The speaker was a young woman who looked only two or three years older than Lotus, but she already had her hair styled in a married woman's bun.
In this era, girls could get married at the age of fifteen, so it was normal for a girl to get married at sixteen or seventeen.
He Jiuniang looked at her, nodded slightly, and replied, "That's right. Is there something you need?"
The young woman nodded and whispered, "I would like to ask Doctor He to examine me. Is there anything I need?"
She was positioned behind He Jiuniang and the others; her husband had gone to chat with other court officials, so she was alone at the moment.
He Jiu Niang asked, "Who is treating the illness, and what illness is it treating?"
The young woman blushed instantly and hesitated to speak for a long time, after all, there were people around, and Lu Baichuan, a grown man, was next to He Jiuniang.
He Jiuniang guessed something and said before she could answer, "There are no requirements. You can come to my residence to see me, or I can come to your home to see you. Just prepare the consultation fee."
The young woman was surprised that He Jiuniang was so beautiful and easy to talk to, and suddenly felt that what she had heard about the Fifth Princess was all false.
"Thank you so much. May I visit you in person tomorrow?"
"No problem, just come around 1:15 am. Just say you're here to see me for a medical consultation, and the doorman will take you in."
He Jiuniang thought about it and decided that she could sleep in tomorrow and then go to work slowly after lunch.
"good!"
The young woman nodded happily, sat up straight, her face beaming with joy, and planned to tell her husband when he returned.
Just then, the Fifth Princess arrived. She immediately spotted He Jiuniang whispering to the young woman, rolled her eyes, and exclaimed, "Country bumpkins have no manners!"
She was speaking directly to He Jiuniang, and although she didn't name names, anyone with eyes could tell who she was talking about.
He Jiuniang acted as if she hadn't heard him. After speaking with the young woman, she smiled and then turned around to eat some melon seeds that Lu Baichuan had peeled for her.
The Fifth Princess was even angrier than before when she was ignored. She wanted to say something, but was quietly persuaded to stop by the little palace maid beside her. Then she angrily went to sit down in her seat.
The seating at the palace banquet was arranged on both sides, with a path left in the middle for singers and dancers to perform. The seats were strictly allocated according to official rank, with princes and nobles at the front and court officials at the back.
Lu Baichuan and his wife were seated relatively close to the front. The important figures in front had not yet arrived, so He Jiuniang could make any small movements without anyone covering for her. All her actions were seen by the Fifth Princess in the first row opposite.
He Jiuniang was showing affection to Lu Baichuan under the angry gaze of the opposite side. He ate the melon seeds that I peeled and he fed her the grapes that were offered as tribute, which disgusted the Fifth Princess.
"How shameless! What kind of behavior is this in public!"
The Fifth Princess slammed her hand on the table and muttered a curse under her breath.
My mood was already bad, and then I sat down and found that Lu Heiya wasn't at today's banquet. My father is even stingier than Prince Jing.
I heard that in order to please the Emperor, that woman gave him a lot of seasoning packets, but only the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and Consort Liu in the entire harem received a few, while the rest of the people in the harem received nothing.
I had hoped to get some food at today's banquet, but I was disappointed to find no one there. Instantly, I disliked He Jiu Niang even more!
It's all that woman's fault, she's so stingy, she wouldn't even give me more!
"Princess, please calm down. There are so many people watching at the palace banquet today. If word gets out, it will not be good for your reputation. It would be easy to deal with her. There is no need to cause trouble for yourself at this time."
The palace maid beside him was clever enough to whisper a word of dissuasion.
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess composed herself and asked, "What's your plan?"
"The princess suffered a loss at that woman's hands before, and I have already thought of a way to deal with it. The princess doesn't need to do anything, just wait and see the joke in a while."
The palace maid smiled mysteriously, looking as if victory was assured.
This palace maid was given to her by her mother. She was quite shrewd, and over the years, thanks to her advice and strategies, many things had been accomplished. The Fifth Princess trusted her greatly and nodded with a smile.
Little did they know, He Jiuniang had already overheard their conversation.
He Jiuniang rolled her eyes dramatically, her little mouth babbling as if afraid no one would understand her lip reading.
However, these two are still too inexperienced to deal with her.
Before long, everyone had arrived, and with shouts of "His Majesty has arrived!"
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
"The Empress Dowager has arrived..."
The old emperor came out with a string of concubines, sons, and daughters-in-law. He Jiuniang followed Lu Baichuan and knelt down to pay her respects, shouting "Long live the emperor!" until her throat was dry. Finally, she finished shouting and the old emperor said, "Rise."
Everyone then expressed their gratitude, stood up, and returned to their seats.
He Jiuniang breathed a sigh of relief; it really wasn't easy to get a seat at a palace banquet.
"Today's banquet for my beloved ministers serves two purposes: first, to celebrate my greatly improved health; and second, to allow everyone to appreciate the national treasure, the Pangu Jade. Since it is a national treasure, it cannot remain hidden forever. It is time for everyone to know that the prosperity of our Northern Yan dynasty is entirely due to the protection of this Pangu Jade. Anyone who attempts to seize the Pangu Jade will be killed without mercy!"
The old emperor said some polite words afterward, but many people were too curious about the Pangu Jade to pay much attention to what he said later.
Lin Wang, standing in the crowd, was also startled, feeling that something was wrong with everything.
After the old emperor finished speaking, the dishes were served, and in the center of the hall, there was singing and dancing, allowing the courtiers to eat and enjoy the entertainment.
As for the appreciation of Pangu Jade, that will naturally be brought out at the very end.
The palace banquet lived up to its name; the dishes were all of the finest quality. He Jiuniang ate with great relish, completely oblivious to what the others were doing. Lu Baichuan kept piling food onto her plate, afraid that she would go hungry.
At this point, some ministers stood up to offer toasts and congratulate the old emperor on his good health.
The old emperor was in a good mood and readily agreed with a smile. He had originally intended to take the opportunity to introduce He Jiu Niang's amazing medical skills to everyone, but when he turned around and saw that the woman only knew how to bury herself in her food, he found her rather unimpressive and gave up the idea.
"Your Majesty, is that Physician He? What a lovely young lady!"
The speaker was a concubine sitting some distance below. She looked quite young, but she was already in her thirties.
This is Consort Hui, who happens to be the mother of the Fifth Princess.
She still remembered the time her daughter was bullied, but unlike the Fifth Princess, she wasn't impulsive and only wanted to find an opportunity to teach He Jiu Niang a lesson.
Seeing He Jiuniang's country bumpkin appearance, Gong Yan realized that all she did was eat, and her eyes were full of disdain.
Even so, he still smiled very warmly.
Because of her words, everyone's eyes turned to He Jiuniang. Seeing that she was still holding a bowl and eating with gusto, everyone looked a little embarrassed.
Is this what you call a lovely girl? Is Consort Hui's eye alright?
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