In the afternoon, Yan Nangui changed his clothes.
She had just changed her clothes and hadn't even combed her hair when she received the reward from the front yard.
"His Highness said that once it's delivered to you, you'll probably be wearing it today," Eunuch Liu said with a fawning smile.
Yan Nangui watched as he opened it, revealing a pair of bracelets inside.
It's a genuine red jade bangle, round and without any patterns. It's fiery red all over and very beautiful.
"Your Highness truly understands me. Please put this on me," Yan Nangui said.
Jiangxiang smiled and agreed, first taking off the gold bracelet on her wrist and putting on this one instead.
This red color suits my skin tone best; it really looks good.
"Is Your Highness giving this to me, or is it available elsewhere?" Yan Nangui asked as he admired the view.
"In reply to Lady Liangyuan, there are also Consort Su and Consort Xia," said Eunuch Liu.
Yan Nangui nodded and had someone give him a reward.
While combing her hair, Yan Nangui looked at the bracelet and said, "Is this a message to the inner quarters that I'm favored too?"
"Why bother telling them? Who in the backyard doesn't know?" Chanyi said with a smile.
Yan Nangui smiled nonchalantly, but she knew in her heart that Yan Nanxu had made another contribution, and her status was bound to rise now.
She combed her hair into a bun and put on a set of pure gold jewelry.
It perfectly matches her bright red dress today.
I got up and went to the front yard. When I got there, there were already several people there.
Including Xiao Liangyuan.
After paying his respects to Consort Ye, Yan Nangui greeted Consort Xiao.
Xiao Liangyuan said sourly, "Sister Yan arrived early too."
Yan Nangui found a place to sit down and said, "I can't compare to you."
"Your Highness, I love this so much." Yan Nangui didn't care about Consort Xiao's expression and raised her hand to reveal a bracelet on her wrist.
Sure enough, the bright red bracelet stood out against her snow-white skin.
"If you like it, that's good." Shu Chengfeng glanced at her with a smile. This woman, she just had to say it at this moment.
At this moment, the Crown Princess arrived, and soon after, Consort Luo and Consort Su also arrived.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone got up and went out.
Today's banquet is being held in the Taichen Hall, a place reserved for state banquets; even New Year's banquets are not held here.
General Xie and others arrived one after another.
As expected, the scale and specifications were those of a state banquet.
All the civil and military officials of the court have arrived.
At this time, even low-ranking officials who were not qualified to enter the palace had the opportunity to do so.
Yan Nangui sat behind the Crown Prince and actually saw Meng Jianghe, the former eunuch whom she had only seen a few times before.
He was indeed a man of few words. Yan Nangui had never paid attention to these things before.
She lowered her head and took a sip of tea, thinking to herself that Meng Jianghe was quite a formidable figure, but it was a pity that her son was not so good.
The women of the harem were also dressed very beautifully, sitting below, each one more luxurious and opulent than the last.
The Cao family was naturally among them today, even sitting near the front.
His Majesty first ordered people to serve the dishes. Palace maids and eunuchs filed in, and the dishes were laid out one by one.
There was singing and dancing in the public, a truly grand and festive atmosphere.
Shu Zhongjing naturally offered a toast, but the generals dared not accept it and instead returned the toast.
Finally, after these pleasantries were over, the ministers had all paid their respects to His Majesty and the generals.
Now for the main event: the official titles and ranks have already been bestowed, and today we will continue with the rewards.
Gold and silver jewelry, as well as beautiful women and fine wine.
Yan Nanxu also acquired two beautiful dancers. Whether he would accept them or not was another matter.
They all have them, so naturally the crown prince and the princes also have them, but this time they are not being given dancers.
Instead, they were palace maids, all young and beautiful, and there were two of them from each family.
Such a woman entering the household would have no official rank and would not be considered anything special.
However, that was not Shu Zhongjing's purpose.
Soon, he brought up the girls from the Jiang family and the Cao family.
Clearly, he won't be able to wait until after the New Year.
The empress's expression was extremely unpleasant, yet she had to restrain herself.
Let's start with the Jiang family. This girl from the Jiang family is seventeen years old this year. She's not particularly beautiful, but she's quite pleasing to the eye, and she seems to have a very gentle personality.
As soon as Cao Wan appeared, His Majesty's eyes lit up.
Of course, at this point, Liang only thought it was good.
But after Cao Wan knelt down and said those words, things became quite complicated.
"Your subject, Cao Wan, does not wish to."
The resounding words startled everyone above.
Shu Zhongjing frowned: "Why? Is the Crown Prince not good enough for you?"
“Your Majesty, I dare not. Though the Crown Prince is good, there is someone better in my heart. I am worlds apart from him, and I believe I could never have the chance to serve him. But I am absolutely unwilling to submit to the Crown Prince. I beg Your Majesty for understanding. If Your Majesty truly cannot understand, I beg for death.”
Shu Zhongjing was about to explode with anger: "Oh, then tell me, in this world, who is better than the Crown Prince for making you disobey the imperial edict like this?"
A sudden, intense unease gripped Consort Zhen's heart. She stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Wan'er is still so young..."
"Shut up! Do you have any manners? Did I ask you a question?" Shu Zhongjing said angrily.
Consort Zhen turned pale and quickly shut her mouth and sat down.
This was the first time that His Majesty had shown her no respect on such a grand occasion.
She was even somewhat dazed.
But what Cao Wan said next left her even more dazed and shocked.
"Your Majesty, I love you! Several years ago, when I first met you, my heart was filled with love, and I... I fell for you. But because of... because of my aunt, I dared not speak of it. I dared not act on it. Now, I do not wish to marry the Crown Prince. I know I am not fortunate enough to be with Your Majesty, but Your Majesty wants to give me to someone else. I would rather die. Or become a nun," Cao Wan said, weeping.
An eerie silence fell over the entire hall.
Consort Zhen's heart almost stopped beating.
"You are in love with me?" Shu Zhongjing asked, looking at her.
The girl's eyes were brimming with tears. With just a slight nod and a blink of an eye, the tears slid down her fair face.
She was already beautiful, and now that no one else was shedding tears, it was a touching sight to see such a young and beautiful woman shedding tears.
To put it bluntly, Shu Zhongjing is also a middle-aged man.
The wealthy middle-aged man believed that all women in the world should like him.
Who wouldn't want to serve the emperor?
At this moment, he even felt that a young and handsome prince was not as popular with women as he was.
Deep down, I believed it.
Yan Nangui lowered his head to drink tea, concealing his smile.
Even emperors are human.
If Cao Mi could abandon her young and gentle eldest prince for His Majesty back then, why can't Cao Wan do the same today?
I suppose the emperor would think the same way?
Consort Zhang Xin laughed: "Oh dear, this is a good thing. Although Consort Zhen is His Majesty's concubine, she is not the Empress. This girl is so sincere, it's not good to disappoint her. If His Majesty doesn't agree today, she will never be able to get married for the rest of her life. After all, who would dare to marry her?"
Her words brought the stunned people back to their senses.
The Empress couldn't speak at this moment; if she tried to persuade her, it might backfire.
Consort Li Xian laughed as well: "Oh dear, Your Majesty, I was startled! This is a joyous occasion. You are truly blessed."
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