Chapter 131 The Birthday Banquet Begins
"So, as agreed upon, your Highness and the princess will sit down while we bask in the sun outside?"
Jiang Lin looked up at the scorching sun in the sky and curled his lips.
"You'll get used to it, Taoist priest."
Baihua stood beside Jiang Lin and said with a smile.
Jiang Lin sighed and looked around.
I saw that I, Baihua and others were standing on the steps, on the platform outside the hall.
There were either Taoist priests or monks around, or people wearing strange clothes like Baihua. There were hardly any people wearing proper robes.
In short, they are all practitioners.
Without exception, they were all offerings from royal nobles, dukes, princes, generals and ministers.
And when these people occasionally looked at each other, there was a hint of hostility in their eyes.
Jiang Lin and Bai Hua huddled in a corner. Jiang Lin squatted on the ground in an ungraceful manner, supporting his chin with one hand.
After taking a sideways look inside the hall, Jiang Lin felt a little more balanced.
The royal nobles in the hall each had a low table, sitting upright, meticulously, maintaining the same postures so carefully that Jiang Lin felt tired just watching them.
Although I'm getting very hot in the sun, at least I can squat.
Jiang Lin comforted himself and rubbed his stomach.
"Oh... I'm hungry."
Although the buns were delicious, the vegetarian buns were a little bit not filling enough, and Zhou Rou didn't use much oil when preparing the filling.
It tastes very fresh, but for Jiang Lin, filling his stomach is obviously more important than taste.
Bai Hua rummaged through his pockets and said, "If the Taoist priest doesn't mind, I'll give you this..."
"call!"
Before Baihua could finish his words, he was interrupted by a sound of breaking air, and an object flew towards the squatting Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin didn't even raise his head, he just scooped it up with his hand.
The first thing I got was a vegetable dumpling.
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head to smell it, took a bite without hesitation, and his eyes lit up.
"Taoist priest?"
Baihua opened his mouth hesitantly. Was it a bit... to eat food of unknown origin like this?
Jiang Lin did not answer. His expression became much more serious. He stood up and walked towards the direction where the vegetable dumpling came from.
Baihua saw this and understood something, and looked over with squinted eyes.
Then, he was stunned.
"The princess has a rival?"
Baihua muttered to himself.
I saw a pretty nun standing in the direction where Jiang Lin was walking quickly. She had a bright smile on her face and was standing on tiptoe waving at Jiang Lin.
"Brother Jiang Dao!"
The nun came forward, put her hands behind her back, raised her head and snorted, "Thank me quickly, you don't know how hard I endured not to eat that vegetable dumpling!"
"Let me tell you, this was made by Sister Bai using vegetables from Ziwei Temple."
Jiang Lin frowned after smiling and asked seriously, "Miaoqing, why are you here?"
This is not a good place. The emperor is obviously going to do something today. All the practitioners around him are harbouring hidden hostility.
Besides, who did Miaoqing come with?
This is what Jiang Lin thought and asked.
Miao Qing heard this and saw Jiang Lin's serious expression, so she couldn't help but straighten up and pointed to a place in the hall and said, "The Prime Minister, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Bo, is an old acquaintance of mine when I was a child."
"I came to Kyoto because, firstly, Sister Bai told me that you would come to Kyoto, and secondly, she asked me to come and play."
Jiang Lin looked in the direction Miao Qing pointed, and saw an old man in red and purple sitting upright, with a quiet girl kneeling behind him.
"She wrote to say that her father had arranged a marriage for her and that the wedding would take place in half a month. She wanted a friend to accompany her when she got married."
Miao Qing said with some regret: "If I hadn't practiced Taoism, I would probably be married at the behest of my parents and the matchmaker."
"Why do you know the daughter of such a big shot?"
Jiang Lin asked with some curiosity.
"Ok?"
Miao Qing blinked in confusion and said as a matter of course: "Didn't I say that?"
"The Great General of the Zhou Kingdom is my grandfather."
"Yes, it's the biggest old man."
Miaoqing pointed at the burly figure opposite the prime minister inside the hall.
He was also the only person in the hall who was not sitting upright.
The old man was sleeping soundly, with no manners at all.
Jiang Lin couldn't help but look at Miao Qing and sighed: "Sure enough, among the people I know, only Daoyou Chen and I are the most ordinary..."
"Who is Daoyou Chen?"
Miaoqing asked curiously.
"Nothing, just an ordinary practitioner like me."
Jiang Lin waved his hand without saying much, and just said: "If there is any change later, remember to go find your grandfather."
"why?"
Miaoqing was even more confused.
