Chapter 221 Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet

Inside the palace.

The Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet is held in Yonghe Hall.

At this moment, the hall was brightly lit, the sound of stringed instruments could be heard, and the dancers were dancing gracefully.

Xiao Junze sat in the upper position, with the empress, the queen mother, and several concubines sitting on both sides.

Xiao Mocheng and Tang Shihuan sat down one after another.

The ministers and female relatives were watching the movements at the palace banquet with their eyes and noses.

Especially those unmarried women dressed in gorgeous clothes, they were all ready to make a move.

From time to time, they glanced at Xiao Mocheng, looking shy.

Ning Jinghuai sat lazily in his seat, holding a wine glass in his hand, his eyes fixed on the dancers, looking uninhibited.

I complained in my heart: Alas, my eyes have been deeply poisoned by them tonight.

Twisting around like that, who are you trying to seduce here?

After the song and dance ended, Xiao Junze rubbed his slightly aching brow and waved to the dancers.

"All of you, please step back!"

The dancers knelt down on the spot and kowtowed, saying, "Your servants, take your leave."

According to the previous process, it was time for the ministers' daughters to perform.

The queen looked at the gorgeously dressed women below and smiled.

She turned her head and whispered to Xiao Junze, "Your Majesty, it's time for these ladies to perform..."

Xiao Junze looked absentmindedly at the unmarried women present and nodded.

The Queen raised her eyebrows slightly, smiled gently, and asked, "I wonder which lady would like to come out and perform?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ladies present showed joy on their faces.

As long as I get the favor of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it would be nice to be his concubine.

Ye Youran, the daughter of the newly appointed Minister of Personnel, stood up first and bowed gracefully, "Your Majesty and Your Majesty, I, Ye Youran, am willing to perform a dance."

"I agree." After Xiao Junze finished speaking, he picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it silently.

The moment Ye Youran raised her eyes, she looked at Xiao Mocheng with seductive eyes.

Tang Shihuan looked calm and composed, but she really wanted to get up and scratch Ye Youran's face.

Shameless vixen, who are you trying to seduce?

Very good, this Crown Princess will remember you, you vixen.

Ye Youran came to the center of the hall, bowed slightly, and as the sound of stringed instruments rang out, she swayed her body and danced gracefully.

If this scene had happened in the past, there would have been endless applause.

Everyone looked at Xiao Junze's depressed face, and no one dared to applaud.

After the dance, Ye Youran stood in the center of the hall with her eyes lowered, waiting for the emperor and empress's comments.

The queen glanced at the indifferent Xiao Junze, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face.

She covered her lips and coughed lightly, then said at the right time: "Miss Ye's dance is graceful, novel and unique, and there is a reward."

As he spoke, he took off a jade bracelet from his wrist and handed it to the maid beside him.

When Ye Youran heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Finally, it was not in vain.

She leaned forward slightly and spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, this dance is called 'Prayer for Blessings'. It was created by me."

"When I created this dance, I made three wishes."

"First, I pray to God to bless the emperor with good health and smooth state affairs."

"Second, bless the Dayan Dynasty to prosper forever."

"Third, may the people in the disaster-stricken areas of Jizhou get through this as soon as possible..."

Before Ye Youran finished speaking, Xiao Junze was immediately delighted.

He put down the wine glass in his hand, and when he looked at Ye Youran, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

Xiao Junze laughed heartily, clapped his hands, and praised, "What a wonderful 'prayer dance'."

Upon hearing this, Ye Youran curled her lips in satisfaction and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise."

The maid slowly came to Ye Youran with a tray in her hand and bowed, "Miss Ye, this is a reward from the Empress."

Ye Youran looked at the fine jade bracelet on the tray and smiled, "Empress, I cannot accept this reward."

"Prayers with a sincere heart will be answered."

These words made Xiao Junze and the Queen look at him with even greater respect.

This action made the daughters of officials present at the scene extremely angry.

The girl who usually treats the older sister as older and the younger sister as younger is actually secretly playing this trick.

Ye Youran is so scheming.

Xiao Junze's eyes swept over the daughters of officials below, revealing an ambiguous smile.

"Pass on my oral order. The daughter of the Ye family is pure in heart, talented and virtuous. From now on, she will be canonized as the Crown Prince's concubine."

Ye Youran seemed unable to believe her ears. After realizing what was happening, she knelt down and kowtowed with a look of joy, saying, "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace."

Lord Tang and his wife looked at each other, their eyes full of pride.

Xiao Junze waved his hand, "Alright, leave now!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." After Ye Youran stood up and returned to her seat, she looked at Xiao Mocheng shyly.

Xiao Mocheng didn't expect this to happen.

When I think about Ye Youran's performance just now, it's not so bad to be his concubine.

So, the two of them exchanged glances secretly.

The atmosphere at the palace banquet suddenly improved.

In the following time, several ladies followed Ye Youran's example, singing blessing songs and dancing...

During this time, the queen's eyes fell on Chu Ruoyan, who was "pale" and coughed lightly from time to time.

No wonder the general's daughter hasn't attended the palace banquet for several years. She really doesn't look very well.

Alas, it would be great if Cheng'er could seize the military power from the General's Mansion.

The general's wife glanced at the queen above her without leaving any trace, feeling a little uneasy.

Taking the opportunity to pat Chu Ruoyan on the back, she lowered her voice and said, "Yan'er, you shouldn't have come to this palace banquet tonight."

Chu Ruoyan covered herself with the handkerchief and said, "Mother, that bastard prince already has a princess, and now he has a concubine. I'm a sickly person, so I'll be fine."

The general's wife felt a little relieved after hearing this. "Then don't reveal the truth."

"Mom, don't worry, I won't reveal any flaws." Chu Ruoyan said, secretly glancing at Ning Jinghuai.

Haha, I came to the banquet tonight just for the sake of Prince Dog.

The moment Ning Jinghuai turned his head, he suddenly found Chu Ruoyan sitting next to the general's wife.

Hey, isn’t this the girl from the general’s mansion?

Is the illness so serious?

Chu Ruoyan noticed Ning Jinghuai's gaze towards her, and she curled the corners of her lips while covering her lips and coughing lightly.

You dog prince, if you dare to go to Qinlou and Chuguan again, I will break your dog legs.

Ning Jinghuai's legs trembled inexplicably.

He lowered his eyes to look at his legs and complained to himself: Oh no, someone wants to harm me.

Xiao Mocheng looked at Chu Ruoyan, who looked sickly, across from him, and a hint of inquiry flashed in his eyes.

No wonder I got so sick after not going out for the past few years.

It would be great if we could recruit General Chu into our fold.

After the ladies finished their performances, the Queen Mother found an excuse to leave the palace banquet.

Xiao Junze, who was a little tipsy, suddenly got a headache when he thought of the unpleasant things.

He stood up and looked at the ministers and their families, and said in a deep voice: "I feel a little unwell, so I will leave first. You have played to your heart's content."

Led by Xiao Mocheng, everyone knelt and kowtowed: "I hope the emperor takes care of himself."

"Your son, your concubine, your humble servant, your humble wife... respectfully bid farewell to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."

After Xiao Junze left the palace banquet with a group of servants, the palace banquet ended.

After bidding farewell to Xiaomocheng, all the ministers and their families left the palace.