readytorunbook Chapter 247 Human Weakness
Chapter 247 Human Weakness
At the New Year's Eve banquet, Cui Zimin found an opportunity to congratulate Zhou Qinghe.
Zhou Qinghe sat on his seat with his feet casually resting on a low table beside him. No matter what the people around him looked at him, he was immersed in his own world. He stared at his ankles in a daze, while his fingertips caressed the lips that had just fallen on Zhao Fangyu's eyelashes.
How can someone smell good everywhere on their body?
After only a light touch with Zhao Fangyu, Zhou Qinghe felt that his lips became fragrant.
Although they had been separated for a long time, Zhou Qinghe's nose still seemed to be filled with the faint scent of gardenia.
When Cui Zimin came, Zhou Qinghe looked like he was missing someone, and it hurt his eyes.
But the information that needs to be found out still needs to be found out.
Zhou Qinghe's mind was full of Zhao Fangyu. After Cui Zimin said three sentences, he only heard Her Royal Highness... Her Royal Highness... Her Royal Highness...
If Zhou Qinghe hadn't known that the person Cui Zimin liked was Shisiniang, he would have cursed her in his heart.
After all, Cui Zimin hinted at a lot of things, but Zhou Qinghe only heard "Her Royal Highness the Princess"...
Cui Zimin good-temperedly poured Zhou Qinghe a glass of wine and handed it to him, acting just like serving tea or water.
If it were someone else, this action would have seemed somewhat flattering, but Cui Zimin did it smoothly and there was no sign that he had anything to ask of Zhou Qinghe.
Zhou Qinghe looked Cui Zimin up and down. Cui Zimin took it calmly and picked up a piece of dessert the size of an egg from Zhou Qinghe's desk very naturally.
The dim sum is made in an exquisite style. Daliang likes elegance and even the dim sum moulds are particular.
The lotus pastries on Zhou Qinghe's table are not like those in ordinary people's table, which are made by cutting a thousand-layer pastry ball into pieces and frying it to make it bloom layer by layer. Instead, each petal is filled with light and soft dough and wrapped with a thin layer of pastry on the outside. After being fried in the pan, hundreds of lotus pastries are needed to make a plate of such exquisite snacks.
Zhou Qinghe took a bite without much interest and found it uninteresting. However, thinking that Zhao Fangyu would like it, he took two more bites and turned to ask the eunuch next to him to ask which imperial chef made the lotus crisp.
After sending the young eunuch away, Zhou Qinghe cast a half-smile at Cui Zimin, who looked as if nothing had happened, sitting opposite him.
"Master Cui, please speak frankly. I am not smart and cannot beat around the bush."
Cui Zimin was not embarrassed to be exposed. Perhaps it was not uncommon for anyone to be ridiculed for beating around the bush in front of Zhou Qinghe.
Cui Zimin chuckled, his voice as clear as jade: "I heard that the cousin of the Longxi Li family is coming to live in the capital. I don't know if it's true or not."
"The Li family and the Cui family are relatives. After the New Year, I can pay them a visit."
Nowadays, things are busy and it is not a good time to visit others. It is common to visit others after the New Year, but it is not conspicuous then.
To outsiders, these words might be considered idle chat at best, but Zhou Qinghe knew the past between Cui Zimin and Li Jia's Fourteenth Mother. Looking at Qinghe Jun, who remained calm even when a mountain collapsed in front of him, he couldn't help but want to tease him.
"Let's wait until after the New Year. The weather in Longxi has been bad recently. When my wife's sister went back, she encountered a dust storm on the way. Now it's winter, and the wind is even stronger."
"If it weren't for the trouble at home and my uncle's help, I don't know when I would have come to Beijing."
The matter between the Li family and the Duke of Li's Mansion was not a small matter. Everyone knew what should be known, and everyone knew what should not be known. The eldest lady's actions were secretive, but an old lady died and the Duke suffered miserably, but the emperor turned a blind eye to it.
The power of the Li family is enough to attract attention.
Cui Zimin took a sip of hot tea, his eyes moved slightly: "If the sky wants to snow, how can human power resist it?"
"Stupid people are only making trouble for themselves. In the end, the Li family will not suffer any injustice."
Zhou Qinghe nodded, and as if he suddenly remembered something, he said, "It is also because the Li family values young ladies. There were only two aunts in the previous generation, and there are not many in this generation."
"I once heard from Madam that the family doesn't plan to let the girl marry to such a faraway place again."
Cui Zimin's heart tightened.
Without waiting for any more questions, the bell rang, and the eunuch's sharp voice cut through the wind and snow and went straight into everyone's ears. Zhou Qinghe put his feet down lazily, and Cui Zimin could only suppress his urgency and return to his seat.
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On the other side, the Queen arrived earlier than the Emperor, and she specifically called Concubine Dan and Ni'er to come forward and talk to her, and even Ni'er was quite intimate with the Queen.
Princess Dan was also pregnant. It was not yet time for her to show her pregnancy, but she would subconsciously protect her belly with her hands from time to time.
When the Queen saw Zhao Fangyu coming back, she and Concubine Dan nodded to Zhao Fangyu from a distance. Ni'er ran over happily, hugged Zhao Fangyu's legs and called her sister-in-law.
Ni'er was chubby and wore thick winter clothes. He ran fast and accidentally fell down, but he didn't cry. He got up and continued to run towards Zhao Fangyu. He grabbed Zhao Fangyu's sleeve and blinked, saying, "Mother has been eating badly recently. Sister-in-law, please help me persuade her."
Zhao Fangyu pinched Ni'er's plump and round cheeks, then walked towards Dan Fei with a smile.
There was no one causing trouble among the female guests, except Prime Minister Yang's wife Liu Mianxin, who also smiled and made friends with the ladies from the aristocratic families.
When Liu Mianxin was in the Song family, she had a bunch of fans around her who flattered her, and she naturally has the same fans around her today.
Zhao Fangyu, the Queen and others were sitting in the courtyard. With a glance downward, they could clearly see the small groups among the ladies.
Even though Yang Gushan is now the prime minister and has great power, there are always people who buy into his ideas and people who don't.
Most of the wives standing next to Liu Mianxin were officials from humble backgrounds, while those on the eldest princess' side were from much more noble backgrounds.
These two people are like two centers, each of which surrounds a group of people, and within this group of people, there are different small circles.
The queen saw Zhao Fangyu's eyes, then glanced down, with a hint of disgust in her eyes.
"If you have to watch this kind of show every year, even the most interesting things will become boring."
Concubine Dan naturally took over the conversation, holding a cup of warm honey water in her hand: "You are just showing off your skills in front of experts. Your Majesty, there is no need to bother with them."
Liu Mianxin prided himself on his intelligence and made friends with the powerful and influential under the queen's nose.
The rich and powerful didn't buy her account, so she later made friends with the poor.
A poor family was never her first choice, but it was just a means for her to make the transition and avoid being a dull occasion.
She is the prime minister's wife, how could there be no one flattering her?
No matter how calm or smart the people who climbed up from the bottom are, they still cannot change this.
They always want to be praised and appreciated by others at some point in their lives.
It is human nature, and also human weakness.
Zhao Fangyu took a sip of tea and felt that the problem that had troubled her for a long time in the past was now solved when she changed her perspective.