Chapter 329: Palace Banquet
However, Su Wan was still a little nervous as it was her first time here. As soon as she stepped through the door, everyone inside looked at her. The way they stared at her made her feel very uncomfortable.
Among them, there are many wives of officials, daughters of officials, princesses, and county ladies.
However, Su Wan saw Shen Qingli and Madam Shen at a glance, and Shen Qingli stood up and walked towards her.
Su Wan arrived in Kyoto this year, but she hadn't had the chance to meet Sister Shen yet. This was the first time she saw her tonight.
"Sister Wanwan, you're here."
“Sister Shen!”
In such situations, seeing an acquaintance is like seeing a savior.
"Don't be afraid, just follow me tonight, I will take care of you." Shen Qingli patted the back of her hand and comforted her.
Su Wan had taken off his cloak and followed Shen Qingli to Madam Shen's place. Coincidentally, Su Wan's position was not far from Madam Shen and Shen Qingli. There was only one position in between, which was occupied by the wife of the Minister of Personnel and her daughter-in-law.
The Minister of Personnel is the eldest brother's boss, and this position is arranged with deep meaning.
Seeing the Shen family's eldest daughter being so close to this unfamiliar young lady, everyone had guessed Su Wan's identity.
They knew all the noble ladies in Kyoto, and the only new noble lady now was the daughter of the Minister of Personnel.
Moreover, the Grand Secretary's Mansion and Su Jing were close. When Minister Su was still taking the imperial examination, he visited the Grand Secretary's Mansion several times. The Grand Secretary also strongly supported Su Jing in the palace, so it was not uncommon for the daughters of the two families to be familiar with each other.
The people in Kyoto are all shrewd. Now that they know that the Su family is very popular and have heard that the daughter of the Su family is still unmarried, many people have begun to prepare to extend olive branches.
Su Wan came to greet Mrs. Shen and paid her respects.
"Mrs. Shen is well."
In the past two years, Su Wan came to Kyoto to see Shen Qingli every year. Mrs. Shen liked her very much and often thought about her.
So when she saw Su Wan, the smile on her face came from the heart. She took Su Wan's hand and let her sit down next to her.
"Good boy, you are becoming more and more beautiful."
This is the truth. When Su Wan appeared today, her appearance was the focus. Her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, her skin was as white as cream, and she was extraordinary and lively. She was wearing a pink and white waisted skirt embroidered with crabapple flowers, which perfectly set off her temperament.
Some of the girls were envious, some felt unfair, and they only lamented that they did not have such good looks.
Before the banquet started, many noble ladies began to bring their daughters over.
Mrs. Shen took the initiative to introduce Su Wan's identity, and also introduced the identities of the ladies to Su Wan.
In the entire palace, Madam Shen's area was the most lively.
As soon as Gu Yue came in, she was attracted by this place. Among the shadowy figures, she seemed to see Su Wan's smiling profile and recognized him at the first sight.
She was now the princess of a county, so naturally she was invited to such a banquet. Moreover, she had a good reputation and her family was rich, so many noble ladies were willing to make friends with her. As soon as she arrived, several of them gathered around her.
However, they were all daughters of humble families, whose fathers and brothers were high-ranking officials, and they were too disdainful to curry favor with her, a county lady who only had a title but no real power in her family.
The higher the social status of the noble ladies, the more self-important they are and the higher their standards are. They only play with people of similar status, so there are obvious factions among the noble ladies.
Su Wan also saw Gu Yue, and she turned her head and looked at her without hesitation.
The daughter of the Minister of Rites noticed Su Wan's gaze and looked over. Seeing that it was Princess Huaimin, she took the initiative to explain:
"Miss Su, this is County Lady Huaimin. I wonder if you've heard her story."
Huaimin County Master? Gu Yue became the County Master?
Su Wan had just learned about this at this time, and she was wondering why she could see her here.
The daughter of the Minister of Rites briefly talked about Gu Yue's achievements, and Su Wan finally understood.
She said that Gu Yue did so many good things, it must not be just out of kindness. It turned out that it was just as she thought, he was trying to gain an identity for himself.
Princess Huaimin, this identity is worthy of Murong Sheng. My goodness, I will have to bow to her when I see her in the future.
Gradually, the officials' wives all arrived and everyone returned to their seats.
Gu Yue's seat was at the end of the row, near the door, with several princesses.
She is the only county lord in Kyoto.
The Empress led the concubines to the Weiyang Palace. After the eunuch announced, the Empress, wearing a phoenix robe and a phoenix crown on her head, slowly appeared.
At this time, everyone should not look around, but should stand up from their seats respectfully and properly to pay their respects.
No need to perform formal formalities, just bow.
There were six concubines attending the palace banquet this time, including the four concubines Guishu, Dexian, and Xian, as well as one Concubine Li and Concubine Xu Zhaoyi.
Today, these ladies are all dressed up, dressing themselves in a way that matches their status.
When attending grand occasions, one must not lose the royal reputation.
But only they themselves knew that the country had fought a war and spent a lot of money on repairing dams, and the treasury was in deficit. The Queen Mother took the lead in donating and reducing expenses. The various specifications of the concubines on weekdays were reduced a lot, and even the Emperor himself took the initiative to reduce expenses.
Anyone who dares to wear gold and silver and is seen by the emperor will be in great trouble if he gets angry.
"Hello, Queen, may your Majesty live a thousand years. Hello, Royal Concubine Chen, may your Majesty live forever..."
After greeting all the ladies one by one, the Queen waved her hand and asked everyone to sit down.
After sitting down, the Queen Mother gave an official opening speech and the banquet officially began. Su Wan will not go into details.
After that, the Queen chatted with the other queens in a quite harmonious manner, without the tension like in TV dramas. Then she spoke to some princesses, and some noble ladies also joined in the conversation.
Su Wan sat quietly in his seat, tasting the palace dishes.
It is relatively light and the quantity is small, which means the pastry is more to my liking.
As she was eating, she thought it had nothing to do with her, but the Queen Mother actually took the initiative to mention her.
"Where is the sister of Su Jing, the Minister of Personnel?"
Hearing his elder brother's name, Su Wan became extremely alert, slowly stood up, walked out of his seat and went to the hall.
Her steps were neither fast nor slow, and the hairpin on her head did not shake violently, which was very dignified.
I can't embarrass my brother in this kind of situation.
"Your humble servant Su Wan pays homage to Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty live a thousand years." Su Wan lifted her skirt, knelt on the ground and performed a very standard salute.
Fortunately, I learned these etiquette rules before coming here, otherwise I might have made a fool of myself.
The Queen smiled and nodded:
"Miss Su, please stand up quickly. I have no other intention in calling you. I just want to see you. Today should be Miss Su's first time attending a palace banquet. Don't be shy. Eat and drink well. If you need anything, just ask the palace maids."
The Queen Mother is the mother of the country. Now that the Su family is in its heyday, she called Su Wan out to talk to her alone, which also expressed her importance to the Su family.
"Thank you, Her Majesty, for your consideration." Su Wan bowed again.
"Well, go back and sit down, my dear ladies. This is Miss Su's first time attending a palace banquet. You must take good care of her for me." The Queen turned to the crowd and said.
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