The royal family's annual banquets have always been exquisite and luxurious. However, after Emperor Chengxuan ascended the throne, because there were few brothers of the same rank, the annual banquets were not as luxurious as when the previous emperor was in power.

Because it was Chinese New Year, Zhuang Luyan tactfully put on the gorgeous clothes that the emperor had appreciated, and carefully put on makeup in front of the mirror to make her face look very rosy.

"Master, what's wrong with you?" Yun Xi looked at the radiant Zhuang Weiyan, not understanding why her master was dressed differently from her usual plain style.

"Another year has passed in the blink of an eye," Zhuang Luyan said with her willow-shaped eyebrows and a curled mouth, "Everyone wants to be happy today, why should I act like that and upset others?"

Yun Xi understood immediately. Although her weak appearance was pitiful, as a woman in the harem, she had to know the general situation. Everyone wanted to have a good start during the New Year, but who would be happy if faced with a bitter face?

The annual banquet was still held in the Taihe Hall. In addition to the royal family, the attendees also included envoys from surrounding vassal states. It was extremely lively. As soon as Zhuang Yuyan entered the hall, she met Concubine Yan who was also dressed in a gorgeous outfit.

"I have seen Zhao Xiuyi," Concubine Yan bowed her knees slightly, "Zhao Xiuyi looks much better. I think Xiaochan has recovered a lot."

How badly did this Concubine Yan want to poke her lungs? Zhuang Yuyan's face froze in agreement, "Concubine Yan looks good today."

Concubine Yan smiled brightly, "It's the same to you."

On the dragon throne, Feng Jin held a wine glass, glanced around the corner, and called Gao Dezhong over. "Gao Dezhong, I remember saying a few months ago that I would not promote Yan to the position of noble concubine within two years?"

Gao Dezhong bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, you did say that. I think you forgot about it because you are so busy. I forgot to remind Your Majesty of this. Please forgive me."

"Forget it. You have a lot to do all day long," Feng Jin waved his hand and said calmly, "In that case, let the Palace Department not prepare any rewards for Noble Concubine Yan's promotion. She has neither the merit of having an heir nor the virtue of governing the harem. It is enough for her to be a Noble Concubine."

The emperor's voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for the empress sitting next to him to hear clearly. She looked at Concubine Yan, who was wearing a pink skirt, without changing her expression, and a hint of sneer flashed in her eyes.

The news about who in the harem was going to be promoted to the throne had already spread, and the emperor had revoked the decree for Concubine Yan's promotion, and said these words, which really made Concubine Yan embarrassed. This Concubine Yan was also brainless, and she had to do things that were not favored by the emperor. Even if she had a little favor, she wasted it.

Women in the harem should use their brains before going out.

Concubine Yan didn't know that her fate in the harem was already determined. After provoking Zhuang Yuyan, she sat down in her seat in a very good mood, with a complacent look on her face.

Zhuang Yuyan sat next to Su Xiuyi and to her left, a position that was enough to prove who was more noble. After greeting each other, Zhuang Yuyan sat down, adjusted the golden butterfly hairpin on her left temple, and tilted her head to look at the royal family members and envoys from vassal states opposite her.

"Tingzhu, the one wearing apricot yellow clothes is the Crown Prince of Gaomei?" Zhuang Yuyan half covered her face with her hand silk and asked Tingzhu behind her in a low voice.

"My Lord, that's it. A few days ago, this Gao Mei prince sent a few hundred-year-old ginsengs to our palace." Ting Zhu deliberately lowered his voice and said, "The person who sent the gift also asked my Lord to say a few good words for them."

"Who do they think I am?" Zhuang Luoyan sneered, "They just pretend we haven't seen a few broken ginsengs before." Zhuang Luoyan didn't have any good feelings towards Gao Meiguo, because this country really made her feel like she was in a certain country in her previous life. Whenever this country acted shamelessly, she wanted to trample on it and ravage it.

Tingzhu was choked by her master's impolite words. In her memory, her master was a relatively tolerant person. Suddenly hearing such harsh words made her start to think about what it was about the Crown Prince of Gaomei that made her master dislike him.

Maybe... the master doesn't like eating ginseng?

Tingzhu couldn't understand the plot of someone traveling through time and space to look down on you, so she didn't figure out what was going on until the banquet began.

Everyone in the court knew about Zhao Xiuyi's miscarriage, but many people didn't know what was going on. However, seeing the emperor's attention to Zhao Xiuyi, the Zhuang family became more and more prestigious in the capital. It was a pity that the Zhuang family was a scholarly family and was quite low-key, so some people who wanted to take advantage of them couldn't find any opportunity to please them.

The people in the royal family have been well managed since Emperor Chengxuan ascended the throne. No one would want to cause trouble, so they never say much about the affairs of the harem. Why would they interfere in the emperor's family affairs?

So when people saw Zhao Xiuyi appearing at the banquet in gorgeous clothes, well-dressed and not looking sickly, they felt deeply moved. It was no wonder that the emperor doted on her. It was rare to have such knowledge and not be arrogant because of favor.

Maybe this Zhao Xiuyi will be the next Shuguifei. They'd better pay attention to the things related to Zhao Xiuyi in the future. Although she is a member of the royal family, in the eyes of the emperor, how can she be as important as a favored concubine?

This woman's pillow talk is sometimes more powerful than a letter of recommendation.

Zhuang Yuyan naturally didn't know what the royal family thought. For the women in the harem, other people's opinions were not the most important. What was important was what the emperor thought.

