Chapter 57: Each Shows His Magical Power
"The Emperor has arrived~"
Following Jiang Deshun's announcement outside the door, the hall suddenly became quiet.
Everyone stood up to welcome Xiao Jingheng and the Queen.
Xiao Jingheng and the queen walked in side by side, holding each other's hands, looking affectionate.
The Queen also changed into her unique phoenix robe today, which made her look elegant and graceful.
After Xiao Jingheng sat in the first seat, the queen slowly walked to the bottom of the hall and led everyone to kneel down and pay their respects.
The concubines said in unison:
"I wish His Majesty a happy birthday and all the best. May you be blessed as vast as the East Sea and live as long as the heavens."
Xiao Jingheng raised his hand and said, "Stand up. Today, everyone is family at the Tonghuatai banquet. Let's have fun together. There's no need to follow the rules."
Everyone thanked him and stood up. After returning to their seats, King An was the first to say:
"My dear brother, you always avoid drinking with me. Today is your birthday. We brothers must have a good drink and not leave until we are drunk!"
As soon as he said this, the faces of Prince Qi and Prince Rui looked a little unhappy.
It was polite for Xiao Jingheng to call them brothers, but it was an overstepping of authority for them to call him brothers.
Besides, everyone in the palace advised Xiao Jingheng to drink less and not to drink too much to avoid hurting his health. Only Prince An dared to say to Xiao Jingheng so openly, "Don't go home until you are drunk."
Prince Rui sat closer to Prince An, and he advised quietly:
"Sixth brother, the emperor is busy with government affairs. We should persuade him to drink less."
Prince An patted Prince Rui on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Fifth brother is always bored when he is depressed. Today is my brother's birthday. It is a rare day of leisure. If you don't have fun, it would be restrained and not beautiful."
"Hahaha~" Xiao Jingheng laughed out loud upon hearing this, and raised his wine glass to face Prince An from a distance, "Old Six is right, but don't get drunk and stay in my palace anymore, it will give me a headache."
The three princes raised their glasses together to celebrate Xiao Jingheng's birthday.
They talked and laughed with each other, not discussing state affairs, as if it were just an ordinary private gathering of brothers.
After the banquet started, everyone enjoyed the singing and dancing performances while eating and drinking.
The Queen said to Xiao Jingheng, "The concubines in each palace have carefully prepared programs to celebrate the Emperor's birthday. Would the Emperor like to take a look?"
Xiao Jingheng naturally nodded in agreement.
Of course the queen cannot stand out at this time, otherwise she will appear petty.
So the sisters from each palace were allowed to start first.
Everyone was being humble, except Concubine Chen. While they were still discussing who would perform first, someone in her palace had already brought her zither.
She played a piece of music called "Autumn Wind". The scattered notes were loose, deep and distant, while the overtones were clear like splashing jade and trembling like the roar of a dragon. Her piano skills were so profound and her fingering was so familiar that even the best musicians in the palace could not compare with her.
This was the first time Song Zhao witnessed the ability of the Concubine Chen.
Even she sighed in her heart, thinking that the praise of Chen Fei as a master of the Yaoqin was a false compliment.
After hearing it today, I know that what he said is true.
When the concubine finished playing the song, there was thunderous applause in the hall, and Xiao Jingheng also said:
"My beloved concubine's piano skills are becoming more and more advanced."
The concubine smiled proudly.
"It's been a while since I last practiced, so I'm a little rusty. I just started practicing again recently just to please the emperor. I hope the emperor likes it."
Xiao Jingheng naturally liked it, and even had someone move the Concubine Chen's seat next to him, so that he could be on par with the Queen.
The Queen didn't say anything, but she didn't even look at Concubine Chen the whole time, too lazy to look at her smug look.
Afterwards, Concubine Ying performed the Hu people's stepping dance.
She was originally of Hu ethnic origin, and when she put on the costume of her own nation, her every dance move was full of power, which was eye-catching.
