$320: Summer Banquet

Most of the summer banquets were originally held in summer palaces. Of course, the officials participating were mostly courtiers who followed His Majesty to the palace. However, this year's banquet in the capital was naturally different from previous years. The number of people attending the banquet had almost doubled.

This morning there was a lot of rumors about Prince Xiang's private affairs. The ladies who came to the palace to attend the banquet gathered together in twos and threes, so naturally it was inevitable to mention this matter.

A summer banquet will be held in the palace today, and the palace people are coming and going in a very lively manner. Su Xinyi is leading people to do the last inspection, and everyone in the palace bends down and salutes wherever he passes.

However, the ladies attending this year's banquet did not know the explosive news until they entered the palace. This year's summer banquet was actually hosted by the Queen and the Crown Princess.

This news was so exciting that even the affairs of King Xiang this morning were diluted a lot. The ladies from each family arrived one after another, and the palace attendants sent the ladies to the palace where the banquet was held in an orderly manner. Many of them Familiar ladies gathered in groups to talk.

Half of the topic today was about Prince Xiang and his son, and half of the topic was about the Queen and the Crown Princess.

The sun is getting higher and the weather is slowly getting hotter. The icebergs at the four corners of the hall are constantly emitting a bit of cold air, keeping the hall cool.

Mrs. Jiang came a little late because she had something to do at home today. As soon as she entered the palace gate, she saw Mrs. Wang waving to her. She nodded with a smile and hurriedly walked over.

There was a circle of people around Mrs. Wang. Mrs. Jiang took a quick look and saw that most of them were people she had good friendships with. Everyone greeted each other. Mrs. Wang felt slightly relieved. It seemed that it was not too late.

Mrs. Han next to her asked her with a smile, "We are all waiting for you."

Mrs. Wang said: "Before going out, we had to deal with some matters at home temporarily. It's a little late now. What were you talking about before? It seems so lively."

Looking at Mrs. Wang's expression, Mrs. Tu looked at her in surprise, "You don't know yet?"

Mrs. Wang looked at the other party in confusion, "What do you know?"

Several other people looked at each other, and Mrs. Han clapped her hands, "Yes, there is something going on in your house, so I don't have time to listen to this. This morning, the storytellers from all over the capital..."

Mrs. Han briefly explained the matter. Mrs. Wang was so surprised that she almost turned pale. She covered her lips with a handkerchief and coughed lightly, "Really?"

Oops, the house was so busy this morning, she didn't know about such a big thing.

"How can this be false?" Mrs. Jiang snorted, "We have been guessing who did this before."

Mrs. Wang listened to the ladies chatting with each other, and she felt a little nervous. It seemed that someone had done this deliberately. It was hard to say who did it.

After the Crown Prince went on an expedition, Prince Xiang was jumping up and down. Their master also said a few words to her after returning home. His master had always supported His Highness the Crown Prince, so naturally he didn't like Prince Xiang's behavior.

Mrs. Wang suppressed her thoughts and said softly: "Speaking of the savior brought back by Prince Xiang, it seems not simple now."

Mrs. Tu nodded slightly, "No, everyone used to think she was just a fisherman's girl. For the sake of her savior, Prince Xiang brought her back to the palace. This was considered a step to success. Who would have thought that her skills were so powerful, and now she is causing trouble? Concubine Li and Prince Xiang are going to have bad feelings."

Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Han looked at each other, and Mrs. Han said: "This person is really beyond his appearance, who would have thought. What do you think, if this matter were heard by Heaven, how would His Majesty handle it?"

Mrs. Jiang said: "Who would mention such a trivial matter in front of His Majesty? It's just some gossip, not something fatal."

"The courtiers won't say it, but the imperial concubine is not someone who can suffer such a loss." Mrs. Wang said softly.

Everyone couldn't help but sigh, and everyone's expressions were quite subtle when they mentioned Concubine Li.

In the past, Concubine Li was gentle and tolerant, and sometimes people felt that the Queen was slightly inferior to her. Because the Queen was in charge of the harem, some palace officials would be severely punished if they made mistakes. In this way, some people would inevitably think that the Queen was too harsh. .

Now, since Fuyun came to Beijing, Concubine Li has made bad remarks about her many times.

A savior?

For Concubine Li Gui, Prince Xiang's savior may be the one who takes her life.

