20demayo Chapter 148
Chapter 148
"these are not edible; they are very sharp. this afternoon, a few little eunuchs didn't believe it and insisted on trying. now they are hiding in their rooms, each with a bleeding mouth."0
it's not good to appear at such a festive palace banquet with injuries on your face. it would offend the nobles, and you could lose your life.0
xiao xuanzi nodded: "then i'll leave now. i'll tell the empress later."0
tell her what?0
of course, that chief steward gao cooperated fully and found the hardest crabs to eat among thousands.0
"lord jiang..."0
xiao xuanzi walked into the smoke-filled "battlefield" with a smile, seemingly unaware of lady pei's anger, and placed four plates of peeled crab meat in front of jiang xinyan, jiang junze, jiang yunxia, and jiang yuncai.0
"the emperor said this year's crab meat is particularly plump and asked me to bring an extra serving for the young masters and mistresses to enjoy."0
jiang yuncai swallowed and whispered in her sister's ear, "really? i just ate a few more bites, and the emperor noticed? the emperor dotes on cousin yue too much!"0
the emperor didn't notice what they liked to eat.0
it was clearly because he favored cousin yue that he wanted to take care of her family.0
no one present... no one would have thought that this crab meat was not a reward from the emperor but just jiang xinyue bluffing.0
would the rewarded person dare to ask the emperor, "did you really give me crab meat?"0
lady pei's face turned pale. she looked at the xuanwu emperor at the head of the table, only to see his eyes always glancing at concubine zhen. concubine zhen's eyes... why were they always staring at her?0
she felt a moment of guilt, fearing that concubine zhen would cause her trouble.0
"is it just for us, or do others have it too?"0
jiang yankun, feeling a bit like lin daiyu, said sarcastically, "does miss pei not have any?"0
a woman in her thirties being called "miss pei" so righteously made lady pei almost die of shame and anger.0
every "miss pei" reminded everyone present of how she immediately divorced prime minister song and returned to the pei family with her dowry when something happened in the song family.0
yes, she didn't leave a penny for prime minister song, disregarding his life and death, and directly ran away with the money.0
xiao xuanzi looked at lady pei, the corners of his mouth rising: "how could miss pei be left out? the emperor couldn't attend minister pei of the privy council's sixtieth birthday and felt regretful, so he asked me to bring two crabs for miss pei."0
lady pei's face lit up with joy, feeling proud: "my father is the minister of the privy council, a close minister to the emperor. how could the emperor forget me? you all..."0
"miss pei, please—"0
the xuanwu emperor had been unhappy tonight until he saw this smile.0
but now, seeing concubine zhen's relaxed and joyful smile infected him, making him unconsciously smile too.0
in his eyes, everything lost its color. the area around concubine zhen was a blur, only she was clearly imprinted in his eyes, vibrant and beautiful.0
the surrounding noise disappeared in an instant, and even concubine zhen's every move became slow motion, replaying in his mind over and over.0
she was so beautiful, so cute.0
not because of her appearance, but because the xuanwu emperor felt she was genuinely beautiful inside, making him want to get closer, indulge her, and give her the best of everything.0
he was doomed!0
he was falling for concubine zhen's smile!0
wasn't it just a piece of clothing?0
if she gave it to the empress, so be it!0
maybe she didn't like the pattern!0
he would make her a new one next time.0
empress zhu, sitting beside him, felt the emperor's sudden happiness most directly.0
she turned to look, and the xuanwu emperor withdrew his gaze from concubine zhen without a trace, looking puzzled at empress zhu: "what's wrong? does the empress have something to say?"0
empress zhu smiled and shook her head: "your majesty, i was too impulsive the other day, not considering your dignity. now that the old year is about to pass, let's leave all the unpleasantness in the old year and move into the new year together, shall we?"0
fenyun was right. even if not for herself, she had to think more for the fifth prince.0
the xuanwu emperor held her hand: "i'm glad the empress thinks this way. this is the meaning of the new year's banquet."0
the ministers were also very pleased to see the emperor and empress in harmony. it seemed that the rumors of discord between the emperor and empress were false.0
if they were at odds, how could they wear such matching clothes representing love?0
look at the flowers on the empress's dress, clinging to the vines on the emperor's robe, clearly showing great thought.0
jiang xinyue watched the emperor and empress, also smiling.0
but her smile was much more meaningful.0
sometimes, the more estranged a couple is, the more they will deliberately show affection in public.0