The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 162 He is so protective of his shortcomings

Amidst the resounding bells, the emperor and empress took their seats again.

Staying up all night on New Year's Eve is a tradition for every household in the Great Zhou Dynasty, even in the palace.

Returning with them was a stunningly beautiful girl.

As everyone was surprised, the Seventh Princess called out crisply, "Isn't this Princess Lingxi?"

Sure enough, Princess Lingxi, who had redecorated herself as a noble lady of the Great Zhou Dynasty, looked like a completely different person compared to the exotic dancer just now.

After the emperor sat down, he said, "Lingxi just dressed up to entertain her parents. Although she was a bit naughty, her filial piety is evident. However, you are a princess after all. You must not act so naughty again in the future."

Princess Lingxi quickly agreed. "Although Northern Frontier and Great Zhou are now vassal states, they are more like brothers. Lingxi is the daughter of the King of Northern Frontier and my niece. I have just agreed with the Empress to schedule Princess Lingxi's coming-of-age ceremony for March 15th, to be presided over by the Empress herself. I invite all the elders of the imperial clan to attend the ceremony."

The emperor's public announcement was enough to let everyone know that the emperor and empress had special feelings for Princess Lingxi.

The royal family members have no worries and will not respond.

Xu Rongrong had no choice but to stand up together.

Seeing this, the emperor said no more.

"Come here, prepare the banquet for the princess." the queen ordered.

The emperor had just acknowledged Princess Lingxi's identity as his niece, so the palace maids placed her seat to the right of Mu Rong, just next to the seventh princess's seat.

"Wait a minute." Lingxi said.

"What's wrong?" the Queen asked with a smile. "Lingxi thanks Your Majesty and Your Majesty for their kindness," she said, kneeling in greeting before continuing, "However, Lingxi is only a princess. How dare she sit above General Mu, Marquis of Weiyuan? Both her title and rank would violate the etiquette of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Furthermore... the Marquis's martial arts are exceptional, which Lingxi envied, making her even more afraid to act rashly. Please, Your Majesty, arrange for Lingxi to sit below him."

Her voice was clear and powerful, and could be heard clearly in every corner of the hall.

Everyone was shocked when they heard this:

If she did as she said, wouldn't she have to sit between Weiyuan Marquis and Ping'an County Lady?

There's a woman between an engaged couple. This... doesn't seem appropriate no matter how you look at it, right?

The Queen was also somewhat surprised, but she was the Queen after all. After a moment's pause, she smiled and said, "As far as etiquette is concerned, it is indeed as you said. But you don't know that the engagement between Marquis Weiyuan and Princess Ping'an was granted by His Majesty, so they were seated together at the family banquet. Wouldn't it be awkward for you to sit between them now?"

Several clan elders also laughed: "Lingxi has just arrived, so it's okay if you don't know her."

Although some people tried to intervene, Princess Lingxi held her head high and insisted, "Although Lingxi was born in the Northern Frontier, she also knows that according to the etiquette of the Great Zhou Dynasty, men and women who are not married are still considered to be from different surnames and cannot be mixed up. Since Weiyuan Marquis and Ping'an County Lady are not married yet, and today is a family banquet, if Lingxi sits between them according to her rank, it seems to be appropriate. As for the embarrassment that Her Majesty is worried about, Lingxi believes that the Marquis is a soldier, and the County Lady is even more polite and respectful. We are both not particular about trivial matters, so naturally we won't be awkward about such things."

Seeing that she was so tough and eloquent when she first arrived in the Great Zhou, there was nothing wrong with her.

The queen also felt a little annoyed, but she couldn't smile. She glanced sideways at the emperor, who smiled and took a sip of tea.

The queen glanced at Xu Rongrong who was sitting below, and saw that her eyes were calm, as if she really didn't care, so she decided not to insist any longer.

When Xu Rongrong met the Queen's eyes, she knew that she had made up her mind.

She knew that her title of county princess was bestowed by His Majesty because she saved Mu Rong in the hunting palace.

No one in the royal family took her, the daughter of a sixth-rank official, seriously. However, Princess Lingxi was not only canonized by His Majesty when she was still in her infancy, but her father was also the powerful King of Northern Frontier.

She could also understand why the queen chose to give up on herself in this dilemma.

Lingxi's seat was right next to Mu Rong, whether on the left or the right, but she insisted on sitting below Mu Rong, just to suppress herself.

It would be absolutely impossible for her to accept such humiliation in public.

She sneered and was about to stand up when her hand was held by Mu Rong, leaving Xu Rongrong stunned.

