Chapter 55 Luminous Water
The ministers had already entered the palace when they held court in the morning, and now only the female members of the family were at the palace gate.
They were given a banquet by the Emperor, and the female members of the family were given a banquet by the Empress.
This was the first time Ling Chan met the queen.
The queen had a very kind face, but her complexion was sickly pale.
She was dressed warmly, with a fox scarf around her neck and two charcoal fires beside her.
Princess Yongning sat beside her, tidying her clothes from time to time.
There's an empty seat next to her...
Next to her was Concubine Rou, and there were two other concubines. Next to each concubine sat a little princess of four or five years old.
"Those two are Concubine Li and Concubine Wan, and next to them are Princess Yongkang and Princess Yongjia." Liu Huaiyu's seat was right next to Ling Chan.
"They were taken into the harem after the emperor ascended the throne."
Liu Huaiyu told Ling Chan that the banquet here would be very boring.
The procedures for a banquet given by the Queen are the same as those given by the Emperor.
For example, ministers had to present gifts to the emperor, and the female members of the family had to present gifts to the empress.
After the banquet began, the emperor and the empress gave a glass of wine, and all officials and female relatives returned a glass. The dishes were served starting from the third glass of wine.
Drink a glass of wine, serve three dishes, change the program, until the ninth glass of wine, the banquet is over.
Usually at this time, the emperor and empress would leave and hand the venue over to the ministers and female relatives so that they could also strengthen their relationship.
After the banquet was over, the ministers had to return to their respective residences, take a bath, change clothes, and wait in their residences. The emperor would then give food to each family one after another.
These gifts of food also have meaning and often represent the emperor's impression of the ministers.
"Why didn't the Queen Mother come?" Ling Chan didn't see Rong Ruxiang.
Liu Huaiyu shook his head, "I don't know, it should have come."
At this moment, Nanny Xian, who was beside the Empress Dowager, came in from the side hall, walked to the Empress who was sitting on the high seat, bowed, and then walked closer and said a few words to the Empress.
Ling Chan could just see her lips and read what she said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is not feeling well and will not be attending the banquet today."
A trace of embarrassment flashed across the queen's face, but Concubine Rou, who was sitting below her, was delighted.
After Nanny Xian left, the queen glanced at the palace maid beside her.
The palace maids raised their heads and sang loudly, "The New Year is approaching, and the Empress has specially prepared a grand banquet to entertain all the female relatives..."
"Thank you!"
Everyone stood up and knelt before the Queen, saying, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for the banquet."
Ling Chan just bowed and said nothing.
The Queen's voice was weak, "Everyone, excuse me."
After everyone sat down, the palace servants sang again, "Each family presents their greetings."
Shangli means presenting gifts. The palace maids would call the ladies of each mansion one by one according to the official rank to present gifts.
Before Ling Chan, there were Concubine Rou, Concubine Li, Concubine Wan, Princess Duan, and Princess Cheng. Then it was Ling Chan's turn to pay her respects as Princess Wanyue.
Concubine Rou was the first to speak. She stood up gracefully, walked to the center, and bowed to the Empress. "Your Majesty, although I envy you for having such a caring princess like Yongning, I still hope you can give birth to a prince for the Emperor."
The palace maid behind her was holding a large box.
"This year, my younger sister gave me the Guanyin of Childbirth, hoping that my elder sister's wish will come true."
Everyone else's faces changed. This Concubine Rou... sends the Queen the Guanyin of Childbirth every year at this time, and has been doing so for four or five years in a row... and she always slaps the Queen in the face.
But the queen in question remained calm and said simply, "Sister Roufei is thoughtful."
The palace maid beside her walked down and took the box away.
Concubine Rou was disappointed and returned to her seat in embarrassment.
Next came Concubine Li, Concubine Wan, Princess Duan and Princess Cheng to present their gifts. Their gifts were quite ordinary, all jewelry, not expensive, just a token of their appreciation.
