The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

On the day of the palace banquet, Li Muxia and the others set off early in the morning to prepare for the trip to the palace.

Many of the carriages we encountered on the road were heading to the palace.

Many carriages were already parked at the palace gate. When Li Muxia and her group arrived, they ran into the Su family's carriages. Li Muxia watched as the Su family's young ladies disembarked one by one, but Su Lanzhi was not among them.

Seeing this, Li Anran stepped forward and asked, "Miss Su, where is Lanzhi?"

Su Xue'er looked at Li Anran and said disdainfully, "After doing something like that, do you think she still has the face to come here?"

Li Anran: "You..."

Li Muxia grabbed Li Anran, shook her head at her, and then pulled Li Anran into the palace.

The palace was decorated in a festive atmosphere, with a red carpet stretching from the palace gate all the way to Yongle Hall, and guards standing on both sides. Li Muxia felt as if she were walking on a red carpet.

However, walking this red carpet was not so easy. Everyone remained quiet, looking straight ahead, their steps neither hurried nor slow, and all the women displayed the standard demeanor of ladies from noble families. No one whispered or made a sound until they arrived at the Yongle Hall.

The emperor had not yet arrived in the main hall. The ministers who were on good terms with each other gathered in twos and threes to chat, and the young ladies from noble families also exchanged pleasantries.

As soon as Li Muxia and his entourage entered, officials came up to pay their respects to the old general. During this time, many people looked at Li Muxia, some with expressions of admiration, while others looked disdainful.

Finally, after taking his seat, before he could even look around at who was around him, an announcement rang out from outside the hall: "The Emperor has arrived! The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

Everyone quickly returned to their positions and knelt down to pay their respects.

As the Emperor passed by Li Muxia, he glanced at her and nodded in satisfaction. Li Muxia, with her head down, didn't notice, but Dongfang Jincheng, who was following behind the Emperor, saw it and frowned slightly, wondering what the Emperor was planning.

The banquet officially began with the Emperor's arrival.

The first activity began with the eunuchs' chanting.

One by one, the princes and princesses stepped forward to present the emperor with the gifts they had prepared. Although they were all very valuable, they were not very thoughtful, and the emperor accepted them all with a smile.

Next came the envoys.

The Longteng Kingdom presented a jade carving of the God of Longevity. Connoisseurs could immediately tell that it was made of top-quality mutton-fat white jade, and the carving was incredibly lifelike. The God of Longevity had round, full cheeks, a prominent head, a broad forehead, large ears, a flowing beard, kind eyes, and smooth, natural folds in his robes. He held a staff in his left hand and a peach in his right, exuding a calm and serene air, with an air of otherworldly grace. Most importantly, the jade carving was half a person's height and had no white spots or flaws; it was pure white and translucent, clearly a rare treasure.

Although the Emperor had seen many fine things, this was the first time he had ever seen such a large and complete piece of mutton-fat white jade. He immediately laughed heartily and ordered the jade carving to be carefully sent down.

With the gifts from the Dragon Soaring Kingdom as a precedent, the gifts from the Southern Mausoleum Kingdom, though not as rare as those from the Dragon Soaring Kingdom, were still exceptional pieces, one in a million.

The gift from the Nanling Kingdom was a special product of Nanling: Golden Feather Gauze. It is said that the entire Nanling Kingdom can only produce ten bolts a year, which are usually reserved for the royal family. This time, the Nanling Kingdom actually sent ten bolts, a whole year's production. The concubines, princesses, and Miss Time present all showed expressions of delight. It was Golden Feather Gauze as thin as a cicada's wing, and it was said that it could emit a faint golden light in the sunlight. The light gauze also had a refreshing coolness when worn, making it perfect for summer.

The emperor was immediately pleased and ordered the items to be put away. Although this was a good thing, it needed to be distributed reasonably, as there might not even be enough for all the women and princesses in the harem.

Dongfang Jincheng looked at Li Muxia and saw the affection in her eyes. Li Muxia really wanted it. After all, she was used to wearing short sleeves in the summer. Since coming here, summer has been the hardest time for her. Those cumbersome clothes, with three layers inside and three outside, are really hot.

Dongfang Jincheng's lips curled slightly, which the emperor saw, and his heart tightened, knowing that those few bolts of golden feather silk were probably doomed.

Next came the gifts from various tribes, most of which were unique items from each tribe.

It wasn't until the envoy from the Southern Barbarian tribe brought out something covered in a black cloth that everyone became curious about what the Southern Barbarian tribe had sent.

Occasionally, you can see slight movements under the black cloth and hear sounds like a puppy barking.

Everyone understood that the Southern Barbarian tribe had sent a living creature.

At this moment, everyone's curiosity was piqued, since something that could be given as a birthday gift by the Southern Barbarian tribe must be quite precious.

The black cloth was lifted, and an adorable little black and white animal appeared before everyone. Although startled by the sudden light, the animal did not become agitated; it simply timidly clung to the bamboo in its arms.

The moment Li Muxia saw the little animal, she exclaimed in surprise in a low voice, "Giant panda!"

Her voice wasn't loud; only a few people nearby could hear it.

Li Anran asked, "Sister, have you ever seen this kind of animal before?"

Li Muxia nodded, gesturing for Li Anran to look ahead.

Prince Dian of the Southern Barbarian tribe stepped forward, bowed, and introduced, "Your Majesty, this is a live Iron-Eating Beast that our tribe captured after a great deal of effort. This Iron-Eating Beast is very intelligent; after our training, it can even understand what we say."

The emperor immediately became interested, but still somewhat incredulous, and asked, "Really?"

Prince Dion immediately proved his point with his actions.

He walked up to the giant panda and said, "Da Bao, stand up."

Upon hearing Dian's command, the panda put down the bamboo it was holding and stood up. However, this did not arouse anyone's interest, since even dogs could do such a simple command.

Seeing that everyone was not very interested, Dian didn't take it seriously and continued to give instructions.

"Da Bao, shake hands."

"Da Bao, sit down."

"Dabao, pack a whole circle."

"Da Bao,..."

Da Bao followed Prince Dian's instructions, performing each action one by one. Just as everyone was feeling disappointed, they heard...

"Dabao, get me three bamboo stalks."

To everyone's astonishment, Prince Dian suddenly had three bamboo sticks in his hand. Then, Dian increased the difficulty, saying, "Da Bao, I want the third apple on the left."

To everyone's astonishment, Da Bao accurately picked up the third apple from the left.

Instantly, applause erupted throughout the hall. How clever!

The Emperor was delighted to discuss with Prince Dian how to care for giant pandas.

Li Muxia also looked at the giant panda in the cage with surprise. She had seen giant pandas a few times in her previous life, but she had never seen such an intelligent giant panda. Li Muxia became interested for a moment.

However, it is estimated that we will likely not see it after the palace banquet.