Chapter 8: The Banquet
When the prince walked to the political hall, Emperor Xuande Li Chaozhi was drinking hot tea, and the prince stepped forward quickly and handed the food box to Gonggong Liu.
"What is this?" Emperor Xuande asked, pointing to the food box.
"Erchen went to Zhongshu Province to send excerpts, and happened to come across the pastries sent by Prime Minister An's granddaughter, Erchen tasted it, it tasted excellent, and asked for a few for his father to try." The prince said honestly.
"I'll try it." Emperor Xuande put down the tea bowl in his hand and became interested.
After Emperor Xuande tasted one, he ate a few more, "I haven't seen this pastry yet, reward." ”
The prince is very happy, Emperor Xuande has become less and less interested in eating as he has aged in recent years, and today this pastry is in the eyes of the emperor.
"Prime Minister Chuan An." Emperor Xuande happily wrote the word "filial piety" with a stroke of his pen, "Prince, you come to write the holy decree." ”
Emperor Xuande's words made the prince raise his head in surprise and glanced at Emperor Xuande, and after reading it, he was shocked, his father had not written for several years.
An Zhihe soon arrived at the political hall, at this time An Shuyao didn't know that her pastries had been eaten by the emperor, and she was holding her eldest sister An Shuxue's daughter Ning Yuhan and playing.
"It's still a little girl who is liked." An Shuyao said with a smile.
"You're just eccentric." An Shuyao's second sister, An Shulan, said with a smile.
"How can there be eccentricity, I have prepared gifts for several children." An Shuyao said with disgust.
"Mother, look at it, now she can speak." An Shulan stepped forward and hugged Qin Rushuang's arm and said coquettishly.
"How old a person is and still coquettish." Qin Rushuang said with a smile.
"No matter how old I am, I'm your child, aren't I?" An Shulan's commotion made the whole courtyard burst into laughter.
An Shuyao looked at the appearance of the two sisters and knew that she was not angry in her in-law's family, An Shuxue was the concubine of the prince of Ninghou, An Shulan was married to the capital guard, and the two brothers-in-law's character was excellent.
"Shuyan didn't come back this time?" An Shulan turned her head and asked An Shuxue.
"Don't you know?" An Shuxue looked at An Shulan with a smile.
"Know what?" An Shulan looked at An Shuxue suspiciously.
"The third sister is pregnant, it's been three months, and my grandmother won't let her come back, and I'll come back when the fetus is stable." An Shuxue explained.
"I really don't know." An Shulan said with a smile.
Qin Rushuang's side was very lively, Liu Miaozhu and Wang Ruoxi commanded their subordinates to prepare for the afternoon banquet, and placed the banquet place in the pavilion in the front garden, the ice in the garden lake had melted, and grass had already sprouted.
Some of the frost-resistant flowers in the greenhouse have been moved, Liu Miaozhu is concerned about today's pastries and tea, and Wang Ruoxi looks at the people who put the tea sets and flower pots.
"Why don't you two call me." Qin Rushuang hurried over and said.
"It's not that Xue'er and Lan'er are back, I want you to talk more." Liu Miaozhu spoke first.
"You should have called me earlier, they could have helped, wouldn't they?" Qin Rushuang said happily.
"Second aunt, do you think we're going to do us a favor?" An Shulan spoke first.
"Look at this sharp-tongued man, when did I say that." Liu Miaozhu nodded An Shulan's forehead and said.
"This girl got along well with you before she left the cabinet, but now she blames Lan'er for her sharp mouth." Wang Ruoxi laughed and joked.
"You're here to bully me." Liu Miaozhu pretended to be angry.
For a while, the front yard was full of laughter, and only the backyard of Anfu could laugh like this, the lake of the two large gardens of Anfu was surrounded by a half-person-high fence, and the most likely place for things to happen in the backyard of the high house was the lake, Zhou's suffered when he was young, and since he hit there, the lake was fenced, and the girls of Anfu were taught not to go to the lake to wander around.
After lunch, the gate of Anfu was occupied by vehicles coming and going, and the ladies and ladies of each family entered the West Corner Gate, and Qin Rushuang took An Shuyao and An Shuqing to greet the ladies of each family.
"This is Yao'er, it's so big, you just hide it, and don't let Yao'er go to the banquet." Yang, the wife of the military department's Shangshu, smiled and took Qin Rushuang's hand and said.
"Yao'er has always been in poor health, and this time she has been sick for the longest time, but I'm worried about it." Qin Rushuang said with a smile on her face.
"Blessed is this kid, don't worry." Yang patted the back of Qin Rushuang's hand and said.
Qin Rushuang entered the door with a few wives who were friends in the boudoir, and when everyone arrived, the banquet began, men and women were separated, An Shuyao and An Shuqing stayed with a few good little sisters.
An Shuhuan and his sons drank tea and wrote poems together, Li Muhan sat bored on Tuanpu, and his post still asked An Shuyu with a cheeky face to come.
"Where's your fourth sister?" Li Muhan asked An Shuyu quietly.
"You have been asking my fourth sister recently, don't make it bad, if you do, my grandfather and uncle won't let you go." An Shuyu stared at Li Muhan and said.
"Just ask, when have I done any bad to the girl." Li Muhan said with a weak heart.
"You haven't done anything bad to the girl, didn't you bully the second lady of Zhang Shangshu's family?" An Shuyu looks like I know you very well.
"It wasn't she who provoked me, so I let people throw her in the suburbs." Li Muhan gritted his teeth as soon as he mentioned Miss Zhang's second miss.
"Hehe, then I also want to thank my sister for not going out much and not touching you." An Shuyu said with the corners of her mouth twitching.
Li Muhan no longer mentioned An Shuyao, and talked about other things with An Shuyu, An Shuyao's head was about to grow when she stayed with a group of young ladies, and An Shuyao had a headache when you said a word.
"Fourth sister, do you want to rest for a while?" An Shuqing saw that An Shuyao was a little uncomfortable, and whispered in An Shuyao's ear.
"No, I'm fine." An Shuyao said with a smile.
"Shu Yao, you should also participate in more banquets in the future, every time you attend a banquet, I feel bored when you are not there." Gao Yajie, the second granddaughter of the Ministry of Shangshu, complained.
"You came with your eldest sister today to see my fourth sister?" An Shuqing said with a smile while holding her handkerchief.
"Or else? There are few opportunities to go out, and my mother won't let me deliver the post as soon as your fourth sister gets sick. Gao Yajie pouted.
"You're the skin." An Shuyao said with a smile.
"You know, our family is just me and my eldest sister and two daughters, not even a concubine, the eldest sister is five years older than me, I don't have anyone to talk to, I'm not like you, Shuqing and you are only a little worse." Gao Yajie put down the teacup in her hand and complained.
"Look, your mouth is really not in vain." An Shuyao smiled happily.
An Shuyao didn't talk about anything here, someone came to ask the ladies to discuss poetry with the male guests, Li Muhan saw An Shuyao at this time, and just remembered An Shuyao in his heart at a glance, this girl still smiled beautifully.