Chapter 49: Queen Mother's Birthday Banquet (Part 2)
Because of his words, everyone in the hall looked at the scroll again.
It was indeed dark red.
Queen Mother Wen suddenly opened her eyes wide as she thought of something, turned her head and looked at Pei Yan, her voice trembling a little: "Yan'er, Yan'er you..."
Pei Yan had already stood up, and knelt down in front of the Queen Mother in a crimson dragon robe, his voice gentle: "My mother has been bedridden these days, and has been unhappy. Every time I serve her medicine, I wish I could take her place, so I copied this Buddhist scripture with my blood, hoping that God will have mercy on me and let my mother's illness be passed on to me, so that she can live a long and healthy life."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, there was no sound in the hall. Some officials who were filial to their parents could not help but cry.
Empress Dowager Wen had already burst into tears.
She wanted to support her son, but her hands were shaking so much that she had no strength left. She could only hug her son who was kneeling on the ground and burst into tears, "My son! I am sorry for you!"
She was sorry back then, and now she was even more sorry for pretending to be sick and tricking him into bleeding for her own selfish reasons...
Chu Ang, the commander of the Beijing camp, looked around calmly. All the officials were wiping tears, real or fake. He was the first to stand up and kneel, saying loudly: "Your Majesty is benevolent and filial. Long live your Majesty!"
The fifty-year-old Wei Taifu knelt down immediately and said with a choked voice, "Your Majesty is benevolent and filial. Long live your Majesty!"
Naturally, all the officials had to follow suit, and for a moment, the whole palace was filled with cheers of "Long live the emperor".
Wen Huan also knelt down, but his eyes were still fixed on his sister and Pei Yan. Seeing his sister crying bitterly, but Pei Yan was so calm that his eyes didn't even turn red, he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
Forget it, no matter whether he is truly filial or pretending, even if he is just pretending, as long as he is around, Pei Yan has to pretend for the rest of his life.
When the Queen Mother calmed down a bit, the Emperor asked everyone to stand up. The banquet for the foreign ministers was about to end. Wen Huan suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared a birthday gift for the Queen Mother."
Pei Yan was helping the Queen Mother clean her face. Hearing this, he asked in a good-natured manner, "What else has Uncle prepared?"
Wen Huan cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to go to the northwest to help Your Majesty quell the border troubles and comfort the Empress Dowager's love for her son!"
Chu Ang asked slowly, "Isn't General Wen worried about his mother's illness and unable to go to the battle?"
Wen Huan remained calm and said, "Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time. I am willing to be loyal to the end."
Guo Zhenxiong seemed a little tipsy, shaking his head and laughing provocatively at Wen Huan: "I am already the appointed marshal, General Wen, do you want to be my deputy general?"
"Ha." Wen Huan sneered: "What a good-for-nothing, cowardly and foolish thing you are! How dare you say such things!"
"You!" Guo Zhenxiong was about to get angry, but his wife quickly stopped him. Guo Zhenxiong could only look toward the platform and said in an aggrieved tone, "Please Your Majesty, please make the decision!"
Wen Huan said in a loud voice: "I beg Your Majesty to change the Marshal and let me take the position!"
Comparing the two, anyone can tell which one is more suitable for the expedition.
The hall fell silent again. Pei Yan seemed to be in a dilemma for a moment, and then he made up his mind.
"As a monarch, I should not change my orders from one day to the next. However, wars concern the lives of soldiers and civilians. Previously, I had no choice but to appoint Minister Guo as the commander. General Wen has experienced many battles and is my uncle. Now that he can go to the war, our army's morale will be boosted and casualties will be greatly reduced. For the sake of the people, I will issue an edict to change General Wen to the Grand Marshal of the Western Expedition and Guo Zhenxiong to the Deputy Marshal. They will go to the camp outside Beijing today to reorganize the army and go to the war in three days."
Wen Huan immediately knelt down: "I obey your order, long live your majesty!"
Guo Zhenxiong had a look of shock and dissatisfaction on his face, and seemed to want to speak, but his wife beside him kept pinching him, so he could only endure it and picked up the wine jug to pour it over himself.
