When the ministers came to the Daqing Palace, they finally found that something was wrong. Kong Daofu is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and he was the first to see the problem.

"This year's Changning Festival, how can the ritual specifications of the celebration be the same as the emperor's Qianyuan Festival? Isn't that transgression? Kong Daofu was a little angry and said to his very colleagues around him. In the eyes of these courtiers who are influenced by Confucianism and pay attention to etiquette, the queen mother is suspected of seizing the throne by doing this!

In fact, even if Kong Daofu didn't say it, everyone could see it, but everyone just opened one eye and closed one eye, but Kong Daofu said it, and everyone thought that they could no longer pretend to ignore it.

"Yuan Lu, the Queen Mother is 60 years old this year, and in order to look good, the palace may be more grandly arranged, but fortunately, the specifications of this righteous system are not the same as those of the Qianyuan Festival, don't you see that the placement of the incense case is missing a few things?" Ding Wei grabbed Kong Daofu and comforted him.

Everyone saw that the incense case was really a little different from that of the Qianyuan Festival, Kong Daofu looked at Ding Wei coldly, he saw such small details at a glance, it seems that this idea was Ding Wei!

Seeing that the ceremony is imminent, even if it is withdrawn now, it is too late to replace it, and it can't be disturbed by the Queen Mother's birthday, Kong Daofu and others had to shake their heads and give up.

The birthday of the Queen Mother is definitely a major event in the Great Song Dynasty, especially Liu E is still listening to the government. Many people go out of their way to prepare gifts in order to make themselves stand out and attract the attention of the Queen Mother. But who is the Queen Mother, and what valuable things has she never seen? So if you want to attract the attention of the Queen Mother, you have to be willing to spend your money! Some people can even pay for a year......

But despite this, most officials are still looking forward to the Queen Mother's birthday, why? Because every birthday of the Queen Mother is a treasure tasting meeting, the court officials will offer their gifts in turn, usually the deacon eunuchs will read out the content of the gift on the spot, if the offering is really amazing enough, everyone will praise, the person who offered will also feel the light on the face. Of course, the more important thing is that the Queen Mother remembers you as a person and understands your "filial piety".

There is no order in which the ministers give gifts, some people's gifts are not expensive enough, and they are embarrassed to hold back to the end, often offer things early, and some people feel that their gifts are very precious, and so on ordinary gifts are almost done, they will show their gifts, in order to stand out from the crowd and attract attention.

But this is also risky, if someone suddenly offers something more precious before you, then it is meaningless for you to offer later, the limelight has been robbed, it is better to take it out earlier, and it can still attract attention. Therefore, gifting is also a science, how to seize the opportunity to offer your gift, very test the vision of a person in the school.

The sacrificial ceremony of the Queen Mother's birthday was held in the Daqing Palace, after the sacrifice was completed, the ministers sat in the hall, as well as the two corridors outside the hall, each person was placed in front of all kinds of food, snacks, dried fruits, fruits were readily available, this birthday banquet was divided into several orders, there were different orders such as the first wine, the second, the third, and the fourth wine, and each wine would be served with different delicacies before each wine.

There is another important link before the banquet, that is, the birthday, the ministers take turns to congratulate the queen mother on her birthday, and the popular future is to contribute birthday gifts......

The first gift is the Dali Temple Qing Jiang Zongren, this person's official position is three products, he presented a pair of jade jade bracelets, this jade bracelet is wrapped with a brocade pa, jade round and full, green and transparent, at a glance is a superior thing, but it is worth a lot, it seems that Jiang Zongren is also a blood capital, this pair of jade bracelets have a thousand taels of silver.

I only heard Lei Yungong's screaming report: Jiang Zongrenjin, the secretary of Dali Temple, presented a pair of high-grade jade jade bracelets.

The Queen Mother smiled and nodded, and accepted the jade bracelet.

Jiang Zongren saw that the Queen Mother did not take it in his hand to take a closer look, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed, this pile of jade bracelets was brought back by him from Dali, Yunnan, and he wanted to offer them on the Queen Mother's 60th birthday to attract the attention of the Queen Mother, but he didn't expect the Queen Mother's vision to be so high, and he didn't look down on it at all.

As soon as Jiang Zongren offered the jade bracelet, some people scolded in their hearts: This Jiang Zongren was the first to offer such a gift, how could I be embarrassed to take out the shabby gift? Damn it.

The second one is Deng Guogong's current Shangshu Provincial Shangshu - Zhang Shixun, he is dedicated to a side of the inkstone, this inkstone is boxy, it seems that the rules and regulations are not outstanding, and there is even a little old under a closer look, is it not that Deng Guogong wants to fool the old inkstone?

Lei Yungong was a little dumbfounded, he looked at the old inkstone in a daze and was a little speechless, this ...... Do you want to report: a piece of broken inkstone?

The hussar general Cao Wei was a straight man, and he couldn't help but say: "Deng Guogong, what do you mean by getting a broken inkstone?" ”

Zhang Shixun glanced at him with disdain, and said proudly: "This thing is naturally worthless in the eyes of General Cao, but in the eyes of those who know the goods, hehe...... That's a lot of money. ”

"Father-in-law Lei, please borrow the inkstone to take a look." It was Kong Daofu, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, who spoke.

Lei Yungong casually handed the inkstone to Kong Daofu, Kong Daofu took it carefully, took it in his hand and looked at it carefully, he looked a little dignified, and knocked the inkstone a few times from time to time to listen to the crisp sound.

"Is it necessary for one side to be so dignified? It's better to hurry up and replace the next person as a gift. The military general behind Cao Wei complained a little.

