bookcurios Chapter 425 Western Regions Beauty
Chapter 425 Western Regions Beauty
"General, everything has been arranged."
Xiang Hongxuan nodded.
When will the lady enter the palace?
"We should be at the palace gate in another hour."
Xiang Hongxuan waved his hand and looked at the palace gate not far away.
He recalled the message his subordinates had given him a few days earlier.
She couldn't help but smile.
How could he have almost forgotten that his general's wife was a woman who, when she spoke, would amaze everyone?
Back in Wuhe Village, he had only heard that Shen Jinyao had broken a stick while disciplining some of the younger children.
At the time, he took it as a joke.
Thinking about how she had asked Granny Zhao to grow vegetables and raise chickens in the yard, and now that the three little ones had messed it all up, she couldn't help but lower her head and chuckle.
We'll be meeting soon...
The crown prince glanced at Xiang Hongxuan several times.
He knew without even thinking that Xiang Hongxuan was only thinking about one woman at that moment.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be laughing like that.
The surrounding guards were both puzzled and dared not look.
He coughed lightly.
When Xiang Hongxuan raised his head again, he had already returned to his usual expressionless state as General Xiang.
The prince leaned closer and whispered, "See? The king of the Western Regions has gone to see the king of the Northern Xiongnu again."
From the welcoming banquet that day onwards, the King of the Western Regions showed great enthusiasm for the King of the Northern Xiongnu.
They seemed to hit it off immediately.
Guests from both countries stayed in the North Palace at the same time. According to the guards, the two kings would sit together and talk or chat every day.
The king of the Western Regions only brought one prince with him this time, but he had quite a few people accompanying him.
I heard there are also female businesswomen.
The king was not a talkative person, but the prince of the Western Regions was very talkative.
In just a few days, everyone knew about the Prince of the Western Regions.
Besides the king, a prince and a princess also stayed at the palace during this visit by the Northern Xiongnu.
The Northern Xiongnu prince was not as eloquent as the prince from the Western Regions, and always had an arrogant attitude.
In addition, he was both burly and tall, and never looked at anyone directly.
That princess was quite arrogant at all times except when she was with Xiang Hongxuan.
There were even rumors that the princess wanted to marry Xiang Hongxuan.
However, this was just gossip among the palace maids and eunuchs, and there was no concrete evidence.
In contrast, the kings and princes of the Qiang people, as well as the kings and princes of the Nanman Kingdom, were almost invisible.
They can be anything.
One doesn't care about anything.
The Qiang people are capable of anything.
No matter what the emperor of the Nine Provinces said, the Qiang people always seemed to support him.
They don't care about anything; that's what the Southern Barbarian Kingdom is all about.
The king and prince of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom did not care who was speaking or what they said.
They slept until dawn every day, and had the imperial kitchen prepare exquisite delicacies from the Nine Provinces.
This is unlike the Northern Xiongnu and the Western Regions, who always tried to get the imperial kitchen to cook their country's cuisine, claiming it was because they were not used to the local food.
The king of Kyushu was naturally very familiar with the situation of these four countries in the palace.
However, he did not pursue the matter further; he was only concerned with how the various countries would present their gifts at the birthday banquet.
How will their Kyushu Kingdom swagger and show off its power?
However, he was unaware that, in the eyes of some countries, Kyushu was already showing signs of decline.
They agreed to come this time to find out the truth.
Today is the Emperor's birthday; all officials pay homage, and four nations come to offer their congratulations.
The scene was very lively, and the reception department and the Ministry of Rites had made many arrangements.
First, the officials and the four kingdoms took turns presenting gifts to the emperor.
Of course, those of lower rank were not allowed to enter the main hall.
Then, a martial arts competition between the four nations was arranged, as well as a talent competition for women.
Like some other countries, the emperor of Kyushu was also taking this opportunity to assess their strength.
While the four kingdoms took turns offering congratulatory gifts, the other ministers and their families waited outside the palace.
Xiang Hongxuan glanced at Shen Jinyao beside him.
Although she didn't look to the side, her eyes kept glancing intentionally or unintentionally towards the area diagonally behind them.
Xiang Hongxuan knew without looking that the Shen family members were standing there.
Shen Jinyao was definitely looking at the three younger ones.
When Shen Jinyao came to her senses, she met Xiang Hongxuan's gaze.
Xiang Hongxuan gave him a reassuring look.
Shen Jinyao paused for a moment, then understood.
I never expected Xiang Hongxuan to be so thoughtful.
The emperor's loud laughter echoed from the main hall; it was likely that some country had presented a gift to please him.
Laughter filled the hall as eunuchs and maids kept bringing in gifts.
The ministers of Kyushu all glanced at the gifts with a knowing look on their faces.
The gifts were all covered with gold-threaded red cloth, but some of them were too big, and a slight breeze could reveal some of them from underneath.
Some are pearls and agates, some are rare treasures, and some are even...
Everyone looked in shock toward the source of the commotion.
It turned out to be a beautiful woman.
Judging from her attire, she's definitely a beauty from the Western Regions.
The beauty sat in a sedan chair, carried by four men from the Western Regions, who gently stroked her body as they walked, and thus entered the main hall.
Every man and woman present blushed.
Some ministers were so angry that they jumped up and down, saying that the Western Regions Kingdom had no good intentions.
The sound of string and wind instruments filled the hall. Shen Jinyao couldn't see it, but judging from the sound, it must be the beautiful woman dancing.
Then, loud laughter came from inside the hall.
This time, it wasn't just the emperor who was laughing; the laughter of the other kings even drowned out the emperor's.
Shen Jinyao guessed that they were talking about something inside, and guessed that they were going to offer a beauty to the emperor.
The dog emperor will surely accept it, won't he?
Shen Jinyao guessed this.
Xiang Hongxuan kept glancing at the people around him, seemingly unintentionally. Although she always appeared calm, her facial expressions were quite varied when she was thinking.
Xiang Hongxian stared blankly, and couldn't help but think of the hug the two had shared earlier.
Suddenly, he saw Shen Jinyao looking at him.
Her eyes held a mixture of doubt, wariness, slight annoyance, and resentment towards him.
Complaining?
What do you mean?
"General Xiang, why aren't you going to offer your thanks?"
The voice of Grandpa Gao came from beside me.
Xiang Hongxuan knew almost instantly what kind of gift this was in gratitude.
So the emperor was waiting here.
No wonder no one has ever sent anyone to his residence.
Xiang Hongxuan looked at Shen Jinyao again and saw that she had returned to her usual expression.
Xiang Hongxuan stopped thinking about it and stepped into the main hall.
The Emperor's displeased voice came from inside the main hall.
Then came the voice of the Western Regions king, expressing his dissatisfaction and rebuke.
Finally, the sound of a woman softly weeping could be heard again.
Those present were all powerful and influential figures from the capital city.
You can probably guess what happened inside.
It seems that the king of the Western Regions wanted to send the beauty to the emperor, but the emperor refused and instead gave her to General Xiang.
Judging from his voice, General Xiang must have refused.
Everyone's eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, fell on Shen Jinyao.
The newlywed Yan'er had only been married for a month when the Emperor gifted her such a beauty to her husband. Who would be happy about that? Who would be able to sit still?
Even the Shen family looked at Shen Jinyao with worry.