Everyone in the Feng manor turned around to look. Sure enough, the carriage headed straight in their direction and slowly stopped in front of the Feng manor's gates.
Following this, the curtain was lifted, and a young girl dressed in palace attire leisurely stepped out.
The reason the old taitai recognized this carriage was because around this time every year, there would be carriages from the palace that would send invitations to the various large manors in Jing. Inside the carriage would be a sea of delicate and pretty palace maids. The invitations they sent were the invitations to the Mid-Autumn Festival Palace Banquet with the Empress' phoenix seal.
Normally speaking, these invitations would be sent out based on the family. The family's grandmother, head wife, son of the first wife and daughter of the first wife would all participate.
In the past, the Feng family had been represented by the matriarch. Before that, Yao shi had also gone; however, who knew what sort of people had been invited.
The matriarch was a little moved forward and took the initiative to greet the palace maid: "Oh, the one sending invitations to the Feng family this year is this girl. After not seeing you for a year, this girl really has become more and more beautiful."
The palace maid immediately displayed a brilliant smile and got out of the carriage. Facing the matriarch, she bowed and saluted: "This servant greets elder madam Feng and greets lord Feng."
The matriarch quickly reached out to help her up: "Don't be so courteous."
Feng Jin Yuan smiled and nodded: "The Feng family is having a joyous occasion today. We just sent our second son to Xiao Zhou to become the disciple of head teacher Ye Rong. Now that this girl has sent an invitation, how about coming into the manor to sit and drink some tea before leaving!"
Upon hearing this, the palace maid quickly congratulated Feng Jin Yuan: "Head teacher Ye is the current Emperor's benevolent teacher! The Feng family's second young master is truly fortunate. Thinking about it, it must be Lord Feng who has taught him well. I truly must congratulate Lord Feng. "
Everyone loved to hear good words. How could a servant from the palace not know how to say such pleasantries. With just a few words, the people of the Feng manor began to smile.
But she refused to enter the manor to drink tea. She only handed the invitation to the matriarch: "This is an invitation personally sent by her Highness the Empress. The Feng family has invited a few more people to this year's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Elder madam, please prepare early." She then turned to Feng Jin Yuan and said: "According to convention, her Highness the Empress will only send invitations from the womenfolk. The lords will be personally invited by his Majesty in court."
The Old Mistress took the name card and exchanged some pleasantries with the palace maid before sending her off.
When the imperial carriage was far away, the matriarch endured her curiosity and did not open the invitation. She only said to everyone: "You will all come with me to Shu Ya courtyard. Jin Yuan, you go take care of your own matters. There is no need for you to worry about the matters of the women in the inner courtyard."
Feng Jin Yuan nodded and returned to Pine courtyard. The rest of the people followed the old lady to Shu Ya Courtyard.
It wasn't until they entered Shu Ya Courtyard and everyone was seated that the old lady opened the name card.
As for this invitation, three years ago, it was the matriarch and Yao shi who were invited. Because Feng Yu Heng was not yet ten years old, it was inconvenient for her to attend the palace banquet.
In the past three years, the ones that were invited were the matriarch and Chen Yu. The Shen Clan had always been ignored, but Chen Yu had never entered the palace because of the Feng family's concealment.
The rules were like this. The people that were invited by the Empress could find a reason to not go. Either way, the Empress was just being polite and giving the officials a bit of face. As for whether or not they would come, with so many people, she did not have the time to think about each and every one of them. But if they were not invited, they absolutely could not go. Not to mention not being able to enter the palace, but even if they did, if they were discovered, that would be a great crime.
Today, however, when the matriarch opened the invitation, she was a little shocked by the names that were written on it.
She saw that aside from herself, Feng Yu Heng and Feng Xiang Rong were also written on it.
Most importantly, these two granddaughters of hers had their names written on it. It was not like the previous years, where it only said, "Feng manor's grandmother and daughter of the first wife are invited to attend a banquet in the imperial palace."
Normally speaking, the invitation would only say grandmother, head wife and daughter of the first wife. Today's invitation said, "Feng manor's grandmother, second daughter Feng Yu Heng and third daughter Feng Xiang Rong are invited to attend a banquet in the imperial palace." This meant …
The matriarch turned her gaze towards her two granddaughters. If it was said that Feng Yu Heng had been invited, she would not find it strange, but even Xiang Rong had been invited. What was the meaning of this? When had Xiang Rong's name been hung in the palace?
