Empress Zhao smiled even more happily, and said to everyone: "This is my brother's daughter-in-law Zhao Rui'er, this child has been gifted since he was a child, and he is quite fluent in music. Rui'er, would you like to perform a song in public to make the Queen Mother happy? ”

What Empress Zhao said was leaky, and in the name of making herself happy, Empress Dowager Jiang had to watch it even if she didn't want to see it.

"Rui'er is willing to give it a try." After speaking, Zhao Ruier lowered her head and smiled, and saluted, but there was only charm between her eyebrows and eyes.

Several palace people immediately pushed the main hall to a row of copper bells, shining with golden light, and there were geometric figures such as humans, beasts, dragon flowers, etc. The bell is divided into three layers, the upper three groups are button clocks, the middle three groups are south bells, and the lower two groups are large Fu bells. 【1】

A palace maid bowed her head very respectfully and handed Zhao Rui'er a T-shaped mallet and a long batting stick.

Zhao Ruier walked over lightly, took the mallet and baton very skillfully, and the skirt moved, and began to make a beautiful music.

I saw that the woman was dressed in red, kept turning, and danced between the chimes. The dance, with fluttering red sleeves, is charming and enchanting; And the music is crisp and beautiful, tactful and beautiful. The most surprising thing for everyone was that this dance and performance were completed by Zhao Ruier alone at the same time.

At this moment, even Empress Dowager Jiang couldn't help but look a little stupid, and clenched her teeth tightly. Such a stunning girl, such a stunning stunt, such a variety of charms, which man in the world can resist it?

He Xuan had seen this performance in her previous life, although she did not have much achievement in dance skills, but her research on music was one of the best in the Great Zhou. At that time, she listened to Zhao Ruier's song, and only felt that she had an excellent grasp of the rhythm, and when she played it, she was one and the music.

It is a pity that such an enviable talent and such superb skills are matched with such a woman. At this time, He Xuan said silently in his heart.

Empress Zhao smiled, and her gloomy mood that was originally because of Jiang Wanrong's immortal jade quality was suddenly swept away. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the woman in red.

After receiving the reward, Zhao Rui'er's young and delicate face showed a hint of pride, her red clothes fluttering, and she returned to her seat lightly.

Such a look made He Xuan immediately think of Tianwei, and she looked at Zhao Lin, who was sitting in the hall, and it can be seen that Zhao's children and grandchildren have not only inherited their beautiful appearance, but also inherited the proud temperament that radiates from the inside out.

If it is said that this Jiang Wanrong is a well-prepared program, Zhao Ruier's performance seems to be natural. Originally, people play their own dances, and they don't need to run in with musicians at all, even if someone chews her tongue and says that she has worked hard, but whose skills are born? Who's to say she's scheming?

In this way, this Empress Zhao and the frivolous Zhao Ruier are a good move.

In the following hour, several more children of the family performed on stage, either on their own or by others. The princes and princesses are noble and will not show their talents on such occasions to entertain their guests as inferior.

The men of the temple were to test their martial arts, to show archery, and to play ceremonial music.

On such an occasion, Zhao Lin, a complete gentleman, naturally would not come out to be embarrassed, but just sat on his seat proudly, posing as if the master was appreciating the performance of the house slaves.

He Xuan only glanced at him and felt very disgusted, so he turned to look at his cousin Cai Wenxuan, who was sitting next to Zhao Lin.

He Xuan's cousin Cai Wenxuan played the song "Warm Wind" on his beloved ancient bamboo flute, and the sound was sometimes loud, sometimes soft, and the timbre was pure, and everyone listened to it as if they were fascinated.

Cai Wenxuan is a high-spirited teenager, Wen Tao is martial, and he is excellent in everything. Compared with many gentlemen, Cai Wenxuan is very conspicuous among the young generation of boys of the noble family, so in the past few years, the people who have come to propose marriage have almost leveled the threshold of Cai's mansion.

In fact, the Cai family can only be regarded as an upstart among the nobles of the family, but He Xuan's maternal grandfather, Prime Minister Cai, is the most relied on today, and no one dares to deliberately provoke it.

He Xuan panicked for a while, thinking that his cousin in the previous life married Tianwei, but was killed by his relatives like her. The reason why my cousin fell in love with Tianwei was that Tianwei was indeed extremely beautiful, but also because she often took Tianwei out of the palace to play, and my cousin escorted them.

Reliving her life, she secretly vowed never to let her cousin have the opportunity to look at Princess Tianwei again.

This banquet is like the theme of the Flower Dynasty Festival, the flowers are in full bloom, and even the Empress Dowager Jiang on the high seat is smiling.

At this time, it was close to the unitary hour, and the palace people removed the delicate refreshments and replaced them with plates of delicious food.

He Xuan used chopsticks to hold the plum cabbage button meat in front of him, while maintaining the noble demeanor that a princess should have.

In fact, her face was already stiff with a smile at this time, and she even wondered if her current smile looked rather weird, but she couldn't say anything or do anything. Today she is just a spectator, and because of this, she is complaining in her heart about when the drama should be staged, finish it early, and leave the table early.

Empress Dowager Jiang chatted casually to Mrs. Jiang, who was sitting on the right hand, "Yao'er, the crown prince is sixteen years old this year, right?" ”

Mrs. Jiang's real name is Jiang Xiangyao, and because she is the niece of the Empress Dowager Jiang, the Empress Dowager has always called her so to show her closeness.

