darknovel Chapter 144 New Year's Eve Banquet
Chapter 144 New Year's Eve Banquet
The New Year's Eve dinner was held at Qianyuan Palace. On the way there, Shen Shixi encountered Xie Tingwan and her three companions. Zheng Ruojin supported her carefully.
Upon seeing Shen Shixi's procession approaching, the four hurriedly bowed to her, saying, "Greetings to Consort Chen!"
Zheng Ruojin looked up at Shen Shixi, her eyes flashing with amazement and a hint of jealousy she couldn't hide.
"No need for formalities!" Shen Shixi sat on the decorated banner and glanced at Xie Tingwan.
Not far away, Prince Chang Le appeared and came over to greet her, "Sister-in-law Consort Chen, it's been a few days, and you've been promoted again?"
He smiled, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at Xie Tingwan.
Xie Tingwan seemed to have been stung by something and quickly took half a step back.
"Come on, aren't you cold standing here? Let's go inside!"
In front of Qianyuan Palace, Li Yuanke and his ministers were watching the eunuchs light fireworks. The fireworks, of course, were obtained from Zhaoyang Palace. They were colorful, dazzling, and shone brightly, reflecting the stars in the sky. It was truly a scene of harmony between the emperor and his ministers, a prosperous and peaceful era.
Shen Shixi called Chao En over and said, "Have someone keep an eye on Zheng Baolin and see what she's going to do tonight. If anything seems amiss, report it to me immediately."
"yes!"
The Empress Dowager arrived early and spoke with several elderly princesses from the imperial clan in a side hall. They were all old sisters-in-law, and they talked about everyday matters.
The eunuch at the gate announced, "Consort Chen has arrived!"
Inside the hall, everyone stood up.
Shen Shixi entered, followed by the people from the Ministry of Rites. They announced that the Emperor had decreed that Consort Chen was to be conferred a title. After paying a grand salute to the Empress Dowager, Consort Chen would ascend the throne, and then the ladies of the court and the palace would pay their respects to Consort Chen to show their respect and hierarchy.
Given the Emperor's high regard for the Consort Chen, her investiture ceremony was undoubtedly grand.
Traditionally, only when an empress was conferred a title would noblewomen from both inside and outside the palace come to pay their respects and offer congratulations. Even though it happened to coincide with the New Year, it couldn't help but make people think.
Shen Shixi didn't think much about it. She would do whatever Li Yuanke arranged, as long as she wasn't wronged.
Shen Shixi bowed deeply to the Empress Dowager. The officials from the Ministry of Rites took their seats in front of the Empress Dowager, and Shen Shixi sat down. All the ladies-in-waiting who had entered the palace that day, as well as the ladies-in-waiting from within the palace, bowed to Shen Shixi.
"Your humble servants pay their respects to Consort Chen, wishing Her Majesty boundless blessings and peace!"
Among them were Shen Shixi's grandmother and mother.
Also present were the Empress's mother, Lady Gao, and the Empress's elder sister, Princess Jin. When the two of them raised their heads to pay their respects, they happened to meet Shen Shixi's gaze.
"No need for formalities!" Shen Shixi said.
After the ceremony, many people came over to try and get close to Shen Shixi, but she was impatient with them and said with a smile, "Today's great joy belongs to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress. A prince has been added to the palace, and I haven't even congratulated the Empress Dowager yet, but now she has a grandson!"
The Empress Dowager was delighted. "I was just talking about you. Consort Li was in grave danger, but you arranged for a capable midwife to help her give birth smoothly, and the Third Prince is also safe and sound. I am truly happy to hear this."
Otherwise, it would be bad luck to lose two imperial concubines during the New Year. Although royal lives are not worth much, it would still be unlucky.
"This is all thanks to Consort Chen. Childbirth is a life-or-death ordeal for a woman, and it's a great joy that both mother and child are safe!" Princess An said, offering her congratulations.
Princess Jin sat to the side, her coffin-like face was very unpleasant.
They were waiting for Shen Shixi to come and pay her respects. After the ceremony, it was time to take their seats. Shen Shixi helped the Empress Dowager to the main hall. The Emperor and his ministers had already entered the hall and were all paying their respects to the Empress Dowager.
The Emperor came over, helped the Empress Dowager to the other side, and together with Shen Shixi, escorted the Empress Dowager to her seat.
This scene is particularly meaningful to people.
