Big Song Xiaohou Ye

Chapter 164 The Queen Mother's Birthday
When the ministers came to the Daqing Hall, they finally found out that something was wrong.Kong Daofu was the Minister of Rites, and he was the first to see the problem.

"This year's Changning Festival, how come the celebration ceremony is the same as the emperor's Qianyuan Festival? Isn't that an arrogance?" Kong Daofu said angrily to his extremely colleagues.In the eyes of these courtiers who are influenced by Confucianism and pay attention to etiquette, the Queen Mother is suspected of seizing the throne by doing this!

In fact, even if Kong Daofu did not say anything about it, everyone would have noticed it, but everyone turned a blind eye, but Kong Daofu said it, and everyone thought they could no longer pretend to ignore it.

"Yuan Lu, the Empress Dowager is celebrating her [-]th birthday this year, so the palace may have been arranged in a grander way for the sake of looking good, but fortunately, the specifications of the ceremony are not the same as those of the Qianyuan Festival. Look at the arrangement of the incense table Are there any things missing?" Ding Wei held Kong Daofu to comfort him.

When everyone saw that the incense table was a little different from the Qianyuan Festival, Kong Daofu looked at Ding Wei coldly, and he could see such small details at a glance. It seems that Ding Wei came up with the idea!

Seeing that the grand ceremony is just around the corner, even if it is withdrawn now, it is too late to replace it, and it must not disturb the Queen Mother's birthday, so Kong Daofu and others had no choice but to shake their heads and give up.

The queen mother's birthday is definitely a major event in the Song Dynasty, especially when Liu E is still listening to politics behind a curtain.Many people racked their brains to prepare gifts in order to make their own unique and attract the Queen Mother's attention.But who is the Queen Mother, and has she never seen any valuables?So if you want to attract the Queen Mother's attention, you have to spend a lot of money!Some people can even lose a year's salary...

But despite this, most officials are still looking forward to the Queen Mother's birthday, why?Because every birthday of the queen mother is a rare treasure tasting meeting, the important officials of the court will present their gifts one by one. Usually, the deacons and eunuchs will read out the content of the gifts on the spot. If the things presented are really amazing enough, everyone will praise them one after another. , the person who gives it will also feel that there is light on the face.Of course, the more important thing is that the Queen Mother remembered you and understood your "filial piety".

There is no order in which the ministers present gifts. Some people’s gifts are not valuable enough, and they are too embarrassed to wait until the end. They often give the gift early. Give out your own gifts in order to stand out from the crowd and attract attention.

But this is also risky. If someone suddenly donates something more precious before you, then it will be meaningless for you to donate it later. The limelight has already been robbed. It is better to take it out earlier, so that you can win eyeball.So presenting gifts is also a subject of knowledge. How to seize the opportunity to present your presents is a test of one's vision.

The ceremony for the Empress Dowager's birthday was held in the Daqing Hall. After the sacrifice, all the ministers sat around the hall and the two corridors outside the hall. All kinds of food were placed in front of everyone, including snacks, dried fruits, and fruits. There are several orders, there are different orders such as the first wine, the second, the third, and the fourth wine, and different delicacies will be served before each wine.

Before the banquet, there is another important link, that is to celebrate the birthday, all the ministers take turns to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday, and the common future is to contribute birthday gifts...

The first person to present the gift was Jiang Zongren, the Minister of Dali Temple. He is a third-rank official. What he presented was a pair of jade bracelets. The other things are worth a lot of money. It seems that Jiang Zongren has also paid a lot of money. This pair of jade bracelets is at least 1000 taels of silver.

I only listened to Lei Yungong's sharp report: Jiang Zongren, Minister of Dali Temple, presented a pair of high-quality jade bracelets.

The queen mother smiled and nodded, and accepted the jade bracelet.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager did not take a closer look at it, Jiang Zongren couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. This pile of jade bracelets was brought back from Dali, Yunnan by someone he entrusted. The Empress Dowager's vision is so high that she can't look down on her at all.

As soon as Jiang Zongren presented the jade bracelet, some people began to scold in their hearts: Jiang Zongren was the first to offer such a gift, so how can I have the nerve to offer such a poor gift?Damn it.

The second person on the list is Zhang Shixun, Deng Guogong's current minister of the province. What he presented is an inkstone, which is square and square. It's still a bit old. Could it be that Deng Guogong just fooled around with that old inkstone?
Lei Yungong was a little dumbfounded, he stared blankly at the old inkstone and was speechless, this...does he have to report: a piece of broken inkstone?
Hussar General Cao Wei was straightforward, he couldn't help but said: "Deng Guogong, what do you mean by getting a broken inkstone?"

Zhang Shixun gave him a look of contempt, and said proudly: "In the eyes of General Cao, this thing is naturally worthless, but in the eyes of those who know the goods, hehe...it is worthless."

"Eunuch Lei, please borrow the inkstone to have a look." Kong Daofu, Minister of Rites, spoke.

Lei Yungong handed the inkstone to Kong Daofu casually, Kong Daofu took it carefully, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, he looked a bit dignified, and tapped the inkstone a few times from time to time to hear the crisp sound.

"Is it necessary for one party to be so dignified? It's better to replace it with another person to present a gift." The general behind Cao Wei complained.

