mtl008 Chapter 51 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet 3
Chapter 51 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet 3
When Tong Nuanyan went to the side hall to feed Hongzhao, Concubine De sent someone to tell her that it was time for dinner.
The weather in the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the hottest. Just sitting still in the side hall, Yinzhen, who was waiting outside, was already sweating profusely, not to mention the Fourth Lady Ulanara, whose clothes were more complicated. The makeup on her face was mixed with sweat, and it had long lost its refinement.
Xia Xi held Hong Zhao and followed behind Tong Nuanyan, while Yun Xin reached out and supported Tong Nuanyan. When the three of them came out of the inner room, the Fourth Lady seemed to be relieved and said to Yinzhen with a smile: "My Lord, my mother has just sent someone to pass on the message. It will be too late if we don't go now."
Yinzhen nodded, looked deeply at Tong Nuanyan who had an indifferent expression, and was the first to leave the side hall.
When everyone returned to the main hall of Yonghe Palace, the thirteenth and fourteenth princes were already sitting in their seats, waiting for Concubine De to come out for dinner.
The mother of the Thirteenth Prince was a Han woman who was selected through a beauty contest one year during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. She had a low status and remained a concubine without any rank until her death from illness. She was only honored as Concubine Min after her death. It was also because his mother had no rank and was kept in a side hall of the Yonghe Palace that Yinxiang was raised with Concubine De since he was a child, and he and the Fourteenth Prince had a relationship of happy enemies.
"Hail, Thirteenth Prince and Fourteenth Prince." Tong Nuanyan bowed softly. Yinxiang coughed lightly and said, "No need to be so polite, little Fourth Sister-in-law. Get up quickly." Yinzhen snorted in agreement.
Tong Nuanyan responded and followed Yinzhen and the fourth lady to take their seats. For a moment, the entire main hall fell silent and no one spoke.
Not long after, Concubine De came out of the inner hall with the help of the head palace maid. Everyone stood up and bowed. The lunch was very dull. Yinzhen was a man of few words, and he didn't have a good relationship with Concubine De, so he didn't know what to say. Concubine De completely ignored everyone and played the role of a loving mother and a filial son, picking food for each other. The rest of the Fourth Lady, Tong Nuanyan and the Thirteenth Prince didn't say much. As for the children, seeing that no one was talking, they didn't dare to speak either, and quietly ate the food fed by the wet nurse.
Time passed as everyone was having their meal, and soon, after everyone returned to the side hall to rest for a while, it was time to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
A group of people plus two princes walked on the palace road. Yinzhen and the fourth wife Honghui walked in front, Yinxiang and Yinzhen followed behind them, Tong Nuanyan and the other children followed behind, and at the end were the palace maids and eunuchs.
The Fourth Lady touched up her makeup in a side hall, and now her look wasn't so messy anymore.
They soon arrived at Shoukang Palace. After the eunuch guarding the door went to pass on the message, a group of people came towards them. Leading them was a beautiful young woman whom they had never seen before. She had a face like a silver plate and a full forehead. She looked like a blessed person.
After following the others in paying respects, Tong Nuanyan realized that this was the Crown Princess Guaerjia.
"Your humble servant/your humble servant/concubine greets the Crown Princess. May the Crown Princess be blessed with good health!"
After standing still, Tong Nuanyan began to carefully look at the beautiful woman in front of her. She had long, dark eyebrows and eyes, and a look of indifference mixed with sadness. Even the makeup couldn't cover up the dark circles under her eyes, and she looked a little haggard.
The Crown Prince disliked Consort Guaerjia since the beginning of the marriage. In addition, in the past few years, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Zhi were competing for the first chance to give birth to a legitimate grandson for Kangxi. The Prince of Zhi's wife had always given birth to daughters, while the Crown Prince had many illegitimate sons and daughters but never a legitimate son. This made him dislike Consort Guaerjia even more. In addition, the eldest illegitimate son was born to Concubine Li Jia, so the Crown Prince doted on Li Jia even more.
"Fourth brother, this must be the concubine Tong Jia whom the emperor arranged to marry you last year, right? I have never seen her before, but now I have seen her. She is indeed an unrivaled beauty." The Crown Princess looked up at Tong Nuanyan and said with a smile.
Tong Nuanyan was a little surprised, and then she spoke carefully: "Your Highness, thank you for your praise. I don't deserve it." Hearing her say this, the Crown Princess just smiled and didn't say much.
