Chapter 19 [19]
【19】/First release
The continuous rain in May did not stop until the middle of the month. In this bright and beautiful early summer, the palace held a lively birthday party for Empress Dowager Gu's 42nd birthday.
Although it wasn't a full-year birthday banquet, the Emperor had always been filial to the Empress Dowager. Since ascending the throne at the age of five, he had celebrated her grandly every year, and this year was no exception.
Preparations for the birthday at the end of the month began at the beginning of the month. Birthday gifts from the capital and various prefectures were continuously sent to the Cining Palace. The concubines in the harem, princes and noble ladies, and wives of officials also prepared gifts for the birthday banquet early. Among all the guests attending the banquet this year, the Liaodong King's family was the most eye-catching.
Xiao Xian, the Prince of Liaodong, was the late emperor's sixth half-brother. A gifted young man, he was crowned king at a young age. However, for unknown reasons, he had offended the late emperor and was first exiled to southern Xinjiang for five years before being sent to Liaodong, where he remained for seventeen years. With the exception of the year of the late emperor's death, when he returned to the capital to attend the funeral, he had not returned to the capital in the years since.
This year he returned to Beijing with his two children, saying that they were attending a birthday party, but many people in Beijing speculated that his children were of marriageable age and he came back specifically to arrange their marriages.
"The Prince of Liaodong had a difficult life. Although he was a prince, he had never enjoyed a peaceful life. At the age of twenty-three, he went to the frontier to eat sand, and he didn't marry until he was twenty-eight. Just one year after his marriage, his wife passed away after giving birth to a pair of children. He never remarried. I heard that he didn't even have a concubine to serve him personally in the backyard. He played both father and mother by himself, raising the little princess and the young prince. Now he has to personally travel to the capital to worry about his children's marriage..."
In the bedroom of Lifeng Palace, Aunt Qiu Rong was kneading noodles for Lu Zhiwan with thin silk threads while talking to her about the Liaodong King's family. This not only helped her relieve the pain of kneading the noodles, but also gave her a general understanding of the guests for the birthday banquet that night.
"Tonight is your first time attending a palace banquet, and it's such a grand occasion. The entire capital will be filled with royal relatives, princes, ministers, wives of officials, and noble ladies. You are currently at the height of your fame, and countless eyes are watching you, both overtly and covertly. You must be extremely careful tonight and make sure no one finds you guilty."
Lu Zhiwan looked at the snow-white face reflected in the bronze mirror, frowned slightly, and sighed: "I wasn't that nervous at first, but what you said, aunt, makes me scared..."
"Don't be afraid, Concubine. I'm just giving you a heads-up." Aunt Qiu Rong chuckled, "Besides, His Majesty is here tonight. You can act accordingly."
Lu Zhiwan smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, and thought to himself that the man was moody and unpredictable, and reading his expression and acting accordingly was even harder than learning mathematics.
After Aunt Qiu Rong finished preparing her meal, Xia He also picked out two dresses. She lifted the curtain and walked in, her voice clear and crisp: "Master, these two palace dresses were newly delivered by the Clothing Bureau a few days ago. Which one do you want to wear tonight?"
Lu Zhiwan turned around and glanced at the gorgeous dresses on the tray. One was a delicate and sweet hibiscus color, and the other was a dignified yet fresh emerald green.
Now that she has the emperor's favor, the Shangfu Bureau dares not neglect the dresses made for her. The exquisite embroidery and meticulous stitches show the embroiderers' care.
"They all look pretty." Lu Zhiwan walked forward and took a closer look. After some deliberation, she placed her slender white fingers on the emerald green satin palace skirt with a weeping willow pattern. "Let's go with this one. There are many people at the banquet tonight, so it's better to be formal."
The hibiscus color makes her look even more charming. Many people outside have already called her a "beauty that brings disaster" and a "foxy woman". If she continues to dress more charmingly, it will only deepen this impression. It is better for her to keep a low profile.
"Master, you have fair skin and beautiful face. You look good in anything you wear." Xia He signaled the palace maid to remove the hibiscus-colored dress. Then, smiling, she helped Lu Zhiwan back to the dressing mirror and said, "I will dress you up right away. I promise you will be more beautiful than the fairies in the Moon Palace."
Lu Zhiwan looked at the still bright sky outside the green gauze window. She also knew that dressing up would take a long time, so she was patient and nodded slightly: "Come on."
***
Summer nights are long. Although there is no bright moon tonight, the thousands of brilliant lights in the Wanshou Hall are enough to illuminate the sky above the Forbidden City.
By the time of You, most of the guests in the hall were already full. While the emperor, the empress dowager and the imperial concubine had not yet entered, the guests greeted each other in groups of two or three.