"because……"
Jiang Lin looked around, glanced at the practitioners around him, felt the hidden gazes, and smiled coldly.
"None of the people you see are good people. They have all been believed."
Jiang Lin said this without any concealment, so it was naturally heard by the sharp-eyed and sharp-eared practitioners around him.
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were no longer concealed, and they all looked at the Taoist in the black cloak who was speaking.
Baihua sighed secretly.
Taoist Priest, although we all know this, you are too...
Although he was complaining in his heart, he still took a step forward and came to Jiang Lin's side.
Jiang Lin smiled slightly, not caring at all. It was likely that action would be taken anyway. It all depended on what the Emperor was going to do.
"What a fart!"
Miaoqing stood in front of Jiang Lin, baring her teeth like a little beast.
"What a rude young man."
A Taoist priest in his thirties stood up, swung the whisk in his hand, and said, "You are the granddaughter of the general, but since you have entered the Ten Directions Forest, you should abide by the Taoist rules."
"The people wearing Taoist robes here are all older than you two, how can you offend them like this?"
His words were flawless, and he also brought in other people to support him.
Miao Qing widened her eyes and was about to speak, but saw Jiang Lin take two steps forward.
"seniority in the family?"
The Taoist in the black cloak raised his head with a smile and said, "Fuck your generation."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
No one expected that the response to the middle-aged Taoist's words was not a verbal sparring, but such a direct counterattack.
No, not directly, but humiliatingly.
"What a good youngster!"
The middle-aged Taoist laughed in anger and said, "I have to teach you a lesson on behalf of your master!"
After saying that, he stepped forward and was about to fight. Miao Qing had already drawn out a talisman. When it came to fighting, the Three Emperors were not afraid of anything.
"Your Majesty is here!"
However, a loud shout from the eunuch interrupted the tense atmosphere.
All the practitioners retreated to both sides. The middle-aged Taoist snorted coldly and glanced at Jiang Lin, as if to say, you are lucky.
The noble ministers and royal relatives in the hall also stood up and waited in the hall.
"Hmph, he looks down on us. How does our talking bother him?" Miaoqing muttered in dissatisfaction.
"It's not necessarily lower than you. Don't underestimate the people in the world."
Jiang Lin said with a smile.
There is no such thing as realm in spiritual practice; it only depends on one's own level of cultivation.
There are some realm divisions within each major lineage, but it is difficult to apply them to practitioners of other lineages.
What's more, the division of realms within each major Dharma lineage is more like a series of checkpoints. If you can't pass them, you won't be qualified to practice more advanced Dharma.
Therefore, when practitioners meet, they basically have no idea of each other's methods and strength before actually fighting.
Generally speaking, most orthodox and authentic practitioners will use age as a basis for a rough estimate.
For example, the middle-aged Taoist priest just now felt that Jiang Lin and Miao Qing could not achieve a high level of Taoism at their age.
The law that "the older you get, the more evil you become" is true in most cases for authentic and orthodox practitioners.
Because most of the orthodox teachings require a lot of hard work and nothing can be achieved overnight.
The reason why there will be no mistakes in most of the time is because some abnormal monsters need to be eliminated.
But it's rare to meet such a genius.
So, I dare not say that it is applicable everywhere, but eight out of ten will be correct.
This is what the middle-aged Taoist thought.
"quiet!!"
At this time, there was another shout, and it was difficult for the eunuch to shout out such a grand and majestic meaning with his sharp voice.
Under the dragon throne, a bright yellow sedan slowly approached.
Jiang Lin took a look and raised his eyebrows, not because of anything else, but because there was a Taoist priest and a monk on each side of the sedan chair.
They all looked to be in their fifties or sixties, and were dressed very formally.
"Great merit, great virtue."
Jiang Lin thought silently in his heart that to be able to serve the emperor, one must be a master of at least this level.
The bright yellow sedan chair came closer and an old man wearing a dragon robe, with grey hair but full of energy stepped down from it.
This old man is the current Emperor of the Great Zhou Empire, the supreme emperor.
When the emperor appears, it is normal for all officials to welcome him, but the protagonist today is not the emperor.
Because after getting off the sedan chair, the emperor did not take a step, but turned around and raised his hand.
A hand stretched out from the sedan chair, and the owner of the hand also walked out.
She was a lady dressed in gorgeous clothes, graceful and elegant, and looked to be in her thirties. If it weren't for the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, no one would have thought that this imperial concubine was already fifty years old.
In an era when gods and Buddhas appear, it is not difficult to maintain one's youth.
The most common product that the alchemists of Shangqing Temple refine every year is the Rejuvenating Pill.