Although the royal banquet was exquisite, there was one thing that was not satisfactory. That was that after each dish was served, she had only used the chopsticks for a few times before removing the dish and replacing it with a new one. It still felt like the table was full of delicious food from her previous life.

Yunxi and Tingzhu carefully served Zhuang Yuyan meals, and they also had to identify which dishes were not suitable for people who had just given birth. After all, the master was not even full-term pregnant yet, so they had to be careful.

Yun Xi intercepted a dish brought by a palace maid and said, "This dish is too spicy, there is no need to serve it." She had to put on a complete show, at least to make people believe that the master really thought she was pregnant.

Zhuang Yuyan ate a piece of snack and watched the Heaven and Earth Harmony Dance performed on the stage. She blinked lazily and adjusted her fur coat.

Upon seeing this, Ting Zhu hurriedly handed Mrs. Tang to Zhuang Weiyan.

After the Heaven and Earth Harmony Dance, there was another Pipa Celebration of Spring Dance. Zhuang Yuyan looked at the leading dancer and felt that she looked familiar. After thinking for a while, she remembered that this was the dancer who danced for the emperor before he looked at the list of promotions.

"Your Majesty, this dancer's dancing is really graceful, not inferior to that of Concubine Shu Gui in her youth," the Queen said with a smile, "Since Concubine Shu Gui, I haven't seen such an excellent dance in many years."

Concubine Shu Gui's face was not very good, but she said: "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise."

Feng Jin glanced at the two of them, then turned to look at the woman leading the dance, and said, "Since the queen thinks she is good, then make her a talented person. I also think her dancing skills can rival those of Concubine Shugui."

After listening to the conversation between the three people, Zhuang Yuyan's mouth twitched slightly. The emperor's words were harsh enough to hit both the empress and Concubine Shugui at the same time.

"She's just a dancer," Su Xiuyi hummed softly, but she didn't say it very loudly. If Zhuang Yuyan hadn't been close by, she wouldn't have heard her complaint.

Zhuang Yuyan looked at the dancer carefully. She had beautiful eyebrows, bright eyes, white teeth, and a soft waist that was so thin that it was hard to hold one hand. She was really stunning. But the emperor was a bit embarrassed to compare such a dancer with Concubine Shugui.

Although the Su family was not considered prominent in the capital, and Concubine Shugui had won the emperor's favor with her dancing skills, they could at least be considered a noble family. Who knew the poor family of this dancer?

When the dance was over, the emperor called the dancer forward and asked, "What's your name?"

The dancer bowed with indescribable charm, "Your Majesty, my name is Eyebrow."

"The beauty rolls up the pearl curtain, sits deep and frowns," Feng Jin murmured, "It's a good name, I will make you a precious talent, and let you live in the side hall of Linyuexuan."

The dancer named Eyebrow showed a look of joy and shyness, and knelt down quickly to thank the emperor.

Zhuang Yuyan couldn't help but take a second look at this newly promoted talented lady. The poem the emperor recited was not really good. The beauty rolled up the pearl curtain, sitting deep with her eyebrows furrowed. But I saw the wet traces of tears, and I don't know who she hates in her heart. This is a poem of resentment from an abandoned woman. The emperor used this ci to describe this dancer. I don't know if he treated this dancer as a toy or had a specific meaning.

Seeing that the emperor had appointed another stunning beauty into the palace, the concubines felt uncomfortable and had no appetite at the banquet that followed.

Zhuang Yuyan's face also revealed a bit of loneliness that she couldn't hide, but she didn't slow down her meal speed. No matter what time it was, she would never miss the chance to eat delicious food.

If we were to say who felt the most uncomfortable at this moment, it would be Concubine Shugui. When she looked at Concubine Zhen, she felt that it was the Empress who had embarrassed her, but due to her status, she had to swallow her anger.

The queen's complexion had long since recovered. She smiled faintly and said, "Since the emperor likes it, I cannot neglect it. Heyu, give the red Su embroidery horse in my palace's storehouse to Zhen Cairen. I think only Zhen Cairen's beauty can match that Su embroidery horse."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhuang Luyan saw that the faces of several concubines present became even uglier. The Queen was really very skilled in attracting hatred from the enemy.

Concubine Shugui smiled and said, "Since the Queen is praising you so much and saying that we are not as good as you, I should give you some reward." After that, she called Lingsha over and said, "Give my red jade hairpin to Zhencairen."

Was this transferring hatred to the Empress? Zhuang Yuyan thought that Concubine Shu Gui's method of transferring hatred was also quite good. She lowered her head and forked a slice of orange into her mouth, watching the show with great pleasure.

Who knew that after the two of them started, other high-ranking concubines also began to give gifts. Zhuang Yuyan looked at the happy face of Concubine Zhen, wiped the corner of her mouth and said, "I don't have any rare things, so I will give the jade bracelet I got the other day to Concubine Zhen."

"Thank you for your gift." Zhen Cairen knelt down to express her gratitude, with a blush of joy on her face.

Zhuang Yuyan withdrew her gaze indifferently. Being welcomed into the emperor's harem under such circumstances, she didn't know whether the final outcome would be glorious or bleak.

Su Xiuyi looked at Zhuang Yuyan who was looking down, and suddenly smiled and said, "Zhao Xiuyi seems to be in a bad mood?"

Zhuang Luoyan looked back at Su Xiuyi. Was this a targeted attack?