On the other side, Mrs. Dingnanbo and Mrs. Changnanhou were also saying this together. Next to them were the eldest lady and the fourth lady from the Duke's Mansion of Qi, as well as Madam Ji and Madam Gao from the Governor's Mansion of the Right Army.

We were all in-laws of the Duke of Qi's family, so naturally we felt closer when talking together. Soon Mrs. Tu came over from the other side to say hello.

"Why haven't you seen Mrs. Tu?" Mrs. Tu came over and greeted everyone with a smile, then looked at Mrs. Tu and asked.

The eldest lady then spoke kindly to Mrs. Tu, "The eldest lady is old and has been feeling a little unwell these days."

Mrs. Tu asked a few questions with concern. After knowing that there was no big problem, she nodded and said with a smile: "I will visit Mrs. Tu at her residence another day."

They were in-laws and knew that their daughter-in-law's grandmother was in poor health, so it was normal for them to visit her at home.

However, the one who attracted the most attention today was the Fourth Madam. This lady was the Crown Princess’s aunt. The fate between people was really amazing. Everyone in the capital knew that this Madam cared deeply for her adopted daughter and loved her very much.

How many people laughed at her behind her back for being stupid, but who would have thought that this child could become a princess?

This luck?

This blessing?

Alas, when the Fourth Lady married Su Chun, all the ladies in the capital envied her. Now, the ladies of the same age as the Fourth Lady have become mothers. After knowing that Su Chun died in battle, many people laughed at the Fourth Lady behind her.

But what about now?

When the Fourth Lady was a daughter, she was the apple of the Gao family's eye. Later, she married Su Chun, the first person in the hearts of the ladies in the capital. As a result, after Su Chun died in battle, people picked up another daughter, and now she has become the mother-in-law of the prince. Do you think it's infuriating?

It's very infuriating.

The Fourth Lady had two hurdles in her life. One was that her husband died in battle, and the other was that she had no children.

When Su Chun died in battle, not many people laughed at the Fourth Lady. After all, he was the god of war of their Southern Qi, and everyone was very sad. But how many people criticized the Fourth Lady behind her because she had no children.

Especially after Su Chun died in battle, she didn't leave him a child. I don't know how many people felt bad.

Thinking back to the past, Su Siye was the dream lover of many ladies. It would be fine if he was taken away by her, but you still occupied the nest without doing your job.

Later, Su Xinyi suddenly appeared. Hey, Su Siye had an illegitimate daughter outside?

The hypocritical character of the Fourth Madam would have made her cry to death, but people treated this daughter as a treasure and protected her. She wanted to see the joke but failed, and her mood was a little complicated.

Now that daughter has become the crown princess, and the Fourth Madam has turned over a new leaf. Now they look at the Fourth Madam with a high spirit, and their mood is even more complicated.

Some people, such a fate, make people feel a little powerless to envy, jealousy and hatred.

The Fourth Madam is now whispering to her sister-in-law. Madam Gao whispered to her sister-in-law: "Are you happy today?"

The Fourth Madam understood the deep meaning of her sister-in-law, pursed her lips and laughed, "I am happy, our Xiaoliu has made me proud, how can I not be happy."

Madam Gao looked at her sister-in-law and saw that she was radiant, and she was happy too.

Soon, Madam Wang also came to greet Madam Gao. The two were relatives and had always had a harmonious relationship.

Madam Wang looked at Madam Gao and the fourth lady and whispered, "I heard that the Crown Princess helped the Queen to organize the summer banquet today. This is really good news."

Queen Shu was the successor queen. Although she had always been harmonious with the Crown Prince, Prince Rong had been against the Crown Prince in the past few years. It was only in the past two years that he changed. No one believed how sincere the Queen was to the Crown Prince, after all, the Queen had her own son.

But now the Crown Princess has only been in the East Palace for less than a year, and the Queen asked the Crown Princess to intervene in the summer banquet. This is different from the rumors.

Since ancient times, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been difficult to get along, especially the successor wife and the eldest son, who have opposite interests.

And Queen Shu has suppressed Concubine Li for many years, and her ability should not be underestimated.

Since returning to Beijing, this Crown Princess has become more famous as a werewolf who fights at the slightest disagreement. How could these two people get along so well?

