During the gathering, Jiang Yuanyuan suggested playing a piece on the zither to entertain everyone. After the piece ended, everyone thought it was quite good and very pleasant to the ear. Even the prince rarely praised it. Seeing this, Wu Ling'er also decided to perform a dance, so everyone had another chance to appreciate the princess's dance. It was a proper court dance, but the princess's figure was light and graceful, and her slender waist was very beautiful.
Tian Yu was the happiest, secretly thinking it was a pity she was a princess; otherwise, she would definitely make her famous throughout the capital. Tian Yu led the applause and cheers, while Zhao Moyan glared at her from afar before reluctantly sitting down. The seating arrangement was also carefully made by Tian Yu. The princess and Zhao Moyan sat together, while Li Xingyun and Jiang Yuanyuan sat together. Tian Yu kept stealing glances at them, but the group sat there rigidly, only focusing on eating the food on their own tables, which made Tian Yu very angry. She winked fiercely at Li Xingyun, but Li Xingyun completely ignored her. She then turned to Zhao Moyan and winked at him, asking him to take better care of the princess, but Zhao Moyan couldn't see it either. Tian Yu was also busy taking care of Tangyuan, and with delicious food around, she couldn't care less about anything else.
Of course, the happiest group was Tian Yu and her family. While eating, Tangyuan scolded Tian Yu, "Mom, why didn't you make this delicious hot pot for me before?"
"It wasn't lively before, just the two of us!"
"Oh, so this needs to be eaten by a group of people."
"Yes! That's what makes it lively and fun!"
"Yes, Mao Rong is happy too." Tang Yuan said, not forgetting to pick up some meat and toss it to Mao Rong.
Tian Yu scooped up a large piece of meat and put it in Xuan Yu's bowl, saying, "Eat more!"
"Thank you, Madam." Xuan Yu smiled and said. Xuan Yu, who had always been like an outsider, had now integrated into the group. As for Lv Liu, it goes without saying that everyone could see how she took care of Ji Feng. Ji Feng's bowl was already piled high with food. Tang Yuan was teasing Lv Liu for being biased, but Lv Liu thought it was normal because she remembered that Tian Yu had said to treat Ji Feng well. Now she also liked to take care of Ji Feng.
Li Xingyun had a servant push him over to Tian Yu and the others. Tian Yu looked at him curiously and asked, "Why are you here?"
"I've been eating with you all every day, and now I'm not used to eating alone."
Tian Yu smiled knowingly and quickly cooked some tripe for Li Xingyun and brought it over. Li Xingyun asked, "What is this?"
"Well, you probably don't want to know, so you shouldn't ask."
Li Xingyun looked at Lvliu and Qiuju, who stammered for a while before Tian Yu rolled her eyes and said, "Tripe, the innards of a cow."
Li Xingyun picked up the tripe from the bowl with disgust, and Tian Yu quickly said, "Don't waste it, give it back to me if you're not going to eat it."
Li Xingyun returned it to Tian Yu without any hesitation. Tian Yu dipped it in the sauce in front of him, ate it in one bite, and said, "What a delicious thing, you're too unlucky to have it."
The princess kept looking at Tian Yu's table, then at the two large ice blocks beside her, and finally couldn't hold back any longer. She got up and walked over and said, "I...I also want to eat with you."
"Huh!?" Tian Yu and the others looked up at the princess in surprise.
The princess quickly explained, "Seeing how happily you're eating, I'd like to try some too." After saying that, she glanced at Li Xingyun a few more times, then lowered her head shyly.
Tian Yu put down her chopsticks and said, "Of course, Qiu Ju, get a stool for the princess."
So the princess sat down next to Li Xingyun and ate with them. Although she was still a little reserved, she quickly blended in, taking a sip of wine and a bite of meat. Then Jiang Yuanyuan arrived, followed by Fang Jue and Huang Xuan.
