Young Master, Don't Show Off - Chapter 88
[Chapter 88: Palace Night Banquet [6600 words, please vote]]
The last martial arts class was an assessment of the students’ practice results over the past few months.
After several months of training and teaching guidance, about half of the students successfully drew in qi and entered the door of martial arts. The other half, although they failed to draw in qi, had greatly improved their physical fitness and passed the assessment smoothly.
The courses of the Yishu Academy were originally designed to improve the various abilities of students, and would not set too many obstacles for students in the assessment.
For Lin Xiu, the martial arts class did not really help him much.
He drew in qi outside, and his biggest gain in the martial arts class should be Xue Ning’er’s ability.
Thinking of Xue Ning’er, Lin Xiu felt a little guilty. If she had always had bad intentions, it would be fine. Even if he had designed Xue Ning’er, she deserved it.
But in matters of love, the word “serious” is the most feared. It
is an indisputable fact that he hurt someone who really liked him. Xue Ning’er even left the Yishu Academy because of this, which made Lin Xiu feel even more guilty.
He wanted to talk to Xue Ning’er in person, but he heard that she had been staying in Xue’s house and didn’t even see her best friend, so Lin Xiu didn’t have a chance.
Li Baizhang saw Lin Xiu’s worries, patted his shoulder, and said, “In a few days, it will be the birthday of the Grand Empress Dowager. At that time, all the rich and powerful people in the capital will go to the palace to celebrate her birthday. Miss Ning’er should also go. If you are lucky, you should be able to meet her…”
After Lin Xiu returned home, he also heard about the birthday of the Grand Empress Dowager.
The Grand Empress Dowager is the grandmother of the current emperor. After the death of the late emperor, the late queen soon followed the late emperor. Therefore, Daxia has no empress dowager, but the Grand Empress Dowager has always been in good health and has a very high status in the palace.
Lin Xiu is very familiar with the harem, but he has never seen the Grand Empress Dowager because the old lady is even more intolerant of heat. Before the weather got hot, the emperor sent her to the palace in Mount Li to escape the summer heat.
His Majesty is a filial son. On the 80th birthday of the Empress Dowager, he held a banquet for all the ministers and dignitaries in the palace to pray for the Empress Dowager’s birthday. At that time, all officials above the fifth rank in the court, as well as all the dignitaries in the capital, must come to the palace to celebrate her birthday.
The Lin Mansion also received a notice from the palace today.
Three days later, the palace dinner will be attended by all three members of the family. The difference is that Lin Xiu and the Earl of Ping’an will be in the central palace, and the wife of the Earl of Ping’an will be in the harem. At large banquets in the palace, men and women are usually separated.
After lunch, Lin Xiu accompanied his mother to the street to choose birthday gifts for the Empress Dowager. Sun Dali and A Yue followed them.
On the birthday of the Empress Dowager, the dignitaries naturally couldn’t go to the palace empty-handed. Fortunately, the Lin family was just a small family, and the gifts didn’t need to be expensive. A few dozen or a hundred taels of silver would be enough to show their appreciation.
If everyone had to prepare generous gifts for the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, many poor officials in the court would have to sell their houses.
In a jewelry store in Dongcheng, the wife of the Earl of Ping’an took a fancy to a pure gold Guanyin statue. The shopkeeper asked for five hundred taels of silver, and she countered with three hundred taels. The two of them were deadlocked for a while.
At this time, a figure suddenly walked out from the back hall of the store.
It was a middle-aged man. When he saw Lin Xiu, he was stunned for a moment, then a surprise appeared on his face. He walked up quickly and said, “Master Lin, you left in a hurry last time, and our family has not been able to thank you properly. Today I will hold a banquet in Zhaiyue Tower, please do me a favor!” Lin
Xiu knew this middle-aged man. Not long ago, he made one thousand taels of silver from Chen Yuanwai.
At that time, his son was kidnapped, and Lin Xiu asked Da Huang to ask stray dogs in the city for help to find his son.
Lin Xiu smiled and said, “Mr. Chen has already paid the reward. There is no need to eat. I have something else to do today.”
Seeing Lin Xiu’s refusal, Mr. Chen showed a look of regret on his face, but then he thought of something, looked at the wife of the Marquis of Ping’an beside him, and asked, “Who is this lady…”
Lin Xiu said, “This is my mother.”
