After the cold meal, the longevity banquet finally officially began.
In the back hall of Qingyan in Kyushu, several emperor's golden dragon banquet tables were set up from south to north. The emperor took the main seat behind the largest golden dragon table. The tableware on the table, except for gold plates and gold bowls, were all made of dark gold dragons with yellow inside and yellow sides.
The moiré bowl has eight lines of food laid out from the inside out, extending all the way.
In the center of the Golden Dragon banquet table are four pine canopies, with green apples symbolizing auspiciousness placed inside. There are vases on each side with delicate flowers in the vases.
Next to the vase, there are nine tall bowls and nine bent-waist bowls, each filled with fragrant and hot refined Manchurian dumplings. Surrounded by ten red carved lacquer fruit boxes, there are countless other dishes, all of which are delicacies from the mountains and wild game.
Besides the red-carved lacquered fruit box, there are forty hot meals, including braised pork, mutton, fish, Guandong goose, pheasant meat, etc.
According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, the seats where the concubines sit are particular. The queen, imperial concubine, and concubine can enjoy one table each, while the concubine's seat and the concubine's seat can be shared by two people at a table, or three people can share one table.
The dining table is very large, even if three people share it, it won't feel crowded.
In the Old Summer Palace, there was only one concubine named Yufei at this time.
Concubine Qian and Concubine Mao originally wanted to sit down next to Ji Ling, but the emperor pointed to the seat next to Concubine Yu, raised his chin slightly, and motioned Concubine Chen to sit there. Both of them looked awkward for a moment.
He stood up and moved out of the way.
When everyone saw that the concubine Chen actually sat at the same table as the concubine, they couldn't help but look at each other.
Hearing Xiange knew the elegant meaning, and the emperor acted like this, who among the people did not understand: to praise the concubine Chen in such a public way - I am afraid that after giving birth to the child, she would not have to wait a few years to become the concubine Chen.
It’s really as fast as riding a horse-drawn carriage!
Although Concubine Yu was unhappy in her heart, she couldn't show it on her face. When she saw Ji Ling walking towards her with a bulging belly, she quickly got up and held out her hand to support her with a smile on her face. She also said to concubine Chen to be careful.
After seeing everyone sit down, Ulanara nodded to the eunuch serving the meal next to him.
The eunuch was responsible for controlling the speed of the dishes in the front and cooperating with the end of the dishes in the imperial dining room at the back. When he saw the queen's signal, he immediately clapped his hands loudly three times to the outside. For a while, the hot meal was flowing like water.
The food was brought to the table, and musicians came in to entertain and accompany the meal. There was only a faint smell of silk and bamboo.
Ji Ling looked at the bowls and chopsticks in front of him.
Different from when she was a noblewoman, her current salary has been significantly improved, and the tableware she uses has also reached a higher level. Instead of the porcelain chopsticks of the past, she has replaced them with jade-inlaid ivory chopsticks and small jade cloth plates.
On the left side of the small jade cloth plate, there are two traditional Manchu snacks, milk cake and milk skin. The plate is in the shape of a wish, and the snacks are placed on one end.
The milk cake is dry, the pastry is as light and soft as paper, and a layer falls off when touched. It tastes ordinary.
The milk skin is wet, wrapped in a white and soft layer of dough. Use chopsticks to gently break a small hole, just like a soup dumpling, and the liquid hot milk filling inside immediately flows out.
Yu Fei lazily picked up the small silver spoon and put a mouthful into her mouth gracefully. When she turned around, she saw Ji Ling holding the chopsticks. She couldn't help it. The hot milk filling had already dripped all over the plate and was dripping with sweat.
The heat left only a shriveled piece of milk skin on her chopsticks.
Concubine Yu lowered her head and smiled.
Even if Ji is sitting at the concubine's table with her now... so what?
Looking at Ji's clumsy movements, she knew that she had never seen this kind of ancestral snack that only appeared at the banquet.
Ji Ling's mind was not as busy as Yufei's, and she was just focused on sucking the nipple.
Later, she mastered the method. She held a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other, and cooperated with her left and right hands to eat the milk skin. The texture of this snack is a bit like a combination of custard buns and cheese buns, with a little...
It has a light salty and milky taste, sweet but not greasy, and has an endless aftertaste.
It turns out that there are such delicious Manchu snacks in the palace, how come I never knew about it before!
On the right side of the Ruyi plate of wet and dry pastries, at first glance, you can see that the ground is green and full of condiments such as water spinach and green sauce. The small plate also contains vinegar, osmanthus juice, etc., which are meant to be eaten with hot meals.
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After three rounds of wine, the concubines and princesses toasted to the emperor and empress, and then changed the banquet table for two rounds, and then it was time for everyone to present gifts.
