Every important banquet in Yongxi Palace will be held in Zirui Hall.
It was the first night when the lanterns were lit, and the hall was full of singing and singing, creating a harmonious and festive atmosphere.
Emperor Zhuang celebrates his birthday, and everyone in the palace is more cautious than usual.
Before long, the hall was already full of concubines, princes and clan members of Emperor Zhuang who attended the banquet.
Jieyu, whom Emperor Zhuang accepted, could perform the dance on the plate. At the beginning of the banquet, she performed a dance for Emperor Zhuang. She stepped on the emerald jade plate with her bare feet, her clothes fluttering, and she danced gracefully like a swallow on a beam.
The other concubines sitting upright in the hall are also full of cloud temples and green silk, jade and soft flowers.
The emperor and empress sat at the same table, and the two respected each other as guests, but the empress looked a little sick and sick.
Concubine Li Gui has a high status, so she sits very close to the seat of the emperor and empress. She turns her beautiful eyes slightly with a little reservedness, from time to time, she looks down at the young concubines who are not as high as her in the seats, but have beautiful appearances.
Mu Qian and Mu Ji celebrated Emperor Zhuang's birthday together, Concubine Li Gui felt relieved, and the more she saw her two children, the happier she became.
The eunuch presented a golden sculpture carved with coral from the South China Sea carefully selected by Concubine Li Gui.
The Mu clan was originally the descendant of Emperor Gao Xin, and the golden carving was originally the totem of the tribe, so it was a thoughtful gift to give this expensive gift.
Emperor Zhuang's temperament has always been gentle and kind, but for the birthday gift chosen by Concubine Li Gui, he just praised it lightly, as if he was dealing with an errand.
Maybe I'm used to all kinds of treasures.
Concubine Li Gui comforted herself in this way.
Until the eunuch presented Mu Huai's birthday gift, Concubine Li Gui felt as if cold water had been poured on her, and her heart felt cold.
Mu Huai presented the picture of a hundred years of life written by himself. Although it was written on expensive gold-sprinkled paper, the price of that paper was only half a tael of silver.
The congratulatory speech he said was very common, he only said wishing his father and emperor a long life than Nanshan, which in her ears could be said to be perfunctory to the emperor.
But Muzhen's eyebrows immediately showed a smile. In front of all the concubines and princes, he praised Mu Huai's unique picture of a hundred years of life, and immediately ordered the eunuch to frame the picture of a hundred years of life, and put it in his own bedroom.
What kind of fun is it? As for being so precious
Concubine Li Gui was quite unhappy in her heart, but she didn't show any emotion on her face.
The birthday banquet had been going on for more than half an hour, and Mu Huai felt more and more boring.
It's boring to eat, and even more boring to sing and dance.
But Mu Zhen passed his birthday, no matter how mad he was, he couldn't leave the banquet early, so he lowered his eyes, thinking that after returning to Quyun Palace, he would arrest Rong Xi and go to his study to grind ink.
He has no intention of studying tonight, he just wants to see her embarrassed appearance under his nose.
Mu Huai didn't like Rong Xi's delicate voice at first, but now for some reason, if he didn't listen to her gently calling him His Highness a few times for a day, he would feel uncomfortable.
In the late autumn season, crabs are the most plump. The Shangshi Bureau made fresh and sweet Bi Luo with crabs, and directly steamed hundreds of fresh crabs.
When the steaming crab was presented to Emperor Zhuang, he couldn't help but recall that Concubine Xian liked crabs the most during her lifetime, so Mu Huai followed Concubine Xian.
Whenever it is the season when crabs are plump, Mu Huai will eat extravagantly, this food is cold in nature, Xianfei naturally refuses to let him eat more.
Thinking back to the time he spent with Concubine Xian and Mu Huai many years ago, Emperor Zhuang's eyes occasionally had warmth flowing, so he personally took eight pieces of crabs and slowly peeled them off.
Many years ago, he also peeled crabs for Concubine Xian by himself.
After a while, the crab meat and crab roe were completely separated. Emperor Zhuang called the eunuch who was serving him, and ordered: "Fill this up..."
Before the word "tooth" came out, Emperor Zhuang stopped his words.
He almost called out Mu Huai's baby name just now. This baby name was given to Mu Huai by the concubine Xian, and it was called Manya.
It's just that after Concubine Xian passed away, Mu Huai was no longer as close to his father as before, and he might not have called him full of teeth for a long time.
When he was crowned last year, he personally wrote the small characters for Mu Huai: Zhiyan.
It's just that it's not convenient for Zhiyan to call in front of so many concubines.
Emperor Zhuang said to the eunuch again: "Give this to the fourth prince."
The queen looked sideways, but her complexion was indifferent. Mu Zhen had always favored Mu Huai the most, and everyone in the palace had already seen it.
Although she is a queen, she did not give birth to a son and a half for Emperor Zhuang. It has little to do with her which prince the Emperor Zhuang favors.