Mr. Chen looked at the Guanyin statue in her hand, and then said, “If you like this Guanyin statue, I will give it to you. It is also a little gift from me…”
Five hundred taels is nothing to the Lin family today, but Mr. Chen said he would not accept it. He also said that if it were not for Lin Xiu, he would have lost ten thousand taels last time. , and insisted on giving him this Guanyin statue…
Walking out of the jewelry store, Lady Ping’an was surprised and asked, “Where did you make all these friends?”
Lin Xiu simply explained, “I happened to help him before.”
Zhou Yun did not ask in detail. Her son was very different from before. He used to stay at home and didn’t have any friends. After being stunned by the meteorite, he seemed to have opened his mind. Chen Zhushi said that he was very popular in the Qingli Division and the palace often summoned him. Even when he went out to buy gifts for the Empress Dowager, he could meet such generous friends…
Seeing these changes in her son, she was really relieved.
The four of them walked out of the store and happened to meet two figures.
Lin Xiu knew both of them, one was Xue Ning’er and the other was her best friend Chen Peipei.
After not seeing her for many days, Lin Xiu did not expect to meet her here. When he did not know how to start, Xue Ning’er also saw him, and then her face suddenly turned pale, her eyes were full of panic, and the next moment she pulled Chen Peipei’s hand and fled away…
Just seeing Xue Ning’er’s eyes, Lin Xiu understood her thoughts.
Sure enough…
it was a sin.
After just a few days of not seeing her, she looked haggard and thinner. Needless to say, the reason behind it.
Lin Xiu sighed in his heart. The thing he was most afraid of and least wanted to do had really happened.
At this time, at a street corner ahead, Chen Peipei looked at Xue Ning’er in confusion and asked in confusion: “Ning’er, why are you running? Isn’t that Lin Xiu? By the way, how is your seduction going? I can’t wait to see Zhao Lingjun make a fool of herself in front of you…”
When Chen Peipei said these words, Xue Ning’er’s face became even paler. She looked at Chen Peipei pleadingly and said, “Stop talking, please stop talking…”
Chen Peipei finally noticed her abnormality and asked worriedly, “Ning’er, what’s wrong with you? You look very wrong…”
Xue Ning’er burst into tears, hugged Chen Peipei, and choked up, “I, I am a bad woman, I don’t deserve him…”
…
In the past few days, because of the birthday of the Empress Dowager, the whole country of Daxia celebrated, and the curfew in the capital was temporarily lifted.
Originally, the inner city became very quiet at night, and those who were still walking on the street during the curfew would be arrested and caned.
But starting three days ago, after nightfall, the capital city really became lively. The shops on the streets stayed open all night, and there was an endless stream of hawkers carrying loads on their shoulders. It was rare for the common people to go out at night, and the streets were so crowded that there was no place to stay.
The area near the palace in the east city is inhabited by dignitaries. Today, there are endless carriages and horses. One carriage after another, sedan chairs, parked at the gate of the palace. The noble officials got off the carriages and sedan chairs and walked towards the gate of the palace.
The palace maids and eunuchs of the Shanglisi all came to the gate of the palace today. The gifts brought by the officials and dignitaries into the palace will be left here and registered. Except for a very small number of top dignitaries who have valuable gifts to present to the Empress Dowager in person, all other gifts are not allowed to be brought into the palace.
At the gate of the palace, Lin Xiu first handed over the post of Ping’an Bo’s Mansion and the brocade box containing the Guanyin statue. After the palace maids and eunuchs checked it, they registered it in the book, and then the eunuchs led the three people into the palace gate.
Just after entering the front palace, one of the palace maids on the left came out and saluted to Zhou Yun, the wife of Ping’an Bo, and said respectfully: “Madam, please follow me, I will take you to the harem…”
There are many female relatives attending the banquet today. According to convention, they have to go to the harem to attend the banquet hosted by the Queen Mother.
Lin Xiu and Ping’an Bo were brought to a majestic palace in the central palace.
This palace was very large and was originally built for large banquets in the palace. There were two rows of low tables on the left and right, extending from the main hall and even extending to the square in front of the main hall. The
royal banquet was very particular about the seating arrangement. There were etiquette rules for who should sit in which position and who should be in front of whom.
