Hibiscus Tent: The Prime Minister’s palm is reborn

Chapter 620: Exchanging Cups

Liang Qian followed the maid all the way to the front yard.

The sun had already set, and the busy day was drawing to a close, but for the people in the Pengcheng Palace, a grand banquet was about to begin.

Liang Qian paused briefly at the door before stepping over the threshold.

The main hall was brightly lit and packed with people. There was no sound of the usual pleasant strings and bamboo instruments, only a noisy buzzing sound, which was Gao Lan and his cronies chatting and laughing.

In fact, she was not late, but she seemed late because the hall was full of people.

As soon as Liang Qian entered the room, she saw Pengcheng King Gao Lan sitting in the main seat with a slight smile on his face.

Only by looking closely can you see the undisguised joy hidden in those handsome eyes and brows.

Liang Qian watched calmly, Gao Lan should be happy.

During the day, she wore a phoenix robe, held the seal in her hand, and in the name of the queen mother, she went up to the city wall with Gao Lan and read out the declaration of war in public.

From then on, Gao Lan was no longer bound by Jin Ye.

In addition, Zhou's general Gongxi Jin had avoided the Pingwu area a few days ago and turned to attack Fuzhou.

Without Zhou Bing, who was eyeing him covetously, how could Gao Lan not breathe a sigh of relief?

Liang Qian curved her lips and walked forward with a slight smile.

"I am late."

"Empress Dowager." Gao Lan stopped talking and did not come forward. He just stood up and lowered his head symbolically as a greeting.

When he stood up, the people sitting on both sides of the hall also stood up.

Liang Qian smiled as she was led to a seat by her maid. Only when she passed by a certain place would she glance at it lightly.

After they sat down, Liang Qian smiled and looked at Gao Lan first, then at the crowd. "Please don't be so polite, King Pengcheng. Please take a seat."

Seeing that everyone was present, Princess Pengcheng signaled her servants to start the banquet.

Suddenly, Gao Lan turned around, pointed at the first person on the lower left, and said to Liang Qian with a smile: "Queen Mother, this is the envoy sent by the Zhou Kingdom, General Xiao."

Liang Qian looked in the direction of his finger.

Xiao Qianyi was dressed in a red dress, with a heroic look between her brows. She had a straight posture and an intimidating aura, and was in no way inferior to the generals present.

Meeting Liang Qian's gaze, Xiao Qianyi's originally cold eyes slightly curved, and her face, which had been stern for most of the day, finally revealed a hint of a smile.

She stood up and bowed generously: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother."

Liang Qian narrowed her eyes, nodded gently, and said politely: "I have heard that there is a female general in Zhou State, who is heroic and extraordinary. Today, I see that she is indeed a heroine. Please take a seat!"

"Your Majesty, I am ashamed to accept your praise."

Except for a very brief eye contact, Liang Qian never looked at Xiao Qianyi's face again.

However, Princess Pengcheng exchanged a few words with her.

Liang Qian just sat there listening without responding.

It wasn't surprising that Yuwen Jue asked Xiao Qianyi to pick him up in the name of delivering a gift.

The fine wine and delicious food were served on the table. Gao Lan was the first to raise his glass. After a passionate speech, the rest of the people also raised their glasses.

After one drink, one of Gao Lan's confidants stood up and spoke.

Liang Qian observed secretly and found that except for those on duty tonight, most of the important generals were gathered here, and even the soldiers were drinking and eating meat in the camp.

After three rounds of drinks, everyone present was in high spirits.

Liang Qian would only respond with a few words when necessary. The rest of the time, she would sit quietly in a corner and hardly speak.

Liang Qian knew without even looking that although Gao Lan didn't say anything, he was very satisfied with his attitude of just being a decoration.

Of course, although Gao Lan had no time to look at her, Princess Pengcheng was not idle and was always paying attention to her every move.

Liang Qian pretended not to know.

According to Qingzhu, after she was 'driven away' that day, Princess Pengcheng took her to her own courtyard and asked her many questions about the Jinye Palace in a roundabout way.

