"My queen, the yard is decorated!" Xiaoman jumped into the house and happily came to Shen Qingwan.
"Well, you've worked hard." Shen Qingwan smiled gently, "Did you give some money to the workers who decorated the place? Today is New Year's Eve, and they've worked hard too."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already taken care of everything. I remember the rules from past years clearly!" Xiao Man smiled and asked for praise.
Shen Qingwan touched Xiaoman's head. The clumsy little girl back then could now stand on her own.
"Tonight is New Year's Eve. The emperor will hold a banquet in the palace. Now that you are ready, come with me to the banquet tonight." Shen Qingwan said.
"This... isn't appropriate. Your Majesty, you know that I have always been carefree. I'm afraid that I might offend someone at the banquet and cause trouble for Your Majesty..." Xiao Man had never been to such a grand banquet before and was a little at a loss for a moment.
"No problem. You have to grow up on your own in this palace. Lianyun will go with you, and you won't be placed in a prominent position. I'll let Lianyun take care of you so you can learn and see more." Shen Qingwan raised her hand to stop Xiaoman from saying anything more, "It's settled, go and get ready."
"Yes." Xiao Man nodded and left. She also knew that Shen Qingwan was looking for an opportunity for her to exercise. This kind of big banquet, if you seize the opportunity, is also a good place to develop your network.
"My queen, it's time to change clothes." Lianyun came over and reminded her on time.
"Well. Please bring me the plain clothes I customized a few days ago." Shen Qingwan thought about it and decided to choose a set of elegant clothes.
Lianyun paused, and asked hesitantly: "Your Majesty, this banquet... The ladies of the palace will definitely dress up to attend, and strive to leave a deep impression in front of the emperor..."
Shen Qingwan laughed and said, "Everyone is like this, so should I be like this too? The ladies' dresses must be extremely complicated and bright red and purple, which I don't like. I have been in the palace for so long, do you still think that the emperor will look at someone with new eyes just because she wears gorgeous clothes at a banquet?"
Lianyun was silent. Although she still felt that she should wear expensive clothes for the New Year's Eve party, she could not refute Shen Qingwan's words. She had to obediently take out the clothes that Shen Qingwan liked and help her change and dress up.
Before leaving, Shen Qingwan saw that Lianyun was still worried that she would be ignored by the emperor because her dress was not formal enough, so she smiled and joked to comfort her, "Don't worry, maybe the emperor is tired of seeing the beauties who go out in fancy dresses every year, and he finds my simple and elegant dress pleasing to the eye."
But she didn't expect that she would hit the nail on the head.
Fu Yuheng saw her at a glance, she was different from the other concubines who were dressed up carefully. His eyes lit up, and when the two looked at each other, he couldn't help but smile at her gently. Shen Qingwan was stunned for a moment, then she reacted immediately and smiled back at him faintly.
Xiao Shushen, who was standing next to Fu Yuheng, saw all the interactions between the two. She continued to maintain her dignity and generosity on the surface, but in her heart she scolded Shen Qingwan from head to toe. Of course, she could understand why the emperor only saw Shen Qingwan. A white lotus suddenly appeared among a group of enchanting red roses, which of course made people feel relaxed and happy. The other gorgeous and enchanting people instantly turned into rouge and vulgar powder.
She is indeed a scheming woman. Xiao Shushen applied a little force to her fingertips and glared at the elegant woman in front of her, but she still suppressed her displeasure and tried not to show it.
But he heard the man beside him say to Sun Ning: "Go tell the virtuous concubine that she will sit beside me tonight."
At this moment, Xiao Shushen's face looked completely ugly.
Fu Yuheng watched Sun Ning go to Shen Qingwan, then he retracted his gaze and glanced at Xiao Shushen indifferently, and said: "The Queen Mother is unwell today and will not attend the dinner." Although he said so, in fact, everyone in the palace knew that the Queen Mother went to Fashan Temple for Fu Huaiyu, so she would not come. She said so just to make it sound good.
Xiao Shushen then calmed down and asked worriedly, "The weather has been unpredictable recently. I think he has caught a cold. Your Majesty, please be more careful."
"No problem, I'm in good health." Fu Yuheng said nothing more, and walked straight to the front and sat down. Xiao Shushen clenched her fists, forced herself to relax, walked over with her usual decent smile, and sat aside.
At this time, Shen Qingwan also followed Sun Ning and walked over. She bowed politely and sat down next to Fu Yuheng after receiving his signal.
"My beloved concubine is very eye-catching today." Fu Yuheng looked at Shen Qingwan tenderly.
"Your Majesty, thank you for the compliment. I can't say it's eye-catching, I'm just not as meticulous as my sisters." Shen Qingwan looked back, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, but it was only a faint smile.
Fu Yuheng smiled and did not argue with her. He just looked around at the people at the banquet until Sun Ning came to report that everyone had arrived. He cleared his throat and announced the start of the banquet.
According to convention, the New Year's Eve banquet was to begin with a performance by the beauties, but everyone wanted to observe the performance levels of the others and then adjust their own status, so for a moment no one took the initiative to step forward.
The corners of Fu Yuheng's mouth, which had been bent, slowly drooped and his expression became unhappy.
Shen Qingwan stood up and turned to face him, "Your Majesty, let me and Concubine Shu perform the first song for this year's New Year's Eve banquet." The faint smile on her face was the same as always, but there seemed to be something more in it.
Maybe it was because it was New Year's Eve and she was in a very good mood. In fact, he didn't expect her to take the initiative to ask for it.
Fu Yuheng's expression eased slightly and he nodded in agreement.
The palace servant brought up the zither that the two were going to use, carefully placed it in the center of the hall, and also arranged the chairs.
Shen Qingwan and Wu Ling sat calmly in front of the piano and adjusted the tone. She looked up at him, and when he nodded slightly, she looked at Wu Ling and started their duet.
The melodious sound of the piano was playing in the quiet hall. The song they chose was the famous song "Spring Thoughts" which caused a sensation in Beijing more than ten years ago. The melody was beautiful, and the highs and lows revealed their longing for spring.
Fu Yuheng's eyes flashed with surprise. He knew Shen Qingwan could play the zither, but he rarely heard her and her playing such a joyful song together. Long Xin was very pleased. After the two stood up and saluted, he waved his hand and rewarded them with all the night-shining pearls that the vassal state had just paid tribute to.
As a result, those who had been reluctant to move had their own thoughts in their minds and no longer hid their ideas, fearing that the good rewards would have been given to others before they went on stage.
Hua Xiangwei was the one who couldn't help herself. As soon as Shen Qingwan left the center of the hall, she couldn't wait to take out the embroidery pattern she had prepared early in the morning and present it to her.
Fu Yuheng took the embroidery from Sun Ning, took a general look at it, praised it indifferently, and then gave it to the servant to keep it properly, without mentioning any reward.
Everyone understood her little thoughts, and after seeing the joke, they quietly cleared their heads and decided not to act rashly like her.
Hua Xiangwei retreated awkwardly, looking at Shen Qingwan with eyes full of jealousy and resentment.