Speaking of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, it was probably different from the previous years. empress felt that she was sick of staying in the palace. She said that she wanted to go to the temporary residence in the capital for festivals, and that the palace was located at the foot of the mountain. There were a few mountain springs and even some lakes. It was just that there were very few servants in the palace, and there weren't any masters staying there all year round. If he wanted to spend the holidays there and also have to receive court officials, he would have to go through a set up and clean up.
However, this matter was settled half a month ago. The empress had even specially dispatched a group of servants from the palace to help. They paid great attention to him. If I screw it up, I'm afraid I'll be dragged into Minsheng River by the empress and drowned …
Thus, all the servants in the palace were fully focused in their preparations. They had been prepared as early as a few days ago. The colored lanterns that were to be hung were all of twelve sides. The lower part of the lanterns were tied into a flower shape, symbolizing that the moon was shining. In the middle of the lake, a bamboo raft set up a stage filled with osmanthus flowers. The chairs that the guests were sitting on had been delivered and had been properly arranged. The VIP seats and the guest seats had all been distinguished, and a pavilion had been set up in the open air. All the windows in the palace were decorated with moonlight bunnies and osmanthus trees, and the roof of the palace was decorated with firecrackers.
If there was anything missing, it was probably something to invite guests for a feast. However, those requests were all fresh. Apart from the wine that had already been delivered, the rest would have to wait until the day before the romance banquet. Only then would they be brought over from other places.
The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Emperor and Empress, as well as the people from Imperial Noble Consort's palace had all arrived. The ministers of the palace arrived on the second day. After all, the palace was in the outskirts of the capital, so it wasn't too far away.
This banquet was extremely careful. It was said that there were not only the royal family, but also the officials of the imperial court and the guests invited by the royal family.
The opening day of the banquet was indeed bustling with noise and excitement. It was the busiest day in the past ten years. Under the platter were blooming osier osmanthus flowers and fine mooncakes on gilded plates. One's appetite would involuntarily rise.
The opening dance of the banquet had already begun as well. As most of the dancers stayed in the palace all year round, none of the palace maids had ever seen such a beautiful scene before.
Dancing moon blossomed, and the osmanthus fragrance filled the air. The lakeshore shone with moonlight, as if it was the most beautiful object in the world.
"Your majesty, the empress personally arranged everything, are you satisfied?" Hanqin seemed to be especially happy tonight as she flattered the empress and fawned over the emperor.
High courtiers and foreign envoys also presented gifts to the royal family. Under Eunuch Li's care, Wang Su leisurely ate the pastries as he looked at the moonlight reflected on the lake, as if he was thinking about something.
A young eunuch hurriedly squeezed in, and along the way, they squeezed out a lot of people.
"Who is this? This is …"
"What are you doing …"
He completely disregarded his pride and charged forward, obviously attracting a lot of complaints along the way. In the end, half the people at the banquet were staring at him.
He finally squeezed to the side of Imperial Noble Consort Hanqin and bent down. His extremely worried expression seemed to say something in a low voice.
Those people who had noticed the eunuch could not help but guess in their hearts what had happened. When he was about to report to the Imperial Noble Consort Empress, he saw that Imperial Noble Consort's originally dignified and smiling face had gradually stiffened, and finally became absent-minded. She seemed to have been greatly frightened. Her hand trembled and touched the gilded porcelain plate on the table. The plate fell to the ground. Although the floor was covered with a carpet, it was not enough to stop the disc from shattering. With a crisp sound, the porcelain plate cracked into many pieces.
The sound was extremely crisp after the singing and dancing that had just stopped. In an instant, everyone noticed this direction.
Hanqin also realized that she had made too much noise just now. When she raised her head, she realized that everyone was staring at her, as if to cover her astonishment, and immediately covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
It was obvious that this was a low-class action. Everyone was still curiously staring at her.
"Hehe, it's fine, it's fine." She gave two hollow laughs, as if to hide her guilt. But no one bought it.
"Imperial Noble Consort, what happened?" The empress was the one who spoke, and the person who was most suitable to ask this question broke the silence.
"Reporting to the empress, it's nothing. It's just a small matter. Chenqie will definitely take care of it." She finally managed to return to her normal appearance with great difficulty. A smile hung on her face, but there was still a trace of indistinct oddity on it.
"Since we are all family members, why not talk about it here. It just so happens that the Emperor is here as well, and he can still uphold justice for you. " The Queen continued, that Imperial Noble Consort Hanqin was obviously hiding something from her, why not ask her? She had always been quick-witted. If this opportunity passed, it would be difficult for her to ask about it.
"This …" Hanqin seemed to be in some kind of trouble.
"Bold enough to say that what's there to fear about the emperor making the decision for you here?"
