Chapter 290 His Majesty's Birthday Banquet

"This painting seems a bit ordinary. How can I make it more unique?"

Looking at the unrestrained yet beautiful landscape painting in front of her, Hu Xiner felt troubled.

She was lost in thought, and time passed by unknowingly until it was time for lunch.

Mu Qing personally brought the food over and said softly, "Xin'er, it's time to eat."

Hu Xin'er had not yet told Mu Qing that she had secretly prepared a gift, so she subconsciously put the painting away.

Mu Qing didn't ask any more questions, but just smiled and said, "Drawing to pass the time again? When can I see your manuscript?"

"Come back and see it after the painting is finished." Hu Xiner turned around. Although she was answering, she was still thinking about the painting in her mind.

But at this moment, her eyes were suddenly dazzled.

Hu Xiner couldn't help but cover her eyes with her hands.

Mu Qing asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Hu Xin'er shook her head and stared at the food in his hand—or to be more precise, at the silver bowl.

It was the light from outside the door that reflected onto the bowl and dazzled her eyes.

At this moment, an idea suddenly appeared in Hu Xiner's mind!

Mu Qing saw her sometimes in deep thought and sometimes in surprise. Although he was full of doubts in his heart, he did not interrupt Hu Xiner's thoughts, but silently placed the wooden tray on the table next to her.

After a long while, Hu Xin'er came back to her senses and said excitedly, "Mu Qing, can you help me go to the jewelry store and make gold and silver into thin slices the size of a fingernail?"

As she spoke, she walked back to the table, picked up the green bamboo brush and quickly drew a sample picture.

She was just about to explain her design ideas and production requirements to Mu Qing, but Mu Qing shook his head and made a hushing gesture helplessly at his lips.

Hu Xin'er was puzzled: "What are you doing?"

Mu Qing said gently, "It's not too late to talk after dinner."

For the sake of her baby, Hu Xin'er had to suppress her excitement. After finishing her meal, she told Mu Qing, "Whether it's the purity of the gold or silver or the craftsmanship of the thin sheets, I want the best..."

After Mu Qing brought the flakes home, she began to transform her paintings in a mysterious way.

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the emperor's birthday banquet. All civil and military officials came to pay homage, and the scene was extremely grand.

The emperor is the Son of Heaven, and his birthday banquet is the pride of the entire country.

Therefore, the procedures for the birthday banquet during the day were extremely solemn and complicated. Simply put, the emperor stood on a high platform, holding a microphone... Oh, no, I won't go to the next stage.

The emperor held the incense in his hand, thanking God, his parents, and his ancestors for their strong support.

Then he reminisced about the glorious past with the ministers and looked forward to the future.

It was not until the evening that the family dinner was held, and it was also the time to truly celebrate the emperor's birthday.

As a female member of the family, Hu Xiner could only show up at the dinner party.

Because she had appeared at the eldest princess's wedding banquet last time and attracted countless envious and jealous looks, most of the noble women in the capital knew her.

The banquet for married women is different from that for unmarried women.

Most of the unmarried women talked about things like what kind of flowers to wear in their hair, and most of the people on her side were mistresses of the house. Although they looked solemn on the surface, they were actually very gossipy behind the scenes.

Hu Xiner was wearing a long coat with a gold-woven auspicious cloud pattern and a gold-woven horse-face skirt today. She had her hair tied up in a complicated style and wore a full set of ruby ​​head ornaments on it.

She was wearing all the jewels and ornaments, and compared to her usual attire, she looked extremely formal.

Moreover, this set of headgear and clothing had all been approved by Lu's mother. It was dignified yet a bit cute, and was not inferior even among noble ladies.

But as soon as she came over, she saw that there was obvious rejection and ridicule in the eyes of several ladies.

"Is this the peasant girl from the Lu family?" Someone covered their mouth with a flowery fan and chuckled. "She doesn't look anything special. I thought she must be some stunningly beautiful girl to seduce Mr. Lu!"

Another round-faced noblewoman laughed and said, "They say a true man never reveals his true self. Perhaps this person is a true genius?"

Hu Xin'er thought to herself, this truly was the upper class of ancient times. If she hadn't been educated, she wouldn't have realized he was indirectly scolding her for being a mere peasant girl who could only seduce in bed.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled at the ladies: "Oh, so this is Madam Bai and Madam Huang? I've heard so much about you."

The two men thought she hadn't heard their sarcasm and immediately said with disdain, "Pah, what kind of poor country bastard dares to come to our capital to make money? Don't you even look in the mirror? Are you worthy of being compared to us two?"

If Hu Xiner was really an illiterate peasant girl, she would probably be confused at this moment.

But Hu Xin'er curled her lips and said, "Yes, we may not be comparable. After all, my husband married me in a formal ceremony and brought me into the house in a sedan chair carried by eight people. My husband is still a Hanlin!"

She emphasized the eight words "married in a formal ceremony and carried in a sedan chair."

All the women who had had improper thoughts about Lu Yunjue were secretly watching him, and now they all looked over.

Those with better tempers were just unwilling to accept it, while those with worse tempers showed resentful eyes.

The two ladies rolled their eyes in unison: "What's a Hanlin?"

Hu Xin'er pretended to regret: "Yes, yes, I was wrong. You two are truly noble. If you hadn't come to the Lu family and asked to be concubines but were rejected, you wouldn't have such a bright future now!"

Mrs. Bai jumped up like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "You! What nonsense are you talking about?"

Hu Xin'er spread her hands. "I'm just envious of the two ladies' distinguished family backgrounds and their successful husbands! You won't misunderstand me, will you?"

It has to be said that ever since she used her green tea tactics to subdue Mr. and Mrs. Hu, the level of the family fights has gone up a level.

At this moment, her face was full of surprise and innocence, and with a hint of guilt, she said: "No way, no way, there really is no one who is angry because I didn't marry into the Lu family as a concubine when I was young, right?"

The two ladies were about to come forward to argue, but were stopped by someone beside them: "Today is His Majesty's birthday, you two should restrain yourself."

After seeing Hu Xiner's skills, no one dared to pay attention to this tough guy, and instead started awkward chatting mode.

Although this group of people did not fight openly or secretly like the officials of the previous dynasty, they were still divided into several factions, which were so complicated that it was difficult to understand.

Hu Xiner didn't want to get involved in this mess. She felt annoyed listening to a bunch of ladies chatting awkwardly, so she walked out.

"Madam, where are you going?" A special eunuch or palace maid came over to intercept her.

Hu Xin'er had been living in the palace recently, and when she saw them, she wasn't at all panicked. She said calmly, "Toilet."

Just like that, she sneaked out of the banquet venue...