Shen Shixi didn't want to do it either, but the Empress couldn't come today, and Consort De had also taken leave. She was currently the highest-ranking concubine, and it would be too inappropriate for her not to perform her duties.
"Hmph, she's so attentive!" Yang Tingyue muttered.
Consort Fan didn't come today. After Shen Shixi asked Cen Yin to investigate again, the investigation led back to her. Many things were related to her, and the evidence was conclusive. However, Cen Yin hadn't found an opportunity to tell the Emperor about this today.
The person was imprisoned in Lijing Pavilion, guarded by soldiers, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.
Lin Guiyou was sitting closest to Yang Tingyue. She glanced at her and said, "If you're so capable, why don't you try to be attentive? Oh, you want to? Too bad, your rank is too low. Even if you're the Empress Dowager's niece, it's not your place to stand on such an occasion."
"You... how dare you!" Yang Tingyue trembled with anger.
Lin Guiyou's eyes turned cold. "You bitch, don't forget who you are. If it weren't for this moment, believe me, I would have torn your mouth apart!"
Yang Tingyue took a deep breath. "So what if you're a concubine? You can't do anything to me. I'll be promoted to that rank soon enough!"
"Dream on! Everyone in the harem gets promoted after serving the emperor, except you. The emperor didn't promote you after your service. Aren't you ashamed?"
Yang Tingyue pursed her lips, tears welling up in her eyes.
The emperor summoned her, but he only summoned her and did not actually sleep with her. She spent the night alone in Yanxi Hall without even seeing the emperor's face.
The next day she told the Empress Dowager, who told her to shut up and not to tell anyone.
She now knows what's important; if she were to speak out, the women in the harem would tear her apart.
She also understood that in the harem, rank was not the most important thing; the emperor's favor was.
Shen Shixi was a treasure when she entered the palace. In just half a year, she had already risen to the rank of Consort. Although she was only a second-rank official, who would dare to say that Consort Chen's status was less than that of Consort De?
Consort De has given birth to a son and a daughter, and is pregnant with another one, while Shen Shixi is not pregnant at all.
Shen Shixi's position is ranked first, below the Imperial Platform.
The atmosphere was great today, and the singing and dancing were excellent, but Shen Shixi couldn't muster any enthusiasm and kept wanting to yawn.
She wore a red blouse trimmed with white fox fur and had wide sleeves. Underneath, she wore a pale yellow skirt embroidered with red plum blossoms. Her hair was adorned with red gold and ruby begonia blossoms, and she had a red plum blossom decoration between her eyebrows. She was truly charming and beautiful.
Although she was sitting upright, her expression was languid, like a noble cat, which made the emperor look at her frequently.
[What are you looking at me for, you bastard? Want me to feed you? Humph, if you want me to go to the palace, it'll be to do your hard labor! You wicked thing, you scoundrel, you're making me so angry! Ugh, so sleepy!]
Shen Shixi wanted to take a nap, but kneeling like this was too difficult.
[Gao's bitter face was truly unsightly, it was hilarious. She clearly had two daughters, but she only favored her eldest daughter, the Princess Consort of Jin, while treating her younger daughter, the Empress, like she was adopted. It's incomprehensible.]
Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere, until she spotted the Queen of Western Qiang and Prince Yan Jun.
[Huh, why haven't you gone back yet? What are you planning to do here?]
Li Yuanke didn't know who she was talking about. Following her gaze, he saw Prince Xun, Li Yunjue, and Prince Jin exchanging glances.
[Li Yunjue has also arrived. Judging from his appearance, it seems the position of Prince of Xun will not remain with Li Yunjue. This uncle and nephew have a close relationship; there's only one throne, not enough for both of them. Are they planning to unite against Li Yuanke first, and then decide who is superior?]
"Send these dishes to Consort Chen." Li Yuanke ordered the five dishes that had just been served.
Palace banquets are never a good place to eat anything. There are many people and many dishes. In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, the dishes are prepared in advance and steamed in the steamer countless times. They look nice, but when you actually eat them, they are disgusting.
But the dishes on the table for the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Empress were different. If they couldn't even put their chopsticks down, would the people in the Imperial Kitchen still be there?
Actually, the dishes on Shen Shixi's table today were quite good, as they had all been specially prepared. However, due to the difference in rank, they could not compare to those on the imperial table.
The Empress Dowager also bestowed several dishes upon the emperor.
Shen Shixi was speechless; she still had to go down and express her gratitude.