Qing Dynasty: The Imperial Concubine is Pregnant Again

The full moon banquet lasts almost the entire day, with guests entertained at noon and a small gathering at the mansion in the evening.

The front yard was decorated very luxuriously, with many bouquets of flowers placed on both sides of the road, which was an eye-opener. On both sides of the cross flower road were several banquet tables, each of which was a mahogany round table with eight seats, showing elegance and grandeur.

To create a better atmosphere for the banquet, Tong Nuanyan specially built a large stage in the front and invited a popular opera troupe from the Liyuan Opera House to perform. Even the most popular female role among the wealthy families, "Li Ke", was invited. This was a man with a thin figure, a feminine face and a more feminine appearance.

After everyone was seated, Tong Nuanyan ordered people to go on stage to perform. The first play was the "Havoc in Heaven", which is suitable for all ages. The character of Sun Wukong was seen swinging his golden cudgel on the stage, looking majestic and domineering. With the exciting music, it was very lively to watch.

The table was filled with seasonal fruits and snacks. Originally, Tong Nuanyan wanted to take out lychees from her ring, but 805 reminded her that these were tribute fruits, and even the emperor himself only had one or two pounds to taste. So she didn't take them out, and had to put some watermelons and grapes, two kinds of fruits that were expensive but not tribute fruits.

In addition to melon seeds, peanuts, longans, and various pastries, Tong Nuanyan even spent 12,000 taels to buy beef jerky and pudding jelly from the mall. In addition to watching the show, everyone also noticed that these snacks on the table were different from the previous ones.

The others pretended to know for the sake of face, and only the carefree Tenth Prince asked, "Little Fourth Sister-in-law, what are these colorful things? I have never seen them before."

Hearing Shi Beizi's question, others who also wanted to know the answer pricked up their ears and listened to Tong Nuanyan's answer: "To answer Shi Beizi, these are the desserts prepared for this banquet. They are called puddings and are made with fresh fruit juice. They have a soft and chewy texture. You may want to try them."

After hearing Tong Nuanyan's answer, Shi Beizi couldn't help but opened it and drank one. In order to avoid polluting the environment, the items in the Interstellar Mall are packaged in air packaging that decomposes quickly and can be reused multiple times.

"It's delicious. Not only does it have the sweetness of fruit, but the fragrance lingers in your mouth. It's a pleasant surprise!" After eating the food, the Tenth Prince praised it highly and finished several of them quickly. He also stretched out his hand to signal the Ninth Prince and the Eighth Prince and his wife who were sitting next to him to eat quickly.

The other princes who were paying attention to the movement here, seeing the Tenth Prince praising it highly, slowly picked up one, tore it open and took a bite. Men like the Prince of Zhi and the Prince of Cheng were fine, they didn't know much about sweets and just thought it was novel.

On the contrary, female relatives like the first wife, because they love sweets and know that these desserts have higher sugar content than previous desserts, they ate several of them gracefully while maintaining etiquette.

Tong Nuanyan watched and knew that she had succeeded in the first step. Next, she should come up with some new ideas in the performance. Soon, the play "Havoc in Heaven" on the stage was finished. Tong Nuanyan signaled to Xia Xi next to her and held Hong Zhao in her arms.

A group of women in green dance dresses came onto the stage. Yinzhen looked at them with some confusion. He seemed to have never seen this group of people before, so they should not be the prince's.

This group of people were certainly not hired by the prince. These six were all dancers in the palace. Whenever there was a banquet, the princes could order programs from the Ministry of Rites in the palace. This time was no exception, except that Tong Nuanyan changed the program.

Soon, a melodious and elegant piece of music sounded, and the six dancers on the stage began to dance along.

"There is a beauty in the south, dancing with a green waist. At the feast in the evening of the ninth autumn, her flying sleeves brush against the clouds and rain.

As graceful as a green orchid, as graceful as a flying dragon. The beauty of Yue stopped at Qianxi, and the girl of Wu stopped wearing white silk.

The slow movements are endless, and the complex postures are curved to the end. The lotus flowers are swaying in the waves, and the tousled snow is lingering in the wind.

When the earrings fall, the eyes flow, and the long skirts want to trace the sky. But I am worried that I can't catch it, so I fly away to chase the startled wild geese. "Prince Cheng, who has always liked poetry and songs, watched the dance on the stage with fascination, and muttered the poems about Lu Yao.

After hearing this, the Fifth Prince was also surprised and said, "Little Fourth Sister-in-law, this can't be the legendary Green Waist Dance? I didn't expect to see the legendary dance like this."