Concubine Li Gui was carefully peeling the crab shells for Emperor Zhuang with her slender fingers. Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhuang rewarded Mu Huai with the crab meat he peeled by himself. Seeing this, a trace of poison flashed in her eyes.
She slowly put down the crab in her hand, and her hands trembled imperceptibly.
After the crab meat bestowed by Emperor Zhuang was placed on the tall table in front of Mu Huai, Concubine Li Gui stood up and saluted, and said softly to Emperor Zhuang: "It's late autumn, fat crabs are best with chrysanthemum wine, and my concubine just brewed some recently. Why don't you share it with all the sisters to taste. This crab, with this chrysanthemum wine, will taste even more delicious."
Emperor Zhuang nodded after hearing this, since Concubine Li Gui offered it up, he naturally agreed to Li Guifei's proposal because it would not be easy to save her face.
The maids successively presented the mellow chrysanthemum wine to the noble lords, but Concubine Li kept her eyes on the maid serving Mu Huai.
Mu Huai obviously had a poor appetite, frowning slightly, he ate the crab meat that Emperor Zhuang personally peeled for him.
The more Concubine Li Gui looked at Mu Huai, the angrier she became.
The emperor personally gave the food, he should be grateful to Dade, how can he act like this tasteless food
Although Concubine Li Gui was angry, her heart was hanging in her throat.
She was afraid that Mu Huai would not drink the wine, if he did not drink, then her efforts today would be in vain.
Immediately, Concubine Li Gui's vermilion lips raised a slight arc.
The food at the banquet has to go through several drug tests before it can be presented, except for her chrysanthemum wine. Since she took the initiative to present it to everyone at the banquet, no one would have expected that she would tamper with Mu Huai's wine.
Mu Huai probably didn't doubt much, he drank the chrysanthemum wine as Li Guifei wished.
Concubine Li Gui's smile deepened, and after a while, she saw Mu Huai's eyebrows tightened again and again, and put her hand on his forehead.
Emperor Zhuang also noticed Mu Huai's strangeness, and when he was about to ask, Li Guifei got up and said, "The fourth prince must be a little drunk, why don't your majesty ask the maid to guide him to the side hall to sober up."
Because most of the people sitting in the Zirui Palace are concubines from the harem, the guards with swords who always accompany Mu Huai are waiting outside the palace, but now Mu Huai is served by the maids of the Zirui Palace.
The side hall was usually used for drunken officials or Wang clan relatives to rest and sober up, so Emperor Zhuang followed Li Guifei's wishes and asked the maid to push Mu Huai's wheelchair to the side hall.
Mu Huai only felt that his blood seemed to be flowing backwards, ready to break through his skin and splash out at any moment.
Somewhere on his body, there is also a faint tendency to probe.
There must be something wrong with the food he used just now.
Mu Huai tried his best to calm himself down, but the medicine given by that gangster just wouldn't make him calm down.
At this moment, Mu Huai's eyes were slightly red, and his handsome face was terribly gloomy.
The little maid who pushed the wheelchair for her was so frightened that she didn't even dare to take a breath. After reaching the back of the side hall, the little maid immediately escaped.
Mu Huai opened his lips and managed to utter a word. He wanted to tell the maid to push him out of the Zirui Palace, and he had to go back to the palace to find a doctor.
But the court lady has long since disappeared.
Mu Huai held on to his right arm, which was already bulging with veins, and wanted to push the wheelchair out of the hall by himself.
At this time, someone stopped him.
When Mu Huai saw the man's appearance clearly, he couldn't help but sneered.
The person who came was actually the eunuch who he asked Rong Xi to beat at the Hanlin Academy that day.
The eunuch with red lips and white teeth, male and female, was looking at him with a smile at this moment.
That smile was too creepy, and Mu Huai became more and more angry in his heart, so he reprimanded: "Get out of the way, don't block your eyes in front of me."
The little eunuch pressed the handle of Mu Huai's wheelchair with both hands, and said in a strange way: "Your Highness, do you know what kind of medicine you are taking? You are a cripple, and you have taken this kind of medicine. Now only the slave can save you."
— "Stop being so condescending!"
The feminine little eunuch almost roared out the last sentence.
Cold sweat dripped from Mu Huai's forehead, and his eyes became more and more gloomy.
The person who harmed him would really want to use the method of humiliating others, he would add aphrodisiacs, and he would use an eunuch to humiliate him.
He predicted that someone would come here in a short time to catch him. Tomorrow the palace will tell that these four princes are really surly. Not only do they have ailments in their legs, but they are also a broken sleeve who likes men.
Mu Huai sneered, and seeing that Mu Huai didn't show any signs of panic, the little eunuch gritted his teeth fiercely as he still had that strong and superior appearance.
As the medicine became stronger and stronger, Mu Huai gradually felt that something was wrong with his usual lead-filled legs.
