bookrebus Chapter 308: Great Favor
Chapter 308: Great Favor
Luo Li was strolling back and forth in the yard holding her big belly. She finally understood how difficult it was to be a mother. The ten months of pregnancy was very hard, but in order to ensure a smooth delivery, she had to get rid of the lazy bug and exercise more diligently.
The palace was decorated with lights and pairs of big red lanterns were hung high under the eaves. Two servants were busy pasting Spring Festival couplets, and the red window paper-cuts cut by the deft Yingchun were also pasted on the bright windows.
Yes, it is a bright window. After being able to make glass mirrors, Luo Li generously replaced the window paper in Ningxin Garden with bright glass. Living in a bright house makes people feel happy and bright.
When the young emperor Zhao Wuji found out, he pestered his aunt to replace the windows of his imperial study and bedroom with glass. He had to show respect to his mother, and he also had to show respect to his mother. He couldn't favor Empress Dowager Zhaoning and Princess Yongqing, so the glass workshop, which had increased its production, had no glass mirrors to sell for more than half a month.
Regent Zhao Defang was so busy that he could only come back at night. He had to personally handle the preparation of war materials and important government affairs. Today was the New Year, and he could finally rest at home and accompany the princess for the whole day.
"Li'er, you've been walking for half an hour. It's time to go inside and lie down and rest for a while." Zhao Defang, who had just returned from the front yard, came over to support his beloved wife and said with concern.
"Let's go! Back to the house, it's getting dark, time to eat the New Year's Eve dinner." Luo Li felt a little more relaxed and comfortable with his long arms around her waist.
The Empress Dowager originally wanted her son and daughter-in-law to come to the palace to eat the New Year's Eve dinner together, so that the family could gather together to celebrate the New Year's Eve, but Zhao Defang refused. It was too hard for the princess to go to the palace with a big belly, so it was better for her to be comfortable at home.
There were sounds of firecrackers outside, and two tables of sumptuous New Year's Eve dinners were set up in the main hall of Ning Xinyuan.
Today, the princess specifically instructed that everyone in Ning Xinyuan should have the New Year's Eve dinner together to make it more festive and lively.
Ruhua Siyu, Tingting and the other two were refusing to sit at the same table with the prince, while Yingchun and the other three did not dare to sit at the same table with the prince and princess.
Yuli was the brave one. She called a few younger brothers and sisters and sat at the main table with confidence.
The Ghost Hand Poison Doctor praised: "Yu Li is simple-minded and neither humble nor arrogant. The prince is also a man with a nose and two eyes. What's there to be afraid of?"
"Brother Ghost Hand, are you saying that I am stupid but brave?" Yu Li glared at the Ghost Hand Poison Doctor with dissatisfaction.
Zhao Defang also rolled his eyes at his uncle, "If you can't speak, just shut up. No one will think you're dumb."
The ghost-handed poison doctor gave him a glare and said, "You little bastard, you wish for it. If you shut up, how are you going to eat all the food on the table?"
The prince and his uncle exchanged a few words in a very humane manner, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became relaxed and lively.
Mu Xiu went to the farm in the west of the city to reunite with his parents. Wu Ji had to spend the New Year in the palace since he became the emperor. Yu Li, Ni Shan'er, Meng Qian, Meng Xue and Ping'er became the five little darlings in Ning Xin Yuan. They received one lucky money after another, and their faces flushed with joy. They kept saying happy New Year greetings. …
The young emperor Zhao Wuji sat between the Empress Dowager and his mother, looking serious and glancing at the concubines and princes and princesses below.
He was a little unhappy. It was really boring to spend the New Year with these somewhat strange and fake royal relatives. It would be better if the emperor's uncle and aunt could come. They were relatives with whom he could joke and laugh without any scruples.
Another dish of cherry meat was brought up by the palace maid. Wu Ji took a bite and tasted it, then ordered, "This cherry meat is sweet and sour and delicious. It suits the taste of the imperial aunt. Give it to the Regent Palace as a gift."
The eunuch Liu Cheng'an, who was standing respectfully beside him, responded immediately and ordered the eunuchs and guards to ride fast horses to the Regent's Palace to serve the cherry meat.
During the New Year’s Eve dinner, there is a custom that the emperor gives dishes to his ministers, and those who receive this honor are ministers whom the emperor values.
A dish of stir-fried phoenix tongue was served. Before the little emperor even tasted it, he hurriedly ordered, "This stir-fried phoenix tongue is extremely rare. The imperial aunt will definitely like it. Quickly give the dish to the regent's palace."
After Liu Cheng'an gave instructions to the eunuchs and guards waiting outside, the corners of his mouth twitched. This was the sixth group of people to present food to the Regent's Palace.
Empress Dowager Zhaoning smiled and praised her son, "Your Majesty, whenever you eat delicious food, you think of your aunt. Your aunt loves you well."
The little emperor finally showed a cute smile, "Mother, the Queen Mother will think of me when she has something delicious."
The Empress Dowager looked at her grandson lovingly and praised him repeatedly, "Your Majesty is a man who knows how to repay kindness and values friendship. He has the bearing and demeanor of a wise ruler."
The following widows of the late emperor and the noble concubines also echoed and praised the emperor's benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and trustworthiness.
Concubine Li also smiled against her will and followed the compliment, but the smile did not reach her eyes. In her heart, she angrily cursed the silly princess, wondering what kind of love potion she had given the little emperor to trick him into being more filial than her own son?
During the dinner, someone talked about the glass mirrors and windows that the Princess Regent had tinkered with, and everyone burst into praise, praising the Princess Regent for her extreme intelligence, countless wonderful ideas, and the wonders and preciousness of perfumes and glass mirrors.
Hearing everyone praising the imperial aunt's intelligence and the wonderful things she had tinkered with, the little emperor Zhao Wuji's face was filled with more and more smiles.
Concubine Li was so angry and upset that she couldn't eat. Several bedrooms in the palace had luxuriously installed those wonderful glass mirrors as window paper, but she didn't even get a small mirror. The silly princess was really going too far!
When the King of Xiang saw his mother's ugly face, he whispered in the King of Chu's ear, "Brother, I want to buy a small glass mirror for my mother, so that she won't get sick from jealousy."
The King of Chu smiled faintly, "The An Xiang Xi Ren perfume shop is out of stock, where can you buy it? Tomorrow you go to the Regent Palace to pay New Year's greetings to your brother, and ask the Queen's wife for one to give to your mother to show your filial piety!"
King Xiang nodded obediently, "Yes! I will go to the Queen's wife to apologize on behalf of my mother. The Queen's wife will be relieved and she will definitely give me a small mirror as she is a generous person."
There were a total of thirty-six dishes in the palace New Year's Eve dinner. The only dish the little emperor gave to his grandfather's Cheng Mansion was a perfunctory steamed fish, and he gave twelve dishes to the Regent's Mansion. This favor and honor can be recorded in history.
Poor Manager Liu, his mouth corners twitched and it became a habit that he could not change. Even when he was sleeping at night, the corners of his mouth would twitch from time to time.