Chapter 118 If Line: If Yuanyuan Becomes a Concubine (9)
From the corner of his eye, Xiao Qi noticed that the maid who was about to serve tea to Concubine Yang Yuan seemed to be behaving unnaturally, and his finger bones holding the teacup tightened slightly.
Just before the banquet started, Concubine Wei Shu suddenly said she was not feeling well and ultimately did not come to the banquet.
But she was caught off guard and confessed her entire plan to Xiao Yan, one of which was to arrange for the tea-serving maid to pretend to make a mistake and spill the tea on Concubine Yang Yuanfei.
Time was running out and there was no time to check the palace maids on duty in Chunxi Palace today. Xiao Yan simply sent people to seal off the west side hall that had been fumigated with warm fragrance in advance, directly cutting off the source of the problem.
At that time, even if Concubine Yang Yuanfei really needed to change clothes, she could only go to the East Side Hall.
The little palace maid came forward with the teapot, took a deep breath, and was about to pour the tea when Su Yue stopped her.
"Empress Yuanfei will have us to serve her. Give me the teapot and you can leave." Su Yue said expressionlessly.
The little palace maid was obviously stunned for a moment, but she didn't dare to disobey, so she had to bite her lower lip and hand the sandalwood tray in her hand to Su Yue.
Su Yue did not serve the pot of tea directly, but signaled Dan Gui to go to the tea room to get a new pot.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan's expression relaxed slightly.
Yang Manyan, who was in the whirlpool, was sitting upright at the moment, completely unaware of what was happening around him.
It was her first time attending a court banquet, so she was inevitably a little nervous and reserved.
She didn't dare touch the snacks on the table. If she hadn't been really thirsty, she wouldn't even want to drink the tea.
There was an endless sound of musical instruments in the hall, and the people below were toasting and laughing.
At this moment, the man on the throne, who was wearing a black brocade robe with a dragon pattern, suddenly raised his hand with a solemn expression.
Upon seeing this, everyone below fell silent and straightened their backs unconsciously.
The emperor ordered in a deep voice: "Give all the snacks in front of me to Concubine Yuan."
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.
Giving snacks as a reward was just a small matter, but their emperor had always been clear about rewards and punishments, and was impartial to the point of being cold-hearted. He had never given anyone extra rewards at a palace banquet.
Even Queen Mother Jiang, who was sitting on the west side of the throne, raised her eyes slightly. It seemed that Concubine Yang Yuan was far more favored than she had imagined.
Xiao Qing on the east side gently stroked the thin body of the teacup with his fingertips, his eyes slightly lowered so that no one could tell his expression.
"Yes, I obey your command!" Chang Ying responded with a flattering smile and ordered the eunuchs to bring the snacks over.
Yang Manyan was stunned for a moment, and when she looked up, she happened to meet the man's deep and gloomy eyes. Her heart trembled slightly, and she hurriedly stood up to express her gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
Several small plates of snacks that were originally placed on the imperial table were brought over, including kidney bean rolls, almond tofu, osmanthus bean paste crisps, and sugar steamed yogurt...
Yang Manyan blushed slightly. She did like sweets, but it would be too conspicuous for the emperor to single her out in public.
The emperor didn't think much about it. As the supreme ruler of the world, he never considered anyone's opinion when doing things.
He knew that his concubine was a greedy person. After breakfast today, she followed him to watch the dragon boat race and had not had a drop of water until now. She must be hungry.
It would be impolite not to use some of the delicious bean paste cake since it was personally bestowed by the Emperor. So Yang Manyan had no choice but to carefully pick up a piece of the bean paste cake with his ivory chopsticks and take a few bites.
It's a bit sweet and the taste is far inferior to that of Xiyuan Kitchen...
But she was really hungry now, so she didn't find it difficult to swallow and tried everything.
As the sun sets, the Dragon Boat Festival banquet comes to an end.
The emperor led Yang Manyan to leave first, while Empress Dowager Jiang ordered Xiao Yan to stay. She also specially asked the few concubines who had been recorded to come forward and questioned them in turn.
Xiao Yan remained calm and remained unmoved no matter how Queen Mother Jiang tried to persuade him.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, several months have passed.
Since the beginning of autumn, the emperor and his concubines moved back to the imperial palace from the Western Garden Palace, and still lived together in the Qianqing Palace.
When Yang Manyan was in Xiyuan, she could at least enjoy the scenery and kill time, but after returning to the palace, she became completely depressed.
The entire palace was like a giant cage. Apart from the vermilion walls, there were golden palaces, green tiles and red roofs, layer upon layer, with no end in sight.
Sometimes Yang Manyan couldn't help thinking that if she could keep busy, maybe life would be easier to endure.
But she was just a minor concubine. The palace affairs were managed by the inner court. The emperor never allowed her to get close to the Southern Study Room where government affairs were handled, and he never talked to her about the affairs of the outer court.
If she were asked to do knitting or needlework, she would not be interested...
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Wenyuan Pavilion houses books from all over the world. I have been fascinated by it for a long time. Can you let me go there to broaden my horizons?"
The hall was brightly lit, and the flickering candlelight was reflected in her clear eyes, with little sparks of light dancing.
The emperor frowned slightly. "Wenyuan Pavilion is located behind Wenhua Palace. Foreign officials come in and out at any time to teach the prince. If you want to read any book, just send someone to get it."
Yang Manyan had expected to be rejected, but he was not discouraged.
She continued to coax him: "But I heard that Wenyuan Pavilion was built in imitation of Tianyi Pavilion in Zhejiang. I have never been to Jiangnan, so I want to go to Wenyuan Pavilion to take a look..."
After being favored every night for half a year, she seemed to have grown up a little, and her eyes and eyebrows were so delicate and charming that it seemed as if water was about to drip from them.
When she starts to act coquettishly, it's hard to resist.
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Yang Manyan took the initiative to kiss him again, "Your Majesty, please agree to my request..."
The man's Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he asked meaningfully: "What benefits will I get if I agree to your request?"
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