083, Palace Banquet
083, Palace Banquet
It was getting dark outside and their dinner was already on the table.
Today they brought their meal into the main hall to eat. On the table was a large pot of mutton soup and a large bowl of fried noodles. The noodles used in the fried noodles were hand-rolled noodles made by Liu Sanniang herself, and she added lean pork slices, eggs, and bean sprouts to the fried noodles. The taste was very good.
Normally, there were four people dining at their house, but today there were two more. Luckily, their dining table was large enough so six people could sit around it and eat without feeling crowded.
Lu Mingfei really likes to eat the fried noodles made by his mother. After taking the first bite of fried noodles, he couldn't help but praise his mother: "Mother, the fried noodles you make are really delicious!"
Lu Mingrui was sucking on a noodle in his mouth. Upon hearing this, he followed his brother and said, "Mother, it's delicious."
Zhang Qi and Zhang Xiaobao also had a bowl of fried noodles in front of them. When they heard Lu Mingfei and his brother say that the fried noodles were delicious, they also looked up at their aunt who cooked for them.
Although the two brothers didn't say anything, the expressions on their faces said it all; they also liked to eat this fried noodles.
"Haha, it's delicious, so eat more. There's still a lot in the bowl, just add more when you're done." Meeting four pairs of sparkling eyes staring at her, Liu Sanniang looked at the two children who had just come to their house and said to them, "Don't be shy, just take as much as you can eat. If you're not satisfied, just tell me. We have other food at home."
Zhang Qi nodded, his throat choking at this moment. This was the first time he felt loved and cared for since their grandmother passed away. Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, he thought of his mother who had passed away many years ago. When his mother was alive, she also loved him. It was a pity that his mother passed away later...
"It's delicious, so delicious. I can eat a whole bowl of the noodles you cooked, Sanniang!" Lu Youtian told his wife with practical actions. He finished a bowl of noodles in one bite and went for a second bowl.
There weren't many types of dishes on that day, but the portions were large and filling.
In the end, the two adults and four children washed up the whole pot of fried noodles, but they couldn't finish the mutton soup in the pot because there was too much.
After dinner, everyone cleaned the table together. Liu Sanniang brought over flour and prepared meat filling, and the whole family kneaded the dough and made dumplings.
***
While Lu Mingfei was making dumplings with his family, Zhao Lang was sitting in the palace with other princes attending a palace banquet.
Today's palace banquet was attended only by the Emperor and the Empress, the Empress Dowager, the concubines in the palace, a group of princes and princesses, and relatives of the royal family in Beijing. Finally, the princes who had studied in Beijing for many years were also here, but the officials in the court and their families were not invited to attend.
It can be said that today's palace banquet is actually a private banquet of the royal family.
However, among these princes, there are not only children of the Zhao family, but also children of princes of other surnames.
But no matter whether they were surnamed Zhao or other descendants, in order to take care of these princes who came so far to the capital to "study", the palace would invite these princes who came to the capital to study to participate in the New Year's Eve banquet every year.
There are also some palace banquets on ordinary days, and most of these princes are invited to attend.
In the Empress's own words, these princes have come so far to the capital to study, so they should take good care of these younger generations and not let their parents worry.
In the magnificently decorated hall, the majestic Emperor, the dignified Empress, and the empress dowager, adorned in jewels, sat at the head of the table. The concubines and princesses sat to the right, while the princes, men of the royal family, and the crown princes studying in the capital sat to the left.
At this time, there was singing and dancing in the hall. The stunning dancers were dancing in the hall, and their enchanting dance moves were beautiful and moving.
The emperor on the throne and many men present watched with seriousness and fascination.
The empress sitting next to the emperor maintained a proper smile on her face. Some concubines sitting below noticed the expression on the emperor's face as he looked at the dancer, and many of them were already furious.
At this time, Zhao Lang was sitting below several princes, together with the princes who were studying in Beijing. Sitting next to him was Qi Jun, the prince of Zhennan.
Unlike Zhao Lang who always had a stern face, the Prince of Zhennan always had a smile on his face. He looked smiling to everyone and had a good relationship with everyone.
If there was one prince who hadn't clashed with the other princes or the young masters of the capital, it was none other than Qi Jun, the Prince of Zhennan. So, whenever these princes had conflicts with the other princes or the young masters of the court officials, Qi Jun would usually step in to handle them.
Therefore, over the years, Qi Jun has become a leading figure among the group of princes studying in the capital.
Today, Qi Jun was seated next to Zhao Lang. He was a man with a restless mouth, always looking for someone to talk to. Everyone was watching the dancer intently, so he came over to Zhao Lang and started chattering, "Lang, look at this dancer's figure, how graceful it is, and how supple her waist is..."
