usatvline Chapter 47 047 The Feast Begins
Chapter 47 047 The Feast Begins
Chapter 47 047 The Feast Begins
With the arrival of the Emperor and Empress, the banquet officially began. The Crown Princess and the two princesses led the young ladies of Ranfang Pavilion to the main hall of Qionglin Garden Palace. After performing the three kowtows and nine bows, they took their seats in accordance with their status.
The atmosphere in the main hall was solemn. The emperor and empress sat high on a white marble throne covered with golden dragons. To their left sat several princes and princesses, led by the crown prince, while to their right sat powerful ministers who had accompanied the emperor. Among them were the current Left Chancellor Gongsun Zhan, Right Chancellor Shi Zhenghan, the three tutors of the crown prince, the ministers of the six ministries, and Marquis Anshi.
The daughters of powerful and influential families invited to this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet were separated by gender and arranged on either side of the dance floor in the center of the main hall. Ye Pianran, as the eldest daughter of Marquis Anshi, was unsurprisingly seated there.
Sitting in the first row, there was an insurmountable gap between him and Ye Yingrou and Ye Bijun.
Feeling the extremely unwilling gazes directed at her from the two people behind her, Ye Pianran calmly picked up the tea on the table, took a small sip, and her gaze swept lightly over Chunyu Jing's face without leaving a trace, a mocking smile curling her lips.
Ye Yingrou went to great lengths to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, presumably hoping to gain the attention of the princes. I wonder if Chunyu Jing will still marry Ye Yingrou as his principal wife in this life?
As if sensing her gaze, Chunyu Jing raised his head and looked in her direction. Ye Pianran was startled and subtly turned her gaze away, only to unexpectedly bump into a gentle and kind face.
The person was looking at her, his eyes filled with undisguised affection and pity. Her hand trembled violently, and tea splashed onto the newly formed red mole on her thumb, burning her heart with a dull ache.
Grandfather... Ran'er has finally seen you again...
Ye Pianran's maternal grandfather, Gongsun Zhan, was the Left Chancellor of the court, ranking first among all officials and possessing countless protégés. He was practically second only to the emperor. However, despite wielding immense power, Chancellor Gongsun was devoted to the country, serving it with unwavering loyalty and never harboring any disloyalty. Yet, this loyal and virtuous minister was ultimately implicated in treason, suffering the fate of having his entire family executed!
In her previous life, because of the injury on her face, she was repeatedly prevented from attending the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet by the old lady, thus missing her last meeting with Prime Minister Gongsun. Now, reborn, how could she not be moved to see her deceased loved ones alive and well before her once again?
Suppressing her tears, Ye Pianran raised her teacup slightly to Prime Minister Gongsun, drank it all in one gulp, and then quickly looked away. But what she saw next to the emperor was an unexpected figure.
Prince Yue, Chunyu Xianfeng! The culprit who, in his previous life, raised an army in rebellion, intending to usurp the throne, ultimately leading to the massacre of the Gongsun clan! Wasn't he in his fiefdom of Chenzhou? Why is he here today? And what about my maternal grandfather—
"...Tonight is the night of the full moon. Qionglin Garden is not the imperial palace, so there are not as many rules as in the imperial palace. My dear ministers, please do not be reserved. Eat and drink to your heart's content!"
The emperor's loud laughter interrupted Ye Pianran's thoughts. The sound of silk and bamboo music followed, and dancers entered in single file, their waists swaying gracefully and their smiles as beautiful as flowers. They were truly a sight to behold.
Having no choice but to put aside her doubts for the time being, Ye Pianran followed the others and raised her cup, offering tea in place of wine to the Emperor, Empress, and other members of the royal family.
As the rich aroma of wine gradually filled the air, the atmosphere in the hall began to warm up. After several rounds of drinks, the slightly tipsy crown prince found the music and dancing rather dull, so he stood up and offered the emperor a suggestion:
"Father, once the Mid-Autumn Festival is over, the autumn imperial examinations will begin. Why don't you set some questions to test the young talents present in advance, to examine their true abilities and to enhance the atmosphere of the banquet?"
"Oh? What do you all think?" the emperor asked his ministers.
"Your Highness's idea is excellent," the Crown Prince's tutor said with a smile, "In the past, when there were banquets in the palace, it was always us old ministers who accompanied His Majesty to drink, but we never had enough fun. Today, we might as well take this opportunity to see the vigor of this young man and make the drinking more enjoyable."
The Empress smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be boring if only men recited poems? Why not let these young ladies from wealthy families participate as well?"
These words were exactly what Marquis Anshi wanted to hear, and he immediately echoed, "Your Majesty the Empress is wise, the Fairy of Qionglin is beautiful, and the young hero is a perfect match for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Everyone thought that Marquis Anshi was trying to give his eldest daughter and eldest son a chance to shine, but only Chunyu Jing, who already knew about Ye Yingrou's background, guessed that things were not so simple.
Chunyu Jing tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, his gaze shifting with interest between Ye Pianran and Ye Yingrou. Interesting, truly interesting. The children of both the principal wife and the concubine were present. Whom exactly was Marquis Anshi paving the way for with this whole affair?