bookcurios Chapter 1041 His poem could not have been written for Concubine Chen
Chapter 1041 His poem could not have been written for Concubine Chen
"When the Fourth Prince grows up, he will definitely care about the world and value every piece of land in the Great Zhou!"
"As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. This travelogue that the Fourth Prince has caught is worse than any other ancient book in the world!"
"From this we can see how smart the Fourth Prince is!"
"..."
Shen Zhinian couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly when listening to their words of praise.
Those who can thrive in the court may not necessarily have real ability, but they must be able to speak sweet words.
Look, they can say black is white, and white is black.
No wonder many people are not afraid of offending military generals, but are afraid of offending civil officials. Because they can really praise a person to the sky, and their spit can really drown a person.
After catching Zhou, there would be a banquet and rewards to show the royal favor.
Because Zhongcui Palace is adjacent to the Imperial Garden, the banquet was also held in the Imperial Garden.
Shen Zhinian has handed the fourth prince over to the wet nurse.
Nangong Xuanyu held her hand and walked in front.
Everyone followed respectfully.
Princess Yun'an and Princess Qingyang couldn't help but show a bit of shyness on their faces.
Princess Yun'an subconsciously touched her hair to see if it was messy.
Because the fourth prince’s first birthday ceremony was jointly organized by the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites.
The Imperial Household Department is responsible for the one-year-old ceremony.
The Ministry of Rites is responsible for the etiquette process of the banquet given by the emperor after the first birthday ceremony.
They have already found out that Minister Gu is handling this matter.
I can see the person I miss so much again...
Su Quanye walked behind and followed the team out of Zhongcui Palace and went to the Imperial Garden.
In the past, whenever there was a large banquet in the palace, something unexpected would happen from time to time, making him extremely busy and anxious.
But the things that Concubine Chen was in charge of rarely went wrong, so he could feel more relaxed.
At the following banquet, everyone will be able to eat and drink well, and Su Quanye just hopes that everything will go smoothly.
However, the person in charge of the harem now is Concubine Chen, and today is the fourth prince's first birthday banquet, so Concubine Chen must have arranged everything.
Palace maids and eunuchs were going in and out of Zhongcui Palace, packing up things to be used for the one-year-old ceremony.
When the Sixth Prince was one month old, Concubine Xuan had not yet moved to the palace, so the full-month ceremony was held in Zhongcui Palace. It was during that time that someone took advantage of the chaos and placed the snow silkworm molt in Zhongcui Palace.
Although they were eventually discovered by Xiao Zhouzi and the others, they still remembered the lesson firmly.
In order to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to do something, Nanny Xiao and Yuanbao stayed in Zhongcui Palace, keeping a close eye on everyone to ensure that nothing would go wrong.
After all the guests were seated, the Fourth Prince, led by his wet nurse, appeared on stage surrounded by palace maids and saluted Nangong Xuanyu and Shen Zhinian.
First, the emperor bestowed clothes and hats on the fourth prince.
A palace maid had already prepared the clothes and brought them over on a tray.
The emperor stood up and walked forward, personally draped the brocade robe embroidered with python patterns on the fourth prince, and looked at him with eyes full of love: "May my son be smart and intelligent, and live a long and healthy life!"
Afterwards, the fourth prince, supported by his nurse, kowtowed to the emperor again. Although his movements were immature, they also reflected royal etiquette.
Shen Zhinian looked at this scene, his eyes full of tenderness.
Because of what happened at the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, Princess Qingyang subconsciously looked at Gu Jinxiao wherever Shen Zhinian appeared.
He sat at the table, wearing a scarlet official robe. The material was the finest brocade, with a Xiezhi totem embroidered in dark patterns, and the edges were outlined with silver lines to depict seawater and river cliffs.
There were several people wearing the same official robes at the banquet, but none of them had the posture of Gu Jinxiao. His shoulders were straight and sharp, and the jade belt around his waist was tightly tied. Even the hanging belt was neatly attached to his side, without any shaking.
He had a handsome face, high brow bones, and a pair of dark eyes that looked like jade immersed in a cold pond. When he looked at people, he always had three parts of scrutiny and seven parts of indifference, as if everything in the world could be turned into ink words on a memorial, and all he had to do was to outline it with a red pen.
Further down, the bridge of his nose was straight, the line of his lips was cold and hard, with no trace of smile or anger. He just sat there, even his fingertips were dignified.
Princess Qingyang clearly saw Gu Jinxiao's cold gaze sweep across Concubine Chen and quickly look away.
The sun shone through the gaps between the leaves, weaving golden spots on the corners of his robe. Gu Jinxiao sat at the junction of light and shadow, half of his face immersed in warm light and half in shadow, like an ancient painting whose warmth had been worn away by time.
Princess Qingyang didn't notice anything unusual for a moment, so she could only look away in disappointment.
Could it be... that she was thinking wrongly?
Right.
Everyone knows that Lord Gu, the Minister of Rites, is famous for being self-disciplined and extremely old-fashioned.
How could Minister Gu, with such a personality, love the imperial concubine in his heart?
The poem he wrote during the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet could not have been written to Concubine Chen.
She shouldn't be so paranoid.
But little did she know... the more she admired someone, the more she would pay attention to his every move. Every word from Minister Gu could affect her emotions.
She also...cares too much about him...
Princess Yun'an's eyes would occasionally fall on Gu Jinxiao, and her cheeks would turn red again and again...
No one knows that every time Princess Yun'an sees Gu Jinxiao, she feels more anxious than shy.
Because there are four princesses in the Great Zhou Dynasty, except for Princess Jingle who has married off to a distant place, she is the oldest among the remaining three princesses.
It was said that she and Qingyang had reached the age for marriage, but the emperor had yet to choose a husband for them because he loved them so much that he did not want to force them with an imperial decree and hoped that they could find a husband of their dreams.
But Princess Yun'an knew very well that although her brother had a brotherly affection for them, he was the emperor, and nothing was more important to him than the country.
The reason why my brother hasn't issued an order to choose a consort for them yet is probably because...
The most important value of a princess is marriage...
However, my brother's daughters are still young, so naturally we can only count on these sisters...
Especially since the Great Zhou was at war with the Huns, whether it won or lost, it was very likely that the princess would be sent out to marry.
Princess Yun'an was really worried. If she couldn't win the favor of Minister Gu, she would be sent to the Xiongnu as a bride...
If that's the case, she might as well just die!
Thinking of this, a gleam of determination flashed across Princess Yun'an's eyes.
She can't delay any longer, she must plan for her future and happiness!
Little did they know... If Princess Lian Yun'an understood this truth, how could Princess Qingyang not understand it?
But she didn't show any emotion. She just smiled, looking lively and cute, and chatted with Princess Yun'an.
Next comes the gift-giving session.