968 Birthday (1)
The third day of July was Xie Jingxing’s birthday. Everyone in Prince Rui’s mansion was busy. It was said that although Xie Jingxing did not like it, Emperor Yong Le would still hold a banquet for Xie Jingxing every year. The more Emperor Yong Le valued Xie Jingxing, the more the officials respected him. The birthday was a day for the officials to curry favor with Xie Jingxing. Early in the morning, the courtyard was already filled with birthday gifts.
Uncle Tang made a name list of people who sent gifts today and showed it to Shen Miao. Although she had been in a conflict with Xie Jingxing these days, Shen Miao was still the princess consort. Shen Miao glanced at it. The list was densely packed with names. Be it high-ranking officials or low-ranking officials, they were all rushing over to curry favor with Xie Jingxing. The Lu and Ye families also sent people to send gifts.
Shen Miao sighed in her heart. Emperor Yong Le and Xie Jingxing were close, so a grand banquet was not unacceptable. If it were in Ming Qi, no official would hold such a grand birthday banquet lest the emperor felt threatened.
As Uncle Tang pointed out to Shen Miao which gifts were to be placed in the storeroom and which could be used directly, he asked Shen Miao, “Madam, don’t forget to dress up early today. Tie Yi will send someone to take you to the Bixiao Restaurant.”
Shen Miao was puzzled. “Me?”
Uncle Tang smiled and said, “Madam, you are the princess consort and His Highness’s wife. You naturally have to go to the banquet.” He hesitated for a moment and stammered, “His Highness is angry, but if you don’t go today, I don’t know when he will cool down, so…”
“I know. I’ll go over,” Shen Miao said.
Only then did Uncle Tang heave a sigh of relief. He reminded Shen Miao a few more times before leaving.
After he left, Shen Miao finished reading the gift list. Just as she was about to return to the room, Jingzhe came up to her and asked carefully, “Madam, you will definitely go to Bixiao Restaurant tonight, right?”
“Prince Rui’s mansion is being watched by others. I’ve just come to the Daliang Dynasty, and there will definitely be people watching my every move. If I don’t go, I will give people a chance to gossip. There is no reason why I shouldn’t go.”
Jingzhe nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. Show them what the princess consort from Ming Qi is made of. It’s not like everyone can be a princess consort.”
Gu Yu pulled Jingzhe and glared at her. She whispered, “You’re exaggerating.”
Jingzhe pursed her lips. Seeing that Shen Miao was already walking into the room, she whispered into Gu Yu’s ear, “It seems like Madam wants to make peace with Master. She’s finally willing to give in.”
Gu Yu said, “Don’t be too gossipy.”
When Shen Miao returned to her room, Jingzhe and Gu Yu followed her in. Gu Yu asked, “Madam, do you want to choose what to wear tonight so that I can do your hair.”
Shen Miao said, “I’ll do that later. Grind the ink for me.”
Jingzhe and Gu Yu looked at each other. The two of them did not know why Shen Miao wanted to write at this moment. Speaking of which, Shen Miao was not a person who liked to write and paint, but they would naturally do as their master said. Shen Miao spread out the letter paper, and only then did Gu Yu and Jingzhe understand that she was going to write a letter.