Shu Fei's body had not yet recovered, but she had made sufficient preparations for Xiao Jingheng's birthday in advance.
She specially composed a poem and recited it to everyone, which also won applause from the audience.
All in all, the performance really opened Song Zhao's eyes.
These women are like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each of them has unique skills and should not be underestimated.
There are exceptions, however.
Take Concubine Hui for example, she really doesn't know anything.
The Queen wanted her to show her face in front of Xiao Jingheng, but she was eating the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in front of her with gusto, so much so that when she replied, she hadn't swallowed the food in her mouth yet.
"All the sisters are so amazing, unlike me, who can't do anything..."
The concubine glanced at the mess on her desk, smiled and said:
"Why don't you show the emperor how you can clear all the food on the table in less than half an hour?"
“Hahahahaha~”
The concubine's words made everyone in the room laugh and cry.
Even Huipin herself laughed along, "Hehe~ Although I haven't prepared any program for His Majesty, my father told me in a letter a few days ago that it seems that our family has opened a few more money houses recently, and the profits are very good. On His Majesty's birthday, my father said that he would donate 10,000 taels of gold to the national treasury, just as a small token of his appreciation."
As soon as these words were spoken, the smiles on everyone's faces froze.
Their smiles shifted to Xiao Jingheng's face.
After all, one ten thousand taels of gold is not a small amount. Even if other concubines have it at home, they dare not take it out openly.
Because their maternal families were all officials in the imperial court, it was obvious that the money was obtained through corruption and bribery.
But Huipin was different. Her father's official position was originally a nominal one. Her family had been engaged in business for generations and was the richest man in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.
It was reasonable for her family to pay tribute to the court.
The other concubines were all jealous, but Huipin was childish and didn't notice anything wrong at all.
She felt that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in front of her was almost gone, so she said to Xiao Jingheng, "Your Majesty, this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tastes like the food at home. It's delicious~"
She smacked her lips, savoring the taste like a greedy cat.
Xiao Jingheng smiled and said, "Since it suits your taste, use more. Someone, go and serve Huipin an order of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."
"Hehe~ Thank you, Your Majesty~"
After this matter came to an end, everyone continued to toast each other, and each of them used their own unique skills to please Xiao Jingheng.
Liu Changzai raised the teacup and whispered to Song Zhao:
"After Concubine Yao finishes her performance, it will be your turn. I cannot hold my liquor well, so I will use tea instead. I hope you will amaze everyone with your next pipa performance."
Song Zhao had just come back from toasting Xiao Jingheng and drank a cup of tea to suppress the smell of the alcohol. Now the teacup was empty.
She quickly added a cup of hot tea and said with a smile, "Thank you, sister."
When the two of them clinked their glasses, somehow the sound was very loud, as if someone was deliberately trying to embarrass the other.
Song Zhaocai filled the teacup, and the tea splashed out and burned the back of her hand.
She cried out in pain and subconsciously loosened her hand, causing the teacup to fall quickly to the ground.
Today is Xiao Jingheng's birthday. If something were to be broken at the birthday party, it would be a crime of disrespect.
So Song Zhao almost subconsciously reached out and picked up the teacup from mid-air.
Although the teacup did not fall, the scalding hot tea still burned her fingers red.
Everyone began to care about Song Zhao's situation.
Xiao Jingheng even sat up from his seat and asked anxiously:
"How is it? Are you hurt?"
Song Zhao endured the pain and hid his hands behind his back, frowning and shaking his head.
Yunshan grabbed her wrist and saw that her fingers were all burned red, and said distressedly:
"My lady said she was fine, but her fingers are all burned red!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng immediately walked quickly towards Song Zhao, and the rest of the concubines followed to join in the fun.
Only Liu Changzai, who was standing next to Song Zhao, was panicking and puzzled:
When she clinked the glasses just now, she clearly didn't use much force.
It was just a light touch, how could Song Zhao be so fragile that he couldn't even hold the teacup and even burned himself?
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