The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in Daqi. It has been highly valued by emperors of all dynasties since the founding of the dynasty. The Ritual Supervisor Committee carefully arranged various activities for the emperor and concubines, and invited civil and military officials and their families to the palace to observe the ceremony and bathe the emperor. Well, enjoy it with the people.
As usual, the banquet started at noon. The emperor would toast and give a speech during the lunch banquet, and all the officials would have fun together. The afternoon was considered free. A stage was set up in the palace, and the nobles who like to watch theater went together to listen to the opera. Young people The young master regards this kind of banquet as another form of "blind date".
Therefore, the ladies would follow the queen and other nobles in the palace to listen to the opera, while the young ladies would follow the princes and princesses, either talking about poems and songs, or going to the school to compete in order to win the hearts of beauties. In short, each has its own unique performance. place to go.
The dinner party is the highlight, with the bright moon in the sky, toasting to the moon, and the most arousing feelings of homesickness and reunion. Many talented women have gained a reputation throughout the history, and those with outstanding talents may win the favor of emperors and queens.
It’s not a problem to be betrothed to a prince or grandson, and what’s more, there are also people who enter the palace as concubines. Therefore, the noble ladies in Kyoto spend a few months before the Mid-Autumn Festival, practicing piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, and dance skills just for this time. Can soar into the sky.
And so far, the person most affected by Guo Concubine's incident is the Chief of Ceremonies.
With nine disasters in ten years, it is rare for Daqi to have good weather this year. The Chief of Ceremonies and Supervisors are working hard to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. They have been busy for a month, just to make Long Yan happy today.
Last night, Eunuch An came over in person late at night, with a reserved expression, and told Sizheng: Your Majesty attaches great importance to the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet, and there should be no mistakes!
The Supervisor of Ceremonies had mixed emotions. They were happy that the efforts of more than a month were not completely in vain, although the nobles did not have much thought on the banquet.
Naturally, I am worried that I don't know which detail has not been handled well, and if I meet His Majesty's objections, I am afraid that I will be punished for the fault of last night's family banquet, and no one will be able to save it.
Thanks to the careful arrangements made by the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the busy work with great energy, everything went smoothly before the dinner.
The palace was swept away by yesterday's haze, as if it had never happened, at least on the surface. However, after truly understanding the matter, you knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
Yesterday's banquet was regarded as the foreplay of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, but it did not go well. This time, everyone in the palace was working hard, and if there was a slight mistake, it would not be as simple as a slap in the face.
"Your Majesty, everyone is here!" Eunuch An said in the emperor's ear.
The emperor looked around. Whether they were concubines in the harem or dignitaries, everyone was dressed in bright clothes and had glowing faces, coming to the banquet.
Everyone looked towards the main seat of the banquet, and the scene became quiet, waiting for His Majesty's instruction.
The emperor nodded to everyone around him, picked up the wine glass, drank the wine in one gulp with a calm look, walked out of the throne room, and walked around the palace.
Everyone immediately fell silent and stood up straight. His Majesty spoke slowly, with such a strong tone in his words that people couldn't help but stand in awe.
"Since the founding of the dynasty, Da Qi has fought every year and faced many misfortunes. Fortunately, God has blessed us, Da Qi, and we are still alive today. To express gratitude for God's great grace, we hold a banquet here every Mid-Autumn Festival, not only to express our gratitude to our ancestors, but also to pray for the coming year! "
…
"Long live my emperor!"
"Everyone loves you!" His Majesty's tone was quite plain, just like his speech. Although his tone was gentle, there was no trace of warmth.
However, the historian responsible for recording the emperor's words and deeds noticed something strange immediately. At the dozens of Mid-Autumn Festival banquets in the past, most of what His Majesty said was to summarize the gains and losses of this year and pinpoint the harvest of the coming year.
But this year, we are looking back at several Great Patriotic Wars decades ago that were related to the survival of the Qi Dynasty.
"Ahem!" His Majesty coughed several times, and every time he coughed, it seemed as if his lungs were being coughed out. His Majesty turned around, and Eunuch An quickly stepped forward to help him to the table.
Everyone is speculating, is His Majesty really old?
The eldest prince and the fifth prince looked at each other. In the eyes of outsiders, the two princes were evenly matched in strength and both had a chance to compete for the right position.
But His Majesty has far-reaching considerations, and he has already seen through:
The eldest prince is the most powerful, and his position is more justified, but he is forward-thinking and can easily be dragged down by others. At least his performance in the Yongchang Hou case and yesterday's Liu Zijie case. If he really wants to sit in that position, he will be extremely unable to overpower everyone.
As for the fifth prince, although he is young, he has many supporters due to Concubine Shu's high status and the strength of his mother's family.
He appears to be modest and conservative, but in fact he is extremely murderous. His relationship with his supporters is more like using each other, but once it loses its effect, he will kick him away and add insult to injury.
Even the emperor had to admit that in terms of scheming and means alone, the fifth prince was more suitable.
As for the third prince Yu Wenyao, the emperor never considered him. After all, Yu Wenyao was born in a humble background and was already at an inherent disadvantage. He had not shown outstanding political talents in front of everyone, so he had very few supporters.
Eunuch An handed over the playbook and said, "Your Majesty, all the theaters are ready and can start at any time."
The emperor casually opened it, a thick book of opera excerpts, with at least dozens of operas for the emperor to choose from. According to palace regulations, the preparation time for each opera should not exceed a quarter of an hour, starting from the first scene to the time of admiring the moon.
, only eight scenes can be arranged at most in one hour.
Therefore, finding a good position in the exhibition has become a small battlefield for these theaters to fight openly and covertly. Therefore, theaters with strength and background usually cooperate with princes and concubines to increase their chances of being selected.
Especially for the princes and their highnesses, according to past practice, there will definitely be a play on the stage.
"Queen, you choose the first one!" The emperor casually pushed the fold aside. Eunuch An quickly stepped forward and handed it to the queen's seat.
The prince, concubines and ministers all cast expectant glances, all wanting to come out on top.
On the contrary, the Queen was a little embarrassed. She also arranged a play and prepared it for more than half a year. The protagonist was her own brother, hoping to win His Majesty's appreciation and get a good job.
But if she pushed her play out, it would definitely get people talking. After thinking about it again and again, the queen said: "Let's watch the good play prepared by the eldest prince first!"
The queen's intention in this move was very vicious. She had already known that the eldest prince was planning to push out his personal guard Liu Zijie, and even planned his official position. She didn't want to have something like that happen yesterday.
Secondly, even if the eldest prince has some backup plans, the program will definitely be less exciting than before.
The most important thing is that at many Mid-Autumn Festival banquets in the past, the eldest prince has always been the vanguard. If someone else takes the lead this time and the eldest prince is jealous, it will be a sure thing.