Chapter 3: 2

2 – Palace Banquet

The good mood brought by the appreciation of her beauty lasted until she left the house and headed to the palace.

Outside the second gate, the carriage and horses had already been prepared. When Ming Tan showed up with a hand warmer, Marquess Pei and cousin Shen Hua were already sitting in the carriage.

When she saw Ming Tan remove her cloak and get into the carriage with her head hanging, a little smile appeared in Mrs. Pei’s eyes: “Ah Tan, come up.”

When Ming Tan sat down, she expressed her concern in a warm voice: “Why did you take off your cloak? It’s cold, be careful about freezing.”

“The coach is warm, if you don’t take it off now, it will be cold when you get off later.” Ming Tan’s eyes curved as she smiled, and she returned Mrs. Pei’s grip, “It’s my fault for making mother wait.”

Pei gave her a light glare, “What fault is that? This is the first day of the year, don’t say that!”

“Yes, daughter knows her mistake…” Ming Tan leaned into Mrs. Pei’s arms, and even trailed off to pout.

Mrs. Pei tapped her forehead helplessly: “You, you’re so good at playing nice!”

Shen Hua, who was sitting opposite, saw this scene and covered her lips, saying with a light smile, “Auntie and cousin have a deep love for each other, making A’Hua so envious.”

Mrs. Pei couldn’t help but look at Shen Hua with a smile.

Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be a second wife. Ming Tan is the first daughter of the previous wife, and she has a strong foreign family backing her up. When Mrs. Pei was first married to the marquis, she was afraid that people would put her under the label of “mean to motherless orphan girl”, so she looked after Ming Tan more carefully than her husband the Marquis.

These years she did not have a child, and should have been worried that her position as the principal lady of the marquis would be unstable, but because of her close relationship with Ming Tan, she has gained a good reputation as “virtuous and kind” among the noble ladies of the capital, and that the principal lady of the marquis is doing a good job.

Because of this reason, plus Mrs. Pei’s own reputation is also quite good. Those who pay attention will know that praising her is not as pleasing as praising her deep affection with Ming Tan.

At this moment, Mrs. Pei’s heart was flattered to the fullest, but Ming Tan’s mood went downhill because of Shen Hua’s voice.

The two of them were apparently at peace with each other, but behind the scenes, they were not shy of exchanging words.

Now when she heard Shen Hua’s cloying voice, Ming Tan couldn’t stop thinking about her own bad marriage and the gossip from the maids in the house.

The gossip is ridiculous, but she is not sure it is impossible.

After all, the one on Changyu Street is always out on the battlefield and probably hasn’t seen a handful of beauties. These military generals who do not know how to read and write and are used to attaching themselves with the elegant, and can’t wait to get a room full of talented girls to prove that they are not frivolous – her father is the best example, and he still doesn’t forget to take Aunt Liu with him to recite poetry.

If Shen Hua was to fly to the top of Changyu Street, but her fiancé abandoned the marriage, then would the little Miss of Ming family not become the biggest joke in the capital city?

Seeing that even without anything, those little girls can make up such a story, if this comes true, if she does not lose her hair to become a nun, then there will be no place for her A Tan of the Ming family in the capital!

The sound of the wheels buzzed in her ears, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and even her heart felt a little stuffy. When the carriage stopped outside the Qi Xuan Gate with a “puff”, she was still caught in the mood of annoyance and could not extricate herself.

When the official family members enter the palace, the carriage and maidservant are not allowed to enter with them. Only after Mrs. Pei handed in her permit, and the palace maids checked to see if they had any sharp weapons, did the chambermaid come to guide them to the Yong Garden where the banquet was held today.

Since the founding of the Da Xian dynasty, except for the recruitment, women without a grant rarely enter the palace, and this is the first time a banquet has been held and invitations are given.

