Chapter 128 Beauty
Kangxi, the crown prince and other ministers went to the banquet venue.
Kangxi sat in the first seat, followed by Crown Prince Yinreng. Opposite the Crown Prince sat Cao Yin because of his status as the head of the family. The rest of the ministers were arranged in descending order of their positions.
Among the sons brought by Kangxi, only the crown prince was present. After all, the guests today were all Han officials, and in the eyes of Han officials, the crown prince was the legitimate one. The eldest prince Yinzhi, who was slightly older than the crown prince, had always been at odds with the Han officials and would definitely not attend today's banquet.
"Empress Jin has arrived——"
As the voice of the young eunuch outside the door sounded, the hall was quiet for a while.
Yuying walked in slowly against the light.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you——"
Although Kangxi exempted Yuying from the salute, this was after all in front of the Han ministers who attached great importance to rules. Yuying did not want Kangxi to be criticized by the Han ministers because of this matter, so after walking into the hall, she took the initiative to salute Kangxi.
"My beloved concubine, please don't be polite. Come and sit with me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yuying lifted her skirt and stepped onto the stairs one step at a time.
After all, she was not in the palace, so Yuying dressed as she pleased today, preferring the style of Hanfu. She wore a begonia-colored skirt, and even her hair was tied up in a bun, embellished with two kingfisher hairpins. Although not gorgeous, it made Yuying look even more gorgeous.
The lotus-shaped flower ornament on her forehead adds a touch of elegance to Yuying.
As Yuying approached, Kangxi's amazement became more and more obvious. As soon as Yuying sat down, Kangxi couldn't wait to hold Yuying's hand and whispered, "Ying's dress today really pleases me."
Yuying glanced at him and said, "Your Majesty has a good taste. I like it too."
Cao Yin was watching the emperor and his concubine talking to each other with their heads down. He was almost gritting his teeth. Concubine Jin had ruined his good fortune once, was she going to ruin it for the second time?
Since he couldn't send her directly to the emperor's bed, Cao Yin planned to let Wang come out to dance today, and then he would present her to the emperor. Although this move might offend Concubine Jin, as long as the emperor liked her, could Concubine Jin still turn the tables?
But what is Concubine Jin wearing today?
Cao Yin frowned.
Yuying glanced at Cao Yin calmly, gave a subtle smile, and reminded Kangxi that it was time to announce the start of the meal.
Kangxi announced the start of the banquet.
Cao Yin clapped his hands, and a servant came in to serve the dishes.
After serving the dishes, Kangxi raised his glass to his ministers and told them to be at ease.
When the banquet was halfway through, Cao Yin gritted his teeth and
"Your Majesty, I have prepared some songs and dances and would like to invite Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, and all the ministers to enjoy them together."
Kangxi frowned, as if he was about to refuse, but Yuying spoke first, "Since it was carefully prepared by Lord Cao, why not take a look, Your Majesty?"
Kangxi glanced at Yuying and saw that she seemed very excited. He didn't know what she was saying, so he lowered his head and asked, "Aying, do you want to see it?"
"I just feel that I cannot let down Lord Cao's kindness."
Cao Yin didn't understand why Concubine Jin was so positive, but since she was willing to help him succeed, he thanked her secretly.
"In that case, let's take a look."
Kangxi made the final decision.
So Cao Yin clapped his hands again.
Almost as soon as the applause died down, a group of veiled dancers and musicians slowly walked in from outside the hall.
The music started and the dancers swayed their bodies to the music.
How should I put it? It was worthy of Cao Yin's long preparation, the dance was indeed beautiful. Although Yuying was thinking about other things just now, she was concentrating on watching the dance and music in the hall at this moment.
You see, even the ministers in the palace slowed down their movements of toasting each other.
Kangxi picked up the wine glass and took a sip. He glanced down without any emotion in his eyes and turned his attention to Yuying beside him.
Seeing that Yuying was only focused on watching the dance and didn't even move her chopsticks, Kangxi leaned over and said with a sour tone, "It's so beautiful? Ah Ying couldn't even bear to move her chopsticks while watching it?"
"Eat, eat, eat. I'll eat now." Yuying never took her eyes off the hall. She picked up the chopsticks and put a piece of food into her mouth without even looking at what was in it.
Kangxi watched Yuying pick up a piece of food that she usually wouldn't touch with her chopsticks, and before he could remind her, Yuying put it in her mouth.
Kangxi was still waiting for Yuying to spit it out, but Yuying swallowed it as if she was completely unaware of what she had eaten, and even took another bite with her chopsticks.
