Chapter 27 The Prince's Failed Rebellion 27
Two banquets were held on the emperor's birthday. The daytime banquet was a grand banquet to entertain nobles, earls, marquises, civil and military officials.
It is naturally impossible for these people to come alone, especially the female relatives of their own family who have high ranks. These female relatives need to be entertained by the queen.
The Queen was deposed, and this time it was the Empress Dowager who hosted a banquet for their wives. Zhang Xiaojia was captured to be her deputy. This was the most complicated part of the imperial kitchen, and it was also the most important. She was so unlucky to be in charge of this.
She didn't have to do it herself, she just had to help look after things and make sure there weren't any embarrassing mistakes or other accidents.
Even so, the empress dowager became a hands-off boss, and all matters were reported to Zhang Xiaojia through the head nanny.
Zhang Xiaojia took decisive action, summoning the female officials in the harem, dividing responsibilities according to their ranks, implementing hierarchical management, and clarifying joint liability. This move quickly took effect and freed Zhang Xiaojia from the heavy preparatory work.
Are you kidding me? A banquet for hundreds of people is being organized by a woman who is not from the harem, and she is the only one in charge. Do you really think she is a soft persimmon?
At this time, she envied He Fei. He Fei definitely didn't have to do such a thing. He had just paved a cement road for his cousin, and his cousin would definitely praise him.
The emperor is very pleased today.
In the three years since he ascended the throne, the country has been peaceful and prosperous, and the people have lived and worked in peace and contentment, presenting a scene of peace and prosperity.
What is even more gratifying is that the mother who had been in a coma finally woke up.
What made the emperor most happy was the dream that Xiaojia had, which indicated that the territory of the Great Zhou could be expanded three times in the future. How could this not make him feel more comfortable?
During the Wanshou Festival, birthday gifts from all over the country come in continuously, and the array of rare and precious treasures is dazzling.
In particular, the road built with new cement sent by his younger brother surprised the emperor greatly and made him more convinced that Xiaojia's dream was true.
From the city gate to the imperial mausoleum was a full 250 li, or 500 li round trip. At an accelerated speed of 800 li, a Great Zhou warhorse could cover 80 li per hour, meaning the round trip could be completed in less than six and a half hours. This had already been verified in the previous experiment.
The emperor said to the third prince with great joy, "Third brother, you no longer need to guard the lonely imperial mausoleum. This official road will be your responsibility from now on. All the people in the Ministry of Works will be at your disposal and assist you."
After hearing this, the Third Prince quickly accepted the order and said, "Your Majesty, I will obey your order and live up to your high expectations."
The emperor turned to look at He Fei again and said with a smile: "Jingwen, this birthday gift of cement you gave me is exactly what I wanted. Therefore, I will exempt you from the punishment of guarding the imperial mausoleum and reinstate you to your original position."
He Fei smiled at the emperor, a sly cunning hidden in his eyes. A sudden foreboding of foreboding washed over the emperor, and sure enough, he heard his unlucky yet resourceful brother say, "Brother, you are truly benevolent and righteous. But I was reckless and deserve to be punished. How about I help you farm? That way, I'll have the opportunity to learn more about farming and experience the hardships of the people."
After hearing this, the emperor was stunned at first, then burst into laughter. He felt helpless towards his unlucky brother. According to Xiao Jia, shouldn't he go to the border to deploy troops?
I need you to farm? This guy won't leave just to be with Xiao Jia!
He couldn't lose his temper on the spot, otherwise the ministers under him would think that he had lost his favor towards Jingwen. Some people in the court were wicked, flattering the powerful and bullying the weak, two-faced, and trying to trip him up behind his back. If he lost his temper today, some people would think that He Fei had lost his power tomorrow, and would try to please him and cause trouble for He Fei. In the end, He Fei would come to him to make trouble, and Xiao Jia would go to her mother to cry, and he would be annoyed to death.
The emperor was unhappy with his younger brother. Since he, as the emperor, was unhappy, why should he let the culprit be happy?
He called his father-in-law and asked him to add chili peppers to all the food on He Fei's table, so that his unfortunate brother would die of the spiciness.
He is the emperor, but he has never wronged himself.
When He Fei ate the food again, it was so spicy that he died of it. For the sake of face, he couldn't say it out loud. He took a sip of wine and spit it out. Oh my god, even the wine was spicy.
The banquet was gradually getting into full swing, and then the group headed to Changyin Pavilion in a grand manner.
When we arrived at Changyin Pavilion, Zhang Xiaojia had been waiting there for a long time.
