Chapter 229 Forced to Perform
The sound was not loud and was drowned out by the endless sound of ritual music. No one else could hear it except Song Yunhe. At that moment, Song Yunhe felt it was very harsh, but he did not even glance at Xi Qingtong beside him.
His eyes still followed Qingwu's figure until he saw her back disappear at the door of the hall.
Song Yunhe felt bitterness in his throat. That person was once his legally married wife...
At this moment, he suddenly heard Xi Qingtong snort coldly again. Song Yunhe turned around and saw Xu Zhuangyuan and Shanshan coming side by side.
Before he could say anything, Xu Zhuangyuan spoke first, "Madam Song, please restrain your gaze in public."
Xi Qingtong suddenly became angry and was about to step forward, but was stopped by Song Yunhe.
"What are you doing? Don't you know she's playing a trick on me?"
Song Yunhe scolded coldly, "Have you forgotten that you are pregnant? If anything happens at His Majesty's birthday banquet...behave yourself today!"
Xi Qingtong paused at these words and subconsciously touched her lower abdomen. She bit her lower lip and glared at Shanshan fiercely, but she finally suppressed her anger and retreated behind Song Yunhe in anger.
Seeing this, Xu Huaiyu said meaningfully, "Song Tanhua is quite sensible." After that, he took Shanshan and sat down on the table next to them.
When Shanshan passed by Xi Qingtong, she paused slightly, but couldn't help but whispered, "You are pregnant, and I don't want to argue with you." These words were Shanshan's true intention, but made Xi Qingtong feel even more embarrassed.
Song Yunhe looked at Xi Qingtong's frustrated expression and felt annoyed. Not only did he have to rely on the Xu family's business, but the Xu family also knew his secret and had a handle on him.
But there were so many people around that he could only comfort Xi Qingtong while he took him to sit down. After about two quarters of an hour, everyone in the square had gathered. Suddenly, bells and drums rang out, and the eunuchs sang: "Your Majesty has arrived—"
The historians standing around watched this scene and wrote:
On this day, the sky was clear, the air fresh, and the breeze gentle. The steps were covered with brocade carpets, and the gates were hung with inscriptions depicting the sun and the moon. Officials lined up like a formation of geese, and thousands of colorful lanterns reflected the rainbow's light. Dragon banners obscured the sun, phoenix canopies stretched across the clouds, and the procession of ceremonial processions stretched like a coiled dragon. Bells and drums roared, and the music of the flute and Shao reached its climax, its sound resonating through the heavens.
Xiao Yuancheng looked at this magnificent ceremony and felt relieved and a few years younger. After ascending the throne of Zhonghe Hall, he naturally received gifts from all walks of life.
Then, the eunuchs led ninety-nine elderly men over eighty years old in the capital, and there were five hundred and fifty-five elderly men over seventy years old outside the hall to celebrate Xiao Yuancheng's birthday.
Qing Wu's gaze swept over the white-haired elders who knelt tremblingly. Their wrinkled foreheads pressed against the cold ground, their withered hands struggling to support their aged bodies. Meanwhile, on the high platform, Xiao Yuancheng, with only a hint of frost on his temples, enjoyed the kowtows of these men, decades his senior.
"Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty--" The birthday wishes of the old people were uneven and vibrated with the sound of vicissitudes of life.
Xiao Yuancheng raised his hand with a smile: "Stand up. I'll give you birthday noodles."
The eunuchs came in one after another and brought bowls of longevity noodles. The old people accepted them with great surprise, and some were even so excited that they burst into tears.
At this moment, a centenarian suddenly shouted in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty is wise! I wish you a long life!"
Xiao Yuancheng was greatly pleased and immediately rewarded him with 100 taels of silver. Seeing this, the other elders followed suit and shouted "Long live the emperor!" The scene was extremely lively.
Qing Wu was speechless. The oldest of these elderly men was over a hundred years old, the youngest was over eighty, and now they had to kneel and congratulate the emperor, who was only in his 50s.
Xiao Ji noticed her strangeness and gently held her hand: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Qing Wu shook his head, covered his lips with his hand, and whispered to Xiao Ji, "I just feel...will this really increase your lifespan instead of shortening it?"
Hearing these outrageous words, Xiao Ji couldn't help but laugh. His brilliant smile caught the eyes of many people, including Xiao Yuancheng.
