Chapter 171 Moon Appreciation
Starting from the first day of August, the entire Jingwang Mansion was busy.
Except for the one banquet held in the mansion that year, the Jingwang Mansion had never held another banquet. It had been many years since the mansion was so lively and full of people.
The housekeepers and stewards performed their duties and led the servants in the mansion to clean and repair the front and back yards, the roofs and the houses, from inside to outside and from top to bottom.
Even the cats that were kept in the mansion to catch mice were caught and bathed one by one.
On August 15, there was a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
The emperor was very happy and asked the concubines and civil and military officials to attend the banquet. He also set up a garden moon-appreciation party in the Yu Garden, which was lively until the moon was high on the branches.
After leaving the palace, Yu Zheng got on the carriage, but he did not return to the palace, but went to Jiang's house.
When passing the main street of Chongming, he heard the constant noise outside the car, and Yu Zheng lifted a corner of the curtain to look out.
Unlike usual days, the streets today are brightly lit, and it is still very lively at this time. The people are holding colorful lanterns in their hands, guessing riddles in groups of three or two, or going out as a family to visit street stalls, with laughter and joy.
Yu Zheng likes this scene very much. The smiles on the faces of the people are the best proof of whether a country is strong or not.
Only when the country is safe can the family be safe.
The carriage drove through the noisy street and turned into the side street near Jiang's house, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
About a cup of tea time has passed, the carriage slowly stopped, and Zhuiyun opened the door.
"Master, we're here."
Yu Zheng got out of the car and walked towards the open door.
Zhuiyun and Zhufeng followed behind him, one carrying a food box and the other carrying a lantern.
The gatekeeper led the way attentively: "Your Highness, please follow me. The girls are admiring the moon in the garden."
The moon was bright in the sky, and the ground was covered with silver light.
When Yu Zheng walked to the garden in the moonlight, Jiang Shu and others were playing the game of blindfolded catching people.
Well, it was Jiang Shu's turn to catch people.
Seeing Yu Zheng, Jiang Ning suddenly had an idea and made a gesture to silence Tan Yu and others, asking them to quietly retreat to the side.
"Brother, where are you? Why is there no sound?" Jiang Shu, with his eyes blindfolded, raised his ears to listen to the movements around him, and opened his arms to search around.
"Sister, I'm here." Jiang Ning shouted while moving towards Yu Zheng.
Jiang Shu followed the sound and ran into Yu Zheng's arms.
Her delicate nose hit Yu Zheng's tight chest, and Jiang Shu was a little dazed by the pain. Yu Zheng also groaned softly, and subconsciously stretched out his long arms to wrap around Jiang Shu's waist to prevent her from falling.
Realizing that something was wrong, Jiang Shu's mind was startled, and she quickly pulled off the blindfold and looked up.
Her almond eyes met her dark eyes, and Jiang Shu was surprised and happy.
"When did you come?"
Yu Zheng raised his hand to tidy up the hair on her face, and said slowly: "You caught me as soon as I arrived."
"Huh!" Jiang Ning couldn't listen anymore, and went to the table to drink tea to relieve the acid.
Yu Zheng took Jiang Shu's hand and followed him to greet Jiang's father and mother.
"Your Highness." Jiang's mother stood up to greet him.
Although Yu Zheng would soon become their son-in-law, his status was too noble, and they had to greet him at all times.
"No need to be polite." Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu sat down, and Zhuiyun put the food box on the table, opened it, and brought out the things inside.
There were several kinds of snacks from the palace, and a dish of selected crab meat.
Jiang Shu's almond eyes lit up, and he took the small silver spoon handed to him by Yu Zheng and scooped it into his mouth.
"I want to eat too." Jiang Ning took the white porcelain spoon for drinking sweet soup and scooped a big spoonful.
There were crabs on the Jiang family's dinner table, and the siblings had eaten them, but who could refuse a dish of selected crab meat?
Jiang Ning was not greedy, but deliberately retaliated against Yu Zheng for eating the shrimp he peeled last time.
Yu Zheng glanced at Jiang Ning, and saw the thoughts written on Jiang Ning's face.
