After the dishes are ready, the palace banquet also begins. After a while, the low-ranking beauties who were a little farther away from the emperor and queen at the banquet began to whisper, and what they talked about was nothing more than the gossip that was the most spread in the palace at the moment.

"Have you heard? Outside the palace, it was rumored that the emperor's Qin Tianjian observed the sky at night a few days ago and made a prophecy, saying that it was...... 'The evil things of the Wei Dynasty are coming, that is, there are demon girls singing down'! It's also too scary! ”

"My sister also heard about this from the palace people, and now the people are talking about the tiger's color change, and the emperor also issued a silence order yesterday, saying that those literati should not be allowed to write poems to confuse the people, and the teahouse also forbade storytelling to talk about this matter, and the emperor's decree also wrote - but anyone who talks about this matter in the city will be punished for the crime of endangering the national prestige!"

"Hey! Don't talk about it......" A talented person booed, "Don't be listened to by others, chew your tongue behind your majesty's back!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the people immediately shut up.

At the end of the banquet, everyone present was still excited, so the queen immediately put forward a request for the concubines to perform to help the fun, and everyone agreed. The palace maid also presented an underglaze colorful box, which was to let the emperor draw lots, and the three thousand fandels present in the palace were nervous, this is a great opportunity - whoever can be the first to appear, the emperor will be more impressed by her!

So in the midst of all the attention, the emperor reached into the gold box and searched for it, and then, a note appeared in his outstretched hand, and he didn't know which concubine's name was written on it in black and white. After unfolding, the emperor read it out: "The concubine of the lord of Zixia Palace, the Liu family." ”

Concubine Yan was overjoyed when she heard it, and hurriedly thanked her: "Thank you, concubine!" ”

The other concubines all frowned at this time - how could she let this fox win the first place!

But even if they are not convinced, the concubines are loved by the emperor and the queen, so they can't say anything about her. Yan Concubine soon presented a song of neon clothes and feather clothes for the emperor and queen, the peach and plum in the hall are one after another, the piano and the song are all on the stage, Yan Concubine is in the center of the stage, her dance posture is more outstanding than the last time when she danced at the beginning of the Jiaofang Palace, and it can be seen that she has done a lot of hard work after returning to the palace.

For the emperor, he bought it, but other women may not buy it, for example, the arrogant Concubine Xi just glanced at the beauty in front of her casually, and then said disdainfully: "Dancer, the last stream." ”

Her voice was just right to be heard by the queen on the throne - Concubine Xi's disdain for Concubine Yan was undoubtedly slapping the queen in the face as the master of Concubine Yan.

The queen quietly endured her words, and her feelings could not be seen in the eyebrows raised by the majesty, and Concubine Xi felt even more proud when she saw this.

"Why did my sister say that?" Concubine Xian eased her embarrassment and said, "The concubine thinks that Concubine Yan is very talented in dancing skills, and I am afraid that no one in the palace can match her." ”

"So what?" Concubine Xi replied meanly, "Only a woman from a small family dares to dance in public, you look at the sisters of famous families in the palace, which one is not prepared to compose poems and paintings?" ”

Concubine Xian didn't say anything more after hearing this.

However, the queen took a sip of the wine bottle, and her noble appearance revealed a real contempt in her eyes. Even if it is a poetry and qin painting, what can it do, and it can be performed in public to make the king's heart laugh - isn't it just a concubine?

She is the woman who is equal to the emperor!

After putting down the wine bottle, the queen looked at the feast of singing and dancing in front of her, and within a moment, she slowly felt in a trance because of the strength of the wine, and from the dancing posture of the concubine, as if a phantom appeared, and danced more amazingly and soul--it was really wonderful.

After the dance of the concubine, the emperor was extremely satisfied with her, praised her as if Yang Guifei was reincarnated, and immediately ordered to reward a glass hosta and many jewelry to be sent into the Zixia Palace at this moment.

After that, it was up to the queen to choose the signature instead of the emperor, she stretched out her hand and took out a piece of paper, and in anticipation, the queen preached in public: "The master of Yonghe Palace is the concubine - Chen!" ”

This Qing concubine is Chen Airong, the daughter of the Chen family who entered the palace at the same time as Concubine Yuan, since they entered the palace for a month, the emperor has not turned over their brand, one is that Beidan is entangled in things, and the other is that she is still cleaning up the chaos in the court, so this is a rare good opportunity for her.

Sure enough, the Qing concubine was very atmospheric and decent, and the palace banquet scene painted by her slender jade hand was vivid, the Son of Heaven in the seat was majestic and domineering, and there were nine golden dragons above her head Tengyun in the sky, these behemoths occupied a corner of the sky, comparable to the gods in the next world, and the other beauties in the hall had all kinds of beauty methods, and the beauties set off the handsomeness and freedom of the Son of Heaven.

