Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 73 Li Qimeiyin, three movies [Seeking follow-up reading]

The "family dinner" hosted by Empress Ma was held in Dashan Hall - because it was inconvenient for either the three princes-in-law or Zhu Biao to enter the harem.

Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan hesitated for a while when they went out, and when they arrived at the Dashan Hall, they found that Empress Ma was already in the hall.

In addition to several concubines, she was accompanied by more than a dozen princes and princesses - the youngest was only four or five years old, and the oldest was in their teens.

Princess Lin'an and her husband Li Qi, Princess Ningguo and her husband Mei Yin, also arrived.

It can be said that among the people who will participate in this royal dinner, apart from Zhu Yuanzhang and the people from the Eastern Palace, the only ones left are Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan.

After the two came in, they first saluted Queen Ma.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen (Mother)!"

"Stand up." Queen Ma said with a smile.

Then Queen Ma began to introduce the old concubine Zhu in the palace.

"This is Concubine Sun, this is Concubine Hu Chong, this is Concubine Da Ding..."

Every time Empress Ma introduced someone, Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan would bow and greet them.

The oldest of these concubines was only a few years younger than Empress Ma, and the youngest was only about 20 years old. It can be seen that although Zhu was in love with Empress Ma alone, he was very diligent in sowing seeds.

While introducing the concubines, Empress Ma also did not forget to introduce the princes and princesses.

After the introduction, Liu Kuan knew that those who could participate in this family dinner were the concubines who gave birth to children for Zhu Yuanzhang.

After paying their respects to the concubines, Liu Kuan and Zhu Huilan bowed to their two sisters and brother-in-law.

Princess Lin'an looked to be in her twenties, looked quite mature, and had a gentle smile on her face.

Although the son-in-law Li Qi is not good-looking, he has the temperament of a civil servant and a superior.

After returning the gift, Li Qi smiled and said, "I've wanted to chat with my third brother-in-law for a long time, but unfortunately you and I were both busy with official duties before. Today I finally have the opportunity. Third brother-in-law, please don't think I'm talking too much later."

Liu Kuan said, "How could that be? It's just that I'm not good at speaking, and I still don't understand the etiquette and customs here. If I've offended you in any way, please forgive me, brother-in-law."

"Haha, we're all family, there's no such thing as being offensive or not."

It was not the first time Liu Kuan met Li Qi, nor was it the first time they talked, but it was the first time they talked so much.

He felt that this person looked quite smooth and worldly-wise, but he had no idea what he was like inside.

As for Princess Ningguo and her husband Mei Yin, they both seemed to be less talkative.

Mei Yin, in particular, only said "Third brother-in-law is polite" when returning the greeting, and didn't say anything else afterwards.

But he had a smile on his face and looked quite kind.

There were many people participating in this family dinner, so it was impossible to have them sit around the table, and instead they had to sit at separate tables.

In addition, it seems that people have to sit in the main hall and the left and right side halls of the Dashan Hall according to gender and age.

Liu Kuan looked at it and said to Zhu Huilan, "It might be inconvenient to watch the movie later. Go and suggest to the Queen that everyone eat in the main hall."

Zhu Huilan hesitated slightly, "Will this violate etiquette?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "It will definitely be a hindrance, but since it's a family dinner and we need to watch a movie together, I believe your mother will agree."

"Then I'll give it a try."

After saying that, Zhu Huilan stood up and walked to the Phoenix table, leaned over to Queen Ma's ear and whispered something, and finally took out a tablet computer.

The fourth princess, Zhu Xuanle, had been staring at Zhu Huilan. Seeing this, her eyes immediately lit up and she leaned over to ask, "Third sister, what is this? It looks so strange."

“This is a tablet.”

"Tablet? What a strange name. What is it for?"

Zhu Huilan was thinking back to Liu Kuan's explanation and was trying to figure out how to repeat it when Empress Ma said, "Why ask so many questions? You'll know the answer later."

Then Empress Ma ordered the ladies-in-waiting, palace maids, and eunuchs to rearrange the dining tables and chairs in the Dashan Hall.

Although others found it strange, no one asked any questions.

Obviously, Empress Ma was the absolute master of the harem, and even Zhu Yuanzhang had to listen to her on certain matters. Now in the Dashan Hall, naturally, whatever she said would go on.

However, some sharp-eyed people noticed that Empress Ma changed the arrangement of tables and chairs in the palace because she listened to Princess Chongning's words.