"The knocking is clear and crisp, the sound is like a chime, the ink is like a thump, the ink is like oil, the color is fresh and moist, and it is not damaged. It can be called the top grade of inkstones. If Deng Guogong read it correctly, this inkstone should be a Xu Gongyan, and it was used by Yan Zhenqing." Kong Daofu said while looking at the inkstone in his hand with a smile, shaking his head.

"Yan Zhenqing? Yan Zhenqing, the founder of Yan Ti?" Most of the people sitting here are literati. Who hasn't heard of Yan Zhenqing's name?
"Master Kong, aren't you talking nonsense? Why do you conclude that this inkstone was used by Yan Zhenqing?" Du Yan, the servant of the Ministry of punishment, questioned.

If Mr. Du has studied Yan style, he should know that the inscription "Qingchen" on the bottom of this inkstone is written by Yan Zhenqing.

"Yes, Qingchen is indeed Yan Zhenqing's cousin." Someone nodded.

Du Yan took the inkstone, turned around and looked at it seriously, the corners of his mouth twitched for a while, and sighed: "Sure enough, it's Yan Zhenqing's handwriting. I never thought that Deng Guogong would have such a treasure."

Although Zhang Shixun is old, many things have become indifferent, but he can't help being proud of hearing people praise him. The only hobby in his life is collecting inkstones. This Xu Gongyan inkstone was obtained by chance some time ago. Today, he took this opportunity to dedicate it to the Queen Mother. Let everyone open their eyes.

"Deng Guogong presented Yan Zhenqing's handwriting to Xu Gongyan." Lei Yungong finally understood that this humble broken inkstone was probably worth more than the pair of jadeite bracelets just now.

Liu E listened to what the adults said was amazing, and couldn't help holding it in her hand and looking at it carefully, then she put it back in the wooden box and said with a smile: "Deng Guogong has a heart."

"A broken inkstone, blown so amazingly, isn't it ground?" a general behind Cao Wei murmured.

As soon as he finished speaking, all the civil servants cast contemptuous glances at him. Cao Wei couldn't hold back his face. He turned around and gave that subordinate a hard look. What an idiot, he didn't recognize what kind of broken Yan Zhenqing it was The inkstone is embarrassing enough, and now everyone agrees that the inkstone is very precious, and this idiot is still making a fool of himself here, it is really embarrassing.

"Deng Guogong's inkstone is really good, but it's not practical enough. The Empress Dowager has a lot of things to do every day, so how can she have the time to write and write like you do all day long." Suddenly a solemn voice sounded.

Everyone hurriedly looked for the voice, and it turned out to be Xiao Yuan Wang Zhao Ji.

Since Zhao Ji dared to say that, he must have prepared gifts that he thought were superior to others. All the ministers knew that the gifts he presented were often different, and they could win the Queen Mother's favor every year. I don't know what he has prepared this year .

Seeing that everyone was attracted by him, Zhao Ji walked out slowly and said, "Queen Mother, please accept the congratulatory gift from my minister." After speaking, he took out an extremely small brocade box from his sleeve and handed it to Lei Yungong, Lei Yun Gong carefully took the brocade box, which was only half the size of a palm, held it in the palm of his hand, and handed it to the Queen Mother respectfully.

The Empress Dowager saw that the brocade box was extremely small, and wondered what could be contained in such a small box?pearl?But it was too ordinary... She slowly opened the brocade box, and as soon as the brocade box was opened, a dazzling light flashed out. Liu E was a little surprised, and saw a small grain the size of a corn kernel lying inside. What are those pearl-like things?So crystal dripping, and so dazzling, really beautiful!Liu E couldn't help but took it out. She pinched it with two fingers and raised it up high to look at the sun.

Some ministers were so far away that they couldn't even see what the Queen Mother was holding, but the few ministers in front could see it clearly, and they were also a little surprised. What?Why is it so shiny.

If Li Ce had been present, he would have recognized it at a glance, the grain the size of a corn kernel turned out to be a big diamond!

"Ji'er, what is this?" Liu E asked lovingly.

"Queen Mother, I bought this item from a merchant in Tianzhu. It is called a diamond. It is so hard that you can even scratch marks on it! It is as bright as a star." Zhao Ji boasted proudly.

The Queen Mother heard that if these beautiful diamonds could be made into stud earrings, they would be very bright and beautiful. Beauty is the nature of all women, and Liu E is no exception even though she is old.

Zhao Zhen was secretly impatient, Xiao Yuan Wang Zhao Ji was really prepared, he had to admit that this diamond was indeed very beautiful, even he liked it very much at first sight, the queen mother couldn't put it down now.What's worse is that my gift hasn't arrived yet!
Zhao Jijin presented the diamond, which instantly ignited the climax of the whole celebration. Everyone who saw it couldn't help admiring secretly. Although some ministers in the back didn't see the so-called "diamond" with their own eyes, they heard the amazing stories told by colleagues in front of them. , I secretly admire Zhao Ji's methods.

Those ministers who hadn't brought in the presents originally wanted to wait for the opportunity to show off their treasures, but now that they saw Zhao Ji's diamonds, they lost all confidence, and everyone hurriedly offered presents.

Since the queen mother received the diamond, she has lost interest in other people's various Minggui calligraphy and paintings, jewelry and other things, and she just smiled symbolically when someone offered it.

This lasted for a cup of tea, and finally the number of people presenting gifts gradually decreased. At this time, only a long-standing voice said loudly: "Weichen Ding said that there is a gift for the Queen Mother."

(End of this chapter)