After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 156 The Feast of Beauties at Daming Palace (Part 1)

As the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families were preparing to welcome the emperor, Chu Yan took Princess Qinghe's smooth hand and led her out. He then mounted his horse, looked down at her, and saw that the princess was looking at him with expectant eyes.

Chu Yan deliberately didn't say it aloud, and asked, "Does Qinghe want to ride in a palanquin, or stay and walk slowly with the palace official?"

Li Wan had been waiting outside and had not gone into Wangyue Tower to see Chong Le Gong. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty and the Princess need not worry about me. I can take care of the children."

She just saw that the princess came out holding the emperor's hand.

Her new husband is the emperor, so she has no reason or cause to be jealous.

Qinghe pursed her lips and said reservedly, "Is Your Majesty in such a hurry to find Miss Lin and Miss Bao?"

Chu Yan pulled on the reins, letting her horse circle around in front of her a few times, and said with a smile, "I'm not in a hurry. I heard from the eunuchs that they went out for a stroll and it will be difficult to find them for a while. I'm free now and want to find someone to ride with for a leisurely trip. I don't need too many people to accompany me."

Qinghe's eyes lit up even more; he was practically pointing at himself, ready to volunteer to go with him!

But as an unmarried princess, she still had to maintain a certain level of decorum, so she asked, "Can your horse carry two people?"

Chu Yan asked, "Are you even fatter than Miss Yun?"

Qinghe quickly shook her head and said, "I'm very thin, how could I be fat?" She looked at him again before blushing and saying, "Since Your Majesty is looking for someone to travel with, I wonder which girl you would like to choose..."

She stammered and couldn't finish her sentence.

Chu Yan stopped teasing her and extended his hand to the princess: "Come here!"

Qinghe was taken aback at first, then smiled shyly and reached out her little hand to hold it.

Chu Yan bent down, embraced Qinghe, and led her to the horse, holding her in his arms.

But he didn't rush to leave. He chatted with Li Wan for a while as they walked before riding off with Princess Qinghe.

The princess's slender body rose and fell on the horse, and although her bottom ached from the jolting, she smiled radiantly and laughed heartily.

In the afternoon, around 3 PM, Chu Yan arrived at the island in the middle of Langchi Lake.

The banquet tables were set, the opera troupe and dancers were all dressed up, and all kinds of dishes and wines were ready. Empress Zhang, Jia Yuanchun, Consort Wu and other concubines, as well as young ladies such as Daiyu, Xiangyun, and Baochai, had all arrived at the banquet and taken their seats, waiting for Chu Yan and Qinghe, who were having finished their fun, to arrive.

As soon as he arrived, everyone stood up and bowed.

Chu Yan strode to the front of the stage and sat down in his assigned seat. He then smiled and said, "My beloved concubines, please be seated. Tonight, let's drink and admire the moon. There's no need to be reserved."

Upon hearing the term "beloved concubine," many of the young ladies present blushed. Daiyu whispered to Xiangyun beside her, "I was just telling you, isn't it fitting that he's a tyrant?"

During the Shun Dynasty, everyone from the emperor to ordinary people loved watching plays. Therefore, there was a stage on an island in Langchi Lake, where people would sit in front of the open-air stage and have a banquet in groups of three or five.

Chu Yan then gave the order, and their respective maids also set up tables for a banquet in the back, such as Daiyu's Zijuan and Xueyan, Baochai's Ying'er, Xiangyun's Cuilu, and so on. They also sat at three or five tables.

On the island in the lake, one could see nothing but beautiful women, which is why Chu Yan's words "my beloved concubines" made the unmarried girls blush with shyness.

Xiangyun chuckled: "Later I'll tell my brother the emperor about you, saying you called him a tyrant."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of you complaining, but I'm heartbroken because I've misjudged you all this time."

Xiangyun looked at her strangely. Not long ago, Sister Lin and the Emperor were at odds. After entering the palace, she cried many times and was forcibly held in the Emperor's arms. She cried a lot at night.

How come she's no longer afraid of the emperor?

"Your Majesty," said Empress Zhang, who sat to Chu Yan's left, "Consort Qin has not yet arrived. Should we send someone to look for her?"

Junyi, Baoqin, Li Wan and others all looked over, and they also noticed that Qin Keqing was nowhere to be found.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "She'll be here soon, let's eat first."

Daiyu, Chai, and the others, recalling the scene of Qin Keqing being "kidnapped" by him, guessed what had happened and remained silent.

