The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 134 Happy New Year
On New Year's Eve, Chen Jijiang took on a job that was not difficult but labor-intensive - guarding the Liugeyuan.

It was a busy day ahead, and the clan relatives who came from afar had to go to meet them.Not only to meet the emperor, but occasionally there is an elder with a particularly distinguished status, such as the eldest princess, there will be greetings and New Year's greetings all the way from outside the hall to inside the hall.

The whole process was naturally lengthy, not only the emperor couldn't get away, but also the people around felt tired watching it.

Chen Jijiang knew that His Majesty asked him to "suppress him".As long as he is here, the queen mother can't come, so he must stay here from morning to night, saying that he is leisurely and leisurely, and that he is really tired even if he is tired.

At three o'clock, Chen Jijiang was already sitting in the hall and yawning.The snacks on hand are quite exquisite, Madam Ruan felt sorry and asked someone to prepare them to thank him, but you can't eat snacks all the time, can you?

Chen Jijiang thought for a while, and strolled in the yard.

In the yard, Princess Ping'an is happily bullying Yuxiang.Yu Xiang looked not in a good mood today, lying on the wall and refusing to play with her.Diji was bouncing up and down underneath to pull its tail, shouting as she jumped, "Yuxiang! Come down, Yuxiang! Come down!"

Yu Xiang on the wall yawned big, and Chen Jijiang yawned again when he was taken away. Before the yawn was over, Di Ji saw him: "Lord Chen!"

"Hey, Diji." Chen Jijiang hurriedly leaned over, and when Diji Ping'an came over, she dragged him to the wall, and said in a childish voice, "Help me to hold Yuxiang down, please!"

ho...

Chen Jijiang thought in his heart, who can hold this?But he left without shaking his hands, and raised his head to coax him under the wall: "Yuxiang? Miss Yuxiang? Why don't you come down to play with Di Ji?"

Yu Xiang's black eyes with slender eyelashes swept lightly, then turned her head suddenly, the big lion's face was only three inches away from him: "Roar!!!"

Chen Jijiang was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he managed not to be scared to kneel down in front of a little girl like Di Ji, who was only sixteen days old when she was four years old!

Xueli got up from the couch amidst such roars.When I asked someone to come in to take a shower, I was still wondering, what happened to Yuxiang?Who messed with it?Step on its tail?Is Xiao Quanzi not getting enough meat?
After she finished washing, she went to the yard to have a look, and after a moment of foolishness, she laughed!
Hey, Ayao, you little girl dare to bully Master Chen?I dare not bully him!

Ayao had a lot of fun watching "Yuxiang Roaring at Master Chen".Clapping his hands and shouting "Come again!", what can Chen Jijiang do?Let her do it, and provoke Yu Xiang again and again, and Yu Xiang yells at him again and again, Ayao almost laughs beside him.

Holding back her laughter, Xue Li hurriedly hugged A Yao back, told her with a straight face, "Don't bully Mrs. Chen", and apologized to Chen Jijiang.

Chen Jijiang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "It's okay, it's okay. You just need to get up now, my lady. I think I'll ask someone to wake you up if you can't afford it anymore."

"Huh?" Xueli thought about it, a little puzzled, "What's the matter?"

Chen Jijiang said: "Didn't Your Majesty say that you will also attend the palace banquet at night and go out to watch the fireworks?"

Sydney Xin said it's still early, right? !Even if there is a banquet at the next hour, she will still be able to sleep for another two hours, right?
However, Chen Jijiang proved to her with facts that this was not the case.

Chen Jijiang clapped her hands high, and the five maids in front of her all came over.The five of them had obviously been given detailed instructions, helping to choose clothes and jewelry, serving to change clothes, applying makeup, combing hair... every step was coordinated very tacitly, and Nanny Bai and Su Zixian were also helping out with ideas.Sydney stared stupidly in the mirror and let them dictate, counting in her heart, she tried on [-] sets of clothes out of the [-] sets she made just last month before deciding on this one, changed four sets of jewelry, and put on makeup twice ...After applying the rouge for the first time, Su Zixian felt that the color was not suitable, so she had to wash it again.

An hour and a half has passed by now.Before combing her hair, Xueli let out a long sigh of relief, waiting for them to try three or five kinds of buns, tossing slowly.

She felt that she couldn't sit still, and waited patiently.Half an hour later, Zixian came over and patted her on the shoulder with a smile: "Happy New Year, have a good year. You prepare slowly, I'm going out to play!"

Zixian took two days off to play in Luo'an City.Sydney didn't think much of it at first, but she left when she was "tortured" and immediately set her on fire!

