Chapter 478 Entering the Palace for a Banquet
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the capital was exceptionally lively. People in the streets and alleys were all smiling, and when horse-drawn carriages passed by, you could hear the sound of fireworks, which was even more lively than usual.
Tang Ning had her hair styled like a dragon core bun. She took off the lotus wood hairpin she usually wore and replaced it with a jewel-studded gilt moon-shaped hairpin with hanging pearls. A circle of jeweled flowers was pinned at the bottom of her bun. A few strands of soft hair fell in front of her forehead, making her face look small and fair.
Rong Yue was also dressed elegantly and noble today. Her bright face was covered with a long azure dress that was gorgeous and low-key, and she would not steal the limelight from the other noble ladies in the palace.
"There are so many people entering the palace today." Rong Yue said while sitting in the carriage and lifting the curtain.
There is only one road from the capital to the palace gate, and there are countless carriages heading that way on this road.
Tang Ning was flipping through the things on hand when he heard this and replied, "In previous years, the palace banquet had a fixed number of seats. Only officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital could enter the palace to attend the banquet with their ladies. This year, His Majesty wanted the palace banquet to be lively and he also said that he wanted to use the palace banquet to celebrate the Empress Dowager who has been ill for a long time. So, my brother lowered the rank a bit."
There has always been a shortage of officials in the capital, and the fourth rank is the watershed.
If you go up one level, you can eliminate a large number of people, but Xiao Yan is planning a palace banquet this year, and he just follows Emperor An's request that it should be as lively as possible, so he lowers the lower limit to the sixth-rank officials in Beijing.
Even though there is only one more second rank, with six ranks above and below, the number of people who can enter the palace has more than doubled.
It would be strange if it wasn't lively.
Rong Yue looked at the palace gate that was getting closer and closer and the carriages that were getting more and more crowded, feeling a little uneasy. She turned around and saw Tang Ning holding two sachets to pack things.
"What are you doing?"
"Pack some snacks."
Tang Ning stuffed the last two finger-knuckle-sized red bean cakes into the slightly larger brocade sachet, and then handed one to Rong Yue.
"There's never much to eat at the palace banquets, and with so many people gathered together, if you accidentally move your chopsticks a few more times you'll be stared at. Uncle Gu was worried that we'd be hungry, so he had someone prepare some snacks and bring them into the palace to eat."
"This snack is not big, one bite is just right, and it's soft and sticky without falling apart. It's all our favorite flavors. Aunt, bring it with you, so you can eat it when you get hungry when you enter the palace later."
The palace has strict etiquette and rules, and those who attend the banquet cannot just start eating immediately. Many times they have to wait outside for a long time.
Those who could enter the palace were all court officials, noble ladies, and girls from aristocratic families with excellent family backgrounds. Everyone was afraid of making a fool of themselves in front of the nobles, or losing face by clamoring to go to the toilet, so most people would try to eat less and drink less water before entering the palace. Even during banquets, most of them would not eat their chopsticks, and would wait all the way out of the palace and return home.
Gu Helian knew that there would be trouble in the palace tonight and it would be uncomfortable to endure it alone, so she had someone prepare snacks early for them to bring into the palace.
Rong Yue held the sachet and said, "That's all he does."
"That's not a hassle, uncle is just concerned about you." Tang Ning took a small snack from his sachet and put it into Rong Yue's mouth: "Aunt, try it, it's delicious."
The dessert is slightly sweet but not greasy at all, and has a faint fruity aroma. It is soft and easy to eat, and will not choke you or leave you with a dry mouth.
Rong Yue smiled and hung the sachet around her waist: "He is thoughtful."
After the carriages crossed the Jinshui Bridge, they stopped in front of the palace gate one after another and could not move forward. Everyone got off here and walked into the palace.
Tang Ning and Rong Yue were not too special. They followed the crowd and got off the carriage and entered the palace. On the way, acquaintances greeted Rong Yue from time to time. After Rong Yue nodded in response, she whispered the identities of those people to Tang Ning. After walking through the long palace road for a long time, they were led to Deyu Palace.
The palace servant accompanying Tang Ning and the others suddenly whispered, "Princess Xiangning, the Governor has asked me to tell you that autumn has begun to cool down, and the Imperial Garden will be even colder around the time of the banquet. If you and Madam Rongguo want to enjoy the moon, you can go to the Luyun Terrace nearby to avoid catching a cold in the Imperial Garden."
