Chapter 60 He is interested in the lady
The lights are coming on.
The noble ladies on the shores of Taiye Lake gathered together in the pavilions by the water to watch the lanterns.
Across Taiye Lake, one can see the magnificent pavilion in the north. There, court ministers gathered to watch the emperor write a birthday message for the empress dowager.
The emperor is very talented, especially in calligraphy. Every year, the empress dowager's birthday message is written by the emperor himself.
After the birthday message was completed, civil and military officials rushed to pass it around for reading and appreciation, praising the emperor's calligraphy for its rapid improvement.
Pei Xingju stood by the railing and did not go over to flatter others. Instead, he sorted out the congratulatory letters from the officials. He always looked unmoved by praise or criticism.
Among them, Duke Xin also glanced at Shouci with interest and said some words of praise.
He glanced at the situation and whispered to the eunuch beside him, "Has the prince arrived?"
The eunuch brought tea and replied respectfully, "Duke, the Crown Prince has not arrived yet."
Hearing this, Duke Xin's brows furrowed. Turning to meet Pei Xingju's gaze, he relaxed again and walked over with a smile.
"Master Pei, why don't you write a congratulatory letter?" he asked.
Pei Xingju said modestly, "I've already prepared the congratulatory letter, but it's inappropriate to present it in public."
Duke Xin smiled and said, "Lord Pei has been very impressive lately."
"I wonder what Lord Liang means by this?"
"Why should a wise man pretend to be foolish?"
"Forgive my ignorance, but I truly do not understand Lord Liang's intentions."
Duke Xin's smile gradually faded. He stared at him for a while, then turned and left.
After a while, the chief eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the Concubine Jin has sent someone to ask you to go to the Sky Palace."
The Emperor put down his pen and asked, "Has the Queen Mother not left the Sky Palace yet?"
The chief eunuch replied, "The Queen Mother is still worshipping the Buddha. She is kindhearted and thinks that some people are still starving and freezing. She's afraid that the Buddha will resent her for making such a big fuss on her birthday, so she refuses to come out."
"Empress Dowager Jin has no solution?"
"The Grand Concubine Jin, the old lady of the Marquis of Xiayang, the wife of Prince Yi, and the ladies of the other families are all here, but they haven't been able to get the Empress Dowager to come. The Grand Concubine Jin said that the Emperor might have to go in person."
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other secretly and understood.
The Empress Dowager has been worshipping Buddha and chanting sutras over the years, and she has also often made donations to charity, appearing to the world as a virtuous Empress Dowager.
On her birthday, she was locked up in the Sky Palace early in the morning, praying to Buddha and chanting sutras. The ladies and concubines begged her not to come out. Why? It was just for her reputation.
If he really cared about the common people, why had he not been doing it earlier? He had been preparing for the birthday for nearly two months, but he didn't offer the Buddha worship in the morning or in the evening. Instead, he offered the Buddha worship on the day when everyone came to the palace to celebrate his birthday, acting so terrified.
But some people think more deeply.
Previously, the Ministry of Revenue was implicated in a case of illegal taxation in Hezhou. While that case only concerned Hezhou and the Ministry of Revenue, everyone knew the Liang family was involved. The Empress Dowager bore the brunt of the blame, and her actions today might be seen as an attempt to clear the air.
The ministers could see this, as did the concubines and other ladies in the harem. So they all played along with the Empress Dowager and sent someone to invite the Emperor. Needless to say, the Empress Dowager would definitely come out when the Emperor went.
As expected, the Emperor led all the civil and military officials away, and everyone knelt outside the palace to respectfully invite the Empress Dowager. Not long after, the main door of the Sky Palace opened, and the Empress Dowager was helped out.
At three quarters past the hour of You, the birthday banquet that had been prepared for nearly two months began.
Stringed instruments and wind instruments sounded, the hall was filled with singing and dancing, and ladies and noble girls gathered together in their gorgeous attire to chat and laugh.
Chen Yi, dressed in his official uniform, entered the hall. Across the noisy crowd, he spotted Pei Xingju standing in the center of the hall. Just as he was about to approach, he caught a glimpse of Jiang Baohe at the women's table, and he stopped.
After straightening his clothes, Shen Yi walked over nervously: "Miss Jiang, we meet again."
Jiang Baohe looked at him blankly: "You..."
Chen Yi was delighted: "Yes, it's me."
"You are..." Jiang Baohe couldn't remember and asked, "Sir, do we know each other?"
Chen Yi: “…”
The maidservant beside Jiang Baohe chuckled and reminded her, "Miss, have you forgotten? Last time on the street, a young man blocked a sack for you."
"Oh..." Jiang Baohe remembered: "So it's you."
Chen Yi bowed again: "It is me. My surname is Shen, and my given name is Yi. You can also call me Master Shen, young lady."
"Master Shen." Jiang Baohe bowed, and seeing him wearing official uniform, she smiled and said, "I didn't expect Master Shen to be an official."
Shen Yi hurriedly said modestly: "I am a small official, doing odd jobs in the Ministry of Justice."
Seeing his silly look, Jiang Baohe couldn't help but chuckle.