After showing it to the Queen Mother, they were all praised again and again, and the emperor was even more happy, and rewarded her with a lot of things.

The Queen Mother answered at this time: "Concubine Qing's painting is really unmatched by the concubine." Speaking of painting, the mourning family remembered the time when the second niece entered the palace to accompany the mourning family, and she also made a lot of paintings, but compared to the Qing concubine, she still lost a little. After speaking, she looked at Shen Shuzhao.

The Queen Mother's words only said that she lost slightly, and the implication was that both of them were still above the best.

The emperor asked curiously, "Is it?" It turns out that the cousin is so hidden. ”

"In that case, the palace has said a little more, my cousin has lived in the palace for a long time, and she is counted as her own," the queen smiled, "Why don't you take advantage of the opportunity to make a painting?" ”

Shen Shuzhao hurriedly excused herself: "The courtiers haven't painted for a long time, and their skills are rusty, and they are not as good as their piano skills." ”

"Then let's try playing the piano." The queen pushed the boat down the river, she turned around and raised her hand, "Come on, prepare the piano for Miss Shen Er." ”

With these words, Shen Shuzhao walked down from the seat, but when the piano she prepared was presented by the palace maid, she couldn't help but be taken aback - this is ...... Golden Phoenix Feather String Guqin? Shen Shuzhao stroked it incredulously, this qin was made by the former dynasty Dujun for the beloved concubine of his life, this kind of qin will only be treasured in the royal treasury, and it will not be seen lightly on weekdays, so the queen is ...... Why?

The queen said at this time: "The name of this qin is called the Golden Phoenix Feather String, which was given by the Queen Mother shortly after the palace entered the middle palace. Bengong thought to himself that since Miss Shen Er presented the piano today, why don't you let the famous piano collected by the Queen Mother add a more style to you, so good? ”

Shen Shuzhao retreated again and again, "The queen is too attentive, and the identity of a courtier is not worthy of such a good piano." ”

"It's just a little bit of a small effort to help the second lady play the piano, and the second miss has lived up to the heart of the palace."

"Yes, this qin is the first of ten thousand qins in the palace, the concubines have lived in the deep palace for many years and have never seen the real body of this qin, the queen is really generous."

"Since the queen is willing to take it out, the second lady should also be willing to use it."

The concubines led by Concubine Yan continued to echo, and the audience was also discussing.

The Queen Mother hurriedly stopped, "Shen Shuzhao is just a folk girl, how can she touch the things in the queen's library?" A few days ago, the mourning family summoned someone to bring her piano from the Shen Mansion, which was suitable for her. ”

The queen made an embarrassed look, "Queen Mother, but this piano ...... Whether the sound of the piano or the touch of the strings are superior, the second lady is a person who learns the qin, she should understand the power of the golden phoenix qin, how many pianists in the Wei Dynasty want to be able to contact the Shenqin recorded in this history book one day, and a hundred acres of fertile land can't be exchanged for a piano, so the palace decided to take it out and let the second miss play it once, but the second miss shirked it like this...... Alas, maybe it's the palace that has taken it upon permission, Da Changqiu, take back Curry. ”

Shen Shuzhao only said that she was worthy of being a queen at this time, every sentence was leaky, she hid several sharp swords, and finally emphasized Curry, is this an allusion that she looks down on her? Before she entered the palace, she was accused of being pampered and arrogantly ignoring the queen's good intentions.

Although she had deduced that the prophecy was not made by the Xiao and Chen families, because it was too obvious, but today the queen made her stumble in public, I don't know whether she deliberately made her the target of public criticism, or if she wanted to use the qin to frame her, but either way, the connection between the queen and Qin Tianjian's prophecy deepened...... Then, she also saw the same subtle look in the emperor's eyes as herself, and it seemed that the emperor thought the same as her.

"The queen mother, how can the courtier He De borrow the piano of the mother of the country? Even if the queen has mercy, the courtiers must not use it, otherwise it will be a great crime of disrespect! ”

Then, she waited for the emperor to speak.

Soon, I heard the emperor's voice say: "Mengru, it's not that she doesn't understand etiquette, it's because she knows etiquette too much, so she doesn't dare to accept your valuables." This piano was given to you by the Queen Mother, which means that it is a special item for the middle palace, you are the queen, she is just a people's girl, how can you use your things? ”

He affectionately called the queen's maiden name among the concubines, so the queen pursed her lips and smiled, "The concubine understands." Pull it down. ”

The crisis was resolved, and the palace people replaced the piano prepared by the Queen Mother for Shen Shuzhao. At this time, in a place where no one was discovered, Concubine Shen Zhuangzhao's face felt extremely embarrassed - could it be that her mother's plan was discovered? She fidgeted, and her expression gradually became unnatural.

