Chapter 530 Chapter 493: The First Dance in Life

On the high platform directly in front of the main hall, His Majesty the Emperor Augustine VI sat on a throne, and the only difference from the previous emperors was that beside the emperor's throne, a throne parallel to his seat was placed— — This is naturally the position of the Regent of the Empire. Chen was sitting next to the old emperor, with a just right smile on his face. The court band is on the left side of the hall, behind a curtain.When His Majesty Emperor Augustine VI stood up from his chair, the ceremonial officer next to him quickly waved his hand, and the band immediately stopped playing.

In the hall, the cheerful atmosphere just now suddenly became solemn again. Soon, a court attendant next to him brought two gold cups, and His Majesty Augustine VI and the Regent each picked up one. Everyone understood that this was the beginning of the toasting ceremony. "Long live the Empire." The voice was not loud, and everyone could tell that His Majesty Augustine VI was not in a very high mood—but this was normal, because everyone knew that this overjoyed old man had been dismissed. However, no one dared to look directly at the tired and impatient expression of the old man, so everyone obediently picked up the wine glasses around them and raised them high. Hundreds of people responded loudly: "Long live the empire!"

And then, Prince Regent Chen also raised his glass—when he raised his glass, the hall immediately fell into absolute silence!Because everyone knows that the regent is now the real master of the empire! "May the fortune of the empire be prosperous, and the flag of the thorn flower will always fly on the mainland." The regent smiled, then raised his glass and touched his lips. "Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live His Royal Highness the Regent!!" Hundreds of people shouted loudly, and all of them, regardless of gender, drank the wine in their cups. Du Wei sat at the first position on the left side of the emperor's throne - this is also the position closest to the emperor and the regent.Judging from this ranking order, it is enough to reflect the current status of Duke Tulip in the empire!

The others, the old Prime Minister Rob Schell, could only sit under Du Wei. When the toasts are over, tonight's banquet dance begins-the next thing is much simpler. As long as His Majesty the old emperor sits in his seat for a short while, pretending, and then he can pretend to be mentally ill, and go back to rest in the palace first - tonight's affairs will be over. According to tradition, the first dance should be performed by His Majesty the Emperor and the Empress.But the old emperor is old, and the empress has already passed away.So since the coup d'état three years ago, at this formal evening occasion, the first dance at the ball has been danced by Prince Chen instead of the old emperor - anyway, he is already the emperor in everyone's hearts.

Amidst the melodious and gentle dance music, the regent stood up with a calm smile on his face, bowed slightly to the regent and queen who was sitting beside him, and stretched out his hand gracefully. This is the first time Du Wei has seen the queen.This queen is twenty-eight years old this year, and she looks much younger than her actual age. Her appearance is gentle and charming, quiet and elegant. From her appearance and temperament, she looks like a graceful and elegant queen—but only Du Wei knew that this woman might never be a queen for the rest of her life. In fact, the queen is said to be a very gentle and virtuous woman. She married Prince Chen at the age of sixteen and gave birth to him a son and a daughter. It is said that she has a kind and gentle personality and has no ambitions. , is a law-abiding beautiful woman.

The only slight fly in the ointment is that, as the official wife of the ruler of the empire, the queen's family is a little bit shabby—of course, this is also a relative term.She is not from a poor family, but also from a local noble family in the south. The family has a little influence - but at most it can only be regarded as a third-rate noble family in the empire, which is worse than the top family like the Luo Lin family. Too far too far.These local aristocrats in the south are often looked down upon by the rich and powerful families in the imperial capital, and they are regarded as bumpkins from the countryside.

After Prince Chen came to power, everyone thought that he should marry a noble woman from the imperial capital as his concubine. Unfortunately, he chose another girl from a southern noble family: Miss Dai Li, as his concubine. princess.This move was immediately regarded as a meaningful political signal! Obviously, in addition to winning over Dai Li's family and establishing a balanced political opponent for Du Wei, this action also has some other meanings: Prince Chen doesn't like the fact that the traditional rich and nobles in the imperial capital are too powerful!So it seems that he wants to support a few emerging forces to balance the power balance in the circle of the rich and nobles in the imperial capital!

Therefore, in the past two years, there has been a sign of "southern wind blowing" in the elite circle of the imperial capital. Since they both received strict court training since they were young, the court dance of the regent king and queen is very superb, and the skillful dance and various perfect skills are fully displayed, and the two are originally the cooperation of handsome men and beautiful women. Immediately won a burst of warm applause - Du Wei could tell that the applause was admiration from the heart, not just out of respect for the status of the two dancers. According to the custom, after the first dance was performed by the master of the palace, the regent and the queen bowed gracefully to thank each other, and then walked back to the throne hand in hand: "Okay, everyone, I hope you all have a good time tonight!"

