The girl's clear and round eyes reflected Jiang Shi's appearance. She had a soft and sweet smile on her face and handed the rice cake in her hand to Jiang Shi.
Yun Xuan knew that she would only treat Jiang Shi like this.
That was the look a girl would have when facing her beloved.
Yun Xuan looked a little dazed, and his finger bones turned white.
At this moment, he suddenly envied Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi always receives the most sincere and beautiful love, whether it is Mrs. Jiang who raised him, or Yu Tanqi later.
Even his only biological sister, Yun Shu, likes Jiang Shi very much.
For Jiang Shi, Yun Shu knew the grudge between the two families, but still chose to help Jiang Shi.
Yun Xuan lowered his eyelids, his expression indifferent.
As soon as midnight arrived, brilliant fireworks appeared in the sky above the palace to celebrate the arrival of a new year and a new day.
Yu Tanqi immediately said to Jiang Shi: "Zi'an, Happy New Year."
Jiang Shi lowered his head and looked at her gently and attentively, his eyes like stars, "Tan Qi, Happy New Year."
The two smiled at each other.
Yun Xuan's gaze couldn't help but fall on them.
They all laughed happily.
Yu Tanqi and Jiang Shi.
The Emperor, Empress and the Crown Prince.
Yun Xuan was wearing a purple robe, leaving one or two spaces between him and the people around him, as if there was an unbridgeable gap between him and them.
The young man's handsome face was shining with the brilliant and changeable light of fireworks, making his expression flicker and his eyes unfathomable.
He hated feeling this way.
Yun Xuan looked at Yu Tanqi again.
It seemed that there was only Jiang Shi in her eyes.
In front of him, she always lowered her head and looked timid.
But if she was really timid, she would not stick to a marriage arranged since childhood and travel thousands of miles from Chenjun to the capital.
His eyes fell on her shoulder.
There, Jiang Shi was injured.
Yun Xuan's lips were pressed into a straight line, and his eyes were obscure.
Empress Zhang sympathized with her and Jiang Shi's frail bodies, so after the fireworks were set off, she let them go downstairs early to rest.
According to the traditional custom of the Wanjin Kingdom, the emperor would hold three state banquets every New Year's Eve. The first one was the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, and the second one was the palace banquet on the first day of the New Year after receiving an audience with civil and military officials.
There is another one on the second day of the Chinese New Year.
Yu Tanqi and Jiang Shi could not leave the palace and return to Wu'an Marquis Mansion until the third day of the New Year.
Naturally, it was not as relaxing and comfortable in the palace as in the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion. Jiang Shi could only send Yu Tanqi to the door of the room and then return to his own room to rest.
Before dawn in the morning, Yu Tanqi had to get up and dress up again.
The concubines and princes and princesses in the harem will come to Fengyi Palace to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor and empress. Yu Tanqi and others will stay overnight in Fengyi Palace, so they will naturally be present to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor and empress, as well as to several high-ranking concubines.
There are now exactly four high-ranking concubines in the emperor's harem, namely the Four Virtuous and Loyal Concubines.
Among the four concubines, the virtuous concubine, the virtuous concubine and the virtuous concubine are all old concubines in the harem who have given birth to royal heirs. They are well maintained and have a natural elegance in their every move.
The four concubines had the right to receive audiences from civil and military officials together with the emperor and empress, so they all wore dignified and elegant court robes.
Although they were all court robes of the four concubine ranks, Concubine Hui Yan Qingyu was exceptionally outstanding and beautiful.
Because she was so young and beautiful, she looked about the same age as the fourth princess Gao Xianyue who had not yet married.
If she had not been wearing the court dress of the fourth rank of concubines, standing with the other concubines, she would have looked like a princess they gave birth to, rather than an empress.
Yu Tanqi had mixed feelings. It was only a few months ago when they first met in Prince Yun's Mansion that Yan Qingyu had just escaped the fate of marrying a scumbag, but in the blink of an eye, she entered the palace and became a concubine.
Even though he was the emperor, the supreme ruler, he was several years older than Yan Qingyu's father, and the eldest prince was also several years older than her. She entered the palace at a young age, and even if she was favored, the highest position she could achieve was only a noble concubine.
Unless the Queen...
Yan Qingyu still couldn't escape the fate of being a chess piece.
Yu Tanqi lowered his head and greeted the younger generation of Yan Qingyuxing together with Jiang Shi.
Yan Qingyu smiled faintly and placed two red envelopes in their hands personally.
She didn't say much, and even her eyes were restrained, not lingering on them for long.
Although she is less than 20 years old, she is already very dignified and graceful, showing the style of a high-ranking concubine.
But compared with other concubines who had children, she looked a little lonely with only a few of her own maids standing around her.
The former dynasty and the harem are closely related, and they all live by the emperor's favor. Yan Qingyu was one of the four concubines when she entered the palace, and she was young and beautiful, so she was naturally targeted by concubines from other factions.
Yu Tanqi couldn't help but sigh softly.
Jiang Shi looked at her and asked in a low voice, "Why is Tan Qi sighing?"
Yu Tanqi hesitated for a moment, but still whispered back, "I feel sorry for Concubine Hui. I thought she would marry a man of her dreams."
Jiang Shi knew that she would always show more compassion to fellow women, and this was true for Lan, and naturally for Yan Qingyu as well.
He thought for a moment and said gently, "In life, one is always forced to do things one chooses. Since she has entered the palace and become a concubine, she must fight for the family's honor and favor. There are gains and losses."
The emperor was very fond of the young, beautiful and noble Concubine Hui, and she might become the second Concubine Wang.
Yu Tanqi nodded, and suddenly thought of the relationship between Prime Minister Yan and Prince Yun in the original novel, and frowned slightly.
She didn't believe that Yan Qingyu's entry into the palace was not due to Yun Xuan's involvement.
Yu Tanqi couldn't help but look at Yun Xuan, but he didn't expect to meet his eyes. His pupils shrank, and he quickly looked away, pretending to be calm.
Yun Xuan looked at Yu Tanqi for a long time.
She seemed to have just glanced at him casually, and quickly looked away, her gaze falling on the wintersweet flowers in full bloom beside her.
Yun Xuan did not miss the regretful look on her face when she looked at Yan Qingyu.
She seemed to know something.
Yun Xuan seemed to be lost in thought, and then saw Jiang Shi's slightly cold eyes again.
The young man stood in front of Yu Tanqi unnoticeably, preventing Yun Xuan from staring at his fiancée.
He always stares at other people's fiancées, so naturally his real fiancé treats him coldly.
Yun Xuan curled her lips slightly, as if she didn't see Jiang Shi's displeasure.
With a warning look, he casually looked away.
After the concubines in the harem paid their New Year greetings, they all went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where civil and military officials and their families would pay New Year greetings to the emperor and empress.
Because an assassin appeared in Qingliang Palace last night, the guards in the palace are particularly strict today, and solemn and cold guards with guns can be seen standing guard everywhere.
There is a difference between men and women. Jiang Shi stood with the princes, while Yu Tanqi stood with the concubines in the harem.
Yu Tanqi originally wanted to walk quietly with everyone by himself, but suddenly a girl in palace dress as gorgeous and flamboyant as a peony appeared in front of him.
It was the fourth princess Gao Xianyue.
"Miss Yu, please come with me." Gao Xianyue looked at her and said with a smile.
Yu Tanqi didn't really want to be with her, but he couldn't think of any reason to refuse her.
At this moment, Yan Qingyu's voice suddenly sounded.
"I knew Miss Yu before I entered the palace. Would the Fourth Princess mind taking me with her?"
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