The deep red walls of the palace covered with snow are solemn and majestic, and with every step forward, the pressure seems to be one point heavier, making it difficult to catch a breath. So much so that the whole way to the Yong Garden is very quiet, and there is no other sound to be heard, only the slight creaking sound of boots on the thin snow.

The crowd was so focused on moving forward that no one noticed that a window had opened in a nearby high pavilion…

“…… It’s a good thing that the Sui Bei Road is taking over in the Eastern Region, and you can rest in the capital for a while. By the way, A’Xu, you are also…twenty-one this year, right? Why don’t you take advantage of this time to settle your marriage, starting a family and passing on your legacy is a big deal.

“It just so happens that at the Yong Garden today, the Empress has invited all of the official girls of the right age into the palace, so tell me if you like any of the girls, as long as they are honest and have a decent character, I will bestow a marriage for you.”

From the time he entered the Nuan Pavilion, Emperor Cheng Kang was talking about the war in the north all the way to the great victory in East China, and finally the topic naturally led to the matter of “getting married “.

When he was about to make more efforts to persuade him, Empress Zhang, who was standing at the side, coughed and looked out of the window while coming closer and said softly: “Among this line of women, the little girl on the left wearing a silver and white cloak looks very good to me.”

Emperor Cheng Kang was interrupted, and subconsciously half squinted his eyes and looked out the window.

After a long time, Emperor Cheng Kang nodded his head, seemingly satisfied: “The Empress really has a good eye.”

He instructed the chamberlain, “Go and inquire about who that girl is.”

“Yes.” The chamberlain answered, bowed and retreated.

Emperor Cheng Kang turned his head again and looked at the man in black beside him: “A’Xu, will you also take a glance? After all, it is your concubine who is being chosen, so she must be to your liking.”

The man stood in front of the window with his hands folded, swept his eyes down, and moved his eyes away without emotion.

Emperor Cheng Kang: “……?”

This is just one glance, really just one glance.

Emperor Cheng Kang is speechless for a long time. Fortunately, he has long been accustomed to this person’s indifference, and did not feel any disrespect. He only gave up talking to this person for the time being, and waited for the chamberlain to return, while turning his head to chat with Empress Zhang in a low voice.

The Empress Zhang looked at Ming Tang’s back and was more and more satisfied.

Most of these young girls are new to the palace, although their families have taught them enough rules, but there are very few people who are not afraid of the might of the imperial palace. If you have fear in your heart, it is inevitable that you will be afraid of your hands and feet, and that you will be too restrictive and timid.

Looking at so many girls on the road, only this one now has the most dignified demeanor, a line-in, calm and elegant. It is very pleasing to the eye.

A little while later, the chamberlain returned to the Nuan pavilion, and bowed to answer: “Back to Your Majesty, back to the Empress, this line is the wife of the Marquis of Jing’an, the fourth young lady of the Marquis of Jing’an, and the sister of General Shen Xiao, who lives in the House of the Marquis of Jing’an.”

“Shen Yu’s sister?” Emperor Cheng Kang raised his eyebrows.

The chamberlain replied, “General Shen’s sister is the one wearing a gold feather satin cloak, and the one wearing a silver fox full embroidered cloak – is the fourth lady of the Marquis of Jing’an Mansion.”

The Marquis of Jing’an, this family is quite a match. The Empress Zhang was thinking about this, when the chamberlain added: “The fourth young lady of the Marquis of Jing’an has a marriage contract with the son of Duke Ling

“Married?” Empress Zhang paused, “This is really ……”

Duke Ling Mansion is the oldest and most prestigious, and she is unable to put the word “pity” on her lips, but her face is full of regret.

The Emperor Cheng Kang saw the situation, and casually added: “There is already a marriage contract, it is not good to break up people’s marriage.”

His words are full of regret, but his heart does not think so. When he heard the “Jing’an Marquis”, he had excluded the fourth young lady of the Marquis.

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After a moment’s delay, he also pointed to the distant back that has been blurred: “I see Shen Yu’s sister is also very good. Shen family status is a little lower, but it is okay to be a concubine.”