Shen Yi also laughed.
He said, "I didn't expect to meet a lady here."
Jiang Baohe's maid said, "My young lady is the eldest daughter of the Xiayang Marquis's family, so she naturally received an invitation to the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet."
Jiang Baohe pretended to be angry and said to her, "I told you not to talk too much."
"So it's Miss Jiang from the Xiayang Marquis's Mansion." Chen Yi bowed again, looking foolish. "I'm honored to meet you."
After he finished speaking, Jiang Baohe and the maidservant couldn't help laughing.
The commotion here attracted the attention of others around, who wondered what was going on.
Jiang Baohe's maid teased, "Why does Master Shen love to bow so much? Could it be that they were teachers in their previous lives?"
Shen Yi felt awkward. He didn't know why, but in front of Jiang Baohe, he, who was usually smart, became tongue-tied.
When he saw Jiang Baohe covering her mouth and laughing, he also laughed happily.
At this time, Princess Wu Jing ran over and said, "Chen Yi, so you are here. It took me so long to find you."
"What does Princess Wu Jing want me to do?"
"Come on, accompany me to see the lanterns. There are many lights on the bridge, it's so beautiful."
As she spoke, she pulled Chen Yi away in one go, before Chen Yi had the chance to say a few more words to Jiang Baohe.
Jiang Baohe sat down again, and the maid beside her said, "Miss, this Lord Shen should be interested in you, but that Princess Wu Jing..."
"This is the palace, don't talk nonsense." Jiang Baohe scolded.
"Yes." The maid quickly shut up.
.
Princess Wu Jing pulled Chen Yi onto the bridge, where many people gathered to watch. Palace maids and eunuchs passed by carrying various lanterns.
The most popular lantern is the screen fan lantern. The huge screen reflects the shadows of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds. I don't know how the birds are painted, but they are so lifelike and beautiful. In addition, there are sheepskin lanterns, silk lanterns, rabbit lanterns, beaded lanterns, and so on...
Suddenly, someone cheered not far away.
Princess Wu Jing turned her head and saw countless sparks splashing in the air, like a huge golden flower blooming and shining all over the sky.
She cheered and applauded: "Chen Yi, what is that? It's amazing."
Chen Yi was speechless: "Iron Flower, don't you have it in Lu State?"
"No, this is the first time I've seen it."
"I've seen this kind of iron flower since I was a child, and I don't think it's beautiful. Princess..." He broke away from Wu Jing: "You can take a look at it here for a while, I have to go back."
"What's fun in going back? It's just a bunch of old men and women talking and drinking."
Chen Yi glared at her: "The Queen Mother is also in the palace, be careful with your words."
Princess Wu Jing quickly covered her mouth and said, "I'm not talking about the Queen Mother. Let's go over there and take a look."
She took Chen Yi's hand, and her hand naturally clenched into Chen Yi's palm. Chen Yi struggled twice but failed to break free, so he let her go.
The two of them walked through the vermilion-roofed and green-tiled hall, ran across the Nine-Curve Bridge, and chased after lanterns and fireworks.
"Chen Yi, I'm so happy!" Princess Wu Jing said, "This is the happiest day of my life!"
Chen Yi said disdainfully: "Have you, a princess, always lived a hard life?"
"No, I was happy before, but today is different."
"What's the difference?"
"Because you accompany me."
“…”
Chen Yi felt something was amiss with this statement and was about to give it a lecture when someone in the crowd shouted, "There's a fire! There's a fire in the Sky Palace."
The Motian Hall is the palace's Buddhist temple. The Empress Dowager loved to worship Buddha, so she spent a lot of money to build several palaces in the palace to worship Buddha. The Motian Hall is the largest of the Buddhist temples, and it is also the temple where the Empress Dowager worships Buddha today.
When people heard that the Buddhist temple was flooded, the scene suddenly became chaotic.
Chen Yi looked in the direction of the Sky Palace for a moment, then immediately broke away from Princess Wu Jing and ran back.
"Chen Yi, where are you going?" Princess Wu Jing followed behind.
Shen Yi ran back to the women's section and searched the crowd. After a while, he finally spotted Jiang Baohe.
Earlier, the Empress Dowager had fainted from shock upon learning of the fire, and the Emperor and his ministers escorted her back to the palace. The palace was now in turmoil, and because the banquet was close to the Sky Palace, everyone fled, fearing they would be affected.
Jiang Baohe seemed to be tripped by something, and her maid was squatting on the ground, busying herself with effort.
Chen Yi went over and saw that her skirt was caught on the candlestick, so he hurried forward and pulled it hard.
Jiang Baohe was stunned, thinking that this was her favorite dress, and he had torn it like that.
Chen Yi said, "Miss Jiang, please leave quickly. The fire is so fierce that we cannot stay here."
Before Jiang Baohe could say anything, she felt a heat on her wrist and was pulled out of the crowd by Chen Yi.
Soon, Princess Wu Jing chased after him, but after searching around, she couldn't find Shen Yi.
The guard said, "Princess, please leave now. It's not safe here."
"But where is Shen Yi?" she asked anxiously.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