The banquet for the foreign officials came to an end, and all the officials left the palace one by one. Only the princes, princesses, and royal relatives stayed, waiting for another palace banquet in the harem where the concubines would present gifts to the empress dowager.
Pei Yan went to the side hall to change his clothes. Cheng Shouzhong was waiting on him. Suddenly, he heard His Majesty say, "The cakes at today's birthday banquet are exquisitely made. I tried a piece and it tasted good."
Cheng Shouzhong's mind was now filled with the excitement of His Majesty's planning a big event. He was caught off guard by His Majesty's mention of such an ordinary matter. He was stunned for a moment, then he quickly responded, "Your Majesty, this is something that the imperial kitchen has just researched. You previously instructed them to prepare the dishes and meals for this birthday banquet with all their heart. The imperial chefs have taken it to heart and have been working on it carefully for the past half month. Today's pastries are something that has never been invented before."
Pei Yan hummed softly, and in a good mood ordered: "Get a box for storing, put two pieces of each delicious food in it, and send it to the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
Cheng Shouzhong naturally would not think that His Majesty was greedy and wanted to eat, because there was another person in the Qianqing Palace.
He smiled and said, "Yes, I will tell Cheng Fu to do it right away."
*
It was not necessary for foreign ministers to collect many rare items. Most concubines lived deep in the harem, so the gifts they presented were much simpler.
Except for Concubine Jiang who was under house arrest and Miao Da Ying who was unable to come due to a leg injury, the other concubines either performed singing and dancing or presented embroidery. They all tried their best, but no one paid any attention.
Jiang Wanqing carefully prepared a dance. She was better at embroidery, but since embroidery could attract His Majesty's attention, singing and dancing could naturally attract the emperor's heart.
She was not very skilled in dancing, but she wanted His Majesty to see her face, which was somewhat similar to her sister's. She would frequently look up to meet the king's gaze while dancing.
Empress Dowager Wen was unhappy. Today was her happy day, but this little Jiang kept fawning on her son, which was really annoying.
She didn't smile until her niece made her final appearance.
Wen Yao wore a Yuehua skirt and played a piece of guqin music. Unsurprisingly, she was chosen by the Queen Mother as the winner of the show.
As the emperor's uncle, Wen Huan was naturally a royal relative. He did not leave at this moment. He looked at his daughter's face and figure, and felt relieved when he saw that there was no difference from before she entered the palace.
When his daughter insisted on entering the palace, he was reluctant at first, but his daughter had made up her mind and did not want him to ask for a high position. She only wanted to be selected into the palace like ordinary people.
Wen Huan was not afraid that his daughter would be wronged because of her low status, after all, she had himself and her sister around. He did not expect that there would be someone who would dare to bully her.
Just wait and see. When he returns victorious, he will join forces with his accomplices in the court to force Your Majesty to execute Jiang.
The only thing Wen Huan feared was that something would happen during his absence.
After the banquet, Wen Huan asked to meet with his daughter, and Pei Yan naturally agreed.
Inside the Cining Palace.
Wen Huan took out a medicine bottle from his bosom and handed it to his daughter: "The pills in here are for contraception, they won't hurt your body. Remember to take them after sleeping with your father during this period of time, and don't get pregnant."
Wen Yao was shocked: "Father, why is this happening?"
Wen Huan: "You are already a big draw because you are favored. If you get pregnant again, you will become a thorn in everyone's eyes. Although your aunt is the queen mother, she is not very smart. When she was the queen, she was often harmed by concubines. If it weren't for me, she would have been deposed long ago. She may not be able to protect you, so after thinking about it, I think it's better for you not to get pregnant. Everything will wait until I return triumphantly."
Wen Yao bit her lip. She couldn't tell her father that she had never really been favored, so how could she be pregnant?
But it's probably only a matter of time.
When I was playing the piano just now, His Majesty looked at me with a very gentle gaze, as if he already understood that the reason my father agreed to go to the war was because of her.
Wen Yao took the medicine bottle, looked at Wen Huan and said softly, "Daughter understands. Father, you should also take care of yourself and come back soon."
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