Tang Ning paused and nodded: "I understand."
"Tang Ning?" Rong Yue couldn't help but whispered after seeing the palace maid leave, "What happened?"
Tang Ning lowered her voice and said, "Don't go to the Imperial Garden tonight."
Rong Yue's expression changed, and just as she was about to speak, she heard a voice coming from inside the hall.
"Ayue."
"Tang Ning!"
She quickly swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and when she looked up, she saw the wife of Marquis Wenxin and the mother and daughter of the Qian family coming towards her, with the smiling Mrs. Fu standing next to them.
When Rong Yue and Tang Ning saw them, they couldn't help but smile.
After greeting a few people, Qian Qiyue went straight to Tang Ning, took her arm and said, "Tang Ning, why are you and your aunt here so late? I thought you weren't going to the palace today."
"What aunt? She's so unruly." Madam Qian scolded her daughter lightly, feeling helpless towards her daughter. "Don't mind her, Madam Rong. She's just so outspoken."
Rong Yue smiled and said, "She's trying to get close to us. Tang Ning and I don't have many relatives, so we're so happy to have a niece for free."
"That's right, my aunt loves me." Qian Qiyue hugged Tang Ning's arm, turned her head and made a face at Mrs. Qian in dissatisfaction.
Mrs. Qian slapped her head in annoyance and said, "I think you are just a monkey trying to climb up the ladder."
Qian Qiyue cried out, "Mom, it hurts!"
Several people couldn't help laughing.
After a few words, many people in the hall saw Rong Yue and came over to greet her. The wife of Marquis Wenxin and others talked with Rong Yue to others, while Qian Qiyue pulled Tang Ning and a little girl from the Fu family aside.
"This is Fu Jinrou, the younger sister of the Fu family in Lingnan. Jinrou, this is Tang Ning."
This was the first time Tang Ning met the girl from the Fu family, but he had heard about her from Qian Qiyue before.
Fu Laiqing's biological sister, the eldest wife of the Fu family, had married off a long time ago, and the second wife, born out of wedlock, had also married off. There was still an unmarried girl living in the Fu family, who was the daughter of Fu Laiqing's second grandfather.
She had reached the age to get married, but due to some reasons her marriage in Lingnan did not go smoothly, so she was brought to the capital to live temporarily with the Fu family, hoping that Madam Fu would help her find a suitable marriage in the capital.
Fu Jinrou lived up to her name, with a beautiful appearance. She spoke softly and gently, "Jinrou greets the princess."
Tang Ning smiled and said, "No need to be polite, get up quickly."
Fu Jinrou stood up and said softly, "I've heard my cousin talk about the princess many times before. Every time he mentioned the princess, he was full of praise. Even my great-aunt and the others praised the princess. Today I have the honor of meeting her. The princess is indeed extraordinary. No wonder she was able to establish Rongsheng Academy."
Tang Ning's smile faltered: "Miss Fu, you are too kind."
Fu Jinrou said, "I haven't been in Beijing long. Sister Qian and Sister Zhou often take me around. I wanted to go to the academy on its opening day, but I happened to be ill. It's a pity that I didn't see the grand sight of the Wende Monument."
"Sister Qian said that the academy's library is extremely impressive. If there's a chance, I wonder if Jinrou would be lucky enough to go inside and take a look?"
Her eyes were full of desire and she looked a little embarrassed.
Tang Ning looked at the shyness on her face and saw that she looked intimate when she mentioned Qian Qiyue and Zhou Yuchang, so she just smiled indifferently.
"If you want to go, just tell the academy and ask Master Fu to take you there. Just don't copy the books in the academy, and don't borrow them. Just don't disturb the students there."
Fu Jinrou was immediately delighted: "Great, then I'll discuss it with my cousin when I get back."
Fu Jinrou is about the same age as Tang Ning. When she is purely happy, her eyebrows are curved and her face is full of an unconcealable smile.
Over there, Mrs. Fu saw someone and suddenly called out to this side. Fu Jinrou quickly said goodbye to them and turned to go over there.
Qian Qiyue waved her hand: "Tang Ning, what are you looking at?"
Tang Ning withdrew his gaze from Fu Jinrou and said, "Nothing."
She always felt something was strange when Fu Jinrou mentioned Fu Laiqing's high praise for her, but Fu Jinrou really seemed to be speaking casually, so maybe she was just overthinking it.
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