Empress Zhang is not interested in choosing a concubine, lowering her eyes to adjust the cuffs, and did not respond to this one.

Emperor Cheng Kang turned his head and asked, “A’Xu, what do you think? Don’t you like Shen Yu a lot?”

“Not much.”

“If Your Majesty thinks she is good, she can be added to your harem.”

This voice was not high or low, and suppressed a few points of faint impatience.

The servants around couldn’t help but feel startled and their knees weak when they heard it. The ground dragon was clearly burning in the Nuan Pavilion, but everyone couldn’t help but shiver and bury their heads low.

The official family members who were at the banquet knew nothing about what was happening in the Nuan pavilion. When they entered the Yong Garden, they were led to the Chang Ming Hall, where they were seated accordingly.

The seat of the Marquis of Jing’an is right next to the door of the Hall of Chang Ming, and those who are further back can only blow in the cold breeze outside the Hall.

Shen Hua took her seat with Mrs. Pei, but her heart was a bit confused.

She has been in the capital for half a year and knows that the Marquis of Jing’an’s family is prominent and has a good status in the capital. So why is the location so far away from the palace banquet today?

Shen Hua doesn’t understand, but Ming Tan is very clear.

In a place like the capital, where there are many distinguished people, a marquis is actually nothing. The Marquis of Jing’an’s house is now so full of flowers and brocade, mostly because her father, the Marquis of Jing’an. He is a frontier official who holds real power and guards the border.

The Palace banquet is arranged in order to the title first. There are more than a dozen state families above their Marquis Mansion, counting the royal family clan. It is already extraordinarily favorable to be seated in the hall.

At the moment, there are many people in the Chang Ming Hall but it is quiet. After Ming Tan took her seat, she swept a glance at the position of the Duke Ling’s House in front of her as if she had not noticed.

It’s okay not to glance, but after this glance, she felt inexplicably angry again.

The Duke Ling’s Mansion thought that no one knew about their scandal or didn’t take her A Tan of Ming family seriously, and brought the cousin who had a baby here in a grand manner! Did they think it was an occasion where they could bring anyone here to familiarize themselves with her and serve the same husband in the future?

Mrs. Pei noticed a difference in Ming Tan’s expression and called out softly: “A’Tan, what’s wrong?”

Mrs. Pei still doesn’t know what the Duke’s house is hiding, so Ming Tang withdrew her gaze and reluctantly answered “nothing”. She forced herself to suppress the fire in her heart and sat down in a dignified manner, not looking any further.

No one in the Duke Ling’s household noticed Ming Tan’s gaze earlier, but now that the women of the Marquis Jing’an household had arrived, they couldn’t help but look over from afar.

The lady of Duke Ling is also among those who are looking at them, and there is a little smugness while looking at them.

The A’Tan of the Ming family has a good reputation among the girls in the upper capital, with a good family background, appearance, discipline and art of Qin, all of which are outstanding. She also has a quiet and dynamic nature, and is able to please not only her husband, but also stand out in a big crowd, which is very rare. Fortunately, the marriage was set early, otherwise there would be a hundred families seeking a daughter-in-law.

The wife of the Duke of Ling was satisfied with the marriage in a hundred and twenty ways, but her unconscious son…

Thinking of this, she glanced back, and just happened to glimpse the woman timidly holding the tea bowl. Her heart could not help but sigh: Even though she is her own niece, those who can’t be on the stage will not be on the stage after all.

Do not know how long this matter can be concealed. The term of the Marquis of Jing’an has expired, and when he returns to the capital to report on his duties, the marriage of the two families should be put on the calendar. In order to smoothly marry the A’Tan of the Ming family into the family, she still has to plan ahead.

Everyone in the hall has their own ideas, but on the surface it is the same respectful silence.

This silence lasted until the attendant at the front shouted in a sharp voice: “The Empress has arrived…”

Only then did everyone gather their thoughts and rise, kneeling in the direction of the Empress: “All hail the Empress, all hail the Empress, Long live the empress!”

