After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1075 Palace Banquet
The Hai family stayed up late on New Year's Eve and woke up late the next morning.

However, Hai Xiya and his wife were not at home. Although Hai Changan and his wife were elders, they did not care much about rules and etiquette, so they left early and told everyone to do as they pleased. Haitang and Haijiao took the opportunity to sleep in, and when they woke up the next day, it was already past 9:00 am.

Haitang washed and dressed herself, ate the hot cakes Xiangcao brought for breakfast, and went to the front yard to greet Grandpa Lu. Her brother Haijiao had gone out again at some point, and Hai Changan and his wife had taken the children out for a walk. She had nothing to do, so she simply went back to her room, found a few newly bought storybooks, ate melon seeds, and read books to amuse herself. She had a simple lunch, too. She asked the kitchen to heat up the leftover dumplings and mutton soup from last night and sent them over, and that was enough.

Haitang had a comfortable and simple New Year's Day. In comparison, Jin Jiashu's New Year was not so easy.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the palace would hold a banquet. Although the national mourning had passed, the new emperor believed that as the son of the previous emperor, he should observe the national mourning for three years, so the New Year banquet would be kept simple. Those invited to the palace to attend the banquet were all close relatives of the royal family or mainstream royal relatives. There were no civil and military officials or nobles from aristocratic families. Whether in terms of scale, pomp or number of people, it could not be compared with last year.

But who can say anything when the new king does this in the name of filial piety? As for the officials in the court, they couldn't agree more. A luxurious New Year's palace banquet costs a lot of money. Considering the current deposits in the treasury and the possible need for money in the future, the court officials naturally hope that the new king can be as frugal as possible.

Except for a few elder princes, the most honorable one among the close relatives of the royal family is the new emperor's elder brother, Prince Kang, followed by the emperor's uncle, Prince An. After the incident in Prince Ji's mansion, no one mentioned it anymore. But Prince An was well-informed and knew that Prince Ji and Prince Ji's son had died silently in the prison of the clan mansion. Except for the young and ignorant children, all the other sons of Prince Ji were expelled from the clan, deposed as commoners, and exiled to the place where the royal family was born. Prince An was terrified, but also became much more obedient.

He knew that although the new emperor was young, he was not necessarily more merciful than the previous emperor. When he was still a prince, he was indeed very glorious and had the hope of becoming the crown prince, but since he lost the battle for the throne, he had to accept his fate. He bowed his head in front of the previous emperor, Emperor Deguang, and now he had no reason to be proud in front of Emperor Deguang's heir. For the sake of his life and property, for wealth and glory, he had nothing to resist. Anyway, he was used to such a life. The new emperor seemed to be more amiable than the previous emperor. If he was more honest, maybe he could live a better life?

Prince An saw that Prince Kang was a gentle and shy person, so he took the initiative to stand up and lead a group of royal family members to cheer for the new king and the grand empress dowager and queen dowager three times, and sang praises in public, praising the new king for his wisdom and intelligence, the grand empress dowager and queen dowager for their virtues, and the officials in the court for their loyalty and integrity. He also praised the great Chu for its good government, the stability of the country, and the peace and prosperity of the people...

Prince An was so knowledgeable and tactful, and he could make the royal family members obedient and submissive, so the new emperor, the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother were naturally happy to see it. So the royal family members who participated in the praises were rewarded, and everyone was happy.

After the royal family, it was the royal family's relatives who came forward to toast the royal nobles.