She quickly directed the staff, and the palace maids led the wives of the ministers to their husbands. She also carefully arranged seats for each minister, and the eunuchs guided them to their seats.
Zhang Xiaojia was mainly responsible for arranging the seats for royal ministers and frontier ambassadors, while the rest were properly accommodated by female officials.
After everything was arranged, the emperor slowly sat down amid the crowd's shouts of "Long live the emperor", and the ministers followed suit.
After the emperor's brief speech, the wonderful opera performance began.
This play, "Tianxia Pingkang," was newly arranged by the Shengping Office. It had a novel and unique plot and rich and diverse performance styles. Even the discerning emperor could not help but praise it repeatedly and highly praised it.
After the queen was deposed, Zhang Xiaojia simply arranged for the empress dowager and Concubine Chen to accompany the emperor.
——
After the daytime banquet ended, Zhang Xiaojia immediately arranged the evening banquet. Zhang Xiaojia wanted to cry but had no tears. She was not a concubine and she didn't want to get involved. But the Queen Mother stopped her with one word. If she didn't care, it would be the Dowager Concubine Chen who would take care of it. Only then would her mother's health get better. She couldn't bear to let her do that and had to take care of it herself.
Three days before the Wanshou Festival, the streets and alleys of the capital city began to be decorated with red and colorful decorations.
The daytime is shrouded in a sea of red, and the night is not much worse than the daytime. Almost every household has big red lanterns hanging in front of their doors, and the whole night is even more lively than the Lantern Festival every year.
Of course the people were happy. During the month of the Wanshou Festival, all citizens across the country were exempt from taxes.
The evening banquet was a family banquet, and those who could sit there were all related to the royal family, such as a married princess with her husband, the prince's family, and the concubines in the harem.
At this time, the place was brightly lit and magnificent.
Arranging seats is a technical job. The Empress Dowager's generation already had a ranking, so it is not difficult. Just sit according to the ranking.
Now it’s the emperor’s turn to his concubines. The queen has been deposed. Who is next to the emperor?
There are three of the four highest-ranking concubines: the Imperial Noble Consort, the Virtuous Consort, and the Virtuous Consort.
Zhang Xiaojia directly arranged Concubine Xian to be by the emperor's side. The reason was simple: Concubine Xian was weak, and he wanted her to be affected by the emperor's dragon energy and joy, so that her body could be blessed by the emperor.
Zhang Xiaojia gave the first seat on the left side of the imperial family to the eldest princess, the emperor's aunt, who was guarding the border, and the second seat to the second uncle...
The first seat on the right was occupied by the four princes, the second seat was occupied by Prince Jing and herself, and the third seat was given to the third prince.
The rest are ranked according to their actual power, not by rank.
Family banquets are different from palace banquets. Family banquets serve hot dishes and hot meals, which means that the whole room is filled with royal relatives. If they still eat a cold banquet, the imperial chef in the imperial kitchen would have his head cut off.
The emperor came in and saw that this time, instead of men sitting on the left and women on the right, each family sat at their own table. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Rui'er, the four of you, let your uncle sit at the top, and you sit at the bottom."
Okay!
The emperor gave the order, and Zhang Xiaojia and He Fei were moved to the first seat on the right.
After He Rui sat down, he whispered to Zhang Xiaojia, "Aunt, I told the Emperor that you and Sixth Uncle must sit in the first seat, and I won. We agreed that on the Sealing Day, you will take me out of the palace to play."
Zhang Xiaojia nodded.
The eldest princess said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we give priority to building that cement road to our border areas? In this way, the transmission of military information can be faster. We can't just consider the area south of the Yangtze River first!" After she finished speaking, she smiled lightly, but her eyes revealed an unquestionable determination, implying that the transportation of military supplies must not be delayed any further.
The emperor smiled broadly upon hearing this. He said gently, "Aunt, today is a family dinner. We should discuss the affairs of the court tomorrow."
The eldest princess shook her head slightly, feigning annoyance as she said, "That's why I chose tonight to tell Your Majesty about the hardships of this frontier. I'm already old, and it's been incredibly tiring to travel from the frontier to the capital. The road has been bumpy and full of potholes, and riding on horseback has been incredibly tiring. My old waist and legs have truly suffered greatly."
The emperor just smiled and said nothing. At this time, Zhang Xiaojia said, "Aunt, don't say that. I just took your pulse this afternoon. You are in very good health, even better than a young man like me. How can you be old?" Her voice was sweet and cute, with a bit of coquettishness.
Upon hearing this, the Grand Princess laughed and scolded, "You little girl, you've only studied medicine for a few years, and you dare to call yourself a miracle doctor?"
