The stunning beauty of Qing Dynasty

Chapter 355: Envoy Banquet

In the Qinghe Hall of the Dongwei Palace, in order to welcome foreign envoys and various royal relatives, the seats for the adults and ladies had already been arranged early.

A group of people in unique costumes have already sat in their seats. Their tall stature and deep facial features have attracted many people's curious gazes.

The court officials of Dongwei looked at the leader and whispered to each other.

"I heard that the leader is He Chu's iron-blooded general Mu Bai. He looks very handsome, but he looks quite gentle, not as scary as people often say."

"He's not the only one with a bad appearance and personality. I heard that Nan'an has a new young general, right?"

"Tsk tsk, it's really one wave after another, these young people are incredible!"

The official in blue thought of the several overly young top-ranked candidates who were admitted in this autumn examination, and a complex expression of bitterness and jealousy appeared on his face.

Seeing the expression of the blue-robed official, the others also remembered several particularly young and outstanding officials in the court, and the same expression appeared on their faces.

The people around were not talking loudly, but the gazes directed at him were particularly obvious. Jiang Qing, who was sitting next to Mu Bai, poked his friend's sleeve secretly and whispered, "Mu Bai, what did the old men in Dongwei say? Why are they looking at us so strangely?"

Mu Bai glanced around and noticed that several officials in the distance were looking at him with strange eyes. Did they seem jealous? Mu Bai was unsure, and frowned slightly, saying, "Don't worry about Dong Wei and the others. We just need to wait for the Fifth Prince to arrive and choose his imperial concubine. We just need to protect him and his concubine."

Hearing his friend's serious and old-fashioned look, Jiang Qing curled his lips and was too lazy to talk to his overly old-fashioned friend anymore.

However, Jiang Qing was still very curious about the Fifth Prince's future imperial consort, and his gaze could not help but secretly turn towards the location of the group of female relatives.

At this moment, although everyone had not arrived yet, there were already quite a few women in gorgeous clothes sitting on the female side.

All of them looked good-looking and slim, but Jiang Qing was used to the heroic women in his own country who could ride horses and hunt, so he felt that the women of Dongwei were too weak. Although they looked good and had fair skin, Jiang Qing always felt that if he showed a fierce attitude, those delicate Dongwei women would probably be scared to tears.

Jiang Qing couldn't help but frown, not understanding why Queen Gong insisted that the Fifth Prince choose a woman from Dongwei as his imperial consort.

Jiang Qing didn't wonder for too long, as his curiosity was aroused by the arrival of Xie Ping.

Thanks to the special arrangement of Emperor Dongwei, the envoy of He Chu was deliberately placed below the fifth prince of He Chu, Xie Ping.

Jiang Qing looked at the young man who was walking slowly towards him. He was tall, wearing a black robe with narrow sleeves, and was extremely handsome. There was a smile on his lips, but his eyes were as cold as ice. He had a premonition that the young man was the fifth prince - Xie Ping.

The cold and expressionless exquisite boy in my memory vaguely overlaps with the handsome and extremely aggressive young man in front of me.

Mu Bai paused for a moment, then quickly stood up and saluted. Following Mu Bai's salute, other envoys from Hechu also quickly stood up and saluted: "Your humble servant greets the Fifth Prince."

Xie Ping hummed casually and waved his hand, indicating that they should sit down. Even when facing envoys from his own country, Xie Ping didn't pay the slightest attention to the people in front of him.

He quickly sat down in his seat, turned his head to look at the women's seat, and glanced over, but did not see that charming figure. The whole tall figure actually revealed a bit of displeasure.

Mu Bai frowned slightly. Was it his illusion?

I always feel that their Fifth Prince, when he sat down and looked in a certain direction, seemed a little... anxious?

Mu Bai did not notice his mistake. He got up early in the morning to dress himself up and put on his favorite clothes. His Royal Highness Prince Xie Ping, who looked cool on the outside but sexy on the inside, quickly checked on his sweetheart at the banquet. Did the future imperial concubine Qingqing call?

When His Royal Highness Prince Xie Ping noticed that his sweetheart had not arrived yet, the chill surrounding him became even stronger.

Especially when his eyes swept over his love rival Wu Yong and the "brother" Hu Nanxu who was particularly "good" to Qingqing, the disgust and coldness in his eyes became even stronger.

Wu Yong, who was sitting in his seat, suddenly felt a malicious gaze. He raised his head abruptly and looked around with cold eyes. The young man, who did not notice the source of the gaze, frowned slightly and stopped looking, but there was a hint of irritation and uneasiness between his eyebrows.

This sense of uneasiness became more intense when he looked in the direction of the women.

Lin Nanxu, or Hu Nanxu, had the same feeling as him. Since he returned to his original biological family, he went to the local government to change back his surname. He also participated in the autumn examination again and became the top candidate most favored by the emperor of the current dynasty.

Although everything was going in the direction he wanted, Hu Nanxu felt a little uneasy.

Hu Nanxu, who was strong and tenacious inside, suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and calmed down. His overly outstanding and delicate face looked even more aloof and outstanding on the outside.

