Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 251 New Year's Eve Feast

Xia'er was scattering flower petals into the bathtub when she heard this. She lowered her head and replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, this afternoon I received a message from a palace maid, saying that Granny Yu asked me and Chun'er to meet tomorrow."

Hua Yan closed her eyes and leaned against the bathtub. "I heard that when you were in the palace slave quarters, Granny Yu took good care of you and Chun'er. Now that you're both in the palace, you should catch up on your old friendship."

Xia'er's heart skipped a beat when she heard the words "old flame." She put down the flower basket, knelt on the ground, and spoke earnestly:

"When I was in the Prince's mansion, I was assigned to Yunyi Palace by the steward. Since then, I have only Consort Chun as my master. Now that Your Highness has bestowed me upon Consort Cai, I will obey your orders."

"Granny Yu has indeed been very kind to me and Chun'er, and I will remember these kindnesses. However, the Duke of Qing's mansion and I are no longer related."

Hua Yan heard Xia'er say so much for the first time and said with a smile, "I only mentioned Granny Yu just now. What does that have to do with the third young lady of the Duke of Qing's mansion who came to recuperate?"

Xia'er pursed her bloodless lips, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, perhaps due to the steam in the bath. "It was my slip of the tongue. I dare to swear that I will be loyal to my mistress and Consort Chun for the rest of my life."

"Loyalty should be judged by actions, not intentions." Hua Yan turned her head and saw Xia'er's hair bun. She lifted her fingers that were resting on the bathtub. Green Willow understood and helped Xia'er up, then said softly:

"Why is Sister Xia'er so nervous? Master hasn't said anything."

Xia'er gave Green Willow a grateful smile, but then she thought of Hanfang's tragic death. She composed herself and said frankly:

"There are rumors in the palace that the third young lady of the Duke's mansion is recuperating in Cining Palace and will soon become the emperor's concubine. Chun'er and I are born into the Qing State Duke's family, so I am terrified."

Hua Yan spoke up on her own: "You've been in the Duke's mansion for six or seven years, have you ever seen the two young ladies of the Duke's mansion?"

Xia'er obediently replied, "This servant and Chun'er are slightly younger than the two young ladies, so we have never had the opportunity to serve in the young ladies' courtyard. We only saw them twice from afar when we went to congratulate our masters with our father and brothers during the New Year."

"Does Miss Qing and the eldest daughter of the manor bear any resemblance?"

Xia'er thought carefully and answered cautiously: "The two young ladies are six or seven years apart in age and only three or four parts similar. The eldest young lady is more heroic, while the third young lady has a weak constitution since birth, which makes her appearance more delicate and beautiful."

Hua Yan frowned slightly, her doubts growing. She said to Xia'er, "Just get along with Granny Yu as usual. Consort Chun and I don't care that you and Chun'er came from the Duke's mansion."

Xia'er was still uneasy, but she was no longer as flustered as before.

——Foolish Divider——

The news of Consort Qu's demotion reached Renming Palace that very night. The Empress, still weak from her miscarriage, lay on her bed and couldn't help but mutter "Fool!" upon hearing the news.

Because the Qu family was on good terms with the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion, and Consort Chun and Consort Qu had always been on good terms, the Empress originally intended to take advantage of Consort Qu's confinement to win her over.

Xingyu lowered her head, not daring to get in the Empress's way. She never expected that the earrings that Consort Qu had given her were actually a gift from Consort Chun. Now, she was implicated because of these earrings.

"From now on, there is no need to send any charcoal, food, or clothing to Qu Baolin."

After giving her instructions, the Empress waved for Xingyu and the others to leave, leaving only Granny Gui to serve her.

Granny Gui advised, "Qu Baolin has such a petty manner; she's never been respectable. As Madam mentioned to you before, Qu's first wife comes from a humble background and probably doesn't know how to raise a daughter. Therefore, Qu Baolin is really not worth Your Majesty's trouble."

The Empress reached out and pulled the handkerchief from her forehead, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of the bed, as if deep in thought.

Granny Gui shook her head gently, then took a new handkerchief, soaked it in warm water, and gently placed it on the Empress's forehead, saying with concern, "Your Majesty still needs to take care of yourself. Although Consort Chun is currently favored, fortunately she is not arrogant and is not pregnant yet. Once the third young lady of the Duke's mansion becomes a concubine, let them fight it out."

"What rank do you think the Emperor will bestow upon Qing Zhifei?"