Obviously, this imperial concubine is today's protagonist, the prince's biological mother, and the actual master of the harem.
Concubine Mei.
She held the emperor's hand with a happy smile on her face. She looked into the emperor's eyes and a tacit understanding arose naturally between them.
They look like a perfect match.
At least that's how it looks on the surface.
The emperor took the imperial concubine's hand and walked up to the hall step by step.
In fact, this is against the rules, but no one would jump out at this time to displease the emperor.
This emperor is no mediocre person, but a true emperor who holds great power.
"I have met His Majesty!"
A group of practitioners bowed and saluted, and some even knelt on the ground.
It’s not that the latter is unreserved or shameless, but it’s the difference between being a monk and being a layperson.
Taoist and Buddhist monks naturally do not have to kneel, but secular practitioners like Baihua still have to kneel.
"Ah."
The emperor nodded without looking at him any further. In the eyes of the emperor, the so-called practitioners were not some high and mighty beings.
In a world where gods appear, the emperor's majesty is not an illusion but a real thing.
Concubine Mei standing by didn't even look around and walked straight into the hall.
All the nobles and generals knelt down, with only a few princes and prime ministers and generals standing.
"Your Majesty, I greet you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor and the imperial concubine ascended to the top seat as a group of ministers knelt to welcome them. After they sat down, the emperor waved his hand.
"Everyone, get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
As all the ministers took their seats, the birthday banquet officially began.
Chen Dajian, who was standing beside the emperor, was about to take the next step according to etiquette, but was stopped by a look from the emperor.
The emperor glanced at the audience and said with a smile, "Today is Imperial Concubine Mei's birthday, and everyone present is a pillar of our Zhou Dynasty."
"Today's banquet is a family banquet. All the ministers and royal relatives present will be judged by their age, regardless of their status."
As he spoke, the emperor seemed to be thinking and said, "Let me think about it. The next step is to present birthday gifts... The rules are too complicated. It's not good."
"I'll just name it directly."
The emperor had a mischievous smile on his face like a child and looked at the King of Qin on his lower left.
"Brother Shouchen, you are the oldest among the princes of Kyoto. How about a jackpot?"
The King of Qin was stunned when he heard this, but he still stepped out of the crowd, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you also know that I have never been a wealthy person, and I only have a few melons and dates in my pocket."
"It is the Noble Concubine's birthday banquet. I have nothing to offer, so I can only write a birthday poem to present to you."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a young eunuch came forward and unfolded a scroll, on which was a thousand words of beautiful writing.
"Since the emperor has named me, I will shamelessly offer my contribution and take the first place."
The emperor laughed loudly upon hearing this, and scolded him: "You are such a good Shouchen, I give you a lot of rewards every year, but you can't save them all, and you just buy some exotic flowers and plants, all of which are very valuable. Now you come to me and cry poor."
Mei Guifei, who was standing by, smiled softly and covered her mouth, saying, "Everyone in Kyoto knows that His Royal Highness Prince Qin's calligraphy is inspired by the spirit of the world's rare flowers and plants. He learned from nature and formed his own style. He has the aura of a master. Others cannot even get a single word from him."
"This birthday poem has more than a thousand words, but it is a priceless treasure. I am getting a great bargain."
The emperor smiled and said, "Since the imperial concubine is satisfied, then I have passed the test."
The King of Qin also nodded with a smile, bowed and left.
"Next……"
The emperor glanced at the ministers present, and suddenly looked at Concubine Mei and said, "Mei'er, order one."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Mei was not polite at all, or it seemed as if this was something she and the emperor had discussed beforehand.
"Then... the old general?"
Unexpectedly, Concubine Mei looked at the general of the cavalry.
Everyone was a little surprised, including the practitioners outside the temple.
Miao Qing couldn't help but be stunned. She always had a bad feeling.
"The end will be here."
The old general stood up and said with a smile, "There are mostly weapons and evil objects in my house, which cannot be presented to you. My wife heard that it was your birthday, so she specially embroidered a picture of a divine tortoise offering auspiciousness and presented it to you."
For an old general of his status, the significance of birthday gifts has long surpassed their actual value, and the thought behind them is what matters most.
The embroidery made by the wife of the General of Cavalry, a lady of the first rank, naturally has extraordinary significance.
No one could pick out a gift like this, not to mention that the old general had nothing to do with today's banquet.
But who knew that Concubine Mei would speak.
"This gift is of course extremely good and has touched the heart of this concubine."
"only……"
Imperial Concubine Mei suddenly stood up, walked towards the old general, bowed, and said with a smile: "Please forgive me, old general. Today, I want to ask for a marriage with you on my birthday."
(End of this chapter)