In the end, only Zhao Moyan remained at the main table with Prince Wu, each enjoying their own food. The two even drank together. Tian Yu glanced at the two of them, pouted, and continued to join everyone in the hot pot.
Huang Xuan, sweating profusely from the spiciness, said, "This hot pot really does taste better when eaten with a group of people."
Fang Jue also said, "Yes! It feels like this big pot is what makes it taste so good."
"If I had known you would do this, I wouldn't have gone to all that trouble," Tian Yu muttered, but she still happily served them food and taught them how to cook it to make it taste the best.
As darkness fell, no one seemed inclined to leave. They had almost finished their hotpot meal, and Tian Yu was about to suggest that everyone go home and rest when Fang Jue suddenly said, "I have long admired Mr. Tian's scholarship and literary talent. The poems you have written are ones that I could never write in my lifetime."
"What poem? Mr. Fang, you've had too much to drink!" Tian Yu tried to brush him off, seeing that he was somewhat drunk.
"I never expected that your wife's calligraphy is also excellent, as evidenced by the poem you wrote for Tangyuan."
"Oh! You mean that collection of poems? I didn't write it, the Marquis did."
Upon hearing this, Fang Jue turned to Zhao Moyan and said, "My lord! You wrote that collection of poems!"
"No! I only copied what Madam wrote."
"I see! So that's how it is. No wonder Mr. Tian's calligraphy is so bold and masculine. It turns out it was written by the Marquis."
"Brother Fang, what's the point of talking about poetry! If you ask me, her hot pot is the best. You have to save some for me. If you opened a restaurant here in the capital, it would definitely be a hit."
"Alright! Young Master Huang, please feel free to do as you please."
"You are so magnanimous, Madam. Rest assured, I, Huang, will not let you suffer any loss."
"No problem! I'll have someone deliver the production process to your shop tomorrow."
"Madam is so generous, then please give me these small pots as well."
"Okay, take it if you like." As soon as Tian Yu finished speaking, Huang Xuan started telling the servants to pack it up.
"Huang Xuan, what are you doing? We haven't finished eating yet, why are you packing it up?" the princess asked.
"Princess, please eat without worry. How about I pack some leftovers after you've all finished eating?"
"Hmph! That's more like it."
Presumably because they had all been drinking, they spoke more freely and without so many reservations. Huang Xuan suddenly suggested, "I've heard that Madam is a very good singer. We've eaten and drunk our fill, so why don't you sing us a song at the end?"
Tian Yu was also quite drunk, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed. But she readily agreed while holding her wine glass, oblivious to Zhao Moyan's ashen face. Looking up at the moon, she began to sing Su Shi's "Prelude to Water Melody": "When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky. I wonder what year it is tonight in the celestial palace. I wish to ride the wind and return, but the jade towers and crystal palaces are empty, the heights are unbearably cold. I dance with my shadow, how can it compare to being in the human world? The moon turns through the red pavilion, lowers its light through the painted windows, illuminating my sleeplessness. There should be no regrets, why is the moon always full when we are apart? People have sorrow and joy, separation and reunion, just as the moon has its phases of waxing and waning; such things have always been imperfect. I only wish that we may all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar."
As soon as Tian Yu opened her mouth, the courtyard fell silent. Her ethereal and melodious singing voice, accompanied by the cool moonlight, made the mist she exhaled with each movement seem otherworldly under the lamplight. In the end, everyone looked up at the bright moon in the sky, unable to come back to their senses for a long time.
Tian Yu was a little dizzy and couldn't remember how the guests left. She felt more awake after taking a bath. The servants in the courtyard had already tidied up. She asked Green Willow and Autumn Chrysanthemum and found out that Zhao Moyan was in the glutinous rice ball room. Everyone else had been sent away by Zhao Moyan. It was very cold in the courtyard at night. Green Willow put a thick cloak on Tian Yu and told them to go down and rest early and not to take care of her.
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