Chapter 215 New Year Banquet

Jiang Shu and Zhuang Yan listened to Yu Zheng's childhood stories with great interest.

When the two wanted to hear more, Yu Zheng could not sit still.

"Yan'er, how did you do in your studies this year? Uncle will test you."

Zhuang Yan stopped laughing when he heard this, and pouted, "Uncle, it's the New Year."

Receiving Zhuang Yan's pleading eyes, Yu Lan said, "That's right, it's the New Year, you will be annoying. Don't do this when your own children are born in the future."

Hearing "your own children", Yu Zheng glanced at Jiang Shu, and his dark eyes softened.

"Come here, uncle will teach you how to play chess." Yu Zheng changed the topic.

"Uncle is so nice." Zhuang Yan sat down next to Yu Zheng with a smile on his face.

Yu Zheng was busy with his work and Zhuang Yin had to go to school, so it was difficult for them to play chess

together, so Zhuang Yin was very reluctant to do so. The maid quickly brought the chess set and set it up. Yu Zheng played and taught Zhuang Yin, who was very serious about learning.

It was still early for lunch, and Concubine Yu Gui knew that Jiang Shu and her didn't have much to talk about, so she asked someone to bring the leaf play, and played and chatted with Jiang Shu and Yu Lan.

In the past, in the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion, Old Lady Shen and Shen's mother often asked Jiang Shu to play leaf play when they had nothing to do, but they played with a lot of stakes and only felt satisfied when Jiang Shu lost to them.

As time went by, Jiang Shu became a little disgusted with the leaf play.

But Yu Guifei and Yu Lan were both very excited, and Jiang Shu didn't want to be disappointed, so he had to bite the bullet and play with

them. At first, Jiang Shu was a little nervous, and he spent a lot of time thinking about how to lose to them.

After a few games, Yu Guifei and Yu Lan noticed something and said speechlessly: "This is gambling. It's boring if you let them win."

Yu Lan also said: "We are all family. There is no need to play the favor card. Just let go and play."

Jiang Shu nodded with a red face, took a deep breath and got serious.

After playing a few more games, the three of them won and lost. Yu Guifei smiled and said: "That's right, this is interesting."

"Mother is right." Jiang Shu also curled his lips and relaxed.

"Come again, come again." Yu Guifei rarely played with them once, and she was very interested.

Although the emperor was not there, Concubine Yu Gui was also very happy to have Jiang Shu and the others accompany her.

Yu Zheng, who was playing chess with Zhuang Yun, glanced at Jiang Shu from time to time, and was relieved to see that they were playing harmoniously.

The royal family's affection was the coldest, and it was really good for their family to be like this.

The sky outside the palace was gloomy, as if the wind and snow were coming. Inside the palace, there were laughter and joy, and the mother and son were filial.

Because it was the New Year, warm wine was prepared for lunch. Jiang Shu and Zhuang Yun could not drink, so they prepared fruit drinks and goat milk for them.

Concubine Yu Gui was very happy. After drinking a few glasses of wine, she looked at Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu and said, "When your child is born, there will be one more person at the reunion dinner next year, and it will be more lively."

Zhuang Yin licked the goat milk from his mouth and asked expectantly, "Are you pregnant with a brother or a sister?"

Although he was mentally mature, he had not been exposed to many things and still retained his innocence.

Concubine Yu Gui smiled and asked him, "Does Yin'er want a brother or a sister?"

Zhuang Yin said, "First a brother, then a sister."

"Oh? Why?" Several adults looked at Zhuang Yin curiously.

Zhuang Yin said seriously, "First I want a brother to play with me, then a sister, so that my brother and I can protect my sister together."

"Oh, our Yin'er is really thoughtful." Concubine Yu Gui smiled.

Yu Lan and the others were also amused by Zhuang Yun's childish talk. They fed Zhuang Yun some goat milk and said, "Yun'er will definitely be a good brother."

Compared to the harmonious atmosphere in Zhongling Palace, Yongning Palace seemed dull and depressing.

The emperor and the empress sat in the main seats, Cao Muxue sat beside the empress, Yu Cheng and Xie Wanruo sat on the same side, and several children sat around at the bottom.

