freenovelworld Chapter 367: Gift from Qingyuan Marquis Mansion
Chapter 367: Gift from Qingyuan Marquis Mansion
Soon, it was the turn of the court officials to receive the gifts. Although anyone who was prominent in the court would not miss this opportunity, only a few of them could actually present the gifts in public.
Therefore, all gifts that could be presented to the Queen Mother signified royal grace and represented honor, and were therefore highly anticipated.
Soon, a eunuch began to sing: "Taifu Wang Chengru sent Chen Zhiguan a painting to celebrate his birthday!"
The Queen Mother looked at it symbolically and nodded: "I feel guilty for asking the Prince's Grand Tutor to teach my grandchildren. I didn't expect that my birthday banquet would also require the Grand Tutor to worry about it."
"Your Highness, I am sorry to trouble you. The late Emperor has shown me great kindness. I will serve the Great Qian Dynasty and Your Majesty with all my heart and soul."
The two exchanged pleasantries, and then the eunuch continued, "Prime Minister Wu Wenxuan sent a pair of pine and crane and a pair of Fu Ding!"
As the eunuch finished speaking, the guards brought up a pair of exquisite pine and crane-shaped double hats. The pine and cranes were golden in color and lifelike in shape, with a string of purple-red rubies in their mouths, as if they were trying to please the empress dowager.
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "This design is quite ingenious and interesting."
Wu Chengxiang said modestly: "If the queen does not mind, it would be most appropriate to place it in the woods in the courtyard, or in the pond."
"The Prime Minister is thoughtful."
Gifts were presented to the Empress Dowager one after another. Since they were all court officials, it was extremely difficult to strike the right tone when giving gifts. If they were too simple, the Empress Dowager was afraid that she would not like them; if they were too luxurious, they would be too eye-catching and would cause criticism.
Therefore, the group could only try their best to please others and use their brains.
After watching each scene, it’s not boring at all.
Later on, the atmosphere became gradually more lively and less restrained than when the crown prince and important ministers first presented gifts.
Not long after, Shen Shuyi heard the eunuch singing the name of Qingyuan Marquis Mansion.
According to the order of the ceremony, the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion is located a little further back, low-key enough but not eye-catching.
"The Qingyuan Marquisate sent me a bracelet of ivory Buddhist beads!"
After that, someone presented the box to the Queen Mother. Because the thing was too small, most people around could not see it clearly, so it did not cause any commotion.
The Queen Mother just glanced at it out of courtesy. The beads on the bracelet were small and exquisite, and the color was as bright and clear as white jade.
Buddhist scriptures were engraved on each bead using hollow carving. Since there was a red gold pagoda given by Princess Guining that was engraved with jade chopstick seal script before, these beads did not seem surprising in comparison.
However, since the minister had put so much thought into it, the Queen Mother couldn't let him down, so she nodded and said, "The old Marquis is thoughtful."
As these words fell, Wen Renzong beside Xiao Tingshan slowly said: "It seems that you guessed wrong. The gifts sent by the Qingyuan Marquisate did not please the Queen Mother. But you are right, the Qingyuan Marquisate did make a lot of moves."
On the other side, Mr. Qin, his son, and son-in-law Lou Zhengtao were not far from the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion.
Because Shen Jingchuan often compared them to the people from Qingyuan Marquis' Mansion, Lou Zhengtao naturally disliked them. In addition, Qingyuan Marquis' Mansion had been out of power for many years, so Lou Zhengtao didn't take them seriously at all. He couldn't help but sneer, "Qingyuan Marquis' Mansion has always been rich and powerful. I thought they would give away something new, but they only gave me a string of broken beads."
His voice was quite loud and many people around looked over when they heard it.
Mr. Zhao's face darkened slightly and he glanced coldly in his direction.
It was obvious that everyone in the Marquis' Mansion had suffered too much cold stares and ridicule over the years, so even though they were annoyed, they were able to keep calm.
However, they thought this time would be different...
You know, Zhao Dehai put a lot of thought into this inconspicuous string of beads.
But, it still doesn’t work?
Mr. Zhao put his hands behind his back and pursed his lips, obviously not wanting to pay any attention to Lou Zhengtao, the simple-minded, strong-limbed idiot.
Old Master Qin frowned and whispered, "Shut up, the eldest son of the Marquis's Mansion saved your majesty's life this time, don't be so presumptuous!"
Although Mr. Qin did not hold a prominent official position, he understood one thing.
Even the emperor cared about his reputation. Zhao Dechuan was lucky enough to save the life of the current emperor. In a broader sense, he was doing a favor to the entire Daqian Dynasty and the royal family. In a narrower sense, he was doing a favor to Emperor Qianwu.
No matter what, I must repay the life-saving grace.
Ordinary people are like this, let alone the emperor of the time.
Therefore, Mr. Qin believed that no matter what Emperor Qianwu thought of the Zhao family, Zhao Dechuan would definitely be entrusted with an important task this time.
If Your Majesty is grateful to the Zhao family, then the Qingyuan Marquisate will surely be restored.
If Your Majesty still dislikes the Zhao family, then he will wait until the storm has passed and then find a reason to demote Zhao Dechuan or remove him from his post.
He has to compete with the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion for this limelight. Lou Zhengtao must have been kicked in the head by a donkey!
Unfortunately, Lou Zhengtao is a rough man and can't figure out the twists and turns here.
He said bluntly, "So what? Zhao Dechuan just got lucky. If I were in this situation, I would also risk my life to protect Your Majesty! He hurt himself so badly because of his incompetence! You know, even if Your Majesty wants to promote him, he has to be capable!"
Lou Zhengtao was really dissatisfied. He always felt that he was not appreciated for his talent.
Although he was illiterate, he considered himself an expert in martial arts, and could easily lead troops in battles. Unfortunately, he still had not been able to make a career for himself, and his situation was getting worse and worse.
Although Mr. Qin agreed that the Zhao family was indeed lucky, he still whispered, "Shut up! Don't you think it's not embarrassing enough?"
Lou Zhengtao became more and more unwilling: "What are you afraid of, Your Majesty..."
After all, he was not that stupid. Halfway through his words, Lou Zhengtao finally reacted and swallowed the rest of his words.
"The Empress Dowager has seen all kinds of good things, but the Qingyuan Marquis's Mansion is trying to fool you with this string of shabby beads. It seems that the Empress Dowager is not satisfied." Lou Zhengtao changed the subject.
The people around him had different thoughts, but not many were as stupid as Lou Zhengtao.
"Enough! If you say anything else, get back here!" Old Master Qin said angrily.
Lou Zhengtao's face flushed, and he continued, "Father-in-law really helps others to become more ambitious while destroying his own prestige."
As soon as the words fell, the group heard the Queen Mother say, "Present it forward."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Queen Mother took out the ivory Buddhist beads from the box and put them directly on her wrist.
Obviously, whether you like it or not, this expresses the royal family's importance to the Qingyuan Marquis' Mansion.
Zhao Dechuan saved Emperor Qianwu and her son. No matter what, the Empress Dowager would remember the kindness of the Qingyuan Marquisate and would definitely give them some face.