Compared with Concubine Shu, who was obviously doting on her, Shu Zhaoyi, whom Sheng Weiqiao had met once before in the Night Pavilion, was much more well-behaved.
She lowered her head slightly and sat upright, placing her hands on her knees. From time to time she would lightly hit Emperor Xuan Jing's hand around her waist to signal him to calm down.
The last time Sheng Weiqiao saw Shu Zhaoyi, Shu Zhaoyi was masked, so it was the first time she saw Zhaoyi's appearance: she and Concubine Shu were sisters from the same father and mother, but they looked nothing alike. Not like that.
Shu Zhaoyi has smoky eyebrows, red phoenix eyes, peach cheeks with snowy skin, green temples and red face, a little red lips as bright as blood, a begonia-style flower patch between the eyebrows, lightly haloed cheeks, peach blossom makeup, and a Japanese bun.
In the middle of the bun is a silk-embedded peacock holding beads in its tail and moving in golden steps. The peacock holds a string of pearls in its mouth and falls exactly on the position of the flower. As it sways slightly with the movement, there is a dot of begonia on the pink skin. It disappears and appears sometimes, adding a bit of style.
Opposite the side are carved narcissus, bamboo leaves, peach and baby baskets, jasper coral hairpins, gold-plated pearl insect leaf hair, gold folded silk pipa earrings hanging behind the ears, and under the neck as slender as a swan, there is a gold hanging Jade mandarin duck folded silk coral gemstone pendant collar.
Zhaoyi did not wear Zhaoyi-level clothes like Empress Meng and Concubine Shu, but only wore ordinary clothes: a dark green bottom embroidered with manzhu, sandalwood and flowers, narrow sleeves and a short jacket, a white jade golden carriage with a peacock and peony middle and wide female belt, and a moonlight trailing down. The skirt is pleated in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, and is inlaid with a few emerald green and goose-yellow skirt flowers.
This outfit is far less gorgeous than Concubine Shu. However, although Shu Zhaoyi has a pair of charming and majestic red phoenix eyes, her aura is far inferior to Concubine Shu. Now she is wearing ordinary clothes. Although she is not elegant and luxurious, it perfectly sets off her charm. On one side, it looks like peony cages with smoke and begonias with dew.
Sheng Weiqiao and others took a sneak look and saw that although Emperor Xuan Jing loved Er Shu very much, he clearly liked Shu Zhaoyi more in both his eyes and actions.
It's just that Shu Zhaoyi respected Concubine Shu very much. When she saw that Emperor Xuan Jing had gone too far, she immediately refused to accept it and kept hinting to him not to neglect her sister.
Although Concubine Shu was a little jealous, her sister was obviously giving in to her. She would not be stupid enough to make a scene and make everyone laugh, so she became more and more diligent in pouring tea and feeding cakes to Emperor Xuanjing, and even gave him some from time to time. Pinch your shoulders, arms, etc.
These three people were affectionate and affectionate as if no one else was around. Queen Meng was calm and relaxed, and Sheng Weiqiao and other foreign wives naturally did not dare to say anything.
The expression on Queen Mother Meng's face gradually turned ugly, especially that of Princess Mo who looked half-smiling but not smiling for a while, then raised her sleeves to cover her mouth, leaned towards her and whispered: "I can't blame the emperor for favoring these two, they have been favoring them for decades. I don’t look old at all, and I look like I’m getting more and more magnificent!”
I don’t know if it was the concubine’s intention or the Queen Mother’s psychology. In short, when Empress Dowager Meng listened, the concubine seemed to re-read the word "peerless".
To be honest, as a biological mother, Queen Mother Meng didn't care who her son favored.
Could it be that their mother and son didn't suffer enough at the hands of that bitch, Concubine Rou
After finally getting through those years of trepidation, I finally got to make the decision. Why don’t you just have fun and have a good time
Because of this, Emperor Xuanjing slacked off in government affairs. The Queen Mother felt that her natal family was helping to run the world anyway, and she was careful not to let King Gaomi, King Guangling and other clans usurp the throne. Her son was willing to live happily in the harem all day long, so let him go!
only…
What mother can remain indifferent to the problem that her son is over fifty but still has no heirs
When Concubine Mo said this, even though it was Empress Dowager Meng who couldn't bear it when she saw Er Shu humiliating the Queen in public, she had no choice but to speak: "Ms. Shu, there are also Lady Kangzhao and the others here. This is a girl who has not left the court, please behave yourself and don’t scare others!"