Soon, the eunuch who delivered the message returned and invited them in.
Shoukang Palace was previously home to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. After her death, the main hall has been empty ever since. Empress Dowager Xiaohui has been living in the back hall ever since and has not moved into the main hall until now, just to show her filial piety.
Therefore, everyone had to walk a little further to bypass the main hall. The Shoukang Palace was decorated majestically and luxuriously, but there was still a big difference between the main hall and the rear hall. Empress Xiaozhuang had gone through three dynasties, and the layout and decoration were all top-notch. Although the rear hall was not as gorgeous as the main hall, it was also exquisite.
Everyone followed the eunuch into the back hall. As the crowd surged, Tong Nuanyan released her spiritual power to check the surroundings. The whole hall was decorated with golden colors. On the left was a golden tree made of gold, and around it were various large ornaments. The Empress Dowager Xiaohui, who was sitting on the main seat, was wearing a golden Manchu dress and had her hair tied up in a simple bun. She was about fifty years old.
There were already many people sitting in the seats next to Xiaohui, including Crown Prince Yinreng, Prince of Zhi Yinzhen, Prince of Heng Yinzhi, Fifth Beile Yinqi, Seventh Beile Yinxi, and three members of the Eighth Prince's party.
"My grandson/granddaughter-in-law pays respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health!"
Everyone saluted in an orderly manner. Along with the Crown Princess came the wives of Prince Zhi, Prince Heng, the Fifth Wife and the Seventh Wife. Now the whole hall was crowded with people.
Xiaohui looked at everyone with a smile and said, "I've told you so many times that we don't need to be polite to each other as a family, but they just won't listen." As she spoke, she said to the nanny beside her in a scolding tone, "Zhumala, quickly arrange seats for them. Don't let them get tired."
"Yes." Zhuoma La's somewhat old face was also full of smiles. She arranged seats for everyone in an orderly manner. The princes and brothers sat in the front seats on both sides, the wives sat in the back seats, and only the Crown Princess sat next to the Crown Prince.
When everyone was ready, the prince spoke first: "Grandmother, today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and I have specially prepared a gift for you. I am giving you a set of hollowed-out ivory tusks, wishing you a long life of happiness and longevity!"
After that, two young eunuchs who were waiting at the door came in holding a huge ivory tusk. The patterns carved on it were intricate and gorgeous. The ivory had a milky white luster and was so colorful that you could tell at a glance that it was priceless.
As expected, as soon as the gift was brought out, the faces of the princes present changed slightly. They obviously did not expect the prince's gift to be so luxurious. Few people could compare to it. This was especially obvious for Prince Zhi. He wanted to surpass the prince in every way and would never allow the prince to be better than himself.
Empress Dowager Xiaohui stared at the ivory with her eyes fixed, and the satisfied look in her eyes seemed to be half real, and everyone could see it: "Well, well, well, Yinreng is thoughtful and filial, and it's no wonder that the Empress Dowager loves you so much."
Apparently, she had said this kind of thing too many times, and Empress Dowager Xiaohui's tone didn't change much, only the smile on her face couldn't be concealed.
"This is what a grandson should do. It is my duty to be filial to my Royal Father and Royal Grandmother Yinreng." The prince responded in a deep voice. Only Tong Nuanyan, because of her special ability, noticed his unconcealed pride.
Without waiting for the Crown Prince to return to his seat, Prince Zhi stood up and shouted, "Grandmother, you will definitely like what my grandson has presented to you!" As soon as these words were spoken, Empress Xiaohui's eyes moved away from the ivory and looked straight at Prince Zhi, wanting to see what he would come up with.
Tong Nuanyan sat quietly on a chair, surrounded by the wives and concubines of several other princes, none of whom she knew well, and no one went to talk to her about gossip, so she enjoyed the quiet time.
Hearing what Prince Zhi said, several concubines around Tong Nuanyan were also talking quietly.
"The ivory that the prince just gave me is so valuable, there can't be anything better, right?"
"That's not necessarily true. I heard that the reward that the Prince of Zhi received from the Emperor was no less than that of the Crown Prince. Maybe it's true."
"Yes, and the mother of Prince Zhi, Concubine Hui, has been in office for many years, so she must have a lot of good things."
Tong Nuanyan quietly compared the seats, trying to guess who the people being discussed were. Before she could figure it out, Prince Zhi had already ordered people to bring up the gifts.