This dish of crab meat was picked by Yu Zheng at the palace banquet, one by one. He picked five crabs to get such a dish.
Fortunately, Jiang Ning knew his limits and did not scoop a second spoonful.
"These are snacks and moon cakes made by the palace chef Yu." Yu Zheng put a few plates of snacks in the middle of the table for Jiang's father and others to taste.
Jiang Ning became interested when he heard it, and was curious about the difference between the snacks made by the palace chef Yu.
Jiang's father and mother had never tasted palace food, so they took a piece to taste.
"Well, it's delicious, better than the one in Jiuxiangzhai." Jiang Ning finished a piece and praised it, and reached out to another one.
Jiang's father and mother also praised: "It's really delicious. The things in the palace are really extraordinary."
Jiang Shu ate the crab meat on the plate, but his eyes were fixed on the snacks on the table, wondering how delicious they were to make them praise it.
Finally, after finishing the last bite of crab meat, Jiang Shu put down the empty plate and took the pastries to taste.
Dragon Beard Pastry, Palace Peach Pastry, Moon Ball.
Jiang Shu tasted them one by one and felt that Moon Ball was a bit sweet, Dragon Beard Pastry melted in the mouth, and Peach Pastry was crispy and melted into crumbs. It's hard to tell the difference, but it's just a little better than the snacks outside the palace.
No wonder they say that the best things in the world are in the palace. It seems that this is true.
Jiang's father and mother also tasted a piece, talked to Yu Zheng for a few words, and went back to the room to rest on the pretext of being tired, wanting to leave some time for Jiang Shu and Yu Zheng to be alone.
But Jiang Ning was not interested and was determined not to leave, saying that he wanted to watch the moon with them.
"Three people will be more lively, right?" Jiang Ning pretended to ask Yu Zheng for his opinion.
Yu Zheng's dark eyes fixed, and he nodded reluctantly.
It doesn't matter, he can endure for another two months, and then he can be alone with Jiang Shu every day.
Thinking of this, the depression in his heart disappeared. Yu Zheng waved his hand and handed over the lantern that he had been holding for a long time.
"Did you make it?" Jiang Shu took the rabbit lantern that Yu Zheng handed over, looked at it from left to right and liked it very much.
Yu Zheng cleared his cough and said, "No, it was made by the craftsmen in the palace."
After a pause, Yu Zheng said, "If you like, we can make it together next year."
Next year, they will be able to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together and attend banquets in the palace together.
Eat together during the day and sleep together at night.
Chewing these six words gently, Yu Zheng felt a sweet feeling in his heart, and he was looking forward to it.
Jiang Shu and Jiang Ning didn't know what Yu Zheng was thinking, and the two of them studied the lanterns together.
"Are the lanterns in the palace different from those outside the palace?"
Jiang Ning touched the lanterns and touched them all over. He didn't know where he touched the lanterns, and the silhouette of Chang'e flying to the moon appeared on one side of the rabbit's body, and the silhouette of the Moon Palace appeared on the other side.
"Huh, it's really different." Jiang Ning was very surprised.
Jiang Shu also found it novel and called Chu Yu and Tan Yu to come over and take a look.
Yu Zheng was a little surprised. If he had known that they liked lanterns, he would have taken a few more from the palace. It was just a matter of convenience.
Yu Zheng sat quietly for a long time. Jiang Ning finally had enough of the lanterns and left yawning.
"You guys enjoy them. I have to go to school tomorrow."
After Jiang Ning left, Chu Yu pulled Tan Yu back a little.
At this time, the full moon was like a disk, and the silver light was getting brighter and brighter, illuminating the bright and quiet garden. The breeze rustled the leaves, as if playing music.
After sitting for a long time, the two got up and strolled along the path in the garden, talking softly as they walked.
Suddenly Jiang Shu remembered something, turned around and called Tan Yu to whisper a few words.
After listening, Tan Yu glanced at Zhuiyun and hurried back to Shutong Courtyard.
Soon, Tan Yu came back trotting, gently called Jiang Shu to the side, and quietly put the things she brought into Jiang Shu's hands.
Yu Zheng's dark eyes were slightly wrinkled, wondering what they were doing.