It was almost noon when we set out, but the banquet did not actually start until 6:15 in the evening, when the sun had completely set and the palace lanterns were lit, dotting the grand palace. The early cherry blossoms in the plum garden, the groups of palace maids and the snow falling from the treetops were so beautiful that all the talented people would compose a poem on the spot.
Rong Tang was almost fainting from hunger.
The inspection for entering the palace was very strict, and no food from outside the palace was allowed to be brought in. Princess Duanyi and other female relatives including Wang Xiuyu were taken to the harem by palace servants to pay homage to the empress and the empress dowager; Rong Mingyu and other court officials listened to the emperor's instructions outside the Qinzheng Hall.
The banquet was held in Shaohua Palace, and all the males like Rong Tang were taken to the side hall behind Shaohua Palace to wait.
I don't know which eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department came up with this idea, to prevent them from running out of stomach for the palace banquet later and upsetting the emperor. Each person was only given three or two pieces of cake, which were barely enough to fill the gaps between their teeth, let alone sit there for the entire afternoon waiting for the palace banquet to begin.
Rong Tang was a little overwhelmed.
He had also attended the palace banquets in his previous two lives, but either because Queen Wang was concerned about him as he had just recovered from a serious illness or because she ignored the rule that outsiders were not allowed into the harem, she took him and Wang Xiuyu to Fengqi Palace, where they warmed themselves by the fire and ate snacks while waiting for the palace banquet to begin.
Or Sheng Chengli would invite him to his palace in advance. At that time, the treatment of the Fifth Prince would be no different from that of an ordinary prince, so he would not starve.
Therefore, Rong Tang never knew that he would have to go hungry before the palace banquet.
Su Huaijing looked like he didn't know either. He looked at Rong Tang's hands that were repeatedly pressing on his stomach, his face so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to be squeezed out of it.
Palace banquets are already restrictive, and once at the table, every word and action, which dish to use, and how often to move chopsticks are all very particular. The clerks of the Ministry of Rites and the compilers of the Censorate sit outside the palace banquet, recording everyone's words and deeds in real time. Once a violation of the rules is recorded, at best, one will not be able to attend palace banquets in the future, and it is more likely that the family will be implicated.
So usually speaking, everyone would fill their stomachs before attending a banquet, so as to avoid wolfing down their food at the actual banquet and losing their manners in front of the emperor.
Su Huaijing has been away from the palace for many years, and this is the first time he has been treated like this.
Until Rong Tang once again quietly reached down and pressed his stomach, Su Huaijing couldn't bear it anymore. He stood up and was about to find some food for him, but was caught by Rong Tang in an instant.
Prince Ningxuan's eyes were almond-shaped, but they were not the standard ones in picture albums.
When he was frightened and stared, his eyes were round like a deer running in the jungle; but when he lay lazily on the beauty couch, picked up a fashionable book in his hand, flipping through it boredly while basking in the sunlight coming through the window, and then picked up a piece of candied fruit or jerky and chewed it slowly, the corners of his eyes were slightly curved and his crow feathers trembled, making him more like a playboy who was born to travel among the flowers.
But now Rong Tang's demeanor was obviously the former. There were many people waiting in the side hall, most of them gathered in groups of three or two, each occupying a place to chat. Even Rong Zheng and Rong Yuan joined the children of the noble families who they were on good terms with.
Rong Tang didn't want to get involved with them, so he and Su Huaijing found a corner and stayed there. They had been quiet and motionless since they entered the hall, but in fact, people kept glancing at them. When Su Huaijing stood up, he attracted the attention of almost half of the room, and everyone was speculating on what they were going to do.
Rong Tang pulled his sleeve, shook his head slightly, and forced him to sit down again. Only then did the person who was secretly watching retract his inquiring eyes.
Su Huaijing's face was still gloomy, and his irritability was almost materialized on his face. Rong Tang asked in a low voice: "What are you going to do?"
Su Huaijing: "Go find something to eat."
Rong Tang felt a little warm in his heart, and he still coaxed her softly: "Didn't you give me all yours?"
Each person was given a limited amount of pastries. Su Huaijing didn't eat a single bite and gave them all to Rong Tang. However, he still couldn't suppress the hunger surging in his stomach.
Rong Tang muttered, "I asked you to go with mother to see your aunt, but you didn't go. If you went, I wouldn't have to worry so much."
Su Huaijing's face turned serious and he asked, "And then you fainted from hunger outside alone?"
Rong Tang was speechless.
Men from outside the harem are not allowed to enter the harem, but male wives are an exception. If they are led by the mistress, they can still be considered half-female members and pay respects to the empress and the queen mother. There is no need to sit outside with them. However, when Su Huaijing heard that Rong Tang could not enter, he immediately rejected the proposal.
He will have plenty of opportunities to enter the harem in the future, so it is impossible for him to let Tangtang sit outside alone for the entire afternoon on New Year's Eve.
Fortunately he followed along, otherwise he wouldn't have known that this is how the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs do things.
Su Huaijing even began to wonder whether this was the chief eunuch's own decision or Emperor Renshou's indifference.
—To demonstrate his supreme imperial authority.
All over the world, even princes and nobles have to rely on him for all their food, clothing and other expenses.
Su Huaijing felt irritated and his fingers reached for the badge on his waist, rubbing it uncontrollably a few times.
Rong Tang seemed to be frightened by his tone just now, and did not speak for a long time. Su Huaijing quietly took a breath and poured him another cup of almost completely cold tea. His mood almost turned bad again, but he still admitted his mistake in a gentle voice: "I shouldn't be mean to you."
Rong Tang was stunned: "?"
Su Huaijing: "The doctor said that you must follow the doctor's orders when eating and taking medicine. You can't overeat or starve yourself, otherwise your organs will be damaged and difficult to regulate. That's why I'm a little nervous. I don't mean to be mean to you. I'm sorry."