"Given the Duke's mansion's current status, it's only natural that it will be granted the title of Consort. It's just a matter of what title the Emperor will bestow upon it."

The Empress looked somber and sighed softly, "The precious trees of Changchun Garden have all been transplanted to the Duke's mansion, yet Father wants me to befriend them."

"The General's intention is that Your Highness should not be too assertive before giving birth to a prince. Next year's general election will require many new women to be selected, so the most urgent task is to ensure your health..."

The Empress subconsciously touched her flat stomach, her eyes stinging with tears.

While at the Prince's residence, Viper accomplished nothing, and Banu disappeared without a trace. After becoming pregnant, she encountered a series of misfortunes, ultimately leading to an unstable pregnancy and miscarriage. She had originally planned to scheme against Consort Chun, but in the end, she suffered a complete defeat.

Now, upon reflection, everything has gone wrong since the incident at the Prince's residence. Especially before the miscarriage, Consort Chun and Consort Meng avoided her one after another, which finally made the Empress take it seriously and wake up. However, it was too late, and in her haste, she could only point to Consort Guo.

......

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial carriage left the palace, and the emperor personally went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to conduct a grand ceremony of sacrifice and prayer.

Consort Chun acted as Empress, spending two consecutive days preparing for the New Year's Eve banquet. All four departments and six bureaus were mobilized, and the Linde Palace was decorated as if it were brand new.

The year changes, and after New Year's Eve comes the new year, the first year of the Zhenghe era. (The error regarding the first year in Chapter 201 has been corrected.)

Because the late emperor passed away in early August, the New Year's Eve banquet was forbidden from singing and dancing, and only palace music was allowed as decoration.

On New Year's Eve, the palace was brightly lit, and the sounds of drums and music filled the air as the emperor and his officials celebrated the new year together.

Empress Dowager Zhou did not attend, but Empress Dowager Jiang and the Empress attended in full regalia. Consort Chun and Consort Song, among others, took their seats in order of rank. Princes and dukes of the imperial clan also took their seats in turn, followed by civil and military officials of the fourth rank and above, who stood in their respective seats and waited for the banquet to begin.

Tang Xian and his wife, Lady Yun, as well as Tang Lin and Zhou Bai, were also among them.

Zhou Bai was only a sixth-rank official and was not qualified to attend the palace banquet. However, because of his meritorious service in negotiating with the Xiongnu, the emperor personally issued an edict, so his seat was not too low.

Even so, Hua Yan's figure could only be vaguely seen.

Zhou Bai blinked frequently and waved slightly. The uncle and nephew looked at each other through the crowd before finally meeting, but they couldn't say a word.

The emperor, dressed in his imperial robes, ascended the throne, and the crowd bowed and paid their respects, shouting "Long live the emperor!"

"On New Year's Eve, we stay up all night, which is called 'keeping watch over the year.' I will keep watch over the year with you all. The banquet begins, so please enjoy yourselves."

The banquet began with wine, a multitude of delicacies laid out, the wine gleaming like jade.

Subsequently, the imperial family members took the lead in presenting their congratulatory gifts, mostly calligraphy, paintings, and antiques. Envoys from vassal states and officials also stepped forward to present their gifts in turn, which the emperor accepted with a smile. These gifts would be stored in the emperor's private treasury. Jingming was overwhelmed with the gifts and signaled to the eunuchs behind him, including Dong Ming, to put them away.

Of course, there was no reason to only accept gifts; the emperor also bestowed gold, silver, silk, sheep, wine, and other gifts upon the officials.

During the banquet, some senior officials, such as Prince Rui, inevitably mentioned that the emperor had no heir and that a selection of concubines should be chosen to fill the harem. Empress Dowager Jiang was pleased with this, and the emperor naturally agreed. For a time, the emperor and his ministers were all happy.

Consort Chun and Hua Yan raised their cups and drank a cup of Tusu wine together.

Madam Yun stared intently for a long while without blinking, then smiled slightly at Tang Xian beside her.

Amidst the sounds of string and wind instruments, the emperor lost his appetite for the banquet, staring blankly at the several purses on his imperial desk.

The custom of concubines presenting purses to the emperor at the New Year's Eve banquet is an old tradition passed down from previous dynasties. During the grand court assembly on New Year's Day, the emperor, in his imperial robes, would wear one of these purses on his waist.

Therefore, the concubines in the harem all took this opportunity to present their carefully embroidered purses, hoping to win the emperor's favor.

......