When the Queen Mother said this, Shu Zhaoyi, who was already relatively restrained, immediately looked at her nose, nose and heart. She sat very upright and resolutely took Emperor Xuan Jing's hand away from her waist. However, Concubine Shu was not so obedient. Hearing this, he lazily scratched Emperor Xuan Jing's arm, then raised his eyes and glanced down. His eyes turned on Empress Meng and Sheng Weiqiao, and Fang smiled and said: "What the Queen Mother said, the so-called superiority and inferiority, has never been the same. Only ministers should accommodate themselves to the emperor. How can there be any reason for a monarch to accommodate his ministers? If the Lords of Kangzhao County are really dissatisfied, why not just resign? Why should your Majesty be unable to accept the service of our sisters because of them? Your Majesty Do you think so?"
After saying the last sentence, Concubine Shu lovingly hugged Emperor Xuan Jing's arm and shook it again and again.
Emperor Xuan Jing immediately spoke out to support his beloved concubine: "Mother, what the concubine said is absolutely true. Just let Lord Kangzhao and the others go down! It will not hinder our royal family's happy gathering."
Empress Dowager Meng's face was livid with anger. She asked Sheng Weiqiao and others to step back, so that they could relax regardless of their shame
Isn't it just a decoration to be with the mother of one's own body? !
"Mother, the banquet is about to begin. My daughter-in-law wants to go to the main hall first to see if there are any oversights." At this time, Empress Meng saw something was wrong and stood up and said, "It's just that my daughter-in-law is young and didn't host it. For a banquet of this scale, do you still ask your mother to help you with your eyesight?"
"..." Empress Dowager Meng stared at Concubine Shu pitifully for a long time before nodding with a cold face, "The Ai family will come with you to have a look!"
The Queen Mother and the Empress were about to leave, and Concubine Mo was too lazy to look at Emperor Xuan Jing and Ershu Hu Tianhu Di: "I was brought here by my sister. Naturally, I will go wherever my sister goes."
When the group of people left the side hall, they heard a burst of laughter like silver bells coming from inside. It seemed that Concubine Shu told a joke in Emperor Xuanjing's ear. However, before Emperor Xuanjing laughed, she couldn't help but laugh first. .
But it seemed to be a mockery of Empress Dowager Meng, Empress Meng and others. The murderous intent in Empress Dowager Meng's eyes could hardly be concealed. However, she turned to look at Empress Meng and other female family members, and in the end she just sighed silently.
In this way, when they arrived at the main hall, their faces were not very pretty.
Because there was not much time before the banquet started at this time, and Shanglinyuan was not in Chang'an City, the guests attending the banquet must of course plan their time and arrive in advance to avoid being late. So there are already a crowd of people sitting here in the main hall... King Gaomi and his family are among them.
Because the princess complained of illness, the eldest daughter was married, the second son and daughter were not favored, and the third son was declared "died" in his early years, the seats in the Gaomi Palace were always deserted.
Although there were more princesses and Rong Suihe, and Princess Huihe was also fortunate enough to be brought along, and the Zhao sisters who were staying in the palace were also present, but compared with the Meng family sitting directly opposite, they were still It seems to be weak: there are four members of the Meng family, even if the eldest son, Meng Boqin, the eldest son of Zheng Guogong, only one girl, Meng Shuangxiao, is here, and Meng Boheng, the step-brother, is still resting in Bishui County; the second and third bedrooms There are also several descendants who are not working in Chang'an, so they cannot participate in the banquet. They still sit in a large crowd, and it looks like there are many people and luxuriant branches.
However, in terms of momentum, both sides were evenly matched, and King Gaomi's side did not fall behind at all.
Seeing a group of people headed by the Queen Mother, the Dowager Princess, and the Queen come in, everyone left their seats to salute. The Queen Mother, the Dowager Princess, and the Queen sat down at the head of the table. The Queen Mother ordered "Ping Shen", glanced at Sheng Wei, Qiao Meng, Bixun, and others, and said: " The banquet is about to start, you should go and sit down too!"
Several people agreed and were about to go back to their seats when Queen Meng ordered: "Add a few tables below me for Kang Zhao, Jiaxiang, Shuang Jiao, Shuang Chao and Shuang Liao."
