Chapter 372: The Empress and her grandchildren attend the full moon banquet, and a good omen comes from heaven to establish the Crown Princess
Chunxi had just put on the red wedding dress for Susu when she saw Taotao open her eyes and said to Shen Chuwei with a smile, "My lady, the crown prince has also woken up."
"Really? Could it be that Taotao knows that today is the full-moon banquet and it will be very lively?" Shen Chuwei came over with two little tiger hats made by the queen herself, and saw Taotao looking around with her eyes wide open.
"Taotao, this is the little tiger hat that Grandma Huang made for you. Let's wear it to attend the full moon banquet."
Shen Chuwei put the red tiger hat on Taotao's little head.
Taotao blinked her beautiful eyes twice, her eyes full of confusion.
"Susu, don't worry, we have them too." Shen Chuwei picked up another little tiger hat and put it on Susu's little head.
After putting on the little tiger hat, Shen Chuwei suddenly thought of the longevity lock. She took out the dragon and phoenix longevity lock and put them on Taotao and Susu's necks respectively.
At this time, Eunuch Li and Nanny Qingying came in after opening the curtain, smiling.
"Shen Liang Di, the Emperor and Empress asked us to hold the Crown Prince's granddaughter."
Shen Chuwei saw that it was still early, and asked Eunuch Li with some doubt, "Are we going to take the baby over now?"
Eunuch Li smiled and nodded: "Shen Liang Di, that's exactly it."
Shen Chuwei warned: "Then you have to be careful, it's windy outside."
Qingying said gently, "Don't worry, Lady Shen, we are here in a sedan chair, so the Crown Prince and his daughter will not be exposed to the cold wind."
Only then did Shen Chuwei feel at ease and let them take Taotao and Susu away.
After everyone had left, Chunxi reminded them, "My lady, it's time for you to dress up."
In order to attend the banquet, Shen Chuwei had no choice but to nod and agree.
This was not the first time Shen Chuwei had dressed up, but she still wasn't used to the complicated dress and the super heavy headdress.
After dressing up, Shen Chuwei followed Xiao Jinyan to the Qianqing Palace.
Even civil and military officials attended this full-moon banquet.
When Shen Chuwei came in, she saw people everywhere.
Xiao Jinyan was the crown prince and sat next to the empress, so Shen Chuwei naturally sat in the front.
The emperor and the empress walked into the Qianqing Palace surrounded by palace maids, each holding a baby in her arms.
The emperor held Susu in his arms and was reluctant to let go, which made the queen so angry that she wanted to beat someone up.
But when she saw Taotao looking at her with her eyes wide open, her heart softened immediately. Taotao finally stopped sleeping so she could play with him.
When the emperor and empress stepped into the Qianqing Palace, everyone in the palace and all the civil and military officials looked at them.
It had long been heard that the Crown Prince's Consort had given birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. The Emperor was delighted and specially held a full-month banquet. This was also the first time the twins appeared in public.
Seeing the emperor holding the child, people subconsciously thought it was the little crown prince. From his beaming look, it was clear that the emperor was very happy.
After the Emperor and Empress took their seats, all the officials in the three palaces and six courtyards, as well as the civil and military officials, stood up in unison to bow and congratulate them.
"Congratulations to His Majesty and Empress on the birth of their Dragon and Phoenix granddaughter."
The emperor looked down at Susu in his arms. When everyone was congratulating loudly, Susu was not afraid. She held the emperor's fingers with one little hand and her beautiful eyes blinked twice, and suddenly she grinned.
The emperor laughed heartily: "Everyone, get up."
"The Emperor dotes on the Grandson so much that he personally brought her to the full-moon banquet."
"This is the eldest son of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Naturally, the Emperor likes him."
Civil and military officials spoke flattering words.
The emperor listened to the discussion below and rarely did not get angry. "You all guessed wrong. This is my granddaughter, and her nickname is Susu."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, everyone was stunned. The person the emperor was holding was actually his granddaughter?
They thought the emperor was so happy because the crown prince had a firstborn son, a virgin twin.
Seeing the emperor's happy face, I knew that he liked his granddaughter very much.
The emperor turned his head to look at the empress and continued to smile: "The one in the empress's arms is the crown prince."
Although the queen was angry that the emperor was competing with her for Susu, she stopped arguing with the emperor when she saw Taotao looking at her with his beautiful eyes.
It was the first day after Shen Chuwei came out of confinement. She hadn’t eaten properly for a whole month. Now that delicious food was in front of her, how could she resist?
As she ate, she glanced at her children from time to time and saw that the emperor and empress held them tightly and never let go.
Xiao Jinyan picked up a piece of roasted deer tendon and put it in the bowl in front of Shen Chuwei, "Try this."
Shen Chuwei looked at the dish in the bowl whose name she couldn't pronounce, picked it up curiously and put it into her mouth, and found it was quite delicious.
During the dinner, everyone started giving full-moon gifts.
Everyone prepares gifts with great care, choosing the best and most valuable ones, for fear of being outdone.
The emperor looked at the gifts everyone had sent him. He saw a jade ornament among them. He picked it up and handed it to Susu to coax her, "Susu, do you want to play with this?"
The Queen saw this and quickly reminded him, "Your Majesty, Susu is only a little girl, why are you giving her such a big thing to play with? What if she gets hit?"
The emperor explained: "I know, how could I possibly hurt Susu?"
People are still sending gifts.
Shen Chuwei might have felt a little uncomfortable in her stomach because she had just come out of confinement. She whispered to Xiao Jinyan and then walked out, picking up the hem of her skirt.
No one in the hall noticed Shen Chuwei's departure.
After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Shen Chuwei couldn't wait to go to the palace.