Kangxi couldn't help but hold his forehead with his hand. Is it so beautiful?
"Aying."
Kangxi tried to hold back, but still couldn't help but remind her.
Ah Ying, on the other hand, was ungrateful. When she heard Kangxi calling her, she felt that Kangxi was particularly ill-informed today. Why did he keep interrupting her from watching the dance?
Yuying patted Kangxi's hand and said in a soothing tone: "Don't be anxious, Your Majesty. There will be something interesting to watch later."
Kangxi was kept in the dark, but Yuying did not reveal the truth to him, so he could only wait patiently for Yuying to reveal the truth.
Prince Yinreng had no interest in this. Who was he? He was a descendant of the royal family, and had been raised by Emperor Kangxi with the best things since he was a child. Although the dance in the palace was beautiful, it was just average to him.
He behaved like a prince from beginning to end, sitting upright, and every move he made showed the demeanor of a prince. His face was also expressionless, and one could not tell whether he was happy or angry. He only smiled a little when facing Kangxi and when his ministers toasted him.
From time to time, Cao Yin looked at Kangxi, then at the Crown Prince, and then glanced at the faces of the ministers below.
Although he saw that the two most honorable people at the top - the emperor and the prince - had a mediocre response, this was just an appetizer and the main event was yet to come.
Cao Yin winked at the musicians in the palace.
The originally soothing music changed its tune, and the dancers in the hall also changed their dancing postures.
Yuying straightened her body slightly, and did not forget to remind Kangxi beside her: "Your Majesty, it's time to start."
As Yuying finished speaking, the dancers who had been surrounding her had already left without her noticing.
The curtain of the pavilion outside the palace was lifted.
Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to it, Cao Yin spoke up: "Your Majesty, the next dance is called 'Dance in the Palm'."
The beauty who was kneeling in the pavilion slowly stood up, and everyone discovered that there was a palm-sized golden lotus-shaped ornament in the place covered by her sleeves.
The beauty bowed towards the hall, then she stepped on the golden lotus and danced slowly to the music. It seemed that even her breathing slowed down, and everyone stared at the figure in the pavilion in a daze.
When the dance was over, the people in the hall came to their senses and applauded.
This was followed by a burst of praise.
"Master Cao has put in a lot of effort."
…
"Why don't you ask such a wonderful person to come to the front of the hall for everyone to see?" Yuying suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone's compliments.
Cao Yin glanced at Yuying's face and saw that she didn't realize what this meant, but looked very excited. He wondered if Concubine Jin was stupid or was she really so confident that the emperor would not be attracted to new people?
Cao Yin couldn't help but glance at Kangxi. Kangxi's expression was gloomy and it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
The ministers below also realized belatedly that there was someone sitting next to the emperor. The originally noisy hall became quiet. Everyone looked at each other and finally set their sights on Kangxi, waiting for him to speak.
Kangxi had been silent since the beginning, and there was nothing he didn't understand until now. The Cao family was finding all kinds of ways to put people into his harem, especially in front of Yuying. Kangxi felt dissatisfied with the Cao family. He had treated the Cao family well enough, but he never thought that they would even dream of reaching their hands into his harem.
Kangxi couldn't help but look at Yuying, and met the obvious look of trouble in Yuying's eyes.
Kangxi withdrew his gaze. It was okay. He would not really take her into the harem. If Aying wanted to see, then let her see.
"Then call her in to show her to Concubine Jin."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The servant behind Cao Yin went over and brought the person in.
[It’s here, it’s time to test the cadres. Let’s wait and see whether the cadres can stand the test.]
The good show that Yuying mentioned was to watch Kangxi. The family of his most trusted nanny specially found a beauty that suited his heart, but he didn't know how Kangxi would react.
The beauty's lotus steps moved lightly, and flowers bloomed with every step. As she got closer, a crisp bell sounded with her footsteps.
Everyone couldn't help but look for the source of the bell sound.
It turned out that there was a string of small and exquisite golden bells hanging on the beauty's ankles. Further down, it turned out to be a pair of three-inch golden lotus feet that were less than a hand's length.
The eyes of the Han officials in the palace all lit up, but knowing that this was a beauty presented to the emperor, they did not dare to look at her for fear of offending the emperor.
The beauty walked into the hall and knelt down to pay homage to Kangxi, who was seated at the first table.
"This humble lady pays respect to His Majesty, Your Majesty, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
As soon as this voice came out, not to mention others, even Yuying felt her bones weaken.
