The palace wall reflects the moon

Chapter 25 Lantern Palace Banquet [-]

Not long after, the emperor and the eldest princess came into the palace and took their seats, and Xin Wei also sat down at the seat that had been arranged long ago.

The seat next to Chu Ying was empty.

Xin Wei was confused, could it be that she couldn't come to the palace banquet because of the unbearable abdominal pain?
Fortunately, as a low-level concubine, her seat was in the corner at the end of the third row, so she would not be noticed.

During the dinner, a melodious flute song was played, and the queen suddenly asked: "Concubine Liu, have you asked about all the music played today?"

Concubine Liu didn't understand why the queen asked so, and replied: "Today's singing and dancing were chosen by my concubine."

She really didn't notice anything wrong.

Today is the Lantern Festival, and all the songs and dances must express the happy reunion, and must not be sad for spring and autumn. The music presented by the Jiaofang Secretary included Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night, so she accepted it.

The queen's face darkened.

"What's going on with the song Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night just now?"

Concubine Liu was slightly stunned, still not knowing what went wrong.

The Queen Mother, who was sitting on the other side of the emperor, said leisurely: "After the death of Concubine Chen, the late emperor ordered that the Spring River Flower Moonlight Night should no longer be played in the palace."

Hearing this, the woman who played this piece of music was so frightened that she fell to her knees and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, and your servants don't know!"

Shen Shuning was drinking wine, eating food and listening to music. Suddenly, he acted out this bad thing for her again and said impatiently: "Okay, it happened ten years ago. Who knows so clearly. Besides, father The emperor gave the order because Concubine Chen loved to listen to this song the most, and it made him sad to hear it. Now he can't hear it, so why worry?"

The queen said: "Although the late emperor is deceased, the will left by the late emperor..."

"How about you go down and ask?" Shen Shuning's eyes were like swords and his tone was cold, "Is it possible that you know my father better than I do?"

This plan is very obvious. The Queen is not happy about losing her real power and is looking for trouble for Concubine Liu.

But even a piece of music for entertainment needs to be a big deal

The queen looked at the eldest princess stiffly with her phoenix eyes, looked at her for a while, and then turned to look at the queen mother.

The Queen Mother refused to speak out anymore.She is the late emperor's queen, but not the emperor's biological mother. As long as she does her duty, the emperor and the eldest princess will still respect her a little bit.If she talks too much, she will lose more than she gains if her comfort in her old age is not guaranteed.

Seeing the queen's unwilling look, Shen Shuning continued: "My father doesn't want to listen to this song anymore, but even if someone sings it, it will only cause some grief and will never be punished. My father is benevolent all over the world. You know, you are definitely not a tyrant!"

Liu Qingshu was especially grateful.This time, the eldest princess really helped her out.

The eldest princess was so powerful that she did not have to obey the late emperor's will, but also gave the queen the label of insulting the late emperor's saintliness.

Shen Xiao calmly took a sip of wine and ate some side dishes, as if he was outside.

It wasn't until several eyes looked at him at the same time that Shen Xiao made a sound and urged the kneeling flute woman as if nothing had happened.

"Not backing down yet?"

After the flute girl left, the next song and dance was delayed.

It is said that the flying-sleeved dance clothes used by the dancers were put in one place. When they were about to wear them, they discovered that there were many rats in the place where the clothes were placed, and the clothes were chewed to pieces.

Without the dance clothes with flowing sleeves, how can we dance like this?
Liu Qingshu's cheeks were burning and she looked at the queen on the high position.Then he looked at the people in the palace.

Maybe the queen was dissatisfied with her replacement, maybe the other concubines were vying with each other, and the villain was hiding in the dark, making it impossible to guard against him.

This matter seemed to be a plot against her again and again, but after all, it was her failure in doing things that caused the situation to happen frequently.

Liu Qingshu was about to stand up and plead guilty——

Shen Shuning said leisurely: "The rats in the palace are scurrying like this. It must not happen overnight. Queen, didn't you notice it before?"

Liu Qingshu raised her buttocks and lowered them again.The queen gritted her teeth and said, "Sister Huang, you are joking. Where are there no rats in the world? Even if my servants beat them to death if they saw them, they would not report them for such a trivial matter."

"Yes, it's just a little thing."

Shen Shuning agreed with her words and said disapprovingly: "The emperor doesn't care about singing and dancing. Which sister in the harem can't sing or dance?"

The queen paused and said, "What the princess said is that all the sisters are talented. How about asking the queen mother to point out a few concubines and sing a verse?"

Shen Shuning thought, isn't this an act of abuse? The concubines are singing and dancing only for the emperor to see. Doesn't this public performance look like a busking act?
But she didn't stop her. She also wanted to see what the Queen was up to.

The Queen Mother looked at the expressions of the Emperor and the eldest princess, and then said: "The Ai family doesn't know which of the concubines is good at singing or dancing, so why don't we let the Queen point it out."

She won't take this hot potato.

The queen then scanned the hall, her eyes slowly fixed on a corner, and said with a smile: "I heard that Gusu women's voices are the most soft and graceful. Xin Jieyu is from Gusu, why not let Xin Jieyu sing a song?" Let’s play music.”

Shen Xiao's fingers holding the wine glass paused.

Shen Shuning felt a lump in his throat and looked at the queen coldly.

If eyes could be addictive, the Queen would have died in her eyes a hundred times.

If it were anyone else, she could speak out in defense at any time, but it was Xin Jieyu.She was afraid that this was the queen's test, and she was also afraid that others would see the clues.

In full view of everyone, Xin Wei stood up, left her seat, and walked to the front of the hall.

After saluting, he said: "Gusu women are good at singing, but my concubine can't sing. It's a shame for Gusu women."

These have all been named, and I'm afraid it won't work if I don't show any skills.

Xin Wei added: "I will play the pipa. If the emperor and the queen don't mind, I can play a song."

Fortunately, she learned the pipa when she was in Suzhou, so she can use it today.

Neither the queen nor the eldest princess spoke yet. Shen Xiao looked at her with a smile and said lightly: "Okay."

The Jiaofang Secretary brought a red sandalwood five-string pipa and moved a mahogany lamp hanging chair. Xin Wei sat down and plucked the strings, and a melodious song "Mountains and Flowing Water" overflowed from her slender fingers.

She has never learned to play the pipa and has no skills in playing it, but the sound of the piano has a unique free and easy meaning, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

After the song ended, there was lingering sound in the palace, and the queen said softly: "You played very well, raise your head."

Xin Wei then realized the purpose of the queen asking her to perform.

It's not to humiliate her, it's just to give her a chance to show off in front of the emperor. It's best to catch the emperor's eye, so that she can share Concubine Liu's favor, and then fight to the death.

Xin Wei looked up in response.

The thick and long eyelashes drooped lightly, reflecting a shadow under the eyes, the red lips were slightly pursed, soft and weak, I felt pity for him.

Shen Xiao looked at her with locked eyes and his voice was slightly hoarse.

"reward."

Xin Wei thanked her and returned to her seat, thinking about the emperor's eyes just now, and for a moment she had mixed feelings.

The queen held up Liu Qingshu with her own hands just to defeat Concubine Meng Hui.Now he was thinking of holding her up to attack Liu Qingshu.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman wins, but the queen has already suffered a loss, so she still wants to repeat her old tricks?

In this way, is the queen really tireless, and is the emperor really completely unaware?
(End of this chapter)