Chapter 216 Reunion

The Queen’s tolerant attitude surprised Concubine Yu Gui a little, but she didn’t say much and took a seat as she was told.

Yu Cheng was the eldest son and sat at the head of the left side. The second prince died in infancy, so Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu sat next to Yu Cheng.

The other princes sat in order, while Concubine Yu Gui and Yu Lan and others sat on the right side.

The Queen disliked Concubine Yu Gui and Yu Zheng, but liked Jiang Shu very much.

Because Jiang Shu was of humble origin, she could not help Yu Zheng. Yu Zheng married her, which was tantamount to cutting off his own arm in the battle for succession.

Invisibly, Jiang Shu could be said to have helped them a lot, so the Queen was very pleased with her.

After everyone was present, the palace maids served fruits, wine, tea and snacks. Everyone paid respect to the emperor and empress, and then ate and chatted.

Cao Muxue, who was only two feet away, noticed that Jiang Shu was drinking tea instead of wine. Her eyes flashed and she asked, "Is Princess Jing pregnant?"

Jiang Shu had met Cao Muxue several times before when attending banquets. Although they were not familiar with each other, they had met each other.

Facing Cao Muxue's affirmative inquiry, Jiang Shu could not avoid it and could only nod.

Cao Muxue smiled and raised her glass: "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Crown Princess." Jiang Shu returned Cao Muxue's toast with tea instead of wine.

Cao Muxue was wearing the Crown Princess's formal dress, a golden phoenix and pearl crown on her head, with a beautiful and elegant face, and she had the demeanor of a mother of the world.

"This is the first son of Prince Jing, you have to be careful." Cao Muxue advised with a warm and friendly smile.

"Thank you, Crown Princess, for your concern." Jiang Shu responded respectfully.

The two spoke politely and distantly, and the others were much the same. It was said

to be a family reunion, but in fact it was just a show.

Jiang Shu glanced at Yu Zheng and saw that he was leaning over to talk to Prince Rui and Prince Qi who were sitting below him.

From the words and expressions of several people, there is still brotherhood, but it is not much.

Then he raised his eyes to look at Yu Lan opposite, she was also talking to the second princess and the third princess.

These two princesses are much younger than Yu Lan, and now they have reached the age of marriage, and have not yet left the palace.

It can be seen that they like and admire Yu Lan, the eldest sister, very much.

Although they were just polite greetings, they were all accompanied by smiles, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Finally, it was time for the main banquet. The palace maids took away the snacks and presented the main dishes of the New Year banquet. Before

the meal, the emperor and empress raised their glasses and drank reunion wine with everyone.

The dishes in the palace banquet were of course extremely rich, but Jiang Shu had a strong appetite and could not finish most of them, so he just ate some casually.

After the banquet, the palace servants took away the bowls and plates and served fruits and snacks again. Then, the dancers and musicians bowed and entered the hall, and the dance and music sounded.

After a few songs and dances, the jugglers came in, and finally the magicians.

Compared with singing and dancing, everyone was obviously more interested in juggling and magic, especially the children, who watched them intently.

Jiang Shu ate fruits and snacks while admiring them, and time passed unknowingly.

At the end of the Xu hour, the annual banquet ended and everyone went back to their own places.

As soon as he walked out of the palace gate, a gust of wind and snow blew in his face, and Jiang Shu subconsciously raised his sleeves to cover his eyes.

"It's snowing." Yu Lan stretched out his hand and caught a snowflake, which turned into a little ice before he could see it clearly.

The night was dark and the wind and snow started again. The palace maids prepared a sedan chair and sent Yu Zheng and others out of the palace.

When they returned to the palace, it was already past the middle of the Hai hour, and the wind and snow were even stronger.

"Princess, warm up quickly." Chu Yu handed over the freshly poured soup.

Jiang Shu took it and held it in his arms. Shuang Hua changed her shoes for her, and Tan Yu squeezed a hot handkerchief to iron her face.

Yu Zheng wiped his hands and asked her: "Are you hungry? Can you ask the kitchen to bring some food?"

Jiang Shu shook his head: "I ate too many snacks. I'm not hungry now, so I'll send them to you later."

