The first year of Yongchang, the tenth day of December, Chinese New Year's Eve.

It had snowed since the morning, and the white sky was white, adding a quiet and peaceful atmosphere to the noisy Nine Great Palaces.

This is the first Chinese New Year's Eve since the new emperor ascended the throne, and the ceremonial department has made several folds, meaning that there will be a feast this year, and the emperor just smiled indifferently and said, "The state banquet is still like this, and the family banquet will be simple." ”

In the Chonghua Palace, the peach blossom period has passed, and Chang'an looks at the bare branches in the garden, and can't help but feel pity. Hanyan came out and sat down in the courtyard with Chang'an, handed her a red lacquer and gold hand stove, and said lightly, "Master, don't look at it again, this peach blossom will bloom again in early spring next year." ”

Chang'an pursed his lips gently, not noncommittal.

The figure outside the door moved, it was Cheng Dehai who brought a few little eunuchs in, saw Chang'an, made a salute, and said with a smile, "Concubine Xian, today's Chinese New Year's Eve banquet, there are still few people in the palace, all concubines must accompany the banquet together, and the emperor specially informed the slaves to report." ”

Chang'an smiled as usual, "There is Father-in-law Laohai." ”

At night, the lanterns in the Yuxi Palace are on, light singing and dancing, amber wine, jasper, golden foot bottles, jade plates, food is picturesque, wine is like a spring, the guqin is rippling, and the bells are dingdong. The song platform is warm and warm, and the spring is melting. The ground paved with fine white jade shines with a warm light, the phoenix spreads its wings on the eaves carved from sandalwood, the wall board of the floating window jade piled up by the green tile carving, the white jade is paved on the ground, the gold beads are embedded inside, the ground is chiseled for the lotus, the top sandalwood is the beam, the crystal jade is the lamp, the pearl is the curtain, there is a huge bright moon pearl hanging on the top of the treasure in the hall, shining brightly, only to see the first fall of the fine snow, it is very beautiful.

As soon as Chang'an entered the palace gate, there was a palace maid who accompanied her to untie her robe, she raised her head again, and saw the queen mother and the emperor sitting on the top of the hall, the queen Li Shushen was on the emperor's side, Zhao Meiren sat under the queen according to the position, and then followed, all of them were some fresh faces that Chang'an had never seen, which was also mixed with Fu Cairen who had met with Chang'an several times.

Chu Luo saw Chang'an, raised his hand and motioned for her to come and sit beside her, Chang'an secretly glanced at the Queen Mother's slightly cold face, and walked over to sit under the queen.

"Concubine Xian." Chu Luo called out to Chang'an, she looked back at him, his expression was cold and solemn, "Come and sit beside me." ”

The queen who sat down was shocked when she heard this, and looked at Chang'an with her eyes slightly open. The four concubines were all stunned, and in an instant, Chang'an only felt that there were countless pairs of eyes staring at her, she closed her eyes slightly, her expression was gloomy, and she just wished that she could disappear in front of everyone's eyes immediately.

The Queen Mother sneered lightly, carelessly stroked the golden silk jade Buyao on her sideburns, and said loudly, "Concubine Xian, the emperor asked you to go over, and you will go over." ”

"Yes." With the permission of the Queen Mother, Chang'an dared to be blessed and went to Chu Luo's side.

After Chang'an sat down, he immediately felt like sitting on pins and needles, and the eyes of the princes and nobles were still staring at her alone, including Li Tongzhao, the uncle of the dynasty, Li Shushen's father. Fortunately, at this time, the singing and dancing in the hall was leveling, and no one would care about the current embarrassment in Chang'an. Her body trembled slightly, Chu Luo seemed to be surprised, and held her hand tightly under the case, Chang An raised his eyes to look at him, he smiled warmly, and suddenly Chang An felt a lot more relieved.

