On the second day, it was Emperor Yong’s 35th birthday and the whole country celebrated.

Purple Palace.

Emperor Yong sat on the dragon throne, wearing a majestic yellow robe, unrivaled in his dignity and unrivaled in the world.

Looking up, I saw all the ministers standing solemnly in the palace, with the lights on.

In the middle of the Mao hour.

As the sun slowly rose and its light poured down upon the earth, cheers of praise emanated from the Purple Palace and echoed through the palace gates.

"kneel--"

All civil and military officials, imperial guards, and palace servants knelt on both knees, touched the ground with their foreheads, and performed thirty-three bows.

After the ceremony, the crown prince went to the palace on behalf of all the ministers and toasted to wish Emperor Yong a long life.

Emperor Yong took the wine glass facing the rising sun, looked down and saw his ministers bowing their heads respectfully. He couldn't help but feel that the whole country and the people were in his hands, and his face was filled with joy.

He waved his right hand gently, and cheers of praise rang out immediately:

"Give—"

Emperor Yong gave tea to all officials.

"Long live, long live, long live!"

At this point, the morning worship service officially ended.

After the ceremony, all the officials exchanged greetings with each other and left the palace. Only after they boarded the carriage did they dare to show any signs of fatigue.

They got up in the middle of the night for the worship service this morning.

The Wanshou Palace banquet would not start until the beginning of the You hour (5 p.m.), and all the court officials were eager to go back and catch up on their sleep.

After all, tonight's palace banquet will be another tough battle, so they need to conserve their energy!

As for the officials' homes, their wives and daughters also started preparing early.

Qiao Jiaojiao sat on the couch, watching her mother and sister-in-law busying around, her thoughts already flying away.

[Tsk, after thinking it over, I think it's most likely that my sister-in-law was tricked at the palace banquet.]

[I've been to Qingzhuyuan several times. It's well managed by my elder brother. Not even a fly can get in!]

[It seems that tonight, in addition to watching the fun, I also have to protect my sister-in-law! ]

[Wait, let me check out the Merit Mall again. ]

Qiao Jiaojiao called out the merit panel, and the merit in the upper right corner had suddenly become an astonishing 220 points.

This time, Qiao Jiaojiao had some ideas. In addition to the merit points for rescuing cousin An Ning, there should also be merits for repairing and expanding the orphanage.

Thinking of this, Qiao Jiaojiao felt that the old King of Hell was really reasonable.

After all, it was her parents who had done the good deed of expanding the orphanage, and she actually also benefited from it.

[I have enough merit points, so I can respond to the situation at the palace banquet. This way I will feel more at ease.]

Just as Qiao Jiaojiao thought of this, she saw her father and elder brother coming in together.

Her eyebrows curved and she shouted excitedly: "Daddy! Brother! You're back!"

Qiao Zhongguo picked up Qiao Jiaojiao lovingly and asked, "Jiaojiao, have you been good at home?"

Qiao Jiaojiao nodded as a matter of course, "Good boy! The best boy!"

After lunch, the family members took a rest. At the beginning of the Shen time (3 pm), they packed up and got on the carriage to the palace.

Qiao Tianjing had already left home early because he had received orders to continue entertaining the delegation today.

As for Qiao Diyi, the whole country was celebrating today and the capital was extremely lively. In order to avoid the chaos during the Lantern Festival, his military camp was withdrawn to cooperate with the Jinwu Guards in patrolling the streets, so he couldn't even go to the palace banquet.

This time, the Wanshou Palace Banquet was held in Hua'e Xianghui Tower.

When they arrived at the palace gate, everyone had to get off the car and walk.

Qiao Jiaojiao was held in Qiao Zhongguo's arms, looking at the colorful lights and tents, she was very excited!

On the way to Hua'e Tower, we could hear the sound of stringed instruments, people were greeting each other, and everyone had a smile on their face.

[Wow, this is the prosperous scene in my mind, it is so beautiful! ]

Qiao Jiaojiao's eyes were not enough to see it all.

