0p0 Chapter 397 The hero's stumbling block on the road to escape from the famine 48
Chapter 397 The hero's stumbling block on the road to escape from the famine 48
"Mrs. Xiao Bai from the Minister of War greets Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Ms. Gu Xiao from the Minister of War's residence greets Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Excuse me, Madam Xiao, Madam Gu, please come sit next to us. Today we are just gathering together to get to know each other. We will visit each other often in the future. Please don't be too reserved..."
In the second month after the capital was moved, the banquet for Princess Qi Zhaohe was finally held.
The banquet was held in the princess's residence, right next to the imperial palace, and just separated by a wall from Yaoyao's recognized father, Prince Jing.
Qi Zhaohe is 46 years old this year. Her husband passed away due to illness ten years ago, leaving her with two daughters and a son, all of whom have been married for many years.
The son stayed in the old capital, and the eldest daughter's in-laws came here, but the daughter wanted to live with her in-laws, so she was the only one living in the princess's mansion.
She always had a smile on her face, which was not at all consistent with the cold and arrogant image that was rumored.
Today's banquet invites family members of officials above the fourth rank, except for female family members. The purpose is to let everyone get to know each other. After all, except for a few old officials, many are newly promoted and their families have never met each other before.
Everyone came with the wife of the main wife and her legitimate daughter or daughter-in-law, not with concubines or illegitimate daughters as shown in novels or TV dramas. It was not allowed to dress up as a maid. Once people knew about it, it would not only be a slap in your own face, but also a slap in the face of the host family.
Regarding the selection of the queen here, neither Xiao Yun nor the eldest princess knew about it.
Yaoyao had only suggested that she organize a group to provide a platform for the ladies to get to know each other, and at the same time to improve the relationship between the royal family and officials. Pillow talk can be quite lethal.
In fact, this is better, because it lets them think it is just a party where they get to know each other, and they can better see the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates.
Of course, some people are very cautious outside and will not expose their shortcomings, but at least they will not pretend to be dignified and generous just because they know in advance that they can achieve success overnight.
Xiao Yun came with Mingyue and Mingxing. Mingyue was already eighteen years old, and Mingxing was also at the age to get married. There were already rumors that Mingyue was too picky, and some even said that their family was planning to send their daughter to the palace to take a chance.
In fact, Yaoyao had mentioned this to Xiao Yun before, if they really couldn't choose, then Gu Mingyue could be the queen, but Xiao Yun rejected it.
It’s not that I think they are committing incest, they are not biological siblings and have no blood relationship at all.
But she asked Mingyue, and she didn't want to get married at all. Of course, it is also possible that she hasn't met her right person yet, and when she does, she will naturally want to get married.
Now Mingyue and Mingxing have been taught by Xiao Yun to be quite strong. They would definitely not be happy to live a stifling life in the palace.
In comparison, Gu Mingxing caused her more worries. This girl was too lively. Ever since she learned some kung fu, she always wanted to go out and travel around the world.
The problem is that there is no such thing as a martial arts world in this world. It's not safe to go out for fun. Many bandits are still there and have not been able to be cleared out yet. A little girl is going out just to deliver food to people.
Especially since she wants to go out alone, there is no room for negotiation.
Now they are completely confined at home by Xiao Yun, so compared to the three adopted sons, the two adopted daughters are actually the biggest troublemakers in the family.
……
Seeing the eldest princess sitting at the top and showing more enthusiasm, Xiao Yun and Bai Qiu took their people to sit at the seat below her.
There were already two ladies sitting on the other side of her, the wife of the Minister of Revenue and the wife of the Minister of Rites.
They were the ones who arrived relatively early, and later, more than a dozen officials' families came one after another, including the wives, daughters or granddaughters of the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Rites. In total, all six ministries were present.
There were also generals, assistant ministers, and royal princes' families. Then Xiao Yun discovered that compared with these people, she and Bai Qiu were relatively young.
No wonder Yaoyao said that when he appointed A Yuan as the Minister of War, one of the reasons he encountered resistance was his lack of experience. In addition to having never been on the battlefield, the fact that he was too young might have also caught many people's attention.
Yuan's age is reported to be in his forties. He is young and looks tall and mighty, which makes him definitely out of place when compared with those old men.
While Xiao Yun and the other man were observing these ladies, those ladies were also looking at each other, including the eldest princess, who also glanced at them a few more times.
Although Xiao Yun's appearance was the same as his original one, with the same facial features and figure, his skin was white, rosy and tender due to the nourishment of elixirs and spiritual water, and was no worse than that of a young girl in her twenties.
What's more, in this relatively dry and windy northwestern region, almost everything you look at is wheat-colored and rough.
The same goes for Bai Qiu. Her public identity is clearly that of the original wife who was finally found after being stranded outside. However, she is not as pale and thin as they imagined, with a haggard look on her face. Instead, she is fair and plump. Apart from her short stature, she looks quite wealthy.
Including the daughter-in-law she brought with her, her daughter-in-law is relatively thin, but her face is also very pretty.
That’s right, Bai Qiu brought her “daughter-in-law” with her today. Since she doesn’t have a “daughter”, she can only bring her daughter-in-law.
After everyone exchanged greetings, they introduced the younger generations they brought with them one by one.
Most of them have both sons and daughters, especially those with unmarried children and grandchildren. When they see the girls in the other party's family, they will subconsciously look at them. Of course, they will not comment on them openly, but they will also think about it in their hearts.
When Xiao Yun went through the personal introductions, she locked onto the several candidates for queen that Yaoyao told her about.
One is Fang Qingqing, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Justice, one is Ai Haizhen, the granddaughter of the General of Protecting the Country, another is Xiang Ying'er, the daughter of General Weiyuan, and the last one is Cui Rong, the granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue.