The banquet was divided into two parts: Qi You received the male guests in the front hall, while Cao Mi stayed in the backyard and was responsible for entertaining the female relatives.
In order to welcome the guests, she put on a very cumbersome costume of a concubine, and the steps made of real gold pressed her neck a little.
Fortunately, as soon as she came to the banquet hall, the guests came one after another.
Cao Mi hurriedly entered the state and chatted with the ladies of the various families.
Liaozhou is no better than the capital, and any powerful and powerful family would dare not to look down on the fallen Bei’an Prince’s Mansion. Qi You, who was successfully sealed, is the “Emperor of Earth” here, and every guest invited to come here has a smile on his face, at least he has done enough to show respect.
Cao Mi had done his homework early, and although he felt a little embarrassed to be polite to the strangers he had just met, he had always performed well and had not gone wrong on the whole.
But in fact, she has been secretly saving her energy, preparing for the final “big play”.
Relatively speaking, the guests who came early were people of relatively low status, and they did not dare to take Joe. The more distinguished guests, the later they will be.
In Liaozhou, before Qi You came over, there were only three families who really stood at the pinnacle of power. The three families are the Qin family, the Fang family and the Situ family.
Qin and Fang have a good relationship. They are not only powerful in Liaozhou, but also have direct lineages and side branches in the capital. In contrast, the Situ family is generally weaker. They were originally a Rong tribe in the north. Because their ancestors followed the Tai-zu of this dynasty and made great contributions, they were given a compound surname and stayed in the Sheng Dynasty.
Also because of his family background, the Situ family was unable to go further to the power center from beginning to end. But for hundreds of years, they have devoted all their energy to Liaozhou, and they also have the capital to compete with Qin and Fang.
The Fang family was the first of the three to arrive. Mrs. Fang, the head of the house, wore a blue gauze dress and held her own daughter in her cardamom years in her hands.
Not only is she beautiful, she also acts and speaks like a spring breeze, without any air. After a few polite words with Cao Mi, he took a seat under the guidance of his maid.
After solving one, Cao Mi breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, she started to have a headache.
The Qin family and the Situ family seemed to be unwilling to give up the most honorable place of “last entry”.
The mistress of the Qin family has a standard beautiful face. Although her high cheekbones do not harm her bright appearance, it makes her look a bit mean.
In addition, she frowned slightly at this time, and she looked like “I’m not easy to mess with”.
Mrs. Situ is the oldest of the three wives. She has fine lines at the corners of her eyes and looks quite shrewd. After she approached, she squinted at Cao Mi’s appearance, making Cao Mi a little uncomfortable.
Because these two families came here on foot, Cao Mi simply greeted them and invited them to be seated.
The seating arrangement is also very particular. Cao Mi is in the main seat, the Qin family and the Fang family are sitting on her left, and the Situ family is on her right.
Everyone sat down, and the maid in the palace brought the meal into the room, alleviating the faint embarrassment in the hall.
Cao Mi cleared his throat, picked up the wine bottle, and stood up to toast everyone.
Sake poured into my throat, and the atmosphere in the hall finally came alive. After thanking the host, everyone began to gather around in twos and threes, talking to each other in a low voice.
This kind of banquet seems to have never existed to make people full.
Soon, there was a chatter on the main side.
Probably because of her face, Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Situ did not go too far. Instead, they chatted with her about gossip at home. Except for the occasional choking with a gun and a stick, it was basically fun.
When the wine was in full swing, they acted like each other, and Mrs. Qin, who seemed to be very close to her, suddenly held Cao Mi’s hand and said, “The princess is smart and benevolent, which is admirable. But I have something I have to remind you. Princess.”
Before Cao Mi could react, he asked casually, “What’s the matter?”
Then Mrs. Qin corrected her expression, “I heard that the prince’s backyard has been vacant for a long time, and only the princess is alone.”
Cao Mi nodded.
Mrs. Qin said: “The princess knows that this is a huge hidden danger!”
Cao Mi raised his eyebrows and asked with great interest, “Why did Mrs. Qin say this?”
“I’m speaking with the princess.” Mrs. Qin lowered her voice and warned: “Wait for the prince to put people in the backyard, the princess will be passive. Now the prince has no time to take care of this, it is the time for the princess to cultivate her own people! “
Now Cao Mi understands, this is to persuade himself to take the initiative to take a concubine with Qi You.
“My lord is a gentleman, and if you think about it, you are not someone who is greedy for women.” Over there, Mrs. Qin continued: “Let’s not mention the side concubine, as long as the concubine fills in a few concubines, whether it is now or in the future, the backyard of the palace will be It will be firmly in the hands of the princess.”
She spoke earnestly, but Cao Mi heard it funny.
It is true that her words are quite reasonable, and it sounds like Cao Mi’s good.
But Cao Mi had thought about it for a long time, and decided not to take the initiative to take a concubine to his titular husband.
So she thought about it for a while, and made an excuse to refuse: “Madam is thinking of me, I know it. It’s just that now the palace has just settled in Cannes, everything is undecided, and the prince is also busy. I remember this matter in my heart, Let’s make arrangements after a while.”
On the other side, Situ suddenly said, “Where does this kind of thing need the princess to work hard? If the princess doesn’t dislike it, I can help the princess to find a few obedient people.”
Mrs. Qin was snatched up by the Situ Clan. She gave her a hateful look, and quickly added: “Yes, if the princess doesn’t dislike it, just leave this matter to me.”
This time, Cao Mi finally saw it.
It seems that Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Situ sang together, and it seemed that they had already made up their minds.
Is it true that the Qin family and the Situ family are not as incompatible as they say? Or did the two families temporarily let go of their hatred in order to deal with the Bei’an Palace?
Cao Mi didn’t know, but he already knew that they were here for Qi You’s backyard tonight. However, they were also measured and did not dare to mention the position of the side concubine, which would offend Cao Mi, the main concubine.
In fact, what Cao Mi didn’t know was that recently, Qi You was busy outside and took over the affairs of Cannes City. These old-fashioned aristocratic families wanted to show him a few times, and all the beauties in the gold and silver fields gave them away, but Qi You was unmoved.
They couldn’t figure out what Qi You was thinking, so they all came together and hit Cao Mi with the idea.
Cao Mi was about to refuse again, but Mrs. Qin had already asked directly, “But I don’t know what the lord likes? Let’s follow the map and find some suitable ones for the princess.”
Hearing her words, Cao Mi suddenly recalled the letter that Nan Xi had just read.
She subconsciously blurted out, “literate.”
When she realized what she had said, the two ladies of Qin and Situ were looking at her with puzzled expressions.
Cao Mi quickly remedied: “Cough, I mean, talented.”
Mrs. Situ nodded when she heard the words, “The princess came from a well-known scholarly family. If it weren’t for the fact that she was in the past…now she is also a first-class talented girl. The prince is really not an ordinary person, and you should look at your talent first.”
Having said that, Cao Mi was not polite, and simply added, “Also, be gentle, like children.”
There were already three sons in the palace, and both of them could accept Cao Mi’s last two statements.
After Cao Mi finished speaking, he was busy drinking and eating vegetables to cover up his foggy mood.
The two ladies also fell silent for a while, both looking thoughtful.
After a long while, Cao Mi asked again tentatively: “Actually, ladies, you don’t have to worry about these things. If the prince doesn’t like it, isn’t it a waste of your kindness?”
Mrs. Qin smiled, “Where is the princess talking?”
She casually said, “It’s just a lowly servant. If the lord doesn’t look down on it, the princess just keeps people by her side, or sends them to do other chores. It’s the same.”
In this dynasty, concubines also had no status. Concubines are treated as slaves, and their treatment is better than that of ordinary slaves, but they are not as good as stewards and confidants who are used by their masters.
Hearing this, Cao Mi was slightly relieved.
So after the feast of the guests and the host was over, such a dialogue appeared in the carriages of the various families.
“Have you asked?”
“Well, it is said that she likes literacy, a talented and gentle woman, and she also likes children.”
“Ah? What about the appearance? What about the figure? Didn’t mention it at all?”
“Huh? Do you think King Bei’an is as shallow as you?”
“Uh… that’s true. I heard that the King of Bei’an is based on meritocracy, and many of his henchmen are from civilians, so it makes sense to like talented people.”
“…”
—
At night, Qi You returned to the courtyard.
He was entertaining guests in the front yard, drank some wine, and was slightly drunk at this time. Seeing that Cao Mi, who should have rested, was still sitting under the lights, obviously waiting for him, he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.
Cao Mi was actually feeling guilty at this time.
She just had a brainstorm at the banquet and directly acquiesced to the things that several ladies gave away. Now that the banquet is over, she has some fears again.
Although he didn’t regret his actions, after thinking about it, Cao Mi felt that it was necessary to talk to Qi You.
Seeing that Qi You entered the door with the smell of alcohol, she brought a cup of tea and went over: “My lord, uh… are you drunk?”
Qi You took the tea cup, took a sip, and replied, “No.”
Then, he asked, “It’s getting late, why hasn’t the princess rested yet?”
Cao Mi hesitated for a while, but dared to confess.
“Just now at the banquet, I… all the ladies were very kind, and the concubine was convenient, so I begged some people from them…”
“Huh?” Qi You raised his eyebrows and asked, “Isn’t it for me?”
Cao Mi’s face was a little solemn: “Uh…”
She is now finally sure that Qi You definitely sent someone to monitor her.
Otherwise, what happened at the banquet would not have reached his ears so quickly.
Since when did this King of Bei’an begin to distrust himself?
Cao Mi was distracted and thought about it. The matter probably dates back to the day she met the mad dog in Linfengyuan.
At that time, she thought that she had recovered from her illness, and Qi You would ask herself why she was in Linfeng Hospital at that time, and there would be an abnormal performance that she did not return the same way. After all, the guards who rescued her at that time were from Qi You, and they could know the whole story by casually interrogating her.
She was frightened for a while, and even prepared several reasons.
However, Qi You did not ask.
Including the fact that she found out about Chunlin later, it obviously left a flaw, but Qi You still did not pursue it.
But he seems to have doubted his bedside person since then.
Before, if it wasn’t for the original request, his people would not infiltrate the backyard of the palace. Now, patrolling guards can be seen everywhere in the entire palace. In the past, he would respect Cao Mi’s choice. Cao Mi said he wanted to investigate Xia Lin himself, but he did not intervene. But now, he knew everything that happened to Cao Mi an hour ago.
But what can Cao Mi do?
If Qi You took the initiative to ask as before, she would still be able to make an excuse to confuse the matter.
She even found a number of fortune-telling and Mohist classics in the original property, and waited for him to hand in it as “physical evidence” when he came to inquire.
But Qi You didn’t ask.
But fortunately, although he kept an eye on himself, he did not list her as a person to be alerted. After all, the three children are still with her every day, and they have never seen Qi You stop her.
Thinking of this, Cao Mi didn’t know whether he should breathe a sigh of relief or be more careful.
But soon, she was relieved. With her current power, wouldn’t she be more careful not to reveal flaws? Do you stop all your arrangements because of unwarranted guesswork?
That being the case, it’s better to keep the same and respond to the changes, and see what the King of Bei’an wants to do.
She thought about it for a while, and was about to answer, but she didn’t expect Qi You to wake up a little and then speak before her: “If you need someone, they will send it, and you will accept it. If you refuse this time, it is hard to guarantee. They have to find other excuses that you can’t refuse.”
He was also annoyed by those who were always stuffing money in front of him. This time Cao Mi acquiesced to this matter, which actually saved him some trouble.
“Well.” Cao Mi nodded, and then asked tentatively, “Aren’t these people unusable? I’ll find a yard in the house to raise them?”
As your concubine option?
But Qi You shook his head again, “You don’t need to be so careful, they want to put people in the mansion, and they won’t use this stupid method.”
Then, he turned to a seemingly completely unrelated topic: “I will be away for a while in a few days.”
Before Cao Mi could react, he explained: “There’s nothing in the mansion worthy of their inquiries, if you have a secret, just remember to hide it.
“I will leave fifty elite soldiers, led by Qi Liu, to stay in the mansion to guard the safety of you and your children. If you want to use them and you are not at ease, ask Qi Liu to check their details. There are other things that are inconvenient to do. You can also let Qi Liu do it.”
