Longevity Festival.
Today's Linzi City is very lively.
Stretching from the city gate to the front of the palace, there are colorful squares one after another along the way, with colorful walls and colorful corridors.
There are also opera performance platforms, singing platforms, and countless lamp sheds. Along the way, large characters such as "Longevity without Borders" and "Emperor for Ten Thousand Years" made of colored silk appear on the colorful walls, which is particularly spectacular.
At this moment,
The palace is also buzzing with people, ?.?????.???
The princes, ministers, nobles and gentry who were qualified to participate in the birthday banquet arrived at the scene early in the morning before dawn. At this time, they were gathering in groups and talking to each other.
around,
A famous eunuch and a palace maid were very busy.
The artists and dancers in charge of the performance also took their places in the backstage.
Soon the banquet begins,
First, the officials presented gifts.
All kinds of rare treasures were presented one after another.
As a birthday gift for the emperor, what stands out is that it is exquisite, rare, and strange. It is basically a unique treasure in the world.
Even the monarchs of the surrounding countries and even the state of Qin sent congratulatory gifts.
In order to prepare these,
Countless ministers took great pains.
Among them, the birthday gift prepared by Ye Qingqiu was also presented.
only,
The priceless white jade Guanyin, which is 1.5 meters tall, seems ordinary among all the gifts.
Looking at the various treasures, Han Lin smiled happily, especially because there were some gifts among them, which he really liked.
After the gift is completed,
The imperial dining room also began to serve dishes.
Everyone attending the banquet had a table in front of them.
Not long after,
It was already filled with all kinds of delicacies, candied fruits and melons, and fine wine.
As for the long table in front of Han Lin, it was even more luxurious.
There are one hundred and nine dishes in total.
Among them, there are twenty items of hot dishes, twenty items of cold dishes, four items of soups, four items of side dishes, four items of fresh fruits, twenty-eight items of melon and fruit preserves, and twenty-nine items of snacks and pastries.
besides,
It also brings together fine wines from all over the world.
What stands out is a luxury.
Of course, compared with Cixi's birthday banquet, it really pales in comparison. After all, it went to the extent of deducting military expenses.
In fact, in the previous life,
Han Lin Han Lin also specifically learned how luxurious life in Cixi is. Let’s not talk about the living environment and daily necessities. Han Lin is also very luxurious in this regard.
However, in some places, the extravagance is truly horrific.
It is said that when taking a bath in Cixi, hundreds of people must be busy before and after. The towels are wiped once and then thrown away. At least more than a hundred towels are used in one time.
It takes seven or eight days to embroider a pair of socks, and then throw them away after wearing them once.
Calculate it,
Socks alone cost more than 10,000 taels of silver a year.
Then there’s eating,
Let’s not talk about today’s birthday party for now.
On weekdays, Han Lin only had seven or eight dishes for a meal, more than a dozen dishes, and he often ate with his concubines and maids.
But here in Cixi, a meal consists of one hundred and twenty dishes, and each dish can be eaten in three bites at most.
One meal in Cixi provides three years of food for the people.
It can be said that Cixi's daily expenses cost more than 40,000 taels of silver, and this kind of life lasted for more than 40 years.
so,
If we just talk about luxury and lust, Han Lin really can't compare with Cixi.
I can only say that I feel inferior!
...
As the banquet officially begins,
In the main hall,
The aroma of wine overflowed, Han Lin was sitting at the head of the table, and many concubines were sitting on both sides.
below,
All the civil and military officials were toasting and drinking, looking happy and happy.
In the center of the hall,
The dancer in a gauze dress dances gracefully to the music, her graceful figure looming under the gauze, full of charm.
In the corner near the palace gate,
A beautiful figure is sitting in front of the table, looking at the delicious food filled with color and fragrance, without any appetite.
At this moment,
Ye Qingqiu felt a little nervous for the first time in a long time.
His hands were clenched together involuntarily, and a lot of cold sweat broke out in his palms.
As early as three days ago,
Ye Qingqiu found an assassin.
The other party is from Wu State.
Born into a swordsman family of the Wu Kingdom.
Since the State of Wu was destroyed by the State of Qi, he originally had the intention to assassinate Han Lin.
through special channels,
Ye Qingqiu found the other party and promised to find a way for him to sneak into the palace.
Subsequently,
Through a series of actions, Ye Qingqiu disguised the assassin as a luthier who would perform music on the stage at the following banquet.
At that time, it will be the perfect time to assassinate Han Lin.
At this moment,
The dancers in the hall changed round after round.
As the dance ended, these dancers slowly retreated. Then, accompanied by the music of the Yan Kingdom, seven or eight dancers in white long skirts entered the hall.
The woman at the head walked lightly, her eyebrows were as light as spring mountains above her veil, and her eyes were like autumn waves.
The long white dress on her body keeps swaying with the dance, like delicate flowers blooming in the palace, and the beauty of the scene is like the dancing of fairies left behind in the mortal world.
Even Han Lin couldn't help but indulge in it.
At this time,
Ye Qingqiu frowned and his eyes fell on the lower left hand side of Han Lin.
mainly,
Ye Qingqiu suddenly saw the figure of his father.
But then I thought about it, and it didn't seem strange that my father would appear here.
After all, he is the last prime minister, and the Ye family is a wealthy noble family in Qi State that has been passed down for hundreds of years.
Ye Jinglong is naturally qualified to come to the banquet.
It seems that I feel someone's eyes on me,
Ye Jinglong, who had just drank a glass of wine, looked towards where Ye Qingqiu was.
The father and daughter looked at each other in the air.
Ye Qingqiu's eyes were wandering, and he didn't dare to look at his father.
