LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 53 The Qi family returned to Beijing and won the emperor's favor
With a smile on his lips, Shen Qing bowed slightly to Lu Yan and called him "Master Lu" generously.
Aunt Qiu and Mu Lingxi bowed to Lu Yan at the same time. At the moment when they lowered their eyes, Lu Yan's eyes flashed with an undisguised tenderness, which was perfectly captured by Shen Qing.
Shen Qing's eyes flashed with warmth, but quickly returned to normal when Aunt Qiu and Mu Lingxi raised their heads.
"It's still a long way from here to Qingquan Palace. I wonder if I can go with Miss Shen?"
Unlike the seductive charm in private, Lu Yan in front of people is gentle and gentleman, with a strong soft breath between his eyebrows, as if he is born to be very approachable.
However, this is only limited to in front of Shen Qing.
Shen Qing smiled, "If Master Lu doesn't mind our slow pace, then of course it's fine."
The distance between words and actions was neither too far nor too close, and no one could find any fault with it, but if you look closely, it is inevitably more intriguing.
Several people walked side by side towards the direction of Qingquan Palace, Shen Qing walked in the middle, with Aunt Qiu and Mu Lingxi on the left, and Lu Yan on the right, but there was always enough space between the two for one person to pass.
Lu Yan slightly side-glanced, with a soft light in his eyes, "I wonder if Miss Mu is feeling better?"
Shen Qing raised the corner of his lips slightly, "Well, I went to see her a few days ago, and she has begun to recover, but I'm afraid she will have to wait a few more months before she can get out of bed."
"That He Wensheng is really a piece of shit, and it really wronged Miss Mu."
Mu Lingxi had told Aunt Qiu before that Lu Yan was also present on the day Mu Lingyue got into trouble, so it was very normal to hear Lu Yan mention it now.
While chatting, they had already arrived at the gate of Qingquan Palace. Lu Yan said goodbye to them softly and then entered Qingquan Palace first.
Shen Qing and the other two followed closely. After they sat down, Mu Lingxi whispered, "Lu Shizi is not only good-looking, but also gentle. If a young lady can marry him, it is really a blessing from the previous life."
Aunt Qiu smiled and glanced at her with a teasing look, "After all, you are about to reach the age of marriage, and you know a lot more."
Mu Lingxi's ears turned red, and she glanced at the seat of the Minister of Rites and his family.
Shen Qing poured himself a cup of tea and ate and drank as usual, as if he didn't care about the situation outside at all.
Soon, Yangling Hou came from the door with a smile on his face. When he saw Shen Qing and the other two, he quickly retracted his smile and turned his head away. He regretted it a little. If he had known this, he might as well have entered the palace by himself. At least he could have felt relieved.
At about the end of the evening, the protagonist of today's banquet finally arrived.
The leader was General Qi Lie, who was a burly man with a resolute face. Because he had been stationed in the hot west for many years, his skin color was darker than that of the officials present. But now he should be called Pingxi Hou. Walking beside him was his wife Tan, who was slender and had a heroic spirit that was not found in women from aristocratic families. The two walked in side by side, talking and laughing, and seemed to have a very good relationship.
Following behind them were the eldest son Qi Yichuan and the youngest daughter Qi Suining.
Qi Yichuan followed his father to fight on the battlefield since he was young, and he has a cold aura at a young age. Qi Suining is still young, but she can vaguely see some of the grace of the Tan family in her cute red dress.
As soon as the Pingxi Marquis family sat down, the emperor and the empress came from the outer room. Shen Qing put down the teacup in his hand and knelt on the ground with everyone.
After the emperor and the empress sat down, they called everyone to stand up, and Shen Qing sat back in his seat and continued to taste the tea that he had not finished.
The emperor's slightly gentle voice soon came from the top, "The Pingxi Marquis family has guarded the west of Da Chu for twenty years, keeping the territory intact and protecting the people. Now they have finally returned to the capital. I am also very moved, so I held a banquet today to welcome the Pingxi Marquis back to the court with all the nobles."
As the voice fell, everyone shouted "General Qi is righteous", and Shen Qing couldn't help but feel a little respect in his heart.
Qi Lie stood up from his seat, bowed to the emperor, and then nodded to the ministers before sitting back down.
The emperor followed up with, "I heard that Pingxi Hou has a son and a daughter, both of whom are of marriageable age. Now that we are back in Beijing, we should talk about marriage."
Qi Lie responded, "Your Majesty is right. My son is already eighteen years old this year. Because he has been in the frontier for many years and has no time for love affairs, it has been delayed until now. There are countless noble ladies in Beijing, and I also want to choose a good marriage for my son. I am afraid that I will have to ask Your Majesty to grant you a marriage."
The emperor smiled heartily, "Pingxi Hou is quite straightforward. I agree. If General Qi likes a lady from a certain family, just tell me and I will grant you a marriage."
Qi Yichuan stood up and thanked the emperor respectfully.
Qi Lie continued, "As for my daughter Sui Ning, she just came of age a few days ago. My wife and I would like to keep her for a few more days. If she falls in love with a young man in the future, we will report to Your Majesty as soon as possible."
The emperor readily agreed.
After talking about the marriage of Qi Lie's two children, the emperor turned the topic to the garrison and war on the border, "In recent years, the border of the Great Chu has been constantly conquered. Pingxi Hou was stationed in the west for 20 years, and Wulie Hou has been stationed in the south and has not returned yet. Now our Great Chu is still short of troops, and you will need to spend more energy on this matter in the future."
The generals headed by Qi Lie nodded one after another.
After talking about political affairs, the emperor signaled the start of the banquet. In order to let Qi Yichuan get to know the young ladies of the official families better, the emperor also specially arranged a talent show.
This naturally had nothing to do with Shen Qing. Shen Qing, who was used to watching songs, dances and poems, was inevitably a little bored, so he tasted the wine on the table.
Shen Qing rarely drank alcohol, so he naturally didn't know how much he could drink, so he just poured a small cup.
This wine was not as spicy and pungent as strong liquor, and it was even soft and gentle in the mouth, which made Shen Qing drink a few more cups. Fortunately, the alcohol was not strong, and Shen Qing's mind was still clear.
At this time, a suppressed exclamation sounded around. Shen Qing raised his eyes and saw Xie Zhaohua in red, dancing with a long sword in his hand.
After all, he was born in a family of military generals. Although Xie Zhaohua was a little arrogant and domineering on weekdays, he was not inferior to those young ladies in terms of talent.
His peripheral vision looked towards Qi Yichuan, and he saw a flash of surprise in his eyes.
It must be said that Xie Zhaohua's sword dance really touched Qi Yichuan's heart, so is the Xie family preparing to marry with the Pingxi Marquis Mansion?
However, looking at Xie Zhaohua's face, she looked calm and didn't even look at Qi Yichuan, so... this was just an accident?
With Xie Zhaohua as a pearl, the talents of the young ladies behind seemed to be much more ordinary.
As for Gu Tingyan and Jiang Li, because they were both engaged, they didn't show much deliberately. One simply painted a picture and the other simply played a song. Although the two showed what the other was best at, they still made everyone present praise.
The banquet was just halfway through, and Lu Yan asked the palace maid behind him to ask for leave from the eunuch beside the emperor. The emperor also knew that Lu Yan was weak, so he allowed him to leave halfway.
Just as Shen Qing was about to raise her eyes to look in the direction of Lu Yan, she saw another pair of eyes looking at Lu Yan's departing back before her, and the gaze was not retracted until Lu Yan disappeared around the corner for a long time.