Hearing Qi You’s words, Cao Mi nodded happily.
She actually really wanted those people.
After all, she also knew that ordinary literate servants, even if they were found, would not work so well. After all, teaching this kind of thing is better for teachers. Just look at Nanxi, even if there are people, the teaching effect is not good, you can see the clue.
She believed that the people these noble families found for her would not be too bad.
But she quickly suppressed the joy in her heart, turned her attention to Qi You, and asked, “Not long after I arrived in Cannes, the concubine thought that the prince could finally rest for a while, why did you have to leave so soon?”
Qi You glanced at her and said, “It’s sealed this time, and I also took the post of guarding Liaozhou. Now that there is nothing to do here in Cannes, I have to rush to Fengping to inspect.”
Fengping Pass, the northernmost part of Liaozhou, is a pass bordering the northern Rong territory.
Fengping was actually built in the former dynasty, and it was one of the most important means for the former dynasty to defend against the Rong tribe in the north.
The founding emperor of this dynasty was unparalleled in heroism. Back then, he expanded the territory of Liaozhou by one third, and built the Jirong Pass to the north of Fengping, facing the Rong people from afar.
But fifty years ago, the Rong tribe, who had enough to live, invaded the south and took back the territory that Tai-zu had laid back then.
Sheng Jun had no choice but to return to Feng Ping and refused to resist.
“Will there be a war in the autumn…” Cao Mi asked cautiously.
She looked at Qi You rushing to the past, and felt a little panic in her heart.
“Small troops of the Rong clan go south to loot is a common thing in autumn, and this year they must be treated.” Qi You did not hide it, “But in a few years, there will be no large-scale conflicts.”
Cao Mi chewed these words slowly.
In a few years, what about in a few years?
She sighed secretly, looked at Qi You, and said sincerely this time, “I also ask the lord to take care of you.”
Although she was a little afraid of the King of Bei’an, she really respected the soldiers who guarded the well-being of the people of the country.
It is because they are guarding the frontier and Liaozhou at the forefront that the people in other parts of the Sheng Dynasty can live in peace.
Qi You glanced back at her, as if he wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a while, he still said, “If you have nothing to do, go and rest first.”
Cao Mi no longer refused, nodded and left.
—
After a few days, Qi You arranged the affairs of Cannes City and left with people directly.
Qi Liu specially came to see Cao Mi. He had a slightly immature childish face.
Cao Mi felt that he had some opinions on him.
But she didn’t have the energy to care about this, and soon, people from major families moved into the palace one after another.
The conversation that day obviously only happened between Cao Mi and the other three wives, but maybe someone else at the banquet heard it, and the news spread, and many small aristocratic families also sent people over.
The identities of these people are not complicated. Cao Mi ordered Qi Liu to investigate, and Qi Liu handed in the information the next day.
Maybe the aristocratic families are just trying to please, and they don’t plan to use these poor women for anything. According to Qi Liu’s information, these women are not much of a threat.
Most of these people are beauties gathered from various aristocratic families from all over the world. They used to be prostitutes or actors. Literacy is only their subsidiary attribute, and many of them have one or two skills that can be called unique skills.
The most special are two people.
One of them came from a family named Luo in Liaozhou. The Luo family’s fortune was short, and it was only recently that it barely squeezed into the aristocratic class of Liaozhou. Mrs. Luo directly sent a concubine under her knees.
The second one was sent by the Situ family, an exotic beauty with black hair and brown eyes!
This woman with deep eye sockets and high nose bridge is so beautiful that she can easily stand out from the crowd, making Cao Mi shine.
She suddenly felt pity for Qi You.
Although King Bei’an seems to be completely unmoved by beauty, she herself feels a little tempted by such a beautiful woman, so there is no guarantee what men will think!
Cao Mi came to her to find out the situation. This exotic beauty called herself Mi’er and had no surname. Not only could she speak Chinese and write Chinese characters, but she was also proficient in the language of the Rong tribe.