Those noble and respected dukes and their children naturally had seats in the front. Some minor dignitaries and officials could only sit outside the hall. It was late autumn and the weather had turned cold. It was not pleasant to sit outside the hall in the wind. Among the dignitaries in the
royal capital, the largest number was the third-class earl. Ping’an Bo, who had been promoted to the second-class earl, naturally had the qualification to sit in the hall, but his seat was relatively far back.
Lin Xiu’s seat was even further back. Two tables further back, he was outside the hall. Fortunately, although it was close to the door, he was still in the hall.
They arrived neither too early nor too late. About half of the people inside and outside the palace had come. Most of them knelt obediently behind the low tables, waiting for the banquet to begin.
Some sat close to each other and knew each other, whispering and laughing.
Lin Xiu sat alone behind the table, feeling a little bored. He didn’t know the people around him, and didn’t know when the banquet would start. After it was over, should he wait for Xue Ning’er at the palace gate? As
he was thinking about this, a figure suddenly walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and said, “I’ve been looking for you for a while. So you’re here.”
Needless to say, it was Li Baizhang.
He said to Lin Xiu, “I just came back from paying my respects to my mother. I met Miss Ning’er on the way. It’s only been a few days, and she has lost a lot of weight. Can you really bear to let her go on like this…”
Lin Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and said, “This incident was caused by me, and I will take responsibility.”
Don’t play with feelings, especially for girls who really like you. Even if you don’t love them, please don’t hurt them. The more people like Lin Xiu are, the more they know how precious this kind of pure love is.
Before the banquet started, Lin Xiu and Li Baizhang chatted casually.
Those who appeared in the hall tonight were all well-known figures in the capital. Of course, Lin Xiu didn’t know many of them. Only when Yongping Hou appeared did Lin Xiu take a closer look.
He walked in from outside under the guidance of an eunuch and sat in the front position of the hall.
Li Baizhang noticed Lin Xiu’s gaze and asked, “Have you met Yongping Hou?”
Lin Xiu nodded and said, “I have met him once. He said that the matter between Yang Xuan and me is limited to the two of us and has nothing to do with the Yang and Lin families.”
Li Baizhang said, “This man is a hero. At the age of less than 40, his martial arts cultivation is close to the upper realm of the earth level. The Yang family will definitely make further progress in the future. It is best not to make a mortal enemy with the Yongping Hou Mansion.” A
forty-year-old earth-level lower realm magician is already a little talented, and the road to martial arts is even more difficult. However, Yongping Hou can have the strength close to the upper realm of the earth level at the age of less than 40. No wonder he has such power in the capital.
Whether it is a strange art or a martial art, it is more difficult to break through the realm as time goes by. The lower realm of the earth level and the upper realm of the earth level seem to have only one realm, but even for the genius of strange arts and martial arts in the eyes of ordinary people, it normally takes fifteen to twenty years to break through this realm.
From the upper realm of the earth level to the lower realm of the heaven level, those with extremely outstanding talents must practice hard for at least thirty years. If the ability is awakened too late, it will never reach the threshold of the heaven level until death.
From this, it can be seen that Zhao Lingjun can enter the earth level at the age of eighteen. What a terrible talent this is?
What’s more terrible is that she didn’t break through at the age of eighteen. As early as a few years ago, she had already entered the earth level.
According to such a talent for practice, she must be able to reach the upper realm of the heaven level in her lifetime.
Throughout the ages, there are only a handful of people who can reach this realm, and each of them has left a strong and colorful mark in history.
If Yongping Hou can be promoted to the upper realm of the earth rank, then his title of duke is a foregone conclusion. A martial arts master of the upper realm of the earth rank can even fight against a heaven rank magician. Apart from the royal family, there are so many powerful people in the capital, and there are only four families with heaven rank masters.
There is one first-class duke family and three second-class duke families.
They can have the status and power today, not because of the royal reward, but because of the real family strength. This is also the reason why the current majesty is afraid of them and will never marry Zhao Lingjun to them.
The strongest of these families is only the lower realm of the heaven rank. Getting Zhao Lingjun, who has unlimited prospects, is not as simple as adding wings to a tiger.
Compared with these behemoths, Lin Xiu is still cute, with low talent, low strength, and harmless to people and animals. Zhao Lingjun married him, and the current majesty can sleep peacefully.
The closer it is to the start of the banquet, the more important people will come in from outside.
Gradually, people of the Duke, the Prince, and even the Prince level began to appear. With Li Baizhang by his side to introduce him, Lin Xiu memorized the faces of these important people.