Chunxi followed all the way, fearing that her young master might fall.
Gongfang was some distance away from the Qianqing Palace, and it took a while to get there.
After satisfying his physiological needs, Shen Chuwei let out a long sigh.
When Chunxi saw Shen Chuwei coming out, she reminded him, "Young Master, please go slowly. I will help you to the side hall to use some incense."
In ancient times, people would bathe and use incense after going to the toilet in order to remove the bad smell.
On the way back, I met an acquaintance, someone I hadn't seen for half a year.
"Wutan, you are still in the palace. I thought you had left the palace and returned to the White Horse Temple."
Wu Tan put his hands together and said, "Shen Liang Di, it was the emperor who asked the poor monk to stay in the palace to chant scriptures and pray for blessings. A few days ago, when he was about to return, the emperor ordered the poor monk to copy scriptures and pray for the emperor's grandson and daughter."
“So that’s how it is.” Shen Chuwei had some understanding of this. He believed in Buddhism and metaphysics, so it was not difficult for him to understand why the emperor asked Wutan to chant scriptures and pray for blessings.
Wu Tan stared at Shen Chuwei for a long time. There were many rules in the palace. Even though they were in the same palace, it was difficult to see each other.
The doubts in his heart have never been resolved.
"I heard that Shen Liangdi was pregnant with twins, but I never had the chance to congratulate her. I prepared a gift, but I couldn't find a chance to give it to her."
Shen Chu smiled and said, "It's okay, as long as the intention is there."
Wu Tan said, "Mrs. Shen Liang Di, are you willing to wait for a moment? I will go back and get it now."
"No need, Wu Tan, I have to go back. It's not good to be away from the table for too long." Well, actually she was in a hurry to go back to the table~
But then again, Wu Tan, a monk, had no money to begin with, and he had to prepare gifts, so he might as well keep the money for himself.
Wu Tan's eyes paused, but he didn't force it. "Well, I'll give it to Shen Liang Di next time I have the chance."
"Okay, I'll go back first." Shen Chu waved his hand slightly, and returned to the Qianqing Palace with Chunxi's support.
She returned to her seat cautiously and found that everyone's gifts had not been given away yet...
Lu Zhaoyan suddenly left his seat, stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
The emperor raised his head and looked at Lu Zhaoyan, his voice cheerful: "My dear Lu, what do you want to report?"
Lu Zhaoyan said, "Your Majesty, today is the full moon banquet for the Crown Prince and his daughter. I observed the stars at night and found that there will be a good omen in the southwest."
As the emperor of a country, he immediately became interested when he heard the auspicious omen from heaven, "Lord Lu, are you serious?"
Lu Zhaoyan said, "Your Majesty, at 12:30 pm, Your Majesty can go out and see it."
The emperor turned his head and asked Eunuch Li, "What time is it now?"
Eunuch Li said, "Your Majesty, it is just past the hour of Xu."
The emperor ordered: "Move outside the Qianqing Palace."
Eunuch Li shouted, "Move outside the Qianqing Palace."
Shen Chuwei, who was still eating roasted deer tendons, raised her head and looked at Xiao Jinyan when she heard the words, and found that he had already stood up. She was forced to put down her chopsticks and follow Xiao Jinyan to leave the table.
Led by the emperor, all civil and military officials walked out of the Qianqing Palace, waiting for an auspicious sign from heaven.
The winter wind is biting and cold.
The emperor held Susu in his arms and asked someone to bring a blanket to the sea, for fear that Susu would be cold.
The queen also wrapped her grandson in a blanket to protect him from catching a cold.
Shen Chuwei, holding the hand of Xiao Jinyan, stood behind the Emperor and Empress, looking curiously towards the southwest. She always believed in what Lord Lu said.
It was her first time watching the auspicious sign from heaven, and she was quite looking forward to it.
Just as everyone was waiting quietly, the dark night sky suddenly lit up in the southwest, and a white light appeared. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the white light.
Then, a white light suddenly burst out, and a golden phoenix appeared in the southwest.
"Your Majesty, that is a phoenix, Your Majesty."
"This is a good omen from heaven, a blessing for Daxia."
When the civil and military officials saw this, they began to cheer.
The emperor was also stunned when he saw the golden phoenix appearing in the southwest. He felt that Daxia was blessed by God, which allowed him to have a grandson and a daughter. Now another auspicious omen came from heaven, which was double his joy.
When everyone was amazed, a golden phoenix appeared from the sky, symbolizing the prosperity of Daxia and the peace and prosperity of the country and the people.
Lu Zhaoyan took two steps forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, this is a good omen from heaven, and it is also a good time to appoint a Crown Princess."
"Who will be made the Crown Princess?"
"Princess Xueyue?"
"Could she be General Chang's legitimate daughter?"
"How could she be General Chang's legitimate daughter? General Chang's legitimate daughter is very scheming and has already been demoted to a Fengyi."
"That's easy to guess. It must be Shen Liangdi. She gave birth to a dragon and phoenix twin for the prince."
Someone mentioned that everyone was looking at Shen Liangdi who was beside the prince. Although she was not a stunning beauty at first glance, when you looked at her a few more times, you would find that she was as beautiful as a woman who could conquer a whole country.
She is beautiful but not ostentatious, nor is she vulgar or seductive.
Careful observation revealed that the prince always brought Shen Liangdi with him whenever he attended a meeting.
The emperor listened to everyone's discussion and looked at Shen Liangdi. Maybe because of her young age, she didn't look like a mother who had given birth to two children.
He lowered his head and looked at Susu in his arms. Whether in the royal family or outside the palace, legitimate or illegitimate children are very important.
However, Shen Liangdi's identity is indeed not enough to qualify her to be the Crown Princess.
ps: Three more