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Chapter 46 The Pear Blossom Banquet
The next day, Yuan Jing kept her word and she did not come to Bixiao Palace. Instead, went to the Changxin Palace of Concubine Hongshu.
Wu Jie breathed a sigh of relief, but on the third day, someone wandered over again.
Wu Jie was helpless, her legs were on the emperor's body, and she could still tie them to prevent people from coming over. Fortunately, Yuan Jing was quite modest, and she didn't come too often, maintaining a frequency of once a day.
In this way, after the beginning of spring, Wu Jie became the rookie concubine of Great Wei's harem, and the number of welcomes was second only to Empress Gao and Concubine Hongshu.
Wu Jie can barely accept this situation.
But another person in Bixiao Palace couldn't accept it.
The two noble concubines who entered the palace together will inevitably be compared.
Lu Pingting, a talented woman specially recruited by the emperor, thought she must be unparalleled in grace, but who knew that the emperor threw it aside after meeting her, and became a bitter woman in the palace. Instead, Wu Guibin, the mascot, was unexpectedly favored.
"Miss, look, the flowers delivered to our palace this morning are really outrageous." Shan Fang complained.
Two little girls carried a large black lacquered tray with gold patterns, which were filled with various seasonal flowers, piled to the brim, pink peonies, thick purple rhododendrons, gorgeous camellias, all in full bloom, some with With the morning dew.
Every morning, the flower room in the palace will collect fresh flowers of various colors and send them to the concubine for grooming. The ones sent to Lu Pingting still look fresh and bright on the surface, but a discerning eye can tell that the quality is not as good as before.
Because they are all seasonal flowers that are blooming right now, and there are a lot of these flowers in the yard. Rare flowers were bred in the really strange greenhouses, but none of them were seen.
"You don't have the white magnolia and silver string begonias that the miss called yesterday, and they will be worn at the banquet tomorrow." Shan Fang rummaged through them and said angrily.
The little girl carrying the flowers shrank her neck and said, "The steward who came to deliver the flowers just now said that there are not many silver string begonias left, and the white magnolias are not blooming well. I am afraid that I will stain the eyes of the nobles. There are a few white peonies. He and Bai Qiangwei are blooming well, please use it as soon as you can."
"What do you mean by making do with it? Just use these crude goods to prevaricate our master."
"That's right. Just now, I watched them send to the East Wu Guipin's flower plate, and there are several silver string begonia flowers."
The maids were filled with righteous indignation and scolded these snobbish slaves.
No wonder they refused to accept it. Just last month, the things sent to Bixiao Palace were still selected by the West Palace. Now the feng shui has turned upside down.
"Those flowers are rare, so naturally we have to pick them up first." Lu Pingting just smiled at the maids' anger, and raised her hand to pick up a pure white rose flower, kneading it vigorously, There was a trace of coolness in his eyes.
The wind is sunny and the spring is beautiful.
As the weather got warmer, the emperor withdrew his previous orders to criticize the generals of the Yelan Country, and the Queen Mother's condition eased. At least Wu Jie and the others don't have to wait on the sick.
In the garden behind Changxin Palace, there is a large forest of pear blossoms, which are in full bloom like snowflakes in the spring.
On this day, Concubine Hongshu served as the host, inviting all the sisters in the harem to enjoy pear blossoms at Fubiting.
The life in the harem is so boring, every day has nothing to do, visit the garden today, and have a banquet tomorrow.
Wu Jie walked in the pear blossom forest with Chi Rui, looking around, the white pistils were piled up like new snow, or hanging like beads, when a gust of wind passed, the white and tender petals fell alone, the snow was delicate and beautiful.
Wu Jie chose the ones with clear and plump petals and picked dozens of them. Chi Rui raised the basket behind and put the collected flowers into the basket.
Seeing that the flowers in the basket were pointing out and they were almost picked, Wu Jie clapped her hands and walked back with Chi Rui.
