The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

The Imperial Palace of the Great Xia Kingdom...

Several days ago, the red silk and decorations for the Lunar New Year had already been removed.

The Emperor's birthday banquet is almost here.

Inside and outside the palace, craftsmen were busy decorating with lanterns and colorful ribbons, with the most magnificent silks supporting the beams and pillars, and yellow as the main color.

The silk is embroidered with auspicious patterns such as golden dragons and auspicious clouds.

The palace servants were busy carefully wiping each and every ornament.

The entire banquet exuded royal majesty and nobility.

On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, before dawn, those invited to the banquet dressed up in their finest clothes and headed towards the palace.

The princes and ministers, dressed in court robes and wearing official hats, were already waiting outside the palace gates.

These people are all here to participate in the annual sacrificial ceremony to Heaven.

Every year on the morning of the Emperor's birthday, he would go to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage to his ancestors and tell them about some of the major events that had happened in the Great Xia Kingdom that year.

In the inner palace, Wanyue was woken up early in the morning by her nanny to get ready.

Although they no longer need to visit the imperial tombs to pay homage today, there are still ancestral halls in the inner palace for their ancestors.

The women of the palace would be led by the Empress to the ancestral hall to worship and pray for the Emperor's well-being.

The emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom did not have a particularly large harem: one empress, one imperial concubine, two consorts, two concubines, and three concubines-in-waiting.

The Emperor currently has only two princesses, one born to the Consort and the other to the Empress.

There are more princes than princesses. There are three princes in total. Two of the concubines each gave birth to a prince, and the youngest prince was born two years ago to Consort Jing.

The Imperial Concubine only gave birth to one princess, Wanyue, if you don't count the previous one.

The prayer for the emperor ended just past noon.

The Empress then told everyone to return to their palaces and wait.

Consort Hua's mother was granted an imperial title by the Emperor, and she was invited to attend this event as well.

These ladies of high rank, if they had daughters who were concubines in the imperial harem, could take advantage of this time to have a good reunion with their daughters.

If they did not have relatives in the harem, they were all taken to a palace in the harem to rest and wait for the emperor and his entourage to return from the imperial mausoleum.

As soon as the prayer ended, Wanyue quietly slipped away to find Old Madam Shen.

Consort Hua smiled slightly when she saw her daughter acting suspiciously.

The Empress frowned and said sarcastically, "What kind of behavior is this, a princess of a nation?"

Consort Hua rolled her eyes at her and retorted, "Property? What is propriety? Is eloping with someone proper?"

Princess Chunyang, the daughter of the Empress, recently took a fancy to an actor and insisted on making him her husband.

The emperor and empress both disagreed, but the princess secretly gathered money, intending to sneak out of the palace and elope with the actor.

The emperor suppressed the matter, and not many people knew about it.

The Empress has the nerve to say her daughter is ill-mannered; she doesn't even look at the kind of daughter she raised.

Upon hearing Consort Hua's words, the Empress rolled her eyes, flicked her sleeves, and left.

Others may fear the Empress, but Consort Hua has no fear.

After searching for a long time, Princess Wanyue finally found Old Madam Shen, but she had no idea what had happened.

She saw Old Madam Shen surrounded by a crowd and her face lit up with joy.

When everyone saw Princess Wanyue, they all knelt down and bowed to her.

Wanyue gestured for them to stand up without any expression on her face.

When Madam Shen saw Wanyue, she was delighted, but she couldn't disregard etiquette, so she also bowed to Wanyue.

Wanyue smiled and ran up to her, whispered "Grandmother" in her ear, and then helped her up.

Without looking at anyone else, she pulled Old Madam Shen toward Consort Hua.

The other noblewomen all looked on with envy.

Everyone knows that although there is an empress in the harem, the one who is truly favored is Consort Hua. Although Consort Hua only has one daughter, this daughter is the emperor's most beloved.

Even the princes were not as favored as Princess Wanyue.

They were all filled with envy when they saw how filial Princess Wanyue was to Madam Shen.

In Yuehua Palace, Consort Hua had not seen Madam Shen for a long time.

The two of them burst into tears the moment they met, staring at each other, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing her mother and maternal grandmother standing there crying, Wanyue quickly pulled them to sit on the soft couch in Consort Hua's bedroom.

"Mother, Grandmother, now that there are no outsiders here, let's sit down and talk slowly."

Madam Shen kept looking at her daughter, gently patted Wanyue's hand, and nodded.

"Hey, let's sit down and chat."

Although she knew her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for a year, was favored in the palace, she still noticed the dark circles under her daughter's eyes.

