Chapter 57 The New Concubine Enters the Palace
Pei Tingyue led the group and walked ahead.
Soon we reached the Moon Terrace.
Mingyuetai, as the name suggests, is a tower for appreciating the bright moon.
The terrain here is slightly higher and extremely wide. The platform is more than ten times larger than that of ordinary pavilions and towers. The towers are backed by a rockery, and cold springs flow down from above, which is indescribably vivid and interesting.
At this time, in preparation for the emperor's birthday banquet, the lights were brightly on, ice jars had been placed all around, curls of cold mist rose up, and the palace servants moved around in an orderly manner.
At the main seat, there is a long table made of huanghuali wood with flying dragon and lotus patterns. It goes without saying where it belongs.
On both sides of the upper table, there was another slightly smaller food table, which should be for Queen Mother Qin and Empress Cui.
Looking inside the pavilion, there were more than ten long tables made of huanghuali wood with magpomegranate and magpomegranate patterns, which were the seats for the concubines.
When Pei Tingyue came in, the gentle smiles and whispers between the palace concubines stopped, and they all looked at her, their expressions were either complicated, surprised, or jealous.
Pei Tingyue faced these sharp gazes and slowly sat down under the guidance of the palace maid.
There were a lot of fresh fruits and snacks, as well as iced drinks, on the long table in front of him. Pei Tingyue tasted it and thought the iced sour plum soup on the table was good. He could use it to quench his thirst and cool down in the future.
Soon, the palace servants announced something.
It turned out that the Emperor, Empress Cui and Queen Mother Qin came together.
The concubines hurriedly stood up and saluted.
After Xie Chen sat down, he looked at the table and said calmly, "No need to be polite."
The concubines returned to their seats, and Empress Cui stood up first. She smiled dignifiedly and raised her wine cup: "Today is the emperor's birthday. I respectfully wish the emperor good health and prosperity of the empire. I respectfully wish the world to be peaceful and prosperous."
After saying that, she drank it all in one gulp.
Xie Chen gave her enough face and raised his wine cup to toast her: "Okay."
Then he drank the whole cup of wine.
After Empress Cui finished her congratulatory speech, the person with the highest rank present was Concubine Xie.
Unlike her usual cold demeanor, today she was wearing a coral-colored dress embroidered with gold. A gentle smile graced her face as she drank from the wine cup: "Your Majesty, I congratulate His Majesty on your health and longevity."
Xie Chen nodded slightly and raised his wine cup to toast her.
But he did not finish the cup, he just took a sip.
According to their rank, all the concubines came together to congratulate.
Afterwards, Xie Chen just touched his lips symbolically as a gesture of appreciation and did not drink any more.
Pei Tingyue's turn soon fell on her. She picked up the wine cup and said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, I wish you a long life!"
It was a simple sentence, but it made Xie Chen speak. He also picked up the wine cup and looked over from a distance, "Miss Pei is thoughtful."
Their eyes met in the air.
Although Xie Chen's expression remained indifferent, Pei Tingyue felt that there seemed to be interest in his eyes, so he looked away, raised his head and drank all the wine.
Xie Chen's brows twitched slightly, and he drank a sip of the mellow wine out of courtesy.
Many concubines noticed this abnormality and were speechless for a moment.
Originally, they wanted to laugh at the joke of this beautiful lady Pei today.
But unexpectedly, not only did he not lose his mind, he even dressed up nicely, and his mentality was not affected at all by the new concubine entering the palace.
Now, the emperor gives her face and lets her enjoy the glory.
Is it possible that there is no way to cure her?
Thinking of this, all the concubines felt uncomfortable and were filled with anger. They secretly placed their hopes on the new concubines, hoping that after the two new concubines entered the palace, they could steal the limelight from Concubine Pei.
After the concubines from the six palaces finished their congratulatory speeches, Xie Chen ordered the banquet to begin.
The palace servants began to remove the fruits, cakes and pastries and replace them with exquisite and delicious dishes, and singing and dancing also began at this time.
Pei Tingyue didn't know what was on the other tables. There were six cold dishes and six hot dishes on her table, including stir-fried shredded vegetables, cherry meat, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, braised shark's fin, etc.
She picked and tasted them, and they were all very good, especially the cherry meat, which was not greasy and had a light cherry aroma. She ate several pieces in a row.
She was the only one in the entire Mingyue Terrace who was immersed in eating. The other concubines were busy giving gifts to Xie Chen, and there were continuous exclamations of exclamations.
Qu Baolin even took the stage himself and showed off his pipa skills, which drew constant admiration from the crowd.
Empress Cui smiled faintly after hearing this and said, "Qu Baolin must have put a lot of thought into this."
Xie Chen's eyes were calm as he agreed, "That's right."
The praise from the Emperor and Empress made Qu Baolin very happy. She lowered her head shyly and replied, "My skills are not very good, as long as the Emperor likes them."
The emperor and empress were very happy when Qu Baolin performed, but Queen Mother Qin's face was not very good.
She was originally a kind person, but today was the day her niece was entering the palace, and the first performance on stage was the pipa.
She knew her niece well enough to know that she couldn't produce such a good sound, and she was afraid that she would be laughed at given the beauty in front of her.
Queen Mother Qin gave a wink, and the nanny next to her quickly understood and quietly retreated.
While the guests were toasting each other, the singing and dancing quietly faded away, and a graceful woman came in holding a zither.
Although their face was not yet clearly visible, the fragrance of books lingering around the woman attracted everyone.
When people came closer, under the bright candlelight, they found that the woman had an extremely beautiful face, and they couldn't help but be shocked.
She has willow-leaf eyebrows like distant mountains, autumn eyes like water, a delicate nose and cherry lips, skin whiter than snow, and a gentle temperament, as elegant and soft as a lotus.
With such beauty, she can be ranked among the top three concubines.
The woman walked in under everyone's gaze, stood in the center of the stage, bowed slowly, and then sat down.
The next moment, clear and pleasant piano sounds emerged, harmonizing with the sound of gurgling water, like pearls falling on a jade plate, bringing people to a quiet and peaceful place, refreshing their hearts.
The song ended with applause from the audience.
The woman slowly stood up and bowed before the main seat: "Your servant Li Yang greets the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress."
Empress Cui smiled and said, "The rippling water is full of water chestnuts and water lilies, and the clear water reflects the reeds. Miss Li is a very good name."
Li Yang had a gentle and docile smile on her face: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your compliments."
Empress Cui smiled and looked towards the main seat: "Your Majesty, I'm sure Miss Li must be tired after all this music. Why don't you let her take a seat?"
Taking a seat also represents positioning points.
The concubines in the six palaces all held their breath and looked towards the main seat.
Xie Chen pondered for a moment, then instructed Liang Yao behind him, "Add another table for Concubine Li."
Concubine!
A rank of the fourth grade!
Only one step away from the main seat!
Even though they were mentally prepared, many concubines were still shocked.
You should know that during the Xining Dynasty, except for the daughters of several important officials who entered the palace in the first year of the reign, no one else was given such a high rank. Generally, the concubines who entered the palace started from the seventh rank Baolin.
The concubines were surprised and helpless. After all, the other person's family background was there, and it was their own fault that they didn't have such a good family background.
Standing in the center of the stage, Concubine Li bowed, quickly adapting to her status as a concubine, and changed her tone to say, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The palace servants quickly brought a long table and placed it in front of Pei Tingyue.
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