This year, not many royal relatives attended the New Year's Palace Banquet. The Empress Dowager's family was represented by the Marquis of Cheng'en and his wife, and the Crown Prince and his wife. The third branch of the Zhou family and General Zhou Si, as collateral branches, did not attend. The family of the late Empress Wu was represented by only Wu Ke, and Wu Qiong stayed in the Marquis of Cheng'en Mansion for the New Year. The current Empress Dowager Xu's family had only one nephew, Jin Jiashu, who was very low-key, polite, and humble from beginning to end. He was not easy to make mistakes and could leave a good impression on people. In addition, there were several eldest princesses, eldest princesses, and princesses who attended with their husbands, and then there was Concubine Zhang Gong, who was specially favored. Concubine Gong received the grace of the new emperor on the first day of the New Year and was promoted to Concubine Gong. Two princesses and their husbands entered the palace to accompany her. It can be said that she was treated very well. In addition to the princesses' husbands, the only royal relatives invited to this year's palace banquet were the relatives of the three generations of the Empress Dowager. Concubine Zhang Gong was favored because she came from a famous family of concubines, and her brothers were also invited. The head of the Zhang family was obsessed with finding another queen to ensure the Zhang family's prosperity for a hundred years, so he shamelessly made the excuse that his wife was unwell and could not attend the meeting, and brought his daughter along.

During the palace banquet, he tried his best to promote his daughter to the Empress Dowager, the Queen Mother and the new emperor, and even asked his daughter to perform a song and dance, and the lyrics of the song were said to be written by his daughter herself. Unfortunately, the new emperor never looked at Miss Zhang more, and during the performance, he lowered his head to talk to his grandmother and mother beside him. It seems that he is really not interested in Miss Zhang. The head of the Zhang family was frustrated and completely lost confidence in his daughter's future.

He didn't notice that Concubine Zhang Gong's expression was even uglier than his.

Concubine Zhang Gong also hoped that her family could produce another queen. However, when three young ladies were selected, the debate in the palace was about who was more suitable, the daughter of the Grand Secretary or the granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo. No one mentioned the daughter of the Zhang family, as if the daughter of the Zhang family had lost from the beginning. Concubine Zhang Gong was not only gloomy, but also somewhat unwilling. She changed her mind and thought that it didn't matter if her niece couldn't become the queen. As long as she could win the heart of the new emperor, she could also have the hope of turning over to the throne as a concubine. Although her niece was older than the new emperor, she had outstanding talents and beauty. If she took good care of herself, she might not be unable to become the new emperor's favorite. For this reason, she even found an excuse to take her niece into the palace to accompany her, hoping that her niece could perform well in front of the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother.

Concubine Zhang Gong tried her best to show her niece's beauty and virtue to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother, but her brother's actions today made all her efforts go to waste!
Even if she was the emperor's favorite concubine, she was required to be virtuous, dignified and polite. How could a lady from a wealthy family perform singing and dancing in public be considered dignified and virtuous? !

Concubine Zhang Gong only wanted her niece to enter the palace as a noble concubine, but she didn't want her to be a concubine who served others with her beauty! Her brother specially arranged this performance, why didn't he tell her in advance? Even her niece, who had lived in the palace for a long time and returned home after the Little New Year, didn't tell her a word, causing her to lose face in front of everyone.

Although Empress Dowager Zhang Gong was treated well today, her face looked as if she had been slapped. After the performance, Miss Zhang saw that she had not won the favor of the new emperor, and she couldn't help but pull a long face. She sat down next to her father in a sullen manner. When she looked up and saw her aunt's dark face, she couldn't help but be stunned. Only then did she vaguely feel that she seemed to have done something wrong. Shouldn't she have concealed her performance from her aunt? Shouldn't she have prepared this "surprise" for her aunt?
Compared with the sullen face of Concubine Zhang Gong, Empress Dowager Xu kept smiling throughout the palace banquet.

When Miss Zhang performed, she was actually quite surprised, but she remained calm and didn't show any abnormality. There were not many concubines and imperial concubines left in the harem of the previous emperor. She would have to live with Concubine Zhang Gong for many years in the future, so she had to save some face for this old sister.

However, Empress Dowager Xu was still quite thankful. She had thought about marrying her eldest son Jiashu to a girl from the Zhang family. Although she failed to get married due to some mishaps, considering the family education of the Zhang family and the stupidity of the head of the Zhang family, it was a blessing that she failed to get married.

The girl from the Hai family is really good. So what if she is from a small family? After all, she is the daughter of an official, well-educated and well-mannered. It is better than the Zhang family, which claims to be a famous family, but the legitimate daughter has to perform singing and dancing in front of people. With such behavior, she still dares to dream of the position of queen? !