During this period, Zhu Xuanle did not listen to Queen Ma and came to pester Zhu Huilan.

"Third sister, just tell me, what exactly is this tablet used for?"

Zhu Huilan was so frustrated that she said, "Let your brother-in-law tell you."

Liu Kuan was sitting nearby. Seeing Zhu Xuanle looking over, he said, "You can think of it as a combination of a moving picture album and a music box." "A moving picture album?"

Zhu Xuanle was stunned for a moment, then imagined what Liu Kuan had said. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Is it really that magical? Can you show it to me first?"

Zhu Huilan was afraid that Liu Kuan would find it difficult to refuse, so she said, "This thing has a limited battery. I don't know how long your father will need to watch it. If I show it to you in advance, I'm afraid the battery will run out."

"Low battery?" Zhu Xuanle frowned. "Isn't this the same phone that Prince Brother was talking about?"

Just as Zhu Huilan was about to respond, she heard a clear and familiar voice coming from the palace gate.

"Why did the sister ask people to move all the tables and chairs into the main hall?"

As soon as the words fell, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao and their family entered the hall one after another.

When he came to sit on the dragon throne at the top, Empress Ma smiled and said, "Kuan'er and Huilan brought something wonderful. They said it could be used to perform a big show. They wanted everyone to watch it together."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked at Liu Kuan, "What good stuff is this? Bring it here for us to see!"

Liu Kuan winked at Zhu Huilan.

Zhu Huilan went upstairs with the tablet computer as they had agreed on the way.

"Father, please look, it is this tablet."

As he said that, he turned on the tablet.

While waiting, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but say, "This looks like a large mobile phone."

Liu Kuan said from below: "Your Majesty is wise. This thing can be said to be a large mobile phone."

People like Zhu Biao who had seen or even played with mobile phones knew what was going on, but others were completely confused.

But I didn't dare to ask.

After turning on the tablet, Zhu Huilan opened the folder where the movies were stored and said, "There are only three movies and twelve songs in here. These movies are similar to stage plays."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the strange patterns and symbols on it and found that he had no idea what they were, so he said, "Then try to put on a play first."

"But I don't know which one Father wants to watch?"

"What are the names of these three plays and what are they about?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Zhu Huilan had already seen the three films and heard Liu Kuan introduce them, so she repeated Liu Kuan's words at this time.

"Replying to Your Majesty, the film is called 'The Sword Embroidered', and it is a fictional story that happened more than two hundred years after the Ming Dynasty."

"The second one is called 'Lost on Journey'. It's a comedy about my husband's life as a commoner."

"The third one is called 'The Wandering Earth.' According to my husband, it's a science fiction film... well, it tells the story of a catastrophe a thousand years from now, similar to a celestial collapse."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately stared at the third movie Zhu Huilan pointed out and said solemnly, "A catastrophe similar to the collapse of the sky?"

This question was beyond the couple's plan. Zhu Huilan didn't know how to answer it for a moment, so she had to look to Liu Kuan for help.

Zhu Yuanzhang followed Zhu Huilan's gaze and said in a loud voice, "Kuan'er, tell me, what exactly happened to that great disaster?"

Liu Kuan said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the catastrophe of the sky collapses means that the earth beneath our feet and the sun and moon in the sky will be destroyed..."

"What?!" Zhu Yuanzhang stood up in shock.

The other people in the hall also looked shocked.

"How could such a catastrophe happen a thousand years later?!"

Seeing this, Liu Kuan knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had misunderstood. He quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please listen to me. This movie is like a play. It is based on a storybook. In other words, it is fictional and not true."

"So it's a fiction..." Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. Then he asked in confusion, "What were you people of that time thinking? Why make up something else? Why did you have to invent a catastrophe that would happen a thousand years later?"

Liu Kuan found this funny and could only explain: "In later generations, this is called a science fiction disaster film, just one of many movie genres."

"Besides, it's not meaningless—as the saying goes, born in adversity, die in comfort."

"This kind of disaster film can instill a sense of crisis in people, encouraging them not to be complacent with the status quo but to strive for progress. This will help them be more prepared to handle future disasters."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and his interest in this science fiction film increased greatly. He said, "From what you said, this movie is quite interesting. Why don't we watch it first?"

Liu Kuan said, "Your Majesty and the Empress have never seen a movie, so I suggest you watch 'The Blade of the Assassin' first."

Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled and asked, "Why?"

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　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)