Because of the agreement, Chang Zai and his ilk were not allowed to have a seat, and the lowest-ranking people in the palace were the nobles. At this time, starting from nobles Li and nobles, there were people behind them who had already rejected the banquet performers.
The palace servants brought the green sandalwood harp to the table. The two of them each held the lyre and placed it on the table. First, they congratulated Yinzhen delicately - Li Guiren was too nervous and stammered when speaking.
She didn't feel much better. She finished speaking quickly and both of them were sweating.
They sat down and started playing the piano.
This Qin music is actually an ensemble piece, with one person singing high and the other speaking low, describing the scene of the ancient temple after snow, the wind in the pines and the forest.
As a result, both Gao Guiren and Li Guiren were very nervous, and they played faster and faster. In the end, they were chasing after each other to play a good piano piece, which was like urging them to death.
Princess Hehui had already covered her mouth with a handkerchief and started laughing softly, until both of their faces turned red.
Finally, when the two noble men came down with the piano in their arms, Ji Ling heard them sitting in the back seats, still complaining to each other in low voices in frustration.
The servants of each palace were carrying or holding the gift boxes prepared by their masters for the emperor, and were lined up outside the Qingyan Palace in Jiuzhou, waiting for the singing eunuchs to call in one after another.
The order of being called is based on rank, from low to high, those with lower status go in first and those with higher status last. Every time it is a concubine's turn, the servant will step forward, kneel down and present the congratulatory gift.
Beside the emperor, there were other people who were waiting in front of the emperor who came forward to receive the gift. They waited until the emperor had seen it before passing it to the registration eunuch on the side, and then left with it.
Such steps were carried out very slowly - Ji Ling looked at everyone, some of them had embroidered small screens with pictures of pine trees, some of them presented calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, some of them presented pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and some of them presented antique tea sets.
After getting the concubine position, Concubine Qian presented a silk pajamas to the emperor.
The pajamas are worn close to the body, every inch is cool and soft, and they are close to the skin - this makes people feel a little nostalgic.
Ulanara looked at it calmly.
At this time, Concubine Qian was squatting in front of Yinzhen, her voice was as soft as cotton mixed with sugar: "Concubine's craftsmanship is poor, please don't find it objectionable to the emperor. On this longevity festival, which is celebrated by the whole world, I wish the emperor great blessings."
Year!"
As she spoke, she bowed down.
Yinzhen was in a good mood today. He looked at the pattern on the pajamas and said with a smile, "You don't have to be humble, this embroidery is very good."
Just this sentence "This embroidery is very good" immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.
The Qian concubine had not been favored for a long time. When she heard this sentence, she could hardly believe her ears. She was stunned for a moment, her cheeks turned red, and her eyes when she looked at Yinzhen changed from timid to affectionate.
Seeing this, Uranala unknowingly leaned forward, smiled and whispered beside Yinzhen: "Your Majesty, Concubine Qian is also a well-behaved and sensible person."
She only mentioned this one sentence, and then swallowed the rest.
Concubine Qian looked at Yinzhen, her eyes watery, and she had a look on her face that she didn't want to say anything.
Seeing that the emperor was looking at her, she couldn't help but her ears gradually turned red, making her even more coquettish.
All the concubines exchanged glances. The concubines who had given birth were still stable, but several young nobles had their thoughts wandering - if a modest concubine could emerge, so could they!
Although the emperor almost exclusively loved Chen Concubine, Chen Concubine was pregnant during this period and it was always difficult to sleep with her.
Unexpectedly, the emperor only looked at Concubine Qian for a moment, then turned to say a few words to Su Peisheng. Ulanara saw the emperor's lips move slightly, and Su Peisheng glanced at Concubine Qian, nodded and left.
The modest concubine squatted on the ground and held the hairpin on her forehead. The hairpin was beautiful, but it was very heavy. The pressure made her have a faint headache, but she could only endure it. Then she saw the emperor wave his hand, and it was for her.
Concubine Qian felt a chill in her heart at the thought of retreating.
Next it was Mao Bi's turn.
What Mao Bi gave her was a set of pure copper lotus lanterns in front of the Buddha. It was small in size and simple in style, but it was simple and elegant, in line with her style, and it was steady and appropriate.
Finally arriving in Jiling, Bixue and Yiquan walked in holding the brocade boxes that had been prepared long ago.
Ji Ling had just looked around, and now when he looked at the gift he had prepared, he suddenly felt eclipsed - although his box looked big, it actually only contained a painting, which had not yet been mounted. Compared with the gifts from everyone else, Ji Ling looked around.
, it is really extremely shabby.
However, Yinzhen didn't take it seriously. He just glanced at Ji Ling with a smile. When the box was delivered to him, the eunuch opened the lid, and the expression on Yinzhen's face suddenly froze.