It was supposed to be a happy reunion banquet, but there was only the sound of cups and chopsticks clinking, and no laughter or idle talk.

After eating, the young children did not dare to move around and looked at the adults carefully.

After finally finishing the meal, Yu Cheng couldn't bear to see Xie Wanruo and her son being treated coldly, so he asked Xie Wanruo to take Yu Haolin back to the East Palace on the pretext that the child was taking a nap.

"Mother, Yongning Palace is not fun at all." As soon as he returned to the East Palace, Yu Haolin began to complain.

"Doesn't Lin'er want to see the emperor's grandfather?" Xie Wanruo asked.

Yu Haolin pouted: "But the emperor grandfather looks so fierce, does he dislike me?"

Xie Wanruo said gently: "Of course he likes me, but the emperor grandfather is the emperor, and he must have the majesty of an emperor, so that he can shock the civil and military officials in the court."

"Is everyone afraid of the emperor grandfather?"

"Yes."

"The emperor grandfather is very powerful."

"Yes, the emperor grandfather is very powerful."

The emperor, who was very powerful in the eyes of the mother and son, was sitting on pins and needles in Yongning Palace at this time.

After forcing himself to play a few games of chess with Yu Cheng, the emperor stood up and said: "I am tired, there is a palace banquet in the evening, you should all rest for a while."

The queen hurriedly said: "The bedding has been changed long ago, and I will accompany the emperor to rest."

The emperor knew that he could not leave, so he walked towards the queen's bedroom with his hands behind his back and a gloomy face.

Not only today, but also during the New Year holidays, he has to stay in Yongning Palace.

What an annoying rule.

The emperor and empress have both rested, and there is no need for Yu Cheng and Cao Muxue to stay, so they take the children back to the East Palace.

Like the emperor, Yu Cheng can only stay in Cao Muxue's house these days.

The father and son who have the same experience have very consistent practices. Every time, they go to bed and close their eyes and fall asleep directly on the pretext of fatigue.

Although the empress and Cao Muxue are upset, they can't do anything about it.

They are the masters of the main palace, and they can't just ask for love.

Staying overnight according to the ancestral system is their last dignity.

The sky is getting darker and darker, and the cold wind is howling.

Jiang Shu is used to taking a nap, and Yu Zheng slept with her in the bedroom where he lived when he was a child.

Lying on the bed where Yu Zheng slept when he was a child, Jiang Shu finally understood how Yu Zheng felt before.

Although she knew that Yu Zheng had not lived here for many years, she always felt that she could feel Yu Zheng's breath and touch his past.

"How old have you lived here, my husband?" Jiang Shu asked while lying in Yu Zheng's arms.

Yu Zheng tucked in the corners of the quilt for her and said, "Five years old."

When he officially entered school, he moved to the prince's residence and lived and studied with his brothers.

Jiang Shu sighed and said that it was not easy to be a prince.

"Go to sleep, the dinner time is very long." Yu Zheng stopped talking.

Jiang Shu yawned a little and found a comfortable position to fall asleep.

At the hour of You, several people set out from Zhongling Palace to attend the banquet in Qingde Hall.

This was Jiang Shu's first time to attend a palace banquet, and it was also her first time to meet the queen.

Originally, she should have paid a visit to the queen after she and Yu Zheng got married, but the queen and Concubine Yu Gui were not on good terms, so they stopped visiting each other a few years ago.

Although the two were in the same palace, they would hardly meet except for palace banquets.

The empress was dressed in a yellow palace dress, sitting beside the emperor in a magnificent manner. Although she was fifty years old, it was not difficult to tell from her graceful face that she was also a beauty when she was young.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Empress and Your Majesty. May your Majesty and Your Majesty be blessed with good health."

Yu Guifei was the first to pay her respects. Yu Zheng and others followed: "Your son pays his respects to your father and mother."

Seeing them, the emperor's solemn expression eased a little, and he waved his hand and said: "We are all family, there is no need to be so polite, please take a seat."

"Your Majesty is right, today is the reunion banquet, everyone be more casual." The empress smiled, which was rare.