Quick Wear: The Development of a Pure Cannon Fodder

The emperor and the empress dowager had a very good mother-son relationship, so when the emperor appeared, he walked in holding the empress dowager's hand on his right, both of them with smiles on their faces. On the left of the empress dowager was the queen, and behind them, in addition to the personal palace servants and the royal guards who protected their safety, there were the princes and princesses ranked from oldest to youngest. Even the second prince, who had been put in solitary confinement for making a mistake some time ago, was released.

All members of the imperial family and ministers, along with their families, walked out of their seats and knelt on the path beside them to show their respect for the royal family. The royal family's authority was fully demonstrated at this moment. After the princes and princesses took their seats, the emperor waved his hand amid the adoring crowd, "All of you, please stand."

Yu Ziyin stood up following the elders in front of her, not daring to look up without manners. After quietly listening to the Emperor and Empress's congratulatory speeches to the Empress Dowager, the Empress, concubines in the harem, princes and princesses, clan members and ministers came forward one by one to present gifts. Accompanied by cheerful string music, the true appearance of each gift was revealed to the public, which was amazing.

What the Queen Mother was most satisfied with was the birthday gift sent by the Fourth Prince. It was a Buddhist scripture copied by a high monk from the Wanfo Temple who had passed away hundreds of years ago. It was said that the scarlet characters on the scripture were written bit by bit with the monk's own blood. Because he had never killed or eaten meat in his life, in the eyes of everyone, his blood represented cleanliness and purity. Perhaps the Buddha was moved by his sincerity, and this Buddhist scripture did not suffer any damage with the passage of time.

The empress dowager, who studied Buddhist scriptures, had naturally heard of this Buddhist scripture. She had wanted to obtain this Buddhist scripture in her early years, but was rejected by the abbot of Wanfo Temple. This made the empress dowager feel regretful, but now her beloved grandson Li Changxuan brought the Buddhist scripture she wanted to her.

Even the Empress Dowager, usually calm and composed, was overcome with excitement at this moment, demanding that the unfolded Buddhist scriptures be brought forward so she could examine them more closely. Even the Emperor couldn't help but step forward to examine the scriptures. As the Empress Dowager read, her smile grew even more sincere, and she continued to praise the Fourth Prince beside her, "You're so thoughtful! Convincing the abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple must have taken quite a bit of effort on your part, didn't it?"

Li Changxuan cupped his hands and said, "As long as the Empress Dowager is happy, this is nothing."

The emperor smiled and looked at Li Changxuan with satisfaction, "Good boy, your grandmother's love for you is not in vain."

Concubine Dong glanced at the Empress with pride, then stood up and said to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, "Your Majesty, please stop praising him. Look at him! If he had a tail, it would be up to the sky!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The queen, who was sitting aside and being completely ignored and provoked by Concubine Dong, remained calm, but her eyes were secretly looking at the eldest prince who was also calm below.

The gift from his own son was a jade Buddha that he had carved himself. In order to carve the jade Buddha well, he started learning it at the end of the year. His hands were full of cuts from knives, and the pen was covered in blood when he picked up the pen to write. However, the result was not as good as the Buddhist scripture given by the fourth prince.

There was a hint of sarcasm in the queen's eyes.

The eldest prince was already accustomed to this. He glanced at Duke Cheng'en not far away from him.

Duke Cheng'en's eyes met his for a moment, but he quickly looked away, and no one noticed the exchange of glances between them.

Taking advantage of the harmonious atmosphere at the top and the relaxed atmosphere among the ministers below, Duke Cheng'en, the empress dowager's younger brother, stepped forward and said to her, "Your Majesty, you have finally gotten what you wished for! You won't drag me down in the future to complain about how much I regret not having received the Buddhist scriptures, will you?"

Back then, the Queen Mother often regretted not being able to get the Buddhist scripture from the abbot. Whenever Duke Cheng'en came to the harem to see her, she would say a few words about it, and then Duke Cheng'en would bring it up to tease her.

The Queen Mother laughed a few times. "You, you actually dare to tease me? You're still as naughty as when we were little! Emperor, give him a few drinks as punishment. You can't let him go back so easily today!"

"Hahaha! Your son obeys your majesty." The emperor laughed a few times, picked up the wine glass, and said to Duke Cheng'en, "Duke Cheng'en, come! Today, I will let you drink until you are drunk!"

"Oh! Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Duke Cheng'en picked up the wine glass and stood up quickly.

After the Emperor and Duke Cheng'en drank one cup, they took up another and raised their glass to the ministers below. "My Lords, today I drink from this cup with you all to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday!"

The ministers and their families all stood up, holding their wine glasses. "Honorably wishing the Queen Mother a long birthday! May the Queen Mother live a thousand years! Long live His Majesty!"

With this interruption, everyone's attention shifted away from the Buddhist scriptures given by the Fourth Prince Li Changxuan. Duke Cheng'en took the lead in reminiscing about the past with the Queen Mother. The Emperor also said a few words. Even the old tutor who had taught the Emperor in the past talked about the Emperor's past from time to time. Only Concubine Dong sat back with a stiff smile.

Concubine Dong's hands practically clenched beneath her sleeves, and she looked at Duke Cheng'en with a hint of resentment. This old bastard! He had actually stepped forward at this moment to steal the limelight from her and her son. She had originally planned to take advantage of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's euphoria to gain more benefits for her son, but this interruption had completely destroyed her chance! Damn old man!

Yu Ziyin didn't pay much attention to the situation of the superiors, but only focused on the fruit wine in front of her.

Because she was still relatively young, the Right Prime Minister and Madam Yu only prepared fruit wine for her that was not so easy to get her drunk. The sweet and sour taste exploded in her mouth, with a hint of spiciness, and it was still chilled. After drinking a glass, it tasted as good as some modern sparkling water.

But even if this fruit wine is not as intoxicating as the wine that others drink, it cannot resist the original owner's body which is easily drunk. Yu Ziyin's face was a little red after just a few drinks, but fortunately she did not put on any rouge before going out, so she just used it as blush.

At that time, Yu Ziyin didn't feel anything. She thought the fruit wine was very sweet but not intoxicating.

She asked the little palace maid beside her to pour her another cup, but the taste changed after she took a sip. Yu Zinyin was stunned for a moment and looked at the little palace maid beside her with some confusion.

This isn't wine, it's juice?

The palace maid also raised her head slightly to meet Yu Ziyin's gaze and whispered, "Young Master Jiang told me and the young lady that drinking too much fruit wine can cause coldness, so we shouldn't drink too much. Also, this fruit juice is sweeter than fruit wine. The young lady likes sweet things, so she can drink this and it won't make her drunk."

Jiang Qi was the eldest son of the Cheng'en Mansion, and the Queen Mother was his aunt, so it was more than enough for him to place a few of his own people in the palace. So before the banquet officially started, he saw Yu Ziyin drinking fruit wine and seemed to have no idea how alcohol would affect her. He felt uneasy and replaced the palace maid who poured wine for Yu Ziyin with one of his own people.

Because the palace maids had to get up from time to time to do other things and could not always stay at their table to serve them, Yu Zinyin did not notice that the palace maid who poured her wine had been replaced by another one.