Chapter 249 The Man Who Covets Me
The cultural exchange competition among five countries finally came to an end.
The Dayuan Kingdom won a great victory, and Emperor Jingxi, the Empress and the ministers were all very happy.
Qianhuan also shined at this cultural exchange conference, and gave a slap in the face to those noble ladies from aristocratic families who looked down on her.
Zhao Yanran originally looked down on Qianhuan, thinking that she was just a lowly peasant girl. Even if the prince was just looking for something new and treated her a little differently, he would not marry her home.
But this time Qianhuan shines so well that Zhao Yanran finally begins to feel a sense of crisis. She feels that she must find a way to get rid of this woman, otherwise the prince will probably find it difficult to see her.
Princess Ning Jia made no secret of her dislike for Qian Huan, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Qian Huan was like a hook.
The people below were thinking in different ways, but Emperor Jingxi smiled and instructed the eunuch chief Li Dequan, "Ask the imperial kitchen to heat up the food."
Li Dequan responded and then went downstairs to heat up the dishes.
As the dishes were served one after another, Emperor Jingxi warmly invited the envoys from several countries to eat and drink.
Although the Nanzhao and Dongling kingdoms lost the competition, their losses were not great because the envoys enjoyed their meals.
The Beilin Kingdom lost 50,000 war horses and was not in a good mood, but compared with the Canglang Kingdom which lost three cities, the people of the Beilin Kingdom seemed to have found psychological comfort.
The third prince of Canglang Kingdom and Princess Qi Beiqing had the ugliest expressions. They had no appetite at all when looking at the delicious dishes on the table.
Qi Jiaqing gnashed her teeth and said, "It's so infuriating. Originally, it was a sure thing for me to win the Great Abyss Kingdom this time, but who knew that a little peasant girl would show up and ruin our entire plan."
Qi Beiming said calmly, "You are not as skilled as others, so you can't blame others. That little peasant girl's Hu Xuan dance is indeed much better than yours."
Qi Jiaqing was very dissatisfied with what Qi Beiming said, "Third brother, you and I are both Canglang people, why are you speaking in favor of the woman from Dayuan country?"
"I'm just telling you the truth. Since you've already lost, don't dwell on these things anymore. The loss of the city is only temporary. Once we occupy the entire Great Abyss, all the territory will belong to our Canglang Nation. My sister, you should think about your next plan quickly. Father asked you to find a way to marry the Great Abyss God of War General. Now that the prince has obviously taken a fancy to that little peasant girl, my sister's plan may not be so easy to succeed."
Qi Jiaqing snorted coldly, looking very unconvinced.
"Hmph, even if that woman is crowned as a county lady, she is still a lowly peasant girl at heart. In terms of status and position, she will never be as good as this princess. Even if she happens to be able to dance the Huxuan dance of our Canglang country, play one or two musical instruments, and do arithmetic, it does not mean that she is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs. This princess has been learning from various masters since she was a child. I don't believe she can be worse than a peasant girl."
As she spoke, Qi Jiaqing signaled to the servant to pick up the wine jug and fill her a glass of wine. She picked up the glass and left the table.
When everyone saw the Princess of Canglang Country get up from her seat and seemed to be heading towards the table of the Crown Prince, they all looked like they were going to enjoy the show, after all, Princess Jingrou was sitting next to the Crown Prince.
Qianhuan also noticed that the princess of Canglang Kingdom was walking towards her table. She looked up and saw that the princess' eyes were fixed on her Ziyu.
Qianhuan thought: It can’t be so ridiculous, could it be that this princess has fallen in love with her boyfriend?
Qi Jiaqing stood in front of their table and said, "I guess this must be the famous general of the War God in Dayuan who became famous at a young age."
The prince did not answer, but a general beside him answered for him, "Princess of Canglang Country, you are right, this is the God of War General of our Dayuan Country."
Qi Jiaqing looked at the shy and timid face of the prince, "This princess has long heard of the reputation of the God of War General. Seeing him today, I can see that he is indeed worthy of his reputation. The general is not only outstanding in temperament, but also handsome. Qing'er has always admired the general very much. This glass of wine, Qing'er wants to toast the God of War General."
Zhao Yanran and Princess Ning Jia felt very uncomfortable when they saw this. Liang Qianhuan was annoying enough, but they didn't expect that the princess of Canglang Country would also set her sights on the Crown Prince.
Qianhuan naturally felt very uncomfortable knowing that a woman was coveting her boyfriend, but she was a very calm person, and even though she felt unhappy, she did not show it at all.
The prince was afraid that Qianhuan would be jealous, so he did not immediately pay attention to the Princess of Canglang Kingdom.
