Chapter 406 - Fake Weakness
Chapter 406: Fake Weakness
Ling Ping’an chuckled and hugged his cat. He then found a quiet place and squatted down to read his WeChat.
Qin Ming took a glance and understood what the other party meant.
“Country Bumpkin!” He shrugged and turned around to walk towards the others.
For Qin Ming, this social gathering was a very good opportunity.
For the first time in decades, the imperial family had gathered all the unmarried descendants of the federation.
This was a rare opportunity.
Not to mention anything else, just the connections he might have made during the gathering was enough for a person like him to benefit endlessly.
Very quickly, he found a few people. Everyone surrounded each other and introduced themselves before becoming familiar with each other.
He didn’t know whose suggestion it was.
As the people gathered together, they began to compare with each other.
Most of them were talking about the glory of their ancestors.
Or they were talking about who they knew.
Ling Ping’an listened and sighed.
In this day and age, it wasn’t easy to fight for a father. Why fight for a ancestor?
Moreover…
Others were powerful, but they were still others, not him!
So what if he knew them? So what if he didn’t know them?
In the eyes of others, they were probably just passers-by.
However, these were the pleasures of others, and he couldn’t interfere with them, nor did he want to interfere.
He wasn’t a teacher in the school!
Perhaps he had also noticed that this competition between ancestors and relationships was just lip service after all.
Soon, people began to compare with each other in a more practical way.
Someone took out his invitation letter and pretended to say unintentionally, “Ah, why is there such a stamp on my invitation letter?”
“Federal Empire’s Royal Internal Affairs Bureau?”
“What kind of organization is this? Why haven’t I heard of it before?”
Immediately, people cast envious glances at him.
“Royal Internal Affairs Bureau?”
” Is your ancestor a relative of the Imperial Family?”
“Well, my ancestor was once recruited as the son-in-law of the virtuous sect…”
“I see… so you are the descendant of the son-in-law!”
Thus, the atmosphere changed.
Everyone took out their invitations and looked at them carefully.
Naturally, the crowd quickly split up.
As the hierarchy and order were also established, the people at the top of the pyramid were automatically identified by the invitations.
They could not help but gather around the real dignitaries.
This was because their invitation had the seal of a cabinet minister or Royal retainer.
This meant that those important figures remembered their names.
At the very least, they were willing to stamp a seal to endorse them.
This was extraordinary.
In particular, there was one person who had the official seal of Li Daofu., which was incredible!
That was a vice minister, and the first minister had to listen to everything he said.
Qin Ming, on the other hand, was a little jealous.
Because on his invitation, other than the usual few chapters, the extra chapter was only the official seal of the central federal government’s committee of Meritorious officials.
This meant that he was invited was due to the inertia of the bureaucrats.
His name was not on the current government’s attention list.
He could not even be on the list, and he was practically invisible.
In his son’s generation, if he could not afford to pay the ‘nobility money’, perhaps there would be such a gathering again and the central federal government would forget about his family.
This was a little fatal.
He looked at the few people who were surrounded in the center like stars surrounding the Moon.
Even if he wanted to, he wanted to go over and show his face.
However, just as he wanted to go over, he realized that those people were already surrounded by people.
Moreover, their levels were clearly defined!
If he went up, he would probably be asking for trouble.
Thus, he shook his head and planned to go to the side to get some fresh air.
With a glance, he noticed Ling Ping’an, who he had just met in the car, sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree. He seemed to be playing with his cell phone.
Beside his feet was a black kitten lying quietly on the ground. It looked as if time had passed peacefully, and he was alone and carefree.
As though everything had nothing to do with him.
As though he did not care about anything when he came here.
But the problem was that the other party’s clothes were really shabby!
Qin Ming took a closer look and knew that the clothes on this person were very simple.
They were basically common goods from the supermarket.
He probably had bought them when they were on sale.
Shouldn’t such a person be filled with curiosity when he came to the royal palace? Shouldn’t he be handing out business cards everywhere, trying to get to know each other?
“What a weirdo!”
Bewildered, Qin Ming walked over and walked to the shade of the tree.
“Brother!” he called out. “Why don’t you go and chat with everyone?”
Ling Ping’an raised his head and shook his head kindly, not saying a word.
However, from Qin Ming’s perspective, the moment Ling Ping’an raised his head.
His plain and ordinary face was clearly filled with: Why?
