Reborn to marry the emperor, I just want to confuse the emperor and seize the throne

Jiang Fenghua was fascinated by her elegant and graceful appearance in the mirror. Was this how she dressed before when she met the concubines in the palace and taught them the rules?

Lian Ye brought over the Nine Phoenix Hairpin from her collection and praised, "It is true that the Majesty is beautiful, and Hong Xiu's craftsmanship is also good."

Jiang Fenghua, "You all have such sweet words. I must have been immersed in a honey pot every day in the past, being praised by you every day."

The two laughed and said, "We are telling the truth."

After finishing her makeup, Jiang Fenghua stood up from the dressing mirror and asked, "How is it?"

The phoenix embroidered with gold thread seems lifelike, as if it wants to spread its wings and fly. The phoenix robe is very luxurious, and her temperament is even more outstanding, showing the dignity and majesty of the queen.

Nanny Wang nodded and praised: "Yes, Your Majesty and the concubines have also seen it. It is normal for them to come to Kunning Palace to pay their respects. Your Majesty will do the same in the future."

As soon as she walked towards the front hall in a dignified and proper manner, Jiang Fenghua held Nanny Wang's arm and slowly sat down in the main seat.

Led by Gao Qingtong and Song Jing, all the concubines stood up and saluted. "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you. May your Highness live long and happy lives."

Jiang Fenghua's movements were dignified and elegant. He smiled slightly and raised his hand to signal, "No need to be polite. Everyone, please take a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone said in unison.

Seeing that everyone had returned to their seats, she added, "Madame Wang has ordered the palace maids to serve tea to the ladies in each palace."

"Yes."

At this time, Gao Qingtong spoke first, "The Lantern Festival is approaching, and the palace has a customary banquet. I was thinking that since there was no grand banquet during the Chinese New Year, this year's Lantern Festival can be held in a grand manner so that His Majesty and His Majesty can celebrate together."

Song Jing also said: "The palace hasn't held a banquet for a long time. I and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have drawn up a banquet list. I have already discussed it with the Imperial Concubine. Please review it, Her Majesty."

"Noble Concubine Gao, Concubine Song, you both took great pains." Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice.

Before Gao Qingtong could speak, Song Jing continued, "I didn't do anything. It was all Cheng Zongguan's suggestion. On New Year's Eve, because of Zhang Jing... their affairs, everyone didn't celebrate the New Year properly. I wanted to make the Lantern Festival more lively, so I expanded the list of officials to invite so that the people can have fun together. Your Majesty, please take a look."

Jiang Fenghua looked through the list, which was five pages long. She examined it carefully. There was a list of invited guests, various performances for the Lantern Festival, and a variety of dishes, more than thirty in total. All of them were precious and expensive palace banquets that only wealthy people could afford.

She had seen the people of Qingzhou looking for wild vegetables to eat in the middle of winter, and the refugees of Jishan Hall suffering and being tortured by toxins. They needed a lot of medicine to detoxify their bodies, and medicine also cost money.

Now the budget for a banquet has exceeded 100,000 taels of silver, and the actual amount of silver is still unknown. It costs so much just to hold a banquet in the palace. The palace holds many banquets throughout the year, including New Year's Eve, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, flower viewing banquets and other festivals. In addition, the masters of each palace have to hold birthday banquets, and the princes and princesses have to hold birthday banquets. In a year, the banquets in the palace alone are a considerable expense! This must be over one million taels.

Xie Shang was short of money, and it cost so much money to hold a banquet in the harem. No wonder he had a headache. No matter how much private property he had, it would not be enough to make up for the squandering!

Seeing that the Queen did not speak, Song Jing continued, "In previous years, when the palace held banquets, Her Majesty would ask the concubines to prepare programs to liven up the atmosphere. This year, everyone has prepared their own programs. Everyone wants to dress up beautifully. I have asked them to report their costumes and have them prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and various departments."

Jiang Fenghua glanced at the concubines and asked, "Tell me what kind of Lantern Festival you want to celebrate the most. Speak freely and don't worry."

Nanny Wang coughed softly, "Your Majesty means that we should just follow the usual practice!"

Jiang Fenghua glanced at Nanny Wang and the two maids, and they nodded slightly at her.

Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice: "According to the convention, there is no problem, and the list of invited guests is also fine, but now our Great Zhou is in a troubled time, and Qingzhou's predicament has not been resolved. The people have survived the severe winter and are facing spring ploughing.

You all know that a large number of refugees appeared in the Great Zhou some time ago. The emperor has been busy with the refugees, and Imperial Physician Mei and the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau have been running out of the palace. The danger has not been eliminated, and there has been no progress so far.

If the palace holds a banquet that is too luxurious and grand, it will not only waste people's money and time, but also spread the word that the ladies in the palace do not care about the suffering of the people and only seek pleasure."

After hearing this, everyone lowered their heads and no one spoke.

Song Jing was also a little embarrassed, "It's our fault for not considering it carefully."

Gao Qingtong raised the corners of her lips slightly and looked at Song Jing. She had been too showy just now and did not expect that the Queen would disagree with her plan to hold a banquet. Now the Emperor asked her and Song Jing to help the Queen manage the harem. In order to attract the Emperor's attention, Song Jing showed her performance. It turned out that people's thoughts and desires would change.

Gao Qingtong saw Song Jing clearly, but the Queen couldn't see through it. What happened to the Queen?

Jiang Fenghua said, "The Lantern Festival banquet will be held as usual, but now is an extraordinary period, so there is no need to be too extravagant. If the items on the list can be reduced, then reduce them. As for the concubines, you can design any kind of performances as long as there is no extra cost. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will not provide extra costumes for everyone's performances. Let's work together to help the emperor get through this difficult time."

At this time, Shu Yan said, "Didn't the Queen just ask us what kind of Lantern Festival we wanted to celebrate? She also told us to speak freely without any worries."

Jiang Fenghua was annoyed when she saw Shu Yan. She raised her teacup and gently stirred the floating tea leaves. With a smile on her lips, she said, "Shu Ronghua, if you have any good suggestions, please tell me. I am all ears."

Shu Yan paused, mustered up the courage and said directly: "I just want to be favored by your majesty. The Lantern Festival with your majesty is the best Lantern Festival. Now that the queen says that she will not provide costumes, how can we show our talents?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Shu Yan. She was really brave.

Jiang Fenghua understood what she meant. Everyone's intention to cheer for the Lantern Festival was fake, and their real intention was to seduce the emperor. She did not agree to spend money on the concubines' clothes, and everyone thought that the queen did not want the emperor to see them.

Shu Yan heard everyone's discussion and said with a smile: "We have been in the palace for many years. Every time there is a big banquet in the palace, everyone performs hard, but who is watching? We just hope that the emperor will pay more attention to us as much as he loves the queen."

It would have been fine if they didn't mention it. Once it was mentioned, everyone was sad. Shu Ronghua was right. The Emperor only had eyes for the Empress and didn't see them at all. Any wonderful programs they prepared were in vain. Now even the most basic costumes were cancelled. They only dared to keep these words in their hearts and didn't dare to say them out loud like Shu Yan.