The Queen and the Concubine had been discussing the blind date banquet for a long time... the official name was the Wen Banquet called by Princess Zhaoqing, and it was held three days later by the lotus pond on the mountain behind the palace.
Regarding the selection of the location, the concubines had a heated discussion.
In the end, this place was chosen because of its large space, wide field of view, pleasant scenery, and being far away from the concubine's residence. The most important thing was that although this place had towering old trees and green shade, the terrain was generally very flat.
The Zezhi Tower, which was originally built to overlook the lotus pond, was covered with gauze curtains, allowing you to hide behind it and spy on most of the banquet scene.
No matter how easy it is to observe in secret.
After all, this banquet is held for the children's lifelong event. They, the elders, cannot stay at the banquet all the time, making the younger generation unable to let go, so why are they observing
"It's just that we don't invite their elders this time. Is it inconvenient to ask?" The concubine's original suggestion was based on the fact that Princess Xincheng was about to marry far away. It was only natural that she would spend more time with many close friends in the boudoir before leaving.
It’s just that Xie Kuo, who became the princess after hearing the letter, is certainly a girl with more ideas. After all, she was born in a humble background and was raised in a palace. It is impossible to say that she will act recklessly. If there are many noble girls from high families and there are relatives of the emperor’s daughter present, they may not be suppressed. It can accommodate the scene; secondly, it is only convenient to invite women, but not men.
So after careful discussion, it was rejected.
The plan of the queen and the concubine was to invite the senior female relatives of the nobles and new scholars in the imperial capital to the banquet. At that time, the concubines would be with the elders, and the princess and the prince would be with the juniors to observe each other.
But after discussion, it was changed to Princess Zhaoqing as the leader. Of course, the people invited were all unmarried queens of the right age.
This blocked all the elders of these people from outside.
At this moment, Concubine De was a little entangled and whispered, "What if the child is good, but the mother and sister-in-law at home are not easy to get along with, then..."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Gu Zhen disagreed, "No matter how hard we get along with each other, it's still with ordinary people. How can the royal bloodline tolerate their arrogance?"
Concubine De immediately looked at Yun Fenghuang. Yun Fenghuang actually thought the same thing, but Concubine De was hers after all. Asking the queen to do so was a thorn in the side. She couldn't continue to follow the queen's words, making it seem like she was As scared as the queen.
At that moment, he said calmly: "This is not the only banquet that will be held this year. It is a life-long event for the emperors. How can it be easily decided? We must inspect it again and again. Now we will see the children first, and wait for the next time. , it’s the same when meeting the elders. After all, if the elders are here, maybe something happened and they came back? There are no elders here today. Even if there is guidance in advance, we will be able to solve a few problems when the time comes. Wouldn’t it be nice to see how their own talents change?”
"Sister Imperial Concubine is very considerate." Upon hearing this, Concubine De praised her quickly and glanced at the Queen, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.
Gu Zhen sneered slightly, not even bothering to get angry with Concubine De, and just said: "That's it. Regarding the topic, I, Concubine Noble, Concubine Shu, and Concubine De will each come up with a topic. Please think about it carefully these two days."
So on the day when the banquet began, by the lotus pond there were figures of fragrant servants and nobles like clouds.
Princess Zhaoqing, who is simply today's master, has been used to being in the limelight and being the master since she was a child. Regardless of her status, demeanor and ability, she can control the situation. Although it was a bit messy at first, it soon calmed down. Looking down from Zezhi Tower, everything is in order.
The male and female guests each occupy a seat on one side. They are all beautiful and brightly dressed, which is very pleasing to the eye.
But even though she is fat and thin, with different styles, Princess Zhaoqing, who takes the lead, is still a well-deserved pearl. Regardless of appearance or demeanor, she can easily overwhelm everyone present.
So much so that the eyes of many young men couldn't help but linger on her, feeling secretly in love with her.
Although the queen and other concubines had always been resentful that Yun Fenghuang had been pampered for so many years, looking at her at this time, they had to admit that she was indeed good at raising children.
Because in terms of pure beauty, the Seventh Princess, who is also the daughter of Yi Xingen, is no worse than her elder sister... These sisters, who have the same father and mother, have very similar looks, and they look like they are biological sisters at a glance.
But the Seventh Princess had dressed up carefully today. She was wearing a short jacket with narrow sleeves and narrow sleeves embroidered with oleander and gold thread on a peach red bottom. She wore a phoenix tail skirt, a double-snail bun, and a bright hairpin ring on her head. She looked gorgeous. It was like a flower of wealth in the world, but it was still lost in the many elaborate decorations, and it was not as eye-catching as Zhaoqing standing out from the crowd.
"I still remember the appearance of the emperor's eldest son and the emperor's eldest daughter when they were one month old." The banquet had just begun. Everyone was polite and polite. Apart from their appearance, there was nothing interesting about them.
In the Zezhi Tower, the concubines took a few glances and sat down first. After three drinks, the atmosphere became lively, and then they looked at the details.
However, the queen suddenly spoke and said with some regret, "It seems that those days are still in front of us. In the blink of an eye, the children will have to discuss marriage."
She sighed softly, reluctantly but had to admit, "I am getting old without knowing it."
"What did the Queen say?" Although Yun Fenghuang and other rival concubines often talked about the Queen as "that old thing" in private, at this moment, in front of her face, she still had to persuade them hypocritically, "Your Majesty is in her prime. But how old is she? If you don’t believe it, ask someone to take a mirror and look at it. Isn’t the empress still as beautiful as she was when I first entered the palace?”
