On Little New Year's Eve, Emperor Zhengyuan held a banquet for all the ministers in the Chaoyang Hall, and invited the ministers and their families to celebrate the festival. Relatives of the emperor, hereditary princes and officials of third rank or above are all invited.
On this day, Princess Pingyang had the rare opportunity to put on a first-grade imperial uniform and took Shen Yao and Shen Zhuo to wait outside the palace early.
Shen Zhuo sat on the carriage, lifted the curtains of the car window, and looked out. Looking at the familiar red walls and green tiles and the majestic palace, she couldn't help but feel a sting in her eyes. When the familiar colors came into view again, Shen Zhuo understood more deeply that everything in her previous life was not a dream, but actually happened. This awakened the pain that she had suppressed deep in her heart.
"Jiaojiao, don't be afraid, just follow me for a while." Shen Yao comforted softly when he saw Shen Zhuo's face turned pale.
In this life, this is the first time that Shen Zhuo has entered the palace instead of being imprisoned in the palace for several years. Shen Yao thought she was afraid and nervous. Shen Zhuo twitched the corners of his mouth and showed an ugly smile.
"Although the queen is not very kind, she will not embarrass you juniors. Don't be too nervous." Princess Pingyang also saw that something was wrong with Shen Zhuo.
Shen Zhuo didn't speak, only shook her head, holding the skirt of her skirt tightly with both hands, so hard that her nails turned white. She tried her best to resist the sharp pain in her heart. The days and nights of suffering in the palace in the previous life were like needles pricking me. It turns out that even after a lifetime, it still hurts.
Shen Yao's hand gently covered her eyes and said softly: "Jiaojiao, please close your eyes and rest for a while. I will call you when we are here."
Shen Zhuo raised her hand and took away Shen Yao's hand. She didn't want to close her eyes to rest. She wanted to open her eyes and look at her sister and her mother with a good look, seeing that they were all fine. She was afraid that as soon as she closed her eyes, her sister and mother would disappear.
Shen Zhuo snuggled into Princess Pingyang's arms, hugged her mother's waist tightly, and never let go.
"You kid, what happened today?" Princess Pingyang hugged her with half annoyance and half pity.
"I won't be afraid if I hold my mother-in-law." Shen Zhuo buried his face on Princess Pingyang's waist.
"You are so old, and you still love to act like a baby!" Princess Pingyang said she was disgusted, but her eyes were smiling gently.
Not long after, the family members of Shen Mansion were lined up to enter the palace. For this grand banquet, the female relatives of each family will first go to Fengkun Palace to pay homage to the Queen, and then go to Chaoyang Palace to attend the palace banquet.
Princess Pingyang was both a princess and a royal concubine, so as soon as she entered the gate of Fengkun Palace, she was welcomed to sit down on a chair not far from the queen's head, with Shen Yao and Shen Zhuo standing behind her.
"Lan Xi, I heard that your eldest daughter got hairpins a few days ago. Is she here today? Let me take a look." Queen Guo Meiyi greeted her cordially.
Xiao Lanxi is the name of Princess Pingyang. She and Guo Meiyi were old acquaintances before they left the cabinet, but they were not very close. Princess Pingyang couldn't help but feel a little sinking as she spoke so high-profile to Shen Yao in front of all the wives today.
Shen Yao stood up as she was told, walked to the middle of the palace, and saluted the queen with dignity and respect. Her etiquette was standardized, her behavior was dignified, and her demeanor was quiet, making it impossible for anyone to fault her.
The queen waved and asked Shen Yao to come closer, and then pulled her to look her up and down, with obvious joy in her eyes: "Lan Xi, you have cultivated a noble lady with a beautiful heart. I admire her very much. like."
After saying that, Guo Meiyi asked the palace maid to take out two velvet flowers newly made in the palace, put them on Shen Yao's temples with her own hands, and said with a smile: "Delicate flowers and beautiful women really complement each other."
All the wives in the hall also agreed in unison and praised Shen Yao one after another. Shen Yao was in the limelight for a while.
Concubine Qin Zhangyu covered her mouth and smiled softly: "Miss Shen is dignified, elegant, quiet and virtuous, and I like her too. Since the Queen has sent flowers, I will join in the fun and give you a pair of earrings to match the beauty."