Madam Shen suddenly realized that today was also the day her daughter, Shen Shuhua, gave birth to her first child.

If that child hadn't died, how much he would be pampered today!

Thinking of this, she took Consort Hua's hand, squeezed it, and said softly, "Shuhua, all these years have passed, why blame yourself?"

As soon as Madam Shen spoke, Consort Hua couldn't stop her tears, "Mother..."

Wanyue didn't know why her mother was crying so sadly. She thought it was because her mother hadn't seen her maternal grandmother for a long time and missed her.

Every year around this time, when my maternal grandmother entered the palace, my mother would always cry.

She thought her mother missed her family, so whenever she had free time, she would go out of the palace to visit the Shen family. Her favorite places to stay, besides her cousin's, were her maternal grandmother's.

She would tell her mother about her maternal grandmother's recent situation every time.

Her mother always praised her for being sensible.

However, after all these years, she realized today that her mother's feelings didn't seem to stem from missing her maternal grandmother.

Because she saw a deep sadness in her mother's eyes.

She quickly picked up a handkerchief and wiped away her mother's tears.

"Mother, don't be sad, Grandmother is right here."

"I have a feeling that you and your grandmother are hiding something from me."

Upon hearing Wanyue's words, the two women's expressions immediately changed. Old Madam Shen quickly smiled and asked her, "Little Wanyue, what birthday gift have you prepared for your father today?"

Wanyue's attention was immediately diverted, and Consort Hua took the opportunity to hide the sadness on her face.

He also put on a smiling face.

"Yes, this girl even kept it from me, saying she'd find out when the time came."

“I heard from Green Willow that this girl learned a dish from Sister Grass, whom she met in Xin’an County.”

"They even said mysteriously that we've definitely never eaten it before."

"She spent the whole day preparing yesterday, and insisted on secretly delivering it to her father today."

Madam Shen looked at Wanyue with affection, "Wanyue has become sensible."

“Grandmother, after Father’s birthday, I will make you a portion myself. Please try it, it’s delicious.”

"Alright, alright! Then Grandma won't stand on ceremony with Wanyue. I'll be waiting for you at home."

"Ah."

The initial sadness had faded, and the three chatted happily in the room. Wanyue spent the whole time coaxing her grandmother and Consort Hua, making them laugh from ear to ear.

Just as the three were chatting happily, Green Willow walked in and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor and the others have returned. Let's get ready to go to the Imperial Garden."

Upon hearing Luwu's words, Consort Hua stood up and stopped Old Madam Shen, who was about to get up, saying, "Mother, wait a moment. I need to wash up first. I was laughing so hard that tears streamed down my face, and my makeup and hair are a bit messy."

She called Green Willow to the inner room, while Old Madam Shen sat and continued chatting with Wanyue.

"Grandmother, is my mother unhappy today?" Wanyue asked with some concern as she looked at her mother's retreating figure.

When Madam Shen heard Wanyue's words, she was taken aback at first, then smiled and said, "You little rascal, your mother might not be feeling well. You have to behave well today and not make her angry."

Wanyue remembered that when she was feeling unwell, her mother would prepare hot red date and brown sugar water for her. She immediately called her personal maid, Xiao Zhao, and whispered a few words in her ear.

Madam Shen looked at the sensible Wanyue with great satisfaction.

Fortunately, Shu Hua had Wan Yue by her side; otherwise, she didn't know how her daughter, with her personality, would have managed to survive in the harem all these years.

She patted Wanyue's head gently and affectionately.

With her sharp eyes, she noticed that part of the red string on Wanyue's pendant was sticking out, and she helped Wanyue tuck the red string into her clothes.

She assumed it was the one Wanyue had worn since childhood, so she didn't take it out to look at it.

After Consort Hua finished getting ready, they went together to the bustling Imperial Garden.

When they arrived, the Imperial Garden was already full of people, with only the Emperor and Empress yet to arrive.

Consort Hua was seated to the right of the Emperor's seat. Today, she was wearing a long Shu brocade dress, which was intricately embroidered with intricate and beautiful begonia patterns in gold and silver threads. Each begonia seemed to bloom with unparalleled beauty on the hem of the dress, with layers of petals that were lifelike.

After the others had paid their respects, Consort Hua gracefully raised her hand, signaling them to rise. She then slowly walked towards her seat, her movements swaying gracefully, displaying her noble bearing and unparalleled beauty.

Some of the noblewomen who were nearby were whispering among themselves, marveling at Consort Hua's beauty.

