On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, the night before the Shangyuan Festival, a grand banquet was held in the palace to entertain the newly admitted Jixia Palace students.
The emperor's kindness was so great that the students were both happy and frightened.
The banquet was placed from the main hall of Yanqing Palace to the entrance of the palace. The banquet was filled with gold bottles, jade cups, amber wine, and the food was picturesque. The stars in the sky reflected the most luxurious and majestic human images.
Near the palace gate, under a few apricot blossom trees, Lu Anran sat quietly at the end of the banquet, listening to the whispers and whispers around him, covering his face with his sleeves, lifting up a corner of the masked cloth, and took a sip of wine.
It's not spicy, the glutinous aroma is refreshing, with a hint of bitterness that's not easy to taste, and it's quickly covered up by the sweetness.
"Who is this? You went to the banquet and still covered your face."
"do not know."
"Look at the fabric of her clothes. She comes from some cloth shop in the capital. I've never seen them before."
Lu Anran sighed softly. Women in the royal capital also wore veils when going out, but most of them were clear and elegant, and they were removed when the banquet started. She didn't want to look special, but she was afraid that taking it off would frighten these delicate ladies.
The Enrong Banquet had started for half an hour, but she actually didn't see the emperor's face at all. The banquet spread across the entire Yanqing Palace was too spread out.
It was just that when I knelt down and shouted long live the mountain at the beginning, I vaguely heard a deep voice say a few words, which were refined to be quite concise.
It was nothing more than encouragement, because Lu Anran found that after the voice fell, many students present were shaking slightly with excitement.
"The soil is dead, what the hell." The voice was slightly high, particularly harsh and mean.
Lu Anran discovered that at some point, a purple figure stopped nearby. The person was dressed in luxurious clothes. A string of red gold necklaces around his neck was illuminated by the firelight. The skin glowed golden, and the whole body was golden.
She was still saying: "After all, your father is also a third-grade Zuo Shilang. With such a petty outlook, he really can't stand on the stage."
The woman whose name was called was Xie Yun. She was embarrassed and embarrassed. Her face turned red and slowly turned pale. She bit her lip and stood up, with tears in her eyes: "Princess Princess, I..."
Just now, she and the woman beside her were pointing at Lu Anran. Because they were really curious about the material of Lu Anran's clothes, which was different from theirs, they made up their mind to strike up a conversation. Who knew that Princess Ding'an was passing by by chance.
"Shut up, who are you? Anyone can talk to this princess?" Princess Ding'an flicked her sleeves, snorted and turned around quickly.
Before leaving, he gave Lu Anran a hard look.
Lu Anran rubbed the wine glass with her right index finger and thumb, feeling clear in her heart. She had long recognized that this noble princess had despised her in public more than once on different occasions, but she couldn't figure out the reason.
Not to mention how Miss Xie was sobbing and how the others comforted her with gentle words, Lu Anran's eyelids suddenly twitched.
The clouds were thin, and a waxing moon peeked over the tops of the apricot trees. The moonlight shone lightly, and fell on the ground as cold as frost.
The flower branches moved gently with the wind, one foot broke the cold moon frost, and the corners of the clothes were raised, as if the spring scenery suddenly appeared in the garden, rendering a beautiful scenery of the country.
The shocking colors in the night instantly attracted everyone's attention, but with a slight smile on his lips and a hint of frivolity on his brows, he walked out step by step from the dark shadows of the trees, looking like a demon or a fairy. , a state of enchantment.
Lu Anran believes that some people can easily attract everyone's attention at any time, regardless of their status, whether they know it or not, such as Yun Qi.
Before she had time to wonder why Yunqi appeared at the Enrong Banquet, a slight coolness suddenly tapped her finger hanging by her side, very lightly and quickly.
Lu Anran looked at her in shock, only to see Yunqi not even looking at her, walking briskly towards the main hall of Yanqing Palace. It seemed that when they passed each other just now, under the cover of his wide-sleeved robe, he struck with a jade bone fan. The action of touching one's own fingers is completely non-existent.
After the extreme silence, everyone woke up, and a louder discussion started again. As expected, everyone was asking about Yun Qi's identity. When they saw Yun Qi directly entering the main hall, this bright and searching sound became even louder. It has reached a boiling point.
Although this banquet was to entertain students, only the emperor's relatives and a few important ministers were eligible to sit in the main hall. The other third-rank officials and below started from outside the hall door and went all the way down.
Lu Anran stared down at the drink swaying in the glass. As Prince Yun, he could naturally be honored in the palace.
The Yun family was a king with a different surname during the previous dynasty. It was once so prominent that no other family in Mengzhou could compare with it. However, things were unpredictable. After the change of dynasties, although the current emperor retained the throne of the Yun family, the Yun family became even more low-key.
This time when Yun came to Beijing, it was also the emperor's call.
As for Lu Anran herself, if she was the legitimate daughter of the governor of Mengdu County, she would be able to get dozens of seats in the front row, but if she was a disciple of Jixia Palace...
This last position made Lu Anran deeply understand the status of the medical clinic in the entire Jixia Palace.
After one round, there was some movement from the front, and a sharp voice broke through the sky: "Your Majesty -"
Lu Anran hurriedly stood up and followed the others and saluted. When she raised her head, she saw a bright yellow light in the distance slowly disappearing around the corner of the palace wall under the shadow of the palace lantern.
It seemed that the emperor took his restraints with him when he left, and the atmosphere instantly became joyful.
After a while, while the students were still cautious and did not dare to move rashly, the officials at the front tables began to move around, changing cups and cups, drinking and drinking, and making noises.
