Chapter 215 Palace Banquet
"Who is your woman?" The Princess of Western Xia became furious when she heard this and glared at Zhao Xing.
"Aren't you here for marriage? Is Xixia playing tricks on our Song Dynasty?" Zhao Xing said indifferently.
"Royal brother just has this intention. Whether to marry or not depends on my own opinion. Also, the name of my Great Xia country is Xia, not Xixia!" The eldest princess of Xixia shouted.
"Is that so? I misunderstood, but I don't like someone like you, so it's better not to marry you." Zhao Xing shrugged and said, "Let's go into the city!"
"You..." The Princess of Western Xia glared at Zhao Xing, gritting her teeth.
If she hadn't had a little bit of common sense, she would have wanted to hit Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing ignored her, had Zhuifeng brought over and mounted his horse.
Huang Song hurriedly went forward to smooth things over, and the Xixia envoy also tried to persuade them in a low voice. The Xixia princess snorted coldly, turned around and walked towards the carriage.
Zhao Xing was riding on his horse with a hint of amusement on his face.
Just now he questioned the Princess of Western Xia whether Western Xia was playing tricks on the Song Dynasty.
The Princess of Western Xia was very angry and did not reply immediately.
However, the ministers of Western Xia did not deny it, which means that the order they received was to marry a princess to the Song Dynasty.
But this is just his guess, and we will know the details soon.
He was so arrogant and a little humiliating. If the decision of whether to marry was really made by the Princess of Western Xia, she might not choose the marriage.
If the Xixia envoy still proposed a marriage alliance later, it would mean that the Xixia emperor wanted a marriage alliance.
Although such temptation seems meaningless, it is actually very meaningful.
There must be some conditions for the marriage between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty. By testing Western Xia's attitude, we can take the initiative during the negotiations.
After sending the Xixia princess and the envoys to the Honglu Temple, Zhao Xing left, saying that his father would host a banquet for them in the palace in the evening.
After leaving, Zhao Xing did not return to the Eastern Palace, but went to the Imperial Palace and told his father the results of his test.
…………
In the evening, Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen took a carriage to the palace.
"Your Highness, I heard that the Princess of Western Xia is as beautiful as a flower. Is that true?" Zhang Guifen asked.
"Haha, she was wearing a veil and I couldn't even see her face. Why are you jealous?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"No, I'm just curious." Zhang Guifen denied.
Zhao Xing held her hand and said, "Even if she is to marry a princess, she must abide by the rules of the Song Dynasty."
If it were a marriage of peace, the eldest princess of Western Xia would be equivalent to a concubine.
It is very difficult for the wife to deal with such a concubine.
"Your servant..." Zhang Guifen opened her mouth. She did have concerns in this regard, but she didn't expect to be seen through by Zhao Xing.
"If you have anything to say in the future, just tell Guzhi. We are husband and wife as one, there is nothing we cannot talk about." Zhao Xing squeezed her hand and said.
It is normal for Zhang Guifen to be jealous, or rather, it is not jealousy, but just worry.
"Yes." Zhang Guifen nodded and said with a smile: "By the way, Miss Sheng Liu's health has almost recovered. The Ministry of Rites has sent people to the Sheng family to teach them the rules. In more than a month, they will be able to enter the Eastern Palace."
As Zhao Xing's principal wife, she naturally knew the rules and regulations for taking concubines.
For example, the courtyard where Rulan lived after entering the Eastern Palace was arranged by her.
"Time flies so fast." Zhao Xing sighed.
Before they knew it, Rulan and Minglan had reached the age of marriage.
Zhang Guifen didn't know why Zhao Xing sighed, so she smiled and said, "Your Highness, that Jiang Liangdi is quite interesting."
"Hmm?" Zhao Xing was startled and asked, "What's so interesting about it?"
Jiang Liangdi is indeed interesting. Among all his women, even Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan, who entered the palace the earliest, one has been with her for a year and the other has been with her for more than half a year.
All women, including the two of them, were shy when serving her.
Only Jiang Liangdi was different. She seemed to have no idea what shyness was and was willing to cooperate with whatever Zhao Xing said.
It’s not that the other people didn’t cooperate. Those who entered the palace later were willing to cooperate in order to please him.
But they are always a little shy, with a feeling of wanting to refuse but also to welcome.
Jiang Liangdi was different. Zhao Xing could feel that she was not trying to please him, but was just open-minded.
When the passion is strong, she will take the initiative, but after the act she doesn't want to be as clingy as other women.
Such a woman is a special case among all his women, and is naturally very interesting.
However, Zhao Xing never told Zhang Guifen about what happened in bed, and no one dared to talk nonsense, so how would Zhang Guifen know that she was interesting.
"Jiang Liangdi seldom goes out. She stays in the house every day reading storybooks and painting. I have seen several boxes of picture books when I visited her. I remember that she brought more than a dozen boxes with her when she entered the palace. I heard that half of them were storybooks and her paintings." Zhang Guifen said.
Zhao Xing was curious when he heard this, "I know she likes to read storybooks, but I didn't know she likes to paint. Have you seen her paintings? What do they paint?"
"She drew some stories from the storybooks." Zhang Guifen said with a smile, "It's quite interesting to see it this way."
"Really? Then I'll have to take a look later." Zhao Xing became interested when he heard that.
In his opinion, Jiang Liangdi was very much like the two-dimensional girls in later generations, immersed in her own world.
