Chapter 456 The Welcome-Away Banquet 1
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
With a loud shout from the eunuch, Gu Shuyan's narcissistic thoughts were instantly pulled back, and she joined the others present in performing a deep bow in the direction from which the Empress had come.
"Everyone, please rise!"
The Empress wore a nine-tailed phoenix robe and a crown that only the Empress could wear, thus highlighting her unique status.
Following behind the Empress was the Emperor's only daughter, Princess Changxing.
Princess Changxing wore a pink palace dress today, which, compared to her usual playful attire, exuded a more dignified air. Furthermore, accompanying the Empress, she naturally carried an air of princessly authority.
If it weren't for the wink she gave Gu Shuyan, one might have mistaken her for a well-behaved and gentle princess.
"Today, the Crown Prince and Princess of Wei have come to court and have specially invited all the ladies and young women to attend. Please do not be shy or reserved."
The empress wore a polite smile, but in reality, she was warning everyone to behave themselves and not to become a laughing stock in front of the people of Wei.
Those present were all family members of high-ranking officials, and they naturally understood what today meant for the Great Zhou. If it weren't for the fact that the other party had brought a princess, none of them would have been able to enter the palace to attend the welcoming banquet for the Crown Prince of Wei.
"Yes." Everyone responded in unison, their faces now showing a more solemn expression.
Seeing this, the Empress smiled with satisfaction and then invited everyone to have tea in the former King's flower hall.
Today is a state banquet, so the banquet is held in the main hall to ensure that everyone has a place to sit. The flower hall is a side hall next to the main hall, usually used by the emperor to hold meetings, so it is convenient to use it for tea today.
As soon as the Empress led everyone to the flower hall, they saw the Eighth Princess of Wei standing in the hall from afar, her head slightly raised, as if she were looking at something.
"What is the princess looking at?"
The Empress spoke affectionately, like a kind elder. The Eighth Princess looked over and pointed to a spot in the tree, saying, "Your Majesty, there are little birds up there. Chu Xia is having her maid go up and get them!"
Early Summer is the title of the Eighth Princess of Wei. Although she is now in the Great Zhou, as a guest, the Eighth Princess cannot address the Empress as "this princess," so she refers to herself by her own title. In addition, the Eighth Princess had already met the Empress yesterday and found her to be a kind and benevolent elder, which made her feel more favorable towards her.
Upon hearing this, the Empress looked in the direction she was pointing and indeed saw a maid struggling to climb the tree.
"If the princess wants that little bird, just have a palace servant go up and get it. Just make sure the person next to the princess doesn't drop it."
As the empress spoke, she gave a wink to the palace maid beside her, who immediately summoned several eunuchs who took a ladder and climbed up.
There was actually more than one baby bird in the nest in the tree, but it wasn't clear from below. Upon seeing the nest, the eunuch immediately removed the entire nest.
"Princess, here is the bird you requested."
After the bird's nest was removed, the eunuch, at the Empress's instruction, took it directly to the Eighth Princess.
Gu Shuyan silently watched the chicks in the nest, which had obviously just hatched, and couldn't help but let her gaze fall on the Eighth Princess.
This eighth princess has been unruly and unreasonable since she first appeared, and now, in front of so many people, she's trying to take the fledgling bird down. Her behavior seems to suggest she's spoiled, but Gu Shuyan feels it's all too deliberate.
Both being royal princesses and the emperor's favorites, the Sixth Princess alone shows that although she is mischievous, she is not the kind of person who doesn't know her place.
Everything the Eighth Princess did seemed reasonable at first glance, but upon closer examination, it turned out to be quite different.
"This bird is so ugly, it's not pretty at all."
The Eighth Princess glanced down at the newly hatched bird, and seeing that it hadn't even grown all its feathers yet, she immediately gave it a look of disgust and said to the eunuch, "Take it and throw it away! I don't want it anymore."
The Eighth Princess waved her hand dismissively, causing the eunuch to hesitate. He glanced back at the Empress, who nodded, and the eunuch was about to leave when Princess Changxing suddenly stepped forward.
“Since the Eighth Princess doesn’t like it, why not put it back? After all, they are still little lives. It would be so heartbreaking to abandon their mother if we just did that.”
Although Princess Changxing usually appears quite mischievous, she is actually a kind-hearted girl. Normally, when she sees eunuchs dealing with bird nests in the palace, she doesn't allow them to touch them, let alone throw the birds away directly.
"It's just a beast, what does it know about sadness? Isn't the princess making a mountain out of a molehill?"
Although this was Princess Chuxia's first time meeting Princess Changxing, seeing her in her palace attire and standing close to the Empress, Princess Chuxia immediately recognized her identity.
"Who says birds don't know sadness? All things in the world have a spirit. These chicks have been raised with great difficulty, and their mothers naturally hope that they can grow up healthy."
Although the other party was a princess of Wei and it was not her place to educate her, Princess Changxing simply could not stand such unreasonable people.
What if I were to throw them away today?
Princess Chuxia didn't care what Princess Changxing said, or whether all things had spirits or not. Since she said she was going to throw it away, she had to throw it away.
"You, I said you're not allowed to throw it away."
Princess Changxing did not back down, and even stepped forward to snatch the bird's nest away, showing an attitude of "I'm going to do it anyway".
"Your Majesty, is this how your country treats its guests? They are just a few birds, yet your princess is so reluctant to part with them?"
Princess Chuxia knew she couldn't reason with Princess Changxing, so she turned to the Empress and directly addressed the relationship between the two countries.
Upon hearing this, Gu Shuyan couldn't help but glance at Princess Chuxia again, before turning her gaze to the Empress's face, waiting to see what the Empress would do.
As expected, the moment the two empresses were brought up, their expressions turned cold. They looked at Princess Changxing with displeasure and said, "Changxing, stop fooling around. Give the bird to the Eighth Princess to deal with."
Even the Empress didn't help her. Princess Changxing immediately called out, "Mother Empress," but all she received was a warning look from the Empress.
Even though Princess Changxing was reluctant, she had no choice but to slowly place the bird's nest back into the eunuch's hands and glare fiercely at Princess Chuxia.
Seeing this, Gu Shuyan smiled slightly. She did not stand up for Princess Changxing just because she had been wronged. Just as the Empress had worried, they were just a few fledglings. She had no need to offend Princess Chuxia for this.
Having achieved her goal, Princess Chuxia gave Princess Changxing a provocative look.
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