Afterwards, the second dance music was played...but after the song played, no one moved! In the aristocratic circle of the Roland Empire, traditional etiquette is still very important. Because, in this circle, everything operates according to "status and rank"!The first dance belonged to His Majesty the Emperor.Then the second dance begins, although everyone can dance.It's just that there is another very subtle "tradition". There is an unwritten rule here: after the second dance music is played, the person present tonight, except His Majesty, the person with the highest status must be the first to enter the dance floor—only if this person moves first After that, other talents can leave the stage one after another, otherwise, it will be considered a rude and arrogant act!

On this occasion tonight, apart from the emperor and the regent, there are only two people with the highest status: Du Wei, Grand Duke Tulip of the Empire, who has been in office all his life and has been the prime minister of the Empire for many years The old Robeschel was one. If the two of them sit still and the others leave first...then it is likely to be misunderstood: Do you think your status is more noble than the Duke of Tulip and the Prime Minister? The prelude to the dance music was over, and neither Du Wei nor the old prime minister moved.And everyone knows that the old prime minister's health has deteriorated day by day in recent years, and dancing is no longer suitable for him.

In the past, on occasions of this kind of banquet, he usually would not attend if he could.And Du Wei is also in the northwest all year round.In the past, on occasions like this, apart from the regent dancing the first dance, the first person to leave the stage was often the finance minister of the empire, or two or three other noble marquises from wealthy families who took the lead. Sometimes the Earl of Villa will jump first. But on this occasion today, the old prime minister is here, and Lord Tulip Duke is also there!In this case, who dares to move first? Is it better than a knighthood?Du Wei is the Duke!It can be said that apart from the royal family, the duke is already the highest title! (Only the royal family can seal the prince). Than an official position?He is already an admiral of the empire!Also the Minister of Military and Political Affairs in the Northwest!Moreover, in a court meeting, the regent deliberately arranged for Du Wei to sit in his "lower left first" position, which has clearly sent a signal: Du Wei will become the prime minister of the empire in the future! The news of that time has spread through various channels. Now the most prominent young minister of the empire is sitting there. At this time, whoever acts first based on his status is clearly provoking the Tulip family, which has tens of thousands of troops and is the world's richest man! ! The nobles below were eagerly looking forward to Du Wei's first move, and besides the men, almost all the young noble girls present were also waiting with anticipation! Why? Waiting for myself to accept the invitation of Duke Tulip as a dance partner! ! Du Wei didn't bring a dance partner tonight - as we all know, his fiancée is far away in the northwest! And although the news of Du Wei's engagement blocked the royal family's marriage channels, with his current prestige and power, who would believe that the future first minister of the empire would only marry one wife? Although those real wealthy families would not marry their daughters to Du Wei as a concubine (in their opinion, this behavior is too shameful, marrying the emperor or the regent as a concubine is almost the same).But some second-rate and third-rate aristocratic families are absolutely willing to marry their daughters to Du Wei!Even as a side room! ! After learning the news of Du Wei's attendance at the banquet tonight, how many aristocratic girls have spent the whole day today on how to dress up as beautifully as possible. All the charming girls stared at Du Wei sitting there with their big eyes. If eyes could eat people, I'm afraid that our young young Duke would have been eaten to the bone. Du Wei felt a little embarrassed. He knew this kind of traditional etiquette, but... looking at those noble girls with expectant faces, he felt a little scared.In fact, according to the usual state, he can have a good choice: such as inviting a princess to dance! This is very good, because in terms of status, this is a respect for the royal family.From a personal point of view, it is impossible for him to marry a princess as a concubine, which eliminates many unnecessary reveries. It is a pity that Princess Louise, who was originally the most suitable partner for Duwei tonight, is now far away in the northwest city of Gilliat, taking care of the brave knight in her heart as a nurse. Du Wei's eyes rolled around, and then he suddenly smiled, got up and stood up, under the eyes of everyone, walked towards the bottom right of the regent with his head held high... For a moment, this kind of behavior immediately made the hearts of several girls from noble families near that place sway, and some of them blushed with excitement. However, afterward, Du Wei quickly walked up to his "target", and then he showed the most elegant and charming smile on his face, he bowed his body, his voice was as warm as a spring breeze, stretched out a hand, and said softly: "Is that all right, Your Highness?" In a word, it almost made countless noble girls present feel relieved, and