With an exclamation, Lu Anran looked over curiously and saw a large group of people gathered around the banquet place in the middle. They seemed to be surrounding someone and looked excited.
Fortunately, she didn't need to ask, there were people who talked a lot.
"Did you see it? Did you see it? The second prince is truly a talented person, one of the best among men. No wonder he is loved and respected by everyone."
"Superficial." A male student sneered, "Prime Minister Liu personally praised the second prince, Shan Teli, for being a rare and unparalleled talent."
The two sides were arguing over whether the second prince was distinguished by his appearance or his talent. Lu Anran pinched his forehead with two fingers and decided to go to the side hall where they were allowed to take a breather and wait until the banquet was almost over before going back to leave the palace together.
—
Across a palace wall, the noise gradually faded away, and the bright moon above seemed to shine brighter.
"Meow~"
Suddenly, a black shadow flew down from the shadow of the tree, and Lu Anran almost couldn't retreat. She 'teared' it, and when she lowered her head, she saw that the corner of her skirt had been ripped apart, leaving a broken mark.
"Meow meow~ meow~" is different from the usual coquettish or contemptuous cat meows. The cat in front of me has a voice rolling in its throat, huffing and puffing, low and fierce.
Lu Anran curled her fingers, lowered her eyes slightly, and saw a pair of green cat eyes, her heart felt slightly numb.
Others are afraid of dogs, but she is afraid of cats.
On the other side of the palace wall, there was the sound of feasting on silk and bamboo. Here, the clouds dispersed and the leaves opened, mottled black shadows appeared, the breeze was cold and the moon was cold, and there was only a pure white cat facing off against Lu Anran.
Through the swinging palace lantern, Lu Anran saw that this cat was of noble appearance and was not an ordinary species. It was probably raised by a noble from some palace. She did not want to compete with a cat, but the cat blocked her way. .
Unexpectedly, at this time, the cat's two forelimbs were slightly lowered, its body was elongated, and it was preparing to kick off its hind legs to launch an offensive.
Lu Anran moved his right hand, almost subconsciously pressing it on the dagger in his sleeve pocket.
Almost at the same moment, Lu Anran was pulled by someone's right arm.
A voice sounded from the darkness on the other side: "Xiangxiang!"
Before Lu Anran could figure out who this Xiangxiang call was, her body was uncontrollably pulled to the corner. Her eyes were staring straight ahead, and she saw the white cat take off, and its body jumped up to the wall lightly, and disappeared after a few back and forth. .
Immediately afterwards, under the double shadow on the opposite side, only a cluster of apricot yellow was vaguely seen, like dyed clouds on the horizon, fleetingly passing by.
There was a low chuckle in his ear: "He is very murderous and very courageous."
Lu An then took a step back, avoiding physical contact between the two of them, looked up into Yun Qi's mocking black eyes, frowned slightly and said, "That cat is extraordinary."
Yunqi's peach blossom eyes turned: "That's natural. The cat raised by the Prince of the East Palace is naturally different from ordinary things."
"The prince's cat?" Hearing this, a flash of surprise flashed in Lu Anran's eyes.
Yun Qi chuckled: "Are you afraid?"
Lu Anran thought about it for a while and finally said it, "The cat's condition is not right."
"Huh?" Yunqi responded quickly, "Didn't you anger it just now?"
Lu Anran nodded: "I was passing by here, and it suddenly jumped out and wanted to attack me."
Yun Qi rolled his eyes for a moment, then stroked his jade bone fan and raised his lips: "I've been told that you have a strong evil spirit. Cats are the most evil psychic animals."
The two of them walked out of the corner, and Lu Anran said, "That person just now was... the prince?"
Yun Qi shook his jade bone fan: "The second prince was calling the ministers in front of him, but the prince appeared here quietly. Isn't it strange?"
Lu Anran looked at Yun Qi, who raised his eyebrows and said, "Think about the prince's background."
A word startled him awake.
The former emperor of Xia Wu Dynasty was dissolute and extravagant. When the current emperor Sang Jiuxiu was still the chief minister, in order to resist the violence of the former emperor, he united various ministries to launch a coup.
But the prince was born to the former princess and Zi Sang Jiuxiu.
That night, the prince was born, dynasties changed, the princess died in childbirth, and the entire Xia and Wu Dynasty changed.
During the princess's lifetime, Zi Sang Jiuxiu was deeply in love with her, and when the prince cried for the first time after he was born, it was also the time when Zi Sang Jiuxiu gained power. Therefore, he felt that the prince was the incarnation of auspiciousness, and a cry started a new dynasty.
As a result, Zi Sangjin was named the crown prince at birth.
There is also a rumor that Zisang Jiuxiu had a deep love for the princess of the previous dynasty, so he insisted on being crown prince despite the opposition of the officials.
It's just that as time goes by, everything will change. No matter how deep the feelings are, they can't be as beautiful as the beauty in front of you. Now the harem is dominated by Concubine Shu.
As for the queen...
At that time, the new dynasty had just been established, and the emperor needed civil servants and military generals to consolidate the throne. After careful consideration, he chose the daughter of the civil servant Gu's family as his queen, and the military general General Liu's sister as concubine Shu. It's just that the queen is not as elegant as the concubine Shu, so the relationship between the emperor and the empress is just that of treating each other like a guest.
Judging from the current situation, everyone thinks that there is still a big question mark over the ownership of the throne after the emperor's 100 years. After all, the emperor is in his prime, and the current situation of the prince does not look very good.
Not to mention the veterans who have been in the officialdom for a long time, some students who plan to enter politics today also began to think about how to choose in the future after experiencing a favor banquet.