Although all the wives in the palace still smiled and complimented her, their eyes on Shen Yao were a little more complicated. Everyone is well aware that the fifth prince Xiao Jun, the queen's direct descendant, and the fourth prince Xiao Cheng, the concubine's son, are both eighteen years old this year, and they are at the age when marriage is being discussed.
This scene has also happened in previous lives. At that time, Shen Zhuo only said that Shen Yao was outstanding, which made both the Queen and Concubine De look up to her and praised her very much. She was very honored and even boasted about it to Lu Waner and others for a long time. But in this life, all over again, she felt cold all over.
Through all the experiences in his previous life, Shen Zhuo finally understood the undercurrent in the palace. Shen Yao's road ahead is full of dangers. Shen Zhuo suddenly remembered a sentence at an inappropriate time, "Every man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade."
The title "the legitimate daughter of the chief minister of the dynasty" is the "bi".
While the Queen and Concubine De were secretly fighting over Shen Yao's marriage in Fengkun Palace, Emperor Zhengyuan was also testing Shen Yuan in the Imperial Study Room. The monarch and his ministers sat down respectively, sipping tea and chatting.
"Shen Qing, you have raised a good daughter." Emperor Zhengyuan joked, "I heard that 'when a daughter of the Shen family grows up, she will become famous all over Beijing.'"
Shen Yuan and Emperor Zhengyuan met when they were young. They have been together as monarchs and ministers for more than 30 years, so they get along casually in private.
When Shen Yuan heard this, he waved his hands hurriedly, shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, please don't offend my little girl. Those rumors are just a joke by those who want to do something good."
"As the saying goes, every family wants a good girl. Has Shen Qing chosen a good wife?" Emperor Zhengyuan asked.
Shen Yuan's heart thumped, and he thought to himself, what was supposed to come has finally come. So, he pretended not to care at all and said casually: "Pingyang is usually in charge of the marriage of his children. The young girl is talented enough to have a hairpin, so I thought I didn't make the decision so quickly. Pingyang probably wants to keep her for two more years."
"You are not in a hurry, but some people are." Emperor Zhengyuan chuckled, "Since I came back from attending the ceremony at your residence, several of my sons have come to ask me to marry your daughter."
When Shen Yuan heard this, he quickly stood up and saluted, and said bluntly: "My little girl, you will never dare to do this."
"Hey, why should Shen Qing be so self-effacing? You and I have known each other for more than thirty years, and we are known as monarchs and ministers, but more like friends. I have always trusted your character, and your daughter is not bad at all. I just don't know, I Among his sons, who does Shen Qing like more?" Emperor Zhengyuan smiled.
Emperor Zhengyuan had a total of eight sons, two died young and one was already married. Among the remaining sons, only three were suitable for Shen Yao's age. They are: the third prince, Xiao Zhang, born to Concubine Xian; the fourth prince, born to Concubine De. The prince, Xiao Cheng; and the fifth prince born from the queen, Xiao Jun.
Shen Yuan lowered his eyes and thought to himself, where is this marriage? It was clearly a temptation.
Shen Yuan thought for a moment, stood up, bowed to Emperor Zhengyuan with a sincere attitude, and said: "I am your Majesty's minister, and my little girl is also your Majesty's minister. I have never been more optimistic about anyone, everything is just Your Majesty makes the decision."
Shen Yuan's position as chief assistant was not for nothing. He had already figured out Emperor Zhengyuan's temperament. In just one sentence, he showed his attitude that Emperor Zhengyuan had the final say in everything.
Emperor Zhengyuan was considered an enlightened king with a mediocre personality. He was not a hero who could pioneer, but he could maintain success. It's just that he was suspicious by nature. As he got older and the prince and princes came of age one after another, he became more and more uneasy about the queen and his relatives, and he also became increasingly fearful and suspicious of capable ministers who held powerful positions.
If Shen Yuan wanted to continue to have a place in the court, the first thing he needed to do was to reassure Emperor Zhengyuan.
Sure enough, Emperor Zhengyuan was very satisfied with Shen Yuan's answer, with a real happy smile on his face: "Hahaha, Youdao is 'a fair lady, a gentleman is a good man', and you have to ask for something before it can be said to be a good story. "
"In my opinion, let them all pray to see who can win the heart of the beautiful woman in the end."
Shen Yuan also smiled and clapped his hands in agreement: "Your Majesty is right, let the children get along with each other for a while first, and don't rush to make a decision."
