I don’t know if it’s because the eldest prince is so sweet-talker or because it really tastes good, but basically all the civil and military officials, along with their wives, line up here, waiting to eat malatang and grilled skewers.
"It seems that our worries are unnecessary, this place is very popular!"
Mu Yexiao nodded: "That's right, then let's go around and look at other things. Come back when you're hungry."
The Queen Mother shook her head: "No, I suddenly feel that selling things is quite fun, and I want to join them."
Well, this guy has found new fun. Not to disturb the Queen Mother and the children, Qian Jiujiu and Mu Yexiao separated from the crowd and went shopping alone. It was already evening.
The palace banquet in the evening was still held according to the old rules. Just as it was evening and the sun had not yet set, lights were seen turning on everywhere in the palace.
The stalls were also being cleaned up, and the concubines all went back to dress up, hoping to stand out tonight and at least have the emperor take a look at them. After all, they still have to have dreams.
Qian Jiujiu and Mu Yexiao were in the Queen Mother's palace with their children, waiting for the Queen Mother to go to the banquet hall in front. After all, the Queen Mother was old and looked very tired after playing with the children for a while.
After the Queen Mother had rested enough, the banquet hall was cleaned up, and the Emperor and the Empress sent people over to invite everyone, so everyone walked towards the banquet hall together.
The banquet halls in the imperial palace were used exclusively for banquets and were built very large. When the group arrived, they found that all the civil and military officials had arrived.
"The Emperor has arrived, the Queen Mother has arrived, the Empress has arrived..."
The eunuch said everyone's names in one breath, and Qian Jiujiu burst out laughing: "This person is not easy either."
After taking a look at the eunuch with amusement, Mu Yexiao looked at Qian Jiujiu's antics with a doting look on his face, and then took Qian Jiujiu to sit at their table. Xiaoman and Gu Xiangning's table was next to theirs.
The emperor now stood back in his original position, looking at the people below. All the officials stood up and said, "Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the empress dowager..."
That voice was very shocking. The emperor couldn't help but raise his lips slightly: "My dear ministers, please stand up and sit down. Today is the annual banquet. Let's not talk about other things and enjoy the good time tonight."
The people who arranged the performances also asked them to come up and perform. The eunuchs in the imperial kitchen were also ready to serve the dishes. Qian Jiujiu was watching with great interest! When she felt someone pulling her sleeve, she turned around and found that it was Xiaoman.
"Sister, do you feel like you are watching the Spring Festival Gala?"
Spring Festival Gala? That was a nostalgic feeling. I nodded and said, "You know what, it really looks a bit like it!"
The performance on the stage was a dance. When people of this era talk about performance, most of them think of singing and dancing. Xiaoman narrowed her eyes and looked at Qian Jiujiu: "Sister, do you want to watch a skit? I suddenly want to watch it."
Skits. Qianjiujiu Island suddenly became interested: "Speaking of skits, there is one I really want to watch, but I wonder if these people can do it?"
Xiaoman looked at Qian Jiujiu with a smile: "Don't underestimate these people, they are specially trained, and they have super memory. As long as you can write it, they can perform it. What skit do you want to see? Maybe I remember it?"
Qian Jiujiu narrowed his eyes and chuckled: "Do you remember Mr. Zhao's trilogy of deception? If you remember, write it down and share it with everyone."
Xiaoman's eyes lit up: "This is good, it's really funny. I remember some of it, what about you? If you don't remember, you can fill in the gaps. That's it."
Qian Jiujiu asked Ziyuan beside her to find the female official beside the queen and get some writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone. Qian Jiujiu looked at Gu Xiangning and said, "Xiangning, come here and change seats with me."
Gu Xiangning looked at the two of them, confused. What were they going to do? But since his elder sister had spoken, he had no right to refuse, okay
He could only humbly change seats with Qian Jiujiu. Qian Jiujiu and Xiaoman sat together, and the two of them discussed the plot. After all, this era was different from the modern times, and some plots needed to be modified, so the more they discussed, the more excited they became.
Gu Xiangning, however, sat next to Mu Yexiao. For some reason, he felt insecure. He smiled at Mu Yexiao and said, "Brother-in-law."
Mu Yexiao just nodded and shifted his gaze to Qian Jiujiu. Gu Xiangning's mouth twitched and he also went to look at Xiaoman.
This beautiful dance did not attract the four people at all. The emperor also saw the situation here, but he did not intervene. These people had no interest in dancing, and he could not force them.
After the first dance, the emperor looked at everyone and announced cheerfully: "Speaking of which, there is another happy event to announce today, that is, the queen is pregnant again."