Zhang Xiaojia said arrogantly without any hesitation, "Thank you for the compliment, Auntie. I think I really have the potential to be a miracle doctor. I cured both Mother and the Prince's illnesses. Last time, my eldest cousin even came to me to consult about cholera. He even paid for my consultation and gave me the imperial farm in the suburbs of Beijing for two years!"
The eldest princess' eyes lit up when she heard this. The grain from the imperial farms outside the capital was extremely precious. If the soldiers defending the city could eat it for two years, that would be great. She was about to speak when Zhang Xiaojia continued, "I plan to use this grain from the suburbs to open a women's medical school. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor nodded slightly and said, "You can naturally do with what you like with the things I reward you."
Zhang Xiaojia was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, cousin! If there's ever an epidemic in the future, I will definitely help without hesitation. I only want a small consultation fee, nothing else. I also want to open women's medical colleges across the country to specialize in treating women."
The emperor smiled and thought to himself: So, this guy doesn't have the money to open an academy, so he's the one being ripped off? ? ?
He Qingwei mustered up her courage and said, "Aunt, can I go and learn?" There was a hint of anticipation and uneasiness in her voice.
Zhang Xiaojia looked at her, thinking to himself, "This He Qingwei is the Third Prince's eldest daughter. Because the Third Prince is bald, her status and position are naturally not as high as those of the ministers' daughters."
Zhang Xiaojia smiled slightly and said, "Weiwei, you've learned the Four Books and Five Classics so well. I don't think you should study medicine, but take the imperial examination. If you can become an official, you can also help me manage the medical school."
He Qingwei's eyes widened upon hearing this, her face filled with disbelief. She had never imagined she would have the chance to take the imperial examination and become an official. Because her father was a bald prince who had offended the emperor, her status was even lower than that of some ministers' daughters. She rarely attended banquets, and no one had ever thought so highly of her.
Looking at Zhang Xiaojia's sincere eyes, He Qingwei knew that what she said was true.
An unprecedented surge of courage and determination surged in her heart: "Aunt, I will take the imperial examination! I will definitely manage the medical school well for you in the future!"
The Third Prince listened with dismay. He was about to serve the Emperor like a slave, and he was even planning to make his children slaves too? But then he thought, if his daughter could truly receive her blessing, that would be wonderful.
He Fei concentrated on peeling shrimps and crabs for Jia Jia. As for what the eldest princess said, only Jia Jia could say it; the emperor couldn't say it, and neither could he.
The Second Prince seemed to be hesitant to speak, but the Emperor already knew what the Second Prince was about to bring up - about using a large amount of silver to build the imperial mausoleum.
However, at this moment, the emperor's mind was completely focused on the revelations in Xiaojia's dream and how to expand the territory of the Great Zhou. He naturally had no interest in such a huge project as building the imperial mausoleum.
The emperor gave He Fei a subtle look without saying a word.
He Fei understood and spoke immediately, his tone gentle but alert: "Second Uncle, I recently inspected the imperial mausoleum and found that there seemed to be a sufficient number of palace maids. I'm worried about the lack of manpower in the cement workshop. Perhaps we can deploy a group of palace maids from the imperial mausoleum to do some light work like screening raw materials. Third brother, what do you think?"
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince immediately understood and echoed, "Uncle, the cement formula is a state secret and must be strictly controlled. Guarding the imperial mausoleum is undoubtedly important, but the number of palace maids guarding it is indeed excessive. Moreover, there are many concubines among them who are quite accomplished in accounting. We might as well let them contribute their efforts and help solve the problems faced by the imperial family."
The Grand Princess was not to be outdone. She said firmly, "Brother, the construction of the imperial mausoleum is certainly a major undertaking, but the stability of the border is equally urgent. If we can first build a cement road to the border, it will undoubtedly be more important for the long-term stability of the country."
The Emperor nodded slightly, approving of He Fei and the Third Prince's response, his gaze etched with deep thought. He spoke softly, "Second Uncle, I understand your concerns, but the matter of the Imperial Mausoleum concerns the reputation of the Great Zhou Imperial Family and should not be taken lightly. However, as He Fei and the Third Prince have said, there are indeed more pressing matters that require attention. As for the Imperial Mausoleum, I will arrange for additional personnel to ensure that both the Imperial Family's reputation is preserved and resources are utilized effectively."
The second uncle wanted to build the imperial mausoleum, but ended up having to cut down the palace maids in the imperial mausoleum. For a moment, his face turned cold.
He had a cold face, but his son didn't dare to be cold-faced. He hurriedly tried to smooth things over and said, "Sixth brother, aren't you going to the imperial farm? Take me with you."
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