even the men seemed to stare at Du Wei with their eyes widened in disbelief! Because the "His Royal Highness" sitting in front of Du Wei is the eight-year-old daughter of Prince Regent Chen, Princess Karina! Karina had dressed up tonight, and it was the first time for her to attend such a formal banquet at the age of eight.This eight-year-old girl has inherited the handsomeness of Prince Chen and the beauty of her mother. At a young age, she has already had delicate features and delicate features. She is a future beauty. Although Du Wei's actions shocked her, the eight-year-old little princess never expected that the Duke would actually invite her... However, having received strict royal etiquette training, she quickly calmed down, coughed, and quickly stood up, her eyes unavoidably flustered, and she replied nervously in a childish voice: "That's my honor..." After hesitating for a while, the little princess added a title: "... Teacher!" Du Wei was stunned for a moment, and then immediately remembered that he had also taken on the task of being the tutor of Prince Chen's son and daughter. He smiled, took the little girl's hand, and walked down the dance floor slowly... There was an obvious helpless sigh from around.But no one dared to say anything.Because although Karina is very young, she is a real princess after all! With Du Wei leading the way, the other guests finally dared to move. When Du Wei danced with Princess Karina in his arms, many nobles around invited their dancing partners to end the stage. The little girl's figure hadn't grown yet, so Du Wei bent down slightly, accommodating the difference in height between the two, and he easily bore Princess Karina's weight with one hand, half-embracing the child and dancing to the dance music. The rhythm rotates gently. Princess Karina was obviously very excited and agitated, her little face was flushed, and under tension, she even forgot the dance steps she had strictly trained, and almost stepped on Du Wei's feet several times. "Ah! Sorry, teacher..." Karina felt like she was about to find a way to get in. Du Wei smiled peacefully: "There is no need to apologize, Your Highness. In fact, you have done me a great favor." Karina rolled her eyes, and she was smart enough to immediately understand what Du Wei meant—she deserved to be a child of the royal family. "Teacher..." Karina suddenly leaned over and whispered in Du Wei's ear, "Did you know? This is the first dance in my life." Du Wei laughed. Looking at this cute little girl, he tried his best not to pinch her cute nose. He said with a gentle smile, "It's my honor, Your Highness." ... At the end of the dance, Du Wei took Karina's hand, sent her back to the seat, nodded and left.There was a look of disappointment in Karina's eyes, and sitting next to her was the ten-year-old Prince Charlie. Charlie looked at his younger sister and suddenly smiled: "Honey, I heard that he will stay longer in the Imperial City this time. I think I can ask my father tomorrow to ask the teacher to start formal classes for us. What do you think?" Karina immediately glanced at her brother in surprise, and then suppressed her excitement: "Okay! Thank you!" Prince Charlie smiled faintly, and looked at Du Wei in the distance: "You don't need to thank me... because, I am also looking forward to the class given by Grand Duke Tulip! He is the most famous genius on the mainland now! Oh, I am really good I want to ask him to teach me how to ride a broom that can fly into the sky, and how to fly in a hot air balloon, and..." Karina smiled. She looked at her brother's excited expression, but the little girl couldn't help thinking of the first volume of "General History of the Mainland" that fell into her hands! For more than a year, Karina has read all of Du Wei's notes by heart. Although she can't understand many things, little Karina is undoubtedly fascinated by them. She subconsciously looked at her toes—fortunately, in preparation for tonight's dance, she picked out a new pair of her favorite dancing shoes!Karina has decided that she will treasure the pair of dancing shoes when she goes back. ... Shortly after the end of the first song, when the second dance song started, Prince Chen gave Du Wei a wink, the two of them glanced at each other, and both understood what the other meant: it's almost time. According to the plan, in the free time after the second dance, it can be announced that His Majesty the old emperor is in a bad mood and left first, and then everyone can respectfully send His Majesty back to rest-in every public appearance in recent years, This is generally the case. At this moment, the performance of His Majesty the "Old Emperor" was perfect. He did not show any flaws. He used to sit on the throne, his spirit was a little dissociated, some of his spirit was not concentrated, and he was slightly impatient and boring.These performances are also in line with the consistent performance of the real Augustine VI. Finally, the second song was over, and Prince Chen and Du Wei both heaved a sigh of relief: tonight's test was finally passed. Prince Chen was about to stand up and announce, but at this moment... Outside the main hall, a rumbling drum sounded, followed by the horn of the guard of honor—this indicated that another distinguished guest of high status was coming! Sure enough, a loud and clear voice was the announcement from the etiquette officer standing outside the hall: "Continental Temple of Light, His Majesty Pope Paul XVI is here!!"