Chapter 37: The Mid-Autumn Banquet (I)
The night has quietly fallen unconsciously, shuttling through the imperial garden, the palace people who are still busy, immediately lit countless palace lanterns, looking from afar, the harem is shrouded in this sea of lights, lively and beautiful.
Ling Xi stood on the palace banquet and looked around, this was the first time she had organized an inner palace banquet after entering the palace, and the Queen Mother asked her to preside over this year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Ling Xi didn't think that Wang Shuyue's illness was really so serious that she couldn't even handle the palace banquets that she was good at, vaguely, Ling Xi just felt that her mother-in-law was probably planning something, anyway, she couldn't push it off, Xiang Hongxuan had already pushed her in front of everyone's eyes, the chaos in the harem, she couldn't hide if she wanted to. Fortunately, she just needs to help Xiang Hongxuan share her worries and difficulties, and Xiang Hongxuan doesn't want her to be a veritable queen, of course, she doesn't want to.
"Queen Mother, Mrs. Wang sent someone to say that she was a little unwell and would come back later, and Mrs. Hua also sent someone back and forth, saying that she was now in the Feiyu Palace, and she would come to this palace banquet with Her Majesty later, and the other palace concubines had already arrived." Ginkgo said softly.
For Xiang Hongxuan, none of these harem women are important, and the two important ones did not come. But for Ling Xi, this is enough, it's better if the two of them don't come, otherwise the palace banquet that Ling Xi worked so hard to organize might be destroyed little by little in the vinegar altar of these two.
"Is the Queen Mother here?" Ling Xi asked with concern.
And the Queen Mother, who is much more important than any woman in the harem. Ling Xi heard that the Queen Mother's health has not been very good in recent years, and the Queen Mother rarely attends the banquets in the harem for a long time. At the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Ling Xi had to serve her mother-in-law who was not in good health, thinking of the queen mother's drastic methods and the majesty of scaring people to death, Ling Xi didn't dare to snub the queen mother.
"Aunt An has already gone to Yixiang Palace to invite the Queen Mother, and it is estimated that she will be there later." Ginkgo replied.
There was a commotion not far away, Ling Xi saw that it was Xiang Hongxuan's dragon chariot arrived, she hurriedly walked towards Xiang Hongxuan, only to see Xiang Hongxuan calmly walking down from under the dragon chariot, immediately he turned around again, gently held Feng Ying's hand, and hugged her waist, he hugged Feng Yingying from the dragon chariot, Feng Yingying's face immediately turned crimson, which made her even more charming. Xiang Hongxuan slowly put down Feng Yingying, and Ling Xi immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the palace banquet is ready, please take a seat." Ling Xi said respectfully, looking at Xiang Hongxuan who had just doted on Feng Yingying in public, Ling Xi felt that it was better to let Xiang Hongxuan take a seat quickly, and the eyes of the other palace concubines were afraid that they would be able to breathe fire, of course, this is not the worst result, in case the Queen Mother and Mrs. Wang came, seeing Xiang Hongxuan and Feng Yingying showing their affection so much, it is estimated that tonight's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet will be in turmoil.
Xiang Hongxuan glanced at Ling Xi, today Ling Xi really dressed up seriously, the big phoenix crown on her head was graceful and luxurious, and the red dress brought out Ling Xi's white skin, and also made Ling Xi a little more different, although it was not amazing enough, but it also made Xiang Hongxuan's eyes shine.
"The queen has worked hard."
Xiang Hongxuan hugged Feng Yingying and slowly walked to the banquet, he deliberately let Feng Yingying sit beside him, and Ling Xi sat down on the side with interest. The other palace concubines saw that the emperor and the empress were seated, and they all took their own seats.
The palace banquet officially began, and the singers walked to the center of the banquet one after another and began to dance. I heard that Xiang Hongxuan is very fond of singing and dancing, Ling Xi specially selected a few singers with the most beautiful dancing postures from the palace teaching department, she thought Xiang Hongxuan should be satisfied.
After a dance, as soon as the singers retreated, the queen mother slowly walked into the banquet, Xiang Hongxuan hurriedly got up to greet the queen mother, Ling Xi also followed Xiang Hongxuan's pace, and other harem women also followed behind the emperor.
"Your Majesty, it's too late to mourn the family." The Queen Mother said weakly, there was no trace of blood on her face, Ling Xi couldn't help but sigh, it has only been a few years, and the Queen Mother who used to be able to scare people to death with just her smile is really old.
"Where is the queen mother, the son is not filial, he should personally go to Yixiang Palace to invite the mother to the banquet." Xiang Hongxuan immediately helped the Queen Mother to take her seat.
"Your Majesty has a lot of opportunities, you don't have to worry about the old woman of the mourning family, the mourning family just doesn't know how many more such festivals you can accompany your majesty." Speaking of the Queen Mother, she was a little teary-eyed, she sobbed softly, and said: "This is a great festival, don't say such unlucky words." The mourning family is late, and it should have been punished, but the mourning family prepared a gift for His Majesty, so it is good to treat the mourning family as punished. ”
Xiang Hongxuan may have also been touched by the Queen Mother's words just now, his eyes were a little ruddy, and when he heard the Queen Mother say this, he hurriedly nodded in response.
The Queen Mother gave Mama Qin beside her a look, and Mama Qin clapped her hands. I saw a group of singers surrounding a woman with a white veil covering her face, slowly walking into the center of the banquet.