Of course, there were no comics in that era, and she was addicted to storybooks.
That's why her personality is so different.
As they were talking, the carriage stopped at the palace gate and the two men got off and entered the palace.
He rode on a sedan chair to the outside of the Purple Palace and walked into the Palace.
Led by the eunuchs, Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen came to the top seat on the left and sat down.
Not long after they sat down, the Princess of Western Xia and the Western Xia envoys came in, led by eunuchs.
The Xixia entourage sat on the right, with the Xixia princess sitting opposite Zhao Xing.
Tonight was a banquet hosted by the Song Dynasty officials, so the Princess of Xixia could not continue to wear a veil. Zhao Xing finally saw the face of the Princess of Xixia. The Princess of Xixia was indeed very beautiful, with an oval face, three-dimensional features, and some exotic charm.
Seeing Zhao Xing looking at her, she glared at Zhao Xing fiercely.
Zhao Xing was not angry and even smiled at her.
"Aren't they said that Han people are very etiquette-abiding? Why does this prince act like a scoundrel?" The Princess of Western Xia said in a low voice.
Faced with such a scoundrel, she had no choice but to glare at him fiercely and turn her head away from Zhao Xing.
"Your Highness, please don't be impolite." Zhang Guifen pulled Zhao Xing.
"Haha, I'm just teasing her."
Zhao Xing smiled and did not look at the Princess of Western Xia again. Instead, he spoke to Zhang Guifen in a low voice.
Some important officials of the court arrived one after another, saluted Zhao Xing and Zhang Guifen and took their seats.
"Your Majesty, the Queen is here!"
After about an incense stick of time had passed, a eunuch's shouting voice was heard, and everyone's faces became serious. They stood up and bowed facing the leader.
Soon, footsteps were heard, and the Emperor and Empress Cao walked into the hall from the side door and sat down on the high platform at the top.
"My son, I pay my respects to my father, the emperor and my queen!"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the Queen!"
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty and His Majesty the Empress!"
Everyone saluted.
"No gift!"
The official's elegant voice was heard, and everyone thanked him and sat down.
"Today, the Princess of Xia and the envoys have come from afar. I will host a banquet for them. Please don't be restrained."
After the official finished speaking, he turned to look at Eunuch Liu and said, "Call for a banquet!"
"Yes!" Eunuch Liu responded and shouted, "Call for the banquet!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of palace maids came in carrying dishes.
The palace maid in front brought the dishes and then bowed and left.
The serving of dishes lasted for nearly an incense stick. There were hundreds of palace maids presenting the dishes. Although there were many people, everything was in good order and there was no chaos at all.
The royal style is unobstructed.
The Princess of Western Xia opened her mouth slightly. She was a princess of noble status, but she had never seen such a grand scene in her time in Western Xia.
Although Xixia was also a country, it only had a few million people, but hundreds of thousands of them joined the army.
The land they occupied was relatively barren, and even the royal family had only that much.
In terms of grandeur, even some princes and nobles of the Song Dynasty might not be able to compare with it.
When the dishes were served, music started and a group of dancers walked into the hall and danced gracefully.
All the guests raised their glasses to toast the emperor and the queen, and the banquet officially began.
The royal banquet dishes were rich and delicious, but in Zhao Xing's opinion, that was just the way it was.
The dishes are not served immediately after they are prepared. Instead, they are served after a poison tester has tasted them for a certain period of time and has confirmed that they are not poisonous.
After all, the taste is quite different from when it was first made.
The better the food, the finer the texture.
Since ancient times, the Han Dynasty, princes and nobles have been very particular about food.
Even the ministers who attended the banquet usually ate food that was not much worse than that in the palace, and they had eaten many banquets in the palace, which were very bland.
On the contrary, it was the first time for the Princess of Western Xia and the Western Xia envoys to eat such delicious food.
Although he tried his best to restrain himself, he could not hide his voracious appetite.
The officials of the Song Dynasty watched with a smile, with a hint of pride and sarcasm in their eyes, full of a sense of superiority.
Since ancient times, except for the Han people, the surrounding countries have been regarded as barbarians.
Those present were all important officials in the court. In the eyes of many of them, the Western Xia and Liao kingdoms were nothing but barbarians.
Zhao Xing saw all of this and frowned slightly.
From a cultural perspective alone, the Western Xia and Liao dynasties were indeed barbaric.
But precisely because they are barbarians, they have been trying to invade the Central Plains dynasty since ancient times.
There is no problem if a country is big and its people are proud.
But if the country is weak and the people are arrogant, that would be a big problem.
The Song Dynasty was weak, and although the emperor was responsible, did that mean these ministers had nothing to do with it?
They looked down on the Liao Kingdom and Western Xia, considering them barbarians. Even though they could not defeat them, they still looked down on them from the bottom of their hearts.
I think these barbarians are ignorant and can be persuaded through appeasement, or if that doesn't work, just give them some benefits.
Just like the Alliance of Tanyuan.
Although it was Emperor Zhenzong who insisted on peace, how many people really opposed it?
My father implemented a new policy, but he had to abandon it after just a few years due to too much pressure.
If all the officials had been so united when the Treaty of Shanyuan was signed, would Emperor Zhenzong still have signed it?
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing felt very unhappy and couldn't help but drink a few more glasses.
(End of this chapter)