The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 1557 - 1554: Is This Really Something a Father Would Do?
Now, in other families, it is the mother-in-law who brings along the daughter-in-law, followed by a glittering entourage, bustling and lively.
Here at the Duke Weiguo Residence, Song Hong sat alone in the front, and Lady Gao joined him after she came in, sitting beside him.
Behind them on a few small tables sat only the two brothers, Song Chongjun and Song Chongzhao, who, due to their minor official positions, managed to secure places behind Song Hong.
Behind Lady Gao was a long table, which remained empty.
Anyone with keen eyes could tell that this was prepared for Wang Yongzhu, the wife of the heir-apparent.
As everyone settled down, the officials and the ladies of the outer court had mostly arrived, engaging in polite small talk with their neighboring colleagues.
Up front, those concubines who were out of favor had already taken their seats early on.
The empty seats were reserved for the favored concubines, the princess consorts, and the Empress Dowager and Emperor.
The ladies sitting next to Lady Gu and Lady Gao gathered around, softly offering congratulations, filled with envy.
Lady Gu remained modest, claiming it was due to the deep blessings of the Imperial Noble Consort and the Little Prince, under the Emperor’s grace, rather than Wang Yongzhu’s merit.
Lady Gao, forcing herself to maintain composure, kept glancing towards the hall’s entrance, scrutinizing each group as they entered.
For a long while, there was no sign of Wang Yongzhu.
Just as she was being pulled into conversation, Lady Gao withdrew her gaze only to notice the hall had quieted down, and the madam speaking to her stopped talking, staring straight at the entrance.
Lady Gao quickly turned her head to see Wang Yongzhu, wearing a crimson outfit, moving with a flowing aura at the hem of her skirt. Her hair adorned with a few exquisite hairpins, especially the Five-Phoenix Pearl Hairpin, with a pearl held in the mouth of one phoenix, as big as a thumb, shining brightly.
This pearl was a tribute from vassal state, extremely rare.
It was said that after the Emperor received these tributes, he first offered ten to the Empress Dowager, then granted one each to the concubines who had borne princes, and the rest were all given to the Imperial Noble Consort.
Even among the concubines, such pearls were carefully treasured and seldom brought out.
Only the Imperial Noble Consort had made jewelry out of those pearls to wear, which at the time aroused considerable envy.
Little did anyone expect, the Imperial Noble Consort even bestowed such a pearl to Wang Yongzhu!
Those able to mingle in the hall were no fools, merely judging from Wang Yongzhu’s attire and the two palace maids dressed as maids behind her, they understood.
As she walked in, whether familiar or not, anyone who met Wang Yongzhu’s eyes smiled and nodded in recognition.
Were it not inappropriate to act rashly in the palace, someone might have approached to get close to Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu had already inquired about the seating of the Gu Family, so she walked straight forward to greet Gu Changqing and Lady Gu.
Lady Gu, seeing that Wang Yongzhu looked well, felt truly reassured, holding her hand but not daring to ask much, only inquiring about her well-being and that of the Imperial Noble Consort and her son.
Wang Yongzhu answered honestly.
Gu Changqing first noted that Wang Yongzhu was fine, and while listening to her talk to Lady Gu, caught the displeased gaze of Song Hong diagonally across.
This was in the palace, and she went to the Gu Family first, what about the prestige of the Song Family and him?
But Song Hong knew that he couldn’t control Wang Yongzhu, this daughter-in-law.
Besides, with the Imperial Noble Consort as her backing now, he still felt a bit guilty about previously considering dismissing her.
Therefore, though his expression was not pleasant, upon meeting Gu Changqing’s gaze, he managed to force a smile and raise his wine cup.
Gu Changqing also smiled and lifted his cup in acknowledgment.
He then turned and said, "Alright, won’t there be plenty to talk about after returning home? Go and sit over there; after all, this is within the palace, maintain your dignity!"
Wang Yongzhu, maintaining decorum, excused herself and turned towards Song Hong and Lady Gao.
She first paid her respects, Song Hong struggled to keep a stern face, while Lady Gao grasped Wang Yongzhu’s hand, pulling her to sit beside her, and quietly inquired.
She mainly asked if she had suffered any grievances, the situation of the Imperial Noble Consort and her son, and how yesterday’s delivery went.
Wang Yongzhu, having her doubts about Lady Gao, naturally did not speak the truth.
She only whispered, "Thank you, Madam, for your concern. Everything is fine with Yongzhu. The Imperial Noble Consort and her son are also safe, and although the delivery was challenging, it went smoothly in the end..."