Consort Hua is now over thirty, but she looks younger than some newlywed ladies. No wonder she has been the emperor's favorite in the harem for so many years.

There was also a rumor circulating outside the palace that the reason the Empress's son became Empress was because Consort Hua did not want to be Empress.

After Consort Hua sat down, she leaned back lazily in her chair and smiled fondly at Wan Yue, who was sitting below her.

This smile caused everyone below to gasp.

That smile was absolutely beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous, and radiated a maternal glow.

Consort Hua was focused on Wanyue and didn't notice anyone else.

"The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!!"

Upon hearing the sound, everyone looked towards the entrance and saw the emperor, dressed in a yellow robe, leading the empress, dressed in crimson, into the room.

As the two approached, they both knelt down.

"Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor."

"The Queen is a thousand years old."

Almost the moment the Emperor saw Consort Hua, he quickened his pace, leaving the Empress far behind.

He strode up to Consort Hua and said gently, "Get up quickly."

Then she frowned, "Why are your hands so cold?"

He turned around and ordered, "Li Defu, bring the hand warmer."

Li Defu handed the Emperor the hand warmer that the Emperor had previously instructed him to prepare.

After receiving it, the Emperor placed it in Consort Hua's hands, saying, "I knew you weren't prepared, so I specially instructed Li Defu to prepare it well in advance."

Consort Hua curtsied and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

The Emperor took her hand and patted it gently, saying, "You never seem to care about your health."

"I will visit you tonight."

Consort Hua replied calmly, "Alright."

After the Emperor helped Consort Hua to sit down, the Empress arrived late.

Watching the Emperor's tenderness towards Consort Hua from behind, she nearly crushed her own hands.

She had just seen Li Defu holding a hand warmer. Since her hands were cold, she asked the Emperor about it, but he ignored her completely.

It turns out it was specially prepared for Consort Hua.

She was furious inside, but on the surface she had to pretend to be magnanimous and said to Consort Hua with a smile, "His Majesty truly cares for his sister and has specially prepared a hand warmer."

Consort Hua looked down at the exquisite hand warmer, not even lifting her eyelids, and replied indifferently, "Mm."

The Empress was even angrier; it felt like she had punched a cotton ball.

The emperor had already gone to his seat, so she could only shake her hand, turn around, and go to her seat as well.

"Everyone, get up."

At the emperor's command, all those kneeling below stood up.

The Emperor gave Li Defu a look, and Li Defu took the booklet from his hand.

He then announced to the crowd that the Emperor's birthday banquet had officially begun.

As soon as Li Defu finished speaking, the palace maids filed out, and the delicacies carefully prepared by the imperial kitchen were served on the table like a flowing stream.

The enticing aromas of various delicacies filled the air. Among them was a roasted suckling pig, golden and crispy, served on a white jade plate, with a rosy apple stuffed in its mouth, symbolizing peace and good fortune.

There's also the Eight Treasures Soup, made with deep-sea abalone, premium sea cucumber, and other delicacies. The broth is rich and fragrant, showcasing the luxury of royalty.

Song and dance performances also took turns on stage, with dancers dressed in brightly colored costumes, their light gauze flowing and their figures graceful.

Their dance steps were light and graceful, as if they were fairies descended from heaven.

The colorful ribbons in their hands drew dazzling arcs in the air, perfectly complementing the melodious tunes played by the musicians.

On the stage, famous actors took to the stage, performing a series of auspicious plays, adding endless joy and celebration to the emperor's birthday.

The entire palace was immersed in a joyful, solemn, and incredibly luxurious atmosphere. This birthday banquet was undoubtedly the most eye-catching event in the world, showcasing the prosperity and majesty of the Great Xia Kingdom.

The Emperor was in high spirits today, and after a few rounds of drinks, he was slightly tipsy.

The Empress's father, Minister Li, stood up and bowed to the Emperor, saying, "On this auspicious occasion of Your Majesty's birthday, we sincerely wish Your Majesty a long and prosperous life, and boundless blessings."

Your Majesty bears the weight of the nation's destiny and cherishes the well-being of the people. Your radiance shines like the ever-present sun and the rising moon, illuminating the mountains and rivers and bestowing blessings upon the four seas.

May Your Majesty enjoy good health, happiness year after year, auspicious omens every morning, an everlasting dynasty, and a long and prosperous life. This would be the fortune of all the people of our dynasty and a blessing for the entire nation.

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers present rose and knelt beside him, saying, "Your Majesty, we wish you a long and prosperous life, and boundless blessings!!!"

The sound resounded throughout the entire palace.