Chapter 55: Palace Banquet Seating Issues
"Princess Zhan, this is the Emperor's reward for you regarding the plague incident. Because of your words, the doctors at the Imperial Hospital have made significant improvements in their medical skills."
Eunuch Huang said excitedly, as if the reward was his.
Eunuch Huang was not exaggerating when he said this. He had heard something about what happened at the city gate last time, and he had a new respect for Princess Zhan.
It was precisely because of her words that the doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau became more responsible and paid more attention to minor illnesses.
"Your Majesty, I thank you!"
After receiving the reward, the two of them walked towards the palace banquet hall.
This banquet happened to be held on the occasion of the Empress Dowager's 70th birthday, so it was held in a grand and high-profile manner.
Not only families came to the banquet, but also the families of court officials, who brought their sons and daughters with them.
To put it bluntly, this is just a blind date party.
To put it nicely, it is a performance.
It's nothing more than arranging a marriage with the young master or daughter of a wealthy family.
Body and Hall.
Because they were meeting the emperor, when Yu Mengqing and Chu Shiheng entered the hall, the seats were already full, and they were the last ones to arrive.
As soon as the two arrived, the originally bustling and noisy Tihe Hall suddenly became quiet.
Everyone pointed at the two of them and said, "See? She is Yu Mengqing."
"It looks much better if you tie the scarf to cover the yin-yang face."
"It's just a cover-up. Otherwise, how could she come out to see people? And who knows how she will embarrass herself today?"
The daughters of various wealthy families began to point fingers at Yu Mengqing, and none of the words they said were good.
Yu Mengqing pretended not to see anything and scanned the entire audience, looking for a seat.
"Shiheng, this way!"
Luo Lijuan was the first to speak to the two people who came in, but she only called out Chu Shiheng, not Yu Mengqing.
Yu Mengqing raised her eyebrows but didn't care too much, so she tactfully found a seat further back and sat down.
Seeing this, Chu Shiheng frowned subconsciously, and then followed her naturally in an instant.
"Hey, Shiheng, Mengqing, you two come and sit in the front!" The emperor who had just arrived said when he saw this.
Hearing this, Luo Lijuan on the side gnashed her teeth in anger.
But no matter how angry she was, the one who spoke was the emperor. Did she dare to refuse?
Of course not.
So she had to sit with the other two concubines, right next to Chu Shiheng and Yu Mengqing.
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor and his ministers were already waiting in the hall.
After the Empress Dowager, the Queen and other concubines took their seats, Yu Mengqing knelt down and bowed to them along with the other ministers and concubines.
You have to kneel down, just do as the Romans do.
"Stand up!" After the emperor and the empress dowager said so, everyone stood up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The location of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was actually arranged.
The table could only seat two people, and since there were three of them including Luo Lijuan, the palace maids specially arranged a longer table for them.
There was an empty space in the middle of each table, as wide as a person's, to make it easier for the palace maids to serve the dishes.
Luo Lijuan, who was sitting at another table, was originally sitting next to Chu Shiheng. Although there was a seat between them, at least he was on her left, which made her very satisfied.
Because as long as she turns her head slightly, she can see the man she thinks about day and night.
But maybe Chu Shiheng discovered something, because as soon as he sat down, he switched seats with Yu Mengqing, so that Yu Mengqing was sitting on her left.
Thinking of the pain Yu Mengqing gave her that night, Luo Lijuan shuddered.
Soon, palace maids in pink clothes came in one after another with plates and began to serve the dishes.
Every time a dish was served, Yu Mengqing's eyes lit up a little.
I have to say that the cooking skills of the palace kitchen are amazing.
Even she, an agent who is used to eating delicious food in the apocalypse, had to admire their dishes.
Regardless of how it tastes, the appearance alone is very appetizing.
What surprised Yu Mengqing the most was that among these dishes, there was actually a dish of boiled pork slices.
She has missed this dish for a long time.
It’s just that there is no chili oil in it, of course it may be because it is not available here yet.
But being able to do this is already a remarkable achievement.
However, before she had taken a few bites of the meal, she heard Imperial Concubine Jie in front of the palace say to Imperial Concubine Yu, "Sister, why didn't Shixiang come?"
Chu Shixiang is the third prince, the son of Concubine Yu. He is blind and usually does not come out at banquets like this.
As the saying goes, a mother's status is determined by her son, but the son must also be capable. Therefore, Concubine Yu rarely appears in public except at special palace banquets like this.
As a person, he is still as low-key as ever.
It was obvious that Concubine Jie was looking for trouble when she asked this question at this time, but Concubine Yu did not take it seriously.
It is understood that the third prince Chu Shixiang has been smart and clever since he was a child, and the emperor likes him very much.
But when he was six years old, he didn't know what disease he had, which led to this eye disease.
Hearing this, Concubine Yu just smiled casually and said generously: "Sister, you know Xiang'er has poor eyesight. If he comes here, he will only cause trouble."
Concubine Yu never thought that her son's eye disease was a shameful thing.
On the contrary, she felt very lucky.
It’s a good thing that my son has this eye disease, otherwise, I don’t know whether he can grow up safely?
She knew about the struggles in the harem, but she didn't have an impressive family background, so what could she use to fight against others?
It is precisely because of her personality that she tolerates everything.
She even knew why her son had eye disease, but so what? Could she find out?
On the contrary, she felt that the current situation was good, as her son Gong could grow up safely.
Hearing what Concubine Yu said, Concubine Jie looked embarrassed.
It was so boring that he kept hearing the same thing, so he turned to look at Concubine Lin.
"Shixiang can't come because of an eye problem, and what's wrong with Shiyin?"
As soon as he asked this, he immediately covered his mouth and said with a smile, "Sister, look at my memory. Shiyin must have gone to fight crickets again."
Chu Shiyin is the fourth prince, a prince who perfectly embodies the image of a dandy boy.
Every day he would either visit brothels, eat and drink with his friends, or go cricket fighting...
Concubine Lin was not as patient as Concubine Yu. Instead, she retorted, "I told him not to come. Otherwise, it would be like last year, and he would have witnessed Shirong fighting with others. This is not a good example."
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