Chapter 300 Who did the Prince of Jin offend?
[Wow! This is too grand!]
Xia Miaoyuan opened the curtain and looked at the scene in Shanglin Garden, and was already shocked in her heart.
Xia Zhengqi advocated frugality and opposed excessive extravagance. Therefore, previous palace banquets were simpler than this.
[It seems that Daddy is really excited this time and is willing to spend so much money.]
[Wow, what a big deal!]
The emperor and empress got off the car first and walked into Shanglin Garden side by side.
Kezun led the two little girls and followed closely behind.
When the guests saw the emperor and empress coming, those who were chatting and drinking tea all stopped talking, stood upright facing the emperor and empress, held their breath, and saluted respectfully to the emperor and empress.
"Today is a palace banquet, not a court, so don't be too formal!" Xia Zhengqi smiled and waved to everyone.
Seeing Xia Zhengqi's happy face and harmonious atmosphere, the guests also relaxed a lot, and the scene immediately returned to a cheerful atmosphere.
"Congratulations to the emperor on the great victory in the northern border!"
"God bless the emperor, God bless Great Xia!"
Then, several smart guests took the initiative to say auspicious words to Xia Zhengqi.
Xia Zhengqi was so happy that his mouth corners were grinning from ear to ear.
The emperor and empress walked through the crowd and took their seats one after another.
Debao led Kezun to the seat next to the empress.
This seat was usually occupied by the empress dowager.
Ke Zun was a little hesitant: "I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to sit here?"
"Just sit here with peace of mind. This is arranged by His Majesty. How can it be wrong?" Debao carefully helped Ke Zun to sit down, smiling.
Xia Miaoyuan and Xiao Wanyin sat on Ke Zun's dangling hands.
Seeing that the nobles were all seated, the guests below suddenly looked surprised and whispered with their sleeves covering their mouths.
"It's so strange! How did Ke Zun sit in the position of the Empress Dowager?"
"That's right."
"By the way, where is the Empress Dowager?"
The most intense reactions were from the Jiang family, the Feng family, and Yao Jinse and Liang Chaozong's family.
Yao Jinse quickly scanned the entire venue, but did not find the Empress Dowager, and a barely perceptible panic flashed across his face.
She approached Liang Chaozong and whispered, "It's so strange. The Empress Dowager didn't come to such an important palace banquet!"
Liang Chaozong suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice, "Calm down and observe for a while."
The Jiang family and the Feng family were also in a panic.
The Jiang family had been severely beaten by Emperor Mingxi three years ago, and their vitality was greatly damaged. Master Jiang had been shut up for three years.
This time, they analyzed that the Empress and the Xiao family were going downhill, and Master Jiang had some confidence in reviving the Jiang family.
So, he came to the palace banquet with a shameless face.
It turned out that the Empress Dowager was absent.
The Feng family, the Protector of the Country, also had similar ideas.
The only son of the Duke of Huguo, Feng Shulai, is really a loser. Not only can he not support the Duke's Mansion, but he also made a big fool of himself at the palace banquet, bringing shame to the Duke's Mansion.
If the Duke's Mansion doesn't think of a solution, it will fall.
They hope that the Queen and the Xiao family will fall, and the Queen Mother will return to the throne so that they can help the Feng family.
The Feng family was confused when they found that the Queen Mother was absent.
Amid the guests' chatter, the singing and dancing began.
The sound of drums and music was melodious and pleasant, and the dancers danced in gorgeous and flowing gauze skirts.
Each of them was as graceful as a willow in the wind, light and beautiful, like a fairy descending to the earth.
However, the guests' attention was not on the singing and dancing performance at all.
"Huh? That's not right! Concubine Li didn't come either!"
Finally, a sharp-eyed guest noticed Concubine Li's absence.
Although there were not too few concubines in Xia Zhengqi's harem, there were only a few who were ranked as concubines and imperial concubines, and they could be counted on one hand.
In addition, Concubine Li was such a flaunting person that she had to dress herself up gorgeously for every palace banquet.
Therefore, Concubine Li's absence was still very conspicuous.
"Could she be sick?"
"Not really."
"Could it be that the Empress Dowager was sick and didn't come, and Concubine Li was also sick and didn't come?"
Xia Miaoyuan looked down at the guests who were whispering to each other.
[Really, you guys are such a killjoy. Such wonderful singing and dancing can't stop your gossiping hearts. 】
【Such delicious snacks can't stop your mouths. 】
Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help rolling his eyes.
In the center of the main hall, one dance ended and the next one began. However, the discussions below continued, and even became louder and louder, surpassing the sound of drums and music.
Xia Zhengqi curled his lips in unbearable pain, winked at Debao, and made a stop gesture.
Debao stood up and shouted to the bottom: "Stop the drums and music, the emperor has something to say!"
The guests were startled, and they looked at Xia Zhengqi's stern expression from a distance, and they were all frightened and silent.
Xia Zhengqi stood up and asked loudly: "Everyone, do you have any questions?"
When the guests below saw Emperor Mingxi stand up, they were frightened and hurriedly stood up.
Grand Tutor Jiang took the opportunity to deliberately stand behind the Duke of Protectorate, pushed the Duke of Protectorate, and signaled him to ask the emperor. The Duke of Protectorate was unwilling to be the first to speak out, and pulled the sleeve of Prince Jin beside him.
Now, Prince Jin is a favorite of Emperor Mingxi, and it is most appropriate for him to ask.
Even if Emperor Mingxi is unhappy, he will not blame Prince Jin.
"Your Highness Prince Jin, ask the emperor why the Empress Dowager and Concubine Li are absent?" The Duke of Protectorate whispered beside Prince Jin.
Prince Jin reluctantly pulled his sleeves away from the Duke of Protectorate.
What does the Empress Dowager and Concubine Li have to do with him? Why should he ask for them?
?
As a result, Master Jiang took advantage of the fact that Prince Jin was not paying attention and pushed Prince Jin's back hard.
Prince Jin was caught off guard and ran forward several steps in an instant, and suddenly came to the middle of the hall.
"Ouch!" Prince Jin screamed.
He rushed to the ground a little too hard, and couldn't stand his feet. He fell flat on his face, and happened to fall on the red carpet in the middle of the hall.
In an instant, the tranquility in the hall was broken by this "ouch".
Everyone turned their heads and looked at the person lying on the red carpet.
Xia Miaoyuan was looking down and saw the whole process. He couldn't help but curse in his heart, [Damn it, you guys are not willing to be the first to speak up, and you let my tenth uncle ask. ]
[How wicked! Xia Zhengqi
saw that it was his beloved brother, Prince Jin, who fell down, and asked anxiously, "Prince Jin, what happened to you?"
"Why did you fall again?"
"Help him up quickly and see if he is okay!"
The clever eunuch helped Prince Jin up.
Prince Jin was seeing stars after the fall, and was trying to sort out his emotions and explain to Emperor Mingxi when the Duke of Huguo spoke up at the right time, "Your Highness Prince Jin wanted to step out and ask the Emperor a question."
Prince Jin endured the pain in his knees, turned his head and glared at the Duke of Huguo.
"Oh? What does Prince Jin want to ask? Just ask." Xia Zhengqi's face became gentle, and he changed his gloomy mood just now.
Prince Jin was pushed to the stage, and he felt his scalp tingling, but since things had come to this point, he had to speak up: "Your Majesty, someone asked me to ask why the Queen Mother and Concubine Li were absent from the palace banquet today."