Liang Qian knew very well that she was under house arrest during the days she was staying in the Pengcheng Palace.

Even when Liang Qian's legs were numb from sitting, they still showed no sign of leaving.

Liang Qian glanced at Princess Pengcheng who was chatting and laughing with Xiao Qianyi, lifted her sleeve to cover her lips, and yawned quietly.

She looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so she stood up and went behind the crowd. "Queen Mother?"

Liang Qian turned around and Princess Pengcheng opened her eyes and looked at her suspiciously: "Are you going to change clothes?"

Liang Qian glanced at Xiao Qianyi and nodded with a smile: "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Princess Pengcheng also stood up and said, "It's getting dark at night, I will go with the Queen Mother."

Xiao Qianyi wanted to stop her, but Liang Qian responded first.

"Your Majesty."

Liang Qian saw clearly that Princess Pengcheng, like Xiao Qianyi, had only drunk tea and no wine the whole night.

On an autumn night with a moon, the wind was as cold as water. As I walked, I unknowingly washed away the smell of alcohol on my clothes.

The cobblestone path is narrow.

Two maids walked in front holding glass lanterns, while Liang Qian and Princess Pengcheng followed behind.

Princess Pengcheng glanced back at the main hall behind her and could still vaguely hear the sound of laughter.

"What do you think of a good girl who spends all day wielding swords and guns and hanging out with a bunch of low-class, rough and uncouth men?"

She shook her head and sighed: "By the way, I also heard that General Xiao was married before, that something or other - anyway, she was married, but unfortunately, not long after the marriage, she died, and she became a widow at such a young age, which was really pitiful. Fortunately, she got pregnant, but who knew that she -"

"princess."

In the dark night, Liang Qian frowned and smiled faintly: "Where is my maid?"

Princess Pengcheng was stunned.

She was a little unhappy when she was suddenly interrupted, but she put a smile on her face again.

"Why did you suddenly think of her? The Queen Mother is still reluctant to part with that maid, right?"

Liang Qian smiled perfunctorily: "After all, she has been with me for quite a while. Now there is not much left around me. If she leaves again, I am afraid that no one will be able to talk to me in the future. Sigh..."

She sighed and said no more.

Princess Pengcheng spoke softly to comfort her.

As they were talking, they entered the inner courtyard.

They had not taken a few steps when they heard a "ouch" from behind. Looking back, they saw a dark shadow flash by and sway into the bamboo forest nearby, while the two maids behind them had collapsed to the ground.

Before a few people could react, something else fell to the ground.

When Liang Qian looked back again, the two maids holding lanterns also fell over.

Princess Pengcheng was startled and was about to shout for help, but she felt a pain in the back of her neck and lost consciousness.

Someone walked out of the bamboo forest, looked around, and when he saw no one, he walked forward with confidence.

"lady."

Liang Qian squatted down and pulled out the needle from Princess Pengcheng's neck.

She then took off the embroidered bag from her waist, took out a few pills from it, and gave them to the people who had fainted on the ground one by one.

She lowered her voice: "Where's Liang Jiao?"

Qingzhu helped tie up the person on the ground. "Don't worry, Madam. I have knocked him unconscious and locked him up."

After tying up several people and dragging them into the bamboo forest, Liang Qian looked around, turned around and went to the outer courtyard.

Seeing Liang Qian turning back, Qing Zhu caught up with her and said, "Madam, the city is about to be attacked. The master wants me to take you out of the city. My brother is waiting outside."

Liang Qian stopped and looked at her: "I have to stay."

Qingzhu said anxiously: "But swords have no eyes, what if I accidentally hurt you during the fight——"

Liang Qian glanced at her and said, "Xiao Qianyi is still in there. Besides, how can I feel at ease if I don't see them being arrested with my own eyes? You may not recognize all the people in there."

Tonight, no one can be let go!

I have had a cold for half a month. As the seasons change, everyone should take care of their health. Unfortunately, my computer broke down again. Sigh, it is such a troubled time. I will only post 2 words today.