Even though the world she lived in was already extremely prosperous, she couldn't help but be shocked and even shed tears when faced with such a profound and ancient scene.

Qiao Zhongguo had a gentle expression as he carried Qiao Jiaojiao into the brightly lit room.

The main hall of Hua'e Tower is very spacious, with long tables already prepared and filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

As soon as the Qiao family entered the hall, palace servants came forward and led them to their seats.

Qiao Zhongguo was still treated as a first-rank minister and held a very high position.

After Qiao Tianjing got married, he could no longer sit with Qiao Zhongguo.

Therefore, Han Yaxian was led to a position at the back, surrounded by officials of the same rank as Qiao Tianjing and their families.

Qiao Jiaojiao sat in Mrs. Qiao's arms, looking around, and finally saw the location of the Meng family.

However, at this time, only Mrs. Meng was sitting behind the long desk. Lord Meng was greeting his colleagues, but there was no sign of Meng Guxue.

Qiao Jiaojiao frowned slightly. If Meng Guxue wasn't present tonight, this play wouldn't be able to be performed.

Just as Qiao Jiaojiao thought of this, she saw Meng Guxue coming in from outside the hall with her head lowered.

She was wearing a light purple dress today. Although it was not eye-catching, she looked very dignified like a lady from the capital.

As soon as Meng Guxue sat down, Madam Meng frowned and told her, "Drink less tea later, so you don't have to change clothes again."

Meng Guxue nodded obediently, but her hands were clenched tightly under her sleeves.

She didn't actually go to change clothes just now.

A palace servant secretly slipped a small note into her hand while pouring tea.

The palace servant whispered, "Miss Meng, the Second Prince has something to tell you."

Her heart skipped a beat, and her first feeling was that the Second Prince knew what happened at the poetry meeting yesterday.

Baili Chengyou was so high-profile yesterday, there was no way the Second Prince didn't know about it.

What would the Second Prince say to her? Did he know that Baili Chengyou would propose to Emperor Yong tonight?

Meng Guxue was already a little hesitant, and this note made her even more confused.

She was really curious, so she went out to check the note under the pretext of changing her clothes.

She found a deserted place, secretly opened the note, and the elegant handwriting came into her eyes.

——Ms. Meng, my heart remains the same.

Thinking back to these words now, Meng Guxue still couldn't help but feel her heart tremble.

In fact, she and the second prince had met once before, at the Dragon Boat Festival Palace Banquet in Yuhua Garden.

She had thought about that meeting countless times late at night, and she still remembered the Second Prince's expression clearly.

She was originally immersed in it and couldn't extricate herself, and she felt that the Second Prince also had feelings for her.

However, when Baili Chengyou's choice appeared, she suddenly became much more sober.

She carefully analyzed the meeting and finally found to her amazement that it seemed that the second prince wanted only her poems...

When her thoughts reached this point, Meng Guxue's heart, which had been originally enthusiastic because of the note, cooled down again.

Two men, two choices, two completely different futures.

Are any of them sincere to her?

Qiao Jiaojiao saw Meng Guxue's anxious expression and couldn't help but mutter:

[The Second Prince will definitely show up tonight. If he understands Meng Guxue's value even a little, he will definitely not let her go easily.]

[The Shura Field is really coming! According to the established trajectory, Meng Guxue will choose the second prince without hesitation. 】

[But today, everything has changed. Who will Meng Guxue choose? ]

[Wait, what if she doesn't choose anyone and she awakens into a heroine? That's not impossible. If that happens, I'll have to look at her with new eyes!]

Qiao Jiaojiao was speculating excitedly when suddenly an extremely fishy smell entered her nose.

Qiao Jiaojiao frowned suddenly, and immediately covered her nose and said, "Stinky! Mom, there's stinky!"

"Smelly?"

Mrs. Qiao sniffed with a puzzled look on her face, but only smelled the aroma of fruits and wine.

"Jiaojiao, what's wrong? Where does it stink?"

Mrs. Qiao bent down and asked with a concerned look on her face.