Chapter 955: Testing

The royal banquet was full of singing and dancing, cups and plates were interlaced, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Since the new emperor ascended the throne, he has always advocated frugality, but the royal banquet is still exquisite and luxurious in the eyes of others.

The only thing that made Bai Yunxi dissatisfied was the dishes, which were beautiful and exquisite.

In principle, the taste should be good. The imperial banquet was prepared by great chefs, so how could it be bad?

Unfortunately, the Purple Palace was a bit far from the imperial kitchen. Even if it was served hot, the oil would have soaked it all the way.

All the dishes became inedible and could only be looked at.

This is a royal banquet. What if you have diarrhea? You will die on the spot.

So, during the whole banquet, she tasted a few cakes and didn't touch any cold dishes or stir-fried dishes. She also quietly told her granddaughter not to eat the dishes to avoid stomach upset.

Bai Yunxi found that not only she didn't eat, but other ladies were the same, picking up the beautiful cakes to fill their stomachs.

The empress, who sat at the first seat, stood straight with a proper smile. Her eyes swept over the ladies in the palace, and finally fell on Bai Yunxi's grandparents for a moment, then turned away silently.

Bai Yunxi felt the probing gaze, pretending not to know, and took a bite of a piece of cake with chopsticks.

The empress looked at the crystal cake in front of her, called the servant behind her, and asked her to bring the crystal cake to Bai Yunxi.

The palace maid took the crystal cake and walked gently to Bai Yunxi, put down the plate, and spoke in a gentle voice.

"The empress rewarded the lady with cakes, please enjoy."

Looking at the cakes that suddenly appeared, Bai Yunxi was stunned, looked up in surprise, and saw the smiling face of the empress.

Although the saint gave cakes on her table, it was a rare honor for others.

Coming back to her senses, Bai Yunxi just stood up, but was stopped by the palace servant, "The empress said, there is no need to stand up to thank."

So considerate? As expected of a saint, the mother of a country, she is generous.

Even though she did not stand up, Bai Yunxi also saluted sideways to express her gratitude.

Although the Queen's movements were light, in the same hall, the palace maid's movements naturally could not be hidden from others, which invisibly made people envious and also made many people's minds move.

Lord Bai was parachuted into the Imperial Academy, and he often entered the palace to accompany the emperor and discuss academic matters with the emperor. This made the ministers think too much. Now even the Queen promoted the Bai family so much, it seems that the emperor is very satisfied with Bai Hanlin.

In their opinion, Bai Hanlin, a poor scholar, had no one to rely on, and in the end he had to rely on a certain clan. Otherwise, how could he gain a foothold in the big dye vat of Kyoto.

Not everyone can be a lone minister.

Although the emperor is diligent and likes to be upright and brave, he must have a life to enjoy it.

Bai Yunxi sat there, listening to the chaotic voices of the crowd, sitting with his head held high.

These people are just jealous of his Xiaowu's ability to win the emperor's heart.

But what they said is not wrong. Xiaowu alone is indeed not enough. He has to find his own alliance.

Moreover, Xiaowu's biggest backer is the emperor. As long as the emperor trusts him, the more jealous others are, the better.

In this way, the emperor will trust him more.

The queen at the top has been paying attention to Bai Yunxi's movements. Seeing her attitude of being calm and unperturbed, her favorability towards her immediately increased.

Although she is of a lower birth, she is a stable person.

The emperor, sitting next to her, naturally would not miss the queen's operation. Seeing her testing Bai Hanlin's mother, he frowned slightly and ignored it.

Bai Hanlin is a determined Renjie, and he uses it quite smoothly.

Although I don't know if he can withstand the pressure of the clan in the future, for now, the trend is not bad.

Listening to the voices of the couple in power, Bai Yunxi picked up a piece of crystal cake and put it into her mouth, chewing it gently.

It is said that the most unpredictable thing is the heart of the emperor. Now it is not surprising. She had long guessed that the emperor wanted to make Xiaowu into a sharp blade in his hand, so that he could poke wherever he wanted.

However, based on her understanding of her youngest son, this kid is a man with great ambitions and will not be content to be just a sword.

They have not been in contact for long enough, and the monarch and his ministers are still in the running-in period.

When the banquet came to an end, the emperor and the queen stood up and left the table. Before leaving, they did not forget to order the palace servants to take good care of them, and let the ministers eat and drink well, speak freely, and not be restrained.

Who can't hear these polite words for people who have been immersed in officialdom for many years?

The emperor is just being polite, do you really dare to eat and drink with your cheeks open?

Even if the emperor is serious, the ministers dare not stay in the palace and drink recklessly. What if they speak out of turn after drinking?

If you have that time, you might as well stay at home and be served by your beautiful wife and concubines. Isn't it more comfortable than this?

Therefore, after everyone saw the emperor off, they all got up and left.

Bai Yunxi led her granddaughter and followed the others out in a line. The maids were not allowed to enter the palace and were waiting at the gate.

After entering the palace, some care was arranged by the palace servants.

Seeing the two people come out, the palace servants guarding the door immediately took their cloaks and helped them tie them considerately. Bai Yunxi gave each of them a purse to express her gratitude.

Receiving the reward, the palace servants also smiled and their tone became more sincere.

Every year at the palace banquet, these palace servants would be dispatched to lead the ladies in and out of the palace.

Whether you can have a prosperous year depends on your luck. If you happen to meet a mean lady, sometimes you can't get a penny.

All the way out of the palace gate, as soon as Bai Yunxi appeared, Shi Liu found them and ran over to help them, rubbing her hands.

"Master, it's too cold today. It's going to snow again."

"Thank you for your hard work. Go back and take a hot bath to get rid of the cold."

They had been waiting in the carriage. Although they had prepared a charcoal basin when they went out, it was probably extinguished at this time.

"Master, don't worry. We have been staying in the carriage. It's not cold."

Bai Yunxi led Yaya to the carriage and couldn't help looking back. Coincidentally, she happened to meet the eyes of Mrs. Xie.

Originally, when she appeared at the palace banquet, someone was looking at her. Ever since the Queen Mother gave the plate of cakes, the eyes of the inquiry were like a thorn in the back.

All the way out of the palace, they didn't disappear.

But these people didn't have much intersection with her. It would be cheap to come up and say hello rashly. So, she was quiet in front of her.

When her eyes met Mrs. Xie's, she could only smile and nod. There was no more.

After returning home, she washed up, sat on the Luohan bed, and drank the red bean and lotus seed porridge cooked by Mrs. Du, and then she felt relieved.

In a blink of an eye, the New Year arrived.

The family gathered together to welcome the New Year with the sound of firecrackers.

There was a thick blanket on the floor, and the two children sat on it to play with toys. In her spare time, Mrs. Du sewed a lot of small toys to amuse them.

The house was burning with red charcoal fire, reflecting the ruddy and festive faces.