On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the emperor held a banquet at the imperial palace to entertain officials and their relatives to enjoy the lanterns.
Jin Shanyao was stunned as soon as she entered the palace... The palace was larger than she had imagined, with lanterns hanging from the entrance all the way to the main hall, illuminating the entire path.
She whispered to the two siblings beside her, "If you get lost, find a tree and call my name, and I'll come get you."
Meng Anci:???
Calling a tree "Auntie" won't do; he's an official of the imperial court now, a person of status.
Meng Anzhi nodded obediently. Her aunt said that there must be a reason why she shouted at the tree, and that would be the end of it.
As soon as the three stepped into the main hall, a young eunuch came forward to greet them, " Lord Meng, let me show you to your seat..."
They followed the young eunuch all the way from the first row to the last row.
Jin Shanyao asked curiously, "Who's sitting in the front row?"
The young eunuch pointed to the first table to the left of the dragon throne and chuckled, "That's the seat of the Left Chancellor, a first- Principal First Rank official. Opposite him is the Right Chancellor... Next to them are Subordinate First Rank Principal Second Rank- Subordinate Second Rank, and so on..."
Jin Shanyao repeatedly as she listened, then took out five taels of silver and stuffed it into the little eunuch's hand, praising him with a smile, "You're truly remarkable, able to remember so many names and official titles."
The young eunuch was slightly taken aback; he had never been praised for such a trivial matter before. A sincere smile bloomed on his face. "Thank you for the compliment, Madam Jin," he said, bowing before leaving.
Jin Shanyao tugged at Meng Anzhi's clothes secretly, whispering excitedly, "He actually knows my surname and even calls me Madam Jin!"
Meng Anzhi smiled and was about to reply when she caught a glimpse of a young man looking in her direction. But when she looked again, he was gone. She assumed she was seeing things and didn't think much of it.
People entered the main hall one after another.
Zhao Zhiyuan and Meng Anci held similar official positions, and Zhao Zhiyuan was seated directly below Meng Anci.
Madam Zhao followed behind her son, and before sitting down, she nodded slightly to Jin Shanyao, her smile a little awkward. She sat down quietly, placing her hands folded on her knees, her eyes fixed on the table in front of her, not daring to look around.
Jin Shanyao at her, then turned to look at the other female officials beside her. Each of them sat upright and properly. She picked the one who was sitting the straightest and quietly copied her posture, making herself sit properly and meticulously as well.
Although she sat up straight, her eyes were still darting around, and she noticed that everyone in the palace looked exactly alike.
Aside from their different clothes, their expressions, postures, and even the way they greeted each other were exactly the same.
The banquet officially began. With a loud announcement from the chief eunuch, the emperor and empress walked out. Seeing the officials rise, Jin Shanyao hurriedly followed suit.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Jin Shanyao was startled and stared wide-eyed at the old man on the dragon throne... He's already ten thousand years old? How is that possible... Just as she was about to take a closer look, Meng Anci suddenly pulled her wrist.
Jin Shanyao looked at the crowd kneeling around her and took a deep breath.
The tree, under the eaves, has to bow its head, but she is a dignified goddess, how could she kneel before a mortal? Dream on.
Then she fell straight to the ground with a thud, her lips pressed tightly together. The old man wouldn't hear a single "Long live the Emperor!" from her.
She never lied, especially since he looked like he didn't have much time left, yet he was still shouting "Long live the Emperor!"...
The sudden movement of the Jin Shanyao startled Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci broke out in a cold sweat. They hurriedly looked at the others and found that everyone was looking down at the ground, completely unaware of what was happening.
Only then did Meng Anci secretly breathe a sigh of relief, and nudged Jin Shanyao's back, "Auntie, rise..."
Upon hearing this, Jin Shanyao got up, brushed the dust off her front, and sat back down.
The banquet officially began.
Xiao Changchuan's gaze remained fixed on Jin Shanyao, and a cold smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
Hmph, you dare betray him, auntie... today is your death day.
Xiao Yuan followed his son's gaze, but the hall was packed with officials, making it impossible to tell who he was looking at.
What are you looking at?
Xiao Changchuan withdrew his gaze and replied respectfully, "It's nothing."
But a moment later, he secretly glanced at Jin Shanyao and saw a palace maid place a plate of fried pastries in front of her table. Xiao Changchuan became even more excited; he wanted to see how the aunt would react.
Jin Shanyao at the flaky pastry, then glanced around and whispered to Meng Anci, "No one else has any staple food, only our table does... Who's so kind as to serve us this?"
Meng Anzhi glanced around and indeed didn't see anything. As she looked away, she Shi Chong across from her. He raised his wine glass and gestured to her in greeting.
Meng Anzhi smiled and raised her wine glass in return... This gesture caught Zhao Zhiyuan's attention, and he glanced at the two of them without saying a word.
Meng Anci, "Perhaps theirs hasn't arrived yet."
Jin Shanyao nodded, picked up a flaky pastry, took a bite, and her eyes lit up. "You two should try this. This flaky pastry is much better than the ones you buy outside."
Upon hearing this, Meng Anzhi picked up one and took a bite. It tasted much better than the ones bought outside. The three of them exchanged glances and secretly began to eat.
Seeing the three of them enjoying their meal, Xiao Changchuan's smile froze on his face. Damn it... the auntie had completely forgotten about him.
When one plan failed, he devised another. Xiao Changchuan summoned a palace maid and whispered a few words in her ear. The maid lowered her eyes and withdrew... A moment later, the young maid came to the table in front of Jin Shanyao, leaned down, and whispered something in the ear of the girl sitting at the table.
The little girl stiffened, took several deep breaths, and slowly turned her head. At that moment, Jin Shanyao was eating glutinous rice balls from a bowl. Their eyes met... The girl instinctively wanted to back away, but she forced herself to.
She cleared her throat, raised her chin, and said domineeringly, "Would you eat such good venison jerky? I'm taking it..." Despite the three pairs of bewildered eyes, she forcefully snatched a plate of jerky from the Jin Shanyao table.
She originally wanted to snatch the bowl of glutinous Jin Shanyao's hand, but then thought it was too much, so she switched it with dried venison!
The little girl turned around and just as she met Xiao Changchuan's satisfied smile, her hand felt light... the jerky had been taken away.
She was startled and almost screamed. The little girl stiffly looked down and saw Jin Shanyao squatting beside her table, folding two plates of dried meat into one and taking it away...
Jin Shanyao sat back down, chuckled at her, "Thank you for your concern, Miss. I can understand what I'm eating... You won't believe me, look." As she spoke, she picked up a piece of dried meat, put it in her mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then opened her mouth wide in surprise at the girl.
The little girl turned her face away awkwardly. Now she had offended the man and lost her jerky. She secretly glanced at the young prince and saw him staring at her fiercely.
The little girl took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind. She said a few words to the maid beside her, and a moment later the maid brought over four or five plates of sweet candy. The little girl set up a table for everyone around her, and when the Jin Shanyao, she let out a provocative and exaggerated "ah".
"I'm so sorry, Madam. I forgot to get you some candy when I was distributing it to everyone..."
The people around were watching this scene as if they were enjoying a good show.
Just as Madam Zhao was about to hand over her candy, she heard Jin Shanyao speak in a clear, crisp voice.
"It's okay, don't blame yourself. Just go get it now. I like peanut brittle, so don't get the wrong one."
The girl's face flushed red in waves. She wished she could disappear into the ground. What was going on? She quietly sat back down, only to be met with the young prince's murderous glare.
The little girl was on the verge of tears, feeling wronged. This was so unfair... Who insists on fighting when they can't win? Isn't that just suicide?