In the blink of an eye, New Year's Eve had arrived.
Yesterday, Ouyang Shuo had hosted a banquet for the civil and military officials at the Xia Palace. Not only were the officials of the fifth rank and above attending the banquet, but there were also the twelve governors and five commanders who had gone to the capital to report on their work.
The extravagance of the line-up left everyone dumbfounded.
The governors and commanders were either in charge of a province or guarding a territory. They were all powerful figures in the imperial court and could be said to be high-ranking officials. Their trip to the capital was naturally not to simply reminisce about the past, but to carry a heavy responsibility.
After the New Year, Ouyang Shuo would hold a court meeting.
…
Xia Palace, Zhao Hua Hall.
Zhao Hua Hall was located in the southwest corner of the palace. It was where Ouyang Shuo hosted banquets.
As it was the New Year, the vast Xia Palace had already been decorated. Everywhere was decorated with lanterns and streamers. However, compared to the casual atmosphere among the commoners, the palace had more rules and a hint of solemnity.
Everything had to be carried out according to royal etiquette. There was no room for mistakes.
Thus, even on New Year's Eve, no one dared to play in the palace.
Zhao Hua Hall had already been set up with rosewood tables. On the tables were peanuts, walnuts, and various other dried fruits. What was even more strange was that in the middle of winter, there were bananas, pineapples, oranges, and other seasonal fruits.
Looking at the sparkling and translucent skin, it looked like it had just been plucked. It was amazing.
Of course, Great Xia did not have any greenhouse planting techniques, nor did they have modern refrigerators to keep things fresh. These fruits were all from the Moroca and Somaliland provinces.
Occasionally, there were Southeast Asian fruits from Xing Zhou County and fresh milk from Auckland.
With the help of the teleportation array, anything could happen. The Xia Palace had fresh fruits from all over the year. Every morning, they could also drink fresh milk from Auckland.
This was what it meant to be wealthy.
There was an exquisite charcoal fire burning in the hall. Somali spices were lit, making people feel warm and dispelling the cold of winter. It was really comfortable.
In the vast hall, the main members of the Ouyang clan, the core members of the Lin clan, and the core members of the Song family, led by Song Tianxiong, were all gathered together.
There were no less than a hundred people.
The two brothers, Song Wen and Song Wu, were among them. Song Tianxiong's expression was a little strange. He originally hoped that his daughter, Song Jia, would give birth to a child to stabilize the position of the Song family.
Who would have thought that His Majesty would play such a trick?
Even among the relatives of the emperor, there were still differences between them. In the Ouyang clan, those who were of the same branch as Ouyang Shuo's grandfather naturally had the highest status. After them were the collateral branches, followed by Ouyang Shuo's mother's Lin clan and Song Jia's mother's Song clan.
Everyone took their seats according to the meticulously arranged seating arrangement. There was a row of tables in the middle of the hall. There were only four seats for the guests of honor tonight. The closer the seat was to the VIP seat, the higher the status.
At the banquet, there were old men and children of five or six years of age.
No matter who it was, all of them were dressed in meticulously prepared clothes, especially those with noble titles. They were dressed in noble robes bestowed upon them by the emperor, causing others to be envious.
Sitting in the hall, these people were both cautious and somewhat excited as they waited for the banquet to begin. From time to time, they would exchange a few words with their attendants, but none of them dared to speak loudly.
The children, who were supposed to be noisy and frolicking, were restrained to their seats by their parents and could only squirm restlessly.
At the right corner, a youth around the age of 11 or 12 cautiously broke off an orange banana from the table and said with envy, "Big Brother Shuo is really amazing. You can buy any kind of food."
It seemed that he was a little glutton.
"It's good that you know. You have to study well so that you can help your brother in the future." Sitting beside the youth, the father looked at his son dotingly as he earnestly exhorted him.
For the Ouyang clan, this surprise was like falling from the sky.
This youth's father was called Ouyang Gong. Because he worked in a bank in real life, he was arranged to work in the Bank of the Four Seas. It was said that he was highly regarded by Meng Zhida.
Before the New Year, Ouyang Gong was conferred the title of a second-class earl and could be considered one of the most outstanding people in the clan. For the adults of the Ouyang clan, as long as they were willing to work hard, they could walk several times, or even more than ten times faster than ordinary people.
Thinking of the envy and even flattery of his former superiors and colleagues, Ouyang Gong was filled with emotion. Ever since the king issued the imperial edict, his house was as crowded as a marketplace with an endless stream of guests.
There were former colleagues, friends, classmates, and even strangers who only nodded their heads at him. As long as they had the slightest connection, they would all come to congratulate him.
This was called, "When a man achieves the Dao, even his chickens and dogs rise to the heavens."
Ouyang Gong's mind was still clear and wasn't corroded by these sugar-coated bullets. He knew that the Ouyang clan could have today's glory all because of this nephew that he had yet to meet.
Ouyang Gong was very clear about which was more important.
He had heard that two of his cousins, who were very close to his nephew, had only been conferred the title of a Baron of the Third Rank due to their bad behavior.
Without a doubt, this was a warning.
Although Ouyang Gong was a generation older than his nephew, he could only sigh in admiration at his nephew's methods.
…
At six o 'clock in the evening, a female official sang, "The king has arrived!"
"Wow!" More than a hundred guests in the hall all stood up and looked towards the northeast corner of the hall. They saw Ouyang Shuo, his wife Song Jia, his sister Bing 'er, and his aunt Lin Jing leisurely walking over.
