Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, looking at myself in the mirror, the figure of the painted moon remained motionless for a long time.
A servant outside the door announced that someone had used the messenger to bring something to the Empress of the Painted Moon.
Hearing this, Hua Yue turned around and asked the chamberlain, "Who sent it?"
The waiter shook his head and said he didn't know.
According to the etiquette in the palace, the eunuchs at the palace desk are responsible for face-to-face inspection and registration of things sent from outside the palace. Firstly, this is to prevent prohibited items from being sent from outside the palace, and secondly, it is also to reduce the possibility of encounters by palace concubines.
risks of.
When the eunuch Si Gongtai opened the package, the items inside were beyond everyone's expectations.
A mask emitting a faint silver light lay quietly in it.
The first time Hua Yue saw it, he recognized its origin.
Once the spokesperson of the Umayyad Dynasty, Hua Yue wore this mask and defeated the Abbasid Caliphate and unified the empire again.
After thinking about it, there was probably only one person who sent this mask, and that was Mu Sheikh, the counselor who was with her at the time.
Sending this mask is a reminder and a request.
Seeing that the items in the package were ordinary and not dangerous, the eunuchs at Sigongtai registered them as usual and then resigned.
Huayue picked up the mask from the package, held it in her hands, and looked at it quietly for a while.
At this moment, a maid outside the door came to report that Princess Wanniang was here.
Huayue Mingren put away his mask, stood up, and looked out the door.
Wan Niang, who had just left school, ran into the hall and shouted happily: "Aniang."
Huayue smiled, opened her arms, hugged Wanniang, and asked, "How is your homework?"
Wan Niang: "Sir, he said that I am motivated and can learn from others."
Hua Yue looked pleased and nodded with satisfaction.
Wan Niang talked about the affairs in the palace for a while, and then mentioned another matter: "My father has been in the Privy Council these days, busy with national affairs, and has not been to the palace for a long time."
Huayue was stunned and asked: "But what happened?"
Wan Niang: "I vaguely heard someone mention it. It seems that the southern expedition did not go well and the troops were lost. My father didn't sleep a wink for many days because of this."
Hearing this, Huayue didn't speak for a while, and finally sighed: "Erlang is now in charge of a country, and the burden on his shoulders is getting heavier and heavier."
Wan Niang: "It's been almost a month and I haven't spoken to my father... In a few days, it will be the end of the year. No matter how busy my father is, he still has to hold a family banquet in the palace at this time every year. I hope it won't happen this year.
Canceled because of the war.”
Hua Yue touched Wan Niang's head and said nothing.
A few days later, the eunuch sent a message that His Majesty held a family banquet in the side palace of Anhe Hall, intending to reunite with his family.
After Huayue and Wanniang got the news, they were filled with joy and dressed up to go.
Since it was a family banquet, and the Li Tang clan was relatively weak, the dining table only occupied less than half of the huge palace, making it seem a bit empty.
Zhou Jun, who was over thirty years old, was still in his prime. He was sitting on the throne. He had only been on the throne for a few years, but he had brought the Tang Dynasty back to prosperity and was respected by the people as a wise king.
But if you look closely, you can find that due to long-term busyness and heavy government affairs, although Zhou Jun is happy today, he still looks a little tired.
Beside him sat Yin Yu, the queen.
After experiencing many changes in the palace, Yin Yu is no longer the ignorant girl she used to be. Today, she is luxurious and graceful, and has the aura of a superior person in her every move.
As the inner court supervisors of the Xuanwen Pavilion Liyuan, Yang Yuhuan and Fan Jinian stood beside Zhou Jun, one on the left and the other on the right. They not only wanted to inquire about the arrangements for the music and dance in the palace, but also asked for instructions on the cultural gathering and other activities after the banquet.
Yin Yu looked at Yang Yuhuan with a somewhat complicated look.
There are not only memories between old friends, but also the inherent jealousy of his wife. In addition, there are some things that perhaps even Yin Yu herself cannot explain clearly.
Yang Yuhuan accompanied Zhou Jun and first asked: "Your Majesty, do you want to read the music cards or listen to the opera?"
Zhou Jun thought for a while and replied: "During the banquet, there was a lot of drinking and chatting among the guests. I'm afraid the sound of the dialogue will overwhelm the lines of the play, so I'd better turn over the music."
Yang Yuhuan took the album of music cards from the Liyuan female official beside him and asked, "Your Majesty, please choose one."
Zhou Jun replied: "I don't have a choice, just the 'Hundred People's Song' last time, the one sung by Xu Hezi."
Yang Yuhuan nodded and retreated first.
Xu Hezi is now in the Xuanwen Pavilion, and has already served as the minister of the inner palace. As a married woman, she usually does not perform on the stage, and will only appear during banquets in the palace.
Although he is getting older, Xu Hezi's singing voice is as good as ever.
Just a single sound was heard, and it drowned out hundreds of sounds in the world. A throaty chirp echoed throughout the world.
Gradually, the chatter among the guests in the palace gradually became quieter.
Huayue, who was sitting in the side seat, heard Xu Hezi's singing, and his mind couldn't help but go back to the West Market in the third year of Tianbao, when he first met Zhou Jun.
Wan Niang on the side saw that her mother was crazy and called her several times, but Huayue didn't come back to her senses.
And Yin Yu, who was sitting in the seat, listened to Xu Hezi's singing, frowned and asked in a low voice: "This song has a high pitched voice, and singing it at a banquet would be a bit overwhelming... Why do you have to listen to this song every time your Majesty holds a family banquet?"
"
The female official standing by, as Yin Yu's confidant, hesitated for a moment, knelt down beside the latter, and whispered something in a low voice.
The more Yin Yu listened, the more frightened she became. When she heard the last word, she couldn't help but turned around and asked, "Is this really true?"
The female officer lowered her head and quickly replied: "I dare not deceive the Queen."
Yin Yu glanced at Zhou Jun who was not far away, lowered his voice and asked: "Where did you hear about it?"
Female officer: "I once went to Quanhu Xiaozhuzhong to work, and I overheard the slaves there mentioning anecdotes about Chang'an Bachuan, including this incident."
Yin Yu took a breath, moved her gaze, and looked coldly at Hua Yue in the side seat, holding the wine glass firmly in her hand.
On the other side of the banquet, Jie Qin, although he had been talking to Song Ruo'e, looked at the guests.
Seeing the queen staring at Huayue with a strange look on her face, Xie Qin smiled slightly, turned around and pretended that nothing happened, and continued talking and laughing.
A family banquet finally kicked off as Xu Hezi sang.
Zhou Jun raised his wine glass and said a toast to the prosperity of the family and everything.
Huayue looked at Zhou Jun, with tenderness in her eyes and memories of the past.
Although Yin Yu's face was calm, the corner of his eyes was always staring at Hua Yue, who was sitting next to him. There was a bit of sternness in the depths of his eyes.
While teasing the prince, Xie Qin sipped the wine in the glass, with a smile between his brows.
Song Ruo'e looked at Jie Qin, intuitively feeling that something was wrong, but for a moment, she didn't know what was going on.
A family banquet, to outsiders, only seems to be enjoyable and peaceful.