Feng Zixiao, Mu Ye, and the others seemed not to hear the mockery in Ye Lingfeng's words. They raised their glasses in high spirits and toasted with Ye Lingfeng. After putting down their glasses, a eunuch came forward to pour more wine. After the glasses were full, Feng Zixiao picked up his glass and looked at the Empress Dowager beside Ye Lingfeng.
"I offer a toast to the Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager served the wine, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes, but she didn't refuse, nodding with a smile: "Emperor Jing is too kind. You are a guest from afar; it should be I who toast you."
"No problem."
Feng Zixiao and the Empress Dowager drank a cup of wine. His long, beautiful phoenix eyes gleamed with a slightly tipsy light as he spoke calmly: "Today is still the time for Emperor Xie to select candidates. I wonder if we, the guests who have come from afar, may choose one or two young ladies from prominent families in Beilu to participate in the marriage between our two countries?"
Inside the main hall, all was silent. No one expected that Emperor Jing of the Great Zhou Dynasty would make such a demand to the Empress Dowager in person. Today was the day for their emperor to select his consorts. What did the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty mean by this?
However, after Feng Zixiao finished speaking, Prince Jing of Nanling Kingdom chimed in with a smile.
"Yes, I find the women of Beilu Kingdom to be dignified and elegant, quite different from the women of our Nanling Kingdom. They are truly irresistible."
When Prince Jing Ruan Xihao uttered these words, many people in the hall looked down on him.
Everyone knows that Your Highness Prince Jing is fond of men. I don't know what's gotten into you today. Anyone who gets your eye on by Your Highness Prince Jing will be in big trouble.
The crowd lowered their heads and turned their gazes toward the Emperor, who was seated in the very center.
Ye Lingfeng narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them, before letting out a quiet laugh.
"Today is still my banquet for selecting concubines. All the daughters of the noble families of Beilu are present. Since Emperor Jing likes the women of Beilu, it is truly a blessing for the women of Beilu. I heard that Emperor Jing once drove the ugly empress out of the palace, and now there is no empress in the palace. If he takes a fancy to the beauty of our Beilu, I will definitely issue an edict to confer the title of princess on her and send her to the Great Zhou Dynasty for a marriage alliance. I believe that Emperor Jing will naturally welcome her with the high position of empress."
Ye Lingfeng's words caused a stir among the guests at the banquet. Many noble ladies from Beilu were filled with excitement. If they were chosen by the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they would be made princesses and sent to the Great Zhou Dynasty for a political marriage. They would even become empresses of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This was something that everyone dreamed of.
"Very well, as long as I set my sights on someone, I will certainly marry them with a high position."
After Feng Zixiao finished speaking, his eyes turned to Hai Ling below. Anyone with eyes could see that Emperor Jing was in love with Ji Hai Ling, the daughter of General Ji of the Northern Lu Kingdom.
Hai Ling naturally knew that Feng Zixiao was looking at her, and she understood what he meant by those words, but...?
A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips. Even if she severed all ties with him and devoted herself to Buddhism, she would never spend her life with this man. Moreover, she felt that this man was not only despicable and shameless, but now he was also shameless. Don't think she didn't know what he was thinking. Right now, he had no power in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he was determined to get rid of Jiang Batian. If he were to marry her, he would need the help of the Ji family army. Then what would the Jiang family have to fear? But he was dreaming. She would never use the Ji family army to fight against Jiang Batian. Besides, the Ji family was still from Beilu, and had nothing to do with the Great Zhou.
Ye Lingfeng, who was at the top of the main hall, looked at Feng Zixiao's expression and his eyes flashed with cold light, revealing an extremely sinister look.
The Empress Dowager, seeing this, realized that something was amiss with today's selection of concubines and couldn't help but worry. She quickly gave an order.
"Alright, let's begin the banquet."
Inside the main hall, the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air. Court singers came up to perform a dance, not the bamboo dance from Hailing Mansion, but the famous fan dance from Beilu. Their long sleeves were like clouds, and their light silk fans swayed gracefully like flowing water. The crowd in the hall finally quieted down, enjoying the song and dance while pondering to themselves.
The actions of the Great Zhou Emperor just now show that he is interested in Ji Hailing of the Ji family. I never expected that this beautiful woman would win the attention of two emperors. I wonder who she will end up with.