Empress Dowager Meng frowned when she heard this. Today's seats were arranged like this: the empress dowager, concubine, and empress were naturally at the top. The top meant that it was above Danqi.
Next to Danchi are King Gaomi and Meng, one on the left and one on the right.
Among them, the King of Gaomi occupied the left side, which was considered more noble, because he was a clan relative. The family of King Guangling, who had always been protected by him and even married the niece of the Princess of Gaomi as his eldest wife, followed closely behind.
Further down these three families are the confidants of both parties, ranked according to status, ability, talent, etc.
As for those like Ningwei Houfu who refused to stand in line, they almost didn't even squeeze in to the main hall.
Not to mention the Sheng family, being able to sit together with Ningwei Houfu was due to the special care of Queen Meng.
Now that the Queen has allowed several girls from the Meng family to sit under her, the Queen Mother Meng is naturally happy to see this happen. However, if Sheng Wei's aunt and nephew are included, the Queen Mother Meng will be a little reluctant to let outsiders share the Meng family's favor.
But at this time, Meng Bixun smiled and said: "Your Majesty prefers boys and girls, but we people have no share!"
Empress Meng explained: "Seventh sister, you still have a husband and children to take care of. Where can I disturb you? It is also because Shuang Liao and Kang Zhao are girls who have not yet left the court, and they have sisters who perform filial piety in front of their elders. , so let them sit closer so that they can talk to me later."
The Queen Mother, who originally wanted to dissuade her, felt weak after hearing this. She thought that in the situation just now, she, as the biological mother of Emperor Xuan Jing, was very angry, let alone her niece, the queen.
Even though Empress Meng didn't show any resentment or grievance, she must have felt very uncomfortable when she thought about it. Let her sit with a few female companions she promised to come to comfort her later!
The queen mother remained silent, and the palace officials followed the queen's instructions.
Since Gongsun Yingjiang and Meng Shuangliao were not here at the moment, Sheng Weiqiao and Chengyanghou's granddaughters Meng Shuangjiao and Meng Shuangchao thanked them and took their seats. Meng Shuangjiao and Meng Shuangchao were both legitimate daughters of Chengyanghou's heir apparent, Meng Sixiao. They were twins who looked exactly the same. , today they are all wearing the same dress, the only difference is in the hairstyle: elder sister Meng Shuangjiao has a double-snail bun; younger sister Meng Shuang has her hair parted in a bun.
The two sisters also have very similar temperaments, both of them don't talk much.
Normally, Meng Shuangliao was there, a man who could chatter all day long. It happened that they occasionally added a few words to add, complimented or something, and they cooperated tacitly.
But now that Meng Shuangli is not here, Sheng Weiqiao is not silent, but he doesn't talk as much as Meng Shuangli, so the atmosphere is a bit stuffy.
Sheng Weiqiao, Meng Shuangjiao and Meng Shuangchao looked at each other and felt a little embarrassed. Then they turned around and whispered to Queen Meng: "Shuang Polygonum has been out with Ying Jiang for a while..."
"I have just asked the palace people to look for them, don't worry!" Empress Meng half-covered her mouth with the palace fan decorated with ivory handles and decorated with magpies climbing branches, and whispered, "Bring them here if you find them."
Hearing this, Sheng Weiqiao's expression suddenly became a little subtle. She thought of the previous flower appreciation banquet where Meng Twelve and Meng Thirteen took everyone to the Saxue Water Pavilion and bumped into Gongsun Yingjiang and Xu Baomo under the pretext of performing Lingbo Dance. , by the way, if Gongsun Yingjiang had already left Meng Shuangliu behind and slept with his target, he shouldn't be blocked by the palace servants sent by the queen... right
She was on tenterhooks when she suddenly noticed a fiery gaze staring at her from below. She looked back subconsciously, only to see Rong Suihe playing with a gilt silver wine bottle and looking at her with a smile. She saw that she had noticed. , quietly blinked his left eye, and then secretly pointed to his arms.
"Haha, he is good at pretending!" Sheng Weiqiao immediately tightened the glass cup in his hand and thought through gritted teeth, "Pretending to be alright... He must have figured out how to fool me?!"
She looked around and saw that Meng Shuangjiao was talking to Queen Meng. No one was paying attention to her for the moment. She made a throat-cutting gesture to Rong Suihe full of anger!