There seemed to be a trace of fear on Hanqin's face. She stood up and walked to the front of the emperor, then suddenly knelt down. Lowering her head, no one noticed that the corners of her mouth had almost formed a proud smile … That smile seemed to be forcing me to say something? Alright, this is exactly what I want …
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was a thief who appeared in this subject's Qingyang Palace, so it's not a big deal. I don't dare to disturb Your Majesty's celebration. I hope that Your Majesty and the empress will forgive me. I'm afraid that Your Concubine will return to the palace to settle this. " Her extremely careful words and careful deliberation aroused the interest of the empress.
"If you have anything to say, you can go." Wang Su turned his head and no longer looked at her. But the empress refused to give up.
" A thief? Do you really need to go back personally? Little Sister Hanqin, your health isn't too good either. You were severely ill before, so you shouldn't go running around anymore. Just stay in the palace and have some fun with the Emperor. Don't be in such a hurry to go back and deal with things that have nothing to do with you. "
"Many, many thanks for the empress's good intentions, but chenqie will probably insist on returning …" She raised her head and looked at the empress with a resolute gaze. Even a fool would not believe that she had anything to do with a thief like that …
"Hanqin, it's just a thief, what's there to be done about it? Tell the servants to search for the stolen goods and have them hand them over to the justice courts, yet you insist on going back. If you don't vent your anger, what precious things did he steal from you? Just find the stolen items and kill him with his staff. Could it be that you have something more to say? "
The empress had naturally asked Hanqin what was hiding behind her back. Looking at her hesitating appearance, thinking that it was something beneficial to her, she had to find out.
Anything that is disadvantageous to Hanqin is naturally something that is advantageous to him …
When Hanqin heard the empress say the two words "Sky Kill", she suddenly became flustered. Hurry up and say
"I can't, I can't! empress is indeed a small matter. It's enough for chenqie to take care of it herself. There won't be anything that will damage the prestige of the royal family …"
The more Hanqin refused, the more the empress wanted to know, until the point that even the Emperor couldn't take it anymore. Originally, Wang Su didn't want to bother with these things, it wasn't that he hadn't experienced the tricks of the imperial harem, he didn't like them, nor did he want to bother with them. But now that things had escalated to this point, all the guests's eyes were focused on this place, and they were whispering about what was happening in the royal family, so he had no choice but to step in.
"Just an ordinary thief?" Or is there something else? "
Hanqin bit her lips and did not say another word. The messenger who was by her side just now, young eunuch, kneeled down with a "pu tong" sound.
"Your majesty, spare me, empress, please spare me. Empress Hanqin did not want to speak about this because she wanted to protect her family. Please do not blame her."
"What is it?"
These words were like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Every word struck the banquet and fell into everyone's ears. Those who had been just watching the show all turned their attention to this side at this moment. His ears almost pricked up in fear of falling out of his mouth.
And at this time, the one feeling most terrified was also the Prime Minister Zhao. He had heard the young eunuch talking about Hanqin's family for no reason. Did something happen again? How could he not know? He simply knelt on the ground, not knowing what would happen next.
The young eunuch stammered as though she did not dare to speak carelessly again, but when Hanqin heard this sentence, she actually began to sob and cry …
"Empress Hanqin, the family of the empress has committed an unforgivable crime of deceiving the monarch … I hope that the emperor can clear this place of Empress Hanqin's feelings for her … She … she didn't want anything to happen to her little sister … "
What? These words caused Prime Minister Zhao, who was kneeling at the side, to be shocked, and he was momentarily at a loss. Hanqin's sister? Wasn't Zhao Qin's little sister Zhao Min? Now she was having a baby at home. How could he have committed the crime of deceiving the monarch? How could he possibly steal from the palace?
"The emperor has made a report, I am the only one who has two female children, Zhao Qin and Zhao Min. Zhao Min is currently nurturing babies in her mother's family, how could she possibly commit any crime such as deceiving the monarch? This young eunuch doesn't want to spray blood, it is wrongly accusing my Zhao Family!"
Being reprimanded like that by the Prime Minister Zhao, the young eunuch became scared and quickly kneeled on the ground to kowtow to the Emperor. That person was also ruthless in his strikes. Soon, there would be a bloody mark on the top of his head.
"Your Majesty, this little one doesn't dare to speak carelessly …" "I'm telling you the truth..."
But at this time, Hanqin was kneeling on the ground with a deathly pale face, as if she was also frightened …
"What exactly is going on? Hanqin, tell me, is what young eunuch said true? " empress asked.
"Return, return to the Empress." What young eunuch said was the truth. Only, the one who committed the crime of deceiving the monarch was not my sister Zhao Min … but my other sister... Zhao Ci... "
In an instant, everyone was still lost in their own messy family relationships. Sometimes, they only had two daughters, and sometimes, a Zhao Ci popped out of nowhere.
Prime Minister Zhao, who had finally understood what was going on, suddenly remembered something and his entire body immediately collapsed onto the ground …