Chapter 39: The Family Feast

Since Lige first successfully entered the Blood Jade Continent, he has been appearing in this chaotic rock, surrounded by vast smoke waves, and the chaotic stone is equal to a small island. At first, there was no soil or plants on the rocks, and people couldn't do anything in this big rock. But there are days and nights, and at night the stars and moon shine brightly in the sky, and during the day the sun is in the sky, but it is not very hot. When she was a child, Xiao Lige entered the Blood Jade Continent and didn't know how to cultivate, but then she really had nothing to do, she just stared at the sky, and after watching too much, she found that staring at the sky or staring at the sea would settle down after watching it for a long time, and then she could feel some pictures, and the little people followed the pictures to cultivate, and they gradually had experiences. If you cultivate against the stars and the moon, there are all kinds of pictures floating in the air, and following the connection can make you as light as a swallow, and there is a feeling of the core that Lao Zhang Tou said in the dantian. If you cultivate against the sun, you can strengthen your ability to communicate with all things in heaven and earth. If you cultivate against the surface of the sea, you can visualize the changes in people that occur in other planes and planes.

Every time it gets dark, Lige will practice for two hours before falling asleep. Usually, Mama Lu sleeps on the couch in the east room, and recently got sick, so she moved to the west room to rest. Therefore, before leaving the song and falling asleep, listen attentively and feel the movement of Xiaozhongyuan and its surroundings. Mama Lu in the west room of the main room slept very deeply, and it could be heard from the sound of breathing that her illness had been half cured. The mother-in-law and the new girl in the east wing have already slept soundly. The small courtyard next to the small garden is empty, and in the distance are the gatekeepers and the palace guards who patrol regularly. After a routine inspection of the small heavy garden, he rested with confidence.

The male host of the Qi Wangfu is very busy on weekdays, and rarely goes back to the inner courtyard to eat, but on the fifteenth day of the first month of each month, if there is nothing important, there is basically a family banquet in the palace. If they are all dining together, the family feast will be arranged in the main courtyard of the inner courtyard. If there are some relatives and men, although it is also a meal, it will be arranged in the back garden, and the men and women will not sit at the same time, separated by a curtain.

At this family banquet, Lige received a notice in advance, because the embroidery girl in the needlework room came to do the size measurement and wanted to give Lige clothes for work. As a family member of the royal palace, you can't dress too cold when attending a family banquet. Lige dressed so plainly to go to school in the study for many days in a row, not only the servants who came and went saw it, but even the gentlemen saw it in their eyes and remembered it in their hearts. No matter how reluctant Princess Qi is, the henchmen around her will help persuade her to do façade work.

Of course, Princess Qi's intimate padded jacket, the eldest lady Yan Ning had already packed a few sets of new clothes and sent them to Xiaozhongyuan, but those clothes were too luxurious, and Lige said that she really couldn't adapt to it all at once, so she still wore her old clothes, and asked Mama Lu to see if she could change the clothes sent to her to a plain style, the fabric could be luxurious, but the style was still low-key.

Princess Qi has been very angry with Concubine Song recently, originally the relationship between the two has always been mediocre, one is the Ming media is marrying, the princess's respect. One is a noble daughter of a family who is determined to win. Although Princess Qi became the main concubine, in terms of the power of the Zhaozhao Kingdom, compared with the Song family behind the Song side concubine, it is naturally difficult to reach the power of the mother's family, and it is a bit inferior. Moreover, these two people are evenly matched, and the baby is also evenly matched, and the open and secret battles have been continuous.

Even so, Princess Qi has always had the pride of being the princess of Middle-earth, relying on her identity, and refusing to lower her status and be as knowledgeable as Concubine Song. It's just that this time, Concubine Song's unknown relative Xiao Popi, who didn't learn or know how to do it, actually went to tease the girl in the back garden that Princess Qi didn't want to face at all. also alarmed the prince, and now this child has not only re-entered the eyes of the prince, but also smoothly entered the eyes of everyone. Princess Qi felt that everyone was watching her jokes.

This family banquet was set in the back garden, mainly because of a few relatives from the palace, as well as the Lord Jin Shen from Yanyun Kingdom. The world was one family a few decades ago. The surname Jin has been one of the big families for hundreds of years. After the world was divided into five points, many big families were divided, and the same was true for the Jin family. Among the five major countries, the most outstanding is the Jin family of Yanyun Kingdom. This time, the Empress Dowager of Zhaozhao sent invitations to all countries for her birthday banquet. This Lord Jin Shen is not the Lord Jin who came to congratulate him on orders.

Jin Shen was the envoy of Yan Yunguo to Zhaozhao two years ago, mainly responsible for mutual market matters, and had excellent relations with large merchants and officials from various countries. Although he is young, he has friends all over the world, and behind him is the family and the strongest military power Yanyun Kingdom, and King Qi has always wanted to be friends with him. It's just that the kings stationed in the fiefdom are not allowed to leave the fiefdom if they have nothing to do, so the king of Qi has never been able to get closer to Jin Shen. It was also an unexpected joy to be able to have a good relationship with Jin Shen this time.