Qi Jiaqing was not embarrassed. She said to herself, "Qing'er will drink first as a sign of respect."
After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. After drinking, he turned the glass upside down to indicate that he had finished it.
Seeing that the Crown Prince was still indifferent, Emperor Jingxi had no choice but to act as a peacemaker.
Emperor Jingxi smiled and said, "I have long heard that the women of Canglang Country are all very outgoing. Seeing the princess' behavior today, it is indeed true. Ziyu, just accompany the princess for a drink."
His Majesty had already spoken, and the Crown Prince didn't want to offend him. He turned his head to glance at Qianhuan beside him, and saw that she was eating the food with relish and didn't look unhappy at all, so he picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all.
Qi Jiaqing said with a smile, "Thank you, General God of War, for your honor."
Qi Jiaqing asked the attendant behind her to pour her another glass of wine. She looked at Qianhuan and said, "Princess Jingrou performed brilliantly in the palace today. This princess admires you very much. This princess also offers a glass to you."
Qianhuan was eating. She didn't expect that the princess of Canglang Kingdom would toast her with wine. She quickly chewed the chicken in her mouth and swallowed it hard.
Then Qianhuan picked up the wine jug on the table and filled her own glass. She stood up and said a few polite words, then clinked her glasses with Qi Jiaqing, and they both raised their heads and drank the wine.
The wine in the palace is pure white wine, and the alcohol content is not low. Qianhuan drinks more beer and red wine in modern times, and less white wine.
After drinking a glass, she felt a burning sensation in her mouth, so she quickly picked up a piece of food and put it in her mouth, trying to dilute the spicy taste of the wine.
Who knew that the princess would not give up and started to toast with a second cup, "County Princess Jingrou has a good alcohol tolerance, I will toast you a second cup."
They drank another glass, and Qianhuan thought: It's time to leave now.
Who knew that the princess seemed to be obsessed with him and started to toast him with the third and fourth glasses.
By the fifth cup, Qianhuan's cheeks had begun to turn red.
The prince finally couldn't stand it anymore. He reached out and snatched the wine from Qianhuan's hand. He said politely to the Princess of Canglang Country, "Princess, I'm sorry, Qianhuan can't hold her liquor. I'll drink this cup for you."
Qi Jiaqing said with disdain, "I've heard that women in Dayuan Country are all weak and can't take care of themselves. They have to rely on men for everything. Today I see that it's true. They even need men to help them drink. They are really hopeless."
The Princess of Canglang Country fell in love with the Crown Prince. Although Qianhuan did not show any unhappiness on her face, she was actually a little jealous in her heart.
She didn't want to be outdone by the princess, so she snatched the glass of wine from the prince's hand and said, "Zi Yu, you don't have to help me. It's just a few glasses of wine. This county lady is not afraid."
"Since the county lord is so courageous, why don't we exchange large bowls and compete in drinking."
Qianhuan was the type of person who would drink when she was drunk. She nodded proudly, "It's fine if it's a big bowl. Who's afraid of who?"
Then the maid brought up large bowls, and the two of them started drinking from the bowls one after another.
The people of Canglang Country, both men and women, love to drink. Qi Jiaqing has been like a man since she was young, often eating meat and drinking with big mouthfuls of wine.
In her current state, Qianhuan couldn't drink much, so naturally she couldn't drink as much as the Princess of Canglang Country.
After a while, her face turned red and her eyes became a little dazed, but the princess of Canglang Kingdom remained calm.
Qi Jiaqing continued to press her aggressively, "County Lady Jingrou, do you want to continue the competition? I think if you can't drink more, you might as well just admit defeat."
Qianhuan said dazedly, "I won't admit defeat. Drink, keep drinking."
The prince looked distressed. He supported Qianhuan and said to the princess of Canglang Country, "The princess is indeed a good drinker. We are ashamed of ourselves. We will not continue to drink this wine."
When Qi Jiaqing saw how the prince was protecting that little peasant girl, she felt resentful.
She said sarcastically, "The women of your Dayuan country are so useless. They just drank a few bowls of wine and they are already exhausted. This princess really pities the women of your Dayuan country. They never go out of the house all day long. They can only hide in their boudoirs and embroider flowers every day, which makes you all weak. Unlike the women of our Canglang country, they can learn horse riding if they want to, and learn archery if they want to. They are free and their bodies are stronger."
Situ Jing, the daughter of the Minister of War, immediately became furious when she heard this. She slammed the table and said, "Princess of Canglang Country, who says that women from Dayuan Country can only hide in their boudoirs and embroider? I don't embroider, I only like riding and archery. What's so great about you being able to drink? If you have the ability, let's compete in riding and archery between the women of our two countries."
"Okay, let's compare."