After being reborn, the empress only wanted to seduce the emperor and seize the empress's posit

Chapter 35 Setting up the Banquet
In the evening, as soon as Xiao Jingheng finished dealing with government affairs, he came to Chengqian Palace with a group of attendants.

Lu Jingning, dressed in cool pajamas, sat at the table quietly flipping through books.

Hearing footsteps, she gently raised her eyes, a tender light shining within them: "Your Majesty."

Xiao Jingheng sat down beside her with a smile, and Lu Jingning said softly, "Arui, today Her Majesty the Empress has ordered me to assist in organizing the Dragon Boat Festival banquet."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's eyes were full of approval. He gently took Lu Jingning's hand and told her, "You also need to gain some experience. The Empress's health has never been very good, the Consort's temperament is unstable, and the Noble Consort is not suitable."

"Of all the people in the palace, only you have always been gentle, kind, and magnanimous. If you learn well, I will let you assist the Empress in managing the six palaces."

Lu Jingning's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes sparkling with shyness. She lowered her head modestly and whispered, "Am I really as good as Arui says?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingheng's lips curled into a doting smile. He gazed at Lu Jingning with deep affection, his eyes filled with sincerity: "In my eyes, you are the best."

As he spoke, he gently put his arm around Lu Jingning's shoulder, letting her nestle in his arms.

Lu Jingning leaned obediently against his chest. Obtaining the power to assist in managing the six palaces was entirely beneficial to her.

Lu Jingning took the initiative to pull Xiao Jingheng to lie down, and they spent a wonderful night together.

Because the Empress's health had always been poor and she was busy managing the banquet, she was exempted from paying her respects for three days.

Lu Jingning got up early and took the tonic soup to Changchun Palace.

Inside the palace, the Empress was focused on preparing for the banquet, her seriousness evident in her expression.

Upon seeing Lu Jingning arrive, the Empress smiled slightly and beckoned her closer.

"Jingning is indeed diligent. I will teach you how to arrange the seats for the concubines, as well as the seats for some princes, ministers and their families."

Knowing that this was Lu Jingning's first time meeting her, the Empress picked up a banquet layout diagram and patiently explained every detail as she spoke.

Lu Jingning stood aside, listening intently. In the past, Madam Lu never taught her these things in the Lu family, and she had no right to learn them in her previous life. Although she had read some books, she still had some doubts.

Empress Lu Jingning frowned. "This concubine is foolish and I hope you will forgive me."

The Empress said earnestly, "It's inevitable that you'll encounter things you don't understand since this is your first time learning. I will patiently teach you. If there's anything you don't understand, just come and ask."

Lu Jingning felt that he was far behind in this area and could only work harder.

"Your Majesty, I will definitely study hard. Oh, and I brought you some nourishing soup, please try it."

As she spoke, she quickly instructed Xia'er to bring the tonic soup to the Empress.

Seeing how much effort Lu Jingning had put in, the Empress felt very gratified. She picked up a soup spoon and drank most of the nourishing soup in the bowl.

"Jingning, you've gone to a lot of trouble. Take a good look at the layout I gave you. It's not difficult at all. Just arrange it according to your status and position, and you can't go wrong."

Lu Jingning studied it carefully, and after a long time, she could barely understand some of it: "Your Majesty..."

The Empress noticed her nervousness and knew her unease. She gently took Lu Jingning's hand and said softly, "It's alright. I believe in you. Take your time, try again and again. I'm right here beside you. Don't be afraid of making mistakes."

Lu Jingning gripped the pen tightly, pondered for a moment, and then nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

Since Her Majesty the Empress is like this, we must trust her. She must not be wrong. We must do our best in everything and not be negligent.

The Empress has already made most of the arrangements for this banquet.

He left her with some minor tasks to practice on, hoping to improve Lu Jingning's abilities and help her gain a better understanding.

In order not to disappoint the Empress, Lu Jingning has been busy like a spinning top these past two days, focusing all her attention on these matters.

From every dish at the banquet to the decorations of the banquet hall and the seating arrangements for everyone, the Empress and she had already finalized everything, but they still needed to review each detail to ensure there were no errors.

She was incredibly busy. Every concubine had dietary restrictions, and she had to ensure that all of them were included and that the dishes were evenly distributed.

After finishing one matter, another maid came over.

"Consort Lu, this is the list of all attendees for this banquet. Please take a look. If there are no problems, we will send it to each of your residences."

Lu Jingning took the document and glanced at it, his brows immediately furrowing. There were too many people, and he was starting to feel dizzy.

As a concubine's daughter, she didn't know much about the powerful and influential people in the capital, so she could only take the list to ask the Empress.

"Your Majesty, I am not very familiar with this matter and would like to ask Your Majesty for guidance," Lu Jingning said, handing the list to the Empress and humbly seeking her advice.

The Empress picked up the list and, knowing Lu Jingning was unfamiliar with it, introduced the city's powerful and influential figures to her one by one.

Her voice was soft and clear, which gradually gave Lu Jingning a comprehensive understanding of the guests at the banquet.

"I understand, Your Majesty."

At this moment, Qingming slowly walked to the Empress's side and softly reminded her, "Your Majesty, you need to take the medicine the imperial physician prescribed now."

"Alright, I'll go right away." The Empress was very pleased to see how quickly Lu Jingning grasped the concept. "Jingning, you go ahead and get ready. I'll go drink the medicine and be right back."

"Yes, Your Majesty, please go in peace."

After several days of learning, the Empress was able to entrust the task to her alone with peace of mind.

Not long after the Empress left, a young palace maid rushed in.

"My lord, there's a problem with one of the desserts. During today's inspection, we discovered that an ingredient is missing..."

Lu Jingning sighed, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples: "Quickly order someone to leave the palace immediately to purchase the supplies. We absolutely cannot delay the banquet five days from now."

"Yes, Your Excellency, I will immediately send someone out of the palace to purchase them."

……

Exhausted after a long day, Lu Jingning returned to his palace. He was too lazy to even eat dinner, and after bathing and changing, he lay down on the bed.

The palace door was gently pushed open, and Xia'er walked in carrying a plate of exquisite pastries.

She walked lightly to the bedside and gently called out, "My lady, please have some pastries. These were specially sent by the Emperor."

Lu Jingning barely managed to open his eyes and looked at the plate of osmanthus cake in Xia'er's hand.

She forced a smile, reached for a piece, and took a small bite: "It's really good."

Seeing that she had almost finished her food, Xia'er quickly handed her another piece: "Please eat more, my lady. You've gotten so thin these past few days."

"Xia'er, I think that palace maid who went shopping today was very strange. Have someone keep an eye on them secretly, especially those around Consort Lu. I'm afraid they might do something underhanded."

Xia'er nodded confidently and said, "Don't worry, my lady, I already had Xiao Linzi keep an eye on things. He'll report to me immediately if there's any problem."

"Okay, go down now." After eating a few pieces, Lu Jingning stopped eating and lay down on the bed to sleep.

Xia'er covered her with the blanket and then quietly withdrew.

(End of this chapter)