He just thought his son was laughing because of him, but he didn't know that his son was laughing because of the words that would shorten his lifespan.
The historian beside him hurriedly wrote: "The imperial throne holds high the Purple Palace, the golden bowl forever secures the world. The octogenarian receives the birthday face, and the white-haired man shares the emperor's grace."
After the complicated ceremony, the birthday banquet finally began. Rows of young dancers came in, showing off their graceful figures, and the people attending the banquet began to clink glasses.
Qing Wu and Xiao Ji sat at the same table, but they didn't relax at all. Instead, their hearts gradually became tense. Their left eyelids twitched at the same time.
"Do you feel anything is wrong?"
"My eyelids are twitching."
The moment they looked at each other, they saw Prince Ning, who was sitting opposite them, raise his glass and stand up. He first sang praises to Xiao Yuancheng, then suddenly turned to them with a meaningful smile: "Today is my father's birthday. If it is still the same as usual, it will be boring."
Then he looked in their direction and smiled brightly.
"I've heard that Sixth Brother's Wife was a renowned noblewoman in the capital for her beauty and talent before she married. I personally think that if Sixth Brother's Wife could perform in public, in her colorful attire to entertain her parents, wouldn't that further demonstrate the filial piety of the royal family?"
It was impossible for Prince Ning to directly say that Princess Zhao was fake. That would be too deliberate, and even if it succeeded, it would hurt the enemy by a thousand and hurt himself by eight hundred. So Prince Ning started by saying that Xi Qingwu was born in the countryside and had no talent.
Although the maid who was captured from the other courtyard was not asked why the two ladies had swapped identities, she did admit that the identities of the two ladies had been swapped.
King Ning didn't want to delve into the reasons. He just wanted to make sure that Xiao Ji should not marry the current one.
This lady who was raised outside is lucky enough to be alive. How could she possibly have the same talents as her sister who grew up in the capital?
As soon as the words fell, the whole room fell silent. Countless eyes were cast towards Qing Wu, among whom Princess An's gaze was particularly sharp, with an undisguised gloating look.
Xi Jianan almost couldn't help but stand up in the back. Sure enough! Someone was trying to harm them. But how could his daughter have any talent? He was extremely anxious.
Xiao Ji was the same. He immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "My Royal Brother, your idea is good, but have you forgotten our status? My princess is a super-class princess. How can we ask her to perform when there are so many guests in the palace?"
But when the other princes saw that Prince Ning intended to make things difficult for Xiao Ji, they immediately followed.
"That's wrong. As the saying goes, filial piety is the most important virtue. When the princess performs art to entertain her parents, the officials will only praise her and make you proud."
Prince Wen stroked his beard slowly and said, "Sixth brother, you're being too formal. Today is Father's birthday, and it's a family feast. Those in the hall are either relatives or high-ranking officials. Why bother with rank?"
Prince An added sarcastically, "Sixth brother, are you refusing this because you're reluctant to let the princess display her talents? Or is it..." He deliberately dragged out his words, "what's the princess hiding?"
The four of them sang in unison, and Xiao Ji was speechless for a moment. He subconsciously looked up at the chair at the head of the table. Only Princess Anyang was sitting there. As for the grandmother, she still did not attend the banquet to avoid the public attention.
At this moment, Xiao Ji couldn't help but think that if grandma were here, she could help Qingqing out of the predicament with just one word.
At this moment, Xiao Yuancheng on the throne also showed an interested look: "Sixth Prince's wife is indeed... I gave her to you as a concubine because I valued her both talent and beauty. Now that she has been promoted to the principal wife, it won't hurt to perform a little to let others know that you are worthy of the title of princess."
Xi Jianan was so anxious behind the table that he broke into a cold sweat, nearly crushing the wine cup in his hand. Qingwu sat quietly with his eyes lowered, sensing the gazes from all directions: curiosity, mockery, and Princess An's undisguised gloating.
Just when she realized that Xiao Ji was about to speak again, she stood up from the seat and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Since you all, Father, wish to see my talent, it would be disrespectful to refuse."
As soon as the words fell, those who knew the inside story were stunned.
What talents does she have?
Princess An even wondered, "Would she be performing some kind of handicraft in a place like this?" This was the only thing she could imagine a girl who grew up in the countryside being able to do.
If this were really performed, it would be a laughing stock.
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