The Time Traveling Anchor and Her Eight Hundred Fence-Sitters

The He family was originally in the inner city, so it didn't take much time to take a carriage from the He family to the palace gate.

Instead, a few people got off the carriage at the palace gate and waited for more than an hour for the nanny inside to pick them up.

After a lot of effort, they finally found the maid from the Summer Palace, and followed her into the Imperial Garden. It was already past the hour of Si.

Since it was the Winter Solstice Banquet, a sunny day was chosen.

Empress Dowager Xiao ordered the screens to be removed and the tea table and mats to be spread directly in the garden.

This makes the room much more spacious, and even if more people come, they won’t feel stuffy.

When He Tong took Qin Shuyu and her two sisters to sit down, many female relatives had already gathered around.

Except for the Princess of Ning and the Princess of Ping, all the famous ladies and young ladies in the capital gathered in the imperial garden, making it very lively.

Zhao Mianmian was not interested in listening to Madam He talking about old things with others, so she hid behind He Xulan and pricked up her ears to listen to the gossip of the two ladies not far away.

"Look, I'm not kidding you. Whenever the Empress Dowager holds a banquet in the palace, all the unmarried women of marriageable age in the capital will come."

"No, no, are these people really here for Master Xiao?"

"That's right, Master Xiao is only in his early twenties this year, but he has already sat in the high position of a royal tutor.

Looking at the whole world, a man like him who comes from a famous family, has both talent and beauty, and holds great power is rare and cruel. If it weren't for Xiao Haizhou's high standards and no one he likes, I'm afraid that the girls in the capital would have cried a lot!

I don't know which girl will win in the end!"

"Oh, it's not as exaggerated as you say. I also took a look at Xiao Haizhou from a distance. He looks good, but too serious. He never smiles and looks like he doesn't want anyone to get close to him.

If I really marry him, I will have to live in that ice cellar every day."

"Bah! You're just thinking about that! Look, this winter solstice banquet is hosted in the name of Empress Dowager Xiao, and it hasn't even been announced that Xiao Haizhou will come, but so many young ladies have already come.

If Xiao Haizhou really came, wouldn't he squeeze everyone into the Imperial Lake?"

"That's right. If you don't believe me, look and see who's coming over there."

"Ah, am I seeing right?! That, that is... the eldest daughter of the You family?"

"You're not mistaken, it's the 25-year-old unmarried girl from the You family!

Having said that, she wants to marry into the Xiao family, considering the girls in this garden are just for show. Isn't she afraid of being laughed at if she tells others about it? "

"Oh, this is in the palace. Who knows, maybe they are not here for Xiao Haizhou?"

"If it's not Xiao Haizhou, then who else could it be? It can't be His Majesty who is only eight years old."

"Don't tell me, it's not impossible."

"You old fool, His Majesty is only eight years old, this girl from the You family can be his mother!!"

"Hahaha, that's what you said, I never said that."

……

Zhao Mianmian:

【…】

Zhao Mianmian didn't expect that the gossip she heard would involve Xiao Haizhou. She was rolling her eyes in her heart, speechless.

However, the audience in the live broadcast room were not as speechless as she was. Everyone was talking to each other and enjoying the show.

[Tsk tsk tsk, I told you, a man like Xiao Dad, no woman would be reluctant to get on with him. I guess in the whole capital, our host is the one who least wants to see him.]

[Of course the host doesn't want to see him. Aside from Xuanlinwei, she has to kowtow to Xiao Daddy when she sees him. You know, she hates kowtow to others the most! ]

[Ah, you don't like it? I saw that she was pretty good at knocking the head the last few times. ]

[Hahaha, if you say that again, be careful the host might get angry~]

However, the audience in the live broadcast room did not discuss for long, because Zhao Mianmian, relying on her small size and inconspicuous clothes, turned her butt and moved to a seat not far from He Xulan to continue listening to gossip.

This time, the ladies were talking about Empress Dowager Xiao.

"I heard that Empress Dowager Xiao has been ill for half a year again this time?"

"That's right. My aunt is familiar with the female official in charge of clothing in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I heard that the Queen Mother has just gotten better in the past few days. Otherwise, I'm afraid she wouldn't even be able to host the Winter Solstice Banquet!"

