frightfiction Chapter 416 Flower Conference (2)
Chapter 416 Flower Conference (2)
And then, Yu Qingli was also surprised. This Li Yingying was indeed worthy of the title of talented woman. The beautiful music was like the humming of birds in the woods, and also like the most gentle whisper of a mother, which made people intoxicated.
When the song ended, even Murong Yanhui, who had previously made up his mind to reject her outright, felt a little dazed. The woman's piano playing was so charming!
Li Yingying smiled softly and retreated politely. While Murong Yan was still in a trance, the Queen Mother threw a sign with Li Yingying's name engraved on it into the tray.
The emperor also came to his senses and exclaimed in admiration, "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! This song should only exist in heaven! Lord Li, you truly have a good way of educating your daughter!"
Minister Li stroked his beard proudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise! Yingying has been gifted since childhood, and she has made me worry less."
The emperor's gaze towards Li Yingying was filled with even more eagerness and depth, which made the faces of the concubines present suddenly turn ugly, especially Concubine Yu. However, she simply said calmly, "Miss Li is indeed a beautiful woman, but I don't know why such a woman was not selected by His Majesty during the selection of concubines. It's really strange."
Upon hearing this, Minister Li's face changed drastically, and he quickly explained, "Your Majesty, you may not know, but my daughter has been in poor health and has been living with her maternal grandparents. She was only brought back last month."
"Oh, that's it!" Concubine Yu deliberately prolonged her voice. Murong Shiling's heart moved and he cast his gaze on Concubine Yu. Yu'er was indeed a smart person. She could even guess what he was thinking. With such a concubine, what else was he dreaming of?
The others didn't know what Murong Shiling was thinking. They only saw that his gaze had shifted, but the passion in his eyes remained unchanged. They were immediately jealous, especially Queen Li, who glared at him one after another. This Concubine Yu was indeed seducing the emperor.
After Li Yingying's performance, it was the turn of General Lin's daughter to go on stage. The woman was wearing a red dress, which made her look heroic. The two wooden swords that the maid brought to her matched her look very well. She clasped her fists towards everyone and started to play with the two swords. What surprised Yu Qingli was that this Lin Zhi was not just a show-off. Her every move was very sharp, and even carried a hint of murderous intent. She was truly as brave as a man!
Lin Zhi made a gesture, let out a long breath, and looked at Murong Yanhui with a pair of heroic eyes. Yu Qingli was shocked. This woman actually loved Murong Yanhui.
In fact, there are many people who love Murong Yanhui, but Lin Zhi seems to be very different. The look she gives Murong Yanhui is very silent, but the love in her eyes is not concealed at all, as if she has liked him for many years. And Murong Yanhui's look at her is also very strange, as if he is confused, as if he is familiar, and then with a little surprise!
Even at the end, when the Queen Mother left a sign for Murong Yanhui, Murong Yanhui didn't even say a word of refusal.
They know each other!
This realization made Yu Qingli feel vaguely uneasy. She looked at Murong Yanhui, but found that he didn't even look at her. She suddenly panicked and quickly lowered her eyes to hide her inner panic.
What is the origin of this Linzhi?
The last one was naturally Yu Zhenzhen. She had someone bring in a few screens and it looked like she was going to dance. What Yu Qingli found funny was that the dance she was performing was the "Mountain Ghost" that she had created by chance before.
Although Yu Zhenzhen danced very seriously and amazed the others present, Murong Yanhui found it boring. He had already seen more amazing versions of the same dance and naturally had no interest in this fake.
So, when the Queen Mother was about to put Yu Zhenzhen's brand on the tray, Murong Yanhui refused her, "Mother, I have already kept two, so I don't need the third one. Besides, I don't like this woman either."
Murong Yanhui's voice wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly. Yu Zhenzhen's face turned red and white, and her lips had already been bitten until they bled. She was unwilling to accept this! She had heard that Prince Yan admired the dance and music of the Beauty House very much, so she had condescended to learn this dance. In the end, she still didn't get selected, and she really didn't understand why.
The emperor was obviously very disappointed. He had hoped that Yu Zhenzhen might have some ability, but she did not catch Murong Yanhui's eye. Instead, he took the two beauties with outstanding grace. However, to be honest, Yu Zhenzhen was indeed a little inferior to those two women.
"How about this, Miss Yu Er is extremely talented. I'd like to act as a matchmaker and include her in the list. My seventh brother has always been kind to women, so I don't think he would mind having another beauty like this, right?"
Murong Yanhui looked the emperor straight in the eye, his eyes blazing with anger, even causing the emperor to waver. Fortunately, that threatening look only lasted a moment, and he quickly lowered his brows. "Since it is Your Majesty's will, then you may stay. However, I will not choose my principal wife from among them. I already have a candidate in mind! As for the status to be given to them, I will obey the Queen Mother's arrangements."