Dongming Academy, located in Weishan, a suburb of Yancheng, is second only to the royal academy in the capital Qitai among the many academies in the Zhaozhao Kingdom. Jin Shen has traveled the world with his family elders since he was a child, and has visited many world-famous academies. It's just that when he first arrived in Zhaozhao Kingdom, he was busy with official affairs, so he could only find time to visit the academies around Qitai in the lower capital, including the Royal Academy, where he is said to have served as a consultant and occasionally give lectures.

For King Zhao, Yu Gong's invitation to Jin Shen to Dongming Academy can also demonstrate his status as the second largest academy in China; What is rare this time is that Jin Shen came to Yancheng half on business and half on business. King Zhao personally invited him to live in the outer courtyard of the palace and arranged for his concubine to follow.

When Jin Shen came to Yancheng, he would either go to the market to learn about the situation, or even go to the township market to join in the fun, or he would go to Dongming Academy to discuss knowledge with others. Originally, the family banquet of the Qi Wangfu was not suitable for people with foreign surnames to participate. However, King Qi insisted that Jin Shen was regarded as the semi-master of the prince, although he did not formally apprentice, but since he followed the study, he also had a master-apprentice relationship. That is why Jin Shen also sat at the male guest table.

The fifteenth full moon is just right for viewing the moon, and the place where the family banquet is held is prepared two days in advance, and this family banquet is located in the Chenglan Water Pavilion. This is the most suitable place for moon viewing in the entire Qi Palace. Leaning on the railing facing the Arashi Lake, the opposite shore has a wide field of vision, the bright moon in the sky and the reflection in the water reflect each other, the scenery is unique.

On the fifteenth, he had already been informed that he didn't have to go to school, so he ran to the library early. Recently, she went to the study to study with gentlemen, and she had already accumulated a stomach full of questions, and she needed to turn the books to find answers. It's rare that one day when she has free time, she plans to soak in the library. And today, all the young ladies and young masters are busy preparing for the evening family banquet, and they don't have to worry about meeting others in the library building, and it has become more convenient to flip through the books.

It wasn't until the evening that she walked back to Xiaozhongyuan, and Liu Ye, who accompanied her to the family banquet tonight, was already in a hurry in the courtyard. Tonight was the first time she had the opportunity to reappear in front of the other masters of the palace since she was assigned to this cold courtyard. She put on her best dress early and smeared some fat powder on her face. When leaving the song and entering the door, Liu Ye hurriedly greeted her, she had already regarded herself as a big girl, Hong Lian, who was very vulgar in her eyes, was the life of a rough girl, and recently followed Granny Mu to do rough work, and she was very happy and powerful, which made Liu Ye frown frequently.

Liu Ye followed Mama Lu, mainly to train the rules and be a female celebrity. Liu Ye has a frivolous temperament, but her brain is flexible and she has a wide range of channels, if she is trained well, she can be a good helper, so Mama Lu focuses on sharpening her temperament. Hong Lian has a lot of strength and is a good hand at doing rough work. But people are too honest, and letting it out makes people feel uneasy. Therefore, it is more appropriate to stay in the yard and take care of the things in the yard. However, Mama Lu also asked her to send food to Lige to the study at noon every day, send Lige out in the morning, and pick up Lige back in the evening. Hong Lian was single-minded, remembering Mama Lu's explanation, she was responsible for taking care of Lige's schoolbag or food box on the way, no matter who or anything, she couldn't let her desert for a moment. Such an honest person can also make people feel very worry-free when using the right way.

The family banquet is half a banquet, and the song comes neither early nor late, the side concubines and other concubines with heirs have already brought their children to the scene, and they have counted the songs, and their own father Qi Wangye's heirs are not very many, but they are not less. In addition to the princess's sister-in-law Ji Huachen and daughter-in-law Ji Yanrong, it is the children of Concubine Song, Ji Huayu, Ji Yanlan, Ji Yanrong born to Mrs. Hu, and Ji Huasong born to Mrs. Zhong.

Soon after the princess took her daughter to the table, the prince and his son, as well as the distinguished guests of the outer court and the relatives living in the outer courtyard of the palace, arrived belatedly. The prince came over to greet the princess, and other foreign men didn't need to come to the female guests. Men and women were separated from two rooms for dinner, and the young masters of the palace sat on the side of the men's seats. There were two tables on the men's side and only one table on the women's side. After the banquet, Prince Qi specially came to the women's table to accompany his wife and concubines and daughters to eat for a while, and each daughter praised it, and even the song of the first time to attend the family banquet also received a few words of praise, saying that although it started late, the gentlemen gave feedback on their hard work and deserved praise. Lige also won a reward with the crowd, each of whom had a set of four treasures in the study.

After the prince left, the women's table was extremely quiet, and everyone was absentmindedly eating while listening to the sound of the conversation next door, and they seemed to be talking about the queen mother's birthday banquet. Prince Qi, the princess and a pair of sons and daughters must go to Beijing to celebrate their birthdays, so everyone is also eagerly concerned about who else can accompany them. I have inquired about the song, in previous years, it was not a whole birthday, and the prince of Qi and they may not necessarily enter Beijing to celebrate his birthday. This is also the first birthday of the queen mother who met after the prince of Qi was divided into Yancheng.