"Whose child is this? He is so presumptuous that he dares to touch the things on the table before the emperor arrives!" someone said, looking like he was waiting for a good show.
"I heard that this is the son of Lian Qi, the long-lost son of the Lian family. He just came back from the countryside, so it's normal that he doesn't know etiquette." Someone else said with a gloating tone.
"Don't you know how to teach etiquette? Is this how the Lian family teaches their children? It's shameful."
Mrs. Lian was furious when she saw Doudou doing this and heard everyone talking about him. She turned to look at Xie Yunjiao and said, "Are you going to bring your shameful son back? Otherwise, I won't be polite to him if I go."
"Who said my son was embarrassed? Did you see the words on the table clearly?" Xie Yunjiao said unhappily.
Mrs. Lian looked at Lian Yan and said, "Master, look at this. Is there any younger generation talking to their elders like this? No wonder you raised a son like this."
Lian Yan glanced at Mrs. Lian calmly and said, "If you don't understand, don't interrupt."
Mrs. Lian was furious. It turned out that she was the only one anxious here, and Lian Yan and the others didn't take it seriously at all, right?
If the emperor blames you later, don't drag her into it.
She won't admit it!
While everyone was discussing, Yan Qing glanced around coldly, walked straight to Doudou, picked up a piece of peach cake and ate it, imitating Doudou's example, and said, "Junior brother is really smart. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to figure out the mystery so quickly."
Doudou smiled happily: "Brother, next time I will ask my mother to make you delicious peach cakes."
Yan Qing nodded and smiled gently, "Okay."
Yan Qing said to Doudou again: "Junior brother, why don't you sit with me later and we can continue chatting."
"Isn't this a bad idea?" Doudou looked at Xie Yunjiao. "Should I ask my parents?"
Yan Qing also looked at Xie Yunjiao and Gu Huai and asked, "Everyone, can you let my junior brother stay with me for a while?"
"Of course you can." Xie Yunjiao said with a smile.
Not only did they eat the emperor's peach cakes, they also chatted among themselves, not paying any attention to others at all.
When the banquet was about to begin, everyone was led by palace servants back to their seats.
Their seats were arranged according to the rank and official position, and the higher the rank and official position, the closer they sat to the front.
Yan Qing's father was frail and bedridden all year round, so he represented the entire Yan family to attend the banquet.
The Yan family’s seat was in the front, and he and Doudou sat together.
Next to Doudou sat a young and beautiful girl. She was gentle and lovely, and her voice was as soft as a spring breeze, making people feel happy.
This is Yan Qing’s sister Yan Ning, who is about to marry Zhao Qian.
It’s such a pity that such a good girl is going to marry Zhao Qian, Doudou thought to himself.
Lian Yan was a third-rank official, but his position was not very close to the front. He was arranged in a relatively remote position, next to the passage where the palace servants used to move things.
The Fifth Prince had someone deliberately assign this position to the Lian family in order to annoy the Lian family.
But he didn't expect that this arrangement would exactly suit Gu Huai and the others' wishes.
"This location is pretty good." Xie Yunjiao said with a smile.
"What's so good about this?" Mrs. Lian snorted coldly, thinking that Xie Yunjiao, a country girl who had come to the countryside, had never seen the world and had no idea what was good and what was bad.
I guess she would be so happy to be able to enter the palace once.
After everyone arrived, they suddenly heard a palace servant shout loudly, "The Emperor has arrived."
Following this cry, a majestic piece of music began to play.
Everyone stood up and knelt to salute the emperor and his concubines: "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor."
"Long live the Queen, long live the Queen, long live the Queen, long live the Queen."
The emperor looked around with dignity, looking at the people who bowed their heads in submission, and couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth: "Your Excellencies, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Gu Huai stood up and prepared to sit down when suddenly a thin figure flashed before his eyes.
Before he could react, he saw the man looking straight at him.
He frowned, feeling something strange. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the man looked away.
"Husband, what's wrong?" Xie Yunjiao looked at Gu Huai.
Gu Huai shook his head: "Maybe it's an illusion."
Why did he feel that the figure looking at him was so strange, making him feel distressed and want to pity her?
That's impossible. He only likes Xie Yunjiao, so how could he be attracted to another woman, let alone an older woman he has never met.
Gu Huai looked around and found Ye Baien.
Just then, Ye Baien looked over at him, and the two of them glanced at each other and then looked away.
The emperor spoke a few words. First, he praised Doudou, the first person to eat the Hesu. He said that Doudou was very smart and had seen through his thoughts at a glance: "Hesu means one bite of Su per person. Everyone eats one bite."
Then the remaining pastries were distributed to everyone present for tasting, and the banquet officially began.
Everyone was expecting to see Doudou make a fool of himself, but unexpectedly he was slapped in the face. They thought that if they could figure out that such a simple Hesu meant this, would they be able to show off their skills in front of the emperor?
But they were just thinking about it. Even if they figured it out, they would not be the first to try it, because the emperor's mind has always been difficult to guess, and he would get angry at any time. As ministers, they had already been scared.
The mind of a little kid like Doudou is not as pure and simple as that of a little kid, who does not consider the pros and cons at all.
The palace servants were busy serving food, and among the crowd, in the middle of the imperial garden, there were dancers dancing in the cold wind.
Xie Yunjiao has always been afraid of the cold. Even with a big stove next to her, she still felt cold. Fortunately, she brought a lot of homemade hot packs with her, which made her feel much warmer.
She really couldn't understand why everyone could hold a banquet in the cold wind and was proud of it.
If it were her, she would have just gone back to bed.
Moreover, the dancers performed a slow court dance with a weak sense of rhythm and slow music, which made people drowsy.
Gu Huai beside her suddenly moved, and Xie Yunjiao immediately became alert and looked at Gu Huai.
Gu Huai nodded at her and left.
After a while, the people around Ye Baien who were not far away also left.
Soon the two of them reunited and headed towards the emperor's bedroom.
"Lord Ye asked me to tell you that the one who is looking at you today is Concubine Gu Shu."
"Concubine Gu Shu..." Gu Huai muttered to himself, his expression suddenly changed, "Is it her?"
"Didn't Uncle Ye say that she had already..."
"She is not dead, but has been trapped in the palace by the dog emperor. Lord Ye didn't tell you because he didn't want you to be distracted."
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