Murong Yanhui gave enough face to the empress dowager and the emperor. Compared with these three women, Yu Zhenzhen's father had the highest status, but Murong Yanhui did not choose her. As for the other two, except for Lin Zhi who seemed to be familiar with Murong Yanhui, Li Yingying was also forced to marry Murong Yanhui by the empress dowager. Therefore, after discussing with the empress dowager, the emperor decided to canonize all three of them as concubines of Prince Yan. After the news was announced, Yu Zhenzhen and Lin Zhi had no objection, only Li Yingying seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Murong Yanhui noticed her dissatisfaction and asked, "Miss Li, do you have anything to say?"
Li Yingying lowered her eyebrows, but said firmly: "I do not want to become the prince's concubine. I hope Your Majesty can revoke your order."
Murong Yan raised an eyebrow. Interesting! This woman was indeed brave enough. The emperor was obviously unhappy. Minister Li's face turned black. He wiped the sweat from his head again and again, looking very funny.
"If you didn't want to, why did you run for the election in the first place? Don't you know the purpose of this Hundred Flowers Conference? Or do you think my brother can be teased at will?"
Before Li Yingying could answer, Minister Li fell to his knees with a thud. "Your Majesty, please calm down! I have absolutely no such intention! Yingying, kneel down now!"
Li Yingying didn't even glance at Minister Li, but replied in a dignified manner, "Although I am the eldest daughter in my family, due to my mother's low status, I have always been raised in my maternal grandparents' home. If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't be attending this conference. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will let me go back to serve my mother."
The emperor's anger subsided a little after hearing this. It seemed that this woman really had a secret. Moreover, such a brave and filial woman was really rare, and it was also very distressing.
Even Yu Qingli, who was standing by, was deeply moved. This woman was truly admirable. She glanced at Murong Yanhui, and sure enough, Murong Yanhui's eyes were filled with admiration. He turned to the emperor and said, "Royal brother, since that's the case, why not fulfill her filial piety? And by the way, ask the other two too. If they don't want to, then what we just said can be disregarded. I don't want to be known as someone who forced a girl from a decent family to do something."
The emperor also thought it made sense. If he insisted on forcing the woman in front of so many people, wouldn't he be known as a tyrant? Besides, the Prince of Yan didn't have to have her.
Ultimately, it was all that Minister Li. The emperor's gaze fell coldly on Minister Li. "Lord Li, you have such a wonderful daughter but you don't know how to love her well. You are truly unworthy of being a father! From today on, I will adopt Li Yingying as my adopted daughter and bestow upon her the title of Princess Xiaoxian. You must treat them well. Do you understand?"
"Your humble servant obeys! You obey!"
Minister Li kowtowed repeatedly, his body covered in cold sweat. His colleagues beside him complimented him repeatedly, "Congratulations, Minister Li. Although your daughter didn't marry the prince, you have become a relative of His Majesty."
"Yes, yes, yes, congratulations, congratulations!"
Minister Li almost fled in panic. He was too embarrassed to stay any longer.
After this little episode, the emperor quickly granted marriage to Yu Zhenzhen and Lin Zhi. Since Murong Yanhui insisted on not choosing a principal wife, the situation of these two concubines seemed worrying.
However, in the emperor's view, since Murong Yanhui did not object, he agreed. However, he did not know that in Yu Qingli's heart, Murong Yanhui's reaction was like extinguishing her heart that had just been burning, and it was cold to the bone.
"Your Highness, I have a headache. I will go back and rest for now."
Yu Qingli stood up and said goodbye, not wanting to look at Murong Yanhui again. She admitted that she was greedy, knowing very well that this man would never refuse under such circumstances. After all, neither of them had the right to be willful. Murong Shiling still had the final say in this palace. Moreover, if Murong Yanhui knew what she had done, she really doubted whether he would turn against her!
Murong Feng turned his head and glanced at Yu Qingli's slightly pale face, and warned, "Be careful."
"understood."
Yu Qingli turned and left. Murong Yanhui glanced at her and saw her leaving with a gloomy face. His heart ached inexplicably. His Lili was sad.
The Hundred Flowers Conference ended in this strange atmosphere. Afterwards, all the ministers left one after another. However, the woman named Linzhi stayed unexpectedly and stopped Murong Yanhui who was about to leave.
Murong Yanhui stopped hesitantly. Lili looked very disappointed. Although he was very happy about this, he didn't want Lili to misunderstand him. However, he couldn't directly reject the person in front of him. They hadn't seen each other for so many years, and what's more, he owed her a life.
Murong Yanhui sighed inwardly. It seemed that he had no choice but to stay for the time being. After things were resolved here, he would go find Lili to explain everything clearly.