“Rise.” The Empress Zhang’s voice is quite gentle, and seems to contain three parts of a smile, “This is the first day of the new year, we invite you all into the palace just to have a good time, everyone sit, no need to be too formal.”

The words are like this, but the people who really dare to sit on without formal etiquette have not been able to leave this Chang Ming Hall alive. Everyone answered “Yes” in unison, before sitting down according to the rules.

The order of the feast in the palace has always been cumbersome, although Empress Zhang has dispensed some unnecessary formalities, after going through the process step by step, the delicacies for sharing were completely cold. All the wives and noble ladies took a symbolic bite or two, maintaining a quiet and dignified appearance at all times.

In the hall full of silk and bamboo, the dancer’s girl’s body gestures are delicate. From time to time, the women of the clan at the front gossiped with Empress Zhang about interesting events in the capital, and occasionally there was light laughter coming from the back, the atmosphere was also considerably relaxed and pleasant.

In the middle of the feast, an attendant rushed to Empress Zhang’s side to deliver a message. Do not know what was passed, the empress Zhang commanded a few words, then someone nimbly added two new seats at the very front.

Although everyone didn’t look directly at them, they were all clear in their hearts, this tasteless palace banquet was finally getting to the point.

As expected, this thought just started, there is a waiter who loudly passed the word to the background: “The emperor has arrived -”

When Ming Tan was thinking about her marriage to the son Duke of Ling, she suddenly heard this voice and was busy putting away her thoughts and saluting along with the others.

In the hall, there was a mountain of hails, which seemed to reverberate in the open. After the remaining sound subsided, from the very top came a gentle but not too majestic “rise”.

Ming Tan by the side was surprised: His Majesty’s voice is actually much younger than expected. Then the King of Dongbei, who is the cousin of His Majesty, would not be even younger?

When she was seated, she heard Empress Zhang say: “The great victory in the Eastern State a month ago was a great joy for us. It so happens that today, His Majesty is also in the Hong’an Hall and invited the officials, to celebrate the success of King of Dongbei. I thought that although we are women, we should also respect the good sons of Da Xian, so I invited His Majesty and King of Dongbei to come here.”

After a moment of silence, someone started, and the voices of praise rose and fell one after another in the front.

Ming Tan knows that noble ladies in the capital pay attention to subtlety and euphemism, but she doesn’t want to be subtle in the palace, and has to make an additional detour. She is obviously just looking at the empress, but she has to pay tribute to the king.

She was far away, and could not see the dragon’s face. The three people at the top were all a blur of colors from the corner of her eyes.

When she was wondering, whether his Highness is a mute, to drink a toast to compliment and not even say a word, a familiar charming female voice sounded from the opposite direction: “I have heard that his Highness at the age to bind the hair led 3,000 elite soldiers to stop 30,000 northern barbarians. A great achievement for Da Xian. My daughter has admired his Highness for many years, and today I have the privilege of seeing him. My daughter would love to offer a song “Xiaoxiang Water Clouds” for His Majesty ……”

This is the first daughter of the Marquis of Cheng’en, Gu Jiu Rou.

Cheng’en Marquis’s House is not afraid of people’s words, and the and the Yugui Concubine, who was angrily denounced by the Imperial Court as a fox and bewitching the Lord, is still thinking about the position of the Dongbei King’s Consort.

A word of admiration has been said, and the dance and music are already there. Gu Jiurou kowtowed profusely, and finally said humbly: “The minister is not talented, she is making a fool of herself.”

Ming Tan has been practicing the Qin since she was young and has been taught by famous masters. When someone wanted to perform in front of her, she was curious to see how the other party would amaze the audience.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have such a blessing for her ears. No sooner had the charming voice in front of her finished than the man in black brocade at the top interrupted coldly: “If you know it’s ugly, don’t offer it.”

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