Chapter 892: Chapter 892: Family Banquet (Part 1)
One of the eunuchs from the Punishment Bureau was originally meant to secure Noble Consort Xue’s standing place. At this moment, he was uncertain whether to give way or not and blocked the central entrance of Huaqing Palace, intimidated by Xue Wanjun’s gaze, he was momentarily at a loss.
Xue Wanjun stood up, walked to him, raised a hand, and slapped down fiercely.
The eunuch cried out in agony, with a long blood scar scratched across his face.
Ji Yunlai’s pupils shrank, just about to move.
Xue Wanjun displayed a bloodthirsty tyrannical expression, abruptly turned her head to stare coldly at him, and harshly said, “As long as I am not abolished to a commoner, you are all servants, remember your duty!”
Ji Yunlai shivered all over, gritted his teeth and endured, “The Consort is right.”
He immediately said to the eunuch who was beaten, “Are you not yielding? Let Consort Xue pass.”
“Yes.” The eunuch covered his face and hurriedly avoided.
Xue Wanjun laughed mournfully and walked step by step towards Huaqing Palace.
The palace doors slowly closed, and a desolate sound drifted from inside:
“Red palace walls, glazed tiles, kinship severed, solitary pavilion, is life here bitter? Frost cuts, early decline of willows, countless hates, with whom to share! Haha, hahahaha…”
…
Inside Star Palace.
The Emperor granted a banquet; the Lian Family members, Lih Qingshu, and the audacious Cao De who joined in, gathered around a large banquet table.
At the banquet, Lian Changhe noticed how considerate the Emperor was towards Lian Hua. He could discern whether this meticulous care was genuine; what Lian Hua liked to eat, her habits — the Emperor naturally attended to these, clearly showing he often did so.
Lian Hua didn’t feel anything amiss at all; while conversing with others, she also cared for the Emperor. The deep affection between them was apparent.
Lian Changhe stared for quite a while until Su Ran gently kicked him under the table, bringing him back to reality. He hurriedly served Su Ran food to cover up, his previous approval increasing by two points, reaching six or seven.
Lian Bingcheng had long noticed Lian Changhe’s actions, and when he saw him come to, beaming, he gave him a look as if to say, “See, wasn’t I right before? His Majesty treats Xiao Hua well, doesn’t he?”
Lian Changhe feigned a glare, but inwardly grew delighted, eating and all the while unable to resist glancing toward the central main seat. When the person there looked over, he would hastily avert his gaze.
He had heard that one shouldn’t gaze directly at the Emperor’s countenance, yet he couldn’t help it, wanting to see how the person interacted with his little girl — this was called investigation.
At the family banquet, Lian Hua was very busy.
“This dish is spicy, Master, do try it.”
“This steamed duck is very tasty, Clan Aunt likes mild flavors, come and try it.”
“Third Brother, you don’t like mutton, but this dish isn’t gamey at all, I think you should try it; if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it anymore.”
“Father, ate too much cake earlier, feeling sickening now? Ah, somewhat full, then have some sour pot soup to whet your appetite.”
“Mother, you should eat more; I see you only ate half a bowl of rice just now.”
“Ah yes, Clan Uncle, you are too thin. Da Zhuang, serve more dishes to Clan Uncle; indeed, those chunks of fat meat, give them to Clan Uncle for nourishment.”
“Second Brother wants more rice? Haha, I’m on my second bowl; want to compare? No, no, I ate a lot of cake earlier.”
Either her mouth was busy chewing with food, or she was like a little bee, calling over the young eunuchs from Star Palace, arranging dishes for the people at the table, since the table was too big for her to reach.
As for the Emperor beside her, upon encountering something delicious, she naturally served it over, letting him try it as well.
Cao De saw this and always coughed loudly to remind Lian Hua that there was him, her lively Grand Master, but Lian Hua merely glanced at him and kindly asked, “Little pretty face, feeling unwell? Do you need me to call the Imperial Physician?”
Lian Hua had no mental burden at all about calling the Imperial Physician for the old charming man trying to get advantages and was even very happy to do so.
Cao De was speechless, feeling everyone’s simultaneous gaze on him. Lian Wanzhen seemed very interested in the title “little pretty face,” muttering it along, causing him great dismay.
Absurd! The Emperor present, he dared not voice anything, so he could only smile sincerely and correct that he’s not a little pretty face, and was not feeling unwell, continuing his meal.
Regarding such a banquet like an ordinary family gathering, the Emperor initially felt rather unaccustomed. A large family dining at the same table, chatting and eating heartily — a sensation he had never experienced, oddly novel yet filled with a warm ambience.
The Emperor was always aware of Lian Changhe’s gaze but pretended not to know, allowing him to assess, murmuring silently that this father-in-law was as overt as his little concubine, hard to overlook.
Towards the end of the meal, Lian Wanzhen and Lian Hua were counting how much they ate. After counting, Lian Wanzhen very seriously said, “Little sister, the two of you haven’t eaten as much as me, need to eat more.”
Su Ran upon hearing, disagreed, “It’s not about eating more, people with two bodies must moderate their diet for easier delivery.”
Lian Wanzhen heard and was somewhat puzzled, starting to question Su Ran why.
Seeing this, Lin Yuejuan began explaining on behalf of Su Ran that overeating and over-supplementing could cause the fetus to be too large, leading to difficult childbirth.
After speaking, she repeatedly spat and said, “Great auspiciousness, Xiao Hua seems only slightly plumper, and her belly is about the same size as this month, shouldn’t be an issue, just need to be mindful.”
Lian Changhe got extremely worried, “Nannan, you mustn’t eat too much, listen to your mother, moderate properly.”
Lian Wanzhen also got worried, hurriedly said, “Little sister, better not eat too much, in the future, second brother won’t compete with you anymore, all count as your win.”
Lian Bao followed up, “Little sister, I specially consulted Divine Doctor Huang earlier, know that pregnant women can easily overeat when hungry, must control, seven to eight tenths full per meal is ideal, should not eat too full, better to have small amounts more frequently.”
Lian Hua’s eyes were fixed on the last remaining meatball, wanting to pick up the chopsticks to eat it.
She felt this meatball was delicious and fragrant, hearing several people advising her to eat less, she instinctively nodded while staring at the meatball, “I understand, I didn’t eat too much…”
Having said this and preparing to pick it up, she suddenly noticed the palace turned silent. She looked up blankly to find everyone watching her with complex expressions, hesitant to speak.
The Emperor laughed, took her chopsticks and set them down, assured to the others, “You can be at ease, the issue of overeating has long been noted by Nanny Qi, I have consulted the Imperial Physician on this matter, the physician said Nannan moves a lot, so eating more isn’t a problem. Currently, Nannan has five timed and measured meals a day; apart from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there are two small meals included, just a bowl of soup and a few pastries, easing cravings without affecting anything.”
Everyone nodded repeatedly upon hearing, reassured — fine, fine.