"Don't talk nonsense. The Queen Mother was born with a weak constitution, and she is not really ill. Otherwise, how could she have passed the test of the late Queen Mother and married the late Emperor, who was then the Crown Prince?"

“Indeed, I heard that when the late emperor was alive, he found a lot of precious medicines for her, otherwise she wouldn’t have survived until today.

I also heard that there were only a few people like Concubine Li and Concubine Zhang in the late queen's harem. This was because he favored Empress Xiao alone and was afraid that she would be wronged.

It's a pity that the late emperor passed away early, and even the most loving couple had to be separated by the Yin and Yang!"

I don’t know who was speaking, but his words made the ladies sigh.

However, the sigh only lasted for a few seconds. After a few seconds, it was interrupted by someone:

"What are you thinking about? There is no true love in the imperial family. Empress Dowager Xiao's surname is Xiao. The one the late emperor married was a girl from the Xiao family!"

[That's right, this is the sober view of the world. You've already entered the palace, what's the point of talking about bullshit love? ? If the couple really wanted to love each other, why didn't Empress Xiao give birth to a son herself? ]

[Didn't you hear them say that Empress Dowager Xiao was physically weak? Maybe she couldn't have children? You can't say that the late emperor and his wife had no love for each other just because of this.]

[In my opinion, there is affection, but not much. Otherwise, why would the late emperor just find a low-ranking palace maid to give birth to a son? If he really wanted to consider the Queen Mother's face, this son must have come out of the belly of a few concubines! ]

[It does make some sense. Since the empress dowager's surname is Xiao, she must have some abilities. The fact that the little emperor was born under her nose and still lived to this age shows that the twists and turns in between are not something that ordinary people can understand.

Who knows if the low-ranking palace maid who gave birth to the late emperor's son was deliberately arranged by Empress Dowager Xiao in order to consolidate the power of the Xiao family? ! 】

[Hahaha, this is too much. Which woman would like to find a mistress for her husband?]

[What three? This is ancient times, and in the palace. It's better to only talk about interests and not feelings!!]

[That's true! But instead of discussing Empress Dowager Xiao, why don't you think about what the host should do later? We can't stay here with her and listen to gossip all day, right?! ]

[Actually, it’s not a bad idea to listen to gossip for a day, (*^▽^*)]

[Listen to gossip +1, (p≧w≦q)]

[Damn, I’m really impressed by you guys!!]

However, Zhao Mianmian and the audience in the live broadcast room didn't hear this gossip for long.

Because not long after, Queen Mother Xiao Rui appeared in front of everyone surrounded by a group of people.

When Empress Dowager Xiao showed up, everyone stopped talking and knelt and bowed respectfully towards the main seat.

It was Zhao Mianmian’s first time entering the palace, and she didn’t know what to do, so she just imitated He Xulan and performed a complicated bow in a crooked manner.

While she was paying her respects, she secretly glanced through the gaps in the crowd at Empress Dowager Xiao Rui, who was sitting in the main seat.

Xiao Rui was a few years younger than the late emperor, and since she had no children, she looked much younger than Qin Shuyu.

But no matter how young she is, she is the legitimate daughter of the Xiao family after all. She has risen all the way from Crown Princess to Queen and then to Empress Dowager. Her every move is dignified and generous, which is admirable.

Empress Dowager Xiao was a kind person and she did not make anyone kneel for long. She just gave them a brief gesture and then asked them to stand up.

But Zhao Mianmian could see that she was not in good health. After she said just two sentences, her cheeks turned red and she was slightly out of breath.

Although the young emperor entrusted the Winter Solstice Banquet to the Summer Palace, Empress Dowager Xiao did not have to take care of everything herself.

Empress Dowager Xiao said a few words casually and pushed Princess Ning and Princess Ping out, and handed the task of hosting the Winter Solstice Banquet to them.

Princess Ping was a lively and likable person, and she loved crowds, so she livened up the atmosphere in just a few moves.

Under her arrangement, the ladies of the families drank tea, discussed poetry, and it was very lively.

In comparison, Princess Ning seemed a little arrogant and out of place.