Meng Qi took Meng Wan's arm and walked towards Shanzhi Hall. Snowflakes were floating in the sky and falling on the sisters' shoulders. Yuan Dong and Chuan'er came over with umbrellas but were rejected by the two sisters. They walked in the snow like this, one wearing an orange cloak and the other an indigo cloak, which looked particularly beautiful in the snow.
"Make a dish? Something special, something no one else has seen?" Meng Wan asked.
"Well, sister, do you have any good ideas?" Meng Qi remembered that Meng Wan was particularly good at thinking of novel things.
Buttons for clothes, velvet flowers for hair, and of course, all sorts of snacks and side dishes. Meng Wan didn't know how to make them, but he could come up with ideas and then guide others to make them, and the things they made were things no one had ever seen before.
"Are you sure the emperor will let you cook a dish for his birthday?" Meng Wan asked softly.
Meng Qi nodded, then shook her head. "I'm not sure yet, but it should be fine. Fanghua has some talent for this, and it's not a difficult idea. The Emperor will definitely agree. I want to do something big with this dish, so I want it to be unique."
Meng Wan said, "Let me think about it. I'll ask Chuan'er to tell you later."
Meng Qi put her face against Meng Wan's arm and said, "I knew my second sister was the smartest."
Meng Wan tapped Meng Qi's forehead with her hand. "You, clever little thing, who are you trying to embarrass?"
"I won't tell you, it's just a few of them."
"Don't try to steal other people's limelight too much. The first bird to stick its head out gets shot. It's one thing to let them point the gun at you, but sticking your head out and letting others shoot you down is enough once or twice."
Meng Qi chuckled. "The first bird to stick its head out gets shot. That's a good analogy. Don't worry, I won't let them drag me along to watch the fun again, unless that's what I want."
Meng Qi took two steps and stopped. "Is your cheap sister-in-law preparing for the palace banquet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month?"
Meng Wan smiled and asked, "How do you know?"
Meng Qi smiled slightly. "Every year, the palace banquet on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is an opportunity for these young ladies waiting to get married to show off their talents. How could Zhou Yingning let it go? Even if she didn't want to, your Princess Hu wouldn't let it go either."
Meng Wan shook her head. "I don't know what's going on. I heard it from the people in the mansion. This year, Zhou Yingning seems to be working extra hard. She's decided what performance to perform these days, practicing all day long, and even hired a woman from outside to teach her."
"Oh? What does she practice?"
"A lyre."
"This? Why is she practicing this this year? I've never heard of it before." Meng Qi said.
Meng Wan hummed, "The mansion also said that this is not her strong point. I don't know why she chose this to practice."
Meng Qi took a few steps, thought for a moment, and turned back with a smirk on her face, "Do you want to embarrass her?"
"Making a fool of yourself? At the palace banquet on the 15th?" Meng Wan asked.
"Yes, Hu's wishful thinking has failed." Meng Qi said proudly.
"That's in the palace, can you do it?" Meng Wan also became interested.
"I can't do it, but someone can."
Meng Wan nodded. "It seems I really need to take this fifteenth day of the first lunar month palace banquet seriously. If Zhou Yingning suffers any loss, Mrs. Hu will be furious."
"Yes, if Mrs. Hu is furious, Zhou Yu will be happy. If Zhou Yu is happy, he will thank you, and your relationship will be even better. So what do you think? I am the one who contributed to your growing relationship."
Meng Wan chuckled, "You, you're taking credit for something that hasn't even happened yet."
"Hehe, think about it carefully. If you really need it, tell me earlier. After all, it takes time to arrange things in the palace." Meng Qi took Meng Wan's hand again and walked forward.
After entering the palace the next day, Fanghua did not disappoint Meng Qi. When they heard the Queen say with a smile that she would ask each daughter-in-law to cook a special dish and bring it to the palace on the Emperor's birthday, everyone was very surprised and showed great interest.
"Fanghua, this is a great idea. How did you come up with it?" Concubine Xian said with a smile.
The Queen looked at Fanghua lovingly, "This child is thoughtful. The Emperor mentioned this to me the other day, and I was surprised for a long time. Of all the children, only Fanghua cared so much. If it weren't for her idea, I would have wanted to stick to the old routine. If that were the case, it would have lost its originality."
Fanghua, who was praised by the Queen, did not look happy at all. She just snorted coldly and sat there fiddling with her skirt without responding.
The queen secretly resents herself, thinking about what she said in reply when the emperor suddenly asked her how she was going to organize his birthday celebration. The emperor frowned and said that after so many years, there was no new idea at all, and her thoughts were not as thoughtful as a child.
The Queen only then learned that Fanghua had made such a suggestion to the Emperor. Seeing that the Emperor was obviously very interested, the Queen had no choice but to agree with the Emperor and praised Fanghua again.
Princess Duan looked very unhappy, and she had lost a lot of weight. She looked listless, sitting there not saying much, just smiling.
Meng Qi had reason to believe that, after the Empress's incident, Princess Duan must have been reprimanded or even given a more severe punishment by Prince Duan. However, on such a significant day, and with the Empress specifically stating that they were discussing the Emperor's birthday, Princess Duan, as a princess of a prefecture, had no choice but to come out again. At a time like this, even her attempt to plead illness was futile.
Princess Jing looked at Princess Duan and smiled, "Why didn't Second Sister-in-law say anything, but secretly thought of some dish to top us off?"
When Princess Duan heard Princess Jing mention her, she timidly looked at Concubine Xiang. Seeing that Concubine Xiang was talking to Concubine Zhen, she let out a breath and said with a forced smile, "How could I think of this so quickly? I must go back and discuss it with the cook."
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