuration seems to be ill-intentioned! It seems we have to be careful tonight." Zhao Lingmeng knew without thinking that these people must be coming for Jingguo's weapons.
"Tonight, Qiuyue, you and Qiuhua will not follow me into the palace. Let Chunshui, Chunmu, Dongyuan, and Dongchen follow me!"
"Yes!" Qiuyue and Qiuhua knew that they didn't know martial arts, and if anything happened at the banquet, they wouldn't be able to help, and might even be a hindrance. It would be better for them to stay in the mansion and watch over the young masters for His Highness.
"Your Highness, I will go too! After all, I came from the palace, and I know a lot of the palace's tricks."
Nanny Sun was also worried about Zhao Lingmeng. She had just heard Qiuhua say that those people from Nangan were masters of palace fighting and she was afraid that His Highness would suffer.
"It might be very dangerous tonight." Zhao Lingmeng didn't want Nanny Sun to take risks at such an old age. She just wanted her to stay with him until she was old.
When Nanny Sun heard His Highness say this, she wanted to go even more. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I can handle it."
"Then Mammy, please stay close to Chunshui at night. Safety is the most important thing. I hope I'm overthinking this!"
Not only Zhao Lingmeng was analyzing these people, but all the dignitaries from Yuanjing who would be present tonight were analyzing the group of people from Nangan. In addition to their patriotism, they were also afraid that they might accidentally ruin the emperor's plan.
On the other hand, the Nangan delegation was also analyzing the people in Yuanjing, hoping to find someone who could be used. However, they did not pay attention to Zhao Lingmeng.
Although Zhao Lingmeng was granted the title of Princess due to official duties, they learned that she was granted the title of Princess due to her accidental discovery of the miraculous smallpox elixir. Furthermore, the old Marquis of Wu'an had always been in the emperor's good graces, so her favor was natural.
If this situation happened in Nangan, perhaps he could have been given a higher title and even land. Jingguo only granted him a nominal title, which wasn't a big deal. Zhao Lingmeng wasn't particularly beautiful, if you had to say, she was a pretty girl next door! This made her even less likely to attract their attention.
Moreover, the main purpose of their visit this time was to find out who in Jingguo had developed the new weapon. It would be great if they could dig it away, but if they couldn't, destroying it would also be fine.
So in the eyes of people like Nan Gan, they didn't think that a woman like Zhao Lingmeng could have such great abilities, and they didn't even think about it that way.
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