She said no more, though Lady Gao wanted to ask more, Wang Yongzhu merely pointed to the two palace maids behind her.
Lady Gao immediately stopped asking questions.
Bai Su stepped forward and said, "Wife of the Heir-Apparent, please sit here, it’s specially reserved for you!" With that, she guided Wang Yongzhu to sit behind the long table prepared behind Lady Gao.
On the long table were already placed several fruit plates and snacks, with a pot of plum blossom wine.
After Wang Yongzhu sat down for a short while, the food and wine flowed to her table seamlessly.
Unlike what was served on other tables, the dishes prepared for Wang Yongzhu were light and easy to digest, appearing refreshing.
Other tables had rich, heavy dishes which had long since turned cold, with a layer of congealed fat on top.
Either it was using hot water for half a day, losing all its flavor, or the stewed dishes were cold.
The dish in front of her wasn’t just steaming hot, looking like it had just come out of the pot, but even what she drank wasn’t plum wine, but steaming hot red date honey water.
The people around weren’t blind; they had long noticed this difference.
The men didn’t mind so much, but the officials’ wives were extremely envious.
This treatment was even higher than that of the princes and concubines.
You should know, at banquets like these, apart from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and a few high-ranking concubines’ tables, everyone else had the same dishes, looking good but not tasty.
Everyone was just putting on a show, eating some cold dishes and taking a couple of sips of wine to make do.
Bai Su quietly said to Wang Yongzhu’s ear, "Don’t worry, Wife of the Heir-Apparent, this is made in the small kitchen of our Changchun Palace. The Noble Consort instructed it, seeing as you worked hard yesterday and didn’t have much this morning. If you want anything, just tell this maid."
Wang Yongzhu smiled and didn’t stand on ceremony.
Just having a couple of bites, a chamberlain reported the arrival of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager.
Immediately, everyone in the hall got up, then knelt down to respectfully welcome the two into the hall.
After a bit of chaos, everyone sat back down.
It was Wang Yongzhu’s first time seeing the Empress Dowager and other concubines from the harem.
The Empress Dowager was already old, her hair half grey, but she looked kindly and benevolent.
But in this palace, could anyone who rose to the position of Empress Dowager truly be kind and benevolent?
Most of the other high-ranking concubines were also aged, though well-maintained, they were in their thirties or forties.
However, you could still see the beauty of their youth in their brows and eyes.
Among those with neither high nor low positions, there were a few who were young and beautiful.
The Emperor had been in power for over twenty years, and compared to the previous Emperor, he didn’t have many concubines, only a dozen or so. Except for the Imperial Noble Consort, the rest had all come today.
A variety of beauties, some plump, some slender, each with their own charm.
The Emperor first gave a speech, which had not changed much these years, always filled with positive meanings.
Then he announced the start of the banquet, and after a toast, everyone sat down again.
According to tradition, now would be the time for a performance or something, and then everyone would proceed to offer toasts to the Emperor.
Everyone was accustomed to this process and had prepared themselves.
The leading princes had already silently rehearsed the toasting words in their minds, for fear of accidentally saying the wrong word, which could be disastrous.
But who would have known, today, the Emperor did something different from before.
He stood up and delightedly announced that early today, the Imperial Noble Consort successfully gave birth to a son, both mother and son were safe.
The newly born little prince was the ninth in line, called the Ninth Prince.
He had already chosen a name for the Ninth Prince, conferring the name, Dan.
Dan, meaning bright. From the sun, representing a new day. One, means earth. All of Dan’s meanings derive from Dan.
It’s an inherently auspicious character, furthermore, the Ninth Prince was born on New Year’s Day, also known as Yuandan.
Yuan, means beginning.
Some clever people thought of many things from this name.
At the very least, the elder princes’ faces didn’t look too good at the moment.
The officials below were also glancing at each other.
Not to mention the meaning of this name, but the Emperor hurriedly naming the Ninth Prince on this occasion had an extraordinary significance.
They were all old foxes; they needed to mull over the Emperor’s words several times even when there was nothing at stake, let alone at a time like this. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Only Wang Yongzhu was stunned.
There was nothing wrong with naming the Ninth Prince Dan, but know that the royal surname was Ji, meaning the Ninth Prince’s full name was Ji Dan.
Ji Dan? Egg?
Adding to that his title as the Ninth Prince, Jiu Huang? Garlic chives?
Garlic chives with eggs?
Is this something a father would do?
