In the blink of an eye, it will be August 15th. As usual, there will be a moon banquet in the palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Not only the palaces of the princes, but also the important officials in the court and some nobles and their wives are all invited.
Different from other times, the nature of the moon-watching banquet is mostly fun, so the palace banquet that the wives and noble daughters of various houses in Beijing love to participate in is the moon-watching banquet.
On this day, before dusk, many carriages drove out of the alleys in the imperial city. These carriages are all ornately decorated, and one can tell that they are the carriages of noble ladies and noble ladies from various families. Occasionally, there are noble sons in rich clothes and expensive clothes, riding past in twos and threes on horses. At the same time, there are official sedan chairs mixed in, like a colorful torrent that disperses into various palace gates when it approaches the Forbidden City.
This time King Jin and Yaoniang left separately. He entered through Donghua Gate, while Yaoniang entered through Xuanwu Gate.
The horse-drawn carriage stopped when it could not go any further. At this time, the white marble square in front of Xuanwu Gate was divided into two, and the long-drawn convoy on the left moved forward slowly, with a speed that was almost negligible. On the other side, carriages kept coming out of it, obviously making room for the cars behind.
And at the front end of the square near the gate tower of the palace, from a distance, there are many gorgeously dressed and brightly dressed female relatives from various prefectures, waiting for the servants who came to welcome them to arrange for them to enter the palace.
After the carriage stopped, the guards drove their horses forward. Come back soon, and lead the carriage through the empty passage on the right.
The power of the royal family is undoubtedly revealed here. In fact, if you think about it, if there are no benefits and preferential treatment, why should everyone rush to get ahead and wait to cut their heads and drill up. All the female relatives from various mansions who waited impatiently behind could only watch the two gorgeously decorated carriages with the emblem of Prince Jin Mansion pass away with admiration.
It is said that Princess Jin went to Tangquan Zhuangzi to recuperate because of her poor health. Then it goes without saying that the person sitting in the leading car must be the side concubine Su who gave birth to two sons for King Jin.
Now Yaoniang's reputation in Beijing can be considered to be quite famous, all because there have been two weddings in the palace recently, and King Jin always brought her to appear together.
This kind of behavior is really rare. You must know that although the side concubine is a concubine, she is also a concubine. Generally, on such occasions, you should bring your wife. If you don’t have a wife, it’s okay not to go. I’ve never seen a house that takes a concubine to go out to socialize.
Because of this, a stunned young censor insisted on participating in the book of King Jin, but was reprimanded by Emperor Hongjing for having nothing to do when he was full and staring at what he ate and drank today.
Although the original words are not like this, this is what everyone translated.
But the censor is supposed to monitor the performance of the imperial court and the princes and officials. It is as big as treacherous courtiers and villains forming a party, acting as a powerful and disorderly government. Slave and murder and so on. So the censor can talk about this kind of trivial matter, but he was reprimanded.
But after this incident, those who should understand will naturally understand it in their hearts, and those who should not understand will at most make up a specious conclusion that King Jin is really favored.
Not to mention these things, it is well known that there is an unparalleled side concubine in the Jin Palace. Naturally, following the old saying that the King of Jin is not close to women and looks like a man, Yaoniang was passed on to the outside world, saying that this woman has the appearance of a closed moon and a shameful flower, otherwise why would the King Jin, who has always been sober and ascetic, do such a thing? A state of petting.
The hero is sad about the beauty pass. In the past, the hero was not close to women, it was because he didn't meet a real beauty.
All in all, it has everything to say. However, because of this rumor, in the recent rumors about the kings vying to marry the girl from the Wang family, King Jin is missing.
…
One of these admiring gazes belonged to Wang Defang.
The Wang family's carriage happens to be at the back of the queue, so you have to wait slowly. In fact, considering the prestige of Mr. Wang Ge in the court, it is not impossible to jump ahead, and there are many people who are willing to give them space in front. However, Mr. Wang Ge has always cherished feathers and strictly ordered people in his family not to bully others. People can only wait in the back impetuously.