What made Cao Mi uncomfortable was that her attitude was extremely humble. When she answered, her upper body was tightly pressed to the ground. Cao Mi asked her to get up several times to answer. She stood up for less than three seconds, and then knelt back in fright.
Cao Mi sighed in his heart, knowing that this must be a poor girl.
Sheng Chao is now talking about “Rong” discoloration, such a woman’s life in Sheng Chao is obviously much more difficult than ordinary people.
After another two days, Cao Mi gathered these people together.
After a room of beauties with their own characteristics saluted, Cao Mi said to them, “I know that you are all people with different fates, but it is probably due to fate. Now all of your deeds have been handed over to me.”
Everyone was silent for a while, and a girl in white took the lead to bow and said: “The slave knows, the slave will be handled by the princess in the future.”
The others were stunned for a while, and then quickly learned from her to come forward and bow down.
Cao Mi was stunned for a moment, knowing that they must have misunderstood.
These people probably thought that Cao Mi was thinking of giving them a slap in the face and letting them know who was the real owner of the palace’s backyard.
To understand this, Cao Mi had a headache.
She thought about it for a while, and then continued: “I’ll give you two paths now, you can think about it carefully.
“One is to stay in the palace and be a maid, and the fate of the future depends on the fate of each person.
“Secondly, I will arrange another errand for you. This errand is not a shady job, it is to study for a period of time, and then go to a villa under my name to teach some children to read and write. You are very smart, It’s not a problem to think about such a thing.
“Although this errand is a bit hard, as long as you can do it well, after three years, I will return the contract and send you off.”
When everyone heard the first arrangement, there was no reaction. After all, those noble families sent them here, and they originally thought that they were the way out.
But when they heard the second article, everyone was obviously surprised.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and finally the woman in white who spoke at the beginning took another step forward.
Cao Mi thought that she wanted to confirm the contract with him, but she didn’t expect her to speak, but she was talking about teaching.
“Princess, I am a prostitute with a humble status. Does the princess really plan to let us do it, to do that master’s thing?”
She asked the question very carefully.
In this era of paying great attention to identity, the status of prostitutes like them is very low. But the female teacher is different. Although it is not as good as the male teacher, it is at least a respected profession.
This strong identity contrast is more shocking to the girl than her freedom.
Cao Mi thought for a while and replied, “What I am looking for is your talent and skills, and it has nothing to do with your previous status. Moreover, although it is teaching people, it is only teaching people who have become orphans. It’s a pity. , this may not make you as respected by outsiders as ordinary female masters.”
Hearing what she said, the light in the eyes of the originally excited women dimmed again.
“But what I can guarantee is…” Cao Mi continued, “In Rongguang Villa, within the power of the Bei’an Palace, you are not some lowly prostitutes, actors, playthings.
“You are the transmitters of the fire, the enlighteners of thousands of people, and the teachers who will always be respected and loved.”
The author has something to say: Recommend good friends Kezai Fei’s book “Marrying a Dude” by Zhi Youjiu
The **** Shen Mingzhen, whose father does not love his brother and does not love, is full of grief, anger and unwillingness after marrying a daughter-in-law who opposes him everywhere.
“I’m a dandy, how could I obediently study! I’m dreaming!”
“I don’t have any shame, but let me read such a story as a romantic and talented widow!”
“Evil mother-in-law, one day I will beat you all over the place!”
…
However, the wicked woman will cook porridge for him, wait for him to return home at dusk, and hug him when he dreams of ghosts at night!
Hey, no one has ever been so nice to him!
Hu Peng Gou Friends: What kind of soup did your daughter-in-law give you to make you go from a fool who knows nothing to a master of the academy?
Shen Mingzhen: Don’t ask, just ask is addicted to reading and can’t extricate yourself!
The little dandy who can be moved by a bowl of porridge VS is very Buddha, very homely and complaining about the heroine
Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 1 idle girl;
Thanks to the little angel who threw the mines: 5 pieces of wheat in a handful; 3 pieces of Rainbow Fart first-level expert; 2 pieces of cloud sugar; 1 piece of moon twilight;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 10 bottles of Zhu Xuan; 4 bottles of Su Ran; 2 bottles of Xunwang; 1 bottle of Xiao Xiaopu Daxia;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!