The eunuch smiled sinisterly and wanted to untie his clothes, he said: "You don't have any guards by your side, what are you doing with a disabled person..."
Before the words were finished, the pupils of the little eunuch suddenly dilated.
Mu Huai's arm strength was astonishing, and when the eunuch felt that he was about to be strangled to death, something even more frightening happened to him.
Mu Huai actually stood up from the wheelchair!
He was tall, and he pinched the eunuch's neck with his right hand, ruthlessly crushing him to death.
The little eunuch's feet had already left the ground, and he kept kicking his legs in an attempt to escape Mu Huai's imprisonment.
His eyes turned pale, and he heard Mu Huai say in a very ruthless voice: "What are you, how dare you covet me? When I'm lame, can't I kill you, little bastard? That day in the Imperial Academy I should kill you!"
Autumn rain began to fall from outside the hall.
Mu Huai's guards had already arrived at this time, but they saw his master standing tall and straight in the hall, wiping his hands with his clothes.
There was an eunuch lying beside him, the eunuch's death was extremely miserable, the strangle marks on his neck showed that he was strangled to death.
The attendant seemed not surprised that Mu Huai stood up suddenly, but asked Mu Huai in a low voice what to do with the eunuch's body.
Mu Huaiqiang suppressed the power of the medicine, stared at the eunuch's dead body on the ground with a hoarse voice, already knowing in his heart who succeeded in killing him.
He said: "Early in the morning, carrying this eunuch's body to Jihua Palace is my first big gift to that bitch."
The guard replied yes respectfully.
There was still music in the hall, Concubine Li Gui thought that the eunuch should have succeeded, since Mu Huai was crippled and couldn't escape anyway. After the birthday banquet is over, she wants to show Emperor Zhuang what kind of virtue his favorite son is.
*****
After leaving the palace, Mu Huai took a detour and walked towards Quyun Palace. The guards wanted to hold an umbrella for him, but he threw the umbrella on the ground with heavy brows.
He thought that once he drenched himself in the cold rain, the heat in his body would be relieved a lot, but the more the rain drenched, the more he felt that his heart was burning.
After a while, everyone went back to Quyun Palace.
The guards followed Mu Huai all the way with terrified expressions, and when they arrived at Rong Xi's room, they saw him enter without knocking on the door.
Normally, the big banquet in the palace lasts until the evening, so Rong Xi took a bath when Mu Huai was not around.
At this time, she did not hide her appearance, but she was still cautious in the end, fearing that if Mu Huai came back early, she would reveal her secrets.
So he put on a thin plain cloak, and while humming a little song from Jiangnan, he took the box and prepared to smear his face.
The rain is falling, and the woman's graceful singing voice can be heard clearly even though it is low, soft and melodious, just like a warbling cry.
Mu Huai had already entered the room, his burning red eyes were staring at Rong Xi's slender back.
Like a wolf watching its prey.
He had thought before that if she sang, it should be very beautiful.
Mu Huai walked towards her slowly.
Rong Xi suddenly felt that the atmosphere around him was not quite right, so he turned around.
As soon as she turned around, the box in her hand fell to the ground.
Immediately, she widened her extremely beautiful eyes.
Mu Huai actually walked in front of her!
His body was drenched by rain, but he didn't look embarrassed at all, and he still had that proud and handsome appearance.
"...your highness...your highness..."
Mu Huai was also stunned after seeing her face clearly, he didn't know if he was hallucinating.
The woman in front of her has a greasy complexion, her face is only as big as a palm, her facial features are exquisite and graceful, and although her eyebrows and eyes are slightly timid, they add a bit of pure and charming demeanor that makes people pitiful.
She was only dressed in plain white lingerie, and she had a fresh and pleasant scent of acacia on her body. It can be vaguely seen that there is a deep spring color on that exquisite and slender figure.
It can be said to be a stunningly beautiful beauty skin.
Mu Huai remembered that there were records in the history books of the fatuous monarchs of the two countries. They did not hesitate to resort to military force for the sake of a world-famous beauty.
The woman in front of her has a glamorous appearance that is disastrous to the country and the people.
Rong Xi was so shocked that she retreated again and again, and Mu Huai discovered her face that she had hidden for many years......
And Mu Huai... is by no means a crippled prince with leg problems.
The two discovered each other's secrets, and now she was at a loss as to what to do.
When Rong Xi's lips trembled slightly, Mu Huai's mind had lost the ability to think, and his reason almost collapsed.
He walked quickly to Rong Xi's body, cupped the woman's warm face with both hands, leaned over and sealed it with a kiss.
That kiss was extremely strong, with a bit of jerky in the domineering way.
Rong Xi groaned lightly, and the thin outer cloak she was wearing fell to the ground.
She panicked, and when she was thinking of picking up the clothes to cover her body, Mu Huai finally let her go.
He looked at her flustered beautiful eyes, and his voice was extremely hoarse—
"Rong Xi, save me."