This is almost like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

I was expecting the Queen and the Crown Princess to overthrow the harem, but it was unexpected that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were so close to each other.

In short, there were many strange things this year.

After hearing what Mrs. Wang said, the Fourth Lady smiled and said, "It was all the Queen's cultivation."

Even if the two families had a good relationship, there were some things that the Fourth Lady could not say casually.

Mrs. Wang nodded slightly. Her son married the eldest daughter of Mrs. Gao, and Mrs. Gao was the eldest sister-in-law of the Fourth Lady's family. This relationship was considered very close, so she was naturally willing to see the Crown Princess's position consolidated.

Mrs. Wang coughed lightly, glanced around, looked at the two and said, "I just learned about what happened this morning. Now everyone is guessing who did it. I think Concubine Li will definitely not let it go. The Crown Princess should be more careful."

Fourth Madam knew that Mrs. Wang meant well, she nodded, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam, but I believe that this kind of thing is not done by the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess has always been straightforward and she disdains such means."

Mrs. Wang thought so too. Xinyi's personality would report it on the spot if she suffered a loss. She frowned slightly, "We think so, but Concubine Li and Prince Xiang may not think so. We should be more careful."

Mrs. Gao said softly on the side, "This kind of thing is unfounded. Only evidence can be produced. I believe that the Concubine will not speak nonsense."

That's what she said, but the emperor has always favored Concubine Li, so it's hard to say about this pillow talk.

"Hey, who is following the wife of Marquis Wu'an? She looks a little unfamiliar?" Madam Wang's eyes accidentally swept over the woman behind the wife of Marquis Wu'an. Suddenly, her face looked a little strange, and she reached out and gently pushed Madam Gao.

Madam Gao followed Madam Wang's gaze and was stunned at first, then her eyes changed, and her expression was not very good.

Madam Gao and Madam Wang looked at each other, and their expressions became a little solemn.

Madam Four looked a little puzzled, and turned around to look over quietly, and she was also stunned when she saw it.

"That girl looks a little like..." Madam Four couldn't say the second half of the sentence. She didn't have a deep impression of the late queen. She hadn't met the late queen many times, so she turned to look at her sister-in-law.

Madam Gao nodded slightly to her sister-in-law, and Madam Four's face also looked ugly.

Madam Wu'an Hou took You Xiangru around and greeted people she knew. She casually took You Xiangru around the place, but she walked around when she met the Su family.

Madam Wu'an Hou still remembered that her daughter couldn't enter the East Palace. If it weren't for the Crown Princess's obstruction, Nianwei would have entered the East Palace long ago. Why would she have to take You Xiangru around today?

Looking at the unfriendly eyes of the people in Wu'an Marquis's mansion, the eldest lady's face did not change, but her mood was heavy. She walked to the fourth lady and said softly: "Fourth brother's sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law." The fourth lady responded.

Madam Gao and Madam Wang greeted the eldest lady. Seeing that the sisters-in-law had something to say, they went to say goodbye and talk.

The eldest lady looked at the people and said: "Be careful today."

The fourth lady looked very unhappy, "Sister-in-law, what do you think the wife of Wu'an Marquis is going to do?"

"Anyway, she must have no good intentions. At the beginning, their family wanted Pei Nianwei to enter the East Palace. Now that this trick doesn't work, I'm afraid they will find another way." The eldest lady said in a low voice.

"I think many people present have seen it." The fourth lady said softly.

The first lady snorted, "The wife of Marquis Wu'an is so high-profile, isn't she just trying to let everyone see it? However, the late queen has passed away for so many years, even if His Majesty thinks of the relationship with the late queen, he may not like a fake."

The fourth lady looked at the eldest sister-in-law, "Do you want to send a message to Xinyi?"

The eldest lady shook her head, "There are so many people, and I don't know how many people are watching. Let's not act rashly. This matter has little impact on the East Palace. The most embarrassed should be the queen and Li Guifei. Let's wait and see."

The fourth lady thought so, so she laughed as usual, not letting people find any clues, but she was as worried as the eldest sister-in-law.

At this time, the footsteps outside the hall suddenly became dense, and suddenly many palace people came, carrying many tables and cases into the hall. The ladies looked at it from a distance and were a little surprised. What is going on?