A burst of silk and bamboo music slowly sounded, and the singers immediately dispersed to the surroundings, and the woman with the white gauze in the center danced elegantly in an instant, perhaps because of the faint moonlight, maybe because of the translucent lights at the palace banquet, the white gauze woman's lower body pink dress, dotted with huge pearls, immediately revealed a little fluorescence, and the pair of patch jade shoes under the woman's feet were also more crystal clear under this starry fluorescence.
Suddenly, the musicians played a rapid melody, and I saw the woman strolling along the melody and spinning, and with the rhythm of the melody fast-forwarding, the woman's spinning pace was also accelerating, plus the jewelry and jade of her body, under her graceful dancing, it was all one, like a fairy from outside the sky. Xiang Hongxuan couldn't help but put down the wine glass in his hand and looked at the woman in the center who was still spinning.
"Nanzhu clothes, jade shoes." Feng Yingying muttered.
Ling Xi inadvertently heard Feng Yingying's self-talk, she looked at the singers who were dancing, these women were several times better than the singers she carefully selected in the palace teaching department, it can be seen that these singers are not from the court, I heard that the most popular in the city recently is Nan Ji, I am afraid that these women with superb dancing skills are all expensive Nan Ji. The queen mother is so bloody, she is Nan Ji, and she is the precious Nanzhu clothes in the south, and the rare white jade shoes in Xihua, it is obvious that the queen mother is offering a beauty to Xiang Hongxuan, but can the Wang family still have a daughter who can enter the palace?
Suddenly, the white gauze woman who was still spinning just now leaned over and jumped, and danced in front of Xiang Hongxuan, she picked up the imperial wine in front of the dragon table, turned around and bent down, and raised the imperial wine above her head to Xiang Hongxuan's eyes, Xiang Hongxuan took the wine glass in the woman's hand, drank it in one gulp, and her eyes were still staring at the woman intently.
Ling Xi raised her eyes and looked at the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother's face was already full of smiles, but Feng Yingying's face didn't seem to be very good, Feng Yingying picked up the wine glass with some displeasure and poured herself a drink.
Suddenly, the music stopped, and the white-gauze woman ended gracefully surrounded by Nan Ji. Xiang Hongxuan couldn't help but start clapping his hands and praise, and the white gauze woman walked towards Xiang Hongxuan generously, kneeling down respectfully to Xiang Hongxuan.
Xiang Hongxuan got up and walked to the woman's side with some excitement, helped her up, and coincidentally, the woman's veil fell down the moment the woman got up.
"Mrs. Wang, how could it be you." Xiang Hongxuan's eyes showed a little joy.
"Your Majesty, is the concubine dancing well?" Mrs. Wang asked shyly.
"My cousin always surprises me." Xiang Hongxuan replied with some confusion.
"Your Majesty, the concubine is a little uncomfortable, so I will leave first." Maybe it was because she saw Xiang Hongxuan's confused eyes, maybe it was because of Wang Shuyue's amazing dancing skills today, Feng Yingying couldn't hold back the jealousy and anger in her heart, and she didn't care about the occasion, so she walked away.
"Yingying." Xiang Hongxuan just wanted to keep Feng Yingying, but Wang Shuyue fell into his arms and dragged him to death.
"Your Majesty, please show the concubine, the concubine's foot seems to have just twisted, it hurts." Wang Shuyue said pitifully.
Just now, Xiang Hongxuan was still thinking about the ape, but now he was pestered by Feng Yingying's temper and Wang Shuyue's nonsense, which suddenly reminded Xiang Hongxuan of Wang Shuyue and Feng Yingying's various practices over the years, and the little fun just now has long disappeared.
"Your Majesty, since Mrs. Hua is unwell, she is not suitable to sleep today, Shuyue dances for Your Majesty today, but she has been practicing dancing for a long time, so it is better for Your Majesty to rest in the Yinghua Palace today." The Queen Mother said with some displeasure.
Xiang Hongxuan couldn't help frowning, if he really rested in the Yinghua Palace today, it is estimated that Feng Yuying would be angry, but if he left Wang Shuyue in his arms, then the queen mother is estimated to be going crazy, Xiang Hongxuan was a little in a dilemma, he looked up at Ling Xi, who was still eating leisurely, and suddenly became a little angry, he was so sad that he was about to cry, Ling Xi was not a good thing, she didn't know her mission.
Xiang Hongxuan's eyes immediately glared at Ling Xi, his eyes revealed anger, and Ling Xi couldn't turn a blind eye if he wanted to.
"Queen Mother, Mrs. Wang's sprained foot, it is estimated that it is not convenient to sleep, today is the day of Mrs. Hua's bedtime, the people in the palace have already taken care of it, if it is changed temporarily, I am afraid that there will be some omissions, it is better to do this, the concubine will arrange Mrs. Wang's bed tomorrow, you see it." Ling Xi hurriedly got up and walked in front of the Queen Mother to relieve the siege for Xiang Hong.
"Someone, don't send Mrs. Wang back to Yinghua Palace quickly, and quickly ask the imperial doctor to treat Mrs. Wang's foot injury." Ling Xi hurriedly summoned the palace people to send Wang Shuyue back to the palace, Wang Shuyue looked unhappy, she had painstakingly planned a stunning appearance for a long time, and in this way, Ling Xi ended her life ahead of schedule, her eyes were full of dissatisfaction with Ling Xi, she looked at Xiang Hongxuan reluctantly, and was helplessly helped out of the banquet by the palace people.