Xue Li stared at Su Zixian fiercely in the mirror, but Su Zixian pretended not to see her, her smile remained unchanged, and she left humming a little tune.

Fortunately, after another moment, Sydney's body can be considered a toss.

The dignified but nimble Lingxu bun is adorned with a comb in front of the bun, revealing a row of pink and white five-petaled flowers.This is from the big box of hairpins that the emperor brought back to her during his first tour to the south. Sydney has never seen this kind of flower, and the emperor said it was called a cherry blossom.

Apart from this, there is only a long hairpin inserted diagonally into the bun.The hairpin pole is made of gold, which seems to be able to balance the whole person's aura. The material of the hairpin flower is the same as that of the cherry blossoms. It looks crystal clear and the color is also light and good. After any flower, I want to pick it down.

"It's not good... Haitang is too ostentatious." Xue Li looked at the mirror very uneasy.Begonia is known as "the imperial concubine among flowers". Like peonies and peonies, it is a flower that is used with care in the palace.

Bai Momo said: "It's okay. It's right to avoid peony and peony. I always think it's overkill for this crabapple. Besides, what is your status now? The biological mother of the eldest son of the emperor, your majesty can say that you are not good with this." ?”

That's not going to happen.This Xueli is quite clear, he even said that he wanted her to be "the mother of the world", so he didn't care about it.

So she looked at Chen Jijiang hesitantly. Chen Jijiang stood motionless two steps away with his head bowed. He raised his eyes a little when he noticed her gaze. He didn't say anything else, only commented two words: "It looks good."

OK then……

Sydney had to acquiesce.Standing up and looking in the mirror again, this hair accessory matches the dress quite well. The color of the upper skirt is soft purple pink, and although the lower skirt is white, it looks like a pattern of flower vines falling from top to bottom. The two colors of lavender and light pink match each other, and it is just right when pressed by the crabapple hairpin, and they complement each other perfectly.

She chose a simple earring, Jin Tuo dropped a pearl, and a small bright spot on the earlobe, so as not to look too bright all over.

"Lady, put this on." Bai Nao took a piece of crisp jadeite to wear, and another pair of bracelets. Although there were only two small pieces of green, the texture was also amazingly good.

While putting it on for her, Bai Momo explained: "Although the lady's body looks good, there are hardly any expensive things. Wearing this will increase her status. Those wives will know it is a good thing at a glance, and they will only think that the lady You don't like extravagance, so don't show ostentation in clothing and hair accessories."

Not to mention those wives, Sydney can tell at a glance that this is a rare commodity!

But she was startled, and asked her guiltily: "Nurse... Where did this come from?"

Bai Momo gave her a helpless look, "One of the things His Majesty ordered to be delivered every month, I don't remember which month it was delivered. Ma'am, you don't look at it yourself, just keep it all in the treasury. Two days ago, I thought that there might be something that could be used for the Chinese New Year, so I went to Curry to look for it."

Xue Li: "..." Does she still have such good things here?According to what Nanny Bai said, she may have unintentionally squandered things quite a lot!

Thinking about it, Sydney took a small breath of air.While putting on the pendant and bracelet with peace of mind, I was thinking that I must spend a day in the next year to take a good look at what is in the curry—such fine jade must be taken out and put into the dressing table!Jade needs someone to raise it, otherwise it will be useless, and the luster of the one in hand is also a little bit worse.

After she tidied things up, Dou Sha and the others tormented A Yao.A Yao, who has always been very good-tempered, was getting impatient, and would frown from time to time, then turn around and shout at her: "Mom! Is it okay now!"

"...Ayao, you are good." Xueli could only say this.She stood by the side and didn't dare to sit or walk, because Nanny Bai said that the skirt was wrinkled and had to be changed!
When Youshi first arrived, the mother and daughter had finished packing.Look at A Yuan, who is crawling on the couch, as long as he changes into better clothes, they are so jealous!
As a result, they couldn't even eat well. The kitchen brought a plate of steamed dumplings and a plate of small buns. The two ate a few of them together. A Yao said aggrievedly that he wanted to dip in vinegar, and Chen Jijiang was beside him. Smiling and persuading: "Diji, don't dip it in vinegar, it tastes good after eating vinegar, so eat it tomorrow, ah."

Ah Yao was not happy, she said that she could rinse her mouth with the smell, and Chen Jijiang said: "After you rinse your mouth, you still have to touch up your makeup, Diji, you can figure it out."