This was not a happy event for the concubines and their families. The emperor still treated them equally, but it was strange that only the queen was pregnant.
Some of these concubines suspected that they had been assassinated, so they went to see doctors for check-ups, and found that their bodies were all normal. This is what everyone wanted to know.
After the emperor made the announcement, he looked at the crowd's reactions and couldn't help but frown: "Why, my Great Zhou will have another offspring, isn't this a happy thing?"
It was the Concubine Chen who reacted first and spoke directly: "Congratulations to the Emperor and Empress for having another child. May our Great Zhou Dynasty prosper."
The ministers below also reacted quickly, stood up and knelt on the ground, and shouted: "Congratulations to the emperor and the empress for having another child, and the great Zhou Dynasty will prosper."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, and Xiaoman and Qian Jiujiu wrote out the first skit, including how many people were needed and what to perform. After looking at the scene in front of them, the two looked at each other.
Xiaoman took the script and left quietly. She thought she was being sneaky, but in fact the emperor saw everything. No one else noticed her because they were all kneeling to congratulate the emperor!
"Okay, everyone, get up. Next, let's continue eating and drinking."
Everyone then stood up and sat down, and the dancers below continued to perform. But when the person came up, everyone was stunned, because the person who came up was not the so-called dancer, but the emperor's concubine, Yuan Fei.
Princess Yuan was born into a military family, so she had some martial arts skills. At this moment, she was wearing a pair of roller skates and dancing in the hall, looking very heroic.
The emperor looked at Concubine Yuan in surprise, then glanced at the queen: "I don't know about this matter."
The Queen covered her mouth and smiled: "I am pregnant now and cannot serve the Emperor. The concubines must work hard. Where will the Emperor go tonight?"
The emperor twitched his lips and said, "I will definitely stay with you, Queen. I will go to your palace on the first and fifteenth day of every month. At other times, I will go there on my own accord."
The Queen reminded the Emperor: "Look at the Concubine Yuan spinning around. She is so pretty. Come and look. Don't ask me to look at you, or people will think I am jealous!"
The emperor took a deep breath, feeling somewhat embarrassed. If he didn't look at it, people would say that the queen was jealous. If he looked at it, the queen would really be angry. It was so difficult.
The queen smiled. To be honest, the dance performed by this Princess Yuan was really beautiful. Even she was fascinated by it.
After the performance, Princess Yuan bowed to the Emperor and Empress and said, "I wish you all the best in the new year."
The Queen nodded: "Yes, you are thoughtful. Go back to your seat."
The emperor nodded, and then gave the dish in front of him to Concubine Yuan. The concubines were so jealous. Why didn't they think of showing their faces in front of the emperor? There were not many opportunities like this.
Thinking of this, the concubines became more active. At this moment, Miss Yuan stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the ladies in the harem can all perform on stage, so can we?"
The emperor was stunned and looked at the person who spoke: "Who are you?"
Yuan Meng quickly introduced herself with a smile: "My name is Yuan Meng, and I am the second daughter of Duke Yuan."
The Emperor knew Duke Yuan, but not Yuan Meng. The Empress, however, had heard of her a little. This Miss Yuan Meng, who is just sixteen years old this year, is a famous girl and it seems that she wants to show herself well.
Duke Yuan also stood up at this time and looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is my old daughter, I have spoiled her too much, please don't mind it."
The emperor smiled and nodded: "Miss Yuan is young and beautiful, she talks a lot, but she just seems lively. It seems that Miss Yuan also wants to come up and perform. I wonder what Miss Yuan wants to perform?"
Seeing Yuan Meng's performance, the daughters of the ministers below all wanted to do their best to show up in front of the emperor and the ministers. At least in this way, their future marriages would definitely be smooth.
Yuan Meng dared to stand up, so she must have the ability to do it: "In reply to the emperor, I am good at painting. I will perform one today, dancing and painting at the same time."
It is quite difficult to do two things at the same time. The emperor also became interested: "Oh, then you get ready and start."
After Xiaoman left, Qian Jiujiu and Gu Xiangning switched places. Looking at the emperor's reaction, she suddenly sighed, "My husband, men are naturally curious about women. Look at the emperor, he is now completely attracted by Yuan Meng."
"I'm afraid that Concubine Yuan's plan just now will be ruined. What a pity! Will the harem have another person? This Yuan Meng looks a little young."
Mu Yexiao's mouth twitched, and he wanted to say that Yuan Meng's age was just right, and they were getting old, but he didn't dare to.