novelhk Chapter 351 Autumn Eve
Chapter 351 Autumn Eve
But that’s all in the past.
Let’s go back to the imperial city. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a major festival in this dynasty, so naturally there will be a family banquet in the palace.
Qin Liuse and Concubine Xiao De were busy for half a month and finally arrived at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This was the first Mid-Autumn Festival after the Empress Dowager returned to the capital, so the palace attached great importance to it and wanted the Empress Dowager to enjoy the happiness of being surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Now all the distinguished elders of the royal family are in this imperial city, and this year's family banquet is more organized than in previous years.
And because the children of Emperor Yongjia were old enough to talk and play this year, the palace was particularly lively during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival.
Even Qin Liuse's two babies, the youngest children of Emperor Yongjia, the little princess and the little prince, had already started to take their first steps and could occasionally utter a few words.
Every day I see my older brothers and sisters playing together, walking with their short legs and stretching out their arms, rushing to play with them.
Children love to play with their peers.
Unfortunately, the other princes and princesses were still just little kids and didn't care about others. Apart from occasionally coming over to play with their two younger brothers and sisters' chubby faces, they didn't play with them at all.
Every time she was treated like this, the little princess would pout, look around, and look at Qin Liuse.
She wanted her mother to help her.
The little prince was more individualistic. He just sat down on the ground and looked angry, which made Qin Liuse laugh and cry. Although he was young, he had a bad temper.
Moreover, today is Mid-Autumn Festival, which also happens to be the birthdays of both children.
It was also on this day last year that she gave birth to two children in Zhaoyang Palace after going through untold hardships.
Therefore, there were naturally programs for the little princess and the little prince in this Autumn Eve banquet. It would not be appropriate to hold two banquets on the same day, so they were combined together according to Concubine Xiao De's suggestion.
For today's banquet and their first birthday, Qin Liuse specially made new clothes for the two children.
As it’s your birthday, you should naturally be blessed and happy.
After waking up in the afternoon, she gave both children a bath and changed them into new red clothes embroidered with the word "Fu" in gold thread. Then Qin Liuse took a bath and changed her clothes herself, and then came out to dress up.
-
At this hour, almost all the concubines in the harem were getting dressed up in their respective palaces.
And Li Jieyushi of Yuxiu Palace was also sitting in front of her dressing table, looking at herself in the bronze mirror, waiting for the maid to put her hair in a bun.
"Maybe she is good at picking a day to lay eggs during such a big festival. From now on, every Mid-Autumn Festival will be a birthday celebration for her two children." Li Jieyu touched her hair and said with some dissatisfaction.
The maid sneered, "Who says it's not true? She always chooses this kind of time to steal the limelight from others. She is really unique in this harem."
What this maid was talking about was not only what happened at today's Autumn Festival banquet, but she was also echoing Concubine Li in blaming Qin Liuse.
"She gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and she really thinks she's so great because she has so much in her belly. Look at the harem, all the glory of her sisters is almost taken away by her." Li Jieyu gritted her teeth and spoke in a sour tone.
The maid combed Li Jieyu's hair and said, "The emperor has always doted on her. Since she gave birth to twins last year, she has come to the palace less often than other concubines."
"It's just that Lady Liu. The Emperor occasionally visits her twice. Earlier, the Emperor wanted to visit the Empress here, but the lady over there said that the two children had a fever, so she lured the Emperor back over there."
When thinking about this, Concubine Li became very angry.
After being demoted to concubine, she behaved very humbly. Last time, she went to the imperial study to invite Emperor Yongjia, who accepted the invitation and wanted to have dinner with her.
Who would have known that after going to Zhaoyang Palace, he would just send someone away to say he would not be coming.
Later, when Concubine Li inquired, she found out that the little prince in Zhaoyang Palace was teething and had a fever, so Emperor Yongjia stayed there.
"It's just a tooth growth. Everyone has had it happen. When Anle grew a tooth, the Ninth Prince was still in the northwest. Was it necessary to mobilize such a large force? He is such a mean person and is always making trouble!" Li Jieyu scolded.
Speaking of which, Qin Liuse was also somewhat wronged.
Since it was not she who kept Emperor Yongjia in Zhaoyang Palace, and she was so worried about her two sick children that she had no time to serve Emperor Yongjia.
Nowadays, because he lived nearby, Emperor Yongjia would go to Zhaoyang Palace every day when he had nothing to do.
When I walked over to her, I saw that she was worried about her two children and didn't want to come out again. What else could she do?
Moreover, how could she know that Emperor Yongjia was originally going to Yuxiu Palace?
If they knew that Qin Liuse's illness was caused by someone else, they would have pushed Emperor Yongjia out as well. Don't make yourself hate so easily.
But Concubine Li didn't think so. She dared not blame Emperor Yongjia, so she could only blame Qin Liuse.
"It must be that person. He is relying on the fact that he has a little prince and a little princess, who are both the emperor's youngest children, to monopolize the emperor and prevent him from coming to the queen's palace." The maid added fuel to the fire.
Li Jieyu narrowed her eyes, looked at herself in the mirror, and nodded her red lips, "This time, I have to teach her a lesson and make her lose face in front of the Grand Empress Dowager tonight. Otherwise, she will really walk sideways in this harem."
The maid nodded and said, "Tonight, the time, the place and the people are all right. Concubine Jie's plan will definitely succeed!"
Li Jieyu personally touched the lipstick and felt that the color of the rouge she chose today was just right. She turned her head and asked, "Everything is done. This time, there can't be any mistakes."
"Don't worry, Concubine. We don't have to do anything this time. We didn't do anything. We just watched the Imperial Concubine jump in on her own. I think this time, Concubine's move was really brilliant!" The maid was laughing as she spoke, feeling that she had won.
After hearing the maid's compliments, Concubine Li touched her newly combed peony hair and picked a blooming peony flower from the flowers just picked from the porcelain plate and put it on her hair.
He raised the corners of his lips and smiled quite proudly.
She was confident in this move this time, because there was no need to leave any evidence. Even if Qin Liuse searched the harem, she would not know who did it.
And she only needed to sit on it and watch Qin Liuse lose face in front of everyone.
Li Jieyu glanced at herself in the bronze mirror. Now she only regretted that she was too indecisive and did not act ruthlessly, which allowed Qin Liuse to enjoy the favor for so long and climb higher and higher.
If I had known this would happen, I should have gotten rid of her long ago and put an end to it.
There is no need to fear her position now, nor dare to be ruthless at once. One can only let her lose face first, make her lose face in front of the Empress Dowager, let people know that she is not worthy of the position of Queen at all, and then slowly get rid of her.
After her hair was combed and her makeup was done, Concubine Li stood up and said slowly, "Let's go. It's time to go to Mingyue Tower. The banquet will start soon."