"Stop dipping!" Ayao shrank immediately.In fact, today was the first time she put on makeup, she simply used some gouache and rouge, and then slightly outlined her eyebrows, it didn't take much effort at all.But it still took a lot of time for her to change her clothes, put on makeup and hair, and now she doesn't want to go back to the dressing table and sit again.

Then Xueli led A Yao, followed by sour plums and black plums, the nanny was holding A Yuan, and behind the nanny were two other nanny and several court ladies and eunuchs.

Sydney thought about it carefully, she didn't seem to have walked through the palace with such a "fantasy" before. The last time she played the posture of "all out" was because she went home to visit her relatives.

Chen Jijiang told her all the way: "This banquet will not officially start until the majesty comes down. But when it's about time, the guests can go to the main hall to take a seat first. It's less than an hour before Xu time, you go to the side first. Sitting in the hall, it is inevitable that concubines and wives will come to see you, so don't be afraid, we will be by your side."

Ok, no problem!
With Chen Jijiang around, Sydney is particularly confident.Mr. Chen is the best at dealing with all kinds of things in the palace. Probably besides the emperor himself, Mr. Chen is the one who can give her the most confidence.

As soon as she stepped into the side hall of Hanyuan Hall, Xue Li lost [-]% of her anger...

Probably because she came early, there are only two people in the huge side hall.She had seen one before, Xu Shuyi who was ordered to go to Zichen Hall to help receive the emperor when he summoned Mrs. Lu; she had never seen the other face to face, and she knew it just by looking at her appearance... This is the enchanting and charming little bird Yiren who was favored in the past. Concubine Li.

Xu Shuyi looked up, put down the teacup and took the initiative to greet her. When she blessed her body, she also blessed her, even if she saw her as a salute.

Then Xu Shuyi smiled and said: "I met the lady before, it's been four years in a blink of an eye." Then she looked at A Yao who was led by her, and smiled again: "Emperor Ji is so old."

This is a very polite way to open the topic.Naturally, Xueli wanted to save face, so she shook A Yao's hand and said to her, "Come, say hello to Empress Shuyi."

"Good luck, Empress Shuyi!" A Yao tilted his head to look at her, and gave a respectable blessing.

Xu Shuyi laughed, and after carefully asking what Xue Li meant, she sat down to play with A Yao in her arms.Ah Yao didn't recognize her life, Xu Shuyi fed her snacks and she was willing to eat them obediently, and Xue Li was not afraid of her eating things given by others like this. At this moment, all kinds of meals in Hanyuan Palace are strictly checked!

Therefore, compared to worrying about A Yao, what makes Xue Li more uneasy now... is Li Fei sitting opposite her, her pair of beautiful eyes are constantly scanning her, making her feel uneasy about doing anything.

"... Come, A Yuan." She clapped her hands towards A Yuan, and the wet nurse, Yin Shi, carried A Yuan to her.The little thing yawned, and fell asleep in her arms.

Sydney heard Concubine Li sneer.

What are you laughing laughing!

She didn't show too much weakness either, she glanced over before her laughter fell.Concubine Li glanced at her again, there seemed to be a little bit of annoyance in her eyes, but she didn't say anything, she drank her tea with her eyes downcast.

A moment later, the number of concubines and wives in the palace gradually increased.Sydney slowly could tell from their eyes whether they were concubines or wives--the ones who came to greet her with surprise in their eyes after hearing the introduction in a low voice from the palace servants were probably wives-in-law; , is a concubine.

With such a count, there are quite a lot of people who don't like her.Fortunately, Mrs. Yi from the Seventh Prince's Mansion also arrived early, sitting beside her and drinking tea with her, it was difficult for others to come and talk too much.

Yi Shi pressed her voice and said to her: "After watching the fireworks, many concubines and wives will be summoned by the Queen Mother to see them, and you probably have to go this way too. But don't be afraid, I will go too. Your Majesty sent me to see you earlier. I called to explain it, and I will never let you have an accident."

"Okay." Sydney nodded without much fear.

Yi said again: "You have to take the eldest son of the emperor with you, but he is young, so it's okay to go for a walk while he's asleep. I think it's fine for Ayao, it's late at that time, so find an excuse to let someone take her back to rest. Yi, after all, the Queen Mother..."

"I know." Xue Li nodded, looking at A Yao who was already yawning beside Xu Shuyi, she felt that it was not difficult to find an excuse.

When the clock of Xushi rang, the people who were chatting separately got up one after another and went to the main hall.

Everyone has a maid to guide them to their seats.Xu Shuyi handed Ah Yao back to Sydney, gave another salute, and followed the palace servants who came.Xueli waited left and right, until there was no one in the side hall, and finally a maid came to invite her.