That attitude, in Qin Ming’s eyes, had an inexplicable arrogance.
It could even be called unruly.
It made Qin Ming feel that in the eyes of this person in front of him, all the people waiting in the square were just insignificant little people.
In fact, in the eyes of this person, talking to him might be a waste of saliva!
Qin Ming smiled embarrassedly.
In that situation, he couldn’t help but ridicule, “That’s quite arrogant!”
But on the surface, he was grinning. “Brother, Where’s your invitation letter? Can you let me have an eye-opener!”
But in his heart, he already had a plan.
When this person took out the invitation letter, he would definitely ridicule it.
He would suppress his arrogance.
Ling Ping’an didn’t quite understand why this ‘friend’whom he met by chance wanted to see his invitation.
However, he probably didn’t have any ill intentions.
Thus, he reached into his pocket and searched.
After searching for a while, he still couldn’t find it.
“Where’s my invitation?” Ling Ping’an frowned and started searching.
Qin Ming chuckled.
“I was just pretending!” He understood it too well.
Wasn’t he just fending off other people’s requests for ‘experience and knowledge’?
At the end of the day, it was a form of inferiority!
He could understand it.
After all, everyone’s ancestors had been rich before.
But now, it was the old Wang Xie Tang Tang in front of Yan.
Left with no choice, he had to maintain his ancestors’ face in front of outsiders, especially in this kind of situation.
Just then, the sound of an engine was heard.
Qin Ming looked in the direction of the sound and saw an extended sightseeing car driving down from the mountain.
“Someone from the imperial family has come to pick us up!” As he spoke, he followed the crowd and walked in the direction of the sightseeing car.
Ling Ping’an had finally found his invitation card, which was stuffed into his butt pocket and had a crease. Fortunately, the imperial family’s invitation card was of good quality and did not look crumpled.
He raised his head and saw that his ‘friend’ had already walked into the distance.
Thus, he smiled and stuffed the invitation card back into his butt pocket.
“Let’s go!” Ling Ping’an said to his cat. After picking up the little pet, he carried his simple luggage and slowly walked forward with the crowd.
…
Qin Keqing held the name list in her hand and sat next to the driver’s seat of the sightseeing car.
“Secretary Qin, it’s been hard on you today!” said an official beside her.
In response, Qin Keqing’s exquisite little face chuckled. “For His Majesty! It’s not hard at all!”
The official said, “Actually, you don’t have to do this kind of thing yourself…”
Qin Keqing only smiled and didn’t answer.
The official could only shut his mouth and sigh in his heart. It’s tough!
Originally, he didn’t need to come for this kind of thing.
He could just send someone to pick her up.
He could comfortably blow on the heater in the office of the villa and flirt with the female secretary.
But who would have thought that the personal secretary of the eldest princess would personally oversee every visit to welcome her.
He didn’t dare not come.
If the higher-ups asked, he wouldn’t be able to explain.
The car stopped at the waiting area.
The official tidied his clothes, then picked up a piece of paper and said goodbye to Qin Keqing, “Secretary Qin, I’ll Go Now!”
“Okay!” Qin Keqing nodded, but her charming eyes didn’t turn back at all. She looked at the bustling crowd in front of her seriously.
…
The sightseeing car stopped.
The crowd also gathered.
Everyone saw a man wearing an official uniform from hundreds of years ago walking down.
He beamed and held a piece of paper. He walked in front of everyone, bowed deeply, and then said, “Ladies and gentlemen…”
“I am Xia Qiu, the Special Envoy of the royal family to welcome guests…”
“Oh, I apologize for making you wait for so long!”
The crowd returned the greeting. “You are too kind!”
With a grin, Xia Qiu picked up the paper in her hand. After looking at it, she bowed again and inquired, “May I know if any of you young masters and Ladies have a Golden Invitation Card?”
The crowd looked at each other and finally, someone stepped forward.
It was the holder of the invitation card issued by the Cabinet assistant.
The invitation letter in his hand was dark gold in color.
“I am Ouyang Jin of Changye County in West Song Dynasty!” This person looked to be 26 or 27 years old. He was tall and big, and he spoke politely.
When Xia Qiu heard this, she immediately laughed out loud. “Changye County? Are you the son of Ouyang’s political advisor!”
‘Political advisor’ was a title that only those who had retired from the independent kingdom’s cabinet could enjoy.
