It was New Year's Eve in a blink of an eye, and Yan Shu did not leave the palace again. Firstly, the business at Yanjing Food City is as booming as ever, and Yan Shu is busy researching new recipes. Secondly, she is also afraid of meeting Li Xiao, which will only cause embarrassment.
As for Li Xiao, he has never seen the Ninth Princess again, and he is still a little worried. As New Year's Eve was approaching, more guards were added to the palace. After discussing with Yan Lie, Li Xiao took the initiative to ask for an imperial escort. Emperor Yanyun had no objection, and just happened to be observing the Ninth Princess's future prince-in-law.
Fortunately, Li Xiao lived up to expectations, and the name of the loyal and brave general was not for nothing. He was naturally outstanding in ability and military force, which won the admiration of Emperor Yanyun, who personally issued an order to let Li Xiao take charge of the guards of the palace. With this level of identity, Li Xiao can move freely in the palace.
Late one night, Li Xiao put on his night clothes and appeared for the first time in Mingyue Palace and Yan Sui's bedroom.
The person on the bed was sleeping soundly and did not notice anyone coming. Li Xiao sat in front of the bed and looked at the sleeping girl quietly. His expression was calm and his breathing was even, just like a child, without any usual vigilance. Li Xiao didn't dare to make a sound for fear of scaring her, so he quietly left and disappeared into the night.
The next day was New Year's Eve. Yan Shu had been preparing in the small kitchen for a long time and made some food to send to Emperor Yan Yun. Just when he walked outside Qinzheng Hall, he saw Li Xiao walking towards him.
"General Li, why are you here?" Yan Shu felt surprised.
"If the mountain doesn't come to see me, I will come to see the mountain. Ninth Princess, long time no see!" Li Xiao spoke like a gentle young master.
"It hasn't been too long! Is the general coming to the palace to work?" Yan Shu saw Li Xiao's sword and guessed that he was here to work in the palace.
"Exactly." Li Xiao replied.
"This is for the general. I wish you a happy New Year's Eve in advance." Yan Shu took out a bag of freshly fried spicy chicken and handed it to Li Xiao with a sincere smile.
"Princess, this is for the emperor, right? It's for the general. Doesn't it matter?" Li Xiao asked.
"It doesn't matter, I made this by myself, and I have some for my father. You try this spicy chicken first. If it tastes good, then go to Mingyue Palace to get it." Yan Shu said.
"Okay, you're welcome, General. Thank you, Ninth Princess." Li Xiao took the food box and watched Yan Yan walk into the Qinzheng Hall.
In the early morning of the next day, before dawn, the people in the palace got busy, cleaning all the palaces spotlessly and hanging up red lanterns. Every New Year's Eve palace banquet, in addition to the royal family and relatives, princes and ministers are also invited to come and gather together. For this year's New Year's Eve banquet, the spicy grilled fish and boneless chicken feet recipes provided by Yan Shu were adopted. This was something that no one had tasted in previous years. Aunt Qin participated in the production and teaching, and received a generous silver reward. It can be regarded as a glorious ancestor.
In the morning, as usual, Emperor Yanyun led everyone to pray first. Only in the afternoon did everyone have free time to move around. Yan Sui had been obediently talking to Concubine Liu Guifei, and went with Yan Sui and Yan Yu to pay greetings to the empress.
Soon it was time for the palace banquet, which was a scene of singing and dancing, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves while drinking and drinking. As a newly rising upstart and a future prince-in-law, Li Xiao was undoubtedly the most popular. There was an endless stream of officials and ladies from aristocratic families who came forward to toast. Li Xiao is not good at socializing and does not like such occasions. He looked at the person opposite, who was chatting happily with his sisters and didn't care at all about the Yingying Yanyan on his side. He couldn't help feeling irritated, raised his glass and walked towards the opposite side.