"Ancient books say that during the Tang Dynasty, many concubines in the palace would dance the Green Waist Dance. Later, for some unknown reason, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang issued an order that the Green Waist Dance was no longer allowed, causing this heavenly dance to be lost. Today, this dance is restored from the descriptions in ancient books and poems, adding novelty to this banquet." Tong Nuanyan smiled and talked about the origin of the dance.

How would she know about the Green Waist Dance? 805 had searched it out from the Star Mall. She had originally thought of adding a rock number or having someone sing some songs, but then she thought, in this feudal society, would she be considered an outcast if she did these things?

Later, 805 found many lost dance books from ancient times in the mall, on which every dance move was clearly described. Tong Nuanyan was overwhelmed by the choices, and finally she chose one with her eyes closed, and she chose the Green Waist Dance.

Yinzhen was really too surprised by today's banquet, and he had been kept in the dark about all this, and had no say in the discussion. This time he finally got a word in: "I remember that ancient books record that the Green Waist was also known as the Blue Waist, and it was a solo dance for women. Why did Concubine Fujin let six people dance?"

Tong Nuanyan found it funny when she saw the accusatory look in Yinzhen's eyes, while Hongzhao in her arms looked around at the people on both sides with his eyes wide open, looking very lively.

"The Fourth Master is right. Green Waist is indeed a solo dance. The reason why it was changed to a six-person dance is because the preparation time was short and these dancers could not meet the requirements of a solo dance, so it became a six-person dance." Tong Nuanyan glanced at the princes and did not detect any dissatisfaction before continuing.

"I hope all the gentlemen and ladies can forgive me. Now that these dancers have learned the Green Waist Dance, we will be able to see even more stunning dances at future banquets." Tong Nuanyan said with a smile. With this statement, it doesn't matter even if the Green Waist Dance came from her, because there will be this program at future palace banquets.

After the Eighth Prince sat down, he was very gentle with the Eighth Lady, and did not say a word. Only when he heard Tong Nuanyan's words did he react: "Fourth brother, the little fourth sister-in-law is so generous to pass on her unique skills. I must learn from her."

When Yinzhen heard this, his face darkened and he said in a cold voice, "No, we brothers have all heard about the virtuousness of Eighth Brother's wife. My concubine is not as good as her."

Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, the Prince of Zhi, the Prince of Cheng and others who understood the meaning nearby were trying to hold back their laughter. Everyone knew that the Eighth Concubine was famous for her jealousy, but Yinzhen, on the contrary, said that she was virtuous and capable. He really used his sarcasm skills to the fullest.

The Eighth Prince still had a faint smile, and only his hand tightly holding the teacup betrayed his unrest. "Thank you very much for the compliment from Fourth Brother, little Fourth Sister-in-law. Fourth Brother said that you are not as good as my wife, what do you think?"

Tong Nuanyan saw the flames of war suddenly spread to herself, lowered her head and smiled: "Fourth Master is right, I heard that Eighth Lady has a way of managing the backyard, it is very organized and there are no mistakes. I have been busy organizing the full moon banquet these two days, and I have to learn more."

When the Eighth Prince heard this, the smile on his face became much more genuine.

The Eighth Concubine laughed heartily: "Thank you for the compliment, Sister-in-law Four. It's true that nice words make people happy." Hearing his words, the Eighth Prince smiled helplessly. When will this heartless concubine of his realize that he and Yinzhen are in a hostile relationship?

Yinzhen silently picked up the teacup and drank it all, then took a deep look at Tong Nuanyan, feeling sullen inside. He also knew that what Tong Nuanyan said was not the same thing as what he meant, but unfortunately others only heard the compliment, which made him feel that he had said it in vain.

But Tong Nuanyan only said: "I am a concubine, so it is not easy for me to learn anything from the Eighth Concubine. I wonder if the Eighth Prince's concubine can learn a little from the Eighth Concubine?"

Yinzhen suppressed the smile on his face and reminded him, "Eighth brother, there is only a concubine in your courtyard, no concubine."

Tong Nuanyan pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, I didn't know about this. Will the Eighth Lady blame me? If so, I envy the Eighth Lady."

She did envy the Eighth Lady, because she was the only one in the backyard who could be on the Jade Butterfly stage, and she didn't have to compete with others for favor. But in this dynasty, she would be called a jealous woman, and would be scolded by Emperor Kangxi. When she said this, no matter if she was really envious or not, it was just a mockery in the eyes of others.