"Wang Shangan!"
Everyone cupped their hands in greeting.
Ouyang Shuo smiled slightly and came to the main seat. He pressed his hands down, "Today is a family banquet, there is no difference in status. There are my grandfathers, uncles, and nephews here. We are all family, so there is no need to be too restrained. "
After saying that, Ouyang Shuo took the lead and sat down.
"Crash!" The others followed suit and sat down. Their expressions were much more natural.
Although they were all modern people and weren't bound by feudal ethics, when they were in the magnificent hall of the royal palace and saw the solemn female guards outside the hall and the female officials and maids standing on the side, they were unconsciously brought into a solemn atmosphere.
No one felt that there was anything wrong with this. On the contrary, this was a kind of glory.
The glory of the clan.
They seemed to foresee that the Ouyang clan would also be like the legendary Emperor clan, shining in the Nine Regions.
When the banquet started, there were maids serving plates of delicious food. Among the younger generation, Ouyang Shuo would personally give a red envelope to the younger generation and put it on the tray for good luck.
There were bands playing on both sides and in the middle of the hall, there was singing and dancing to liven things up.
Not long after the banquet started, Ouyang Shuo raised his cup. Immediately, the drumming stopped and the hall became quiet. It was the first time for many of them to see this legendary figure, so they couldn't help but feel curious.
Ouyang Shuo stood up. "Today is New Year's Eve, a day for family reunion. It's really not easy for us to gather together. Yesterday's Great Xia has become the past. Tomorrow's Great Xia will depend on everyone's help. "
"I propose a toast to everyone!"
As he spoke, Ouyang Shuo emptied the cup in one gulp.
This was the clearest expression Ouyang Shuo had made towards the position of the clan, and everyone present, especially the adult men, had excited expressions as they gulped down the wine in their cups.
Carefree and unrestrained.
Thus, the banquet reached its climax. Ouyang Shuo smiled and said, "Everyone, there's no need to be reserved. Just stay in your seats and relax a little."
As he said that, he personally led his wife Song Jia and Bing 'er to the front row for a toast. Today, Song Jia didn't wear the queen's robes. Instead, she wore casual clothes because she didn't want to create a sense of alienation.
Bing-Er was wearing a snow-white classic princess dress, slim and elegant. Although she was usually naughty and mischievous, in this kind of situation, she was able to grasp the palace etiquette perfectly. One look and you could tell that she had received a good education.
When the bystanders saw this, they couldn't help but sigh.
Everyone in this family was a dragon and phoenix among men. It was impossible to not admire them.
They could be said to be the model of the royal family.
Sitting in the front row were the elders of the clan, and the three marquises were impressively there.
The elder with the highest rank was called Ouyang Bo, and he was the elder brother of Ouyang Shuo's grandfather. In terms of seniority, Ouyang Shuo also had to call him grandfather. He could be considered the elder closest to the bloodline of the clan.
However, this grandfather's health wasn't good. He was thin and his face was full of wrinkles.
"Grandfather, happy New Year!"
Ouyang Shuo smiled as he raised his cup. Song Jia naturally followed her husband's tune. During the wedding, there weren't many people from the Ouyang clan. This time, Song Jia could be considered to have met her "in-laws".
Ouyang Bo's face was brimming with a kind smile. He trembled as he patted Ouyang Shuo's hand and said with a smile, "Beautiful son and beautiful wife, good, good!!!"
Ouyang Shuo nodded heavily. Perhaps it was at this moment that he felt the strength and warmth of the clan.
The banquet lasted until 7: 30 in the evening.
After the reunion dinner, everyone moved to the Imperial Garden to watch the fireworks display and to drink and have fun. The children were frolicking happily on the grass.
On this night, the Imperial Garden was brightly lit.
As the "host," Bing'er once again became the king of children. She led a group of cousins to have fun in the Imperial Garden. One moment, they went to the lake to look at the goldfish, and the next moment, they went to provoke the pandas.
They were carefree.
Hearing Bing'er's crisp laughter from afar, Ouyang Shuo gave a knowing smile.
Bing'er was lonely.
As Ouyang Shuo's status rose, Bing'er, the only princess of the direct line of descent, naturally became the focus of attention. The teachers who taught her also became stricter.
In Shanhai City, the children who had been following Bing'er had also gradually dispersed.
The difference in status between them was like heaven and earth. It was destined that they could no longer peacefully get along with Bing'er. Even if the children wanted to, their parents would repeatedly warn them not to be disrespectful to their lord, and to give in to Her Highness.
As time passed, they gradually drifted apart.
Huo Chengjun, the only one who was about the same age as Bing'er, was always by his father Huo Guang's side, so he had no chance to see her. When she was really bored, Bing'er could only be with the group of spirit beasts and talk to herself.
Sometimes when Ouyang Shuo saw her, he couldn't help but feel distressed.
He didn't know whether today's encounter was good or bad for Bing'er.
This wasn't the reason why Ouyang Shuo was willing to accept all of his clansmen. Perhaps Bing'er could only truly have fun with her cousins.
Being connected by blood was the most unrestrained.
"With this laughter, everything is worth it," Ouyang Shuo thought to himself.
Because Song Jia was pregnant, she returned to the palace early to rest. Ouyang Shuo stood in the pavilion and chatted with the elders. He told them about his struggles over the past few years.
After a while, the elders were tired and went back to their own rooms.
The curtain fell on the family banquet just like that.
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