She was holding Ah Yao by the hand, and behind her was the wet nurse who was holding the eldest son of the emperor, walking all the way in was quite eye-catching.Many of the courtiers who had just entered the hall after taking a rest in the other side hall stopped talking and looked up at her. Xueli tried to stay calm and didn't look at anyone, so she was able to walk through the main hall in a safe and sound way. , walked up the nine steps, and headed for her own seat.

"Miss Ruan, please." The palace maid who led her in bowed, Xue Li took a look, there were only five banquets, and there was a gauze curtain between the first three and the last two. It seemed that the first three were for the banquet. Concubines and emperors, and the last two seats are for princes and concubines.

Her seat was arranged directly to the left of the throne.

A little nervous went over to sit down, A Yao was sitting next to her, A Yuan was too young to be hugged by a wet nurse, so he added a chair and a small table for him behind her side - this arrangement is very good, the banquet Ah Yuan couldn't eat a bite of the food served, and there was a small table just enough to put the food brought to him by the imperial dining room.

"Your Majesty will be here later." The palace maid who led her in said with a downcast smile, "The seat on the right facing the lady is for Concubine Hui. It doesn't matter if you don't know the others, it's not your fault. "

The court lady bowed and retreated after she finished speaking, Xueli sat upright and took a breath slowly, she seemed to be a little calmer, she took a tangerine from the fruit plate, peeled it slowly, and fed it to A Yao piece by piece.

After she finished feeding the orange, Concubine Hui arrived.

Feed another half, Sheng Jia has also arrived.

The whole hall immediately became solemn, Sydney turned his head to look down the ninth step, when the emperor came in, the people who bowed one by one turned into two waves beside the road, and when the emperor walked down the ninth step, the waves It became two low straight lines.

Everyone above the ninth level had already left the table, and they also walked to the side of the road to wait for the ceremony.Ah Yao was already full of surprises at this scene, just as Xue Li squeezed her hand and reiterated halfway what to do, the emperor had already appeared outside the bead curtain in front of the ninth step.

Everyone saluted like a rite, and just got up, still quiet, there was a clear and clear voice: "Father!"

Xue Li: "..." Well, Ah Yao still couldn't hold back.

Dozens of people on the ninth step had different expressions. The emperor glanced at A Yao, beckoned her to pass, and A Yao ran past.

Father is very busy these days!We arrived at Liugeyuan at night!Say a few words to her and run out of time again!Then he stayed with his mother all night!
So Ah Yao wanted to kill her father, she ran over and was hugged by her father, she refused to come down, and sat on his lap, anyway, she was very close to her mother.

Therefore, at this year's New Year's dinner, everyone wanted to laugh.No matter who goes up to toast, you can see a little girl sitting on the emperor's lap, and occasionally feeding the emperor a bite of food...

The alternation of the majesty of the emperor and the image of a loving father is really inexplicable!

Sydney doesn't feel right.Thinking of him as an emperor, with so many outsiders watching, it was a bit disrespectful, but he ate the whole meal comfortably, not only feeding A Yao, but also picking up chopsticks for her from time to time, which made her feel inappropriate again It is inconvenient to say!

At the second quarter of Haishi, the emperor got up and drove to the tower in front of the imperial city to watch fireworks and have fun with the people, accompanied by his clan relatives and officials.

The imperial chariot stopped in front of the gate of the imperial city, and in the night, the imperial guards lined up beside the road were quite imposing.Then the emperor went up to the city tower first, and for a moment the black figure stood still in the vast sky and the light from the torches, and all the people in the city cheered.

"Long live Your Majesty!" The shout from below made Xue Li, who was standing very far back, feel numb in her ears.Ah Yao was excited by this scene, and wanted to go to the front to see it, but felt that it was too high and dared not.A Yuan, on the other hand, was curious and sleepy, staring blankly at her eyes and yawning, obviously not knowing what these adults were doing.

"Long live Your Majesty! A thousand years for His Royal Highness! A thousand years for the Empress!"

I don't know who started it first, but the cheers slowly changed.Sydney was slightly surprised, and turned to the two children and said, "Listen, I wish you New Year's greetings."

After she finished speaking, she looked at the figure from behind.

The orange-yellow light from the torch made the black dress look more solemn. He suddenly turned his head, with nothing visible on his face, but a smile in his eyes: "Come on, Sydney."

She was taken aback.In the darkness, he stretched out his hand to her: "Let the people, take a look at our prince Di Ji."

(End of this chapter)