"May the Great Shun Dynasty enjoy peace and prosperity! May Your Majesty reign over the beautiful land and enjoy eternal peace!"
The ministers and concubines stood up with their wine cups in hand, uttering the toasts in a sonorous and powerful voice that resounded through the hall.
On Yan Qingshu's table was a special treat ordered by Di Yunjian. The freshest fruits were juiced and added to the ice cream.
She loved it. Di Yunjian noticed this and told the imperial kitchen to prepare a separate table of feast for her, just to let the people from the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion see.
If the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion couldn't take good care of her, then he would.
The palace banquet officially began. The dancers from the palace orchestra posed gracefully and swayed their supple waists as they stepped into the hall from the side of the banquet.
With a flick of their water sleeves and a turn of their bodies, they were as gentle as willows in the wind, their figures light and graceful, as if they would fall into a dream the next moment.
The sound of silk and bamboo instruments filled the hall, and the dancers danced to the music.
As the cups were raised and emptied, the ministers toasted each other and exchanged polite remarks. Then they toasted Di Yunjian, who was sitting on the high throne.
Di Yunjian accepted all the toasts and drank one cup after another.
His eyes would occasionally fall on Yan Qingshu, who was busy eating at her seat. Seeing her enjoying the food, the corner of his lips, hidden by the rim of the wine cup, couldn't help but curl up.
It was good that she liked the food. The imperial kitchen deserved some rewards.
Yan Qingshu was eating the meat and vegetables that Zhu Yao had cooked for her in the bowl. It was delicious, but she craved a spicy hot pot even more.
Just then, Li Dahai sent a message, saying that he would arrange for her to meet her mother later. She didn't have to find ways to talk to her mother anymore.
Thinking of this, Yan Qingshu smiled and couldn't help but look up at the highest seat in the hall.
Their eyes met in mid - air. Yan Qingshu blushed and quickly lowered her head.
All this was silently noticed by the queen.
She turned to look at her husband, then at Yan Qingshu, who was sitting below with a shy look on her face. She pursed her lips and turned away.
At this Mid - Autumn Festival banquet, all the officials had brought their legitimate or illegitimate daughters to the palace banquet. Their purpose was to serve the emperor in the palace and bring glory to their families.
They originally planned to wait for the draft next year, but the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet was such a good opportunity. A favored concubine in the palace was pregnant, so it was the perfect time to introduce new candidates to the emperor.
Even if they weren't selected by the emperor this time, they could at least make a good impression and have a chance to be selected in the draft next year.
Now that the daughter of the Zhenyuan Marquis had the emperor's child in the palace and the emperor always showed off about it, they were already fed up.
Now, the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet was the best chance.
After drinking quite a bit of wine, a minister stood up from his seat. A young girl followed him. They came to the middle of the hall and knelt down.
"Your Majesty! Today is the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet, a day of reunion. My little daughter has always heard that Your Majesty is a wise emperor who has brought prosperity and peace to the Great Shun Dynasty. So she would like to perform a dance for Your Majesty!"
The minister's voice was deep but a bit hoarse.
"Your servant's daughter pays respects to Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be in good health!" The girl's voice was clear and full of the coquettish softness typical of her age.
Hearing this voice, Tang Yinmian's face turned pale, and her eyes were red. She felt a sharp pain in her eyes, and big hot tears dropped on the back of her hand.
She was so familiar with this voice, so very familiar...
It was her father, her father!
And her half - sister...
She didn't expect that after her father married her second younger sister to her fiancé, he would now try to introduce her third younger sister into the palace during the Mid - Autumn Festival banquet.
Was it because she wasn't favored in the palace? Was he going to replace her with this half - sister, just like the virtuous concubine and Yan Qingshu?
Why? Why...
Why was she treated so unfairly!
Afraid of being discovered, Tang Yinmian quickly wiped away her tears with a silk handkerchief. She endured the soreness in her eyes and looked at her kneeling father in the middle of the hall and the emperor sitting on the high throne.
Di Yunjian, sitting on the high throne, drank a cup of wine. His playful eyes fell on the people kneeling below. It was Tang Wei, the father of Concubine Tang.
It seemed that he was dissatisfied with his daughter's mediocre favor in the palace and wanted to follow the example of the virtuous concubine and send his illegitimate daughter into the palace to strengthen Concubine Tang's position?
Was it to strengthen her position or to replace her?
Di Yunjian curled his lips. He was a bit curious.
"Oh? It seems that Lord Tang's daughter is so considerate. I can't let down her kindness. Let's begin."
After saying that, Di Yunjian drank another cup of wine. His eyes fell on Yan Qingshu. Seeing her burying her head in eating and not caring about anything else, he raised his eyebrows.
This girl used to love watching the excitement the most. Why wasn't she even looking at such an interesting show this time?
Was the copper hot pot really that delicious?
The young girl kneeling below heard Di Yunjian's words. She quietly raised her head and took a peek at the supreme emperor. With just one glance, she was captivated by his noble aura.
From her position, she couldn't see Di Yunjian's face clearly, but she could feel his noble aura and his tall figure.
Remembering what her aunt had said in the mansion, she pursed her lips. It was better to be a concubine of the most noble man in the world than to be a concubine of some good - for - nothing young master.
Even if she wasn't selected by the emperor today, she had to leave an impression on him so that she could enter the palace in the draft next year.
Thinking of this, she quickly lowered her head to suppress the rapid beating of her heart.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your servant's daughter will go down to change clothes first."
The girl stepped back slowly. Her eyes casually swept over Tang Yinmian and she curled her lips slightly.
With the main mistress of the Tang family gone, the concubines often got pregnant. The second young lady was the most favored. As for her eldest sister...
She was just a target to be bullied.
She had made friends with the pregnant concubine in the palace but still hadn't gained any favor. What a useless person.
That mocking look made Tang Yinmian clench her hands instantly. Her lowered eyes moved, and finally, they turned into drops of tears that fell on the back of her hand.
While the girl went to change her clothes, Di Yunjian specially sent someone to remove the curtains in the hall. The space in the hall suddenly became much larger.
This also allowed Yan Qingshu to clearly see her mother, who had been silently serving the Zhenyuan Marquis and Chen Yunying beside the marquis.
Yan Qingshu's eyes were red as she stared at the figure she had been missing day and night.
Her mother looked a bit plumper than the last time she secretly saw her outside the palace. At least she wasn't as thin and haggard as before, and she had a better complexion.
But where was her younger brother?
The more she looked, the hotter her eyes became.
She quickly held back her tears and was reluctant to look away.
Wen Sheng, who was serving on the opposite side, also felt this fiery gaze. She slightly raised her head and met the eyes of her daughter who had been in the palace for a long time.
Seeing her daughter now adorned with pearls and jewels, plump and in good spirits, it seemed that she was living a good life in the palace. The emperor must have treated her very well.
Wen Sheng's eyes turned red, and her movements of serving food to the Zhenyuan Marquis and Chen Yunying slowed down a bit.
Chen Yunying noticed her change and followed her gaze. She saw the girl who used to be sallow - faced and skinny was now plump and exuding an air of nobility. Moreover, her beauty far surpassed that of her own daughter, whom she was so proud of.
Chen Yunying snorted and leaned over to whisper in Wen Sheng's ear, "Oh, you saw your daughter? Look at the good life your daughter is living now. This is all thanks to me and the marquis."
"Otherwise, a bastard like her doesn't deserve to stand on the land of the imperial city."
Wen Sheng clenched her fists and remained silent.
Since she entered the Bixiao Palace, she had felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Her intuition told her that she must have been in this palace before, but she couldn't remember anything.