On the day of the palace banquet, Song Wanning spent two hours trying to get into the palace.
This was Song Wanning's first time entering the palace as the Prime Minister's wife, and her attire was more formal than usual. She wore a moonlit skirt of Sichuan brocade embroidered with crabapples and a wide, intricately patterned goose-yellow blouse, appearing regal and elegant. Her light purple shawl, embroidered with vines in shades of purple, blended seamlessly with her attire.
Song Wanning had her hair combed into a Chaoyun Jinxiang bun and a magnolia-shaped hairpin on her head. Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyes were bright and her teeth were white. She was as pretty as a peach in spring and as pure as a chrysanthemum in autumn.
Even Yin Yichen, who saw her every day, couldn't help but show a look of amazement. He held Song Wanning's hand and said softly, "It's rare to see Madam dressed so brightly."
"After all, I'm going to the palace today, and there's a palace banquet, so I should dress more formally. Otherwise, if I wear that green robe every day, I'm afraid people will report me for not taking palace banquets seriously." Song Wanning smiled and got into the carriage with Yin Yichen.
Song Wanning couldn't help feeling a little nervous, as she didn't know what kind of troubles she would face once she entered the palace.
Yin Yichen held Song Wanning's hand and comforted her softly, "It's okay, I'm here for you."
Song Wanning nodded slightly, then looked at Yin Yichen and said, "It's been quite a while since I last visited Xuanzhi. Although I sent some supplements, it's still not as thoughtful as a visit in person. I'll just wait until the palace banquet is over, and then I'll go see him."
"Madam, please make the decision." Yin Yichen smiled faintly and did not take this matter to heart.
The two of them rode in a carriage and slowly arrived outside the palace. As soon as Song Wanning got off the carriage, she saw her lover Liu Yuyuan. Liu Yuyuan waved at Song Wanning and said happily, "Wanning."
Everyone will enter the palace and pay their respects to the current emperor before returning to the palace for a banquet.
Nowadays, this palace banquet is attended by the emperor, empress, queen mother, princes and other royal family members. It is one of the rare grand spring banquets in the year.
Song Wanning also laughed out loud, looking at Liu Yuyuan and said, "Liu Yuan, I knew you would come. I didn't expect to meet you here."
Liu Yuyuan also took a few steps closer to Song Wanning and said with a soft smile, "Your good sister-in-law Zijun should be here too, but she hasn't shown up yet."
When Liu Yuyuan mentioned this, she looked teasing and said to Song Wanning with a smile, "I never thought that she would become your sister-in-law now. It seems that I haven't seen her for a long time."
"After all, things in this world are unpredictable." Song Wanning smiled softly and glanced at Fang Sui behind Liu Yuyuan.
Liu Yuyuan had been living quite well since marrying Fang Sui. Fang Sui was a humble and polite man, and he cared deeply for her. It was just that her mother-in-law often gave her trouble, but everything else was manageable.
Everyone entered the palace together. At the palace banquet, there were strict rules for who sat where.
The favored minister, Yin Yichen, sat in a position second only to the other princes, the head of all officials. The seat next to him naturally belonged to the military commander, Song Jing.
Now the General's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion have become friends again, which makes everyone envious.
The saying "a tall tree attracts the wind" applies everywhere. As soon as the palace banquet began, the Empress Dowager joined the Emperor and Empress at the table.
Although the Queen Mother was now over forty, she still looked as if she were in her thirties, clearly due to her good maintenance. The Empress next to her looked only in her twenties, and the ladies sitting below her were about the same age.
Song Wanning sat obediently next to Yin Yichen, and only raised her head to look at everyone.
Seeing that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had arrived, all the officials and ladies stood up and saluted them.
The Queen simply smiled faintly and waved her hand, saying, "This banquet is specially held for the court's most trusted officials. My dear ministers, please don't be too reserved. Just treat it as a family dinner."
After hearing this, the officials sat down and started to feast with each other.
After a while, the crown prince who was sitting at the front stood up and walked towards General Song Jing with a smile on his face. "General Song Jing, I have heard of your reputation for a long time, but you were always at the border, so I couldn't see you. Now that I finally get to see you, I naturally want to offer you a toast."
Seeing this, Song Jing also stood up and raised the wine glass in his hand. "I am able to achieve what I have today thanks to the glorious protection of His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Your Highness is so kind to me, and I will drink it all in return."
After Song Jing said this, he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Upon seeing this, Crown Prince Xie Cheng's face lit up with a smile. He looked at Song Jing and continued, "General Song Jing, I've long heard that General Song Jing is brave and resourceful, and well-versed in the art of war. To be honest, I'm also very interested in the art of war. If you have some free time, I'd like to ask for your guidance."
Before Song Jing could say anything, Prince An beside him burst out laughing. "Your Highness, the General Liu who taught you the art of war was a great general of the previous dynasty. Are you slapping General Liu in the face? On the other hand, you wouldn't benefit much from being taught by General Liu. I'm afraid your talent is not there. It's best not to bother General Song Jing."
Crown Prince Xie Cheng was now being ridiculed by Prince An, and his face darkened for a moment, but he quickly smiled and said, "Although I don't have much talent, there is always a teacher among three people. I will learn more from General Song Jing, and I'm afraid there won't be any problems."
Xie Ke smiled and continued, "It's just that General Song Jing is now the commander of the Shenwu Army. He has countless official duties on weekdays, so he doesn't have the time to teach His Royal Highness. My brother, I think His Royal Highness should go back and read the military manual thoroughly and memorize it. I'm afraid it will be of some use."
Although Xie Cheng was the crown prince, he was always outshined by Xie Ke in the palace, and he had no way to deal with Xie Ke. Now he could only swallow the ridicule.
At this moment, the Queen who was sitting above spoke up and smiled at Xie Cheng, "Ah Cheng, you have finished reading the book I asked you to read last time. Come forward and tell me in detail."
The Queen's words actually helped Xie Cheng out of the predicament.
Seeing this, Xie Cheng hurried forward and told the queen about his current situation.
After a while, the Queen looked at the ladies below and said, "The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom now. It's a rare opportunity for you ladies to come to the palace, so you can go and enjoy them."
Song Wanning sat in the chair, feeling a bit stuffy. Seeing that many of the ladies below had left the palace, she also had some thoughts. She turned around and wanted to speak, but Yin Yichen already knew what she was thinking and said slowly, "Go."
Song Wanning smiled faintly and then stood up.
Wen Tingbai, who was sitting in the back, saw Song Wanning stand up, and immediately turned around to glance at Cui Xiaoxiao behind him, motioning her to follow.
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