Following the grand New Year's Day celebrations, from the first day of the lunar new year to the fifteenth day, various banquets are held in the palace, ranging from grand imperial banquets to casual and lively family feasts.
Before the Qing dynasty entered the Central Plains, Nurhaci hosted a banquet at the Octagonal Hall of the Imperial Palace in Dongjing City, Liaoyang. The banquet was held at noon and ended around 4 p.m.
After Huang Taiji moved the capital to Shenyang, the banquet etiquette system was established along with other regulations and systems, and the New Year's Day banquet was held in the Dazheng Hall.
After entering the pass, the Shunzhi Emperor established a custom: the New Year's Day court banquet would be held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Sherry was dragged out of bed early by Tus to start getting ready.
During the meal, the imperial concubines came to pay their respects.
Sherry was eating shumai with some confusion. Could it be that she was pregnant and therefore eating more?
I looked closely at my belly and found that there was no baby inside.
Then I vaguely heard the concubines chattering about what happened yesterday.
Yes, the first one is a Mongolian concubine.
After all, it's one thing for them to lose to the Han women in the competition for favor, but where did these random cats and dogs come from to try and snatch a bite of food?
They all started chattering away like loudspeakers.
The Han women remained silent, but their eyes sparkled.
After all, it's rare to have such gossip!
The old nanny frowned and gave Xue Li some pointers.
"Your Majesty, is this kind of spectacle for the Emperor to watch?"
"Sure, what's there to be afraid of if people say anything after you've already done it?!" Sherry was completely unaffected.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor must be holding a grudge against you yesterday!" The old nanny nearly fainted. Why wouldn't he listen?!
"He holds a grudge against me? It's not like I seduced someone else's wife. I'm the one who holds a grudge against him, leaving me alone in my room during the Lunar New Year!"
Sherry spoke with absolute certainty.
The old nanny looked at her with a very complicated expression.
Finally, he went out, trembling.
The old lady found out, but she didn't offer any advice, and the Empress wouldn't say anything she shouldn't have.
Why is he getting more and more outspoken the more I try to persuade him?!
The old nanny had no choice but to leave.
After a good meal, Sherry helped Tus out.
The women bowed deeply to Shirley, and after she told them to get up, she was quite interested in hearing some gossip.
As a result, they all looked like gourds with sawed mouths.
"What were you talking about just now?" Sherry kindly reminded her.
"No, no..." They were all very well-behaved at this moment, sitting very properly.
After watching for a while, Sherry got a little bored, so she decided to take them to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was somewhat unwell.
Perhaps we arrived too early, as the Empress Dowager was having her meal.
Sherry readily agreed and sat down to eat with her.
The Empress Dowager paused for a moment but said nothing.
After having his meal, he inquired about the princes and princesses in the palace, then kept Shirley behind and dismissed everyone else.
"By the way, starting today, the entire palace will transcribe scriptures and pray for a year of favorable weather, peace, and prosperity for our Great Qing Dynasty!"
The Empress Dowager spoke solemnly.
Everyone responded cautiously.
The faces of the concubines instantly turned bitter.
Sherry thought to herself, "The Empress Dowager knows that everyone is gossiping about the Emperor."
After everyone took their leave, the Empress Dowager's expression immediately changed.
Kneel down!
Sherry had just stood up when she knelt down again.
"Do you know your mistake?" The Empress Dowager's voice was authoritative and stern.
"Your Majesty, I do not know!" Shirley realized she had miscalculated; she should have made the Empress Dowager faint from anger.
"You, you, is it acceptable for those lackeys to watch the royal family make fools of themselves?! You can't even handle this properly?"
The Empress Dowager was furious when she saw Shirley's appearance.
She thought she had mastered self-control, but she always lost it whenever she was around Sherry.
"But it wasn't me who dragged that woman into our lovemaking!" Xue Li pouted, feeling utterly aggrieved. "I'm hoping to give birth to a prince this year!"
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment, then tried to calm herself down.
Is that what she meant?
She wanted her to cover for the Emperor!
But his brain is as wooden as a wooden fish.
Sherry still looked unconvinced.
She knew exactly what the Empress Dowager meant; even a fool could figure it out: her son had made a mistake, and she was shifting the blame onto someone else.
Coincidentally, no, she was that other person.
Having finally managed to trick the emperor, should she cover for him?!
Dreaming big?!
Oh right, she remembered writing about the Shunzhi Emperor and Consort Dong'e before.
Well, that's perfect. The original book is still here, so she can make a profit.
Thinking about it this way, Sherry was even happier.
The Empress Dowager asked her to copy scriptures for her, and Shirley obediently complied.
On her way back to the palace, Shirley saw Bo Weng Kuo supporting a little maid waiting for her.
Seeing that Shirley's complexion was normal, I felt relieved.
"Egeqi, did the Empress Dowager make things difficult for you?!" The little maid rushed forward and asked this question.
"No, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager misunderstood that I was holding that person—"
"Your Majesty!" Tus's expression changed, and his voice rose slightly.
Seeing that her eyes were almost cramping from blinking so much, Shirley readily glanced at the old nanny on the other side, who had a stern face.
Yes, the Empress Dowager said it was to supervise her copying scriptures.
The old woman had a serious expression, her face long and sullen, with a look of deep resentment.
Bo Wengkuo also saw the unfamiliar old woman.
He couldn't help but look it over: "What is this?"
"Your Highness, this servant, Asa, was sent by the Empress Dowager to supervise the Empress's copying of scriptures."
Asa's mother bowed to Bo Weng Kuo.
"Why is that? Everyone is copying scriptures, so why is the Empress Dowager only focusing on Egeqi?"
Bo Wengkuo's cheeks were puffed out, and he looked somewhat unhappy. Who likes copying scriptures?
This is clearly targeted!
"You wouldn't know, would you?! The Emperor has a new favorite, and the Empress Dowager told me not to get in the way and not to disturb the Emperor and his concubine's lovemaking!" Shirley looked at me with an air of smug understanding, adding, "She probably blames me for interrupting the Emperor's good time yesterday! Sigh..."
Sherry spoke boldly, and apart from Granny Asa standing there dumbfounded, everyone else was so frightened that they knelt on the ground.
"Which princess consort? Everyone says she's a minister's wife!"
Bo Wengkuo and others are here to follow up on last night's gossip.
She was so curious that she couldn't sleep all night.
"that is--"
"Your Highness, Your Highness, it's so cold outside, be careful not to catch a cold. It's time to go back to the palace!" Granny Asa had a bad feeling at this moment.
She knew that the Empress Dowager was naive and that the Empress Dowager didn't take her seriously.
However, this was simply excessive; she didn't even understand why the Empress Dowager was punishing her.
You'd understand, but why is the direction so distorted?!
Asa quickly interrupted, after all, some things, once said, cannot be taken back.
At that time, she, with her old bones, will also have to be punished.
Sherry pulled Bo Wengkuo along as they boarded the phoenix carriage.
Asa's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.
"The daughter of the Dong'e family, her husband is a general," Shirley said to Bo Wengkuo, pretending to lower her voice.
But all the servants present heard that voice.
Everyone's expression remained normal, but their ears perked up in unison.
"Wow! She really is a minister's family member, she must be very beautiful!" Bo Wengkuo couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Shirley.
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