During the Lantern Festival, the emperor invited officials above the third grade in the capital to enter the palace for a banquet, and the queen mother also invited the officials' families to the palace to have fun. Generally, only the children of the concubines can participate in this kind of royal gathering, but the third brother is an only son, and he is appointed by the emperor as the three-rank imperial envoy, so he can naturally participate. And the Queen Mother also personally ordered me to participate, and Concubine Ruan also personally invited Ding Muyan, and all of a sudden, several people from Ding's Mansion were appointed by the royal family to participate in this "honor banquet", and the limelight was unmatched for a while.

In fact, there is nothing to eat at this kind of banquet, and the upper ones are busy showing their affinity, the lower ones are busy showing loyalty, and the peers are anxious to show friendship, and the whole scene is flat with singing and dancing. I can't help but sigh: what a harmonious society!

Except for the Nine Emperors, who did not arrive in Anseong, the other princes all participated in the banquet, so it also attracted the aristocratic ladies to compete for beauty. After all, except for the crown prince, the other princes have not yet been engaged. This time is different from the poetry meeting, the scope is wider (basically the daughters of the relatives are involved); See better (no curtains); The choice is more free (all the princes are here)......

I was only wearing a plain white skirt, Ding Muqing's body was actually a little weak and very cold, so I didn't care about showing any graceful posture, I just wanted to wrap myself in the shape of a bear. At the same time, I also knew that it was impossible to fight with Jiang Yunlin, so I never had the heart to fight, I just wanted to look at him from afar; But Ding Muyan is dressed in a full dress, a water-red floor-length skirt, with the same color shoulders of fox fur, and her waist is tied with a gauze belt, which shows her thin waist more and more, which makes her charming and moving.

After arriving, I first went to meet the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother saw that I did not invite me to sit with me as last time to show affection, but rewarded me with a white jade bracelet. The jade color of this jade bracelet is crystal clear and delicate, emitting a soft and faint light under the moonlight, and it is warm to the touch of the touch. I understood that the Queen Mother was making up for the regret that I failed to win the award at the last poetry meeting, and I was moved and bowed sincerely: "Thank you, the Empress Dowager, the last time the courtiers were confused for a while, but the Queen Mother was generous and gave this treasure, and the courtiers were really frightened." ”

The Queen Mother motioned to the palace maid beside her to help me up, and said softly: "You said that you have no intention, how can the mourning family blame you." Today, the magnates in the capital are all there, and it is inconvenient for the mourning family to be too close to you, so you take care of yourself. Go ahead. ”

I call it a step back.

The banquet soon began, and at the banquet, the emperor personally announced the marriage of the third brother and Du Yuxuan. The third brother stood up, his long body was erect, and with his eyes shining with excitement, he was so outstanding that I couldn't take my eyes off. And Du Yuxuan also got up to thank him, a pair of crescent moon eyes were shy and pretty, and the two stood together and were truly a pair of beautiful people.

At this time, Ruan Guifei said quietly: "Your Majesty, I only remember other people's sons, our Yunlin is two years older than Mu Yu." ”

I knew it had nothing to do with me, but I still raised my head sharply and looked at Jiang Yunlin. Who knew that when he met his thoughtful gaze, his eyes were glued together, and after a while, he suddenly smiled and stood up. I was startled, and hurriedly withdrew my gaze, but I was bewildered by this smile again, and secretly despised myself in my heart. But he was very concerned about what he was going to say, so he held his breath and concentrated.