There were two cars from the Wang family. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wang took their daughters-in-law in one, and Dafang's three daughters in the other.
So not only Wang Defang was sitting in this car, but also her two concubines.
It stands to reason that concubines are not qualified to attend such an occasion. But before going out, Wang Zi made a temporary statement, asking Mrs. Wang to take her two daughters out to see the world. He said he wanted to see the world, but in fact, he wanted to steal her limelight.
Not only did he want to steal her limelight, but her father was bewitched by that young woman. After hearing the recent rumors in Beijing, that young woman wanted to use her daughter to climb the dragon and become a phoenix, and she didn't even look to see if she had that face.
As soon as Wang Defang thought about this, she wanted to throw the two people who had soiled her car out of the car.
"Sister Seven, what are you looking at?" Wang Shuying asked curiously.
She and Wang Shuyan are twin sisters. The two sisters look exactly the same. If it weren't for the fact that they usually dress differently, most people would not be able to recognize the difference between the two.
But Wang Defang could recognize them, she could distinguish the two just by listening to the voice with her eyes closed.
Wang Defang had a smile on his face, but his eyes were full of impatience: "I didn't see anything!"
Wang Shuying wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Wang Shuyan.
Wang Defang squinted at the two of them, "I'm not talking about you, you should be more honest in the palace, this is not Jeju."
Wang Shuying was short-tempered and wanted to refute on the spot, but Wang Defang turned her head to look out the window and gave her the back of the head. In addition, her sister Wang Shuyan gave her a hand, so she shut up angrily.
When it was finally their turn, Wang Defang got out of the car first, and finally Wang Shuying couldn't help but said: "What's so special, isn't it just that we have entered the palace twice more than us!"
Wang Shuyan has a gentle temper, and whispered to her younger sister: "Okay, don't argue with her, don't forget what your mother said this time."
Of course Wang Shuying remembered, so after getting off the car, both of them smiled slightly. The two sisters, Hua Yingying, who were carved out of the same mold, stood there, but they attracted the attention of many people.
After Yaoniang left the Xuanwu Gate, she saw Princess Qing.
The two walked together, Yaoniang asked: "Why did you bring her along?"
This she, of course, refers to Concubine Han.
Princess Qing pursed her lips, and said in a low voice: "As per the rules, it is coming."
Well, according to the system is indeed coming, after all, it is the concubine of Shang Yujian. Otherwise, with King Jin's temperament, it would be impossible to bring side concubine Xu and side concubine Liu along. But Yaoniang is not a princess, so naturally don't care about these two people. Concubine Han is not far behind Concubine Qing.
The last time we met in Prince Wu's mansion, Yaoniang also knew that Princess Qing and Prince Qing had settled their feud, and she was happy for Princess Qing in her heart. Although it was because of King Jin's remarks that her mood was somewhat delicate, it was not her own business after all. She just wanted to be on good terms with Princess Qing, but she didn't know that the relationship between the wife and concubine was an indistinct mess, and she was unwilling to stab Princess Qing in the heart.
"Then take her with you, it's not like we can't talk today." Anyway, Yaoniang couldn't get used to Concubine Han, and it was her who mentioned it.
"Don't worry, she is very honest on this occasion." Princess Qing said with a smile.
At first, Yaoniang didn't know how to be honest, but then she went to Kunning Palace to greet Empress Wei, and then went to Jiaotai Palace for a banquet. Concubine Han didn't say a word during this period, and she seemed to know that she was not to be seen by Princess Qing, and she never approached her or talked to anyone.
Yaoniang glanced over, always feeling like the child bride-in-law of a family near her home. That little daughter-in-law is like this, she does everything silently, if you don't pay attention deliberately, you really can't feel her existence.
It's really different from that day's banquet!
That's all for the banquet, it's time for the main event.
