wake up from dream

Ziqing saw this kind of scene for the first time, and to be honest, even in ancient times, this kind of scene still shocked Ziqing.The banquet was held in an open space, and a large stage was set up in the center of the entire open space. This was a very gorgeous stage, not inferior to the modern stage. The stage was raised about one meter above the ground. , A layer of red carpet was spread on the stage, and four thick pillars were erected in the four corners of the square stage. The pillars were covered with a layer of red blanket sprinkled with gold powder. Under the light of the bright lights, the dragon and the phoenix are shining... In front of the stage are Kangxi, the Empress Dowager, and the positions of the concubines. Naturally, Kangxi sits in the middle. In ancient times, the left was respected. So Kangxi's left hand side is the position of the Empress Dowager, and the right hand side is the position of the queen, noble concubine, and several concubines. There are only about a dozen of them. This kind of family dinner.On the other side of the stage are the seats arranged for the princes and ministers and their families. These seats are the most, there are about two hundred seats, and the stools on the table take up the rest of the space. At this moment, these princes and ministers are waiting for Kangxi And the arrival of Xiaozhuang...

With the sound of "The emperor is here, the empress dowager is here", the waiting princes and ministers, as well as their family members, all knelt down and shouted, "Long live my emperor, long live my emperor, long live my emperor!" The Empress Dowager is a thousand years old..." The shouting did not stop until Kangxi and Xiaozhuang arrived at their positions, but the crowd did not dare to stand up without Kangxi's permission.

"All loves, get up, today is just a family banquet, loves, you don't have to be too formal." After sitting in the seat, Kangxi spread his hands and said, quite like a king.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you, Empress Dowager." So the princes and ministers stood up, and naturally they dared not sit down rashly after standing up. It would be considered disrespectful to sit down without Kangxi's permission.

"All my loves, sit down." Kangxi spoke again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." So all the ministers sat down, and Ziqing and Geng Juzhong were also in this group of princes and ministers. It's hard to see the singing and dancing performance on the stage, but even so, they are still very willing to enter the palace to participate in this dinner, after all, it represents an honor.

Before the song and dance performance, Kangxi first expressed his hopes for the New Year, praying for the people of the Qing Dynasty to live and work in peace and contentment, and the weather would be smooth, and then the ministers offered congratulatory gifts, usually only high-level officials can directly present the congratulatory gifts, the most important of which is What is to be seen is the open and secret struggle between Mingxiang and Suoxiang. First, Nalan Mingzhu came forward to offer a thousand-year-old ginseng collected from Changbai Mountain. The beautiful jade I met, I spent a lot of effort to find a good jade carver to carve it into a jade dragon, and praised Kangxi a lot. Kangxi accepted the congratulatory gifts from the two ministers with a smile, and then bestowed them They are rewarded accordingly.Naturally, Kangxi wanted to balance the power of the two, so that their influence in the court was comparable, so as to achieve the effect of mutual restraint, so the two were tied, no matter whether they won or lost.

When Ziqing saw Nalan Mingzhu, she thought of Rong Ruo, so she raised her head and looked towards Kangxi, and she saw Rongruo standing behind Kangxi, looking better than before, which made Ziqing slightly relieved.When Zi Qing was about to look away, Rong Ruo seemed to perceive Zi Qing's gaze, and looked at Zi Qing.There was still a deep nostalgia in her eyes, which made Ziqing forget where she was for a while.Looking at each other affectionately, this is an involuntary expression. When their eyes collide with each other, they are already lost in each other's world, unable to extricate themselves. . . . . .When they heard "Long live the emperor, long live", the two woke up from each other's world, just this short look at each other was enough for them to carve each other's appearance and expression deeply into each other. In my head, in my heart...

Zi Qing, who came back to her senses, criticized herself deeply, blaming herself for being so ambiguous with Rong Ruo, she was already a married woman, although she and Geng Juzhong were not husband and wife, but now I acted as a pregnant woman, how could I still provoke another man?Even those who love each other...

Geng Juzhong, who was at the side, had already taken all this into his heart, no, their affection was like a knife, stabbing deeply into his heart, the stab was very deep and painful, but he still He is holding on, no matter how painful it is, he will not admit defeat.She is already his wife, and he still has a chance... Geng Juzhong held Ziqing's hand, and Ziqing wanted to pull it away, but seeing Geng Juzhong's smile, she knew that Geng Juzhong had seen everything , his smile was very bitter, because it was painful, so the smile didn't reach his eyes as usual, but stayed stiffly on his cheeks, and his cheeks probably appeared a kind of bluish white, without blood.But Ziqing didn't want to give any explanation, it was not Ziqing's original intention to let Geng Juzhong see this scene, but she also felt that there was no need to explain, because what Ziqing wanted was Geng Juzhong's giving up.