Mu Rong smiled and glanced at her, signaling her to be patient. Then he glanced at Princess Lingxi calmly.

"The princess just said that she was born in the Northern Frontier, so it's not surprising that she only has a superficial understanding of the etiquette of our Great Zhou."

"You only know the difference between engagement and marriage in the rituals between two families, but you don't know that our Great Zhou Dynasty values ​​its promises. I personally promised Ping An the position of principal wife that day, and the marriage was personally granted by His Majesty and the Empress. From that moment on, Ping An and I became one. Otherwise, the seating arrangements today wouldn't be the same."

"But if the princess insists on seating according to rank and insists on not sitting above me, then I would like to trouble the lord of ceremonies to arrange the princess's seat below the Princess of Ping'an."

The ceremonial officer in charge of recording the family dinner was suddenly called out. It was the first time he had been taken seriously since taking office, and he was a little frightened for a moment.

He looked up in fear at the emperor and empress who were sitting on the throne.

The emperor still had the same expression as before. Today he was just a head of the family, and he was not going to interfere as long as the younger generations' play was not too excessive.

The Queen, however, was reminded by Mu Rong's words. She smiled and said, "I've always been so used to being the master of the harem that I forgot that this matter should be handled by the ceremonial officer. Now is the perfect time... The seating arrangements will be decided by you."

The ceremonial officer who was temporarily blamed: "..."

He gathered his thoughts briefly and spoke clearly, "Your Majesty is right. Princess Ping'an is your fiancée, and according to etiquette, she should sit with you. Princess Lingxi is not sitting below Princess Ping'an, but below the seat of Marquis Weiyuan's wife, which is not wrong."

In the territory of the Great Zhou, he had a choice in mind: should he listen to the words of His Majesty's nephew, a first-rank military marquis, or to the words of this princess of a foreign race who was not sure how long she could stay?

Upon hearing this, Princess Lingxi's pretty face instantly turned red.

Just now, when she was dressing up in the back, she had already inquired that Weiyuan Hou had no previous connection with Ping'an County Lady, and the proposal was made suddenly. She believed that she had quite a bit of experience in dealing with men: the only thing that could make a man suddenly propose marriage was the beauty of a woman.

And her beauty is not inferior to that of Princess Ping'an.

What's more, that woman was only the daughter of a sixth-rank court councilor, and the title of Princess Ping'an was bestowed by the emperor as a token of gratitude. How could she be compared with herself!

In addition, the emperor had just publicly acknowledged her niece, so she wanted to severely humiliate Ping An and avenge her disrespect towards her just now.

Who would have thought... that he would be slapped in the face in public!

It’s just a pity that Mu Rong is so protective of his own shortcomings.

But now that the defeat is inevitable, if she dwells on it too much, she will appear petty.

So he smiled and said, "In that case, thank you for your help."

After the seats were set, she calmly sat down below Xu Rongrong. Seeing this, Mu Qianyin snorted coldly, "What's the point of making such a fuss? Everyone was originally happy, but she had to come and disrupt the situation! She's fine with it, right? But she gave up so quickly, what do you think she wanted?"

The Third Prince laughed and said, "She's just arrived and is merely testing the waters. Naturally, she won't cause any major disturbance. But she's repeatedly going after Rong Ge'er and Ping An... I'm afraid she has other plans in mind."

"She dares!" Mu Qianyin raised her eyebrows.

She had just put in a lot of effort to get Xu Rongrong to agree, so she must not cause any trouble along the way and sour the relationship between the young couple.

As soon as Lingxi sat down, she poured a glass of wine and said to Xu Rongrong: "Lingxi is ignorant and has offended Ping'an before. Please don't take it personally. Lingxi is offering this wine to apologize to Ping'an."

After saying that, she raised her head and finished.

The boldness reminded Xu Rongrong of Lin Jiaoyue for a moment. However, Lin Jiaoyue's cheerfulness was often accompanied by a hint of broken beauty, which made people unable to stop.

The woman in front of him would have looked more dignified if she had not been targeting him repeatedly just now.

Lingxi finished the wine in the glass and looked at Xu Rongrong with a smile.

Does this mean... that she should have a drink too? Xu Rongrong frowned.

She was about to refuse.

The man beside him spoke first: "Drinking is harmful to your health. This Marquis does not allow Ping An to drink too much. If the princess likes, then you can have a few more cups."

After he finished speaking, he beckoned the maid forward and said, "The princess likes the wine in the palace. Please bring two more bottles."

Princess Lingxi: "..."