Crisp, sweet but not greasy.
But Kangxi didn't think so. He looked impatient and said in a low voice: "Since you have entered this palace, why are you still hiding your face? Didn't you hear the queen say she wanted to see you just now?"
Kangxi suddenly attacked, and not only Yuying, but also everyone else in the palace was shocked. For a beauty of this stature, even if you can't see her face, you should expect her to be pretty. Why doesn't the emperor have any sympathy for her?
Kangxi didn't care about what people thought of him. He was already unhappy about the Cao family's affairs, but Yuying was adding fuel to the fire. He didn't look very happy.
"I...I dare not." Wang's face covered by the veil suddenly turned pale. She took off the veil in a panic, and then raised her pair of willow-leaf eyes that were full of light and brilliance.
There were still some strands of hair that had been messed up while dancing, tangled and stuck to that pitiful face.
Black hair, red lips, and the tears that are about to fall at the corners of the eyes, everything is just right.
Someone in the hall couldn't help but gasp, then seemed to react and hurriedly covered his mouth. He looked around and saw that he was not the only one who had the same reaction, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
Lord Cao really spent a lot of money.
[Oh wow, what a honey trap.]
As Yuying complained in her heart, Kangxi almost laughed out of anger.
What did Cao Yin think of him? Did he really think of him as the kind of emperor who was obsessed with beauty and couldn't walk?
The more furious Kangxi was, the less he showed it on his face. He stared at Wang who was kneeling there, and didn't move until Wang couldn't help but tremble. Kangxi then laughed out loud, "Lord Cao did a good job on this matter."
Cao Yin was overjoyed and quickly stood up from his seat, walked to Wang and knelt beside her.
"I don't deserve it! It's my duty!" That's what he said. How could there be a man who is not lustful?
Kangxi didn't reply for a long time.
Yuying, on the other hand, was happy and relaxed, eating and drinking as usual.
But how could Yuying know that this would happen?
This story begins early this morning.
Because Kangxi had to meet with his ministers in the morning, Yuying got up with him. After Kangxi left, Yuying took Qingtao and Qingdai to wander around Cao's mansion.
As she was the emperor's concubine, no one dared to stop her. So, unknowingly, Yuying went further and further away.
When she reached the corner of an inconspicuous courtyard, Yuying didn't expect to hear such a thing.
"Girl, let's go back. Otherwise, if the adults find out that you sneaked out again, you will be scolded again."
"What are you afraid of? I will soon become the emperor's consort, and it is you who will have to rely on me in the future."
Yuying and her group stopped in their tracks because of these words before they could even appear.
"Your Majesty, I will go and scold them right away." Qingtao was filled with righteous indignation, and it seemed that she was about to roll up her sleeves and go out to fight in the next second. Even Qingdai, who was always gentle, was eager to try.
"Don't be impatient--" Yuying stretched out her hand to stop Qingtao.
The conversation continues around the bend…
Yuying didn't come out until the two people who were talking left. Yuying looked at her from afar and saw her walking with her clothes fluttering, like a free bird.
Yuying lowered her eyes and lost interest in strolling around the garden. "Let's go, let's go back."
"Your Majesty, should we tell the Emperor about this?" Qingdai couldn't help but ask.
"No need. A fly won't bite an egg without a crack. If the emperor is interested, he will naturally not take her into the palace. If he is not interested, there will be someone else if not her. Let's just wait and see."
"Yes, I will obey you, Madam."
The memories ended and we returned to the temple.
Cao Yin, who was kneeling in the hall, had lost his joyful expression because Kangxi had not spoken for a long time. Sweat kept dripping from his forehead. He could not help but raise his head quietly, wanting to take a look at Kangxi's expression to judge whether he was happy or angry.
But who knew that Kangxi was not looking at him, but was looking at the prince next to him.
Wang was indeed beautiful, and Kangxi was afraid that the prince, who had not yet married, would take a fancy to her. But seeing that the prince still looked calm and composed, with only a hint of pride in his eyes, Kangxi nodded with satisfaction. She was indeed his Baocheng! His own daughter!
"Your Majesty..." Cao Yin couldn't help but remind him.
Kangxi turned around with a frown on his face. He had lost his patience at this moment. "This man is disrespectful in front of the palace. Take him away."
Kangxi didn't even want to look at Cao Yin again. He left with Yuying, and Crown Prince Yinreng followed closely behind, leaving Cao Yin and a group of ministers kneeling in the hall looking at each other in bewilderment.
Now everyone understood that Lord Cao had displeased the Emperor.
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