On the stage was a Peking Opera performance with a very Beijing flavor. At this time, the performance was "Mu Guiying in Command" ordered by Kangxi for the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager liked it very much and listened to it with great interest.Ziqing doesn't know much about Peking Opera, but she likes their singing, and thinks that they must be very happy after singing that line...

After several Beijing operas were sung, the stage began to perform songs and dances again. The women on stage were all young women, all of whom looked very fresh, with fluttering skirts, as if they came from a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The dancing posture is elegant, the singing voice is sweet, and the artistic conception of the lyrics is also very good. This is Ziqing's impression of watching this song and dance.Looking back at those ministers, beautiful women are always attractive, and I saw that group of ministers staring at each other with irresistible "admiration" in their eyes, and the so-called family members around them saw their men so coveted Yu Meishen seemed indifferent as if she had nothing to do with her, what should she do.Ziqing thought that if she was herself, she would definitely not be able to bear her husband's behavior, but how many women in the Qing Dynasty can control their own lives?Not to mention expressing opinions, it is a question whether you can say a word to the head of the family on weekdays!

"What's the matter? Why do you look a little depressed?" Geng Juzhong asked, and squeezed Ziqing's hand a little harder. It didn't hurt, but he just wanted to attract Ziqing's attention.

"It's nothing, it's just...the way those ministers saw the singing and dancing performance on the stage, it's almost the same as the judges in a brothel."

"It's because of this. They're watching them, why are you sulking?" Geng Juzhong could see that Ziqing was sulking!

"It's just that the women around them are not worth it." Zi Qing shook her head and said.

"Fortunately, you married me!" Geng Juzhong said with a smile.

Zi Qing cast a glance at Geng Juzhong, rolled her eyes which she hadn't seen for a long time, and said, "How dare you say you didn't watch it?"

"I've seen it, but I still think Ziqing is the prettiest." Geng Juzhong smiled playfully, and gently slid his thumb on the back of Ziqing's hand. Qing whispered in Qing's ear, he finally allowed himself to be self-willed for a while, for the sake of the woman in front of him, for Chengde to see that he and Zi Qing were in love, at least they were happy together.

"You..." Ziqing didn't realize Geng Juzhong's intentions, and wanted to pull out her hand, but she was not as strong as Geng Juzhong, and in such a public place, she didn't dare to make big moves, so she had to admit defeat... .

"Hehe..." Geng Juzhong laughed softly when he saw Ziqing's angry and outrageous appearance, as if he was laughing at himself, when would he do such a petty thing?Love really makes people dizzy.

"Are you still laughing?" Zi Qing was afraid of being overheard, and those who didn't know thought the two of them were flirting!

"Okay, don't laugh anymore, don't laugh anymore." Geng Juzhong still held Ziqing's hand tightly. If possible, he would never let go in his whole life...

From Xiaozhuang's position, all the movements of Ziqing and Geng Juzhong could be seen clearly. Xiaozhuang had been discussing with Su Moer in a low voice.

"It seems that the Ai family didn't refer to the wrong marriage at the beginning. Look at their young couple, they are really a pair of golden boys and girls!" Xiao Zhuang said to Su Mo'er with a smile, but his eyes never left Zi Qing and Geng Juzhong.

"The old slave thinks it's more like a pair of little enemies! The princess and the forehead bicker all day, and this relationship must be deepening day by day." Su Mo'er bowed her waist and said to Xiaozhuang.

"Hmm... makes sense. This girl! She must be a blessed one, if she can let go of everything from the past..." Xiaozhuang suddenly remembered that Ziqing was unwilling to marry Geng Juzhong at the beginning thing, exclaimed.

"I can see through the world, but I can't see clearly what path I should take! If I can live well and contentedly, I must be blessed."

"Well, let's cherish each other's blessings! Su Mo'er, we can only send her here, and let her go the rest of the way."

"Yes, what the master said is true."

Xiao Zhuang originally listened to Su Moer's evaluation of Ziqing, and only then did he change his impression of Ziqing. She has always been a beauty, and she can't let such a woman stay by Kangxi's side. Of course, Su Moer's words only It can be used as a reference, maybe Zi Qing deliberately acted in front of Su Mo'er.Therefore, I must meet this woman named Ziqing in person.In the palace, it is not once or twice that Xiaozhuang bestows death on maids of honor or harem concubines. Of course, this kind of bestowing of death is secret. Those who endanger the royal family, Xiaozhuang must get rid of them, no matter who they are?Whether it is the daughter of a powerful official or the descendant of the royal family, as long as it is harmful to the royal family, none of them can be left behind.Seeing Ziqing that day, Xiaozhuang had already prepared poisonous wine and Bai Ling, but who knew that the conversation with Ziqing later changed his original intention, whether it was Ziqing who learned from Su Mo'er, or The Ziqing he met that day made Xiao Zhuang feel that she was a rare woman. Xiao Zhuang wondered if he had given Zi Qing to death at that time, would he regret it in the future?So after careful consideration, he still chose to give Ziqing a way out.