Drunk Bamboo

Lotus garden in the palace.

The banquet with Liushangqushui was held in the lotus garden of the imperial palace.

As the name suggests, the Lotus Garden has a lotus pond full of lotuses. It is not the blooming season yet, so a temporary stage has been set up in the pond. There are banquets on both sides of the pond, and flowers are blooming all around. It is a beautiful sight to sit in the water, drink and eat.

"Youth pays homage to the Queen Mother." Xie Yuzhu walked over to the female members and saluted to the Queen Mother.

"Yuzu is here, please sit down." The Queen was wearing a golden long dress and a phoenix crown on her head. Her voice was gentle and her face was smiling.

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

"Yuzhu is attending a palace banquet for the first time. Don't be nervous. Today, all the people here are officials and their families. Your Majesty and all the officials are across the lotus pond. Don't be shy. Just treat it as a normal chat."

"Yes."

"Du Ruo and Yu Zhu have never met before, right?"

Sitting next to the Queen was Crown Princess Hua Duruo.

She wears a phoenix hairpin on her head, brocade clothes on her body, her eyebrows and eyes are picturesque, and her temperament is clear and elegant.

"I have long heard that Princess Feng accompanied the prince to treat the tutor. Lin'er also said that he wanted to meet this imperial aunt. If he hadn't had classes today, he would have definitely clamored to come."

"Your concubine greets the Crown Princess." Xie Yuzhu stepped forward and saluted.

"Yuzhu is so polite. From now on, can I call you Yuzhu? You can also call me Du Ruo."

The Crown Princess is beautiful and intelligent, and at first glance she is a well-educated, knowledgeable and generous woman.

"Yes." Xie Yuzhu responded.

Say hello to the two most valuable people, and don't worry about the others.

A casual nod and smile will do.

Xie Yuzhu sat in her seat and quietly asked Bai Guo:

"Do you know all these people?"

She didn't arrive early, and almost all the seats at the banquet were already occupied. It was packed, quite crowded.

Xie Yuzhu looked around and saw that most of them were an elder with a young girl.

Bai Guo whispered in her ear, "I know most of them. They are the families of high-ranking officials. Yesterday I asked Lao Liu about the palace. This Liushang Qushui Banquet was specially held for King Wen to select a princess for him. That's why His Majesty and the Queen sent invitations separately, and they were divided into men and women, sitting on each side of the lotus pond."

"With so many women around, how did King Wen look at them? It wouldn't be too obvious in public, right?" Xie Yuzhu looked across the lotus pond. The same seats were occupied by men.

"In fact, His Majesty has already chosen a few people, but the old ministers in the court disagreed, saying that they were looking for trouble, so today he invited all the old ministers here, hoping that the young ladies would show off their talents, beauty and literary talent, leaving those old ministers speechless."

Bai Guo likes to join in the fun. Knowing that he would go to the palace to attend the Liushang Qushui Banquet, he was even more excited and made inquiries early. He wanted to talk to the princess in the car, but unexpectedly, Chaoyang pulled him and sat outside the car.

"Your Majesty has good intentions, and the Empress is also very worried. Even though she is not his own son, she is still so attentive. She is truly a model for the whole country."

The queen was always smiling. Xie Yuzhu thought that being a queen was quite hard.

Baiguo said whatever he thought of and told everyone he knew.

"The Empress is from a noble family, dignified and elegant, and she is also very clear about the distinction between public and private. I heard from the nanny that when the Concubine Shu was still around, she was also very close to the Empress."

"What about the Crown Princess?" Xie Yuzhu asked.

"The Crown Princess is the niece of the Empress, the cousin of the Crown Prince, and the granddaughter of the current Prime Minister. Her father, the Hua family, is also a prominent family in Hedong, a family of scholars. She spends all day in the East Palace taking care of the Crown Prince, and rarely goes out, except for the big banquets in the palace."

"He doesn't look like he would cause trouble." It was pretty much what Xie Yuzhu expected.

There were a variety of snacks on the table. Xie Yuzhu took a piece of cake and secretly handed it to Baiguo.

Baiguo took it with a smile, took a careful bite, and held the rest in his palm.

"Do you know which girls His Majesty has his eyes on?" he asked curiously.

It was indeed a little gossip. Bai Guo swallowed the cake and said hurriedly: "I have also inquired about this. His Majesty originally had his eyes on the granddaughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Xun Daren, the little girl with a butterfly gold hairpin sitting diagonally opposite you."

Looking in that direction, I saw a pretty little girl:

"so small?"

Bai Guo nodded: "The reason why I object is that she is too young. But Miss Xun looks young, but she is actually fourteen years old, and she will be of marriageable age next year."

Then he looked at the woman next to him and said, "The second young lady of the Guhou Mansion, the one wearing purple clothes. I heard she doesn't have much literary talent."

This Xie Yuzhu looks familiar. She was one of the people who chased King Wen in Anhe Restaurant yesterday, and she was also wearing purple clothes.

"Indeed." It seems that he doesn't like reading.

"The other one is the only daughter of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Revenue, the girl in pink standing by the lotus pond. Her mother is from a merchant family, and her father is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's finances. This old minister thinks they are too money-minded and unworthy of King Wen."

It seems that she was also among the group of girls yesterday.

"Prejudice." But it doesn't look offensive.

Bai Guo patted her shoulder and said, "There is one last person, the girl in yellow sitting at the end. She is the daughter of Luo Xueshi from the Hanlin Academy. I heard that His Majesty likes her the most. But Lord Luo rejected her on the spot. She is really from a poor family."

"Not bad." The girl sat alone quietly.

Bai Guo pouted and complained: "Princess, I said so much, and you only said two words?"

Xie Yuzhu said with a smile: "I'm here to listen to gossip and watch the show, what opinion do I have?"

With eyes wide open and questioning: "Gossip?"

Explained: "Just to watch the fun."

"Yes, I'm here to watch the fun too..." Bai Guo rubbed his eyes as if he had seen something surprising, "Fourth Miss Xiao?! Am I dazzled? Princess, take a quick look, is that Fourth Miss Xiao following Prince Wen?"

Following the direction she pointed, I saw the dazzling red.

Xie Yuzhu shook her head: "She is really capable."

He actually managed to escape from the palace, find King Wen, and follow King Wen into the palace.

When Hua Qinfeng, who was on the other side of the lotus pond, saw her, a chill emanated from his whole body.

Xie Yuzhu could sense the dangerous aura from afar.

"The Imperial Concubine has arrived—"

At this time, the Imperial Concubine arrived late.

She was wearing a plain, dark-patterned long green dress and only a jade hairpin on her head.

Her skin was as white as cream, and she only wore a little makeup, but she was still stunningly beautiful.

No wonder Hua Qinming looks so handsome, it turns out it’s all inherited from the Imperial Concubine.

Xie Yuzhu's eyes widened as she watched.

No wonder the emperor dotes on her so much.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine!" Everyone bowed.

"Everyone, get up." Holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, she smiled slightly, "Your concubine greets the queen."

"Sister, you are not feeling well. Please sit down." The queen looked dignified and virtuous.

"I wanted to come earlier, but I was not feeling well, so I am late. Please don't be offended, Queen." The Imperial Concubine sat in the seat closest to the Queen.