As for those surnamed Ouyang who participated in politics, there was only one who was from the Western Song dynasty.
Ouyang Qin, the 30th Cabinet Minister of the Xisong Kingdom.
After this official retired, he had successively served as a state affairs counsellor in the central federal government and a member of the Cabinet’s economic committee. He had managed the state affairs and assisted the cabinet for two terms.
Therefore, he was awarded the Grade A Bauhinia Medal.
This was an honor specially prepared for meritorious ministers!
For this reason, Xia Qiu’s tone became even more enthusiastic. “Young Master Ouyang, please board the carriage…”
After a high-ranking official who had been specially recruited by the Cabinet and counseled the state affairs.
This was the descendant of a real dignitary.
Just then, Ouyang Jin bowed again, then carried his luggage and walked onto the sightseeing carriage.
At that moment, someone went forward to guide him. “Young Master, your seat is here…”
Ouyang Jin was then led to a golden seat.
The seat was very soft and wide, and there were dragon and tiger carvings on both sides of the handrail.
Ouyang Jin leaned comfortably on it, and his heart was filled with joy.
He knew that if he drove that car that his family had bought,.
He definitely wouldn’t be as imposing as he was now.
Perhaps, he would have been ostracized and even ridiculed by the others.
However, riding a bus was different.
He stood out among a group of rundown residents.
It was great being flattered and surrounded by people.
Ouyang Jin couldn’t help but recall the feeling he had when he was playing games, driving an advanced account with Max level and full equipment, and carrying an alternate account in the novice village.
When he raised his head, he saw a beautiful figure sitting in front of the driver’s seat.
He swallowed his saliva as he observed her slender thighs. Her voluptuous, fair, and graceful figure was incomparably perfect.
A small portion of her side profile could be seen, and it was exquisite and flawless.
More importantly, it was her aura!
That arrogant and independent aura that didn’t allow others to have it was extremely powerful.
Even if they were far away, Ouyang Jin could still feel it.
“Who could it be?” he thought.
Just as he wanted to go up and strike up a conversation, that beautiful lady seemed to have noticed something.
She stood up with a swoosh.
A pair of long legs crossed the driver’s seat. On that exquisite face that was as cold as an ice mountain, there was a look of joy and even surprise.
At this moment, there were a few people carrying their luggage and boarding the car one by one.
They bumped into the woman at the entrance of the carriage.
When these people suddenly met, they couldn’t help but move aside.
Ouyang Jin stood up and wanted to greet her, but he saw the Phoenix Brooch pinned on her chest.
“Is that a Phoenix Emblem?” Ouyang Jin frowned.
The Phoenix emblem was a symbol that only female royal family members could wear.
Now that the Emperor didn’t have any descendants, people who could wear such a symbol could only be the eldest princess’s retainers.
And it was an extremely close confidant.
So…
She was a person by the eldest princess’ side?
But what was a person by the eldest princess’ side doing here?
Lowering his head, he wondered, “Could it be that there’s someone like me?”
“And it’s someone who even the eldest princess has to pay attention to…”
He was terrified.
He was as happy as he was eating a chicken, waiting for the poison circle to shrink and the other opponents to be poisoned to death.
He suddenly realized that in the grass opposite him, a sniper rifle was aimed at his brains.
The fake old silver dollar had met the real old silver dollar!
Ouyang Jin understood that if that was the case.
Then, this fellowship meeting…
He should tuck his tail between his legs.
Because if he wasn’t careful, he would be eaten instead of acting like a pig!
At the same time, Ouyang Jin also silently mourned for the other members of this fellowship meeting for three seconds.
An old silver coin, who even the eldest princess wanted to send someone to pick him up, had arrived here.
It was hard to say when he would quietly sneak into the crowd.
The most pressing problem was: Who was that person?
Ouyang Jin couldn’t help but walk to the window and look carefully.
The few people holding silver cards and carrying luggage boarded the carriage were somewhat baffled.
“Brother Ouyang…” someone asked, “Who is the beauty who just got off the bus?”
Ouyang Jin licked his lips and laughed. He said, “I don’t know…”
“But it’s really beautiful!”
While others smiled tacitly, Ouyang Jin chuckled.
He looked at the Grand Princess and came to the side of the Usher, who nodded at him.
Then, the beauty walked to the side with a smile on her face.
Ouyang Jin observed the situation very carefully. He did not want to miss even a single detail.