The concubine is so charming

Chapter 361 Official Banquet

Su Yao and the others didn't wait long after they were seated, and the emperor came to the hall with Concubine Zhen.

Concubine Zhen was wearing a water-red dress with smoke cages and plum blossoms. The gorgeous skirt meandered gracefully. She stood beside the emperor with a colorful face. Every time she took a step, the pattern on the skirt would be like flowing water. Slowly swaying, at a glance, it is really gorgeous and noble.

The emperor looked extremely happy, with a rare smile on his face, and after everyone saluted, he smiled and shouted: "Get up."

"Thank you, Majesty Ron."

As soon as everyone stood up, they heard the emperor ask Chu Feiyan: "Chu Aiqing, have you done everything I ordered you to do?"

"Reporting to the emperor, you ordered your ministers to pass down the decree, saying that the tax revenue from Rongcheng does not need to be reported to the imperial court, and it is sent directly to Pingzhou City to appease the injured people, which also saves a lot of money along the way." The cost of transportation. The minister has sent people down to deliver the decree, and also sent a guard to accompany him. If the situation is critical, he can also mobilize the local garrison to cooperate. Everything should be safe."

It was already difficult for Rongcheng to collect taxes, and when taxes were reduced and exempted in all places, only Rongcheng collected taxes according to the original ratio, which would inevitably lead to people's perception of the imperial court becoming worse.

Therefore, Chu Feiyan directly suggested that anyway, the imperial court would distribute grain to Pingzhou City to appease the people. In this case, it is better to transport the grain collected from Rongcheng tax directly to Pingzhou City.

In this way, first of all, Rongcheng can be held hostage, so that Rongcheng does not dare to do things at will. After all, there are so many people in Pingzhou City watching. The people of the two cities have feuded; secondly, it diverts the attention of the people so that the people of Rongcheng will not directly hate the harshness of the court. If it works well, the people may hate Mu Cixiu because of it. He was not firm in his will at the beginning, and opened the city gate to let the victims into the city, which led to the instability of Rongcheng, followed by the incident of borrowing food, and finally had to agree to submit the tax revenue of Rongcheng to the imperial court.

The officials present were all good people, and after only a few words, they understood the emperor's plan, and they couldn't help but secretly admired in their hearts: the emperor is really an emperor, this kind of mind and calculation are not comparable to ordinary people.

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, the emperor still does not forget to worry about the people, it is really a blessing for all the people."

"The emperor's heart is kind, and he always thinks of being the master of the people. The rioters in Pingzhou City will definitely repay their kindness and calm down the incident early to submit to the court."

The praises from all the officials continued, and the emperor couldn't help but feel ironic when he heard it: "Okay, the matter in Pingzhou City has been relieved for the time being, and you can put it aside for the time being, so you don't have to worry about it all the time. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival During the festive season and the reunion of thousands of households, when our monarchs and ministers get together, we only need to have a happy feast, and as for the troubles in the court, let’s wait until today.”

"Yes, I thank the emperor for his compassion."

After a thank you, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet officially started.

Chu Feiyan was still the first to stand up to toast the emperor as in previous years. After the end, it should have been the turn of the princes and princesses, but right now the Seventh Prince is crazy, so naturally he cannot toast.The two princesses were not feeling well, so they directly sued for leave, and did not come to attend at all, so they simply skipped this link, and it was the turn of the courtiers to come forward and congratulate.

Su Yao sat aside with a wine cup, secretly observing the expressions of the people in the hall.

The Empress Dowager changed her palace attire again, and chose an extremely solemn and heavy dark red, but the skirt was embroidered with magnificent peonies, and the embroidery was so delicate that one could not help but sigh that it is indeed a beautiful country when one looks at it from a distance. flower.

The Empress Dowager was in excellent spirits, with a faint smile on her lips all the time, but every time she glanced at Concubine Zhen, there would be a flash of extremely cold light.

Concubine Zhen was stable, and her mood was not affected by the Queen Mother's arrival at all. She couldn't drink because she was pregnant, so the wine cup was replaced with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, and her temper seemed to have eased because of her pregnancy. Many, no longer as cold and noble as before, but a little more gentle.

This cold person suddenly became gentle, making people feel more precious, except when accepting the toast from the courtiers, the emperor never took his eyes off her face.

As for Concubine Lan and Concubine Xi who were quite favored before, now they are sitting in their seats according to their positions, and the concubines around them faintly show rejection to them, and the two of them don't seem to have any intention of getting close to others. Drinking on his own, his expression couldn't hide his loneliness.

Su Yao couldn't help but think of what Chu Feiyan told her before, asking her to cooperate with Xibin at the banquet. Could it be that Xibin came up with some way to compete for the emperor's attention?
She was thinking about it absent-mindedly, but after more than half an hour passed, there was still no movement from Concubine Xi's side, she just toasted a glass of wine hastily and settled down.

After Su Yao, Mu Zhaoyu and others finished toasting the Queen Mother and Concubine Zhen, there was another choreographed song and dance, and after a short while, the servants entered the palace to report: "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, the auspicious time has come to worship the heavens and pray for blessings, Your Majesty. and the Empress Dowager to move the altar."

The emperor nodded and put down the wine cup, turning his head to ask the Empress Dowager: "Empress Dowager, today I pray for blessings, firstly to pray for the prosperity of the country and the people of Da'an, and to pray for the blessing of the gods, and to wish the child in the womb of Concubine Zhen A safe birth. The Empress Dowager is very blessed, and she has just returned from praying for the Da'an Dynasty, why don't you come and worship the heavens with me, and take it as a blessing to Concubine Zhen."

Originally, he didn't want to drag the queen mother, but the supervisor of Qin Tianjian wrote to see, saying that the lord of the country prayed for the concubine. The prince can't bear such a strong blessing, so it's better to change someone. Just as the queen mother returns to the palace, and she has the intention of suppressing the harem with the help of the queen mother's fate, it is better to let the queen dowager offer incense. In this way, two birds with one stone will be killed.

After listening to the emperor, he didn't hesitate much, and nodded his head in agreement, that's why today's announcement came about.

The queen mother smiled and nodded: "Praying for the emperor's heirs is what the Ai family should do. Even if the emperor doesn't say anything, the Ai family will definitely do their best."

This is an opportunity to ease the relationship with the emperor, and she will naturally not let it go.

Satisfied, the emperor led the crowd to the outside of the palace.

Su Yao went out with the crowd, and Mu Zhaoyu couldn't help but shook her hand: "Ninghua?" The Buddhist scriptures will be worshiped next, although I know that Su Yao has made arrangements in advance, but it's still a matter of time I can't help but panic in my heart.

Su Yao shook it back and nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, sister."

The four words were uttered softly, the voice was not high, but it carried an inexplicable soothing taste, Mu Zhaoyu heard it, and gradually calmed down.

(End of this chapter)