Concubine Zhe forced out a smile that was uglier than crying, and said: "The things have been delivered, I won't disturb my sister anymore."
Concubine Zhe had just taken a few steps when she heard Xia Yue's slightly cold voice, "Sister, you didn't feel very well last night, did you?"
Concubine Zhe's expression changed, she turned around and stared at Xianyue, and said in a cold voice: "You are the one who instigated the Emperor to be suspicious of me, right?"
Xianyue didn't pay attention to her gaze, smiled slightly, and said: "How can you say that you are provoking? I am just telling the truth to the emperor. If you want to blame me, I blame my sister for being too greedy."
Concubine Zhe lowered her face and said: "Concubine Xian, you don't have to be proud in front of me. This matter... I won't just let it go. Let's wait and see. You'd better be careful in the days to come.
"
Xianyue stared at her for a long time, then suddenly covered her lips with a smile and said: "Sister, what are you doing? It seems like you want to eat me. After all, we are all sisters, so why should we be so tit-for-tat? The emperor and
Queen Mother, what you want to see most is for us sisters to live in harmony, don’t you think so?”
Concubine Zhe didn't expect that she would say such words, and she was speechless for a moment. Before she could think of what to say, Xianyue had already said: "I am still busy, so I won't leave my sister here."
We sat there for a long time, so that I can have a good talk with my sister during the family dinner in the evening. Speaking of which, when the imperial kitchen brought the menu just now, I specially asked them to add a few dishes that my sister likes to eat, to ensure that she likes it."
It wasn't until Xianyue left that Concubine Zhe came back to her senses. Her words just now were meant to warn Xianyue, but unexpectedly she was distracted by Xianyue, and even her own intention was confused. This Nala Xianyue,
It's really powerful to be open-mouthed. No wonder she can coax the Queen Mother to look at her differently. But in the end, she
He has an advantage over Nala Xianyue, and this advantage is Yonghuang. As long as the latter cannot give birth to children, even if the Queen Mother likes her now, it won't last long. Besides... She is not the only one who doesn't like Nala Xianyue.
Thinking of this, Concubine Zhe's mood suddenly improved again, and she led the palace guests away with her chin raised.
The sky turned from bright to dark, and soon it was dusk. Xianyue had already checked everything, and made corresponding adjustments to the few minor problems found to make sure there were no omissions, and then she could finally sit down and take a breath.
The family banquet is still held in the Qianqing Palace, with banquets in the inner and outer halls. There will be juggling troupes performing in the inner and outer halls respectively. After the family banquet, they will go to the Changyin Pavilion to listen to the opera.
As time passed, the princes, ministers, and Fu Jin all came to Qianqing Palace. When the banquet was about to begin, the emperor and empress appeared in Chengqian Palace supporting Ling Ruo, followed by Jia Rou, who had grown into a little beauty embryo.
.
While kneeling all the way, Ling Ruo came to the inner hall. After sitting down, Ling Ruo saw that the seat next to Concubine Zhe was empty, and she immediately frowned, "Where is Concubine Xian? Why haven't you come here yet? Family banquet
But it’s about to start.”
Hongli said: "Don't worry, Queen, I will send someone to Yanxi Palace right now." After that, he glanced at Sixi, who immediately walked away quickly with understanding.
Yong Lian, who was sitting in the elder brother's seat, stared at the door nervously, constantly praying for Xianyue to come soon. It was strange that my aunt was usually very punctual, so why was she late for such an important day today.
After about an hour of touching a stick of incense, it was time to start the banquet, but there was still no sign of Xianyue. Mingyu glanced at the self-ringing bell and whispered: "Empress, it's time to start the banquet."
During this period, her condition improved, and she often went to Cining Palace to pay her respects. It was not because she had any filial piety towards Ling Ruo, but because she wanted to restore her position in Ling Ruo's heart and did not want to lose to Xiayue. Unfortunately, these days, Ling Ruo
Ruo always treated her indifferently and never said anything to express his feelings, which made her quite disappointed.
Ling Ruo pondered for a moment and said, "Let's wait a little longer and wait until Si Xi comes back."
Hearing this, Concubine Zhe curled her lips secretly. Shortly after Ling Ruo finished speaking, Si Xi panted and ran in to salute, and then said: "To the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, the people in Yanxi Palace said that Concubine Xian has a headache.
Unable to come.”
Mingyu said displeasedly: "Today is a New Year's Eve family dinner, and a little headache is not a big deal, so why didn't she come if she didn't want to come? Besides, even if she didn't come, she should have sent someone here to report it, but she didn't say a word
, It’s so shameless to make so many people wait for her.” Mingyu was already dissatisfied with Xianyue, so if something like this happened again, she would naturally be extremely unhappy.
Ling Ruo secretly wondered, she had been with Xianyue in Qingliang Temple for several months, and she knew that Xianyue was a very organized and accountable person, so she shouldn't do such a messy thing, so she immediately said: "Can you
Have you seen Concubine Xian?"
Si Xi bowed and said: "When I returned to the Queen Mother, the palace officials said that Concubine Xian had already gone to bed, so I never saw her."
Concubine Zhe said sarcastically: "It seems that Concubine Xian didn't take this family banquet to heart at all, otherwise it would be like this."
Hongli glanced at her coldly, and the latter was intimidated by his gaze and lowered her head and did not dare to say anything. Hongli was also very dissatisfied with Xianyue's absence, but it was not appropriate to say this at the moment.
After Hongli withdrew his gaze, he said to Ling Ruo: "Empress, the time is almost over, let's start the banquet first."
"Okay." With Ling Ruo's nod, the eunuch who had been waiting for a long time immediately passed on the message, and the banquet started in the inner and outer halls. Everyone raised glasses together to wish the Queen Mother and the Emperor.
After a round of drinking, the juggling troupe waiting outside filed in, all the way to the pre-built stage, performing their own unique skills, spinning plates, stepping on vats, etc., but the most special thing among them was a band leader.
Juggler in mask.
In full view of everyone, he conjured all kinds of things from an apparently empty bag, which was so dazzling that even Ling Ruo couldn't help but notice, forgetting her previous unhappiness. When she saw the back, she was very excited
He curiously asked Hongli, who was sitting aside, "Emperor, have you ever seen where he conjured those things? The Ai family has always watched carefully, but they can't always see through."
Hongli was also watching intently, and when Ling Ruo asked, he chuckled and said, "I can't understand it either, but this is their unique skill in the world. If we can see through it easily, how can we make a living."
Ling Ruo smiled and nodded: "That's right, that's all. Let's just watch him change."
While they were talking, the juggler suddenly threw the cloth bag in his hand, and then two people came to the stage with a piece of black cloth and surrounded him. Ling Ruo said in surprise: "Hey, what are you doing?
If this happens, won’t it be impossible to watch?”
The leader of the juggling troupe stood on the stage and cupped his hands towards Ling Ruo and said, "To Queen Mother Qi, this is a unique skill in the little people's juggling troupe. It's called - Feixian."