Chapter 79 A wife cannot trust what a man says in bed.
Although Su Panyue had the power to manage the six palaces from an early age, Xie Lanzhou's harem was practically non-existent, let alone managed.
Therefore, this year's New Year's family banquet became the first time Su Panyue had to handle such matters.
She first went to Xie Lanzhou to confirm the guest list. Although the Xie royal family had declined, there were still many branches of various kinds.
Xie Lanzhou stared at the list for a long time before finally saying, "I don't remember many of them. You can decide what to do."
Su Panyue pouted speechlessly, "You don't even remember your own relatives..."
Xie Lanzhou smiled dismissively, "There is no kinship in the royal family. If I really notice you, then you'll be in trouble."
Su Panyue was amused by him and muttered as she crossed out a few names.
Xie Lanzhou doesn't remember any of these people; it would be very awkward to invite them.
The final list was finalized, and only a dozen or so close members of the royal family and nobles were invited, making it a small family banquet.
Xie Lanzhou neither agreed nor disagreed, simply telling her to do as she pleased.
However, Su Panyue still spent three days preparing everything from the invitations to the menu. After all, these people were Xie Lanzhou's relatives, and although there were differences in closeness, she wanted to treat them all seriously.
Before she knew it, it was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. Su Panyue got up early, which was unusual for her. When she woke up, Xie Lanzhou was still asleep.
The weather has been cold lately, and she especially likes to cuddle with him while sleeping; it's warmer than any heater.
She turned around and looked up at his sleeping face.
The man's tightly closed eyes made him appear less sharp and more pitiful.
With her intentional or unintentional feeding recently, he has finally gained some weight, and his muscles have become more and more solid. She often feels that her ability to keep up with the demands is a gift.
After watching for a long time, she decided to go closer and steal a kiss.
The moment his lips touched hers, someone grabbed the back of her neck. He was like a cheetah that had been lying in wait for its prey, and once it got its grip, it wouldn't let go.
From gently licking to further prying open her teeth, before Su Panyue could even react, he had already conquered her territory, and she couldn't help but let out a soft moan from the corner of her lips.
Before things got completely out of control, she raised her hand to his chest to stop him from getting any closer, reminding him, "Today is the day of the banquet."
Xie Lanzhou gave a faint "hmm" and continued working.
Su Panyue bit her lip in unbearable pain, wanting to refuse again, but he silenced her with a kiss.
When the kiss ended, she had no strength left to resist and melted into his arms like a pool of spring water.
"It's still early, I'll hurry, it won't delay you," Xie Lanzhou reassured her even while busy.
As it turns out, you should never believe what a man says in bed. He said it would take two hours, but by the time the two of them got ready and got up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Su Panyue glared at him, clutching her aching back, thankful that she had gotten up relatively early today, otherwise she would have been really late.
Xie Lanzhou was going to the Imperial Study to discuss matters, so Su Panyue took Feixue to the Imperial Garden.
The banquet was scheduled for the evening, but in the afternoon, noble ladies and wives from various families would arrive at the palace in advance to enjoy the flowers and tea in the Imperial Garden.
The Imperial Household Department has recently cultivated a batch of chrysanthemums and peonies that can bloom even in winter, with very vibrant colors. There are also many white plum blossoms and winter plum blossoms in the Imperial Garden, adding a unique charm.
Although the scenery was beautiful, it was too cold in winter to enjoy the view from the garden. So Su Panyue ordered people to surround the pavilion in the middle of the Imperial Garden with transparent glass early on, so that the view would not be obstructed and tea could be brewed around the stove there.
To her surprise, some people had already arrived before lunchtime.
A palace maid stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, inside are two cousins from the Duke's mansion and the Prime Minister's eldest daughter."
Su Panyue nodded and stepped inside. Since everyone had arrived, she naturally wanted to take a look.
The three people inside the pavilion stopped talking when they heard her enter. After a moment of stunned silence, it was the young lady from the Duke's mansion who reacted first and bowed respectfully.
"This humble woman pays her respects to Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine."
The other two then realized what was happening and followed suit, bowing in greeting.
As they bowed, Su Panyue was also secretly observing them.
The two cousins from the Duke's mansion were an older and a younger one. The older cousin, who had just paid her respects, was only in her early twenties and was quite pretty and gentle. The younger cousin was still a little girl with her hair in two buns and a chubby little face that was very endearing.
She was somewhat surprised by the Prime Minister's eldest daughter. She had always heard Xie Lanzhou say that the Prime Minister was a rigid and inflexible person who did not know how to adapt. She never expected that his daughter would be such a bright and charming beauty.
It had just snowed yesterday, and it was quite cold today, yet this young lady was wearing an open-fronted jacket and skirt, with a velvet-trimmed undershirt underneath, revealing her slender neck and the bright red jade pendant on her neck.
With just a quick glance, Su Panyue knew why the two had arrived so early.
She didn't immediately tell them to get up, but instead turned her head and gave Feixue a look.
The latter understood immediately and reminded them, "The ladies probably don't know yet, but His Majesty has already ordered that my mistress be made Empress."
Except for the chubby-faced girl who didn't quite understand, the other two froze on their faces.
According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, one only needs to curtsy when meeting concubines, but one needs to kneel when meeting the Empress. In other words, they had to kneel before Su Panyue.
Seeing the two women's embarrassed expressions, Su Panyue finally spoke up: "It's alright, ladies, no need for formalities, please sit down." She only wanted a simple reminder; if someone actually knelt down to her, she would feel extremely awkward.