"Yes, when the concubine went to the Queen Mother's palace with the half-grown prince to ask for peace, he was still a crying baby, but now he has grown so tall. Time flies! Mrs. Jiang seemed to be lamenting the time, as if she was nostalgic for the past.

Empress Dowager Jiang was also quite touched, her eyes stared for a while, and continued: "This child has been taken care of by the mourning family since he was born, and now he is so old. As a grandmother, she is very old, so she is looking forward to finding a virtuous and virtuous wife for Rong'er, and giving birth to a group of great-grandchildren to make my old man happy. ”

Empress Zhao on the side had a hint of displeasure on his face, and disappeared in just a moment. I also know that Empress Zhao is also Ji Rong's mother-in-law, and Empress Dowager Jiang didn't say half a word to Empress Zhao about such a thing, but chattered about a concubine, and clearly didn't take her seriously.

So what can it be? The master of the harem is the Empress Dowager Jiang, how dare Empress Zhao say that the Empress Dowager Jiang is not? Thinking about coming to Zhao, Empress Zhao only hopes that Empress Dowager Jiang will return to the west as soon as possible, so she can cover the sky with one hand.

Madame Jiang nodded and looked at the crown prince Ji Rong. Ji Rong was a little shy, lowered his head and said, "My grandson is dedicated to studying government affairs, and he has no leisure for children. ”

When Empress Zhao saw Ji Rong like that, she saw the stitches and said, "This kid is shy!" It is an eternal truth that men should marry and women should marry. Moreover, Rong'er opened up branches and leaves for my Great Zhou, which is also a way to stabilize the country and all generations. ”

Ji Rong stood up and saluted, and said respectfully: "The queen mother has taught me a lesson, and the child has remembered it." ”

Empress Dowager Jiang and Mrs. Jiang glanced at Empress Zhao one after another, as if they had seen each other's thoughts, and their faces were no longer as calm and calm as they were just now.

Empress Dowager Jiang rushed to speak: "In this case, Jiang Wanrong is the same age as you, and her background is also very matched. ”

Before the words were finished, Empress Zhao couldn't restrain herself anymore at the moment, and interjected: "Queen Mother, Jiang Wanrong, this child is indeed talented and beautiful, but if it is compared with Zhao Rui'er... She deliberately half-finished her sentence and shook her head as if she were pretending to sigh.

was so angry that Empress Dowager Jiang almost wanted to jump up and slap Empress Zhao, this was clearly to embarrass their Jiang family!

But even if she is the queen mother, she can only hold back her anger, maintain a noble smile, and say kindly: "Wanrong and Rui'er, the two children, are indeed comparable, they are both phoenixes among people, and the mourning family is very satisfied with the grandmother." The prince is not young, and he should marry a concubine to take good care of him. The prince's concubine, it's better to let the prince choose for himself! ”

This is not a trivial statement, but the meaning is very clear. These two women are excellent, but who will be the crown princess is up to the prince to choose.

As soon as the Queen Mother said this, Empress Zhao could no longer raise any objections. All eyes were on Prince Ji Rong.

Ji Rong stood up in a panic and immediately saluted, but it took two or three times as long as his usual salute. Such a problem was placed on a prince, and everyone was speculating about how the young prince would stand in line.

Empress Zhao is also five points sure in her heart, after all, it is difficult for a man to pass the beauty pass, let alone a slender woman like Zhao Ruier. Moreover, this prince has always had a harmonious relationship with Empress Zhao, and the day he ascends the throne in the future, I am afraid that he will have to rely on the Zhao family.

But can the Jiang clan be offended? Not to mention that the crown prince's mother and queen mother are both surnamed Jiang, the Jiang family has assisted the Great Zhou Dynasty for hundreds of years, has a deep foundation, and there is no sign of family decline to be found.

Ji Rong seemed to think for a while, gritted his teeth, and said with a filial expression: "My grandson listens to my grandmother's arrangement. ”

In this way, it is equivalent to kicking the ball back to Empress Dowager Jiang, and it is not completely disregarding Empress Zhao's face. As for Empress Dowager Jiang, with the words of the prince, it is logical to choose the crown princess for him, and Empress Zhao can no longer find any reason.

"That's fine, the prince is a filial child after all. According to the mourning family, Jiang Wanrong is dignified and dignified, and she sits firmly on the throne of the crown princess. As for Zhao Ruier... Empress Dowager Jiang smiled, but after glancing at Zhao Rui'er, who didn't know whether to live or die and wanted to fight with the Jiang family for the crown princess, she wanted to find someone to give her a casual point, a small punishment and a big commandment.

Zhao Hou, who was sitting on the throne, couldn't hold back any longer, and usually pretended to be calm and quiet, but at this moment, she no longer disregarded arguing: "Zhao Rui'er was born with a beautiful country, and she has admired the crown prince Ji Rong for a long time, and now... ”

When Empress Zhao said this, she was a bit of a scoundrel, as if this Zhao Ruier was not the prince in this life and would not marry. It's just that Empress Dowager Jiang just kept her face and didn't mention whether Jiang Wanrong was willing to marry the prince.

Empress Dowager Jiang's eyes turned, she thought about it, and said without waiting for Empress Zhao to finish speaking: "This Zhao Rui'er is indeed a rare good child, and what is even more rare is her heart for the prince, since this is the case, the mourning family will allow her to be the prince's only concubine!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Rui'er, who was originally very proud, almost didn't fall to the ground, and Empress Zhao was also pale.