Chapter 48: Queen Mother's Birthday Banquet (Part 1)
Your Majesty's benevolence and filial piety are known to all in the court. In the three years since he ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager's birthday banquets have become more grand than the last.
Royal relatives, dukes, earls, and even officials above the fifth rank all brought their families into the palace to pay their respects on this day.
As the emperor's uncle, Wen Huan was allowed to go to the Cining Palace to meet the empress dowager before the banquet began.
In the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Wen had been waiting for her brother for a long time. When she saw Wen Huan entering the palace, her eyes immediately became red.
Wen Huan knelt down according to the rules. Empress Dowager Wen couldn't bear it and hurried over to support him: "Brother, stop being so polite!"
Wen Huan smiled and stood up, patted his sister's hand, looked around at the people around him, and said with the intention of shocking the people: "The rules must be followed, otherwise His Majesty will blame me and take his anger out on you. What can I do if I am not filial?"
The palace maids all lowered their heads and dared not say a word. Only Empress Dowager Wen did not hear it. She snorted and retorted to her brother: "Brother, don't talk nonsense. Yan'er is not that kind of person."
"I'm not saying this nonsense." Wen Huan looked her up and down. "It's just that I often heard that you were sick outside the palace, and you're not in bad health. If you were living a smooth and worry-free life, how could you be sick?"
Queen Mother Wen almost laughed out loud. She took her brother to the inner hall, dismissed the palace servants, and then whispered, "Brother, I was just pretending to be sick. I'm fine."
Wen Huan immediately looked at her scrutinizingly, and seeing that his sister had a plump face, rosy white, black hair without a single silver strand, and only a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes, he began to believe what he said.
But his heart sank even more.
"Why are you pretending to be sick for no reason? Or is it that Pei Yan didn't respect you well enough?"
Empress Dowager Wen was not able to explain and was a little unhappy: "Brother, why do you say this every time you come to the palace? Don't you like our loving mother and filial son?"
Wen Huan said with a stern face: "If he was your biological son, my nephew, I wouldn't ask so many questions. But he is not your biological son. He doesn't have the blood of our Wen family. When my nephew was alive, he was not on good terms with me. I don't believe he can really treat you like his own mother."
Queen Mother Wen glared: "Yan'er has been sensible since he was young, and he has never blamed me for anything that happened when he was a child!"
Wen Huan: "That's strange. How can a person be so good-tempered? Previously, Censor Wang accused me of abusing my power for personal gain, and I didn't care on the surface. But when I got back, I had his wife and children kidnapped and forced him to commit suicide. If he doesn't take revenge, he's not a real man. I don't believe Pei Yan can escape this fate."
Queen Mother Wen was angry: "Then you still favor your beautiful concubine Zheng! My sister-in-law has come to the palace to cry to me time and time again. Don't forget that her whole family died because of her brother. Watch out for her revenge!"
When talking about Zheng Yuezhao, Wen Huan's expression softened a lot. He waved his hand and said, "Ah Zhao is not a real man. A weak woman should obey her husband after marriage. What does her mother's family mean to her?"
Queen Mother Wen immediately said: "Why do you care about me, brother? I am also a married woman!"
Wen Huan smiled cheerfully: "There are no married women in our Wen family. We are all Wen family members until death. But speaking of this, I heard that A Yao is very favored in the palace. Is it true?"
Empress Dowager Wen enthusiastically told her brother about her niece's recent situation, until the eunuch came to report that the banquet was about to begin.
The birthday banquet was held at Yichun Terrace.
The Queen Mother, the Emperor and the Queen sat in the upper seats, while Wen Huan and his wife sat in the first seat below, even above several princes.
But no one dared to say anything wrong. This was a grace bestowed by the previous emperor. Since he was a close minister of the emperor, this was how it should be.
After everyone in the hall had paid their respects, the palace maids presented the exquisite dishes one after another, and other palace servants were in charge of the wine and drinks. Singing and dancing also began at this time.
Wen Huan's expression remained sullen.
The Empress personally served the dishes to the Queen Mother. Pei Yan glanced at Wen Huan and said softly and gently, "Mother, my uncle seems a little unhappy."
Empress Dowager Wen felt a little guilty.
She also forgot her brother's temper and inadvertently told him about her niece being beaten.
"No, it's okay, you don't have to worry about him."
Pei Yan withdrew his gaze from the empress dowager's face, his eyes slightly cold.
When the song and dance were at their most exciting, a deep and majestic voice suddenly sounded: "I heard that Concubine Jiang was domineering and vicious, and was confined by His Majesty. Is this true?"
Empress Dowager Wen's heart skipped a beat and she quickly winked at her brother.
However, Wen Huan turned a blind eye. He had a strong voice, and even without shouting, it was as loud as bells and drums, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.
Except for the empress, other concubines would not show up when entertaining foreign ministers, and most officials did not know which concubine was under house arrest or not, but they could not help but be curious about the affairs of the royal family.
Pei Yan asked in a gentle tone: "Why is uncle suddenly concerned about the affairs of the concubines?"
It was impossible for Wen Huan to mention the slap in the face to his daughter in front of everyone, as that would undoubtedly cause his daughter to suffer humiliation again.
He sneered and said, "I just heard something. Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch, and the concubine around him should also be virtuous."
Pei Yan: "Uncle is right."
After the dancing and singing ended, it was time for foreign officials to come and congratulate the birthday and present gifts.
Wen Huan was the first to ask his attendants to read out the gift list, which included thousand-year-old ginseng, wild red ganoderma lucidum, snow clam and bird's nest, a total of more than ten items. They were all rare and invaluable tonics, and there were not many of them in the palace.
Because it was too precious and needed to be carefully preserved, it was not brought to the main palace but was sent to the Empress Dowager's palace.
"The Empress Dowager is in poor health, and I am worried, so I ordered people to collect these things and present them to you. If the Empress Dowager needs anything in the future, Your Majesty can let me know. I will spare no effort to pray for the Empress Dowager's health."
Empress Dowager Wen felt very embarrassed.
Her brother already knew that she was faking illness, so why was he still saying these things?
All the officials had their own thoughts. Could it be that General Wen meant that His Majesty was unfilial and unwilling to give medicine to the Queen Mother?
But this has nothing to do with most people, except for a few loyal ministers who are willing to risk their lives and senior ministers who may give advice. Other ministers and their families are just watching the fun, and at most they will discuss it secretly with their families after returning home.
Pei Yan just smiled and said, "Uncle is thoughtful."
Then it was the turn of other officials to present gifts. Except for a few princes and dukes, the gift lists of the first and second rank officials were read out, and the rest were simply dismissed by the eunuchs.
Seeing that everyone had finished presenting their gifts, Wen Huan asked unhappily, "Didn't Your Majesty prepare a birthday gift for the Queen Mother?"
Empress Dowager Wen also looked at her son somewhat sadly.
Pei Yan turned his head and said to Cheng Shouzhong, "Show it to the Queen Mother."
Cheng Shouzhong responded respectfully and walked down the stairs.
Only then did everyone notice that the eunuch beside His Majesty was holding a mahogany box in his hand.
The box was opened, and another eunuch came to take out the scroll inside. Two of them, one on the left and one on the right, pulled it and slowly unfolded it. It was about as long as two or three people could stretch horizontally.
Everyone looked at it intently. It turned out to be a framed hand-copied Buddhist scripture. The young Nineteenth Prince, who was standing nearby, exclaimed, "I recognize it! This is my brother's handwriting! But why is the ink this color? It's black with a hint of red. It doesn't look like cinnabar is mixed in. It looks more like dried human blood!"
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