Moreover, astute people know that today's selection banquet hides a strange and unpredictable undercurrent. Whether the two countries can be at peace depends on the final outcome of this selection banquet. If things go wrong, the two countries may be drawn into war because of this. If the people are plunged into war for the sake of a woman, then the new emperor's throne will be in danger. Some ministers who are not convinced by Ye Lingfeng have a "let's watch the show" attitude in their hearts.
The young ladies from prominent families who were to be selected today were all quite happy. Not only was the Emperor choosing a consort, but the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty was also choosing an Empress. If they were chosen by the handsome Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they would not only be made princesses, but also become the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How precious and noble that would be!
But in the end, after seeing the actions of the Great Zhou Dynasty emperor, everyone knew that the emperor's intention was to marry Ji Hailing as empress, and there was no chance for them.
For a moment, all the women in the hall who were being selected for the imperial concubines looked at Hai Ling with resentful eyes, as if she were some heinous villain.
Hai Ling naturally knew what the hidden glints in the women's eyes meant, but she ignored them and calmly ate the exquisite dishes on the table while enjoying the famous fan dance of the Northern Lu Kingdom. It must be said that these fan dances were indeed very beautiful, with the dancers half-concealing their faces while playing the pipa, which brought out the charm of the women to the fullest and made the performance very interesting.
Hailin was enjoying her meal when a sarcastic remark came from behind her.
"You can still eat?"
Hai Ling subconsciously turned her head to look behind her, only to see Princess Zhaoyang, Feng Yao, sitting in the back row. Feng Yao was staring at Hai Ling with a gloomy expression. She couldn't understand this woman at all. It seemed that because of her, the two countries were about to have a falling out, but she was still able to eat, looking quite pleased with herself, as if what was happening in the hall had nothing to do with her.
Why can't I eat?
Hai Ling retorted, a chilling aura emanating from her eyes. Wasn't her current level a result of her being the Princess Consort of Zhaoyang? If she hadn't informed Feng Zixiao, she would still be Jiang Hai Ling, and Feng Zixiao probably wouldn't have come to Bei Lu, so where would this trouble come from? Now, the person who caused this trouble still has the nerve to talk about her.
"Is Princess Zhaoyang overthinking things?"
Hai Ling coldly raised an eyebrow, then turned her head back to the central dance performance, ignoring Princess Feng Yao of Zhaoyang behind her.
Feng Yao's face darkened, but she stopped speaking, staring menacingly at the back of Hai Ling's head.
Today is still the new emperor's selection of concubines, so the young ladies waiting to be chosen are all sitting in the front, while those who are there to accompany him, no matter how noble their status, are only sitting in the back row.
The song and dance performance came to an end.
Applause rang out in the main hall. As soon as the applause stopped, the Empress Dowager spoke.
"Today is still the banquet for the Emperor to select his concubines. All the young ladies can show off their talents in the palace. Regardless of whether they are selected by the Emperor, I will reward them all."
The Empress Dowager was afraid that her son would clash with the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so she spoke as soon as the singing and dancing stopped.
In the Northern Lu Kingdom, women are passionate and unrestrained, unlike the coy and demure women of other dynasties.
They'd do anything for the man they love.
In the Northern Dynasties, the selection of imperial concubines was a free process for young ladies from various families to perform. They would choose what they were best at and perform it. If the emperor selected them, they would be taken into the harem.
So as soon as the Empress Dowager finished speaking, someone rushed to stand up first; it was Yan Xiangxiang, the younger sister of the Princess of Anyang.
Yan Xiangxiang's beautiful eyes lingered on the new emperor, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the emperor of Shaoyi. Today, there were emperors from three kingdoms present. No matter which emperor took a liking to her, she would instantly become a person of high status. That's why Yan Xiangxiang took the lead. Anyway, in Beilu, this kind of thing was very normal. Women in Beilu were considered beautiful for being bold and feisty.
As soon as Yan Xiangxiang stepped forward, she respectfully bowed to the Emperor and Empress Dowager, who were seated high above the throne, and then began her performance.
Her performance was actually a ball-stepping act. While others took it for granted, Hai Ling was a little taken aback. Wasn't the talent show supposed to be about singing and dancing? This woman was actually performing a ball-stepping act.
She stood on a large, round ball without falling, seemingly enjoying herself immensely. Not only that, her hands were also busy, holding four small balls that bounced and changed constantly, swirling around in mid-air in a dazzling display.
To be honest, these performances were much better than those talent shows.