Chapter 293 The Emperor’s Visit
At the City God Temple, because there are so many people, the banquet is a little different from usual ones.
Ordinary banquets are either lunch or dinner, but King Huai's birthday banquet was more like a buffet.
It starts in the morning and won't go away until the moon rises.
In previous years, it took hundreds of people just to prepare the food and wine for the birthday banquet. Even so, it was still very chaotic. This year, the Moon Viewing Tower was replaced as the host, and there were only 40 to 50 people in the makeshift kitchen.
Moreover, everyone had a clear division of labor, and many of the piles of ingredients were almost ready. Everything looked very orderly.
The nanny beside Princess Huai took a look and was very satisfied. She turned around and went back to report.
King Huai and his wife had already arrived at the City God Temple.
This special birthday celebration was a gift from His Majesty the Emperor. The Chenghuang Temple was borrowed, and King Huai would set up an incense table every year and pray in the main hall of the Chenghuang Temple.
He will not come out until noon to meet those attending the banquet.
First, the officials and nobles who received the invitation sent representatives to congratulate King Huai on his birthday and present birthday gifts.
Unlike other birthday banquets, birthday gifts are usually expensive. The birthday gifts given to Prince Huai's mansion are mostly more approachable. Among them, various medicinal herbs are the most common. Everyone knows that Prince Huai is not in good health and needs various medicinal herbs to prolong his life.
Prince Huai’s Palace will not accept gifts that are too precious.
It is said that there was once a seventh-rank official who found a night-shining pearl from the East China Sea from somewhere. He wanted to give it to King Huai at his birthday banquet, but not only did he fail to give the gift, he was also scolded. From then on, the official career of this seventh-rank official was cut off.
Come to think of it, the Night Pearls in the East China Sea are so precious. There are only a few of them in the imperial palace. How did a lowly official of the seventh rank get one?
The tricks here are too complicated to bear careful consideration. And bringing it out in front of so many people is really stupid and unaware.
From then on, there were no more unusual gifts at King Huai’s birthday banquet.
King Huai even said that he was very pleased that everyone came to celebrate his birthday and pray for him. No need to prepare any gifts. It was good enough that they came.
These words were spoken very gently, and everyone who heard them was deeply moved.
But who would go to a birthday party empty-handed? Therefore, the birthday gifts presented at King Huai's birthday party were very down-to-earth.
In previous birthday banquets, because of the need to present birthday gifts, everyone did not have much chance to eat the food on the table. As time went on, in this hot summer, with so many people and bad air, the food left behind would taste a little bad.
However, this year is completely different.
On each table was a deep and large copper basin filled with thick soup and ice cubes, and a bunch of bamboo sticks were soaked in the soup.
Not to mention eating it, just smelling the fragrance and feeling the cool air coming out of the copper basin makes people feel very comfortable.
Not only that, there were some exquisite-looking cold dishes on the side of the copper basin. There were eight dishes in total, four meat dishes and one vegetable dish, on each table.
If the people at this table have been to the Moon Viewing Tower for a cold banquet recently, they will recognize that these cold dishes are all from the cold banquet.
Including but not limited to cold fungus, cold bitter melon, cold shredded chicken, cold shredded tripe······
In addition, there was a bowl of brown sugar smoothie in front of everyone.
The officials sitting inside were naturally accustomed to these dishes.
Since the Moon Viewing Tower launched the ice cream season, they have all tasted the dishes there. But for ordinary people living outside, this table of dishes is very novel.
Some of them knew about the Moon Viewing Tower, but they were either short of money or simply couldn't get a spot, so very few people had ever eaten there.
Most of them I have only heard of but never seen.
When I first saw the dishes on the table today, I was very surprised and I was grateful to King Huai.
If King Huai had not organized this banquet, they might have missed the entire summer and would not have been able to eat the ice cream in the Moon Viewing Tower.
When Emperor Chengtian arrived, the officials' birthday celebrations had just ended.
The common people had never even seen higher-ranking officials, so how could they possibly recognize Emperor Chengtian?
However, seeing that he was dressed exquisitely and had a unique temperament, and was followed by some servants and retainers, they thought that he was also some official who came to congratulate Prince Huai on his birthday.
They naturally made way for him, allowing him to enter smoothly.
On the high platform, King Huai and his wife sat at the top, accepting congratulations from others.
Such scenes happen every year. He has long been accustomed to it.
However, when he saw the figure walking towards him, his pupils widened and he almost fell off his chair.
Princess Huai beside him thought he was too tired to sit still, so she quickly leaned over to help him and said, "My Lord, if you can't stand it, then you should rest first. There are only birthday gifts from the people left to present. I believe they can understand."
Princess Huai had a selfish motive for saying this. She had gotten up early in the morning to make trouble, burn incense, bully others, and had been sitting on the high platform for a long time.
She couldn't bear it anymore.
She is no longer the young woman who had just married into Prince Huai's palace.
Over the years, she could clearly feel that her physical strength was getting worse year by year.
Not to mention the prince who was older than her, even she felt a little restless.
King Huai ignored his queen, rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again.
It's really him!
I didn’t see it wrong!
After confirming the identity of the visitor, King Huai hurriedly got up and prepared to greet him.
However, before he could tidy himself up, Emperor Chengtian had already walked up to him.
Putting one hand on his shoulder, he whispered in his ear, "No need to bow, Fifth Brother. I, as your elder brother, just came to visit you and wish you a happy birthday."
Emperor Chengtian has changed his usual behavior. At this moment, he looks amiable and even changes his self-proclaimed name.
The officials in the audience looked at this person who suddenly came in and became curious.
Some minor officials had never seen the emperor, so naturally they could not recognize Emperor Chengtian.
However, there are still a large number of people below who recognized the identity of Emperor Chengtian.
He was so frightened that he immediately knelt down to greet him.
But Emperor Chengtian stopped him, saying, "I am just an idler who came to celebrate the birthday of King Huai. No need to be polite."
In this case, even the self-proclaimed name has changed.
It was said but it seemed as if he hadn't said it.
But to the ears of those old men who have been in the officialdom for many years, it has a different meaning.
His Majesty the Emperor doesn't want to reveal his identity.
If the boss has a request, the people below will naturally cooperate.