Harem Daily Life

Chapter 490: Provocation by the Yan State Envoy

The Yongwang Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the servants in the mansion were busy shuttling between the courtyards.

In the hall, the Queen Mother and Concubine Hui sat at the top of the table, smiling, with kindness and satisfaction in their eyes, quietly waiting for the newlyweds to come and pay their respects. On the side, He Linzhang and Tao Yanyan sat down, with three children beside them, looking very imposing and attracting the attention of many guests.

As long as Tao Yanyan raised her head slightly, her sight happened to fall on the Princess of Yong who was sitting on the other side. Princess of Yong was dressed up today, but the smile on her face seemed particularly stiff, as if it was forced out. Not only did that smile not show any real joy, but it made people feel that it was uglier than crying.

Tao Yanyan finally had a concrete understanding of the four words "forced smile". Princess Yong must be having a hard time expressing her suffering today.

After Prince Yong brought the bride into the hall, the two newlyweds had to worship heaven and earth. However, because the emperor was present, Prince Yong had to kneel down and worship the emperor first.

Just as Prince Yong was about to pay his respects, he inadvertently glanced and saw Concubine Tao sitting beside the emperor, smiling sweetly and with beautiful eyes.

At that moment, King Yong felt a shock in his heart, as if millions of ants were gnawing at him, causing him both soreness and pain.

The etiquette officer had shouted twice, but Prince Yong seemed to have heard nothing and was still staring blankly in the direction of Tao Yanyan. Princess Qinghe was wearing a red veil, and although she could not see the scene in front of her, she keenly sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She was anxious, fearing that something might go wrong, so she quickly reached out and gently pulled the red silk in her hand, wanting to remind Prince Yong to continue the process quickly.

Prince Yong felt the red silk in his hand being pulled, and he finally regained his composure. He then realized, as if waking from a dream, that he had lost his composure.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his surging emotions, and then, as the etiquette officers sang in unison, he slowly turned around and completed the ceremony of worshiping heaven and earth with Princess Qinghe.

Princess Qinghe was sent to the bridal chamber, and soon after, Prince Yong came out to entertain the guests. However, he was not in a good mood and became a little drunk after just a few sips.

He Linzhang was worried that the drunk Prince Yong would speak wildly again and say some intoxicating nonsense, so he asked Eunuch Zhang to take people to carry Prince Yong back to the bridal chamber.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Great Zhou, our Yan princess is marrying the Prince of Yong. How can the groom leave the table without drinking a few cups?" One of the Yan envoys asked loudly, "We, the Yan envoys, have come from afar. Let us see how Great Zhou treats guests?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man with a scar on his face speaking at the table of the Yan State delegation.

Tao Yanyan looked up and down at the scarred man and was slightly surprised. If it weren't for the scar that affected his appearance, this man's looks would have been considered top-notch at the scene.

Of course, it is still slightly inferior to that of her Majesty.

Because of his outstanding appearance, the kind of face with very good bones that people say becomes more attractive the more you look at it, Tao Yanyan began to feel suspicious. With such an outstanding appearance and a noble demeanor all over his body, could he just be a member of the delegation?

He Linzhang was very displeased when he heard the scarred man's question, but he was the emperor and there was no need for him to directly answer a question from a Yan person, so Tao Yanyan pinched his fingers and answered for him: "Prince Yong was very happy today and drank a lot. He was already a little drunk. If he forced himself to drink more, it would be a small matter of losing his manners, but it would hurt his body. Besides, Prince Yong is full of love for the princess and can't wait to go back to the bridal chamber to accompany the beauty. This is a deep affectionate act. I believe your country should not think that he is rude, let alone blame him."

Everyone was impressed by what Concubine Tao said. Every word she said made sense and there was nothing wrong with it.

The man with the scar on his face set his eyes on Tao Yanyan, and when he saw her bulging belly, he narrowed his eyes and said, "In Yan State, a groom's drinking capacity is his reputation. A groom who can't even drink the wine at the wedding banquet, huh, is probably weak in other aspects as well."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter broke out among the Yan State delegation.

Seeing that the people from the Yan State delegation were deliberately causing trouble, He Linzhang's face turned as black as ink.

Tao Yanyan heard the hidden meaning behind this person's words. He was satirizing the shortcomings of the men of the Great Zhou Dynasty in certain aspects.

"Some of your Yan State's customs are really unique. You actually judge people by their drinking capacity. But that's not the case in my Great Zhou. We have many criteria for judging people, and knowing how to maintain health is one of them. If you don't know how to maintain health, and you eat and drink excessively and ruin your body, then the good times of the next few decades will be gone."

After Tao Yanyan finished speaking, he glanced at the scarred man and said, "You don't look very old. Are you around forty?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the scarred man clenched his fists and said angrily, "I'm only twenty-five. Does the imperial concubine of the Great Zhou have poor eyesight?"

He Linzhang wanted to get angry, but Tao Yanyan held his hand back.

Tao Yanyan showed a look of surprise: "Ah? You are only 25? Tsk tsk tsk, then you should drink less. Look at your dull complexion and bloodshot eyes. If you don't take care of yourself, in two years people will mistake you for a 50-year-old man."

Scarred Man: “…”

Yan State Envoy: “…”

They looked at the scarred man with a look of panic on their faces.

He Linzhang smiled and held Tao Yanyan's hand with his backhand, and his mood instantly became much more relaxed.

At this time, an older official from the Yan State delegation stood up, persuaded the scarred man, and whispered a few words. The scarred man then sat down unhappily and took a big gulp of wine.

The official of the Yan State delegation said to Tao Yanyan: "Thank you for your reminder, Concubine Tao. I have always heard that Concubine Tao is eloquent and eloquent. After seeing her today, I find that her reputation is well-deserved."

Tao Yanyan raised his eyebrows, not sure whether he was speaking in a serious or sarcastic way, but he just took it as a serious statement, so he smiled and said, "No need to thank me, the people of the Great Zhou have always been kind and warm-hearted. Seeing that you drink wine like water and don't pay attention to your health, I just reminded you casually. However, since you are here to attend the wedding banquet today, there will be plenty of wine and food, and we will never treat you lightly. Drink as much as you want, just don't overdo it."

The scarred man snorted coldly after hearing this and drank another glass of wine.

After this little episode, the Yan State delegation never caused any more trouble and everything was relatively peaceful.

Tao Yanyan was getting older and could not sit still. After a while, she got up and took a walk in the yard with the help of Qingfeng.

He Linzhang felt relieved knowing that the shadow guard was protecting him in secret.

"Qingfeng, rub my shoulders. I'm so tired from sitting here all the time." Tao Yanyan spoke softly. The scarred man who had just approached them paused. He felt as if a feather was passing through his heart and his eyes involuntarily looked at Tao Yanyan.

"How dare you! My Great Zhou's Imperial Concubine is here. How did a outsider like you get in?" Qingfeng felt someone approaching and immediately turned around, and saw the man staring at his own Imperial Concubine.

Tao Yanyan turned around and looked over, and her eyes met the scarred man's. At one glance, she felt that this man was definitely not an ordinary person. His eyes were sometimes somewhat similar to those of the serious He Linzhang.

That is the look of a superior looking down upon the common people - arrogant and self-centered.