Zhumen Chunshen

Chapter 211 The Lord's Disaster Relief Banquet ([-])
King Ke lived up to expectations and raised the price to 500 taels after giving a lot of comments.

"3000 taels." Yao Cunhui finally spoke for the first time, slightly apologetically nodding to King Ke.

King Kejun chuckled, and then said: "Three thousand and five hundred taels!"

"Four thousand!" Yao Cunhui actually didn't want to bid with King Kejun, but now they are the only ones who have the ability and necessary to bid in the whole field, and it's shameful for her not to shout a few times.

King Ke raised his eyebrows, and cast a deep glance at her, thoughtfully.He raised his head for a moment, and shouted confidently: "7000 taels!"

"it is good!"

"It really is King Ke!"

Everyone couldn't help but gasped in amazement and applauded.

Yao Cunhui smiled and withdrew from the competition.

"7000 taels! The Four Scenery Landscape Map belongs to King Ke!" Lu Ying giggled coquettishly.

"Look at the next picture! Next picture!"

Everyone's eyes fell on the only two remaining paintings, and they couldn't help but get a little excited.

Lu Ying laughed and said a few witty words, pouted her lips, and ordered the two maids to show one of them.

The long scroll unfolds slowly, and you can see two clumps of black orchids growing in the grassland, the orchid leaves are luxuriant, the soft branches and leaves are soft and graceful, and the whole scroll is full of brushwork and energy, revealing a noble and refined temperament and charm. Excellent boutique!
This is the ink orchid painting by Zhao Mengguang, a famous master of orchid painting.

"Zhao Mengguang's ink blue map, the base price is 3000 taels!" Lu Ying said with a smile.

"4000 taels." Yao Cunhui said with a smile.

"I'll give you five thousand." A childish little girl called out in a childish voice. Everyone was stunned and couldn't help laughing. Lu Ying cast a quick glance at her, frowned and said softly: " Don't mess around!"

Having said that, the price has already been called up, and Yao Cunhui can only continue to bid up.

Yao Cunhui was about to speak, but King Ke suddenly said, "Five thousand five hundred taels!"

Everyone was a little stunned and puzzled for a while.Today is not a real auction, but to support Pingjin Wengzhu. Although he never said it explicitly, everyone knows that each person only buys one painting, and everyone will not lose out.King Kejun got the Four Scenery Picture, so why bother to compete?No matter how obsessed he is with famous paintings, it's not a bad thing to break the established rules, right?

"6000 taels!" Yao Cunhui shouted again.

Yao Cunhui was secretly grateful to the King of Kejun, and the King of Kejun obviously saw something. Calling this voice also meant to make Yao Cunhui take another step down the steps. After two rounds of shouting, it was enough to make a difference, and it would not make the scene appear to be a mess. Too deserted.

After Yao Cunhui's voice fell behind, Lu Ying asked several times, but no one raised the price, so the painting of Molan belonged to Yao Cunhui.

"Miss Yao is really rich and powerful!"

"Congratulations, Miss Yao!"

Everyone was smiling, but there was something else inexplicably in their eyes. Lin Jing and other women who were familiar with Yao Cunhui couldn't help but wondered. They gave her a strange look, thinking that she was never a showy person. And it's not as obsessed with calligraphy and painting as King Kejun, what's going on today?Could it be that he really wanted to curry favor with the Lord?
"Does Xiaohui like this painting of Molan very much?" Lin Jing asked with a smile.

Yao Cunhui said with a smile: "There is a reason, my sister who is married to Jiangnan will soon give me a little nephew, and I am worried about what gift I should give! This picture of Molan is a very good gift for my little nephew. OK!"

"I see!" Lin Jing smiled.

The people who heard it also secretly thought that this is the case. In a family like the Xie family in Jiangnan, the eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a child, so the gift from the natal family should not be taken lightly!The Yao family could afford the money, and 6000 taels was not too expensive for them.

"Although everyone appreciates this last painting, you are not allowed to bid!" Lu Ying's crisp laughter sounded again.

Everyone looked at it, and what unfolded this time was a vertical scroll, which was Wu Zhong's Yunhengxiu Ridge, with towering peaks, vigorous black pines, and thick and faint clouds surrounding the waist. .

Really good painting!

"Why is this?" Everyone couldn't help being surprised when they heard it.

Lu Ying giggled, her eyes rolled, she was indescribably flamboyant and pretty, her red lips parted lightly and said with a smile: "Because, the owner of this painting kept it for himself! The bid is 7000 taels, please show me some face!"

Everyone was startled, and then burst into laughter, chattering and laughing, even saying that Pingjin Wengzhu is a wonderful person!
Yao Cunhui was also stunned, not expecting that Lu Ying would do such a thing.

"What am I?" Lu Ying smiled sweetly, glanced at the crown princess seated above, and said with a smile: "The crown princess said at the beginning that she will pay the highest price according to the present. Such sincerity is rare!"

Everyone looked at the Crown Princess and praised her endlessly.The crown princess smiled dignifiedly, and couldn't help cursing secretly in her heart.

