Winter is coming.

The cold breath blew through the eaves of the palace wall, and it was cold as far as the eye could see. The bare branches creaked in the cold wind, and the branches pressed down, as if bowing down in the biting cold.

Jian Xiaozhu looked at the cold and high palace wall, and his gaze stretched all the way up to the end of the sky. The scenery there was silent and silent, but the royal palace, which was located behind the palace walls, was now a lively and hurried picture.

The ladies walked back and forth between the palaces, leaving behind a potted plant that bloomed in winter wherever they stopped. Even though the winter is awe-inspiring, these asters that still bloom in beautiful colors in cold weather add a touch of vitality to the whole court.

Flowers bloom on both sides of the road, and on the branches of the fallen trees, there are also gorgeous and delicate palace lamps. When the night comes, when the lights are turned on, the endless light reflects the bonsai blooming under the trees, and the colorful red light stretches like a brocade in the long dark night.

The splendid setting is not just because the Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching. Envoys from the Western Cloud Kingdom would also go to Dongyuan to meet with the rulers of the country on these days and congratulate the Empress Dowager on her birthday.

Jian Xiaozhu learned from Qiulan that this envoy from a foreign country was Yuan Heng, the nephew of the Empress Dowager.

Long ago, the daughter of the Empress Dowager, Princess Mingzhu, and the Xiyun Kingdom came to Dongyuan as an envoy

After the four princes met, they secretly fell in love. So in order to let the lovers finally become married, and even more so to make the peace between the two countries last for a long time, Princess Mingzhu married far away to Xiyun Kingdom. And the father of the four princes was also more competitive, and later sat on the throne of Xiyun Country with his outstanding political ability, and Princess Mingzhu also became the queen of Xiyun Kingdom.

After getting married, Princess Pearl gave birth to two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Yuan Ming, as his son-in-law, was named the crown prince of Xiyun Kingdom. Yuan Heng is the sixth prince of the Xiyun royal family, and he does not need to inherit the throne, so he has freedom of movement, and can come to Dongyuan as an envoy to pay tribute and treasures to maintain the relationship between the two countries, and come to visit the relatives in the royal family of Dongyuan Kingdom on behalf of his mother, who cannot leave the palace for physical reasons.

The people in the palace over there were busy for the upcoming birthday banquet, and in the Condensation Palace, Bai Condensation was frowning slightly, worried about the upcoming birthday of the Empress Dowager. Although Murong You was extremely fond of Bai Frost, he also gave many rewards to the Frost Condensation Palace. It's just something that can be bought in the market with money, and the Queen Mother naturally doesn't look down on it.

And Bai Ningshuang's family has been in trouble many years ago, and without the support of the family, it is difficult to rely on family power to obtain some rare treasures to present to the empress dowager like other concubines. At this juncture in front of him, it is very difficult for Bai Ningshuang to give a big gift to the Queen Mother.

This made Bai Ningshuang sigh at the window with a sad face all day long. So Jian Xiaozhu thought that maybe it was her turn to play a role.

According to the plot of the time-traveling novel, the heroine who travels to ancient times can combine modern knowledge to make some things from modern times that they have never seen for the nobles of the royal family here, which are often regarded as rare treasures and liked by ancient nobles. This made Jian Xiaozhu start to think about what could make Bai Ningshuang shine at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet.

It's just that thinking that the Empress Dowager doesn't like Bai Ningshuang very much, wouldn't it be self-defeating if she made something that made her old man unhappy.

Fortunately, Zhu Yantuo, who was traveling far away, brought a longevity multicolored bottle to Bai Ningshuang, which solved the urgent need of Bai Ningshuang. Jian Xiaozhu looked at this crystal clear bottle that could emit colorful light in the sun, and could only sigh that the technology of the ancients was very powerful, and Zhu Yan's collection ability was also impressive.

The birthday gift problem was solved, and Bai Ningshuang could rehearse the dance to be performed at the birthday banquet with peace of mind three days before the birthday banquet. After all, Bai Ningshuang was in Murong You's heart, and he was the face of the harem of Dongyuan Kingdom. Therefore, when meeting with foreign envoys this time, Murong You will naturally let Bai Ningshuang show off his talents.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday.

Although he had been mentally prepared in advance, when Jian Xiaozhu went to the main hall of the banquet with Bai Ningshuang, he was still shocked by the gorgeous layout of the palace.

From the gate of the temple to the inside of the hall, you can see beautiful flowers blooming in the potted plants placed on both sides of the road. Incense burned in the bell in the hall, and the smoke swirled on the bell, and the quiet aroma spread throughout the air of the hall.

When Jian Xiaozhu looked up, he saw that the top of the palace was full of gorgeous palace lanterns, and between the palace lanterns and the palace lanterns, there were night pearls and gemstones. When the palace lamps are lit together, the light reflected with the jewel pearl illuminates the entire hall as bright as day.

Jian Xiaozhu stepped into the hall with Bai Ningshuang holding the box containing the gift, and saw that the hall was already full of people. All the concubines of the harem came, and some royal relatives and nobles who lived outside the palace also came. Qian Xiaoxiao saw Murong Yi sitting opposite, as if she was aware of Jian Xiaozhu's gaze, Murong Yi raised her head and showed a bright smile on her chin.

As everyone took their seats, Murong You, holding the Empress Dowager, appeared in the main hall and took a seat on the dragon chair above the main hall. Jian Xiaozhu, who was standing behind Bai Ningshuang, raised his head and glanced at the Empress Dowager, only to see that the Empress Dowager was an old man who was a little chubby and had a very kind face. She looked at everyone in the hall with a smile, and finally her gaze fell next to Murong Yi: "Yuan Heng, how is your mother's health lately?" ”

Next to Murong Yi, a man in fancy clothes stood up and saluted, "Thank you grandmother for your concern." Although the queen mother's health has not improved, it is not a major problem. ”

Jian Xiaozhu glanced in the direction of Yuan Heng, and saw that this was a very ordinary-looking man, belonging to the category that could never be found again if he was put in the crowd. So when Jian Xiaozhu first saw Murong Yi, he didn't notice Yuan Heng sitting next to him. Or it can be said that Jian Xiaozhu's eyes may have seen him, but he soon forgot his appearance completely.

After greeting the Empress Dowager for a while, Yuan Heng presented the Empress Dowager with the congratulatory gift he brought. At the same time as he high-fived, several boxes were carried into the main hall. When the boxes were opened, Jian Xiaozhu saw that these boxes were full of purple-black crystals.

Seeing the contents of the box, Murong You and the Empress Dowager both had surprised expressions on their faces. And Yuan Heng bowed his head and said: "Grandmother, this is the gilt crystal sent by our Xiyun Kingdom, in order to wish you a long life, and I hope that the two countries will always be friendly." ”

The Empress Dowager nodded: "Such a valuable thing, Xiyun Kingdom really has a heart." ”

Yuan Heng smiled slightly: "This is a birthday gift from Xiyun Kingdom. And my mother and I have prepared another birthday gift for you. ”