Chapter 191 New Year's Eve Palace Banquet
Xu Lanshan lived a leisurely and quiet life until New Year's Eve.
Xu Lanshan originally had no plan to attend New Year's Eve.
Accidents are most likely to happen when there are many people and in a chaotic environment, and accidents in the chaos are most likely to be confused and impossible to find out.
Naturally, Xu Lanshan was unwilling to join in such occasions.
Although, if she attended the New Year's Eve party while pregnant, she would definitely be the center of attention!
But it was obvious that she didn't care about this kind of scenery.
However, the Queen said that the concubines in the palace had not had any good news for years, and finally Xu Lanshan was pregnant, which was a great joy! She had to show up at the New Year's Eve banquet for good luck, right?
Emperor Yuan Yong thought this made sense, so he smiled at Xu Lanshan and said, "Go ahead, Lan'er. It's a great time to enjoy the excitement at the palace banquet. If you feel tired, you can leave first. Otherwise, it would be too lonely and unfair for you to stay alone in Lianyi Palace!"
Xu Lanshan was also a little moved after hearing this, so she smiled and nodded in agreement.
Fearing that Yuchan, Nanny An and others would not take good care of him, Emperor Yuan Yong personally assigned two steady and capable Nannies to serve him.
On New Year's Eve, Xu Lanshan changed into an apricot-red palace dress with floral patterns and satin decorations, and wore her hair in a grand peony bun. The emerald hairpin in her bun sparkled brightly, and she looked extremely gorgeous.
She wore a fox fur cloak with windy fur, held a hand warmer, and rode in a warm sedan chair, arriving at the Xing'an Hall where the palace banquet was being held.
There will be many singing, dancing and acrobatic performances at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve today. In addition to the palace ladies, some honorable royal relatives and royal relatives who are favored by the emperor will also come to participate. There will be quite a lot of people, and this huge Xing'an Hall will be packed with people.
Xu Lanshan was born a palace maid. She had no family background and no close family connections, so she didn't want to go there too early, as it would be boring if she did.
She is now in favor and pregnant with the dragon heir. Many female relatives will inevitably come to talk to her, and she doesn't want to socialize.
Therefore, when Xu Lanshan arrived, almost everyone who should have been present was there, except the Emperor, Empress and the Empress Dowager.
The palace banquet had not yet begun, and the male and female guests were resting in the left and right side halls respectively.
As soon as Xu Lanshan entered the right side hall, she immediately attracted countless eyes. The palace, which was originally filled with whispers and laughter, suddenly became quiet and silent.
Everyone knows that the most favored person in the harem is Empress Chenfei, but no one has ever seen this empress.
It is rumored that Empress Chenfei is unparalleled in beauty, charming and lovely, and her smile can bewitch people's souls. Even a wise monarch like the emperor cannot escape her beauty.
When they saw it today, everyone was amazed and secretly admired it!
Apart from anything else, Empress Chenfei's face is truly beautiful, even the previous Concubine Yu is somewhat inferior to her.
With such beauty and grace, she was born as a lowly palace maid. It is really unbelievable!
No wonder the emperor no longer cares about anyone else.
Empress Chenfei glanced at everyone with a slight smile. The nanny beside her coughed twice, neither light nor heavy. Everyone came back to their senses and hurriedly saluted.
“Greetings to Her Majesty the Concubine!”, “Greetings to Her Majesty the Concubine!”
Xu Lanshan could clearly feel several hostile gazes coming from the crowd. She curled her lips and smiled, knowing what was going on.
The Fu and Liu families were naturally no longer eligible to attend the palace banquet. However, they still had some relatives and friends in the court, so they naturally disliked Xu Lanshan.
Besides that, the concubines in the palace and the Queen's family must also dislike her, right?
She said that she really didn't want to come to such an occasion at all!
After all, although she didn't take it to heart, being stared at like that still affected her mood!
Plus, being pregnant, her psychological quality was surprisingly fragile and sensitive. Even when the emperor was with her, she would still feel depressed and down, and she had to be coaxed by him to feel better...
"No need to be polite, everyone, please stand up!"
"Thank you, Madam!"
Xu Lanshan sat down and said with a smile, "Everyone, please take a seat. Everything remains the same as before. I have been a little tired these past two days, so I will not greet you."
The female relatives smiled and responded.
"Thank you, Empress Chen. I dare not trouble you!"
"Your Highness is pregnant, and it's normal for you to feel tired easily."
"Your Highness is now a twin, so she needs to be well taken care of."
"Your Majesty is so kind, and we, your subjects, are so grateful!"
“…”
After a few greetings, Xu Lanshan smiled and refused to speak.
Everyone was tactful and no matter what they thought, they didn't dare to disturb her.
Soon, the Emperor and Empress arrived accompanied by the Empress Dowager. Everyone hurriedly escorted the concubines out, and they stood on the left and right with the male guests, kneeling down to pay their respects.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Your Highness! Your Highness!"
"Everyone, get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Everyone stood up respectfully, and many of them subconsciously raised their eyes quickly to secretly glance at the Empress Dowager and sighed secretly.
The Empress Dowager's spirit is far worse than before.
What does it matter if she's so noble now? The Fu family won't be able to achieve anything in the court for at least ten years. The emperor is truly cruel this time.
But it's also true that the Fu family has been so powerful for so many years. When the emperor first took power, they tried to control him openly and secretly, and caused him a lot of trouble. Since they failed to take down the emperor at the beginning, and now they have been completely defeated by the emperor, they can't blame anyone.
Maybe... the emperor has been remembering the old accounts and is just waiting to settle them now!
Of course, the Fu family deserved what they got for committing such a crime.
I have to say, the Empress Chenfei is really lucky and had a long life. She escaped without any danger...
The Emperor and Empress helped the Empress Dowager to sit on a higher ground, "Everyone, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The palace maids serving at the banquet led the guests to their seats, one seat per person, arranged in rows facing each other. The guests were divided into men and women, with a large space in the middle left for singing and dancing performances.
The imperial concubines' positions were second only to the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager. Without Concubine Yu, Xu Lanshan's position was now second only to Concubine Shu, and she sat at the same table with Concubine Shu. Next in line were the Imperial Concubines, Imperial Concubines, Noble Ladies, and Maids-in-waiting, a total of eleven or twelve people.
For an emperor, this number of concubines was indeed not considered too many. You have to know that those seated here today were all of Emperor Yuan Yong's harem. If there were truly that many people, not everyone would be eligible to attend the palace banquet. There were quotas, and one had to fight for a spot.
Everyone in the court was aware of this, so many ladies and old ladies attending the banquet tonight intentionally or unintentionally brought the most outstanding girls in their families with them.
You can imagine what they are planning...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
