Chapter 174: Palace Banquet Farce
Xie Zihan saw Shen Jingxuan and the other two from afar, and became curious as he saw them chatting happily.
He didn't understand what the three of them were talking about that made Shen Jingxuan smile.
Shen Jingxuan noticed something strange behind her, and quickly stopped smiling. She turned around slowly and wanted to see who was coming.
Seeing Shen Jingxuan's changed appearance, Jiang Shaoying gently pulled Chen Yi's sleeve, and she instantly turned back into the good girl she used to be.
The three of them stared at Xie Zihan, not understanding why he appeared here.
Xie Zihan looked at the changes in several people and realized that he had come to them unknowingly.
"Xuan'er, so you are here." Xie Zihan said.
Shen Jingxuan didn't want to pay attention to her. She glanced at Jiang Shaoying and the other person and walked in another direction.
Xie Zihan said anxiously: "Xuan'er, the palace banquet is about to begin, we have to go back."
The other women had already returned to the temple, and only the three of them were nowhere to be seen.
Xie Zihan couldn't see Shen Jingxuan for a long time in the hall, so he wanted to go out to look for her, and then he saw the scene just now.
Looking at Shen Jingxuan's sweet smile and radiant appearance, Xie Zihan's heart suddenly tightened. If he had not proposed to cancel the engagement, Shen Jingxuan would have been his long ago.
It wouldn't be like it is now. Even if Shen Jingxuan looked at him for a second longer, he would feel extremely satisfied.
Seeing Shen Jingxuan leaving, Xie Zihan felt heartbroken. He never expected that Shen Jingxuan hated him so much that she didn't even want to say a word to him.
His heart was aching more and more, but it was too late for Xie Zihan to regret.
He couldn't help but secretly make up his mind that he must get Shen Jingxuan back, and she could only be his.
When Shen Jingxuan and the other two arrived at the hall, it was already full of people.
The emperor and the empress had not arrived yet, so everyone sat in groups of three or five, chatting.
From the moment Jiang Shaoying entered the hall, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his face was full of displeasure.
"Axuan, I'll sit with you."
Looking at the group of gorgeously dressed women in front of him, Jiang Shaoying did not hide his disgust.
Shen Jingxuan raised her head and looked towards the hall. The emperor and the empress were still seated at the top.
Going down in order, the left side was reserved for women, while the right side was filled with young men from various families.
To her surprise, today's palace banquet was different from previous ones.
In the past, the positions of each family were arranged in order according to their official positions, but now it is much simpler and is divided according to gender.
I think it is just as Jiang Shaoying said, it is indeed prepared for the prince to select a concubine.
In this way, even if Xie Zihan raised his eyes slightly, he could still see the clothes and appearance of the woman opposite him.
Shen Jingxuan chose a seat not far from the entrance to the hall and sat down.
Now that she has been granted marriage, she should not attend such a palace banquet.
But the invitation said that she had to come, so she had no choice but to come, after all, it was the queen who posted the invitation.
Jiang Shaoying and Chen Yi came to Shen Jingxuan together and sat down one on the left and one on the right.
Jiang Shaoying nodded: "Axuan, this position is good."
If you don't look carefully, no one will notice where they are sitting.
But if they wanted to see other people in the hall, they could see everything.
"Is it safe now?" Chen Yi asked.
She doesn't want to participate in the selection of the Crown Princess, nor does she want to be the Crown Princess.
Rather than competing with a group of women for a husband, she would rather remain single for her entire life.
Shen Jingxuan teased, "Safe? Yi'er is probably overthinking it. You are so cute and dependent, even if you hide far away, you will probably be noticed by some people."
Seeing the fat boy sitting opposite them who was also afraid of trouble and didn't blink, Shen Jingxuan knew that Chen Yi couldn't escape.
Jiang Shaoying was puzzled: "Ah Xuan, why do you say that?"