Before the feast, two pairs of incense, tea and hand plates; secondly, four fresh fruits, four dried fruits, four fruits and four candied fruits; After taking the table, cold dishes are served first, then hot stir-fry, large dishes, and beets are served in turn. Chang'an inquired a little, and there were 196 cold meat and hot dishes, 124 dim sum and tea dishes, and 320 dishes. Several dishes were placed in front of Chang'an in layers, leaving her at a loss. Chu Luo took the chopstick, picked up the vegetables and placed them in front of Chang'an, Chang'an carefully looked at the Queen Mother's face, but he didn't dare to move at will. After the banquet, there will be musicians and dancers singing and dancing.

After the song was finished, all the musicians in the hall retreated. I saw a woman in red step forward, and then the beautiful melody sounded, the woman's cloud sleeves swayed lightly to beckon butterfly dance, slender waist slowly twisted fluttering silk, elegant like a summer lotus, waist and limbs, thousands of graces, charming and moving, light lotus steps, Han Palace Feiyan old romance. The sound of music is clear in the ears, and the flowing water is like a dragon flying like a phoenix. Fluttering like a light cloud, with a beautiful woman walking slowly, the waist and limbs are like weak willows. The most is the smile in her eyes, all kinds of charm around her eyebrows, and more than a dozen dancing girls behind her, not as beautiful as her. The beauty was among them, all four sighed, and even Chang'an couldn't help but look sideways, and vaguely, she felt that Chu Luo's hand holding her gradually loosened, and her heart sank suddenly at this moment.

After the dance, Chang'an looked at Chu Luo, and saw that he was still looking at the woman in red, and his expression moved slightly. Chang'an quietly withdrew his hand from Chu Luo's hand, and he was also unconscious. Chang'an's heart was shocked, and her chest seemed to be pressed heavily by a boulder, forcing her to almost lose her breath.

The woman in the center of the hall bowed slightly, blessed the hall, and retreated behind the many dancing girls.

Chu Luo's gaze stayed on her.

The Queen Mother took in this, smiled with satisfaction, and whispered to Chu Luo, "The woman who danced is the beauty Zhong who has just entered the palace, and the small character is beautiful." ”

"Zhong ...... Yuxiu ......" Chu Luo muttered, and suddenly smiled, "Zhong Ling Yuxiu, it's a good name." ”

The corners of the Queen Mother's eyes rose, and the corners of her lips outlined a chuckle.

Not long after, the dancing woman has changed into a palace dress, and sat down in the company of the palace maid, she held the jade chopstick, a smile and a smile, all of which were beautiful.

Chu Luo looked at her sideways, already smiling.

Chang'an looked at it on the side, his heart twisted as if he was about to drip blood, how could he have the heart to watch the singing and dancing at this banquet, and looked at the Manchu and Han banquets in front of him, and he had completely lost his appetite.

Before the acrobatics, the queen got up to excuse herself from being unwell and wanted to retire first.

Chu Luo had a suspicious look between his eyebrows, and asked out loud, "It's okay just now, why did you suddenly ...... Let's call the imperial doctor to your palace to take a look later. ”

The queen smiled bitterly, her face was unnatural, and she said slowly, "Don't bother the emperor, the concubines are just a little tired, just go back to the palace to rest for a while." It's just that tonight, the concubines are afraid that they won't be able to serve the emperor......"

Chu Luo was slightly startled, as if he suddenly remembered the rule of staying in the queen's palace on Chinese New Year's Eve, so he only said, "Then the queen will go back to the palace to rest early." ”

The queen blessed the queen mother again and left with the support of Miaochun.

The singing and dancing during the banquet are still the same.

Chang'an also wanted to leave early under the pretext of an excuse, but when he saw that the queen was like this and the queen mother was present, he had to give up. finally made it to the end of the acrobatics, and Shao Le started to leave. Chang'an didn't look back, his steps were fast, and he left the Yuxi Palace as if he was fleeing.