After everyone was seated, Su Panyue picked up the tea on the table and took a sip to warm herself up. The young lady next to her immediately spoke up: "This tea is pre-rain Longjing, right? It should be the first batch of new tea. The taste is excellent. What does Your Highness think?"
Su Panyue gave her a strange look. She knew nothing about tea, only that it could soothe the throat, quench thirst, and warm the body. So she casually replied, "It's alright."
Palace maids brought in several more pots of chrysanthemums and placed them in the warm pavilion for the women to admire up close.
When Wanrou, the prime minister's eldest daughter, saw the pot of rouge-colored chrysanthemums, her eyes lit up. Su Panyue nodded in agreement, also thinking that this pot was the most beautiful.
"Your Majesty, may I be granted a flower?" Wanrou asked, pointing to the pot of crimson chrysanthemums.
"One flower?" Su Panyue tilted her head. The Imperial Household Department had cultivated several pots of these Rouge Chrysanthemums this year. If she liked them, they could give her one.
“Yes, I think this flower matches my hair ornament very well.” Wanrou said, raising her chin up again.
Su Panyue then noticed that she was wearing a complete set of headdress made of rouge and agate, which was very luxurious.
She frowned as she glanced at the beautifully blooming flowers, feeling a little displeased. Her tone became more playful, "Miss Chen, you should take a break. I doubt you can fit any more decorations in your hair. I hope people won't think you've turned into a spirit ball."
The prime minister's eldest daughter, who had been pampered since childhood, had never heard such a tone before. She was filled with shame and indignation, and her face flushed red.
Su Panyue ignored her and picked up a piece of pastry to tease the youngest cousin, "What's your name?"
"Your Majesty, my name is Cherry," the little girl replied with a sweet smile as she took the pastries from her hands.
Su Panyue affectionately stroked the top of her fluffy hair and asked softly, "Cherry, would you like to build a snowman?"
"Yes! Is that okay?" She looked up excitedly, forgetting all about eating the cherry pastries.
Su Panyue agreed, "Okay, I'll take you to see the snowman I built after lunch."
It has been snowing on and off these past few days. Su Panyue dragged Xie Lanzhou to a corner of the Imperial Garden and built a lot of snowmen. Xie Lanzhou would help her build them, but when asked to praise the snowmen she built, he couldn't say anything nice. So Su Panyue had been looking for a playmate who would really appreciate her work.
Just as she was pondering this, a eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, His Majesty asks when you will have your meal."
Su Panyue glanced at the sky, stood up and said, "I'll go now."
After saying that, he turned to leave, but then seemed to remember that there were still three people, so he politely asked, "Would you ladies like to have a meal together? We can enjoy the flowers together this afternoon."
This question revealed the reason why the two had come so early: it would be good to have a meal with His Majesty beforehand. So the two lowered their heads and pretended to decline, "Wouldn't that be too much of a disturbance to His Majesty?"
Only the little girl, Cherry, whispered, "What do you want to eat?"
Su Panyue smiled, took her hand, and said to the two of them, "Since you two ladies are unwilling, that's fine. The Imperial Kitchen will send over lunch. After you eat, you can go to the side hall to rest."
Then, looking down, he answered Cherry's question: "We'll find out what we're eating when we go see. It's delicious."
Cherry glanced timidly at her sister's somewhat strange expression, but was eventually led away by Su Panyue.
Upon arriving at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the kitchen staff had already laid out the dishes. Xie Lanzhou raised an eyebrow and glanced at the little girl Su Panyue had brought, seemingly deep in thought.
Su Panyue reminded her, "Cherry, greet people."
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Su Panyue patted her head, picked her up and sat her on the stool, then turned to Xie Lanzhou and said, "This is the cousin of the Duke's mansion, don't you recognize her?"
"I remember, why are you here so early?" Xie Lanzhou said, naturally serving Su Panyue some food.
Su Panyue was busy serving food to Yingtao and casually replied, "Not only her, but also that eldest cousin and the Prime Minister's eldest daughter arrived early. Can you guess why?"
Xie Lanzhou glanced at the well-behaved little girl sitting quietly eating beside him and asked in a low voice, "Are you jealous?"
Su Panyue rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't."
Xie Lanzhou tilted her head and looked at her, asking, "Then why didn't you bring everyone over for the meal? You only brought this little one?"
Su Panyue had now figured out the old fox's trap and learned how to fight back. Instead of answering, she asked, "You want to eat with them?"
Xie Lanzhou laughed and praised, "Madam has become wiser; eat more fish to nourish yourself."
Cherry, who was quietly eating nearby, suddenly asked, "Isn't it the Empress? Who is the Lady?"
Before Su Panyue could speak, Xie Lanzhou explained, "She is the Empress of the world, and my wife alone."
Cherry didn't seem to understand, she just nodded and continued gnawing on the pig's trotter.
Su Panyue looked up at the arrogant man, smiled, and said nothing more.
After lunch, the wet nurse took Cherry away to rest. Su Panyue usually took a midday nap, but today she found it difficult to fall asleep.
Just as she was tossing and turning, Feiyan ran back with a message: "My lady, the Duke has arrived."
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Author's Note: The countdown to completion has begun. I'm currently preparing a side story, tentatively planning to write about the married life of the young couple. I'd like to solicit your opinions; please leave a comment if there's anything you'd like to see. [glasses]
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