It's still early to stay up until midnight tonight.

The wind was blowing, and the snowflakes were dancing.

Mrs. Zhuang was sitting in the hall, twirling Buddhist beads in her hand and looking at the closed door in trance.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, a day for families to reunite. But both her husband and wife were dead and she had no relatives at home. Yu Lan and Zhuang Yun entered the palace again, leaving her alone in the house.

It was said to be a reunion day, but Mrs. Zhuang felt lonelier than before.

This year, day by day, is really hard.

Mrs. Zhuang closed her eyes and recited Buddhist scriptures in her heart.

"Squeak--" the door opened, and the wind and snow blew Yu Lan and Zhuang Yin in.

"Mother."

"Grandmother."

Old Madam Zhuang opened her eyes, and a gentle smile appeared on her face when she saw Zhuang Yin.

"Yin'er is back. Did you have fun at the New Year's banquet today?"

Zhuang Yin nodded: "I watched the juggling and magic tricks."

"Really? Yin'er, tell me about it." Old Madam Zhuang waved her hand and asked Zhuang Yin to sit next to her.

Yu Lan found a seat and sat down. She took the hot towel handed by the maid and wiped her hands. She listened to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson with her soup pot in her arms, and occasionally said a word.

The quiet and cold hall seemed to warm up with the sound of laughter.

Looking at Zhuang Yan, who was so excited and talkative, Mrs. Zhuang's dry heart suddenly felt full of vitality.

Fortunately, Heng'er left Yan'er to her, otherwise she would not be able to survive for a day.

Yu Lan looked at Mrs. Zhuang's dependence on Zhuang Yan and her heart sank.

She knew that Zhuang Yan was Mrs. Zhuang's life. If she took Zhuang Yan away in the future, Mrs. Zhuang would not agree.

But Zhuang Yan was still young, how could she leave him behind?

Yu Lan thought about it and couldn't help frowning.

After chatting until midnight, Yu Lan took Zhuang Yan back to the courtyard to rest.

The wind and snow blew all night, and at dawn the next day, the entire Upper Kyoto was covered with white snow.

After dressing up, Yu Lan woke up Zhuang Yin and went to the palace to pay respects.

Together with Yu Zheng, Jiang Shu and others, they first went to Yongning Palace to pay respects to the emperor and empress, and then went to Zhongling Palace.

Concubine Yu Gui was waiting for them. After hearing the auspicious words, she handed them money to express her gratitude.

"Thank you, grandmother." Zhuang Yin happily took it.

Concubine Yu Gui said, "Grandmother has prepared a lot of new things for you. Go pick some more."

Zhuang Yun understood what they were going to say, and followed the palace maid obediently.

"The first snow of this year came really early." Concubine Yu Gui sighed as she looked at the white snow outside the house.

"Did you go to pay respects smoothly?"

Yu Lan and Yu Zheng looked at each other and said, "It went smoothly. Mother seems to like Jiang Shu very much."

"Oh?" Concubine Yu Gui looked at Jiang Shu.

Concubine Yu Gui and the Empress had a long-standing grudge against each other. Everyone in the palace and the civil and military officials knew about it. After so many years, everyone had gotten used to it.

Except for necessary occasions, Concubine Yu Gui did not even pay respects on weekdays.

Jiang Shu only knew that Concubine Yu Gui and the Empress were at odds, but she didn't know why. Receiving Concubine Yu Gui's eyes, she pursed her lips and said, "My mother knew that I was pregnant, so she gave me many supplements."

Concubine Yu Gui said coldly, "Throw it away. You can't eat her things."

When she hadn't torn her face with the Empress, she had no choice but to eat the supplements given by the Empress, and she could never get pregnant again.

Although having Yu Lan and Yu Zheng was enough, being persecuted was always annoying.

"Don't worry, mother, I understand." Yu Zheng knew what Concubine Yu Gui was thinking, and agreed for Jiang Shu.

It was New Year's Day, and Concubine Yu Gui didn't want to say too much to ruin her mood. She just looked at Jiang Shu's belly with a solemn face.

If the Empress dared to touch this child, she would never let her go.