Outside Bianjing City, hundreds of imperial guards guarded a gorgeous carriage approaching from a distance.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple had already greeted her outside the city, waiting for Princess Yan to arrive.
"Zheng Jiuzhong, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, pays homage to Princess Yan and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
A middle-aged man in official uniform accompanied the officials behind him to salute.
Xiao Qi opened the car curtain with her hands, held Murong Chengze's hand and walked out slowly.
"Master Zheng, there is no need to be polite. I wonder if the officials have any arrangements?" ?.?????.???
Zheng Jiuzhong said: "The official family has held a banquet in the Changchun Palace, and we also invite the princess and the crown prince to enter the palace with us!"
"Lead the way!"
Compared to the young and ignorant girl back then, Xiao Qi now possesses a certain level of commanding authority, with a great aura and grace in every move she makes.
Coupled with her gorgeous clothes and innate nobility, she has a bit more momentum than the main palace Wang Yuyan.
It was not that Zheng Jiuzhong had never seen the eldest princess before, but when he saw her temperament changed drastically, he couldn't help but secretly palpitate, and hurriedly asked the imperial troops to clear the way ahead.
After learning that Princess Yan had returned to Beijing, the entire capital became lively with the help of interested people, and the streets were filled with people.
The carriage drove through the broad street. Although neither Princess Yan nor Crown Prince Yan showed up, the enthusiasm of the people did not diminish at all.
Although Huizong has hosted a banquet in the Changchun Palace, it stands to reason that Princess Yan and the Crown Prince also need to go to the Daqing Palace to pay homage to the officials.
Huizong received the two people in the Daqing Palace. The civil and military officials also looked at the young prince beside Princess Yan curiously. They all looked up to him when they saw that it was his first time to meet officials and officials in the palace. He was so calm and unhurried. He glanced at the other person and thought that he was indeed the eldest son of King Yan. It was true that a tiger father had no dog son!
The officials also had a clear view of Murong Chengze's performance after entering the palace. Instead of admiring him at all, they felt a little disgusted for no reason.
But on the surface, he pretended to be very kind, praised Murong Chengze profusely, and rewarded him with many treasures.
Although Murong Chengze is young, he has learned etiquette from his mother and Li Qinglu since he was a child. After he was adopted by Xiao Qi, they taught him more carefully and treated him as his own son. Therefore, he is much more mature than other children of the same age. Faced with He did not show the joy that a child should have when receiving a reward from an official. Instead, he bowed respectfully and thanked her, and only after asking Xiao Qi did he agree to accept it.
This youthful spirit undoubtedly made the officials look high on him again, and Huizong's inner disgust deepened even more.
Later, Huizong invited the two of them and hundreds of officials to the Changchun Palace for a banquet. At the banquet, Xiao Qi met his mother, the Empress Dowager Zhu. Mother and daughter couldn't help but burst into tears when they met, and they seemed to have endless words in their hearts.
Xiaoqi introduced Murong Chengze to Empress Dowager Zhu.
Although Murong Chengze was not Xiao Qi's direct heir, he had always regarded him as his own. Even in front of his mother, he could not hide his love for Murong Chengze.
After all, Empress Dowager Zhu was a member of the palace, so she could naturally see Murong Fu's thoughts at a glance. When she saw that her daughter valued other children so much, she couldn't help but want to remind her.
But before she could speak, Xiao Qi saw her mother's thoughts and said that she knew everything, but she didn't care. She only needed to know that Murong Fu truly loved her and that the child respected and filial piety to her.
Seeing her like this, Empress Dowager Zhu could only sigh quietly, feeling extremely complicated in her heart.
If it hadn't been for her physical problems back then, it is very likely that her daughter would never have interacted with Murong Fu in her life, and perhaps she would not have embarked on this road of no return.
But then I thought about it, if Murong Fu hadn't appeared back then, maybe she would have died long ago, and her son would have died early due to illness. Without the protection of the imperial brother, would her daughter have a better solution?
At least now she knows what she wants, and everything she gets is happy!
After thinking about this, Empress Dowager Zhu became less prejudiced against Murong Chengze. After slowly talking to each other, she actually fell in love with this polite and smart young man.
In the end, she was made happy by Murong Chengze, and she wanted to give him a gift, but she was a female after all. Apart from some jewelry, how could she have anything suitable for this young man?
After thinking about it, she took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and gave it to Murong Chengze: "Good boy, my mother-in-law has nothing to give you. I have worn this jade bracelet for decades, so I will give it to you! You are It doesn’t matter if you sell it to pay back the money, or keep it as a souvenir, my mother-in-law will like it!”
"Mother-in-law, how can my grandson accept such valuable items when he is visiting you for the first time? This is absolutely impossible."
Although Murong Chengze was quite close to this kind mother-in-law, he did not dare to accept gifts carelessly and looked at his mother beside him as if asking for help.
Xiao Qi wanted to give some advice, but when her mother glared at her, she could only smile and let Murong Chengze accept it first.
Just now she had told herself to be careful of people's hearts, but now she fell for it first... Thinking of this, Xiao Qi covered her mouth and chuckled, feeling very good.
"Don't worry, mother-in-law. The bracelet you gave to your grandson will be treasured forever and he will never dare to sell it."
Murong Chengze promised.
"Good boy, so good..."
The more Empress Dowager Zhu looked at Murong Chengze, the more she liked him. In addition, the child was handsome and his words were pleasing to the eye. As soon as she held his hand, she was unwilling to let go.
This may be due to the fact that Murong Chengze has been among many aunts since he was a child, and he has developed the ability to have both sides. But it is also due to the fact that Empress Dowager Zhu has lived in the palace for a long time and has not seen the child for a long time.
At her age, as long as her children are safe and happy, it would be the greatest happiness to have grandchildren.
After the banquet was over, Empress Dowager Zhu was still reluctant to leave. It was not until Xiao Qi said that she would take him into the palace to pay his respects tomorrow that the smile on Empress Dowager Zhu's face returned.
Xiao Qi and Murong Chengze, who left the palace, returned to Murong Fu's Prince Yan's Mansion in Bianjing.
As soon as the two returned home, the figure of the sweeping monk appeared behind them like a ghost.
"The princess is tired from traveling, the prince will leave it to me!"
Xiao Qi knew that the sweeping monk was Murong Chengze's master and taught him a lot of knowledge and martial arts every day. After thanking him, he went down to rest.
Murong Chengze also listened to his master's lectures as usual. Occasionally, when he delved into the depths, the master would teach him some incredible martial arts, which fascinated him.
Just when Murong Chengze and Xiao Qi entered Bianjing City, Shadow Tower also received the news immediately and began to make deployments.
At this time, there are shadow towers hiding in dark places everywhere outside Prince Yan's palace. At this moment, they are mainly responsible for protecting the safety of Princess Yan and the Crown Prince.