It attracted the attention of many rich and powerful ladies.

Today's banquet was truly a feast for the eyes for the daughters of Dongwei's wealthy families. All kinds of outstanding handsome men with different temperaments were present, including Hu Nanxu, who was as cold as snow, the young and ambitious Major General Hu Yong, who had red lips and white teeth, and Xie Ping, who was handsome and cold with a hint of evil... and so on. It was really difficult to choose. I just wished I had a few fewer pairs of eyes so that I couldn't see all these handsome men with outstanding and different looks.

Qingyin arrived at this time, following behind Mrs. Lin, wearing a veil and walking towards the banquet for the female members of the family.

Because of Madam Lin blocking the way in front and Lin Wanyu blocking most of the way on the left, except for a few people who had already seen Qing Yin's true face and were able to quickly locate her, no one else noticed that there was a veiled woman following behind Madam Lin.

Noticing some overly passionate gazes on her, Qingyin's mouth, which was hidden by the veil, twitched slightly. It was really hard for these people to discover her so quickly.

Among so many people, I can quickly find her hidden in the crowd.

Qingyin followed Madam Lin and Lin Wanyu to her seat, and the figures blocking her way disappeared.

In the distance, Hu Nanxu looked at the veil on Qingqing's face and felt relieved.

Wearing a veil is indeed much safer.

"Eldest sister, please try this dessert. It's made in the palace and it's delicious." Lin Wanyu looked at Qingyin expectantly with her pretty face.

Qingyin looked at her helplessly, "Ayu, I'm wearing a veil."

Lin Wanyu blushed for a moment and scratched her head, "Yeah, hehe, I forgot."

Mrs. Lin looked at the two sisters who were getting along harmoniously with her gentle face, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

Mrs. Chen, a plump and familiar woman in the neighborhood, noticed the gaze here and naturally did not miss the conversation between the two sisters. She looked at the young woman with a veil and the familiar Lin Wanyu next to her, with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

Is this the real daughter of the Lin family who was accidentally taken away by mistake? I heard that she was taken away by mistake to a commoner's home in the countryside and became a widow. Doesn't the Bai family dislike her? From her perspective, the relationship between the two sisters seems pretty good?

Madam Chen curiously poked the corner of Madam Bai's clothes, attracting her attention, and asked, "Is this your eldest daughter?"

Mrs. Bai looked at Mrs. Chen, who had a round figure and a pretty face. She thought of Qingqing's miraculous face, and a hint of pride flashed in her eyes. She wanted to show off her eldest daughter's face to Mrs. Chen. She gave birth to such an outstanding daughter. However, after Father Bai gave her a good warning, she barely held back and nodded proudly and reservedly, "Yes, this is our eldest daughter, Lin Qingqing."

Madam Chen did not notice Madam Bai's smug expression. Recalling what she said to Madam Bai the last time she met her, Madam Chen, who had low emotional intelligence, said bluntly, "Didn't you say last time that you hated that eldest daughter who grew up in the countryside? And you also said that you only have one daughter, Lin Wanyu!"

The two people's voices were not loud, but it was still possible for the Qingyin sisters who were sitting nearby to hear them clearly.

Qingyin, who had good hearing, remained calm and was not shaken at all by what Madam Chen said.

Mrs. Bai's face froze, and she subconsciously glanced at Qingyin's expression. Noticing that Qingyin's expression hadn't changed at all, she turned back awkwardly, and said in a heavy tone, "How could I not like that? I was talking about others. How could I not like my own daughter?"

Mrs. Chen, who was suddenly frightened by Mrs. Bai's loud voice, looked at the gentle and dignified Mrs. Bai in front of her with a strange expression, and the meaning in her eyes was particularly obvious.

Aren't you the one who likes rules the most? Why are you suddenly so loud? Don't you act like a rich girl?

Mrs. Bai blushed when she noticed Mrs. Chen's gaze, restrained her expression, lowered her voice, and looked gentle, dignified, and typical of a noble lady again.

She no longer wanted to show off to Madam Chen. Having experienced social death, Madam Bai now just wanted to end the banquet quickly.

Lin Wanyu didn't notice her old mother's pitiful and socially helpless appearance. Her attention was all on her dear sister, and she only wanted to chat with her.

One of them was talking while the other was listening. No outsider could interfere with the relationship between these two sisters. The rich girl, who secretly caught a glimpse of Qingyin's eyes that were too moving like stars and became curious about Qingyin and wanted to strike up a conversation, could not find a chance to do so.

It was not until the banquet began that the round-faced daughter looked at the yellow figure that appeared at the banquet door and finally put her thoughts to rest.

……

"Long live my emperor."

"My dear ministers, please stand up."

The bright yellow figure sat at the highest point, symbolizing the imperial power. Qin Heng looked down at the people in the hall. His every move was so majestic that no one dared to look directly at him.

Qingyin followed the crowd, kneeling on the ground while bowing, waiting for the majestic and deep voice to sound from above, then she followed the crowd and sat back in her seat.