In the imperial garden, glazed lanterns were hung everywhere, shining brightly everywhere. The verdant and lush ancient trees are dotted with all kinds of strange-shaped rocks. From a distance, there are layers of carved railings and jade-built buildings, as if they are not in the world.
Emperor Hongjing brought a group of princes, ministers, and honored children to Fubiting, while on the other side, led by Empress Wei and several concubines, he brought a group of wives and noble ladies to Chengrui Pavilion.
The two pavilions are facing each other from east to west, echoing each other from a distance, and are located one east and one west of Qin'an Hall. It is better to say that it is a pavilion than a giant waterside pavilion, which covers a large area. There is a pool under it, and there is a bridge on the pool, and the two pavilions are located on the bridge.
Each of them has an open-air platform built on the water, which is made of white marble and surrounded by fences. Standing on it, you can see a lake and water in front of you, and you can see the bright moon hanging in the sky when you look up, but it is a good place to enjoy the moon.
At this time, there are many colorful lotus lanterns floating in the pool, illuminating the dark water surface with little ripples. Looking to the east, you can faintly see the scene in Fubiting on the other side of the pool in the distance. But he can only vaguely see the whole picture, but can't see the details clearly, which can be regarded as the difference between men and women.
Because today's banquet was mainly for entertainment, Empress Wei did not wear the crown, but ordinary clothes. If you don't know the details, at first glance, you may think it is a noble lady from some family.
Not only Empress Wei, but also Concubine Shu, and most of the female relatives of some princes and ministers' families are not attending the moon feast in this palace for the first time. At the flower banquet, all of them looked relaxed.
There is no seating arrangement in the pavilion, but tables and chairs can be seen everywhere. There are a lot of melon and fruit snacks, wine and tea on the table. Of course, there are also moon cakes for today's occasion.
However, most of these things are just for display. They ate everything they should have eaten at the banquet before, and many people even went out early to eat their stomachs full. They did not come to the palace for food.
Empress Wei and several concubines were accompanied by several noble ladies of similar age. They stood on the railing and seemed to be talking about something. These high-ranking wives can still enter the pavilion to accompany them, while the low-ranking ones or some noble ladies can only be scattered outside the pavilion.
Xiaobao and brother Yan's son Zhuzhu followed their father and king, and accompanied them in Fubiting, Yaoniang and Princess Qing were fine. The two of them stayed together for a while, and got a little bored, so they went out of the pavilion and found a place to sit and talk.
Just as he was talking, the maid of Prince Qing's Mansion brought Zhuzhu to a young eunuch.
But Zhuzhu couldn't stay there and wanted to find his mother. King Qing had no choice but to send Zhuzhu over.
"Little naughty, you don't want to play with brother Xiaobao anymore?" Princess Qing scratched her daughter's little nose and teased her softly.
"Little brother Xiaobao is being hugged by the imperial grandfather, he doesn't play with me." Zhuzhu said with a small mouth, quite a pitiful look of being abandoned.
Yao Niang loves the beads most, and immediately said, "When I beat Little Bo Brother up when he comes back, how can I not play with the beads?"
"Fifth Auntie, don't hit Brother Xiaobao, if you let him go to my house to play with me, I won't be angry with him anymore." The little girl said in a milky voice.
Yao Niang was amused, "Okay, okay, Auntie won't beat him, let him go to your house to play with you."
"The aunt wants to keep her word."
"sure."
Yaoniang and Princess Qing looked at each other and smiled, Xiaozhuzhu didn't understand what the adults were laughing at, and she looked cute and puzzled, which made the two adults laugh again.
Zhuzhu said she was hungry, Princess Qing asked the maid to bring some snacks, fed her and drank some water. Zhuzhu wanted to pee, Princess Qing took Zhuzhu and left Yaoniang alone.
The night breeze was cool, Yaoniang half leaned on the stone railing, watching the colorful lanterns floating on the water.
At this moment, an eunuch hurried over and said: "Miss Su Fangfei, Your Highness invites you to go, the young master is a little uncomfortable and wants you."