The concubines attending the birthday banquet today were all at least third-rank imperial concubines. As the concubine from outside the province with the lowest rank, the least experience, and neither popularity nor connections, Lu Zhiwan had undoubtedly become the target of isolation.
Seeing the group of high-ranking concubines registered in the capital chatting and laughing, chattering with their hands covering their lips, and occasionally glancing at her, as if mocking her for being ignored, Lu Zhiwan rolled her eyes in her heart, thinking how childish.
For someone who resists ineffective social interaction and has mild social anxiety, it is a great blessing not to have to smile awkwardly and call each other sisters with them!
After complaining in his heart, Lu Zhiwan calmly picked up a piece of preserved fruit from the dessert plate on the table and quickly stuffed it into his mouth when no one was paying attention.
The sweet and sour taste spread in her mouth, and the sweet food made her already calm mood even more cheerful. She couldn't help but think, if the pre-dinner snacks were so delicious, there would definitely be more delicious food when the meal started. She was looking forward to it.
Lu Zhiwan was immersed in her own little world, completely unaware that her quiet appearance with her head down in thought presented a completely different picture to others.
"Is the one in the green dress His Majesty's favorite Concubine Lu? She is indeed a beauty as radiant as spring flowers and bright as the autumn moon, but she seems a little different from the rumors."
"Yes, she looks quite quiet and dignified, completely different from the one back then..."
When talking about Concubine Zhen, the older ladies were all impressed. After all, she was so high-profile and arrogant that there was probably no one else like her in the world.
Seeing that the other ladies were hinting at a growing fondness for Lu Zhiwan, a lady on good terms with the Gu family twirled her handkerchief over her lips and sneered, "Is she truly demure or just pretending? It's hard to tell. It takes two to tango. I see the other ladies are ignoring her, which shows she's a loner and difficult to get along with... Don't let this illusion fool you."
The others were stunned when they heard this, and then looked at each other.
Even though they had different ideas in their hearts, they did not dare to offend Gu, and all of them smiled and responded: "That's right."
Lu Zhiwan sat quietly at the table, and naturally felt the gazes from all directions, but she didn't care and continued to sit like an old monk, motionless.
When Aunt Qiu Rong, who was standing behind her and serving her, saw this, her eyes showed some approval of the teachable girl.
Just as Lu Zhiwan lowered his eyes and was about to fall asleep, the eunuch's voice finally rang out from outside the palace.
"Your Majesty has arrived."
"The Empress Dowager has arrived, and the Imperial Concubine has arrived."
A long, high-pitched sound entered the hall, and the noisy atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Lu Zhiwan also shuddered, perking up, and all sleepiness disappeared.
Everyone in the hall returned to the two sides of the hall in an orderly manner and bowed, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother and the Imperial Concubine."
The uniform cheers resonated and echoed in the quiet hall, adding a sense of solemnity.
This intuitive sense of the imperial hierarchy also made Lu Zhiwan's heart tremble. She bowed her head and saluted, shouting along with the concubines in the front row: "Your concubines respectfully welcome Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the Imperial Concubine."
A long time had passed since the words were spoken. The only sound in the hall was the jingling of bells and bracelets as people walked. It was crisp and ethereal, and it kept jingling again and again, as if it struck the heart of everyone present.
Lu Zhiwan didn't know what was wrong with him. He was inexplicably nervous, holding his breath and hunching over, not daring to make a sound, until a cold and elegant voice came from the top: "No need to be polite."
It was clearly a voice she was very familiar with, but at this moment, she felt so strange.
Before Lu Zhiwan could figure things out, he knelt down with everyone else to express his gratitude and took his seat again.
After a long pause, she finally came to her senses and carefully raised her eyes to look at the throne at the top.
At the highest point of the jade steps, there was a young emperor wearing a vermilion brocade robe with a black dragon pattern, a white jade leather belt around his waist, and a five-clawed golden dragon crown on his head. He had long eyebrows, a high nose and thin lips. Perhaps because of the birthday banquet, he looked relaxed, with the corners of his lips slightly raised, adding a bit of arrogance and elegance.
This Xiao Jingting is very different from how he behaves in private.
The gap between the two is like the distance between her and him at this moment. It looks very close, but it is not.
After a while, Lu Zhiwan finally came to his senses from his dignified and serious look. His long eyelashes drooped, and he muttered secretly in his heart.
"As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. I didn't expect the dog emperor to dress like this."
"He's quite impressive. If I hadn't known he was a pure love god who only knew how to hold hands and cuddle, I would have been intimidated by him."
"But how can someone's appearance and personality be so different? What a waste of such a face that looks so good!"
She lowered her head and complained inwardly, completely unaware of the indifferent glance given to her by the person sitting in the upper seat.
