After time travel, my best friend and I exchanged supplies and became a rich woman

Two days later, it was the Wanshou Festival.

Because it was the emperor's birthday, lights and decorations were hung everywhere in the capital.

All the high-ranking officials in the court rushed to the palace in their best attire, bringing gifts with them, to attend the emperor's birthday banquet.

It is said that the reason for this Wanshou Festival is that this year finally ushered in a rare period of good weather and good harvests, and it was also the emperor's 70th birthday, so the emperor ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to hold a grand birthday banquet.

There were more than a thousand foreign ministers and royal relatives who came to celebrate the birthday.

The banquet was held in the Hall of Heroes, which had not been used for many years.

Because Empress Darong had passed away many years ago, the emperor sat alone on the high platform at this time.

Under the high platform, the first person sitting on the right of the emperor was the Empress Dowager, followed by the eldest princess, and then the Concubine Shu with a group of concubines, women from the royal palace, and a group of ladies who were granted imperial titles.

The first person sitting on the left hand side of the emperor was King Kang, followed by King Qi, King Ning, and then the right prime minister Yi Zhaojie, the left prime minister Meng Yangzhou and a number of other civil and military officials.

Ji Chongning, along with many princes and sons of the royal family, was placed in the row behind Prince Kang and other old folks... not old ministers.

At this time, the banquet had not yet begun, but a long table had been set in front of everyone.

On the table were seasonal cherry pancakes, honey apricot cakes, and plum cakes stuffed with various nuts.

In addition, there are some snacks such as five-spice cakes, small steamed cakes, chestnut cakes, etc.

The two large official kiln pots on the table contained Su Pi Drink and Zi Su Drink.

Looking at the table full of appetizers, the Empress Dowager was chanting Buddha's name in her heart.

Although these things are just ordinary dishes, but!

The old lady was already very satisfied even though none of the snacks had anything to do with pumpkin.

She passed by the eldest princess sitting next to her and whispered to the concubine who was sitting third, "Concubine Shu, thank you for your hard work in organizing the emperor's birthday banquet~~"

Although Concubine Shu is over forty years old, her demeanor and expression still show a bit of the shyness of a young girl.

She held the handkerchief in her hand, leaned forward slightly and said, "You are too polite, Grandmother. This is what I should do."

The eldest princess sitting in the middle said nothing, but let out a light snort.

The Empress Dowager glanced at the eldest princess and frowned slightly, meaning, whatever you have to say, just keep it to yourself today! !

The eldest princess grew up in the Empress Dowager's palace since she was a child, so she could immediately understand the meaning of every look from the old lady.

But she really couldn't stand Concubine Shu's pretentious appearance, but she was embarrassed to go against the Empress Dowager's wishes, so she rolled her eyes to the sky, picked up the basil drink on the table and took a sip.

Then, she said to the maidservant beside her in a nitpicking manner: "The tea drinks prepared by the tea and water department in this palace are really getting worse and worse. The purple basil drink is like the water used to wash the pot. It is very unpalatable.

Go and make some Elsholtzia drink. Take this Perilla drink away immediately. I cannot stand the smell of the water used to wash the pot."

The concubine next to him pretended not to hear and continued to sit at the table, looking at the emperor from afar.

This psychological quality is indeed very high.

"My dear ministers~~~~~"

The emperor's slightly old voice rang out in the Hall of Heroes.

The slightly noisy hall suddenly became quiet.

Then the emperor continued, "Today is my birthday. I am deeply pleased that you, my dear ministers, can come to the palace to celebrate with me.

Come on, come on, raise your glasses!!! May God bless you with great honor and eternal prosperity!!”

After saying this, the emperor raised his glass first.

Everyone below stood up and shouted in unison: "May God bless you and may your majesty prosper forever. May your majesty be blessed with great fortune and a long life. Long live the majesty."

The emperor smiled, pushed his glass toward the Empress Dowager from afar, then pushed his glass toward everyone else, and finally drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone followed suit and drank up the wine in their glasses.

The birthday banquet officially begins.

Dancers and musicians entered the venue one after another.

Fine wine and delicious food were brought in like water.

In the Hall of Heroes, there was singing and dancing, and it was a rare and lively occasion.

Ji Chongning, hiding in the crowd, watched the performance quietly, with a smile on his face, but his eyes were empty.

The emperor is also old.

His hair is already full of silver.

The eyes that once sparkled with a bright look now looked like a goldfish with swollen eyes, no longer as bright as before.

Did he ever regret executing his father and mother?

Or... Have you ever remembered that your father was once so high-spirited and determined to promote the reform of the Dayong Dynasty?

And the entire Lin family...

Was he killed by Sui Jin's frame-up or by the emperor's suspicion?

Ji Chongning wanted to know.

But I don’t dare to know.

.................

When the banquet was halfway through, the palace's eunuch in charge of ceremonies came in, holding a book, followed by a group of eunuchs carrying gifts.

The emperor on the high platform said to the people below: "Who brought the biggest one?"

Everyone turned their heads to look at the huge, round thing covered with oilcloth that was being carried to the middle of the hall.

At this time, King Kang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, that is a specialty that I brought from Liaozhou."

"What is it?" The eldest princess approached the Empress Dowager and asked in a low voice.

The Empress Dowager felt a darkness before her eyes and seemed to smell the scent of pumpkin at the tip of her nose.

She was going to vomit.

So she did not answer the eldest princess's question, but subconsciously covered her nose.

Hiccup.

The emperor was in a very good mood today, so he looked at Prince Kang with a little more favor, so he asked with a smile: "Oh? Liaozhou's specialty? What is it? I don't know."

Honestly speaking, if today wasn't his birthday party, the emperor wouldn't want to say anything that would bring bad luck.

Otherwise he would definitely ask his eldest son, isn't Liaozhou's specialty... a bandit?

When King Kang heard the emperor's question, he didn't dare to keep it too secret.

So he ordered his men to untie the hemp rope tied on the outermost layer...

Then King Kang personally tore off the oilcloth, revealing a huge pumpkin.

There was a sudden silence in the Hall of Heroes.

Some people looked at the melon, some looked at the emperor, and two others who had vomited after eating the pumpkin were desperately stuffing fried cherries into their mouths.

The emperor was also frightened by the big pumpkin.

He stood up, and with the help of the eunuch, he walked down the platform with a slightly staggering step, then walked to the front of the pumpkin and walked around it twice.

Then he asked King Kang, "Did you grow this pumpkin?!"

"It's grown in our Liaozhou Prefecture." King Kang's answer was very artistic.

The emperor nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, good, this pumpkin is grown well! Does this pumpkin have a name?!"

"Yes~~~~" King Kang's brain couldn't keep up with his words, so he answered without thinking.

"What's your name?" the emperor asked.

It's over.

King Kang was stuck for a moment.

This is the consequence of the brain not keeping up with the mouth.