The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

After saying this, Princess Fuchang took a big gulp of wine, as if she was drunk to make such shocking remarks.

The prince consort beside her quickly stood up and apologized to the emperor on her behalf, but the emperor just waved his hand and said lazily, "It is indeed a bit boring."

His words made everyone tense up, fearing that the emperor, who was always casual and self-centered, would say something outrageous or announce something big.

However, the emperor just held his daughter in his arms, took the fruit from his table and fed her, without saying anything else.

Xie Yuzhen took over the conversation at the right time: "Since Xinnan has already submitted to Dasheng, the title of king is inappropriate. I think it would be better to place his family in the suburbs of Beijing, let them work for three years, and then let them return to be civilians. How about that?"

The emperor replied without even looking up: "Good."

He looked like a hands-off boss, letting Empress Xie make the decision on her own.

The court officials who were familiar with his character thought that the emperor was really disturbed by the real situation in the former Xinnan country, so when they saw that he agreed to Queen Xie's proposal, they did not dare to interrupt - after all, it was not a big deal, it was just the family of the former ruler of a defeated country. Dasheng had dealt with many similar people, and Queen Xie's proposal was also in line with the procedures left over from the past.

The former King of the New South knelt on the ground and let out a long sigh. His limbs were weak and his whole body was numb, but he was extremely grateful that his life was saved. As for how he would live in the future... he would talk about it later.

For a moment, it seemed as if the agitation caused by the previous words had all returned to calm, and the sounds of stringed instruments rang out again. Xie Yuzhen glanced at the emperor - this man actually did not feel disappointed, he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth, and it was obvious that he was very happy to see the excitement.

Be happy, there is more fun to come.

Xie Yuzhen withdrew his gaze and did not let anyone take the former leader of the New South Kingdom away. Instead, he asked someone to give him a chair and picked a good spot for him to sit down.

The former leader of the New South Kingdom, who had escaped death, had no time to think about it. He sat down with gratitude, hunched over his hands and feet, lowered his head, and did not dare to look or say anything more.

However, not far from him, a small storm was brewing.

As a great contribution to this victory, the female officials and generals from the southwest were naturally also present at the banquet. Ruan Xiang'e was the son of a marquis, and the prince's tuxedo was hurriedly made. However, the official uniforms of these female officials and generals were still under debate. At the banquet, most people wore official uniforms and imperial robes. Only members of the royal family wore fancy clothes within their personal rank, and the same went for the concubines who attended the banquet.

Zhu Queyin and the others, who were not familiar with how the noble ladies in the Central Plains dressed, wore the formal dresses of their tribe that they brought with them. Their dresses were mostly red, decorated with all kinds of feathers, agate, jade, and small decorations made of human bones. However, considering the habits of the Central Plains people, they specifically removed the bone ornaments, and also took off all the machetes, daggers, and blowguns that they originally carried with them.

But even so, their attire was enough to attract attention at the palace banquet.

After the ceremony of presenting prisoners, the atmosphere became more heated and relaxed.

When the geishas came on stage, the young people brought by each family began to walk around in short distances, chatting and drinking with their friends in the same circle.

Zhu Queyin was a little far from the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion. She didn't know the conventional "rules" of the palace banquet. Wearing a set of jingling feather jewelry, under the gaze of everyone, she walked through the crowd to find Lin Qiao: "Madam, young marquis, Lord Cheng'en!"

She knelt down following the etiquette of the Central Plains. The phoenix wings and the small silver flowers surrounding the phoenix on the large silver crown on her head trembled slightly: "Ah Qiao!"

"Good boy, come here quickly!" Mother Xie greeted Zhuqueyin happily.

The wife of the Grandson of the Duke of Shen, who was sitting on his left, was just chatting with Xie's mother. Seeing this, she smiled and said, "I saw what Master Zhu is wearing from a distance. It's really good-looking!"

Zeng Suqiu also made room for Zhu Queyin so that she could sit between her and Lin Qiao - after all, she was Lin Qiao's fiancée as everyone knew.

In Dasheng, there are basically two extremes in the marriage of men and women. Most families are not so strict about their children's marriage. There are many young couples who have affection for each other and are of considerable family background. Even if they are engaged, there is no such thing as avoiding marriage before marriage. You just have to be careful that young people don't let themselves get carried away and want to advance the wedding date.

The other extreme is some of the aristocratic families that have survived to this day. The worse they are, the more particular they are. They wish they could seal the cracks in their children's doors and cut off all opportunities for them to interact with the opposite sex - especially for girls, it is even more demanding. If it is a boy, the elders of the aristocratic families will arrange for someone to teach him about human affairs when he is twelve or thirteen years old, but for daughters... at this age, they only learn how to be a housekeeper. It is not until before they get married that the female elders will sneakily slip them a few fire avoidance maps and explain it verbally.

The more down and out you are, the more conservative you become, and the more conservative you become, the more you lose.

Zhu Queyin ignored those useless rules and regulations and sat down next to Lin Qiao. She first thanked Madam Shisun for her compliments and explained once again that her last name was not Zhu. Then she asked Lin Qiao, "Ah Qiao, have you seen the wife of Mr. Yao? Why did Mr. Yao not come but she did?"

Yao San was being impeached by Zhuqueyin for suggesting that his former subordinates had tripped up the female soldiers on the battlefield, causing that team of female soldiers to lose their lives in vain. Because there have been many things happening recently and many investigations are needed, Yao San now still has the opportunity to struggle and make trouble and try to resist.

In his opinion, the reason these female officials and generals were able to stand in the court was only because they had a leader, Empress Xie, who bewitched the emperor and could support them. As long as Lin Qiao's crime of deceiving the emperor was exposed, the emperor would be able to see the true face of this treacherous queen. He would not ask for anything else but to let Empress Xie retreat to the harem. In this way, the female officials who had just gained a foothold would naturally scatter, and Yao San's own dilemma would be easily solved.

"Yao San is under investigation, but she is the daughter of General He after all. As long as General He is still in power, even if Yao San dies immediately, she will still be a noble lady in Beijing." Zeng Suqiu explained in a low voice. Her tone was soft, but her words were very impolite.

"So that's how it is." Zhuqueyin suddenly realized, "Since he has such a good father, why is he so stubborn to hang on to Yao San, this bastard? I really don't understand."

"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. We are not on the same path as each other. Just understand how she acts and don't try to understand her." Lin Qiao said in a low voice with some indifference. Suddenly, she felt as if someone was approaching from behind. She turned around suddenly and saw a palace maid with an unfamiliar face.

The palace maid was holding a tray with a bowl of soup on it. When Lin Qiao suddenly turned around, the frightened palace maid's hands shook, and the tray, which was not held very steadily to begin with, fell to the ground along with the bowl of soup.

The soup was spilled exactly one step away from Lin Qiao. If the palace maid was asked to take another step forward silently, the bowl of soup would probably be "accidentally" spilled on Lin Qiao.

It's an old-fashioned but practical method.

Lin Qiao curled the corners of his lips, thinking without any ripples in his heart.