For the next ten days, as expected, I spent my time in mourning while looking at the pear trees in Weiyang Palace opposite, worried that their newly grown branches and leaves would be crushed by those snow-white banners.
I wasn't thinking about this. I was looking for Zhang Xiaomang every day for the past ten days, but he was like a mouse seeing a cat in the first eight days. He never appeared in the same place as me. Only in the last two days did he return to his previous obedient appearance, but I always felt that after these eight days, he had returned to his cold and aloof self.
She did not understand men. As I ate the offerings on the sacrificial table that was temporarily set up for Niangu, I thought about this man who I really didn't understand.
But thinking about it, sometimes I don't understand him, and sometimes he definitely doesn't understand me! For example, he must be the same as everyone else in the Southern Dynasty. He can't guess what I'm up to. The people outside probably thought that I was crazy and had revealed my true colors, but he was always close to me because I was always willing to be close to him. Therefore, he must be guessing what was going on in my little head.
It was useless to think too much. I stood up from the sacrificial table and several palace servants came back from outside the palace to report to me.
"How is it going?"
"It's basically done. According to what you said, the birthday banquet will be held at the intersection of the northern and southern palace cities of Dayuan. It will be opposite the fighting arena of the sword dance competition last time. It's just one east and one west.”
"Hmm, not bad." I nodded as I paced around." Have you invited everyone?”
Another palace servant said to me with a flattering expression," According to your instructions, the entire Great Zhou, regardless of whether it's the Northern or Southern Dynasties, has sent out invitations. Do you want to send a message specifically to the Northern Dynasty's palace?”
"No need." I waved my hand and my eyes narrowed." Wouldn't this make it seem more deliberate?”
"Yes, sir! Your Majesty is right!"
I turned my head and my eyes lit up." Most importantly, did you pass the final decree to Eunuch Yan?”
"I handed it over to Eunuch Yan early yesterday morning. Eunuch Yan didn't dare to neglect it and immediately left the city. According to this servant's opinion, all the Confucians, Daoists, and all kinds of wine houses in the world will be bustling with activity.”
I smiled and nodded. The climax of this show was finally coming.
As for the northern side that they mentioned just now, I wasn't worried at all because I really understood her too well. Sometimes, I even felt that I was her mother in my previous life.
But pui! I don't want to!
"Those who should come will naturally come. You guys hurry down and receive your rewards.”I patted their shoulders one by one and sincerely told them that they had worked hard these past few months. Because of my secret orders, they had suffered so much.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. This is what we should do as servants of the Zhou family. If we can serve His Majesty and the Great Zhou, we will die for it.”
After these palace servants left, I took out a good thing that I had asked someone to get from a foreign country from the bottom of the table in the main hall. At this moment, it was in a wooden box painted brown and gold.
This box contains the theme of this birthday banquet that I personally decided on. Now, other than me, Ji Shenyang, no one else will know. I didn't even tell Nian Gu before.
I looked to the side and saw that there was no one around before opening the box. I looked at the things inside and the corners of my mouth curled up.
---The show is on you.
The 19th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar was a bright and clear autumn day. The sky was exceptionally high on this day. You have to know that today, 24 years ago, was the day that I, the empress who was about to be recorded in the history books as the " Demon King of Chaos ", was born.
The previous twenty-three years could have been spent sloppily, but this year was different. This day was destined to be a big day.
Eunuch Yan's last decree was mainly aimed at the people in the northern part of Da Yuan City. The gist of the message was that there was an inside piece of news leaking out from the Southern Dynasty's imperial palace-Ji Shenyang was planning to announce to the world that she was going to surrender to the Northern Dynasty at her birthday banquet. For this great plan, she had specially invited many representatives from Nanbei Chao to witness it.
Many of the clans in the Northern Dynasty would not even look at a lame Southern Emperor like me. However, as long as this matter involves the interests of the Northern Feng royal family, they would naturally pay close attention.
If I'm not mistaken, all the people I've sent invitations to will come.
Today is my birthday, so naturally, I, as the master, have to sit first. I slowly watched as the palace eunuchs served fruits, fruits, pastries, and dishes to all the tables. I had specially instructed the imperial kitchen to use the best things today.
The entire banquet was divided into four sections, north, south, east, and west. There were six long tables in each section, and the main round table was surrounded by sixteen chairs. I was already sitting in the center.
Behind me was a huge backdrop made of yellow pear wood. On the left was the scene of the female snail mending the sky, and on the right was the mountain demons and sea monsters described in the Chinese of the Great Zhou Dynasty for thousands of years. However, there was a golden dragon on the outermost ring. The small eerie feeling that originally existed in the surroundings had now all belonged to the subjects.
I saw that the sun was about to rise. It was about time. He waved his hand and asked the palace servants to bring the vegetables and fruits over first. All the dishes for today's banquet have been carefully studied by me.
Today, the palace people are also wearing clothes of happy colors. Most of them are mainly crimson and dark red. They have jade-inlaid gold hairpins on their heads. I told them to wear earrings in the morning.
The first vegetables were clovers, brassicas, and other green things. The fruits were grapes, almonds, and pomegranate. If my birthday was in the middle of summer, I would have asked someone to bring a few huge watermelons and cut them up to absorb the heat.
The small and medium-sized plates used on each table were plain white jade plates. The larger plates were painted with high and quiet splash-ink mountains and rivers. Behind them were some larger plates carved with cloud flowers, peonies, and Lanzhi phoenixes, which were reserved for later use as hard dishes.
Not far away, there was a huge silver-copper incense burner. From the carved incense burner, wisps of white sandalwood smoke lingered and scattered across the entire banquet.
Do you think I'll be dressed very gorgeously in such a grand setting? No!
Today, I was only wearing white clothes. Half of my black hair was tied up with a wolf hair brush, and the other half was scattered on my shoulders. The hair on my forehead was messy, and I looked like an immortal.
I crossed my legs on the round table, thinking about the upcoming drama. How should I play to my heart's content?
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