Chapter 042: Elf-like

"Husband, are you going to put someone in there?" Xia Xue asked jokingly.

"You?" Chu Zhenxuan tapped her forehead.

Should I tell him?

After all, it concerns the Chu family, so maybe they are targeting the Chu family.

Oh, forget it. Men are naturally rough-hearted. Even though he sent people to keep an eye on things, something still went wrong. How can he save face?

Chu Zhenxuan frowned. What happened when he was not at home?

"Ma'am, do you have something to tell me?"

"ah?"

Am I so obvious?

Then let me whet your appetite first.

"It's just a small matter. Although it involves the entire Chu family and is a bit tricky, it has been basically resolved."

Ask me what's going on?

This concerns the entire Chu family. Tsk tsk, it will scare you to death.

But I am not exaggerating. If this matter was really brought up by someone with ulterior motives at the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, the emperor might want to exterminate all nine generations of the Chu family.

Ask now, what are you hesitating about?

"Thank you very much, ma'am."

Xia Xue:......

Xia Xue: Mr. Chu, can you follow the normal script?

In the end, Xia Xue couldn't hold it back and vomited out everything she should and shouldn't say.

At this time, the friends were all wondering, what was it that Xia Xue and Chu Zhenxuan shouldn’t say?

Of course it’s to give money to Xia Lu!

When giving subsidies to one's parents' family, it should be done quietly, and the fewer people who know about it, the better. But when giving benefits to one's husband's family, it should be done with great fanfare, and the bigger the better.

Chu Zhenxuan's face grew darker as he listened. After thinking for a while, he said only one sentence, "It's time to put the Prime Minister's Mansion in order."

Xia Xue quickly changed her clothes and finished her makeup, but she still wore a veil.

Chu Zhenxuan personally supervised the placement of the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts and embroidery on the carriage, and for the first time ever he did not ride a horse, but chose to ride in a carriage with Xia Xue.

The narrow space in the carriage became even smaller because of Chu Zhenxuan's arrival.

Xia Xue moved away awkwardly, "Aren't you going to call me mother?"

"She has entered the palace a long time ago." There was a hint of coldness in the voice.

"Enter the palace?"

"The Queen Mother was her close friend. Whenever she entered the palace in previous years, my mother would go there a few days earlier."

Is he the protagonist of the legendary dragon-phoenix fight?

Could this matter also be related to the Queen Mother?

Or is it related to the old lady?

Xia Xue shook her head violently.

If the emperor really blames the old lady for this matter, how can she escape as the mistress of the house?

Even if she could run away, she would never harm her own son.

Chu Zhenxuan looked at Xia Xue's changing expression and sighed.

It seems his little woman doesn't know that the old lady is not his biological mother.

Like the emperor, they have a complicated family situation, and anything that could happen to mother and son could happen.

Xia Xue had lived in the Xia family since she was a child. Although she was also a stepmother, she treated her sincerely, so she would never think that this matter had anything to do with the word "mother".

Forget it. I'll explain it to her when I have a chance.

The carriage soon arrived at the palace, and just like before, all the carriages of the noble families stopped outside the palace gate and entered on foot.

The servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion were carrying two three-foot-tall boxes and some wrapped embroidery items, and followed behind Chu Zhenxuan and Xia Xue.

After passing Xuanwu Gate, the Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to greet him and said, "Prime Minister Chu, just hand over the gifts to me for registration."

"No need for that. All the things in the Prime Minister's Mansion can be registered after being displayed."

"This is against the rules." The deputy manager looked embarrassed.

"But, this thing was picked by the Emperor himself. If I give it to you, can you afford any mishaps?"

"Oh, you are joking, my Lord. Since it is something selected by the Emperor, please display it before registering it for storage."

Chu Zhenxuan waved his hand, asking the deputy steward and the eunuchs to make way, and the servants of the prime minister's residence carried the boxes and walked towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the main banquet venue for tonight and also the place where gifts from various families are displayed.

Looking at Chu Zhenxuan's back, the Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs wiped the sweat from his forehead.

At this time, the queens of each palace sent people to check the gifts sent by each palace and each family, and it was inevitable that someone would tamper with them. Especially just now, the head maid beside the queen mother came to ask specifically whether the gifts from the prime minister's mansion had been delivered.

He had seen a lot of these women's overt and covert struggles. In a scene like today's Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, the ladies would definitely not dare to play any tricks. At most, they would know other people's gifts in advance and see if their own gifts could stand out. If not, they would just think of some nice words to say. But the Empress Dowager was different. If she wanted to do something, he could not stop her.

So, since it was the Prime Minister of Chu who didn't register it, if there were any problems, we could just push them directly to the Prime Minister of Chu. It would be better than having him keep the things and cause problems.

As the sky gradually darkened, the Hall of Supreme Harmony became bustling.

The center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony is naturally where the Emperor and the Empress Dowager sit. The two of them start by attacking the concubines and ladies in each palace arranged according to their rank, then the princes, and then the ministers and their families arranged according to their ranks.

The ruler and his subjects are clearly distinguished.

The Chu family's location is basically in the middle of the hall, so the gifts from various palaces and families can be seen more clearly.

Xia Xue looked at the empty old lady's seat and questioned Chu Zhenxuan with her eyes.

Chu Zhenxuan ignored it and just filled the tea in front of her.

At this time, the hall was basically full.

Just waiting to welcome the Emperor and the Queen Mother.

After a while, with a few shouts, the two main characters came out slowly. The emperor supported the empress dowager and sat on the main seat from the back of the hall.

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, and long live the empress dowager."

The emperor told them to stand up, and Xia Xue then noticed that Old Madam Chu was sitting next to the empress dowager.

Is this the Chu family's grace? Or is it the Chu family's misfortune?

The emperor made a bunch of opening remarks about the country's peace and the people's well-being, and then began the banquet.

First there were several singing and dancing performances, followed by gifts from the queens of various palaces, and then the prince.

The first one to receive the prince's gift was naturally Prince Lu.

Prince Lu snapped his fingers and a melodious and clear tune sounded. At the same time, a fiery red figure swung down from the center of the hall. The hem of her skirt carried red petals that fell one by one to the rhythm of the music, and the fragrance filled the air.

Everyone stared at the fiery red figure, their eyes filled with anticipation for this charming and beautiful woman.

Suddenly, the music changed to "Ten Sides of Ambush". At the moment the tune changed, the woman's rope was suddenly pulled up, pulling the woman's body up and spinning rapidly. While spinning, the woman kept changing her movements to match the rhythm. The woman's body bent into an extreme arc with the rhythm.

"bite."

Immediately, her bright red robe fell off, revealing her graceful figure.

Everyone gasped.

This kind of dance, this kind of bold interpretation, is probably the first time that everyone here has seen it.

Everyone's eyes were attracted by the elf-like woman in front of them. Although they had not seen her face clearly, they had already prepared all the words to describe her beauty in their hearts.

At this moment, as the last tune ended, the woman slowly fell in the center of the hall.

The woman slowly raised her head.