Han Xianzong's birthday was a major event in the palace, and not only in the palace, it was also a nerve-wracking matter for the ministers.
When giving gifts to His Majesty, it should neither appear hasty nor be too grand, otherwise it will be considered as corruption and bribery, and the gain will outweigh the loss.
The most important thing is the mind, but the mind of the saint is unpredictable. If flattery hits the horse's leg, wouldn't it turn a good thing into a bad thing?
The ministers were more or less worried. Only Gu Xuan practiced calligraphy diligently every day and was able to write the word "Shou" somewhat well.
Xie Ziyue knew that her daughter was a brat and was worried that she would make a joke at Han Xianzong's birthday banquet, so he called her over and asked her what she had prepared.
If Gu Xuan hadn't made a fuss about preparing a gift, Xie Ziyue would have chosen something decent and perfect for her daughter from her private treasury.
However, under her daughter's strong request, Xie Ziyue finally had no choice but to leave the matter to her.
But I still feel a little uneasy, otherwise I wouldn't ask now.
"Concubine, you will know when the time comes." Gu Xuan blinked her eyes. Of course she would not tell her concubine now.
What if the mother-in-law accidentally spills the beans? After all, my father comes here often.
To be on the safe side, I’d rather not say anything.
"You are really..." Xie Ziyue was helpless, "Don't give away those bad things. There will be many ministers and relatives of the emperor coming. If something goes wrong, I can't tell you the truth. Your father won’t be able to say anything at that time, you know?”
"Very good!" Gu Xuan said with a smile: "Mother, my father will definitely like it when he sees it... Anyway, you just believe me."
Xie Ziyue was indeed a little skeptical, but seeing how certain she was, she swallowed her words.
It doesn't hurt her confidence anymore.
Ah Xuan has always been sensible... nothing should go wrong.
In this way, Gu Xuan had the right to prepare gifts for her father alone.
Because the other princesses are still young, they are all at an age where they can just say happy birthday to each other.
While Gu Xuan was practicing intensively, the time came in a blink of an eye to the birthday of Emperor Xianzong of Han Dynasty.
Everyone in the palace was well prepared for this day, and even the eunuchs and nuns had gone through the process many times in advance.
But when this day actually comes, no one dares to take it lightly.
Especially the eunuchs and maids carrying melons and fruits had to tread firmly before taking every step, for fear of accidentally slipping.
However, those who can play at such a time are specially selected to do things properly, and those who are careless are not qualified to handle this.
If you accidentally bump into a noble person, you will be in big trouble.
On such an important day, not only the emperor's relatives, but also the prominent officials in the capital were here. Princess Fukang also entered the palace with her two sons, and was sitting below chatting and laughing with the ladies.
Wu Zekai was about five years old. After Princess Fukang gave birth to him, there was no movement for so many years. In addition, after having a son, her mother-in-law no longer acted like a monster.
In this way, she regarded her son as a treasure and gave him all the delicious food.
At the age of five, Wu Zekai was not yet old enough to grow rapidly. After eating all those good things, Wu Zekai didn't grow much taller, but his face was full of flesh, and he was so fat that his brocade robe was stretched tight.
The same goes for Wu Zesheng. When the two brothers stand together, they look like two fat men.
Because of her previous defeat at the hands of Gu Xuan and the fact that the Queen Mother had become increasingly weak this year, Princess Fukang finally understood the situation and specifically told her two sons not to cause trouble before entering the palace.
Especially don't have any conflict with Gu Xuan.
So even though Princess Fukang's seat was right next to Xie Ziyue, Wu Zesheng and Wu Zekai were still next to their mothers and did not dare to run around.
To be honest, when Gu Xuan took her seat and saw the two brothers, she was almost shocked by them - if Wu Zesheng wasn't slightly thinner than Wu Zekai, she would have thought they were twins.
The same clothes, the same fat face with only a slit for the eyes, and the same chubby hand holding Princess Fukang's sleeve... It's better not to be biological than biological.
Princess Fukang is quite good at keeping fat, and it is unusual for her two children to be so strong.
Gu Xuan had a fight with the two brothers a long time ago. She is not good at remembering the grudges from eight hundred years ago, not to mention that she immediately avenged them at that time.
Nothing was wrong at the moment, and I couldn't help but keep staring at the brothers.
She stared at each other for a while and found that the two brothers seemed a little afraid of her.
He was obviously aware of his gaze, and tried his best to look at himself with his peripheral vision, but did not turn his face.
It shouldn't be.
Gu Xuan wondered. The two brothers were like bullies before, and they worked together to bully her... Why were they suddenly afraid of her?
Do you look very vicious?
Gu Xuan touched her face in confusion.
At this time, the ministers and their families sat down one after another, and the maids came in with something, which was the crab cakes just made in the imperial kitchen.
This thing is made from hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake, and it neutralizes the fragrance of oranges. It has always been a delicacy in the palace.
Just a little bit, crab meat is cold in nature, so you can’t use more at one time, so there is only one bowl per table.
As soon as the palace maid put down Xie Ziyue's portion of crab cake, Xie Ziyue pushed the small bowl towards Gu Xuan.
She didn't like eating this kind of food, but Gu Xuan wanted to eat it before.
However, Gu Xuan was gluttonous when she went out today and ate a lot of sugar cakes. Now her stomach was so full that she couldn't make room at all.
On the other hand, the crab cakes from Princess Fukang were eaten by Wu Zekai and Wu Zesheng as soon as they were served.
The two brothers' physiques were displayed here. They ate a bowl of crab cakes without even tasting the taste. They looked left and right, and their eyes finally settled on Gu Xuan.
Gu Xuan noticed that someone was looking at her. When she looked in that direction, she found that it was Wu Zekai and Wu Zesheng.
Strictly speaking, their eyes are not on themselves at all, but on their bowl of crab cakes...
Gu Xuan: "...Do you want to eat?" The eyes of these two people were really full of desire, and they looked like they wanted to grab it at any time.
She was worried that if she didn't give it to her, these two chubby little guys would come and snatch it away.
Based on his size, he would definitely not be able to overtake them now.
Upon hearing Gu Xuan's question, Wu Zekai and Wu Zesheng looked at each other and nodded, their eyes full of desire.
However, they still remembered their mother's instructions, so their eyes looked very restrained.
"You can eat if you want," Gu Xuan generously handed the bowl to the two brothers: "I didn't eat just now. I'm not hungry."
Wu Zekai and Wu Zesheng's eyes lit up, but they still glanced at Princess Fukang, as if asking for her opinion.
Princess Fukang's eyes were complicated, as if she didn't expect Gu Xuan to be so generous, but when she thought of her two sons who looked like they hadn't eaten good food in eight hundred years, she felt a little resentful: "Eat it."
Her voice was like a pardon, and Wu Zekai and Wu Zesheng immediately took the bowls and ate them separately.
No one on either side felt anything was wrong, except for the palace maid who was standing behind and was responsible for delivering things, with a little bit of astonishment in her eyes.