"The knock is crisp, its sound is like a chime, the ink is like a frustration, the ink is like oil, the color is fresh and moist, and it is not damaged, it can be called the top grade of the inkstone, if Deng Guogong is a student, this inkstone should belong to Xu Gong inkstone, and it was used by Yan Zhenqing." Kong Daofu smiled and looked at the inkstone in his hand, shook his head and said.

"Yan Zhenqing? Yan Zhenqing, the founder of Yan Ti? "Most of the people here are literati, who hasn't heard of Yan Zhenqing's name?

"Master Kong, aren't you talking nonsense? How can you conclude that this inkstone is used by Yan Zhenqing? Du Yan, the waiter of the Criminal Department, questioned.

If Master Du has learned Yan Ti, he should know that the word "Qingchen" at the bottom of this inkstone is Yan Zhenqing's handwriting.

"Yes, Qingchen is indeed Yan Zhenqing's cousin." Someone nodded.

Du Yan took the inkstone, looked at it seriously, the corners of his mouth twitched twice, and sighed: "Sure enough, it is Yan Zhenqing's handwriting, I didn't expect Deng Guogong to have such a treasure." ”

Although Zhang Shixun is old, many things have been downplayed, but he can hear praise, or can't help but be a little proud, his only hobby in life is to collect inkstones, this Xu Gong inkstone is he got by accident some time ago, today I take this opportunity to dedicate to the Queen Mother, but also let everyone open their eyes.

"Deng Guogong presents Yan Zhenqing's handwriting, Xu Gongyan's side." Lei Yungong finally understood that this inconspicuous broken inkstone was probably more valuable than the pair of jade bracelets just now.

Liu E listened to what the adults said, and couldn't help but take it in her hand and look at it carefully, and then she put it back in the wooden box and said with a smile: "Deng Guogong has a heart." ”

"A broken inkstone, blown like a god, isn't it grinding?" A military general behind Cao Wei muttered.

As soon as he finished speaking, soon a group of civil officials cast disdainful glances at him, Cao Wei's face was a little unbearable, he turned around and glared at the subordinate fiercely, what a fool, it was embarrassing for him not to recognize what Yan Zhenqing's broken inkstone was just now, and now everyone unanimously agrees that this inkstone is very precious, and this idiot is still making a fool of himself here, which is really embarrassing.

"Deng Guogong's inkstone is really good, but it is not practical enough, the Queen Mother has a lot of opportunities, how can she have time to dance and ink all day long like you." Suddenly, a cold voice sounded not loud or small.

Everyone was busy looking for the voice, and it turned out to be Zhao Ji, the king of Xiaoyuan.

Since Zhao Ji dares to say this, he must have prepared a gift that he thinks is superior, and all the ministers know that the gifts he gives are often different, and he can win the favor of the Queen Mother every year, I don't know what he has prepared this year.

Zhao Ji saw that everyone was already attracted by him, so he walked out slowly and said, "Queen Mother, please accept the congratulatory gifts from your sons." After speaking, he took out an extremely small brocade box from his sleeve and handed it to Lei Yungong, Lei Yungong carefully took the brocade box that was only the size of half a palm, held it in the palm of his hand, and respectfully handed it to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother saw that this brocade box was extremely small, I don't know what could be contained in such a small box? Pearl? But it's too ordinary...... She slowly opened the brocade box, as soon as the brocade box was opened, she saw a dazzling light flashing, Liu E was a little surprised, only to see a small particle the size of a corn kernel lying inside, what is this transparent pearl-like thing? It's so crystal clear and so dazzling, it's so beautiful! Liu E couldn't help but take it out, she pinched it with two fingers, and held it up high to meet the sun.

Some ministers couldn't see what the Queen Mother was holding in their hands from a distance, but the ministers at the front saw it clearly, and they were also a little surprised, what is the dazzling thing that looks like jade and not jade, and looks like pearl and not pearl? How shiny.

If Li Ce was present, he would definitely be able to recognize it at a glance, that grain the size of a corn kernel turned out to be a big diamond!

"Jill, what is this?" Liu E played with it lovingly.

"Queen Mother, this thing was purchased by Naerchen from the hands of Tianzhu merchants, it is called a diamond, the texture is extremely hard, and it can even make marks on jade! The diamond is so brilliant that if you could make a pair of stud earrings by a skilled craftsman, it would be as bright as a star. Zhao Ji boasted proudly.

When the Queen Mother heard that if this beautiful diamond could be made into earrings and worn, it would be very brilliant, and it was the nature of all women to love beauty, even if Liu E was old, she was no exception.

Zhao Zhen was secretly anxious, Xiaoyuan King Zhao Ji was really prepared, and had to admit that this diamond was indeed very beautiful, and even he liked it very much at first sight, and the Queen Mother couldn't put it down at this time. What's worse is that his gift hasn't arrived yet!

Zhao Jijin offered a diamond, which instantly ignited the ** of the entire celebration, and all the people who saw it couldn't help but secretly admire, although some of the ministers behind didn't see the so-called "diamond" with their own eyes, they could listen to the gods of the colleagues in front of them, and they all secretly admired Zhao Ji's methods.

Those ministers who had not yet offered gifts originally wanted to wait for the opportunity to take out the treasure to show off, but now that they saw Zhao Ji's diamonds, they all lost their confidence, and everyone hurriedly offered gifts.

Since the Queen Mother received the diamonds, she has lost interest in other people's various noble calligraphy and paintings, jewelry and other things, and some people offer her only symbolically smiling.

This lasted for a cup of tea, and finally the number of people who offered gifts gradually decreased, and at this time, only a Cangmai voice said loudly: "Weichen Ding said, there is a gift for the Queen Mother." ”

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