Chapter 189 A Grand Gift
The seven-day lockdown has ended.
The Empress's birthday has arrived.
A national festival.
At the palace banquet, Qin Jinzhi, dressed in a shimmering silk dress, sat below the Empress.
Opposite them stood the Crown Prince and his family.
Not only were the Crown Princess and two concubines present, but the Crown Prince even brought Shen Liuying to the palace banquet.
Each concubine brought her own prince and princess.
As soon as Consort Fang sat down, the little prince and the little princess ran to Qin Jinzhi's side.
The emperor laughed heartily as he watched his two children clinging to Qin Jinzhi like little doormen.
"Neither of them are afraid of you."
Qin Jinzhi propped her chin on her hand. "I can't help it, she's just too beautiful."
She picked up the fruit on the table, broke it in two with force.
The two little figures each held half of the fruit, while their other hand was clutching Qin Jinzhi's skirt.
The Empress smiled kindly upon seeing this.
"Consort Fang, since the young prince and princess like Jinzhi so much, why don't you sit next to Jinzhi?"
Consort Fang said, trembling, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
When Consort Fang entered the palace ten years ago, she was only sixteen years old, and now she is only eight or nine years older than Qin Jinzhi.
She stood out as exceptionally beautiful among all the concubines.
Seeing this, Consort Xian snorted coldly, "The princes and princesses raised by Consort Fang are indeed obedient."
The little prince and princess are only five years old. If no one taught them, how could they dare to run to Qin Jinzhi's side?
Which of the palace children wouldn't be afraid upon hearing the name Qin Jinzhi!
Qin Jinzhi glanced at her, "Does Consort Xian mean that any prince or princess is being misbehaved? Tell me, so that the Empress Dowager can decide whether Consort Xian is in charge of their upbringing?"
Consort Xian was taken aback, then smiled faintly, "Your Highness is joking."
Shen Mingtang sat to the right of the emperor with the Ninth Princess, who had not appeared in public for a long time.
Xiao Yuanyi seems like a completely different person after being confined for this period of time.
She said to the two little figures beside Qin Jinzhi, "Ninth Sister has sweet lotus root with osmanthus. Come to Ninth Sister's."
No sooner had Xiao Yuanyi finished speaking than the little princess tightly hugged Qin Jinzhi's arm.
Xiao Yuanyi's expression froze for a moment, then she forced a smile, "Jingyao, Jingyi, come here."
The little princess pouted and looked at Qin Jinzhi, "Ninth Sister hits people, Jingyao doesn't want to go."
Consort Fang immediately covered her mouth.
"Don't talk nonsense, little kid!"
Only those who were nearby heard the little princess's words.
The emperor's gaze toward Xiao Yuanyi also turned colder.
However, no one responded to this comment.
Xiao Yuanyi stared intently at them, determined to teach them a lesson once the palace banquet was over!
She made him lose face in front of the Emperor as soon as she came out.
At this moment, Consort Shen stood up and walked forward very respectfully.
"Your Majesty, today is the Empress's birthday. I wish Her Majesty a long and healthy life. Her Majesty is frugal and dislikes extravagance, so I personally copied the Longevity Sutra and presented it to Her Majesty."
The emperor smiled with satisfaction: "My beloved concubine truly respects the empress."
The Empress then spoke up, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Consort Shen. I am very pleased with this birthday gift."
Many people in the main hall were somewhat surprised.
It seems that Consort Shen has now toned down her sharp edges and is much more respectful to the Empress.
With Consort Shen's arrival, concubines, princes, and noble families in the palace began to send congratulatory gifts.
The congratulatory gifts were presented, and each one was extremely valuable.
There were still two people in the hall who had not yet presented their gifts.
One was Qin Jinzhi, and the other was the emperor.
The emperor was delighted to see that everyone's congratulatory gifts were prepared with great care.
"Now that everyone has given their congratulatory gifts, I, as their husband, cannot be inferior to them."
Shen Mingtang asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, what wonderful things have you prepared for the Empress? Show them to us so we can see them."
The emperor laughed heartily, "Hong Dequan!"
Hong Dequan, carrying a tray covered with a yellow cloth, respectfully walked to the Empress's side.
The emperor personally removed the yellow cloth, revealing a jade seal on it.
"Empress, you married me when I was still a nobody, and fought alongside me. You bore me children and ensured the continuation of my lineage. After I ascended the throne, you managed the six palaces for me and cared for the imperial offspring. I am fortunate to have such a virtuous empress! The empress is worthy of the title of Empress. We are husband and wife as one. Now, half of this Xiao family's empire belongs to the Zhao family. Therefore, I have specially made a phoenix seal and presented it to the empress. From this day forward, the empress will rule the world with me!"
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, several ministers in the hall immediately knelt down.
"Your Majesty has never forgotten the kindness shown to you, nor the love of your first wife. You have gifted half of the kingdom to the Empress as a tribute. You are truly a wise ruler of our time! May Your Majesty and Empress bring prosperity and glory to the Jin Kingdom for generations to come!"
Many court officials also joined in the chant.
The Empress is not learned enough to even interfere in the affairs of the inner palace, let alone the affairs of the court.
The emperor's actions were nothing more than a performance to win the hearts of the people.
With the Empress's maternal family wiped out, even if she were to truly rule the world alongside His Majesty, it would merely provide the Crown Prince with an extra layer of protection.
If this happened in another country or dynasty, there would probably have been a huge uproar by now.
But at this moment, not even the noble families in the main hall voiced their objections.
An empress with no one behind her is not someone to be feared, no matter how much face the emperor gives her.
For a moment, the people in the main hall were in a rare state of harmony.
It praises the emperor's virtues.
At this moment, Consort Xian spoke up: "Princess Jinzhi, Her Majesty the Empress has doted on you since you were little, so why haven't I seen any gifts you prepared for Her Majesty?"
Qin Jinzhi sighed, "My grandfather can even bring out the imperial seal. I can only be considered to have made a fool of myself."
Qin Jinzhi picked up a wooden box from beside her feet.
“I obtained a piece of jade from the southern border and personally carved a Guanyin statue for my grandmother.”
When the wooden box was opened, a very exquisite Buddha statue appeared before everyone.
If you look closely, you'll see that Guanyin's face is actually the face of an empress.
Upon seeing this, the Empress immediately beamed with joy, saying, "Bring it up quickly so I can take a look."
He seemed even happier than when he received the imperial seal.
Everyone raised an eyebrow, after all, the Phoenix Seal was just a decoration, and it was indeed not as meticulous as the Guanyin statue that they had carved themselves.
No wonder the Empress dotes on Qin Jinzhi so much.
Cui Ying sat below, her eyes sparkling.
She wasn't lying when she said it was her grandmother's birthday!
The Empress did indeed celebrate her birthday, and at the time she thought Qin Jinzhi had money to burn.
Xiao Zhen, who was sitting down, was stunned when she saw the Guanyin statue.
This piece of jade from the southern border is not unique; is it in Brother Zhao's possession?
How come Qin Jinzhi also has one?
The Empress held the Guanyin statue with obvious delight, saying, "Put it in my Buddhist shrine."
Qin Jinzhi suddenly grinned as she looked at the Empress.
"Does Grandmother think that her grandson only prepared this one gift?"
The empress smiled and said to the emperor, "Look at this mischievous monkey, he always knows how to make me happy."
The emperor laughed and said, "What kind of grand gift is it? I want to see what other tricks you, you little rascal, can pull."
Qin Jinzhi said mysteriously, "My big gift is a person."
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