In the Fubi Pavilion, most of the concubines have already returned, one by one are chatting in the corridor, or enjoying the scenery nearby, and two are painting on the table under the flower tree.
There are more than a dozen tables in the wide corridor, which are filled with various fruit snacks and drinks.
Since it is a pear blossom banquet, the drinks are naturally pear blossom white, and the desserts are also pear blossom shaped or related to pears. It is rare that the small kitchen of Changxin Palace can gather so many kinds.
There is a huge copper stove in the center of the pavilion. The flames in the stove are dancing, licking the copper pot and sizzling, and a sweet smell escapes.
Several young maids were watching from the side, and when they saw Wu Jie coming back, they smiled and saluted and said, "Wu Guibi is definitely back, and I'm just waiting for your basket of flowers."
Wu Jie stepped forward and handed over the flowers picked in the basket,
The little maid next to her rummaged through it and poured it into the copper pot.
In today's banquet, there is a link of making scented tea. The concubines personally pick the plump and round pear blossoms in the forest, and send them to this copper pot for steaming.
This copper pot is not an ordinary object either. It is as tall as a person, and the whole body is full of purple light. It looks like a boy holding a wine glass on the outside. , the steaming heat passes through the winding corridors, passes through the winding flowers, and finally forms clear water droplets, dripping from the wine glass in the palm of the boy, with a fragrant fragrance.
Wu Jie also had a copper pot when she was in Dongyue. It was a popular thing from South Chen, and it was specially used for steaming fresh scented tea. Unlike before, fresh flowers or dried flowers were directly steamed in a teapot. The scented tea steamed in this copper pot is fresh and clear, with a tangy aroma, light and elegant. Once it came out, it quickly became popular among the rich and powerful. The old-fashioned steamed scented tea was gradually despised as vulgar by the powerful family, so Lu Pingting's behavior in the Phoenix Rite Palace before attracted so much ridicule.
Over the years, people in South Chen have enjoyed a prosperous life and abundant products, and various new things have emerged among the nobles in the court. They are the objects of imitation for the world's rich and powerful. Even the imperial palace of the Great Wei Dynasty, from incense to clothing, has been greatly influenced by it.
Wu Jie handed over the collected pear blossoms and came to the corridor.
The concubines are gossiping. Lin Zhaoyuan saw Wu Jie, looked at the flower corolla woven from silver strings of begonias on her head, and said with a smile, "You use the flowers so ingeniously, they are more flexible than our hairpins."
Today's Pear Blossom Banquet is also very particular. All the concubines wore white-based palace attire, which were either embroidered or batik, with gorgeous patterns. On the jet-black bun, no pearls and jade jewelry were worn, all silver and white flowers.
On top of Lin Zhaoyuan's head was a hairpin made of six white jasmines. Pure white is taboo in the palace. A few strokes of bright red were painted on the petals, which seemed to be mixed with gold powder, shining brightly in the sun. Paired with her long skirt with silver dark lines and red trim, her whole body exuded a kind of freshness.
On Wu Jie's head, she wove a corolla with silver string begonias, sprinkled with gold leaf, and she was already extremely beautiful, looking as graceful and moving as a fairy in the forest.
Wu Jie smiled at Lin Zhaoyuan's ridicule, "Ms. Zhaoyuan is being polite."
She found a place to sit down. After getting along these days, everyone knew that Wu Jie had a dull personality, and she had no roots in the local area, so everyone treated her with superficial affection and no closeness.
Seeing that the crowd is divided into two or three groups, each talking about their favorite topics, nothing more than those clothes and jewelry.
On the contrary, Lu Pingting and another young talent are painting at the table, which is more quiet and beautiful.
Dou Cairen looked at the picture of pear blossoms drawn by Lu Pingting, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that my mother's painting skills are so superb, and she really has a long history of family education."
"There are a lot of talented people in the palace, Dou Cairen should not say that, I am ashamed of it." Lu Pingting laughed.
Not long after, the two put away their brushes, went back to the corridor, and joined the conversation.
