Chapter 140 Something’s happening here!

"Let's eat—"

Accompanied by the sound of fireworks exploding, palace maids serving dishes swarmed in.

"The Queen, Consort Xian, and Lady Xia are the mothers-in-law today, and they have to wait until the ceremony of the newlyweds is over before they can come and take their seats. Everyone, please don't be so reserved, let's eat and drink first."

Princess Kangle was also asked by the Queen to greet the guests on her behalf, and everyone naturally responded in unison.

"I went to the palace early today, but I wonder how lively it is outside."

Princess Kangle asked this question just to think of something to talk about. It would be meaningless to attend a palace banquet and just eat by yourself.

Soon, someone who was good at speaking took up the conversation, "To be honest, in my entire life, I have never seen such a lively scene as today. Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the dowry. I came late, and when I arrived, I heard that the front of the dowry had reached Zhaoqing Palace, but the back had not yet entered Zhaode Gate."

Zhaoqing Palace is the current residence of the princes. Before they got married, the princes lived together. Only after they got married could they move out of the palace and live on their own.

"This is a marriage of three princes, and it can be considered a marriage between close relatives, so it cannot be too grand."

"A closer relationship..." Everyone had a subtle look on their faces when they heard this word. When the Emperor granted the marriage, everyone thought there would be a commotion, but they didn't expect that both the Empress and Consort Xiangui's families had endured it, and now they seemed to be getting along quite well.

As the saying goes, if you live long enough, you can see everything.

However, the position of the crown prince has become even more confusing. Now, outside the palace, there are rumors that the emperor wants to establish the sixth prince...

But rumors are just rumors after all, and the Sixth Prince is still a teenager, so it is too early to say such things.

Shen Yuan sat down below, occasionally picking up a bite of food, and looked at the ladies who were chatting and laughing, and he was very impressed. It was the end of February, and the weather was not warm yet, but they had a banquet outdoors. The food was served and soon the heat dissipated. There were only a few pots, and there was still some heat.

But there was nothing that could be done, this was a palace banquet. In previous years, when the palace held a banquet during the New Year, even if it snowed heavily on New Year's Eve, the banquet had to go on. Every bite of food would be filled with ice chips.

Even though there were charcoal braziers under every table, it was useless. During the half-month New Year holiday, I attended a palace banquet and spent the next ten days recuperating from my illness.

Not only the ministers suffer, the emperor and empress suffer as well. The ministers and their wives are all here, so the emperor and empress can't hide away, right?

Perhaps because of this, the last palace banquet was several years ago.

The weather is good tonight. There is no wind, but it is a little chilly. If you wear something warm and use the charcoal basin under the table, it is not too unbearable.

The frozen tofu in the fish pot had absorbed the soup and tasted very good. Shen Yuan was picking it up with his chopsticks when he heard the word "Shen". He immediately put down his chopsticks and raised his head.

"...I see this little face looks like Lord Shen. He has grown so big in the past few years."

The person who spoke was a plump and beautiful young woman. Her age was not very clear, but she looked to be in her thirties. Shen Yuan found her face unfamiliar and could not remember where he had seen her before.

Shen Yuan looked at his grandmother and aunt and found that they both looked confused, so they were definitely not relatives.

"This is the wife of the Marquis Xuanping." The princess saw that Shen Yuan didn't know her, so she came to her rescue, "Madam, you have been away from the capital for many years. She is just a little girl, so how could she not know her?"

"My princess is right. The last time I saw her, she was still a child. She even needed Lord Shen to hold her when she went out on the street. It's been so many years, I don't forget her."

Shen Yuan's intuition told him that something was wrong!

She couldn't help but feel alarmed! She looked more like her mother, but this lady insisted that she looked like her father, and mentioned her father twice in just a few sentences.

More importantly, according to her meager memory of the relationships with the aristocratic families in the capital, Marquis Xuanping had been gone for more than ten years...

But now that the conversation has come to this, the proper etiquette should be observed. Shen Yuan stood up and saluted, "Shen Yuan has seen Madam, but I am not good at recognizing you. Please forgive me, Madam."

"Well, I just said it casually, no need to be so polite. Didn't the princess just say that I am not often in the capital, so it is normal that I can't recognize it."

Shen Yuan sat down again, kept this matter in mind, and prepared to ask her father about it when she returned.

Nowadays, ordinary people's weddings have many complicated ceremonies, let alone royal weddings. The palace maid has come to add charcoal to the charcoal basin twice, but the main guest of today's palace banquet has not arrived yet.

Fortunately, they don't have to sit all the time. Some can change clothes, some can chat, and some can walk around nearby. Otherwise, they really can't sit still.

Shen Yuan was glad that her sister-in-law didn't come, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to sit still. She and her elder sister helped her grandmother and aunt out for a short walk to stretch their legs.

Before the palace maid came to add the third load of charcoal, the Empress and the Royal Concubine finally arrived. This time, Shen Yuan also got a clear look at Royal Concubine Xian, as well as Royal Concubine Xia, who was said to be quite beautiful.

When he saw Noble Lady Xia, Shen Yuan envied the emperor for the first time. He couldn't tell at all that Noble Lady Xia had given birth to a child, and that the child was already an adult. Moreover, Noble Lady Xia's beauty was gentle and tender. Just one look at her and you could tell from that feeling - comfortable!

It was Concubine Xian who surprised Shen Yuan a little. Judging from her appearance, Concubine Xian was not outstanding, but the strange thing was that when she stood next to the beautiful Concubine Xia, she was not inferior at all.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Please take a seat."

Judging from their facial expressions, not to mention Lady Xia, the Empress, and Consort Xian also looked quite happy, and there was no sign of the dissatisfaction they had shown when the marriage was initially arranged.

"Grand Prince, the Grand Princess is here—

Second Prince, Second Prince's Consort is here——

Third Prince, the Third Prince's Consort is here——"

As they have not been given titles yet, they are all bald princes, and now they are called according to their titles.

The three young couples came forward one by one to greet the Empress, Consort Xian, and Lady Xia.

Regardless of the original intention of the marriage, now looking at the three couples, they all have smiles on their faces and are a perfect match.

Not to mention outsiders, today the Empress and Consort Xiangui both liked their new daughter-in-law immediately upon seeing her.

Both the Ye and Liu families were well-established families who attached great importance to the upbringing of their daughters, including education in poetry and literature. It was impossible for such girls to be bad.

Those sitting here today are all relatives invited by the three ladies, in other words, their own family members. The three young couples were led by their maids to toast at each table.

Thanks to the emperor who was not careful with his words, the eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince all knew that Shen Yuan was the future daughter-in-law of their cousin Xie Hui.

The third prince must have been quite surprised to see Shen Yuan, because he had thought that his cousin would like a girl who was dignified and quiet.

——Small Theater 1

Emperor: I said that the marriage I arranged would not be wrong! I have sharp eyes, sharp ears and a clear mind!

——Small Theater 2

Xie replied: What do you mean, Third Prince? Is my family not dignified and graceful at all?

The Third Prince: As long as you are happy.