This is of course a lie with open eyes. Gu Zhen was elected to the palace and held a high position, mainly because of his family background, and his appearance was not bad.
But in recent years, I have experienced many situations of physical and mental exhaustion, and my hair has appeared prematurely. At this time, even the best beauty care methods can't prevent the haggardness at the corners of my eyes and eyebrows.
The most important thing is that after losing frequently, one's morale has been hit one after another. The fresh and flying spirit of a girl has long been lost. In addition to the grace and splendor cultivated by years of pampering and pampering, it is just the exhaustion that she has tried hard to hide.
While everyone comforted the queen, they also subconsciously looked at Yun Fenghuang.
In total, it has been thirteen years since this beloved concubine entered the palace at the age of fifteen, and she is about to enter her thirties.
Of course, it is impossible to say that she looks like a girl. After all, she is a mother.
Just looking at the pink face, peach cheeks, full of energy, and completely elongated eyebrows, although they are not the cuteness of a girl, they are just the charm and elegance of an adult woman.
She was wearing a light blue palace dress today, which made her skin even more fair and delicate, like frozen jade, and radiant.
… It’s no wonder that the emperor remains so favored to this day.
I couldn't help but take a peek at Concubine An...
To be honest, Concubine An would come to Zezhilou today, which surprised everyone in the Sixth Palace.
It's not that he specifically rejects her, but because this master has gone through many twists and turns, and now he has no heirs.
What was she doing here at this kind of banquet held solely to find spouses for the royal heirs
Are you still thinking about the soft-hearted and filial sixth prince, or are you coming here to watch the fun
It was a coincidence that An Fei was also wearing a green dress today, but it was pine green.
This color is originally extremely white.
Among the many concubines of Chunjia, Yuan Yuniang was never considered to be the most beautiful. But because of a good background, there is no problem with fair and dark skin. A few years ago, due to many things, it was said that her face was disfigured. This news has been circulating for a long time, but it has never been confirmed. But judging from the fact that she was wearing a veil indoors at the moment, covering her entire face, it was probably true.
At this moment, the pine green color only highlighted part of her neck.
It's quite white.
But that kind of whiteness is not as white as Concubine Min's skin, which is as bright as snow, but lifeless, showing the exhaustion and depression accumulated over the years, with no vitality.
"Concubine An is getting old too..." the queen couldn't help but think, "Yes, she is about the same age as me, and both are several years older than Concubine Min... Her life has not been happy these years. Concubine Cui Shu is also the same."
Since Chunjia took office, Concubine Cui Shu, who was originally low-profile, has become even more low-key.
She was wearing a crimson dress today, and her hairpin and hairpin showed signs of trying hard to achieve success.
At this moment, listening to everyone's sighs, he just smiled quietly without saying a word.
Apparently, the memory of being severely beaten during the palace fight was still fresh in his mind.
"Your Majesty, please don't say you are old. You are the same age as His Majesty." The concubines fell into an atmosphere of reminiscing about the past, and Zezhi Tower felt melancholy for a while.
It was Yun Fenghuang who smiled and smoothed things over, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, aren't you too?"
These words made everyone awe-inspiring.
That's right, Gu Zhen and Chun Jia are the same age.
If Gu Zhen is considered old, then isn't the emperor also old? So for an emperor who thinks he is in his prime, what is your intention in saying that he is old
Especially Chunjia has not yet established a crown prince, and now that he is already quite young, it is difficult not to arouse an emperor's instinct to defend his throne.
"Your Majesty, try this water chestnut. The people below caught it freshly from the lotus pond, but it is very sweet." Concubine Shu, who was next to her, gave the queen a handful of peeled water chestnuts, and then gave another handful to the noble concubine, "The noble concubine, take a look at it too. The water in this mountain is good, and the aquatic products produced taste good."
Finally changed the topic.
After that, no one dared to talk about age anymore, but they all chatted about the outstanding children attending the banquet today.
"I just caught sight of Miss Jue. Is Miss Jue also attending the banquet today?" Concubine De took the lead and asked, "I remember that the gold hairpin inlaid with precious jade and gilded tortoise and holding precious gold was originally from the palace. , was it given by the empress to Miss Jue?"
The queen nodded slightly: "It was Jue'er. She accidentally bumped into the eleventh princess earlier. Although Concubine Jing was magnanimous and didn't care, the child was still very guilty and uneasy. She couldn't sleep in the palace for several days and nights, and finally asked herself to go back and reflect. Seeing that she was sincere, I agreed. These days, she stayed at home in the palace and copied many scriptures for the eleventh princess to pray for. Yesterday, she asked someone to send them to me. She planned to send them to me later. Sent to Concubine Jing."
Concubine Jing's eleventh princess is still young, so she didn't come here today.
In fact, even if the Eleventh Princess is young, she can come here first to get some information.
After all, the princess grows up very quickly.
The key is that on this occasion, anyone with a brain will know that the queen and the concubine are talking and laughing and getting along harmoniously.
Later, I couldn't help but fall out.
Those who have eldest children at their knees have to be present for their children's life-long events. Those who don't have them, or the children are still young, want to hide away if they have any brains.
At this moment, no Concubine Jing thanked her on the spot and praised Gu Jue for being virtuous and kind-hearted. However, there were others who praised Gu Jue casually, which was considered to have exposed the incident of the eleventh princess being injured.
The next person mentioned was Concubine Shu's niece.