Xia Guiren rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Your concubine will drink two more cups of flower water later. I have heard that you like drinking these scented teas."
This is to bring up Lu Pingting's past in Phoenix Rite Palace again.
Xia Guiren lived in the Concubine Hongshu Palace. Her father was the magistrate of Wenzhou, a member of the Hong family, and was able to sit in her current position only through the recommendation of Prime Minister Hong, so as soon as Xia Guiren entered the palace, Concubine Hongshu was the only one to look after her. Knowing that Concubine Hongshu hated Lu Pingting, she would step on her feet from time to time.
Lu Pingting's face turned red. Now that she is out of favor, a little nobleman can make fun of her at will.
"I want to drink two more glasses." She clenched the veil tightly and said with a smile, "I heard that the flower dew in Concubine Shu's palace is different from other places, and it is extra sweet."
She was so resigned, Xia Guiren couldn't continue to say anything.
Not long after, Empress Gao also arrived, and the banquet officially began.
All the concubines entered the table according to their positions, and the maids of the palace served fine wine and delicacies like flowing water.
Before drinking, the court lady first served the steamed flower dew in a white porcelain urn, and poured it into the white jade cups in front of each concubine.
A light aroma lingered over the banquet.
Concubine Hongshu raised his cup and said with a smile, "Since I'm the host of the palace today, I'll take over for a while, first respect to all the sisters, empresses, don't blame me for presumptuousness."
Empress Gao nodded, "To enjoy the flowers today, you don't have to worry about your status, just have fun together."
While speaking, he also raised his cup, and the concubines naturally responded to everything.
Wu Jie looked at the amber-clear and crystal-clear toilet water in the cup, it was indeed more pure than ordinary scented tea.
Li Chongrong next to him praised, "It's such a sweet and mellow taste. The scented tea that is steamed like this doesn't have a trace of fireworks."
"This copper furnace is indeed well-designed. No wonder people say that South Chen's mechanism is exquisite."
There was a lot of discussion.
Xia Guiren boasted, "It's also because the pear blossoms around Changxin Palace are blooming well. This flower must have felt the blessing of the empress, so it is particularly fragrant and pleasant."
Such straightforward flattery made everyone secretly disdain.
Li Chongrong joked, "Don't you also live in Changxin Palace? Maybe it's your fragrance of makeup that scented these flowers." She is also a person that Concubine Hongshu relies on, but she doesn't like Xia Guiren's flattery and ostentation .
Xia Guiren suffocated with a smile.
Lin Zhaoyuan next to him smiled and changed the subject, "The peach blossom forest behind the concubine's Jingfu Palace is also in full bloom. I will be the host of the concubine some other day. Please, ladies and sisters, please show your face and go to see the place where the sunrise reflects the red clouds." scene."
Everyone said yes.
There wasn't much dew, so everyone drank it separately, and quickly replaced it with wine.
The concubines and concubines talked and laughed happily, enjoying themselves happily. Occasionally, there were some overt and covert reprimands, but they all passed away quietly.
Wu Jie ate two dishes with chopsticks, and chatted for a while.
Suddenly Empress Gao, who was seated in the middle of the seat, coughed.
At first, I thought it was choking, but the female officer behind hurriedly offered tea, who knew that Empress Gao barely drank a couple of sips, the cough not only did not ease, but became more serious.
After a while, his face turned pale, and he couldn't even breathe.
Suddenly such an accident occurred at the good banquet, and all the concubines panicked. The maid beside Empress Gao hurriedly invited the imperial physician, and the maid supported Empress Gao to lie down on the bench to rest.
In a short period of time, Empress Gao even turned her lips white. With this appearance, even Wu Jie could see that something was wrong.
The imperial doctor hadn't arrived yet, and Mother Qiu was running around like ants on a hot pot.
It was a long-faced maid next to the queen who was more decisive, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I offended you" and slapped Queen Gao on the back two or three times.
Empress Gao let out a low cry, bent down, and even vomited, throwing up everything she had eaten before.