After Shen Shuzhao changed the piano, she sat down, teased it slightly, and then began to play, she opened her mouth and sang tactfully: "Autumn wood is green, and its leaves are yellow...... There are birds in the mountains, gathered in the bud mulberry! Raising hairiness and describing the light ...... Vested in the clouds, upstream Qufang! ”

The words tell a story, which means that in the autumn season, everything withers, the larks sing happily, the green mountains and green waters nurture their plumes, and the colorful light is born, so a colorful glow falls from the sky, bringing it to the best golden cage.

The song is sad, like a lonely cold snow descending from a high snow country, floating coldly in the sky, overlooking the bustling world of joys and sorrows below.

After the song, everyone was surprised, they didn't expect that a concubine woman could learn such skills, it seems that the Shen Mansion is really attentive to cultivating women. But everyone else only knows what they mean, but a few people who read through the poetry book quickly understood that the second half of the poem is that the bird has entered the golden cage but no longer has a happy face, nor does it sing, so it thinks about freedom day and night until it dies in the cage...... They glanced at the emperor and saw that he didn't react at all, there was only infatuation in his eyes, and they didn't dare to say much.

"I didn't expect to meet a woman who sang Wang Zhaojun's words so movingly...... It's really rare. ”

"Your Majesty, among all the nieces of the mourning family, she and Zhuang Zhao are the most outstanding in singing, not to mention that you like it, and the mourning family doesn't like it either. It's just that now Zhuang Zhao has married into the royal family, the third lady has designated Jiang Mansion, and the others have already been married, leaving her unmarried, alas, the mourning family is sometimes very sad. ”

"The queen mother, the concubine body feels that it is just right, since the queen mother and the emperor like her so much, it is better to welcome the second lady into the palace as a concubine, the concubine sees that there are Yan sisters in the palace, and there will be more Shen sisters in the future - and the concubine will also have someone to accompany her in the future, what does the queen mother think?"

As soon as the queen said this, a virtuous and dignified image jumped in front of her - everyone did not expect that she was the first person to speak out as the emperor's concubine! These few words of hers alone are enough to remain in the history books for future generations to be elected as a virtuous queen!

The Queen Mother and the Emperor were satisfied with her knowledge of etiquette, so with the approval of the Queen Mother, the Emperor immediately issued an edict to seal the Queen Mother's mother family, the second daughter of Shen Taishi into the palace, and gave her the position of beauty to live in Qingqiuxuan. The Shen Mansion was once again beautiful in the eyes of the concubines, they were half envious and half jealous of Shen Shuzhao, and finally they all set their eyes on the Yuan Concubine, with a little sympathy.

Shen Shuzhao, who heard the emperor's order, knelt down in a hurry to thank her, she was expressionless when she heard similar words again, and all she could think about was helping the emperor suppress the forces of his relatives as soon as possible and then leaving the palace.

After returning to her seat, the concubines under the Queen Mother's henchmen all came to say hello to her, a good sister, extremely intimate, Shen Shuzhao suddenly felt uncomfortable after hearing this, as if she was in the middle of a lot of beasts, and the smell of rouge powder from these concubines spread, making her almost breathless. In the midst of the crowd, she tried to look in that direction to find a familiar back, but she didn't expect that there was no figure of the person in the seat, so she felt her heart empty.

In the high position, the queen and Concubine Xi and others all watched coldly what was happening under the seat, and suddenly, the queen noticed that a hoarfrost robe flashed in the corner of her eye, she turned her eyes to look, and just found a figure walking towards the apse, but she didn't know who it was, so she turned her head again.

After the congratulations were over, everyone returned to their original positions, and after sitting down, Shen Shuzhao felt that many of the daughters of the family reciprocated with malicious eyes, she accepted them all indifferently, pitiful, she was just a chess piece, and they were all jealous of the wrong person.

Immediately after that, the emperor signaled the palace banquet to continue, and the atmosphere in the palace soon became active again because of the Yuefu singer, Shen Shuzhao breathed a sigh of relief, Wei Yang was not here, so she was stunned for a while, but when she came back to her senses, Wei Yang had already returned.

"Your Royal Highness the eldest princess, where have you just been?"

It was the queen who asked.

"Lonely, I'm just bored and go out for a walk."

"The palace banquet will end soon, the princess is not too anxious, eat more sour to relieve boredom."

"Thank you for your care."

After talking, the queen got up and announced that she was starting to draw the performers, the palace maid lowered her head and brought the underglaze colorful box to her with both hands, and the queen reached in to choose-everyone present, even Shen Shuzhao didn't expect that what happened next would be so bizarre and weird......