Without waiting for her to continue asking, Shen Jingxuan raised her chin towards the opposite side. Jiang Shaoying looked across and unconsciously curled the corners of her lips.
Haha, this is really unexpected. She turned her head to look at Chen Yi and saw that she was sitting there eating pastries as if she didn't know anything.
Jiang Shaoying smiled slyly: "Yier, look who that is?"
After saying that, Chen Yi put the pastry in her hand into her mouth and looked in the direction of her finger.
"Cough cough cough..." Chen Yi swallowed the pastry that she had just put into her mouth quickly, but it got stuck in her throat, making her cough uncontrollably.
"Tsk tsk, such a strong reaction?" Jiang Shaoying laughed secretly.
Shen Jingxuan picked up the teacup and handed it to Chen Yi: "Have a sip of tea and you'll be fine."
Chen Yi took the tea and poured it into her mouth. When the teacup moved away from her lips, the fat man's big face came into her sight again.
"Puff..." The water in Chen Yi's mouth sprayed out before she could swallow it.
Couldn't she just be allowed to attend the banquet in peace? Why did she have to see him at this moment?
Chen Yi's cheeks flushed red, and she refused to look up no matter who called her.
Jiang Shaoying couldn't stop laughing. She raised her hand and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes: "Ah Xuan, this is so funny."
Fatty was indeed powerful. Just by sitting there, Chen Yi saw her and made her lose her composure.
Shen Jingxuan shook her head helplessly: "Okay, so many people are watching."
When Jiang Shaoying looked up, she saw many young ladies and gentlemen looking at her, and the smile on her lips gradually disappeared.
It was so annoying. With them around, she couldn't even laugh out loud at the jokes she had worked so hard to come up with.
When Fatty saw Shen Jingxuan and the others laughing and joking, he wanted to get up and go forward to chat with them, but at this moment, he heard footsteps outside the hall, so he had to sit back down.
"The Emperor has arrived..."
"The Queen has arrived..."
"The Regent has arrived..."
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived..."
After three consecutive announcements, the emperor and the empress walked into the hall first.
Then Xie Lingxiao and Xie Zihan entered the hall one after another.
Many young men and women bowed together and saluted.
After the emperor came to his seat, he turned and looked at the people below. After a long time, he asked everyone to stand up.
Everyone finally stood up and sat back in their seats.
The emperor waited quietly for everyone to sit down, then said, "There is nothing important today, just a small gathering, everyone don't have to be so reserved."
The emperor said a few simple words and then ordered the palace servants to serve the meal.
Rows of palace servants came in one after another with trays in their hands, and the whole hall was instantly filled with the aroma of food.
The palace servants quickly placed plates of delicious food on the table and then left.
Jiang Shaoying looked at the meal in front of her and wanted to put it in her mouth immediately.
She held the long chopsticks in her hand, waiting for the emperor's order so that she could put the food into her mouth immediately.
Shen Jingxuan looked at her and shook her head and laughed. She noticed a gaze directed at her, so she slowly raised her head and looked towards him.
Their eyes met, Xie Lingxiao curled the corners of his lips slightly, and then returned to normal in an instant and looked away.
We can't let other people notice the difference between the two of us, otherwise all our efforts will be wasted.
When the emperor saw that the meal was ready, he stopped talking, picked up the long chopsticks and started eating.
Seeing that the emperor had already started eating, the others also pointed at the food in front of them.
The emperor didn't say a word, and the young ladies and gentlemen from the official families below didn't dare to say a word either, and ate their meals in silence.
When everyone had almost finished eating, the Queen said, "Your Majesty, how about having everyone perform some talent?"
"Okay." The emperor responded.
The Queen continued, "If the performance is good, Your Majesty must not be stingy and must reward generously."
"Hahaha... ..."
"Just as the Queen said, for a good performance, I will reward you handsomely." The Emperor said happily.
The palace hasn't held a palace banquet for a long time, and now it feels a lot more relaxed.