After the ability is awakened three times, the Eye Art will have a new skill.
Photographic memory.
His eyes are like a human camera, which can remember everything he sees clearly in his mind, and when he recalls it, it is particularly clear.
Lin Xiu remembered these people for another reason.
Although he didn’t know who assassinated him twice, he must be here tonight. Maybe he can find some clues from it.
Lin Xiu will not give up investigating the two assassinations. He must find out who wants his life. It’s just that the scope of suspicion is too wide, so he has no way to start for the time being.
At a certain moment, two young men walked into the hall one after another, causing a commotion in the hall, and many people stood up and saluted.
Lin Xiu naturally learned the identities of the two from Li Baizhang.
The gentle and elegant one among them is the King of Qi, the only son of His Majesty and the Concubine Xian.
The other one who looked gloomy and gentle was the Prince of Zhao.
Lin Xiu was still wondering at first. According to common sense, after the emperor determined the candidate for the crown prince, in order to avoid the princes fighting for power, shouldn’t the other princes be sent to their fiefdoms and not allowed to return to the capital for no reason…
But most of the princes of the current emperor are in Kyoto. Not only that, the Prince of Qi also holds an important position in the court, with countless followers around him, and can even compete with the crown prince…
After being gradually involved in the power struggle, Lin Xiu gradually realized that things were not that simple.
The surname of the virtuous concubine was Song, the Song of Song Yuzhi, and she was the legitimate daughter of the Ningguo Mansion.
The surname of the queen was Zhang, and her mother’s family was the Dingguo Mansion.
The only first-class duke in Daxia was the Dingguo Duke.
This seemed to be a dispute between the crown prince and the King of Qi, but in fact it was a power struggle between the two top wealthy families in Daxia. Lin Xiu even discovered a small detail, that is, many powerful people in the court sent their legitimate daughters into the palace. Whether it was concubines or nobles in the harem, any one of them had an impressive family background.
The royal family and the powerful have long been inseparable.
The infiltration of these powerful and wealthy families is not limited to the court, and even the emperor’s harem cannot be avoided.
Lin Xiu thought of more.
The daughter of Duke Dingguo is the queen, and the daughter of Duke Ningguo is the virtuous concubine. The ranking of the harem is actually the ranking of the powerful family. What does this mean? It means that the list of these concubines is internally determined. It turns out that he can’t make the decision on the emperor’s marriage…
Lin Xiu suddenly felt comfortable.
As an emperor, he can’t decide who he wants to marry, or even who will be the crown prince. From a certain perspective, he is actually just a tool man, and his only role is to give birth to sons as a bargaining chip for these powerful people to fight for power.
Now Lin Xiu feels more comfortable.
But it should be said that he doesn’t have to do anything, and there are so many people sending young and beautiful girls to his side. Isn’t this the ultimate dream of every LSP? How can such a good thing not happen to him…
Think about it carefully, or forget it.
The gift of fate has been marked with a price from the beginning. There is no such thing as a free lunch or a free girl. Power is precious, and beautiful women are good, but compared with freedom, these are nothing…
Real freedom is to be able to do happy things with the people you like without restraint. Even the person who sleeps with him in the same bed every day must be designated by others. What kind of good thing is this?
While Lin Xiu was thinking about it, another figure, accompanied by several people, walked into the hall.
This person has an ordinary appearance, is not tall, and looks honest and simple, but when he walked into the hall, everyone stood up, including Li Baizhang next to Lin Xiu.
Everyone bowed and said in unison: “See His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
Lin Xiu had seen the Queen Mother and the Emperor of Daxia. Although the Queen Mother was not as beautiful as the Imperial Concubine, she was also a beauty. The Emperor of Xia was even more handsome. The Crown Prince born did not inherit his father and mother in terms of appearance.
Although he is not ugly, compared with Princess Minghe, Li Baizhang, and King Qi and King Zhao, he has lowered the appearance of the royal family. Although
the prince is not good-looking, his temperament is very friendly, and there is a hint of majesty and nobility in his friendliness, which makes people want to bow their heads.
Lin Xiu not only did not want to bow his head, but even wanted to put his hands on his hips.
