Chapter 372 The Full Moon Banquet

Chapter 372 The Full Moon Banquet

"You’re such a chatterbox!" Xiaoyue chided, then she took along two maids, holding her daughter, and headed to the banquet hall with Liu Ru Shi.

The full moon banquet was held in Zhenyue Palace, which, compared to Ruo Xi Baby's, was quite shabby.

However, since it was organized by Huang Lide, the Empress, though resentful, kept her thoughts to herself.

As Xiaoyue approached Zhenyue Palace, she caught a snippet of conversation.

"Isn’t it obvious? The Imperial Grand Princess’s full moon banquet was so lavish, but this one is downright shabby!"

"Exactly! The Emperor dotes on the Princess Royal. It’s said that after the Little Princess was born, the Emperor only visited twice, gave the Empress a quick glance, and left without even looking at the child!"

"Poor child..."

The group's voices trailed off.

Dong Ju stepped forward with a soft cough.

Immediately, several women stepped out from behind the rockery, all dressed in noble attire, their husbands likely held court positions.

Xiaoyue recognized two of them, from the Minister of Revenue’s household, and another from the Imperial Household Department, who also held a third-rank title, wearing her official robes today.

"Hail the Princess Royal!" The noblewomen knelt and paid their respects to Xiaoyue.

"Hmph, gossiping about royal matters in the palace, come, each of you will receive two slaps!" Xiaoyue turned and said to Hongmei and Dong Ju.

Hongmei and Dong Ju responded immediately, stepping forward.

Together, they raised their hands, left and right, the noblewomen didn’t dare speak, resist, or dodge, and were slapped until their faces were red and marked with clear handprints.

Xiaoyue carried the child into the grand hall, where many court officials were already present, including the Empress, who had gained some weight and looked paler. She watched Xiaoyue enter, the child in her arms clad in luxurious attire, and the one-of-a-kind headpiece on her head, which only deepened Lin Rou’s distress.

When she was young, Lin Rou had heard the Empress Dowager say that this headpiece was unique in the Great Wei Empire, and thus, she would eventually bestow it upon the woman she deemed most worthy.

Lin Rou thought that since she had become the Empress and had borne a son for Xiao Yin, the Empress Dowager would surely give her the headpiece.

However, she never expected that after all these years, the Empress Dowager had never mentioned it, and recently, she had even had the headpiece resized and given it to this little girl.

Speaking of which, this girl shouldn’t even bear the surname Xiao.

She is the daughter of that Shangguan Jinghong, so...

The Empress suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Huang Lide.

Huang Lide was in charge of organizing this full moon banquet, but with servants handling the details, he acted like a host, mingling with the officials, a sight that made the Imperial Tutor and some upright court officials frown and stand aloof.

"Hail Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, hail Her Royal Highness the Imperial Grand Princess!" Many rose and paid their respects to the two princesses.

"Rise!" Xiaoyue looked at Lin Rou on the throne and stepped forward, saying, "Sister-in-law, you've worked hard!"

"Yue'er, you're here!" Lin Rou forced a smile and said.

"Yes, I had some matters to attend to, so I'm late!" Xiaoyue nodded.

"Not late, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager haven't arrived yet," Lin Rou said, with a hint of resentment in her voice.

"Oh," Xiaoyue nodded, then turned with Liu Ru Shi to look at the child.

Xiao Tao was holding the child. When Xiao Ruoxi and Liu Ru Shi went to see her, she made an excuse and carried the child away, which made Liu Ru Shi very angry.

"I heard this little girl was brought by Huang Lide, even the wet nurse was, and..." Liu Ru Shi whispered beside Xiao Ruoxi.

"Hmm, let’s wait. The emperor is coming!" Xiao Ruoxi glanced back and then said, "Let's sit down!"

"The Little Princess is so beautiful!"

"Wow, the Little Princess’s outfit is stunning!"

"The Little Princess is even more beautiful than a fairy!"

"The Little Princess is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen!"

The noblewomen kept praising Ruo Xi Baby. They gazed at her with admiration.

And Ruo Xi Baby responded with sweet smiles.

These aunties are so kind and sweet, and they don’t seem to have any ill intentions.

The emperor arrived with the Empress Dowager, and beside him were Xiao Ruoxi and two sons.

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor!"

Everyone stood up and bowed to them.

"Rise, everyone," the emperor said.

The Empress Dowager approached, and the empress stood to pay her respects.

"You’ve just recovered from childbirth, so sit down and rest. No need for formalities," the Empress Dowager said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lin Rou stood up and slowly walked to the side to sit down.

The Empress Dowager waved Jingyu over to sit beside her.

Xiao Ruilin had a seat, sitting with her two brothers on the side of the princes.

But Mo Jingyu did not.

He didn’t want to come today, as the Wei royal banquet had little to do with him.

But the Empress Dowager insisted he come.

Huang Lide didn’t arrange a seat for him, so the Empress Dowager called him over to sit next to her.

"Xiao Xi'er!" the Empress Dowager asked, "Where’s her outer robe?"

"Mother Empress, Xier felt hot and took it off," Xiao Ruoxi replied.

The court fell silent, noticing the Empress Dowager’s favoritism toward the Imperial Grand Princess.

Ruo Xi Baby giggled at the Empress Dowager.

"A Jin, bring Xier here," the Empress Dowager said.

"Your Majesty, the banquet has commenced," Huang Lide stood up and said.

"And who might you be?" the Empress Dowager asked.

"Your subordinate, Huang Lide!" said Huang Lide.

"General Huang, you were a military officer before, weren’t you? It seems you’re not quite up to speed on the protocols. Emperor, how could you entrust such an important banquet to a military officer? Do you have no one else in the court? Has the Imperial Household Department become so useless?" the Empress Dowager reprimanded.

In the grand banquet hall, everyone fell silent, not daring to make a sound. The Empress Dowager was clearly making a veiled criticism.

"Mother, General Huang once saved your daughter-in-law. Since then, I have had more interactions with the Huang family. This time, when the child had no nanny, it was General Huang who helped, and he was very attentive," the Empress said.

"How is it that I didn’t know about these things? I must truly be getting old," the Empress Dowager sighed.