Zhao Lang turned around and gave Qi Jun a cold look.
Suddenly feeling a chill coming towards him, Qi Jun turned around and met Zhao Lang's cold gaze. He rubbed his arms exaggeratedly, and said to Zhao Lang with a smirk on his face, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just discussing the dancer's dancing skills with you."
"Alang, I remember you are two years younger than me? Have you ever had meat? How about I take you to try it tonight?" While speaking, Qi Jun was about to put his arm on Zhao Lang's shoulder.
However, before his arm touched Zhao Lang, Zhao Lang dodged his hand.
"Ouch, you almost made me fall! What if I touched you? I won't let anyone touch me. I'm not a dirty person!"
"Alang, people should smile more. Whether you are happy or unhappy, you will live through it. Why not be a little happier? Don't look so serious, it will make you old easily. Look at you, you look old at such a young age." Qi Jun didn't care about Zhao Lang's coldness towards him, and he even liked to tease Zhao Lang.
Zhao Lang just looked at Qi Jun expressionlessly, then looked away without answering any questions Qi Jun asked.
But Qi Keun is not the kind of person who will give up if you ignore him. Seeing that Zhao Lang ignored him, he continued to tease Zhao Lang in his ear: "Alang, don't be shy. Tell me, what kind of girl do you like? I will find one for you..."
"...Or, what kind of boy do you like?"
"Shut up!" This time Zhao Lang finally couldn't help but speak, and told Qi Jun, the cricket who kept talking, to shut up.
"Oh, was I right? You really like boys?" Qi Jun pretended to be surprised, covered his mouth with one hand, and looked at Zhao Lang with an exaggerated expression.
"..." The veins on Zhao Lang's forehead jumped. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he picked up a piece of dessert on the table and stuffed it into Qi Jun's mouth.
"Hmm!" Qi Jun was caught off guard and almost choked by the snack that Zhao Lang stuffed into his mouth.
At this time, the two of them were sitting together, laughing and joking. Although one of them had a cold face, the other had a smile on his face. In the eyes of others, this picture looked like the two brothers getting along very well.
Halfway through the palace banquet that night, the emperor, empress, and queen mother left first.
After the emperor, the empress and the queen mother left, Concubine Wan, who was ranked below the empress, was the second to leave. Later, Concubine De, Concubine Shu, and concubines from other palaces also left with the princesses.
Seeing that the group of women opposite had left, Zhao Lang, who had been sitting here all night, couldn't help but stand up from his seat.
Seeing Zhao Lang stand up, Qi Jun grabbed Zhao Lang's hand and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Let go!" Zhao Lang glanced at the hand that was holding him, and looked at Qi Jun with a warning in his eyes.
"Have a couple of drinks with my brother before leaving. Why are you going back so early?" Qi Jun pulled Zhao Lang back again, not letting him go. He wasn't afraid of Zhao Lang's cold face at all. With a smile on his face, he discussed with Zhao Lang about visiting a brothel or the Nanfeng Pavilion, asking him which one he preferred.
"..." Zhao Lang couldn't bear it any longer, so he slapped Qi Jun in the face and pushed the face away which was too close to him.
After the emperor, empress and queen mothers left, the princes and dukes present began to drink heartily, chat with each other, and enjoy singing and dancing.
When the second prince and the third prince saw that Zhao Lang was still there, they made an appointment to have a drink with Zhao Lang.
However, with Qi Jun present today, he could not let Zhao Lang have any conflict with the two princes in front of him, so no matter what the second prince and the third prince said, he skillfully resolved what the second prince and the third prince said, and also called on other brothers present to come and drink with the two princes, and the group got along "harmoniously".
Zhao Lang, who was still sitting in his seat, had his eyelids drooped, hiding some of his true thoughts.
By the time they came out of the palace, it was already very late.
This time, Zhao Lang didn't give Qi Jun a chance to catch him. As soon as he got into the carriage that came to pick him up, he said to the guard driving the carriage outside, "Let's go."
The guard grabbed the reins and whipped the horse's butt without saying a word.
So when Qi Jun and the others came out from the back, they saw the scene of the carriage of Prince Ding's Mansion leaving. Qi Jun was so angry that he laughed and cursed from behind, "Stinky brat!" Needless to say, everyone knew who he was scolding.
"Come on, let's go somewhere else and continue drinking."
Qi Jun didn't care about Zhao Lang anymore because he couldn't catch him. Later, he invited several princes who left the palace with him and the princes who accompanied him to go to a private courtyard to continue drinking.
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