I don’t know why, but when I saw the prince, Lin Xiu inexplicably had a feeling in his heart. How should I describe this feeling…
If I say that seeing Princess Minghe makes Lin Xiu uncomfortable, I always feel suppressed by him everywhere, but seeing the prince is the opposite feeling, that kind of suppression pleasure…
This feeling will not come inexplicably. Lin Xiu seems to realize something, turned his head to look at Li Baizhang, and whispered: “The prince’s ability, it can’t be to control water…”
Li Baizhang was surprised and said: “This matter has not been spread, how do you know?”
Lin Xiu looked at the prince again. The only thing that can make him feel this kind of suppression pleasure is the ability of water.
This ability is also one of the Heavenly Rank abilities. It is extremely powerful and can restrain fire magic.
However, this ability is restrained by ice magic.
Natural restraint.
At this moment, the prince who walked into the hall seemed to have sensed something. He frowned slightly, turned his head slowly, and looked in a certain direction. The two people’s eyes met in the air. Lin Xiu’s expression was calm, but the prince’s body shook and he instinctively took a step back.
Several people around him hurriedly asked, “Your Highness, what’s wrong with you?”
The prince withdrew his gaze from Lin Xiu’s direction, smiled slightly, and said, “I’m fine. Let’s go. The banquet is about to start. You should also take a seat as soon as possible…”
After the prince and others left, Li Baizhang also parted ways with Lin Xiu and returned to his own position. He was a prince, and his position was at the front of the hall.
Soon, a bell rang outside the hall, and the officials, dignitaries and their children in the hall were silent, sitting upright at the table, looking straight ahead.
Zhu Jin walked out from the back of the hall and said in a shrill voice: “Your Majesty has arrived!”
Emperor Xia and the Queen supported an old man and walked out slowly. Everyone in and outside the hall stood up and saluted, saying respectfully: “Your Majesty, Queen, I wish the Empress Dowager a long life…”
The etiquette of the banquet in the palace was very detailed, and even the congratulatory speeches were arranged in advance so that they could speak in unison and in a uniform manner.
The first part of the banquet was to present gifts.
Some princes, dukes, and several people in charge of the Duke’s Mansion personally presented birthday gifts to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager did not stay here for long before she was supported by the Queen and several maids and left.
She just showed her face here, and there were many female relatives waiting in the harem.
After that, Zhu Jin announced the start of the dinner on behalf of His Majesty. The palace servants brought the dishes one after another. More than a dozen slender palace maids sang and danced in the hall, their sleeves fluttering. The people at the table were toasting each other, and the atmosphere was lively and harmonious…
The palace maids wore very little and danced beautifully, but Lin Xiu had no intention of appreciating them.
Lin Xiu still remembered the look the prince had given him just now.
What kind of look was that? It contained disgust, resentment, hatred, and many things that Lin Xiu couldn’t explain. Although the two of them only looked at each other for a moment, some things could not be hidden.
For example, loving someone.
Or hating someone.
Xue Ning’er looked at him with love in her eyes, and the prince looked at him with hatred in his eyes.
Lin Xiu had never seen such a look in Yang Xuan’s eyes, a crazy fan of Zhao Lingjun.
Although it was the first time he met the prince, if you think about it carefully, the hatred between him and the prince had been formed a long time ago.
The prince was also one of Zhao Lingjun’s former suitors. He was originally the crown prince. If he married Zhao Lingjun, the throne would be as stable as Mount Tai, and no one would be able to compete with him. Lin
Xiu’s existence shattered his dream, and he had reasons to hate Lin Xiu.
It can even be said that in the two previous assassinations against him, the emperor’s sons were the most suspicious, followed by the super clans in the royal capital.
After meeting the prince today, he became even more suspicious in Lin Xiu’s heart.
Princess Minghe’s ability is fire, and her ability is mutually restrained with Lin Xiu’s on the surface. She couldn’t help but often trouble him. The prince’s ability is water, and he was restrained by Lin Xiu. Would he have good intentions towards himself?
I’m afraid not.
Lin Xiu looked in front of the hall. The prince’s seat was only below the Emperor of Daxia. At this moment, he was smiling at the singing and dancing in the hall. His face was honest and simple, and there was no resentment at all when he looked at Lin Xiu.
Although there is no direct or indirect evidence, Lin Xiu cannot be sure that the prince was the mastermind behind the two assassinations, but he has to be said to be the most suspicious.
In this case, let’s start the investigation from him.
(End of this chapter)
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