Ci Jinzhi

Chapter 373 Leaving

 In the Qianqing Palace, the table has been set. As usual, two seats were placed side by side, one for Emperor Xingyuan and the other for the Queen Mother.

There are small tables arranged on both sides, left and right, for one person to sit alone or for concubines and their young children to sit.

 The open space in the middle is very spacious, covered with thick long blankets, and is used for the maids to sing and dance.

Xin You sat down at the table next to Princess Zhaoyang as she did the last time she attended the banquet. Sitting opposite her was still King Xiu. The difference was everyone's attitude. Everyone was surprised and a little uncomfortable seeing such a large number of seats that time, but they got used to it this time.

Xin You lowered his eyes and stared at the fresh fruits on the table, thinking: Habit is indeed a terrible thing and cannot be ignored.

 “The emperor has arrived, the queen mother has arrived—”

As the announcement sounded, everyone stood up and saluted.

 Emperor Xingyuan came over with the Queen Mother.

 “Mother, please slow down.” Emperor Xingyuan helped the Queen Mother sit down.

 The Queen Mother was very tough, but she enjoyed her son's thoughtfulness and sat down with a smile on her face.

Emperor Xingyuan also sat down, with a faint smile on his lips: "No etiquette. Today is a family banquet, so there is no need to be restrained."

 Everyone sat down one after another.

At this time, the Queen Mother's smile froze and she saw Xin You.

She was mentally prepared for this girl to come to the banquet, but why did she sit next to Zhaoyang?

 The Queen Mother's face immediately fell.

How can a dead girl who doesn't want to acknowledge her ancestors come to sit so close to the front at a palace banquet with such a big face?

Emperor Xingyuan noticed something was wrong with the Queen Mother's face and called out: "Mother?"

 Aren’t you having a good time on the road?

The Queen Mother has not been taught any rules since she was a child. Once she became the Queen Mother and everyone supported her, she became even more domineering. At this time, Xin You's seat pierced her eyes, and she couldn't bear it at all, so she immediately pointed it out: "The Ai family has bad eyesight. Emperor, look at it, is it Xin You who is sitting next to Zhao Yang?"

As soon as these words came out, the scene suddenly became silent and the atmosphere became subtle.

 All the concubines, princes, and princesses looked at Xin You.

Emperor Xingyuan also glanced at Xin You subconsciously. Hearing the sarcastic meaning of the Queen Mother's words, he hurriedly said: "It's Ayou. Ayou lives outside the palace and has a very good relationship with Zhaoyang -"

The Queen Mother could not listen to such rhetoric, and said calmly: "It is one thing for an aunt and nephew to have a good relationship, but the rules cannot be messed up."

 “Mother?”

The Queen Mother put the tea cup on the table and said with a sullen face: "Xuan'er and Li Concubine are sitting at the same table, but Xin You is sitting at a table alone, passing several princes, and is second only to the eldest prince. Emperor, Do you think this is appropriate?"

Emperor Xingyuan smiled and explained: "Among these children, Ping'er is the oldest, followed by Ayou, according to their age."

"By age?" The Queen Mother frowned, "Settings are always based on seniority, how can it be based on age? Is it possible that Xinyou is more noble than several princes?"

“This—” In Emperor Xingyuan’s heart, of course he thought it was okay for Xin You to sit like this, but it was difficult to directly admit that she was more noble than the prince in this situation.

 The emperor's preference is not made clear, and everyone can still pretend not to know. If you make it clear, you may be secretly hated by others, which may lead to hidden dangers in the future.

Seeing that Emperor Xingyuan was confused by the question, the Queen Mother became even more enthusiastic: "Xinyou hasn't been recorded in the family tree yet, let alone being more noble than the princes, it is not appropriate to attend the family banquet..."

 The Queen Mother should not have raised any objections on such a festival. But she knew very well that once something became a habit, it would be difficult to change it.

How can a little girl who doesn’t even appear in the royal family tree make a huge difference? She must understand her position from the beginning in order to be at ease.

Princess Zhaoyang couldn't listen and spoke: "Mother, you also said that this is a family banquet. How can a family have so many things to do-"

At this moment, there was a soft sound, which was the sound of a chair moving.

 Everyone was holding their breath to listen to the conversation between the Queen Mother and Emperor Xingyuan. Although the sound was not loud, it reached their ears clearly. Everyone left after hearing this, and their attention turned from the Queen Mother back to Xin You.

Just now when the Queen Mother mentioned Xin You, Xin You stood up and listened silently with his head down. At this time, she came out of her seat, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt down.

 “Ayou?” Emperor Xingyuan was surprised.

 Why did you kneel down? Based on his understanding of Ayou, it would be normal for him to talk back to his mother.

As Xin You knelt down, the Queen Mother unexpectedly raised her eyebrows, and her tense expression softened unconsciously.

Sure enough, a wild girl like this who has grown up outside the palace needs a good beating.

At this time, the girl who was kneeling on the ground raised her head slightly, her eyes red: "The Queen Mother taught me rightly. I am not qualified to participate in the palace banquet. I cannot ignore the rules just because of Your Majesty's love. I will retire."

 Resign? What does it mean to resign?

 Everyone in the palace always listens honestly when the Queen Mother speaks. Xin You was surprised when she suddenly ran out and knelt down. She didn't realize what she was saying for a moment.

 Then everyone saw the kneeling girl get up and quickly leave the hall backwards.

 After a brief pause, everyone looked at Emperor Xingyuan and the Queen Mother.

You could hear a pin drop in the main hall, and even the sound of silk and bamboo that heightened the atmosphere stopped. The scene was quiet and eerie.

 Under countless gazes, the Queen Mother's face turned blue and red, red and black, black and white, as if she had knocked over a palette, it was so wonderful.

 Emperor Xingyuan, who had gone through countless grand scenes, forgot his words for a moment.

"She, she ran away?" After an unknown amount of time, the Queen Mother finally managed to squeeze out these words.

Princess Zhaoyang came to her senses first. After hearing the Queen Mother's question, she immediately sighed: "Ayou doesn't want the palace to make an exception for her. She is such a sensible child."

 Everyone: “…”

 The Queen Mother's face twitched violently because of her anger.

　　Originally, she was reprimanding because of her seat. If the girl refused to accept the request and talked back, it would give her son the impression of disrespecting his elders. If you accept her honestly, that's not bad. If you lay some foundation at the beginning, you won't be able to get out of this frame in the future.

Unexpectedly, the girl knelt down and recognized that it was against the rules, so she ran away. In this way, it seems that she is too mean as an elder.

 She doesn't care about others, but her son is still there.

The Queen Mother was so angry that her hands were shaking, and a thought came to her mind: This girl is different from her mother!

Think about her daughter-in-law, who seems to be quite capable, and sometimes even has to argue with her, but she never gets any advantage.

And this dead girl held her up easily.

As expected, Emperor Xingyuan lost his smile and said calmly: "Let's have a banquet."

Just as the Queen Mother was worried, Emperor Xingyuan, who had always been filial, complained in his heart for the first time.

He also knew that the queen mother didn't like Ayou, but he had signaled Concubine Xian to arrange the seats in this way. If he was really dissatisfied, he told him in private. In order to avoid the displeasure of the queen mother, he would have to change Ayou's seat next time.

 Why did the queen mother insist on embarrassing Ayou at the New Year's Eve family dinner?

The girl's red eyes appeared in Emperor Xingyuan's mind, and his mood became even worse.

Every household is bustling with activity during the Chinese New Year, but Ayou is alone—

Emperor Xingyuan slapped the silver chopsticks on the table.

 (End of this chapter)