0p0 Chapter 346: The Beloved Concubine Xian Conferred the Imperial Concubine Six Palaces
Chapter 346: The Beloved Concubine Xian Conferred the Imperial Concubine Six Palaces
The seats for the family dinner were arranged in advance according to their portions, and the cold dishes on the table were also placed in advance.
When the time came, the eunuch announced the arrival of hot meals. There were about 40 dishes in total, including cold and hot dishes, in addition to side dishes, fruits and snacks.
After all these were prepared, the eunuch invited the Empress Dowager and the concubines who were waiting in the warm room to take their seats. After they took their seats, except for the Empress Dowager, the other concubines stood by their own banquet tables waiting for the Emperor to arrive.
At this time, the supervisor sang a salute loudly.
"The Emperor has arrived."
As the Emperor arrived, the Zhonghe Shao music sounded, and everyone, except the Empress Dowager, bowed and saluted.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you and wish you a happy new year and a long and blessed life."
Kangxi walked steadily to the top of the table amid the music. He did not sit down immediately, but bowed to the Empress Dowager first, then took his seat and looked at everyone.
"No courtesy, please sit down."
The concubines then stood up and returned to their seats. After everyone was seated, the banquet play began, announcing the start of the New Year's Eve banquet.
After the Empress Dowager and Kangxi started to pick up their chopsticks, the other concubines began to eat. They ate while watching the show, following the dining rules: soup first, then banquet, and then wine.
When he arrived at the banquet, Kangxi raised his glass and toasted the Empress Dowager first.
"Now that the new year, new moon, new day, and new hour have begun, your son would like to wish the Empress Dowager a happy new year."
The Empress Dowager also smiled and raised her wine glass, saying happily: "I also wish the Great Qing Dynasty peace and prosperity, and the Emperor good health."
After saying this, he raised his head and drank it all in one gulp. Kangxi also drank it all with a smile.
Then it was the concubines' turn. Kangxi picked up the newly filled wine glass and looked at Shi Nanxi, who was sitting at the head of the concubines, with a smile in his eyes.
"Last year, I had a beloved Concubine Xian always by my side. In the new year, I wish Concubine Xian all the best and eternal youth."
After saying that, he smiled and drank it all in one gulp.
All of a sudden, the concubines on both sides turned their eyes to Shinanxi.
She looked extremely jealous. She had known before that the Emperor favored Concubine Xian, but now she realized that he could favor her even more.
Look at this blessing. The emperor, in front of everyone, said without hesitation that Concubine Xian is his beloved one. Who else is treated like this?
Looking back to the past, even the late Empress Xiaocheng, the Emperor never said such words to her, as if everyone was divided into two kinds of people.
One is Concubine Xian, and the other is other concubines.
When this conclusion came out, everyone was a little confused. How much does the emperor like Concubine Xian? Why is he not tired of her?
Among them, Concubine Nianhulu kept her expression unchanged, but the wine glass she was holding was almost crushed. It is acceptable to love someone and know that he loves no one else, but it is impossible to balance when he falls in love with another woman.
Shi Nanxi, who was being stared at by everyone, also looked at the emperor. When their eyes met, she raised her wine glass and smiled faintly:
"Thank you for your blessing, Your Majesty. I am honored to have the privilege of accompanying you. I wish that in the new year, Your Majesty will be gracious and the world will be peaceful. May Your Majesty live a long life." After she finished speaking, she raised her head and drank the whole cup in one gulp.
The concubines watched this scene with smiles on their faces, but they were angry in their hearts. Then they cheered up and thought that maybe the emperor was in a particularly good mood this year, so he changed the toast? Then could they also...
Many people had this idea, so when the emperor began to toast Concubine Niuhulu, Concubine Niuhulu held her sleeve with one hand and held the wine glass with the other, looking at the emperor with burning eyes and expectation in her eyes.
However, Kangxi opened his mouth with a formal toast:
"It is the right time to enter the new year. I wish Concubine Niu Hulu a happy new year and good luck."
After saying that, he raised his head and drank it all again. Then when the wine was full, he looked at the next Concubine Hui.
Imperial Concubine Nianhulu's face trembled, and it was obvious that she was extremely uneasy inside, but she could only drink the wine with her sleeves covering her face with trembling hands.
The three concubines Huifei, Rongfei and Guo Luoluofei were no exception, and the concubines and concubines of lower ranks below them were all paid their respects together.
By the time the banquet was over, the banquet play in the audience had reached its climax. The Empress Dowager was watching with great interest, as if she was oblivious to the undercurrents at the banquet.