When it was Ling Chan's turn, she was also prepared.
What she gave to the queen was a homemade fluorescent water. The so-called fluorescent water is to put fluorescent powder into water. After being exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun, it can emit green and blue fluorescence when placed in a dark place.
Fluorescent powder is naturally present in the equipment arsenal of space agents and usually plays an important role in conveying messages.
For example, fluorescent powder is mixed with specific chemicals and used to write intelligence. After the liquid dries, there is no trace. Another specific liquid must be sprayed to measure the fluorescence wavelength through an instrument and then decrypt the content.
Among the gifts sent from the palace was a round glass cup, and Ling Chan placed the fluorescent water in the glass cup.
Use a nice wooden holder to support it, and it will become a nice...ornament.
And the wooden holder...is a monitor.
"Luminous water?" The queen looked at the glass cup held by the palace maid. There was water in it, but she couldn't see any difference.
Ling Chan simply said, "The Queen has ordered someone to place this glow-in-the-dark water near the window where it can be hit by the sun. When you return home at night, you'll see how magical it is."
"Princess Wanyue is really good at being mysterious." Concubine Rou's unfriendly voice sounded.
"If I'm not mistaken, this glass cup was given to Princess Wanyue by the palace, right?"
"That is to say... the Empress is hosting a banquet, and the princess is just sending a glass of water. After tonight... even the Empress won't be able to say anything."
With Concubine Rou speaking frankly first, the ladies below also began to talk about it.
"Just a glass of water? This is too shabby."
"Yeah, there are so many other gifts, but a glass of water is bad luck."
"Luminous water? Did they put the moon in the water?"
"Will it be the same as the Night Pearl?"
"A night-shining pearl is a pearl, and this is water. How can they be the same?"
Ling Chan didn't want to say more to her, and only looked at the Queen, "Your Majesty, this gift from Wan Yue will definitely surprise you."
"Yes, Princess Wanyue is right." Concubine Rou rolled her eyes at Ling Chan. "A glass of water, isn't that a surprise?"
Ling Chan glanced at her and said, "Since Concubine Rou thinks I am right, then don't say anything more."
Concubine Rou was startled. "Princess Wanyue, I'm curious too. Why don't you let me and the other ladies open our eyes and see how this luminous water glows?"
The Queen nodded towards Ling Chan, asking her to show off.
Ling Chan stood up and asked the palace maid to take the glass cup to the sun to dry for a cup of tea.
Taking advantage of this time, the palace servants closed all the windows in the palace.
When the time came, the palace maid brought the glass cup into the hall and the door was immediately closed.
The fluorescent water in the glass cup slowly showed green and blue dots of light. As the palace maid walked, the dots of light swayed in the water, magical and beautiful.
The queen on the high throne and the concubines below all stared with their eyes wide open.
The maid brought the fluorescent water to the queen and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on receiving this magical treasure."
The Queen was overjoyed. "Wanyue, I really like the gift you gave me. I will reward you later."
The special fluorescent powder for special agents can absorb light for five minutes and shine for two hours, with high brightness and long duration.
The queen did not have the glass cup sent back to the palace, but placed it directly on the table in front of her.
Then the ladies of each family began to present their gifts, but everyone's attention was attracted by the luminous water and no one looked at other people's gifts.
Even the queen was not interested, her beautiful eyes fixed on the luminous water.
After waiting for a long time for the banquet, Ling Chan was already too hungry.
What she didn't expect was that the dishes served were...each one more exquisite than the other. After finishing one bite, she had to wait for the next dish. In the meantime, she had to drink and watch the show.
These programs are boring... Ling Chan thinks the expressions of Ruan Yiyu, Ling Xueyao and Ling Xuehui are more interesting.
Oh, by the way, there is also Qiu Lan.
These people... exchanged glances from time to time, and the maids around them took turns going in and out, talking to each other...
When are they going to take action?
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