Soon, an eunuch came to pass on the message that His Majesty had ordered that the banquets in the front and back halls be combined into one, and everyone was in an uproar.

Many more tables were added to the spacious hall, and the hall, which originally seemed a little empty, was instantly fuller.

"Joint banquet?" The fourth lady had a bad premonition, "Sister-in-law, why do I feel a little uneasy?"

The eldest lady patted her sister-in-law's hand and said softly, "No matter what, we should be careful in what we say and do."

Joint banquets are not uncommon. Sometimes there are banquets at the end of the year, and His Majesty will also hold joint banquets when he is in the mood, but generally he will inform in advance. This time it was really sudden, which made people feel uneasy.

Don't say that the ladies are talking endlessly. At this time, Su Xinyi is constantly arranging matters with the queen. The queen's face obviously does not show her attitude towards this matter, and she looks calm and confident, which shows that she is confident. Su Xinyi still admires the queen.

After the queen finished giving instructions, she looked at Su Xinyi and said, "You will work with the prince in the future, and you will encounter such things from time to time. You must learn to adapt to circumstances."

Su Xinyi said, "No wonder my mother told me to be more prepared for everything. I thank you for your teaching. I feel much more at ease with you. This is really my blessing."

The queen couldn't help laughing when she heard Su Xinyi's words. She looked like a female villain, but she didn't expect that she could also coax people.

No matter what she thinks, she just wants to be happy.

The queen had almost finished packing, so she asked Su Xinyi, "Have Concubine Li and the others gone?"

Su Xinyi immediately said, "Concubine Li went with Concubine Xian and Concubine Ming a quarter of an hour ago."

"Let's go too." The queen originally planned to let Su Xinyi go first, but now she changed her mind and asked her to follow her.

Su Xinyi didn't know that the queen had changed her mind, and followed the queen out of Yuanhui Palace very respectfully.

On the way, the Queen looked at Su Xinyi and said, "Your Majesty suddenly changed his mind this time. You should pay more attention to the banquet."

Pay attention to whom?

Su Xinyi knew that the Queen was referring to the Marquis of Wu'an and her niece, but the Queen could not say it clearly in public.

"Yes, I will listen to my mother." Su Xinyi agreed immediately, hesitated for a moment and said, "What if something happens, what should my daughter-in-law do?"

The Queen glanced at Su Xinyi and said slowly, "As the Queen, I have to take charge of the banquet, so I naturally can't take care of other things, but Concubine Li should do more work."

Su Xinyi understood instantly, tsk, the Queen is really a sesame filling, how can sesame filling raise a white flour bun Prince Rong?

It's really strange.

The Queen is sure that the Marquis of Wu'an will do something, but she not only does not stop it, but it sounds like she is going with the flow, so Concubine Li should do more work, just in case she finds any signs, she wants to pass the message to let Concubine Li take the lead.

"What the queen mother said is true. The imperial concubine is always virtuous, so I think she will do her duty." Su Xinyi said seriously.

Queen: ...

The word "virtuous" is very subtle.

Tsk, the crown princess is really a black-hearted person, but she likes it.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are in tune with each other and are in a good mood at this time.

Su Xinyi has not seen her family today, so she is a little happy to see them now. Following the queen, she really wants to see what kind of expression Li Guifei has now.

At this time, the sun is gradually approaching noon. The eunuch who led the way in front quickened his pace and walked outside the hall, shouting loudly: "The queen is here, the crown princess is here!"

The ladies in the hall immediately stopped greeting and sat down one by one.

Everyone waited for a while, and then heard the outside greeting loudly. The queen was wearing a phoenix robe and a phoenix crown, and her face was a little solemn. Behind her was the respectful crown princess. The two walked in leisurely like stars supporting the moon.

All the ladies stood up and saluted, "Greetings to the Queen, Greetings to the Crown Princess."

The queen walked to the upper throne and turned around. Su Xinyi stopped at her seat at the bottom of the steps. The queen looked at the dark crowd and raised her hand gently, "Ladies, please don't be polite."

"Thank you, Queen."

The concubines in the harem, the ladies of the inner and outer courts, and the wives of the nobles stood up and sat down one after another. Everyone's eyes flew and fell on the Crown Princess.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－

Today's update is complete. Muah, my little cuties, thank you for your support, I love you.