Sitting to Chu Yan's right, Jia Yuanchun asked softly, "Now that everyone has almost arrived, Your Majesty, shall we begin the banquet?"

"it is good."

Chu Yan nodded, and Yuan Chun gave the order. The palace maids began to bring out dishes from the island's kitchen and place them on the table. The aroma of the food and wine filled the air, making the mouths of the group, who had been sightseeing for most of the day, very hungry. Chu Yan raised his wine cup and drank a cup with them before the banquet officially began.

"Does Your Majesty wish to listen to a play or to watch a dance performance?" Yuan Chun asked softly.

Chu Yan drank and ate, saying, "You guys choose the play; I'm not very familiar with the scripts."

Yuan Chun then ordered someone to bring the playbill and give it to the Empress to choose from. Empress Zhang declined, so Yuan Chun had someone take it to Consort Wu. Consort Wu also dared not accept it. It should have been given to Consort Qin, but she was not there. Giving it to Consort Zhou would not have been appropriate.

There are still so many pampered girls around.

"Since none of you are going to choose, I'll choose one!"

Consort Zhou didn't think much of it. She got up, reached out and took the playbill from Consort Wu's hand, and happily flipped through it.

Empress Zhang smiled lightly and ignored her.

Yuan Chun knew that His Majesty would not care about such trivial matters, so she did not say anything more.

The young ladies, including Daiyu and Xiangyun, usually only got to watch operas after their elders had chosen them, so they didn't really care.

Baochai, however, glanced at her a couple more times.

A while later, Consort Zhou selected a play called "The Wen Family Celebration" before handing the playbill to Xiuyan at the next table. Miss Xing, who also didn't like selecting plays, passed it on to Wang Junyi, who was sitting next to her.

The opera troupe soon took to the stage to perform, accompanied by lively drum and cymbal sounds. On stage, leading actresses and young actresses sang in clear voices, and the banquet gradually became lively.

Chu Yan sat on a spacious, carved rosewood couch with dragons on either side. However, neither Empress Zhang nor Jia Yuanchun came to his couch to serve him; they simply sat at opposite ends of the table to keep him company.

This made him feel that something was missing.

After the play ended, Chu Yan smiled at them and said, "It's rare to have so many talented and beautiful young ladies here tonight. I've already heard about your poetic talents, and there are also the Empress, the Virtuous Consort, and the Noble Consort Wu, who are skilled in poetry. The palace scribe is also very good at composing poems. How about letting me broaden my horizons tonight?"

Li Wan blushed and quickly covered it up by drinking, as she thought of the love poem the emperor had ordered her to write in the Imperial Garden.

His Majesty brought it up again now, surely referring to that time...

“Since His Majesty did not mention me, I will not compose a poem,” Princess Qinghe hurriedly said.

Everyone laughed. Indeed, she wasn't among the people the Emperor had mentioned earlier.

"His Majesty didn't mention me either..." Consort Zhou said aggrievedly.

Chu Yan laughed heartily, "You'd be a fool to write poetry. Come and watch them write with me."

Consort Zhou was then pleased.

Chu Yan continued, "As for the princess, I was unaware that Qinghe was also skilled in poetry. I'll punish myself with a cup of wine."

He downed half a cup of wine in one gulp, then laughed and said, "Qinghe will also compose a poem later. The theme will be today's events. There are no restrictions on the poems or rhymes. Each of you write one, and I will judge them. The winner will be rewarded!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly perked up, determined to write a good poem to win the emperor's favor.

Baochai, Baoqin, Wang Junyi, and others were all skilled in poetry and lyrics, so they quickly prepared a draft in their minds. When the eunuch brought them pen and ink, they picked up their pens and wrote it down.

Xiangyun knew that her talent was not as good as Baochai's, but she was not willing to admit defeat and began to think hard.

Xiuyan was also a poet, but she was not too ostentatious; she simply wrote one poem and presented it to the emperor.

Empress Zhang, Jia Yuanchun, Consort Wu, and others also wrote a poem.

After Xiangyun finished writing, she put down her pen to look at Lin Daiyu's, only to find her still lost in thought, drinking and watching a play. It wasn't until the emperor reminded her to collect the manuscripts that Daiyu finally picked up her pen and wrote a poem.

Chu Yan sat on the dragon-carved couch, drinking wine, listening to opera, and watching beautiful women compose poems, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Your Majesty, I am late~~"

Qin Keqing finally arrived, just as everyone's poems were presented. Chu Yan looked at them and then ordered her to write one as well.

(End of this chapter)