Relatively speaking, Chonghua Hall is more spacious and can accommodate more people for banquets held here.
The so-called family banquet is naturally the emperor's family banquet. Those present today will be the emperor's concubines, as well as a group of sons and grandsons.
Before the emperor and empress arrived, the concubines living in the harem arrived one after another, chatting with each other in a relaxed and happy manner.
Because of Yang Qingyin's existence, there were no such things as crows, dogs, and thieves in the harem, so these people were usually very harmonious.
And the concubines who gave birth to children were even more looking forward to their children entering the palace as soon as possible so that they could meet and talk.
Princes who were born as concubines were not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned. Their treatment was far worse than that of legitimate sons such as Zhu Jinghong, and they rarely had the opportunity to enter the palace throughout the year.
As time went by, princes and princesses came to Chonghua Hall one after another, and they immediately greeted their mother when they saw her.
The Prince's family and Prince Rui's family also arrived one after another, attracting a group of brothers to come to pay homage, even leaving their own mother aside.
This behavior is easy to understand, because the candidate for the next emperor must be one of the prince and Prince Rui.
If you want to be Prince Xiaoyao in the future, how can you not fawn over these two.
Unlike Prince Rui, Zhu Jinghong was not feeling very comfortable at the moment because he was entangled with his own sister.
On one side of the palace road, Zhu Yunsheng looked angry and said angrily: "Zhu Jinghong, you clearly promised me that you would bring fireworks into the palace, but you actually lied to me..."
"Woooooooo..."
Seeing Zhu Yunsheng venting his anger, Zhu Jinghong said with embarrassment: "Third sister... please keep your voice down. If mother hears it, it will be terrible!"
Zhu Jinghong admitted that he had forgotten about it due to negligence.
But he can't be entirely blamed. He was so happy with the projects arranged by Hou Jing in the past two days, how could he remember his little sister's advice?
"How come the number one warrior of the Ming Dynasty actually lied to a little girl like me...you...you are so bad!" Zhu Yunsheng was indignant.
After looking at the other girls in the room, it turned out that everyone was disappointed, which made Zhu Jinghong feel that the matter was serious.
Seeing that Zhu Yunsheng was still making a fuss, Zhu Jinghong quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Third sister, aren't they just fireworks... I'll just get them for you!"
"Deng An..."
"The slave is here!" Deng An stepped forward quickly.
"You think of a way to buy some fireworks!"
Hearing this, Deng An looked troubled: "Thirteenth Master, these fireworks... are forbidden items, how dare I bring them into the palace!"
Fireworks contain gunpowder and must be strictly controlled in the palace. Of course, Deng An cannot bring them in because of his dignity.
These words reminded Zhu Jinghong that even he should be a little cautious. After all, it is not good to bring gunpowder into the palace.
"Then...just take Xiyuan, we will go to Xiyuan later!"
Compared with the heavily guarded palace, Xiyuan has less worries and is spacious, so it is perfect for setting off fireworks.
"Yes!" Deng An agreed, although it was still a bit difficult.
Turning around, Zhu Jinghong looked at the Zhu family girls and asked, "Third sister... what do you think?"
"Thank you, Brother Thirteen!"
Zhu Yunsheng managed his expression very well, and now his smile was restored, which made Zhu Jinghong shake his head.
"Brother Thirteen, let's go to Chonghua Palace quickly. Don't keep your parents waiting!"
"Let's go!"
The brother and sister reconciled as before and continued chatting towards Chonghua Hall.
When they arrived at the place, people greeted Zhu Jinghong one after another, which showed how different the status of his legitimate son was.
After greeting a group of concubine brothers, Zhu Jinghong greeted the fourth and sixth sons one after another, and then sat back in his chair.
At this moment, a stage has been set up in the courtyard in front of the palace, and nearly a hundred musicians are ready under the stage. Apparently there will be a song, dance, and drama performed soon.
It's freezing cold right now, so it's really cold to perform outside, but what the royal family wants is a show, and whether you watch it or not is secondary.
Let's say that Zhu Jinghong was sitting on the porch, and the eunuch sent him a hand and foot stove, so he was not afraid of the wind, snow and cold.
"Wait!"
"Master Thirteen, please give me your instructions!"
"Get some more hand stoves and give them to the princess to read!"
"yes!"
Strictly speaking, this is against the rules, but since it is Zhu Jinghong, how can the people below dare to refuse.
After a while, the things were delivered to Baochai and others, allowing them to receive the warmth in winter.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yunsheng couldn't help but feel unbalanced, so he said: "Brother Thirteen really cares about you, more than my biological sister!"
At this time Zhen Qin said: "Princess, the Thirteenth Master also cares about you. He has done everything you asked, and he even got a lot of slaps for you!"
After thinking carefully about what was going on, Zhu Yunsheng did not elaborate on this aspect, but looked at Zhen Qin and said: "Sister Qin, you care so much about Brother Thirteen, why don't you go after he will be crowned king next year? Choose his princess?”
Oops, the princess knew what she was thinking. It was so embarrassing to tell her in public... Zhen Qin started to add to the drama in her heart.
But no one present could see her little thought.
To Zhen Qin's surprise, the other three didn't say anything. Only Xiang Yun looked at Baochai and the others with a thoughtful look on his face, and then smiled inadvertently.
"Princess, don't say that...I am your attendant!" Zhen Qin became even more coy.
Zhu Yunsheng thought this "silly sister" was quite funny, so he went on to say: "What's so embarrassing about this... I didn't say that the imperial concubine can't choose the princess!"
"As long as I can get it right, you can all pass the primary election directly, and then you can directly participate in the third round of re-election!"
Baochai and Yang Jingting knew what Zhu Yunsheng said, so the key to the problem was how to get the queen to agree to run.
Originally, Yang Jingting was not worried about this matter, because she knew that if she came to be an attendant, the queen would train her to be her daughter-in-law.
But now, her aunt values Baochai more and more, which makes Yang Jingting worried, fearing that she will miss Zhu Jinghong.
Like her, Baochai was also extremely worried because her biological father was gone, which was her biggest flaw.
Although the royal concubine does not pay attention to family status, it still chooses a harmonious and beautiful family. The person who lost his father at a young age is easily regarded as a young and lucky person.
Therefore, Zhu Yunsheng's words made both Baochai and Yang Jingting extremely sad, and their expressions became visibly gloomy.
"Your Majesty is here!"
The shouts outside immediately aroused tension inside and outside the palace. Everyone rushed out of the hall, and soon people were kneeling on the ground inside the palace gate.
A few breaths later, the emperor and empress appeared together. The two were walking and chatting, ignoring the man who was kneeling now.
"Your Majesty, long live my emperor!"
"Well...get up!" Zhu Xianming responded casually.
The concubines, princes, and grandsons present all hoped that the emperor would take a look at them, but unfortunately, all their ideas came to nothing.
After entering the palace, the emperor only summoned Zhu Muchun, the eldest son of the crown prince, and asked about his studies and life.
Soon the emperor took his seat, everyone else also sat back in their seats, and the banquet officially began.
Although it is a family dinner, it is relatively formal this time, so there are many rules when it comes to eating.
What puzzled Zhu Jinghong was that the Supreme Emperor did not come today.
You must know that in the past, the Supreme Emperor would attend the Chonghua Hall family banquet on New Year's Eve, so it is even more appropriate to come this year.
Many people present had the same doubts. Zhu Xianming also noticed this and explained that the Supreme Emperor was unable to attend due to physical discomfort.
Zhu Xingkan is seventy years old. It is not an exaggeration to say that the loess is buried in his neck. It is normal to feel unwell.
(End of chapter)
