Shipin Dalizheng

A cold light flashed across Zheng Jiuan's body, and he looked as if he wanted to eat Rong Tang, which puzzled the people around him.

Zheng Changzhi shouted, "Jiuan."

Zheng Jiuan suppressed his anger and turned around to settle Zheng Changzhi. Even those eyes were still emitting flames. If they could become material, they could burn Rong Tang to ashes.

Rong Tang cursed inwardly, how could such a plague god appear at such a celebration banquet?

Tang Tiantian was at a loss, "I, I..."

She thought she was in trouble again.

"nothing dealing with you."

Rong Tang patted her hand gently.

The other party chuckled, "So imposing, I like it."

Rong Tang, who had sharp ears, looked across and saw that the fourth princess Zhao Hua had just covered half of her face with her sleeves, and her pair of spring-water eyes were looking at him... Zheng Jiuan who was diagonally behind him.

Very good, a widower and a divorced woman, what a perfect match, Rong Tang thought with evil taste.

The chief eunuch chanted the ceremony, and the emperor and empress arrived together, followed by several favored concubines. Concubine Rong was seated quite near the front.

However, after calling out the names, Prince Rui's biological mother, Concubine Shu, was not on the list. She was not allowed to show up at such occasions, which meant that she had completely fallen out of favor.

It was only after Rong Tang came back that he learned that there was a shortage of money for the southern expedition, and Emperor Xuanning had expanded the scope of investigation into the Liang family's corruption case. Those who should be arrested were arrested, and those who should be confiscated were confiscated. It was not known whether this rectification could eliminate corruption, as the treasury was full.

Therefore, during the New Year's Day, Emperor Xuanning felt wealthy and was willing to hold a banquet.

After all the ministers had greeted each other, Li Dequan read out the list of award recipients. Sima Zhizhuo was promoted to the fourth rank Zhongwu General, Rong Zhan was promoted to the seventh rank Yunqi Guard, and the other three were promoted to the seventh rank Yimo School Guard and Yimo Deputy Guard. The rest were all of the eighth or ninth rank, which seemed not to be of high rank, but Rong Tang had been out for a short time and no one was lost, instead, the team's record was strengthened. Even those veteran generals might not have such a return rate.

Wen Ruyu's situation is special. He is a senior in the martial arts world and is unwilling to accept an official position, so he was given a gold medal and refused to kneel when meeting an official.

The official position was awarded with silver. Each person whose name was recorded in the merit book received between ten and twenty taels of silver, and the entire army had another ten thousand taels to be distributed. Sima Zhi and his colleagues were envious.

Afterwards, Emperor Xuanning summoned several people from the Southern Dynasty for individual audiences. Zheng Jiuan and Tang Chuyun, Ma Da Ren and Xu Xiangdong were all praised. As for the allocation of official positions, they would have to wait for news from the Ministry of Personnel after the new year.

After the serious business was over, the banquet began. The singing and dancing girls from the Music Bureau came on stage to perform, showing off their talents in playing various instruments and singing. The atmosphere was full of joy and both the emperor and his ministers were enjoying themselves.

Then they saw that as the cups and glasses were intertwined, Tang Tiantian kept her eyes down and did not move, while Rong Tang only sipped a little tea and wine.

Concubine Xie chuckled and said, "What's wrong with the young couple of the Earl of Jian'an? Everyone else is eating and drinking, but you two are not moving. Is it because the imperial food in the palace is not to your taste?"

Rong Tang stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, I am a Buddhist and a vegetarian."

Concubine Xie said, "That's not to my taste. Miss Tang, everyone else is picking up their chopsticks, but you're not. You seem out of place. How about you give us a performance to liven things up?"

"My lady, she can't sing or dance, so she won't be able to entertain you, so I won't make a fool of myself."

"Lord Jian'an belittles his fiancée so much?"

Rong Tang frowned, feeling that Concubine Xie was going too far and was starting to sow discord.

Tang Tiantian raised her head, stood up and bowed, "Your Majesty, I really don't know how to do anything. Please forgive me."

Concubine Xie sneered, "Miss Tang, you are the daughter of a fifth-rank official, you don't even have any decent talents, how can you marry into the Jian'an Earl's Mansion?"

