Chapter 115 Gift

Princess Kangle felt that the emperor was really meddling. If he gave this banquet today, word might spread in the capital tomorrow that the emperor was eyeing the daughter of the Shen family to be the next prince's consort.

As if having so many sons isn't enough for her to worry about, she spends all day worrying about things that are bound to happen.

"Well, forget it. I am just worried because the eldest, second and third brothers are going to get married in a new year and there is still no news about it."

"Thank you for your concern, uncle. But I am not in a hurry to get married right now. If the time comes for me to get married, I will tell you first."

Xie Hui was afraid that his mother would say something unpleasant again, which would make the emperor lose face. Today, he also saw that the emperor was actually angry because the queen and the noble concubine had embarrassed him.

"Your Majesty, I also think that there is no rush for a scheduled wedding. Next year, the weddings of the three princes alone will be enough to keep us busy. We have to take breaks from drinking wedding wine. Next year, we will have the weddings of the three brothers. The year after next, it may be the turn of the scheduled wedding. After that, it may be my little five's turn. Every year, there will be excitement. Isn't this better?"

Concubine Rong suddenly spoke up, which surprised Princess Kang Le. Concubine Rong usually kept a low profile in the harem, and even the queen said that she was not competitive.

But she said that she was not favored, and she gave birth to two princes. When the emperor conferred titles on her, he did not forget her and ranked her among the four concubines.

Come to think of it, he is not a simple character.

Princess Kangle had little contact with her in the past, but she didn't expect that she would stand up and smooth things over today.

Sure enough, after hearing what Concubine Rong said, the emperor immediately laughed, and the previous embarrassment disappeared.

"Concubine Rong is right. If we have them come one by one, it will be lively every year. There is a time limit. When you want to get married, just tell your uncle."

"yes."

"Your Majesty, I think it would be better to do this. It is only right to reward the ministers on New Year's Eve. It is not convenient to reward them with a banquet. It would be better to just give them a dish to show your majesty's grace."

The one who spoke was the Sixth Prince's biological mother, Concubine Mei.

Because the Sixth Prince was born on the same day as the Emperor and looked very much like the Emperor, he was doted on by the Emperor from the moment he was born.

However, his mother, Concubine Mei, came from an ordinary family and was only a chief clerk. Therefore, no matter how favored her son was, he could only be a concubine and could not be made a consort.

Meipin, as her title suggests, is very beautiful and the emperor likes her very much.

"Ling'er is right. Let's do as you say." The emperor mentioned a few names, all of whom were ministers he was optimistic about, and asked Deqing to pick some auspicious dishes to give away.

When the gift of food was received from the palace, the Shen family, as well as the He family, were eating happily around the table. There was a large copper pot in the middle of the table. This was Shen Yuan's suggestion. In the middle of winter, there was nothing better than hot pot.

Besides, you can cook both meat and vegetables, just cook whatever you want, it is fun and lively.

Their family banquet was not like the one in the palace where everyone had their own thoughts. This was a real joy.

On weekdays, the family travels all over the world and looks forward to reuniting during the New Year. The only regret is that Shen Duan cannot come.

Father He, Mother He, and Grandfather He were naturally very happy. I thought it would be very hard for the three of them to stare at each other in the first year after the daughter/granddaughter got married, but I didn't expect that the two families could get together to celebrate the New Year.

Deqing visited many families today, but he was very happy. He entered the palace early and never heard from his family again. Today, he visited every family and saw the reunion of every family. If nothing else, just watching them made people happy.

"Happy New Year, Lord Shen. Old He, you are here too. What a coincidence! The Emperor is also thinking about you in the palace. I am here to bring you food to celebrate."

The emperor gave them food, so they naturally had to express their gratitude. After everyone had thanked him, Deqing asked the eunuch behind him to bring out the two dishes.

"I was originally going to visit Mr. He's house, but this is a good opportunity for us to avoid a trip."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for caring about me. Your grace is immense." He Jianzhi bowed towards the direction of the palace.

"It's so cold, you must have worked hard, why don't you sit down and have something to eat together?"

"Oh, how can this be so embarrassing? Thank you so much for your kindness, Mr. Shen. We have several families to leave later."

"Don't be polite, sir. You don't have to go to Weng Weng's house. It just saves some effort. You can have a good meal now."

Shen Yuan just saw the expression of this eunuch, who was obviously jealous of the liveliness of her family. It was not easy to work in the palace. On this day when every family was reunited, they had to work.

Today is New Year's Eve, and the Shen family has let the servants eat their own food, and they don't need to be served.

Shen Yun casually picked up a set of clean bowls and chopsticks from the table at the back and stuffed them into Eunuch Deqing's hands.

"Don't be polite. It's New Year's Day and everyone who comes in is a guest."

The two eunuchs at the back were also allowed to go to the next room to eat with the servants.

He said he was eating, but he didn't eat much. He had other things to do, so it was impossible for him to sit down and eat steadily.

After eating a few bites and thanking the Shen family, Deqing said goodbye and prepared to go to the next house.

When he reached the door, Deqing raised his sleeves and wiped his eyes. The pot was so hot that it made him cry.

…

Shen Yuan took the "reunion and happiness" gift from the palace and poured it directly into the pot to cook. It was sent from the palace and was already cold. It couldn't be eaten without heating it up.

It is called "Reunion and Happiness", but it is actually what people call "Four Happiness Meatballs".

Old Madam Shen was startled when she saw her granddaughter's actions.

"How can this dish given by the emperor be cooked like this?"

"Grandma, the food I gave you is for eating. Do you think you have to offer it up?"

Another dish is Niannian Youyu, which is a whole fish that looks exquisite, but it looks like the fish has been dead for a long time and has lost all its vitality. This is just for display.

When Old Madam Shen heard her granddaughter's words, she actually nodded and said, "The dishes bestowed by the Emperor must be served."

Shen Yuan stood up and used the serving chopsticks to pick up a meatball from the pot and put it into his own bowl.

Each meatball was bigger than her fist. She used chopsticks to cut it into four pieces and gave each to her sister-in-law, elder sister and her father.

The remaining piece was stuffed into his mouth.

"The emperor's grace is so great that I will keep it in my heart after I eat it."

"Hahaha, what a great idea! I'll eat it and keep it in my mind! You're absolutely right."

Grandfather He also imitated Shen Yuan's actions just now and inserted a meatball, dividing it into four.

Shen Yun put the piece of rice that his daughter gave him into Old Madam Shen's bowl.

"Eat it, mother. This dish is meant to be eaten."

Only then did Old Madam Shen pick it up and eat it.

"You're not going to offer it this time, Grandmother?"

"Stop teasing your grandmother." Shen Yun smiled and glared at his daughter.

After seeing that her uncle had taken one and her father had started eating, Shen Yuan scooped up the remaining one in the pot with a spoon and gave the whole thing to Shen Su.

"Brother, I give all of this to you. Please forgive me and don't be angry."

Shen Xu snorted but ate the meatball anyway. Shen Yuan knew that this was her brother forgiving her.

He Ying was standing nearby, so she naturally saw the smile on her husband's face and could hardly hold it back, so she said, "Shen Su is very easy to coax."