Chapter 162: Not an Easy Target
"Become a concubine?" Ye Qingcheng smiled lightly, even though her face was covered by a veil, she could not hide the charm flowing from her eyebrows and eyes. "Didn't the Queen listen to what the emperor said just now? My father offered this princess to the emperor of your country, but the Queen asked me to choose one from the princes. Are you worried that this princess will enter the palace and compete for your favor?"
After the voice fell, the air in the hall suddenly dropped in temperature.
The Queen's face turned pale.
The ministers turned their heads in disbelief and looked at this beautiful but bold princess of Shu. She came to the Great Zhou for marriage, but openly challenged their Queen in front of the ministers of the Great Zhou?
She was so bold.
"Ninth sister." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Shu Kingdom obviously did not expect his sister to be so bold. He frowned and coldly scolded, "Don't be rude."
Ye Qingcheng's eyes curled up slightly, and she lowered her eyes lazily and picked up the wine cup. Her tender and white left hand slightly lifted the veil, and the fragrant and sweet palace jade liquid went down her throat. I don't know if it was the smell of wine or the evil spirit. When the woman raised her eyes again, her eyes, which were more beautiful than peach blossoms, seemed to be drunk and hazy, and her voice also had a bit more bewitching charm: "Qingcheng's words are too presumptuous, please be generous, Her Majesty, and don't take it to heart with me."
Nan Xi was slightly surprised, thinking that this princess was really a strange woman, but the queen seemed to have met an opponent at the moment, which was really rare.
The queen's mood did not improve because of her words. Looking at this charming woman, she felt a strong fear and vigilance in her heart.
Such a beauty must not be allowed into the harem, otherwise it will surely make the harem chaotic.
"Your Majesty." The Queen turned her head and looked at His Majesty the Emperor, "Aren't Prince Ning and Prince Yun married yet? Why not marry the princess to one of the two princes, which can also be regarded as a perfect marriage."
Rong Chuyun looked at Ye Qingcheng's stunning face, which could not be concealed even through the veil, and smiled faintly: "I wonder what the princess thinks?"
Ye Yan, the prince of Shu, said: "My father's original words were to offer Princess Qingcheng of Shu to His Majesty as a concubine. But since she has come to the Great Zhou, Qingcheng will be a person of the Great Zhou from now on, and the marriage will naturally be decided by His Majesty the Emperor."
Ye Qingcheng lowered his eyebrows and sipped a sip of fine wine, without commenting on this.
Everyone knew in their hearts that although the prince of Shu said that Princess Qingcheng would be a person of the Great Zhou from now on, and the marriage would be decided by His Majesty the Emperor, this sentence was obviously secondary.
The most important thing is the previous sentence.
The original words of the Shu Emperor were: I offer Princess Qingcheng to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou as a concubine.
The Queen's mood suddenly sank. Although she had to maintain the demeanor and grace of the mother of the Great Zhou in front of the guests and the important officials of the Great Zhou, she really couldn't accept such a charming woman entering the harem.
Beauty is a disaster.
Didn't you see that the Emperor's eyes were shining when he saw Princess Qingcheng?
She dared to guarantee that once Princess Qingcheng really entered the harem, with her charming and seductive skills, she would definitely be able to make the Emperor fall in love with her. By then, the Queen and the four concubines would probably be trampled under her feet.
"What do you think, Queen?" The Emperor turned his head and said in a light tone, "What kind of status should be given to Princess Qingcheng?"
Is this a promise?
The queen's eyes dimmed, and a dignified smile rose at the corner of her lips: "The harem is full of one queen and four concubines. I feel that I can't let the princess be wronged. Although the regent uncle has just married, there is only one princess in the palace for the time being, and the relationship in the backyard is simple. I believe that your highness and the princess should be able to live in peace. I wonder if the little aunt can tolerate another person in the uncle's backyard?"
The mother of a country arranged a marriage in public?
The people in the palace had different expressions. They subconsciously turned their heads to look at the regent princess, and then felt that such a move was a bit rude. They quickly looked away and lowered their eyes to drink.
The women in the deep palace are really not easy to deal with.
In front of everyone, the queen's words were soft and needle-hidden. On the surface, she was thinking about the princess of Shu and didn't want to wrong her, but in fact, she pointed the princess to the regent in public, and even directly hinted that the regent princess should be magnanimous and accept her husband's three wives and four concubines.
And the king is the king, and the minister is the minister.
Although the regent is powerful and the emperor's elder, there must be a boundary between the monarch and his subjects. The queen wants to remind Nan Xi of this fact in public, and warn her not to take advantage of the power of the regent to disrespect the monarch and the queen.
The blatant warning, but there is no strong command or threat in the words, but a gentle tone, which makes people laugh and swallow this loss, and not to quarrel with her.
But it is true.
Who would be stupid enough to quarrel with the mother of a country in front of all the ministers in the court?
But the regent looked a little cold, and he might not give the queen this face...
"What the queen said makes sense." Before Rong Yu could get angry, Nan Xi spoke casually, with a smile on her lips, calm and magnanimous, "The princess of Shu has come from afar, so she must be the principal wife, not a concubine. My prince has married me, and there is only one principal wife. No matter how generous I am, I can't let the prince take the princess as a concubine, right? So it's a bit inappropriate to call her a sister."
The queen's face froze slightly, and then she smiled faintly: "I mean she can be a co-wife."
"The Queen is joking." Nan Xi's tone was neither fast nor slow, and there was no hint of fireworks, but there was an inexplicable pressure, "In the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, there is no 'equal wife' in the stipulations about the status of husband and wife. It is said that this kind of title does not exist. The Prime Minister set a precedent a few days ago, but his behavior has become the laughing stock of the whole city. The princess's marriage is a major event between the two countries, and the Queen Mother should not want to be the regent. The king and princess also became the laughing stock of the world because of such ridiculous things."
Rong Yu's lips curled up slightly, and he picked up the wine cup in front of him in a good mood and took a sip. His behavior was dignified and elegant, as pleasing to the eye as flowing clouds and flowing water.
Others, however, were not in such a wonderful mood.
In addition to the empress, Prime Minister Nan, who was sitting under the regent, became distraught at the scene. When he heard Nan Xi’s words, Nan Xingzhi, who was originally unhappy, coldly rebuked him: “What nonsense are you talking about? As a father, I want to What are you doing, it’s your daughter’s turn to comment?”
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.
"The princess must have said something right." Rong Yu turned his head, his cold and picturesque brows filled with a chill due to his words, "In the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, there is indeed no such thing as 'equal wives' when it comes to the status of husband and wife. Does Nan Xiang think Xi’er is right?”
Nan Xingzhi frowned and had to lower his head to explain: "What I mean is that she should not expose her father's shortcomings in front of the prince and princess."