Chapter 778 Unfriendly Looks
I heard that the emperor was a mysophobe and paid great attention to personal hygiene.
But just now they saw the imperial concubine eating melon seeds with her own eyes. The seeds might have been stained with her saliva, but the emperor was able to eat them without changing his expression. Is this called mysophobia? !
I’m afraid this is not a false mysophobia!
As the midnight bell rang, the last day of the year passed.
The new year is here!
Everyone stood up and congratulated the emperor on the New Year.
Luo Qinghan ordered people to distribute New Year rewards.
Amid the respectful farewells of the crowd, the emperor and the imperial concubine returned to Yunxiu Palace together.
According to palace rules, the emperor had to rest in the Pepper Room on New Year's Eve.
However, now that the Central Palace was without a master and the Pepper Palace was empty, the Emperor naturally did not care about those things and could sleep wherever he wanted.
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, the emperor led his concubines, royal family members, and civil and military officials to the Taimiao to worship their ancestors.
Ancestor worship is a very tedious matter.
Just kneeling down would take more than an hour.
As a royal concubine, Xiao Xixi was at the front of the female team, with countless pairs of eyes staring at her from behind. She couldn't even try to be lazy and could only kneel down obediently and not move.
Fortunately, the emperor had given instructions in advance and had someone prepare a thick cushion for her, which helped relieve her pain a little.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites stood on the high steps and sang and recited the sacrificial words aloud.
The lengthy eulogy seemed to have no end, like a half-finished lullaby, which made Xiao Xixi feel dizzy and she wanted to just fall to the ground and fall asleep on the spot.
After waiting for a long time for the sacrificial speech to end, everyone stood up.
Kneeling for a long time can easily make people feel dizzy when they stand up. If they are not in good health on weekdays, they may even faint on the spot.
Fortunately, everyone had strong willpower. No matter how drowsy they were, they still gritted their teeth and stood up, without causing any misconduct in front of the emperor.
The next step is to burn incense.
The Empress Dowager is old and she has not participated in the New Year ancestor worship in recent years. In the past, it was Queen Qin who burned incense and worshipped ancestors on her behalf. Now that there is no Queen, this task naturally falls on the Imperial Concubine.
After the emperor finished burning incense, it was Xiao Xixi's turn.
She inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner in an orderly manner, knelt down and bowed three times, then stood up with Baoqin's help and retreated behind the emperor.
Next there is the session of praying and fortune-telling.
The so-called blessing is to pray for good weather, peace and prosperity in the coming year.
Divination is to ask God through fortune-telling whether the national fortune of the Great Sheng Dynasty this year will be good or bad.
These had all been arranged long ago by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory. No matter how they calculated, the final result would definitely be auspicious.
To put it bluntly, these are just formalities to reassure the people.
By the time the entire ancestor worship ceremony was completed, it was already afternoon.
They returned to the palace in a carriage.
Xiao Xixi still rode in the same carriage with the emperor.
There were only two of them in the car, so Xiao Xixi didn't need to worry about anything. She simply lifted up her skirt and rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her red knees and calves.
She pouted and muttered, "It hurts."
Luo Qinghan held her fair and slender calves, lowered his head, and blew twice on her knees.
"Hoo, hoo, it won't hurt anymore."
Xiao Xixi immediately lifted up the other trouser leg: "And this side."
This time, Luo Qinghan didn't call out to her, but instead kissed her on the knee.
Xiao Xixi blushed and whined, "I just asked you to blow, why did you kiss me?"
Luo Qinghan: "If you want to kiss me, just kiss me. No need for a reason."
It is very justified.
Xiao Xixi touched his legs: "You've been kneeling for so long, your legs must be hurting too, right? Let me help you cool them down."
Luo Qinghan: "It's okay, I'm used to it."
Ancestor worship is an indispensable part of every year. He has experienced it every year since he was a child and has long been accustomed to it.
He opened a secret compartment in the car and took out a bottle of medicated oil.
He poured the medicated oil into his palm, rubbed it to warm it up, then covered it on Xixi's calves and rubbed it slowly.
Xiao Xixi took a breath and said, "It hurts!"
Luo Qinghan: "Bear with it, it will be fine in a while."
He wasn't lying, and after a while the pain disappeared, replaced by a cool feeling.
Xiao Xixi asked in surprise: "What kind of medicinal oil is this? It works so quickly."
Luo Qinghan: "I asked Fang Wujiu to prepare it for you."
After massaging one leg, move on to the other leg.
After massaging both legs, Luo Qinghan wiped his hands, put away the medicated oil, looked up, and saw that Xiao Xixi had fallen asleep leaning against the wall of the car without him knowing when.
She got up before dawn today to dress up and was busy with ancestor worship for most of the day. She was exhausted and couldn't help falling asleep before she could even return to the palace.
Luo Qinghan carefully pulled her over and let her rest her head on his shoulder.
After returning to the palace, Xiao Xixi was carried to the bed by the emperor.
She turned over and continued to sleep.
Unfortunately, she was woken up not long after she slept.
It's time to get ready for the dinner party.
Xiao Xixi stayed on the bed, hugging the quilt and refusing to get up.
Baoqin and Xiyu worked together to grab the quilt.
Even though she had lost her favorite quilt, Xiao Xixi still refused to get up. Her resolute attitude made her seem like a nail house holder, firmly fixed on the bed.
Baoqin and Xiyu had no choice but to keep trying. It took them a lot of effort to pull this stubborn person off the bed.
Xiao Xixi was almost carried to the dressing table.
The palace maids surrounded her, combing her hair and dressing her, and helping her change her clothes and put on her shoes.
She didn't know how she left Yunxiu Palace, let alone how she arrived at Bigui Pavilion.
Anyway, when she came to her senses, the banquet had already begun. Many royal relatives were sitting below, and the emperor was sitting next to her, and the empress dowager was sitting on the other side of the emperor.
The clan members stood up and toasted the emperor, wishing him good luck and peace in the new year.
The emperor raised his glass in response.
Xiao Xixi also drank a glass.
The concentration of this wine is not high, it tastes like fruit wine, not spicy, and a little sweet.
As soon as she put down her wine glass, she heard the emperor beside her ask in a low voice.
"woke up?"
Xiao Xixi looked at Luo Qinghan and smiled a little embarrassedly.
"Um."
Luo Qinghan gently squeezed her hand and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."
Originally Xiao Xixi was a little grumpy when she woke up, but now she is not grumpy at all.
No matter how hard she worked, it was not as hard as the emperor.
Xiao Xixi first served the emperor a bowl of soup, and then served herself a bowl of soup.
After drinking the soup, Xiao Xixi was about to pick up some vegetables, but she keenly noticed an unfriendly gaze looking at her.
The position where she was standing was much higher than all the guests present, and she could easily see the faces of everyone present.
At this moment, she glanced over and quickly found the source of the unfriendly look.
…
Good morning everyone!
Stretch out your little hand and ask for monthly votes~~~
(End of this chapter)
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