Why don't they make money? The gift boxes they make are originally only for rich people, so this holiday can equal the shop's profit for half a year.
Liu Ruolan now had no shortage of money on hand. When she was happy, she ordered all the servants' monthly money to be doubled this month. Even the martial artists sent by the imperial court were rewarded with one or two silver coins, which was very generous!
Xie Ronghui was called back, and Liu Ruolan gave a detailed explanation before asking him to take Fang Hu with him to deliver a holiday gift to the Chen family.
The Chen family was not divided, but Chen Bo lived with his wife and daughter in Feng County, so Liu Ruolan sent most of the festival gifts to Feng County. As for the Chen family in the capital, some were given as token gifts.
In addition, the etiquette of Duke Dingguo's Mansion and Marquis Weixin's Mansion are also indispensable.
Although the Xie family is not short of money now, its level of wealth is obviously not comparable to that of these two noble families.
They are not on the same level at all!
But when several companies have a good relationship, they don't only value these external things.
Now that Liu Ruolan has a title, according to the rules, she will also participate in this year's Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet.
The Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet is different from the usual palace banquets organized by the queen or concubines. It is very formal, so even if Xie Rongzhao is a rich lady, she is still not qualified to participate in the palace banquet.
Therefore, on the night before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xie Xiuwen took the neatly dressed Liu Ruolan into the palace, leaving Xie Rongzhao alone at home to eat and admire the moon.
Female family members without titles are not allowed to participate in palace banquets unless they have obtained the Queen's decree.
In some noble families, most of the female relatives will have this opportunity. For example, Zhao Ying from the Weixin Hou Mansion can accompany the Gao family into the palace.
This does not require the queen to name the person separately. The emperor will usually give the order directly, and some dignitaries, including Duke Dingguo, will also have this honor.
It is an honor to be able to enter the palace and attend the banquet.
Regardless of whether the food in the palace is delicious or not, the important thing is that being able to enter the palace and meet those noble empresses and princesses will be a part of my glory in the future.
Xie Rongzhao didn't envy this at all.
She had heard from her father that the food in the palace was not that delicious. Some of the dishes were already cold when they were served, and there were also social events. Some officials had been drinking for a long time and did not even have the time to take a bite of the food.
If the ministers are like this, the female relatives will not be much better.
After all, if a lower-ranking wife enters the palace, she must always salute continuously. If she is lucky enough to wait until the banquet begins, the order of passing the dishes will definitely be the slowest to the lower-ranking one. Maybe some dishes have been taken away by others, so here you have Not on yet.
In short, in Xie Rongzhao's view, the palace banquet was full of one word: trouble!
Also unwilling to attend the palace banquet were Wang Yanqing and Wang Yinuo from Dingguo Palace. However, no matter how unwilling they were, they still had to go after the Holy One had made a decree. However, before going, these two people were smart and first prepared their own affairs. The house was three-quarters full, and there was a snack box prepared in the car. After entering the palace, it didn't matter whether he had something to eat or not.
Liu Ruolan was only a fourth-grade imperial concubine. If she were placed in Anyang County, she would definitely be a leading figure.
But in the capital, with her status, she was barely assigned to sit at the bottom of the pile.
The first ones are the royal concubines and princesses, followed by the princess, the crown prince, etc.
In the second row, it was the turn of the family members of the ministers, starting with Mrs. Yipin Gaoming.
Liu Ruolan sat in the fourth row on the left, and there was another row behind, and they should all be the fifth-grade imperial wives.
In the middle of the main hall, there were palace musicians playing music, singing and dancing, which was really lively, and the dancers were also dressed in bright colors, which looked full of life.
However, the song and dance did not last long before the queen ordered it to be temporarily withdrawn, and then ordered a piano player to sit in the palace and play the piano, which did not have a special charm.
Liu Ruolan lowered her head and ate the food on her desk. She occasionally raised her head but did not dare to look at the phoenix seat.
On the other hand, the two ladies in the front row were whispering, but they didn't seem to care much, so she just sat here and listened to the gossip.
"Why did you suddenly switch to playing the piano? The violinist's skills are good, but this song doesn't sound as festive as before."
"That's right, it's such a big festival. Why did the Queen suddenly think of listening to such elegant music? I can occasionally hear the sound of drums coming from the front. After all, the men's place is more lively."
In this kind of formal palace banquet, everyone wears imperial uniforms of corresponding grades, so Liu Ruolan can roughly tell whether the other person's status is higher or lower than hers by just looking at the other person's clothes.
"I heard that the imperial concubine wanted to hear it, but the queen just fulfilled her wish."
"What you said, if the noble concubine wants to hear it, will the queen bow to her?"
"Hush! Be careful! I heard that the imperial concubine is unparalleled in the palace now. Even the new beauties in the past two years cannot compare with her. The Holy Emperor treats the imperial concubine very well. But as for the imperial concubine in Fengyi Palace, The empress is never missing anything here.”
Liu Ruolan took a sip of the fruit juice. Which woman does the emperor favor? Can people outside know?
Why do I feel that what the first two people said is unreliable?
"Okay, let's not talk anymore. Let's just eat and drink in peace. By the way, I heard that Xie Jieyu is pregnant. I didn't see her at the palace banquet today. She was probably afraid of something going wrong, so I didn't see her in the palace. Let’s raise the baby.”
"But the one from the Xie family on Anhe Street?"
"Whose family could it be besides his? Jieyu, whose surname is Xie, is the only one in the palace now."
"It's been a long time since Xie Jieyu entered the palace, right? Two or three years ago?"
"Almost, it should be three or four years."
"Now that I can be promoted to Jieyu, I have survived. But what do you think of the Xie family? Why did they let their own daughter participate in the selection? For many years, the Xie family's rules did not allow women to enter the palace. This It’s been completely changed!”
"Who says it isn't? I see that the Xie family is getting worse day by day. Now Mr. Xie is holding the front, but not many of his children and grandchildren are mature. But this is normal, that is It’s impossible for an aristocratic family to be prosperous every year.”
Liu Ruolan felt that what she gained most from today's palace banquet was that she learned so much gossip.
This is much more exciting news than the news I usually get when I talk to those ladies I have good friends with!
When they left the palace, Liu Ruolan had just followed a group of female family members out of a palace gate when she saw several men talking in front of them. It was dark and it was difficult to see clearly. Liu Ruolan recognized her husband by the color of his official uniform. .
There are not many ministers waiting for their wives here, and Xie Xiuwen is one of them.
The carriage started to move slowly, and Liu Ruolan whispered: "I heard a very big news. Xie Jieyu gave birth to a child through her mother's womb. Does the emperor know about such a big thing?"