7000 taels!Is this a small amount?This damn girl Lu Ying is getting more and more ruthless!She thought that a small fight would cost only a few hundred to a thousand taels, but she didn't think it would cost nearly ten thousand all of a sudden!It is impossible to get this money from officials, so I have to dig it out from my own teeth!

"Actually speaking, we shouldn't do this kind of thing. But everyone also knows that the imperial court is using troops in the west, and the money is like water. It has been almost two years and there is no result. I don't know what to do. When will we go! Now that the Yellow River has burst its embankment, the victims need to be resettled, and the Queen Mother and the Emperor are worried day and night. We can't do anything else, so it's good to show our hearts and do our best!"

Lu Ying changed the subject and talked about the officers and soldiers of the Western Regions, making no secret of her dissatisfaction with the Western Conqueror Army.

Military and national affairs are not trivial, everyone was startled, looked at each other a little bit, smiled vaguely and passed by, not daring to take Lu Ying's words lightly.

"Miss Yao, what do you think?"

Lu Ying suddenly looked at Yao Cunhui and asked.

Yao Cunhui was distracted for a moment, and smiled reluctantly: "Military affairs, how can I know anything? Besides, it happened thousands of miles away, so I don't know the situation! However, didn't there be two good news last year? One seemed to be on the right track. It's the end of the year! Presumably the Western Expeditionary War is almost over!"

Xi Zhengjun, Shen Quan, and Yao Cunhui did not know how many times they thought about it silently in their hearts. This was the first time they heard someone say it openly. She was also a little flustered, everyone just thought she was nervous because of being named by the Weng Lord, and didn't think about anything else.

Hearing what Yao Cunhui said, everyone was secretly relieved and echoed.

What kind of event is the imperial court going to war?This is the garden of the East Palace again, and the identities of the people are not ordinary people, they are all cautious when speaking, for fear of causing unnecessary trouble to the family.Only good, not bad.

However, Lu Ying was very dissatisfied with Yao Cunhui's words, curled her lips slightly and snorted silently, and said unceremoniously: "We have a strong army in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but it's a pity that there are too few outstanding generals, and I don't know how many soldiers' lives have been lost in vain! Thinking about that Shen Quan, the great general of Zhengxi, how could he command the three armies in his weak year? It was just because of the face of the Shen family that he won this post! He has fought for so long and has not seen any results. It is worth spending money. Don't be soft, the court should have replaced him long ago!"

As the wind blows, fine leaves swirl and fall, silently, on the grass, on people's sides and on the skirts of their clothes.

For a while, the audience was silent, and needles could be heard.

Lu Ying is the empress dowager's most beloved niece, entering and leaving the palace is as casual as her own home, even the crown prince and princess have to give her three points, she can say this kind of irresponsible talk about government affairs, but everyone dare not say it.

Not everyone has a sharp aunt.

Many of the men present did not take her words seriously, especially those who knew Shen Quan and the inside story of the Western Expedition, they were even more disgusted by Lu Ying's words.

It's just that no one can speak for Shen Quan and Xi Zhengjun.

"Okay sister!" After a while, the princess who came back to her senses finally opened her mouth, and quickly interrupted with a smile: "Today is to raise funds for disaster relief, what did he say about other irrelevant things! Those who beat and killed The matter of killing is up to the imperial court, the queen mother and the emperor are up to the task, and it would be a disgrace to say about killing and conquest in front of the eyes of spring, if you are interested, why don't you sing some poems!"

Before everyone had time to follow the words of the Crown Princess, Lu Ying was unconvinced and said, "Why is this irrelevant? The people in the court are talking about the important affairs of the court so much that we can't say it? If it wasn't for the incompetence of the commander of the Northwest Army, As a result, the war has lasted for a long time, and the imperial court would not be so strenuous in providing disaster relief now! If it weren’t for—”

"Ying'er!" The Crown Princess smiled and Lu Ying cut her off with a sharp glance, "You are still so outspoken, and you are more open-minded!"

The princess was secretly annoyed, she closed the door and said what you like to say, even if you scold my father-in-law for being incompetent and useless, it's none of my business!What kind of heart do you have to stir up such topics in my East Palace?

Lu Ying wanted to say more, but raised her eyes to see that although the eldest sister of the Crown Princess was as kind and dignified as ever, and even had the same gentle smile on her face as always, the warning in her eyes was not concealed.

Although she usually doesn't pay much attention to the elder sister's face, she is the crown princess after all, and this place is the territory of the Eastern Palace.Lu Ying was also simmering with anger, so she could only laugh along with her and said, "Just talking casually! My sister doesn't know me yet!"

The concubine smiled indulgently, and said angrily, "I don't know who you are like, a girl always loves to care about those things!"

Everyone secretly heaved a sigh of relief, deliberately avoided the sensitive topic, exchanged drinks and chatted and laughed again.

However, after all, he lost the interest of being the first, and sat for a while as a cover-up, King Kejun started, and everyone got up to leave one after another.

Lu Ying sent them off with a smile.

The Crown Princess also got up to drive, and Yun Zhi returned to Tingli Pavilion after serving the Crown Princess and returned to Funing Hall, leaving Yao Cunhui to sit for a while.

"I'm sorry, Hui'er." Yun Zhi held Yao Cunhui's hand, with guilt in her face and eyes.

(End of this chapter)