Probably due to the distance, Xiao Jingting could only vaguely hear her inner voice, a few intermittent words, such as "imposing", "hugging", "a face that you can tell at first glance"...
So, this woman was complimenting him on his impressive outfit today and wanted to hug him?
Thinking of this, Xiao Jingting's gaze towards Lu Zhiwan became indescribable.
How could she have such shameless thoughts in public? Besides, even if she wanted to get close to him, she should at least wait until the birthday party was over.
"Ayin, Ayin..."
The Queen Mother's gentle voice brought Xiao Jingting back to his senses. He raised his head and looked back at the Queen Mother Gu, who looked even more radiant in her attire today. "What did you say, Mother?"
"What are you thinking about? Why are you so lost in thought?" Queen Mother Gu smiled and said, "I'm saying it's getting late, we can start the feast."
Xiao Jingting glanced around the hall and saw that everyone was sitting quietly and respectfully at the bottom, waiting for his instructions. He calmed himself down and raised his finger to Yu Mingjiang at the side: "Let's begin the meal."
Yu Mingjiang bowed and responded, then turned and held the whisk, raised his head and chest and shouted downwards: "Your Majesty has ordered that the banquet be served--"
This order was like throwing a stone into a quiet lake, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became much more relaxed.
The palace maids who had been waiting outside the hall carried the meals and entered in an orderly manner. Soon, the sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras began to emanate, accompanied by singing and dancing.
"The feast is finally here, let's eat!"
Lu Zhiwan had saved his stomach for the evening meal, not having eaten much at lunch. He was already waiting anxiously, and when he saw the palace maids carrying the meal, his eyes lit up, looking like they could eat a whole cow.
"Here, here, let me see what the first dish is!"
"Charcoal-grilled venison?! Wow, a real dish, so delicious!"
"The second dish is... Golden Tripe Soup. Mm, it tastes good too."
"The third dish is Huaibai fish cooked in wine... delicious!"
“…Delicious, delicious, delicious, so delicious!”
Xiao Jingting, who had sat down and listened to the entire menu, said: “…”
He's heard the word "delicious" so many times that his ears are almost callused.
He tightened his grip on the wine glass, trying to banish the word "delicious" that had brainwashed him. As he raised the glass to drink, he took advantage of the wide sleeves of his robe to glance at the lower right corner.
The woman in the fresh green silk dress kept using her chopsticks. Every time she put a bite of food into her mouth, her beautiful eyebrows would gently curve up, and she looked as if she was enjoying great satisfaction.
Is her stomach a bottomless pit? She has been talking non-stop since the meal started.
Xiao Jingting drank the wine in the glass, but couldn't help but glance at the slim green figure, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Eat, eat! He wanted to see whether his treasury would be emptied first or her stomach would burst first.
**
After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere was lively. Some people were clinking glasses, toasting, wishing each other a happy birthday, or chatting and laughing. Some people were so busy eating that their stomachs hurt, so they had to support themselves against the wall and go out to change clothes.
After taking care of his physiological issues, Lu Zhiwan rubbed his still bloated belly and began to regret it. He should have avoided eating so much. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, so he had to eat a lighter meal tomorrow to maintain his figure.
On the way back, Lu Zhiwan walked slowly, admiring the dazzling palace lanterns along the way. Just then, a breeze blew, bringing a faint fragrance of flowers, which was refreshing.
Thinking that she wouldn't be able to eat at the banquet now, and sitting there would be boring, Lu Zhiwan asked Xia He to accompany her for a walk around the Wanshou Hall: "Take a hundred steps after dinner and you'll live to be ninety-nine. Anyway, there's nothing to do when we get home, so why not take a walk."
Xia He naturally obeyed the order and followed with the palace lantern.
I don’t know how long I walked along the corridor. The lights in front of me gradually dimmed, and it seemed that the place was getting more and more remote. Lu Zhiwan felt a little worried.
Perhaps it was because too many beautiful women had been buried behind these deep red walls since ancient times, she always felt that the harem had a sad and beautiful atmosphere, and this atmosphere would turn into a gloomy and sinister aura at night, as if a resentful ghost in palace costume would jump out at any time, holding up ten long bright red nails, sticking out its long tongue and saying "I'm so miserable", and then baring its teeth and rushing over to take her life.
Lu Zhiwan shuddered at the thought of this horrifying scene. He was about to turn around and tell Xia He to go back, but before he could open his mouth, a slightly panicked female voice suddenly rang out from behind the dimly lit, hollow carved stone wall not far away: "Let go!"
Lu Zhiwan's back suddenly stiffened: "..."
No way? Is there really a ghost?
Wait, why does this voice sound familiar?
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