Everyone was still smiling, and no one knew what they were thinking. However, many people had completely realized the emperor's partiality at this time, and knew that they could not compare with Concubine Xian. After a moment of frustration, they were now eagerly waiting for the opportunity to be conferred upon the six palaces.
Soon after drinking fruit tea, the Chengping Banquet drama finally ended, which also meant that the New Year's Eve family dinner was about to end. After looking around, Kangxi looked at Liang Jiugong on the side.
Liang Jiugong clapped his hands, and a young eunuch came in holding a tray. All the concubines immediately looked at the bright yellow imperial edict on the tray with their eyes burning with fire.
When the young eunuch arrived, Liang Jiugong took the imperial edict, slowly opened it, and looked down.
All the concubines left their seats immediately and knelt beside their own banquet tables to receive the order.
Liang Jiugong then read the imperial edict aloud.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: I believe that the Way of Heaven and Earth is the foundation of human relations, and that internal governance is the basis of human relations. The concubines in the harem have served the Emperor for many years, have been filial to the Empress Dowager, and have raised the Emperor's heirs. I am very pleased. On this New Year's Day, I confer titles on the six palaces as a reward..."
Hearing this, the concubines knew that the key point had come and immediately held their breath.
Just listen to:
"Concubine Guo Luoluo was given the title of Yi; Concubine Xi was promoted to Concubine Xi; Concubine Cheng was promoted to Concubine Cheng; Concubine Ding was promoted to Concubine Ding; Concubine Bu was promoted to Concubine Bu;
The title of Tong Guiren is given to Su; the title of Guo Guiren is given to Jing; Chen Changzai is promoted to Guiren and given the title of Zhuang; the remaining Changzai are promoted one level in their original positions, and the promised ones are promoted one level in their original positions. I decree this.”
This promotion of titles in the six palaces was unprecedented. Except for the high-ranking concubines, all the lower-ranking concubines were promoted to a higher level.
The concubines who were given titles on the scene were immediately ecstatic, while those who were not given titles were too disappointed to believe it.
Among them, Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong were mentally prepared and quickly recovered after a moment of disappointment.
Concubine Guo Luoluo clenched her hands tightly, and a look of joy flashed across her face. As expected, as long as she didn't jump around, with the three princes around, the emperor would definitely not forget her.
Not far away, sitting in a seat farther away from Concubine Guo Luoluo, Concubine Guo looked at her delighted sister, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes.
With the title of Jing, she did not return empty-handed tonight. However, seeing the ecstatic looks on Concubine Bu and Concubine Ding's faces, she felt particularly uncomfortable. It was obvious that they both had children but no favor before.
But this time they were all promoted to concubines, which made her realize that she was influenced by her younger sister. So even if she was no worse than the two of them, as long as her younger sister was there, she would never get what she wanted.
She felt that she had let down the Sixth Princess' kindness. Thinking of the care that the Sixth Princess had taken for her during this period of time, Concubine Guo lowered her eyes and for the first time felt resentment towards her sister, Concubine Yi.
If Concubine Wu saw Concubine Guo's reaction, she would definitely be happy. Some time ago, her people accidentally learned about Concubine Guo's desire for promotion.
A plan to sow discord suddenly came to her mind, in order to avenge Concubine Guo Luoluo for causing her to be demoted and lose her title. The plan was to stir up Concubine Guo's resentment towards Concubine Guo Luoluo, and then tell her the secrets that he had discovered during this period.
——The death of the little prince of Concubine Guo was actually related to Concubine Guo Luoluo. The two sisters will definitely kill each other.
Unfortunately, at this moment, Concubine Wu was in no mood to pay attention to Concubine Guo. For the first time, she showed her true emotions and her face was as gloomy as water.
How could this happen? The Emperor clearly loved the Fourteenth Prince so much, so why didn't he restore his position as a concubine and his title? Damn it, even that bitch Concubine Guo Luoluo had her title restored. What went wrong?
The same thing happened to Concubine Nianhulu, and she almost lost her composure. Fortunately, Nanny Qin pulled her back and reminded her in time.
"My lady, this is a family dinner on New Year's Eve, you must not lose your composure."
At this time, the concubines who had been granted titles knelt down to receive the imperial edict and express their gratitude, which indicated that the New Year's Eve family dinner was officially over. The emperor helped the empress dowager leave, and everyone bowed and saw them off.
On the first day of the new year, everyone's joys and sorrows are not the same.
Shi Nanxi glanced at the distraught Concubine Niuhulu and Concubine Wu, then got up and left in a good mood.