"Father, mother, and son-in-law have no plans to get married yet. Now the Hu Barbarians in the northwest are still harassing us, and the Zhu Dan Kingdom in the south is now subservient on the surface, but it has always been ready to move and want independence. As a man, he should be the first to serve the country, and the country will not be decided, and the sons and daughters will not get married! ”

"Well said!" Before the emperor and Concubine Ruan could speak, the third brother had already applauded. I secretly said that it was not good, and sure enough, the third brother knelt down to the emperor: "The minister went to Ancheng to inspect this time, and saw the majesty of our army, the Nine Highnesses are talented in the sky, and they are proud of the battlefield!" The ministers yearn for it, and they want to follow Marshal Du and His Royal Highness the Ninth to defend the country and make meritorious contributions, and invite the emperor's ministers to go to Ancheng, even if they start from ordinary city guards, the ministers have no complaints! ”

Concubine Ruan never thought that she wanted to marry her son, but she caused so many things, and she was stunned for a while, and she didn't know how to deal with it. However, the emperor reacted quickly: "Emperor, Aiqing, you have this ambition, and I am also very pleased." But as the saying goes, if you don't sweep a house, how can you sweep the world, you have the country in mind, but you must know that the country does not have to go to the battlefield! Especially Mu Yu has just married the daughter of the Du family, why can you bear to leave **. Moreover, the position of the imperial envoy to inspect the official system and set things right is as important to the imperial court, and there is no need to be obsessed with it. ”

Jiang Yunlin immediately thanked the emperor for his teachings, and the third brother seemed to want to say something, but he didn't open his mouth and bowed down.

I exhaled softly, only to realize that my fingers were slightly numb because I was too nervous, so I took the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. In the mouth, I felt that it was different from the wine I had drunk. In fact, in my previous life, it was common to drink for entertainment, and I drank averagely, but I was brave and dared to drink, so my opponents were generally frightened by my momentum and retreated first. At that time, the wine was generally between 45 and 52 degrees, and it was very spicy, which I didn't like. And when I got here, no one in the Xiangfu let me drink at all, so I haven't drunk here for more than four years. Today's wine should be a special brew in the palace, with a little bit of osmanthus and a little bit of plum flavor, very sweet. It is estimated that the degree is not high, at most a dozen degrees. So I poured three more cups and finally calmed down. I looked up again, but I met that gaze again. Maybe it was the effect of the alcohol, and I actually smiled at him and raised my glass. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled and drank it all. After I drank this cup, I felt that something was wrong, I thought I was in a hurry and sweated profusely.

At this time, Concubine Yang stood up and proposed that she had heard that Yang Caiqin, the daughter of the Ministry of Rites, had outstanding dancing skills and wanted her to perform a dance. At that time, all this was like a rehearsal, Concubine Yang was the sister of the Ministry of Rites Shangshu and Yang Caiqin's aunt, so naturally she also had to plan for the Yang family. It's just that she herself is not favored, and Yang Caiqin is not a very outstanding character, but she always has to be outstanding on this occasion, even if she can't enter the eyes of the royal family, it is good to have a powerful concubine who has quite a family background.

Yang Caiqin's body is delicate, and she feels very agile when she dances, and this dance seems to have been prepared for a long time, and the choreography is quite painstaking, but the result is really attention-grabbing.

I saw that everyone in the audience was attracted by this dance, and stood up gently, wanting to go for a walk and sober up. Rulan stepped forward and wanted to help me join me, I waved my hand lightly and said, "I'll just walk around and go back, you don't have to follow, the two of them are conspicuous together." "Rulan put a cloak on me and hesitated for a moment, but finally didn't follow.

I shook my head, I shouldn't be drunk. Today's banquet is set in the Purple Moon Garden of the Imperial Garden, and I walk forward slowly, and from time to time I can meet the palace maids who come and go. I saw a plum forest in front of me, and there was a lot of snow on the branches. Some people like white plums, some people like red plums, but I prefer plums. Because the plum is like jade, and I always feel that the aroma of the plum is colder and more distant. I have never seen such a large piece of Merlin, and people are in this quiet aroma and their minds are drifting away little by little, infected by the aroma, bewitched by the aroma, and intoxicated by the aroma. Led forward by this Merlin...... By the time I could react, I had already passed through the plum grove and entered a garden called the "Incense Pavilion".