Rong Tang was stunned by his fright. He blinked his eyes and asked after a while: "Why did Doctor Lin tell you everything? He never said these things to me."
Su Huaijing said: "Patients should not worry too much. Telling you this will only make you upset. Anyway, I am by your side every day, so I just need to keep an eye on you."
Rong Tang looked at him suspiciously, and intuitively felt that there was something wrong with his words, but he couldn't figure it out after thinking about it. So he gave up, picked up the teacup, lowered his head to sip, and then frowned and put it back as soon as he took a sip.
Cold and unpalatable.
So angry.
Rong Tang sighed heavily, and Su Huaijing felt very distressed. The sun had already set outside the palace, and the palace servants were changing the lights. Su Huaijing took his hand and asked softly, "Can I help you find something to eat?"
Rong Tang also gently refused: "No."
"Why?" Su Huaijing's face fell a little.
Rong Tang: "The roads outside are complicated and crowded. If you walk outside for just a few steps, you might be caught."
Su Huaijing was slightly startled, and almost laughed at his serious expression, and replied: "I know the way." He said: "Doesn't Tangtang know who I am?"
The seventh prince of the previous dynasty grew up in this palace since childhood. Even if he had been away for several years, it was impossible for him to forget the way.
But Rongtang insisted: "No, don't go out, the dinner will start soon, I'm not that hungry."
He said he wasn’t that hungry, but then his stomach growled twice.
Su Huaijing probably wanted to kill someone, and his handsome face was dark. Rong Tang felt guilty, but still insisted: "Don't go out, I don't want to be alone, I'm scared."
As soon as the word "afraid" came out, Su Huaijing's expression froze for a moment, and then was replaced by a feeling of helpless indulgence and powerlessness.
Tangtang was not afraid of staying alone in this side hall, he was afraid that he would encounter some unknown danger if he went out.
This is the homeland that he has not returned to for many years, but it is also the deepest part of the imperial power.
He still doesn't know how Su Huaijing managed to completely change his appearance and structure, so that when standing in the Golden Throne Hall, Emperor Renshou still couldn't recognize that this was his own nephew. But Rong Tang was still afraid that deep in this palace, there would be people from the old days who would recognize him as their former master based on a few fleeting clues.
Just like Ke Hongxue determined that Mu Jingxu was the third prince.
The consequences of this adventure were too serious, and Rong Tang didn't want to let him gamble alone.
He stared at Su Huaijing for a while. The latter admitted defeat, sighed slightly, and began to look around the room to see if there was anyone else with clean pastries on their plates, intending to ask for a few pieces for Rong Tang.
No matter how serious your cleanliness obsession or how precious you are, it doesn’t matter compared to filling Rong Tang’s stomach.
Just as he was about to act, a young eunuch came running in with a food box. He bent his waist and scanned the room. When he saw this corner, he hurried over and said, "How are you, my Lord? I must have been waiting anxiously. The Fifth Prince was worried that you were starving, so he specially asked me to bring you some food to fill your stomach."
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment: "Who?"
"Your Highness the Fifth Prince." The eunuch said with a smile, "Your Highness said that the Crown Prince is his cousin and the Empress's nephew. He is weak and can't stand being hungry for so long. It's really inappropriate for him to use etiquette to pressure you. So, Your Highness went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and talked to Chief Steward Xia for a long time, and then he asked the servant to bring in this box of food. Take a look, Your Highness, these are all your favorite foods!"
Rong Tang loves spicy food, and his favorite is the hot pot from Shudao Pavilion, which is steaming and spicy. However, for the sake of his health, Su Huaijing never allows him to eat too much. He doesn't often go out of the house, so almost no one knows the taste of the Prince of Ningxuan.
But when the little eunuch opened the food box and placed the dishes on the table one by one, Rong Tang's heart grew heavier.
The dishes are very simple, with only four dishes, simple and homely, namely spicy rabbit head, pepper and salt pig's trotters, stir-fried pork with green peppers, and red date goose soup, and even a serving of fragrant rice.
The food didn't look like it was meant to fill his stomach at all, it looked like it was going to stuff him to death.
When the dishes were served, the aroma spread throughout the hall. The nobles and dignitaries all turned their heads at the same time. Some were so hungry that they even swallowed their saliva.
Rong Tang was extremely nervous and looked back hastily, wanting to explain to Su Huaijing, but he saw the slightly raised corners of his lips and a hint of smile in his eyes.
Rong Tang sat upright, looking straight ahead, and immediately stated his position: "I won't eat it, Huai Jing, don't worry, I won't even look at it!"
Su Huaijing smiled and picked up an empty bowl, filled him with soup, and said slowly: "Why not eat? The Fifth Prince has good intentions."
He placed the bowl in front of Rong Tang, repeatedly expressing that he didn't mind at all, and almost forced Rong Tang to start drinking, before he took out a few taels of silver and handed them to the eunuch: "Please tell His Highness that Tang Tang and I are very grateful. This meal was delivered at the perfect time."
Not too early or too late, just when people were almost starving and the banquet was about to begin.
I really don’t know who taught you this little trick to win people’s hearts.
Su Huaijing turned his head and glanced at Rong Tang indifferently.
Rong Tang shuddered subconsciously, feeling like the spicy rabbit head on the table.
Su Huaijing had already lowered his eyes, and with a pair of slender, strong hands with distinct joints, he slowly and carefully peeled open the bones of the rabbit's head and began to separate the meat inside for him.
The broken bones on one side happened to be pieced together to form a complete skull, which was quite a relief to see the man die with his eyes wide open.
Rong Tang: “…”
I told you I don't eat it!!!
(End of this chapter)