freenovelworld Chapter 105 Reward
Chapter 105 Reward
Cui Rong retracted her gaze, turned to Cui Yunhe who was relieved, and comforted her softly: "Don't take her words to heart."
Cui Yunhe nodded gently, "Sister Shen suddenly cares so much about my marriage, which really surprised me."
Cui Rong's eyes were slightly cold. She was naturally wary of Shen Yumian's bad intentions.
At this moment, the eunuch's high-pitched voice cut through the noise in the hall, "The Emperor and the Empress have arrived!"
It was followed by the announcement, “The Queen Mother has arrived!”
Upon hearing the voice, everyone stood up and saluted respectfully.
After the Emperor, the Queen Mother and the Empress sat down, a majestic voice sounded, "All the ministers, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Everyone sat down again, and the emperor smiled and said, "Today's birthday banquet for the Queen Mother was organized by Han'er, and it was done very well."
Song Yanchen smiled, stood up, and answered respectfully: "As long as my father and grandmother are happy, I will have done my best to be filial."
The emperor nodded with satisfaction, "Okay! Let me and your grandmother see what else you have prepared for today."
"As ordered."
Song Yanchen stepped back, and then a group of dancers in colorful costumes walked into the hall and kicked off the birthday banquet with a carefully choreographed dance.
After the dance, Cui Min led the soldiers in a magnificent drill in front of the hall, which brought the atmosphere of the birthday banquet to a climax.
"I wish the Queen Mother great blessings and everlasting prosperity!"
The emperor nodded with satisfaction, turned to the empress dowager and asked, "Han'er has this intention, what do you think, Empress Dowager?"
"It shows that the emperor has taught his children well. I am very happy." The empress dowager smiled like a flower and her words were full of relief.
As Cui Min quickly led his men to evacuate, Cui Rong stepped forward confidently. However, the sight of her holding nothing in her hands made Shen Yumian's eyes flash with a hint of gloating.
However, just as everyone was puzzled, Cui Rong slowly pulled out a gorgeous lotus from her sleeve. Everyone in the hall widened their eyes in surprise. The scene was silent for a moment, and only the lotus in Cui Rong's hand bloomed with dazzling brilliance.
"Wasn't the Cui family's daughter scheduled to perform a stunning sword dance? How come suddenly, a pure and elegant lotus flower bloomed on the stage?"
In the crowd, a gorgeously dressed woman whispered in confusion. Although her voice was small, it caused ripples.
"Yeah, could it be that the program schedule was changed at the last minute?" a young man nearby echoed.
The discussions in the crowd gradually gathered into a river, with all kinds of speculations and conjectures intertwined.
Wen Yinyang stood at the edge of the crowd, frowning slightly, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
He knew very well that interrupting casually in such an occasion would most likely backfire and destroy the delicate atmosphere of the scene.
So he just clenched his fists silently and chose to be a quiet bystander, but his heart was in turmoil and he was full of curiosity about this sudden change.
Song Yanyi's gaze passed through the crowd and fell on the quietly blooming lotus. His eyes were deep.
During this period, he devoted all his attention to preparing for the Queen Mother's birthday gift, and inevitably neglected his attention to Cui Rong, the eldest daughter of the Cui family.
Now, this unexpected turn of events may be a rare opportunity for him - showing his attentiveness and thoughtfulness at a critical moment can touch people's hearts far more than icing on the cake.
Shen Yumian came back to her senses from her initial shock, and with a hint of malice in her eyes, she stared at Cui Rong on the stage.
Changing the program without permission was an act of great disrespect at a royal celebration. She wanted to see how the always arrogant daughter of the Cui family would clean up this mess.
A barely perceptible sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, and the feeling of being suppressed by Cui Rongrong for a long time seemed to have finally found an outlet for venting.
Amid the whispers of the crowd, Cui Rong remained calm and performed a standard courtesy to the emperor and the empress dowager in an elegant manner. She then slowly raised the lotus in her hand with a sharp look in her eyes.
She was wearing a moon-white long dress, the hem of which swayed gently in the wind, like a white lotus about to bloom.
As she danced, the hem of her skirt seemed to turn into petals, causing the originally noisy audience to involuntarily become quiet and stare with bated breath.
Cui Rong held a lotus in her hand and danced lightly. Each movement perfectly blended softness and strength, as if what she held in her hand was not a lotus, but a sword that could cut through worldly prejudices.
At the end of the dance, she gracefully knelt down, raised the lotus flower above her head with both hands, and said in a clear and firm voice: "May the Queen Mother live forever like the daylily, blessed with a long and blessed life. I changed the program without prior notice and replaced the sword with the lotus flower. I am willing to accept the punishment. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and the Queen Mother."
Faced with this sudden change, the Queen Mother did not blame him, but smiled with satisfaction: "Using a lotus as a sword is quite an original idea. Tell me what you think."
Cui Rongrong replied gently: "I am here with my father to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. My father is leading the brave soldiers to show the military might of our Song Dynasty and express his determination to defend the country. After such a thrilling performance, it would be inappropriate for me to follow him with a sword dance. So I thought that the lotus symbolizes longevity and happiness. If I use it as a sword to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday, it may make you two very happy. Therefore, I have made this bold decision, and I hope that the emperor and the Queen Mother can understand."
The Queen Mother smiled even brighter when she heard this: "I and the Emperor not only do not blame you, but we also appreciate your creativity and efforts. I appreciate the importance you and your father attach to my birthday. Reward!"
The emperor also nodded in agreement: "My mother is always pious and worships Buddha. I haven't seen her so happy for a long time. I will reward her generously! General Cui has taught his children well. It is rare to have such a smart daughter. Rongrong, you have worked hard in sword dancing. I will give you a cup of imperial wine. Go down and have a good rest."
Cui Rongrong thanked him respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Queen Mother, for your grace!"
She turned around slowly and walked lightly back to her seat, ignoring the envious or jealous looks from the people around her. She turned to Cui Yunhe beside her with a faint smile on her face: "I said, there's no need to worry."
Cui Yunhe was relieved when she heard this. Her face was filled with joy that was hard to conceal. She whispered, "I have always believed in my elder sister. Now the emperor and the queen mother not only did not blame me, but instead rewarded my elder sister and father generously. It's great! Fortunately, we were worried before and went to check the sword in advance, otherwise we really don't know how to deal with it."
Cui Rong smiled lightly, having her own thoughts in mind.
Even if Cui Yunhe had not mentioned the sword, she would have found other reasons to drag her father along.
She needed to make sure that someone could serve as a witness to prove that the accident had nothing to do with her and that she was innocent and not involved in any scandal.
Wen Yinyang, who was standing by, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.