A beautiful daughter came to the Xiangfu

The Queen Mother had a kind face, and the princes and ministers were waiting to be summoned in the palace.

The gifts given to the Queen Mother came from all over the world and included precious antiques, exquisite handicrafts, local specialties and delicacies, as well as exotic flowers and plants.

Embroidery from the south of the Yangtze River, sable wool from the north, pearls from the South China Sea, and rare treasures from the Western Regions.

What Prince Shun sent was a screen from Jiangnan. It took a year to make this multi-sided two-color screen, which is unique in the world. The mountains and rivers on the screen are realistic and the characters are lifelike.

Pine and cypress, white cranes, and old men all symbolize longevity.

What Prince Qi sent was scriptures written by hundreds of people. The Queen Mother was devoted to Buddhism, so this gift was not extravagant but sincere.

The gift from the Duke of Qing’s Mansion was a hand-woven Chinese character for “longevity” and a pair of rare koi carps.

Prince Xiao An gave a pair of valuable purebred Persian cats.

Ping An Hou gave jade from the South.

The Marquis of Zhenbei gave a sika deer as a gift.

Lin Xiangjia gave a gold-thread hollow mirror as a gift.

The Xiao family gave a cloak made of peacock feathers.

The main hall is glittering with gold, jewels, and all kinds of rare treasures that are amazing.

"Mother, among these many gifts, which one do you like best?"

His Majesty the Emperor was beside the Empress Dowager, and both of them were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling. It seemed that the gifts everyone sent were very much to the Empress Dowager's liking.

"The gifts everyone has sent are all to my liking. I'm sorry for all the trouble you have taken." The Queen Mother smiled.

"Then reward them all." The emperor said and ordered the palace servants to reward everyone.

"But mother must have a few that she particularly likes. Why not pick out one or two and give them as extra rewards?" the emperor said to the empress dowager again.

The Queen Mother nodded, looked at the many gifts, and said slowly:

"The folding screen sent by Prince Shun and the hand-copied scriptures sent by Prince Qi are the most to my liking."

"Since my mother likes the gifts sent by Prince Shun and Prince Qi very much, then I will fulfill one of their requests! Come, step forward and receive your reward."

After the emperor finished speaking, Prince Qi and Prince Shun came to the center of the hall and paid their respects.

Prince Shun was a little older, so he spoke first.

"Your Majesty, according to reason, I should return to my fiefdom after the Queen Mother's birthday, but my son and daughter-in-law haven't been back to the capital for a long time. I want them to stay in the capital for a while. I plan to pass the throne to him next year, so..."

"Okay, your daughter-in-law is also the queen's niece. Come back and stay for a while."

The emperor agreed readily, not because Shun Wang's daughter-in-law was the queen's niece, but because Shun Wang must return to his fiefdom, so Shun Wang's son and daughter-in-law could stay in the capital as hostages. After all, the emperor did not fully trust anyone.

The emperor looked at Prince Qi and asked:

"Just let me know what you want!"

Prince Qi looked at Princess Qi, who just shook her head.

So Prince Qi said, "Your Majesty, I haven't made up my mind yet. Please let me think about it. This opportunity is rare, and I don't want to fool around."

The emperor laughed loudly upon hearing this. The queen mother also smiled. "Then you can think about it, but it won't count after today."

"Yes."

After everyone's gifts were displayed, it was time for the banquet.

The empress dowager and the emperor sat at the top, followed by the empress, and the crown prince and ministers sat at the bottom, in order of family and official position.

At the palace banquet, there were drums and music, the sound of stringed instruments was endless, there were songs and dances, and dancers with long sleeves danced lightly, like fairies descending to earth.

Delicacies from land and sea, fine wine and delicious food. The sound of laughter and joy never ceases.

The palace banquet here is attended by royal relatives and pillars of the court, and is actually like a family banquet.

After the initial singing and dancing ended, the remaining time was for each family to compete with each other for beauty.

On the Queen Mother's birthday, noble ladies from every family have a chance to show themselves. If they receive the Queen Mother's reward, they can not only win a prize, but also gain the favor of the Queen and the Crown Prince.

Every noble lady in the capital is eager to enter the Prince's Palace and bring honor to the family.

The daughter of the Xiao family, the daughter of the Cui family, Lin Meir and others all showed themselves, and the empress dowager praised them one by one.

The Queen Mother looked at the always lively Princess Qi.

"Why don't we see Princess Qi dancing with swords today? We usually don't see the female general of our Jin Dynasty dancing with swords." The Queen Mother looked at Princess Qi with a smile, and her tone seemed to be blaming her for not coming out to perform, but her expression was relaxed.

Princess Qi came out from her seat and replied:

"Your Highness, I was with Prince Qi on a hunting trip a while ago and injured my leg. It has not fully recovered yet. I dare not embarrass myself in front of you today."

The Queen Mother did not know about the spring hunt.

"Really? Is the injury serious? Why haven't we heard about it?"

The Queen Mother looked worried.

"To reply to the Queen Mother, the injury is not serious. I also want to thank Miss Lin. She helped me check my leg and treated it for a while. I feel much better now."

The Queen Mother looked at Lin Qingyang. When Lin Qingyang first entered the palace, she said that she had studied medicine.

Princess Qi continued:

"I like Miss Lin very much. His Majesty the Emperor just said that he could make a request, and I want to take Miss Lin back to the palace. I know that Miss Lin is still unmarried, and I think the position of the Queen Mother in our Prince Qi's Palace is also worthy of Miss Lin. I thought about telling the Queen Mother after the banquet, after all, I don't know the opinions of Prime Minister Lin and the Queen Mother. But since I have this gift today, I will speak out my thoughts."

After hearing what Princess Qi said, the Queen Mother was still smiling.

Everyone who attended the banquet thought that Princess Qi was very bold. After all, everyone knew that the Crown Prince would be choosing a concubine soon, and Princess Qi was relying on her favor to dare to make such a request.

Prime Minister Lin was not happy. After all, one of the reasons for bringing Lin Qingyang back home was because the prince was choosing a concubine, and the prince was also concerned about Lin Qingyang. He went to Prime Minister Lin's house several times. Everyone in the capital knew the prince's thoughts. If the prince had no ideas, then Prince Qi's Mansion was not bad either.

The noble ladies in the capital were surprised, especially Caihe from the Xiao family. If Lin Qingyang did not have to go to the Prince's Mansion, they would lose their most important competitor.

Prince Xiao An and Zhuang Yunlin were on one side. Zhuang Yunlin secretly pushed Prince Xiao An and whispered:

"The Queen Mother is very happy. Aren't you afraid that she will grant you a marriage if she's happy?"

Prince An looked at Zhuang Yunlin.

Before he could say anything, the prince stood up from his seat and knelt before the Queen Mother and the Emperor.

"I have something to say."