The other ministers didn't notice anything, but Wei Zhi and Mr. Tang, who knew the inside story, frowned slightly, then silently returned to their Wei Zhi, saluted again and sat down.
Man Bao and Bai Shan also raised their heads to look at the King of Yizhou. This was the first time they saw the King of Yizhou after they knew their background.
They thought they would show hatred, but when they saw the King of Yizhou, they didn't feel much. They looked at the King of Yizhou standing on top of him without much emotion in their bright eyes.
The king of Yizhou didn't pay attention to them, after all, so many people were watching them.
The Empress Dowager held his hand and sat in the center. Today she was a birthday star, so she sat in the center, and the emperor was a little bit to the side. But from a distance, the seats of their mother and child were similar.
After the Queen Mother sat down, she patted King Yizhou's hand and said with a smile, "Sit down quickly, let your wife sit with the Queen, and Xin'an, let him come here quickly."
Prince Xin'an, who fell behind, immediately stepped forward with a smile, gave a deep bow, and called "Grandmother".
"Okay, okay," the queen mother smiled, took his hand and said, "Go and sit with your prince brother. After a while, you can help grandma look at the presents brought by the courtiers."
King Xin'an responded with a smile.
The prince glanced at his father, got up silently and moved up, letting his cousin sit on his lower head.
The second prince and the third prince: ...
The fourth prince and the two younger brothers don't care about this. Anyway, they fight with gods, as long as it doesn't hurt them.
The emperor looked cheerful, as if he didn't care about these things at all, and when they were seated, he raised his hand to signal the birthday banquet to begin.
Then it's time for gift giving.
The birthday gift that can be carried up is naturally not the little-known gift of Man Bao and the others, but the emperor's gift first.
He picked the two best ones from his Huangzhuang to give to the Queen Mother, and the Queen gave the Queen Mother a Jade Buddha.
The queen mother believed in Buddhism.
Sitting next to Mingda, Man Bao took out a grape from the fruit plate in front of him and ate it, which was hard to eat outside.
Seeing that the presents from everyone were very expensive, Man Bao asked Mingda in a low voice, "You only gave the things you embroidered, is that okay?"
Mingda leaned into her ear and explained in a low voice: "I'm still young, I'm not married, and I don't have any money. The most important thing for us is my heart. When I get married in the future, the things I give are not acceptable. That's it."
Man Bao nodded and saw that the King of Yizhou gave the Queen Mother a coral tree taller than her. The red coral tree was as clear as jade, and Man Bao, who had never seen the world much, was stunned.
Even Ming Da couldn't help but take a second look, and whispered: "Uncle Huang's handwriting is really big, there is no coral tree like this in the palace."
Man Bao thought to himself: This is all the sweat and blood of the people in Jiannan Road, especially Yizhou.
The emperor also looked at the coral tree several times.
The queen mother was so happy that the creases on her face deepened a little with a smile. Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, all the officials followed the queen mother's wishes and praised the king of Yizhou for his filial piety.
After Yizhou King, other princes will present gifts. After all the uncles have given gifts, the prince will start their life.
Man Baomu stared blankly at those rare treasures that he had never seen before, and some of which he had never even heard of, flowed towards the Queen Mother like running water, gradually thinking about it, how much money the Queen Mother would have to earn for her birthday.
Man Bao turned his head and asked Ming Da, "Does the Empress Dowager celebrate her birthday every year?"
Mingda froze for a moment and shook his head, "No, birthday celebrations in previous years are family banquets, even the emperor's uncles don't come to Beijing very often, only when they celebrate their birthdays. I was young when my grandmother celebrated her birthday last time, so I don't remember much. many."
Man Bao breathed a sigh of relief.
In the end, Mingda said: "But this year is not the grandma's birthday, but the grandma said that she is not in good health and wants to take this opportunity to have another reunion dinner with the whole family, so the emperor celebrated grandma's birthday."
Man Bao looked up and carefully looked at the Queen Mother's face. She was not sitting far away, so she could see clearly. After listening to her, Man Bao whispered to Mingda: "Don't worry, the Queen Mother is in good health. .”
Mingda: ...
Of course she knew that the imperial grandmother was in good health, at least better than her queen mother, but...
She glanced at Man Bao, don't say it.
Man Bao looked at her, blinked, and realized something.
There are not many ministers who can carry gifts to the hall, and the gifts prepared by everyone are very expensive, except for two people.
One is Wei Zhi, and the other is Yu County Duke.
Wei Zhi was really poor, so he gave the queen mother a box of pens, which was given to her by his son, and he was reluctant to use it all the time, and it still hurts him to give it to the queen mother.
However, the queen mother is so old that she seldom writes any more, so she smiled and asked people to accept the gift without looking at it much.
Even lighter than Wei Zhi's gift is Yu County Duke.
Man Bao felt this way, because the Duke of Yu County wrote a birthday letter to the Queen Mother.
She thought that the queen mother would not like it very much, but who knew that the queen mother was very happy, sincerely happy, and even leaned forward when the king of Xin'an County went to receive the gift.
She took the booklet and opened it to take a look. With a bright smile on her face, she thanked Yu County admiringly.
Seeing the doubts on Man Bao's face, Ming Da smiled slightly, and whispered to her: "The Duke of Yu county is famous for his articles, and the emperor's grandmother likes to read his articles and poems very much, and he has a long life. Writing birthday wishes to the emperor's grandmother is beyond the reach of thousands of dollars."
Man Bao understood now, "Mr. is indeed right. You are good at studying, and earning money is just a matter of your own will."
Mingda thought it was true.
The two looked at each other, and couldn't help but smile.
After Yuxian Gong finished presenting the gift, it was the turn of the unmarried little princess on their side.
Everyone gave their own handmade things, Mingda sent embroidered birthday characters, and Changyu sent a roll of handwritten scriptures...
The queen mother was also very happy, and accepted it with a smile. Because it was Mingda's turn, everyone's eyes couldn't help but focus on them. Only then did King Yizhou find that Zhou Man, who was sitting next to her,
He frowned, and didn't really want to bring it up. After all, mentioning it in public was equivalent to making her famous, but he endured it, and when he saw Bai Shan and Bai Cheng sitting behind the fifth and sixth princes, he still couldn't bear it. live.
He smiled and said to Princess Mingda: "Mingda, who is the little lady sitting next to you?"
Ming Da looked back at Man Bao and saluted and replied, "Hui Huang Shu, she is my good friend."
The king of Yizhou asked: "I don't know which family's young lady can sit in the seat of our Li family."
Ming Da paused and then said: "Her surname is Zhou, and Sixth Sister and I have a crush on her, so we let her sit next to me, and neither Father nor Queen Mother objected."
She looked at the Queen Mother and said coquettishly, "Grandmother, I want to sit with my friend, is that okay?"
The queen mother also liked Mingda very much. She glanced at Zhou Man and found that she was a little girl who was about the same size as Mingda. Don't stand for a long time, go back and sit down."