Someone immediately stood up to support Concubine Xie's remarks. "That's right. A girl from the boudoir must have four virtues: virtue, appearance, speech, and craftsmanship. Miss Tang's status is humble, but she's not dignified, her words are inappropriate, her needlework is inadequate, and most importantly, her character is criticized. Not only can she not be married to a noble family, but even an ordinary family wouldn't be able to marry her as a wife. She's only fit to be a concubine."

Rong Tang looked over and saw that it was Taifu Xie's wife. His eyes darkened slightly. "Why, in Madam Xie's eyes, those who can't sing and dance are unworthy of marriage? As the saying goes, marry a virtuous wife and a beautiful concubine. Isn't the skill of pleasing a man exactly what a concubine should possess? Madam Xie, did you marry Taifu Xie because of your singing and dancing skills? Is this how your family raised their daughter?"

Mrs. Xie's face turned pale with anger, "You..."

Taifu Xie shouted, "Shut up! It's unbecoming of you to be disrespectful in front of the emperor."

Madam Xie sat down, still glaring fiercely at Rong Tang. Because the Southern Xie branch had been schemed against by Rong Tang, they had lost the emperor's favor. Grand Tutor Xie's real power had been drastically reduced, and the couple had to kneel in the palace to apologize frequently. Even her second son's newly appointed position had been shelved, and her brothers from her mother's family had been repeatedly bullied and harassed. She hated Rong Tang deeply.

Rong Tang raised his hands and said, "Your Highness, why do you despise my fiancée so much and send her a special letter this morning? Did you summon her here specifically to lecture her? If so, my fiancée and I will apologize together after the banquet. But now is a celebration banquet, so please, Your Highness, spare some face for both Your Majesty and me."

This immediately pulled Emperor Xuanning into his camp, and if Concubine Xie continued to act unreasonably, she would be disrespecting the emperor.

Concubine Xie leaned towards Emperor Xuanning with a feeling of grievance, "Your Majesty, I also feel that it is a pity for the Earl of Jian'an."

Queen Wang said slowly, "Thank you, Imperial Concubine. Please be tactful. Miss Tang is the daughter-in-law of the Rong family. The worthy elder, Sister Xianfei, hasn't spoken yet. It's not someone else's turn to despise her."

Concubine Rong Xian smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, our family is very satisfied with Tiantian. If Madam Xie particularly likes girls who can sing and dance, we can pick two singing and dancing girls to take back to enrich the backyard after the banquet."

Mrs. Xie blushed, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

Queen Wang smiled and said, "This is easy to do. I agree. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Xuanning laughed and said, "Everyone has their own preferences. I won't interfere. It's just a few singing and dancing girls. The Queen can do as she pleases. Oh, and send a few more, so that the Grand Tutor and the Madam won't think I'm stingy."

Queen Wang smiled politely, "Your Majesty is magnanimous."

This little episode did not seem to cause much disturbance, but some discerning people still saw the difference. Tutor Xie had already been suspected by His Majesty, and Concubine Xie also showed signs of falling out of favor.

Tang Tiantian returned to her seat, her eyes still red, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Rong Tang knew that she had been suppressed by her biological father since she was a child. She was sensitive and would think about her own mistakes first when encountering things. He comforted her and said, "It's not your fault."

Tang Tiantian felt both grateful and warm. Her mother had said that for a woman to find a man willing to protect her in her lifetime was a blessing that could only be achieved after thousands of years of practice. He was even able to contradict the imperial concubine in front of the emperor for her sake, so what else could she not let go of?

Their engagement is just an agreement between their parents. Apart from that, can't they have their own ideas?

In the haze, a thread of love is tied, and blush stains the cheeks.

Rong Tang saw that her expression was not right and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"

Tang Tiantian was embarrassed by her wild thoughts and lowered her head and said, "I, I feel a little uncomfortable. I need to go wash my hands."

Rong Tang immediately stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

Tang Tiantian's face turned even redder. "No need?"

He stood up hesitantly, lowered his head and retreated to the back of the hall, asking for the direction of the purification room.

Rong Zhan and the others had been keeping a close eye on the two of them. When they saw them leave, they all stood up and followed them, almost one after the other, and walked to the back of the hall.

In the front hall, Emperor Xuanning suddenly felt a little unwell. He accidentally knocked over the wine glass and wet his dragon robe.

He Daban hurried forward to support him, "Your Majesty, do you want to change clothes, or..."

It was getting late, but he didn't leave the table, and no one dared to leave.