Everyone did not understand what the matriarch meant. Yao shi saw the matriarch look towards Feng Yu Heng, but she did not think much of it. Thinking about it, Feng Yu Heng had a part in the invitation. But An shi saw that the matriarch was paying attention to Xiang Rong and was a little unable to sit still. Probing, she asked: "Elder madam, what did the invitation say?"
The matriarch recovered and said: "Like in previous years, this old one was invited to attend a banquet. Also … they specifically named Heng and Xiang Rong."
"They named names?" The one who asked was Chen Yu. She was a little confused about the meaning of naming names, "Is it saying that the daughters of concubines will be allowed into the palace?"
The matriarch did not explain and handed the invitation to granny Zhao, "You can pass it around and take a look."
Granny Zhao passed the invitation to everyone in turn. After receiving everyone's shocked expressions, she handed it back to the matriarch.
"Everyone has seen it, right?"
Everyone nodded. Some were happy, while others were disappointed.
The ones who were happy were naturally Yao shi and An shi, as well as Xiang Rong. Jin Zhen only expressed interest. After all, it was not related to her. As for the ones who were disappointed, it was definitely Chen Yu and Han shi.
Because of the Shen Clan, Chen Yu was punished with not being allowed into the palace for five years. For the previous banquets in the palace, she had never gone to them in order to maintain a sense of mystery. This year, however, she truly wanted to go, but it was too late.
"Heng and Xiang Rong should prepare for a while." The matriarch put away the doubts in her heart. She paid attention to An shi and Xiang Rong's expressions. It seemed that they also did not know why Xiang Rong had been named. Thinking a little more, she had heard that Feng Yu Heng and Xiang Rong were very close. Then it was possible that Feng Yu Heng had asked the Ninth Prince to put in a good word for her. If it was like this, then there was nothing wrong with it. For the Feng family to have another child that was valued by the palace, it was always a good thing.
Thinking like this, the matriarch felt much more at ease. She then looked at Xiang Rong with even more kindness.
But in Chen Yu's eyes, all of this was an eyesore. All of the glory and brilliance that once belonged to her was now shared by two daughters of concubines. How could she be reconciled?
The matriarch could see Chen Yu's thoughts, but there was nothing she could do. She could only comfort her: "Chen Yu's matter, in the future, have your father think of something. See if he can mend the relationship with Consort Yun." The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became. Even she did not have much confidence. Want to mend the relationship with Consort Yun? The Emperor's relationship with Consort Yun had already improved for over ten years, but he still could not understand. How could the Feng family think of something?
Chen Yu squeezed out two tears and stood up to bow: "Many thanks for grandmother's concern."
The matriarch nodded and allowed Chen Yu to sit back down. Only then did she say to Yao shi: "You have also participated in banquets before, so you should understand the rules. Just help Heng Heng and Xiang Rong take care of things. Do not allow the two children to be lacking in etiquette."
For Yao shi, this was something that had to be done. She quickly stood up and complied.
Feng Yu Heng looked at Xiang Rong's nervous yet excited appearance and felt that it was interesting. She then looked at Chen Yu's sullen appearance and felt that it was quite enjoyable. Thus she decided to give Chen Yu a bit more incentive: "I heard that the banquet for the Mid-Autumn Festival will not only be attended by the women and officials. All of the princes will also be present. Also, there is no distinction between male and female guests. They will all be present at the same banquet?"
"That's right." The matriarch explained: "Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day of reunion, there are no such rules. It is the same as the new year's banquet. The male and female guests will not be separated into two banquets."
Feng Yu Heng listened carefully then said in a very gossipy manner: "Aside from Prince Yu and Prince Chun, and His Highness Prince Xiang also saw him once at mother's funeral, none of the other princes have seen him!"
Xiang Rong could not hold back and wanted to participate in the conversation, so she quietly asked: "How many princes are there in the palace?"
"I know this." Feng Yu Heng became interested in chatting, "Prince Yu is the youngest, so there are definitely nine princes. There are no princesses. Imperial daughter Wu Yang is the Xuan family's only daughter."
The matriarch also nodded: "What Heng Heng said is correct. You will be entering the palace. Understanding a bit more about the imperial family is also good. That way, when the time comes, you will not know anything and will lose face for the Feng family."
Xiang Rong quickly stood up and saluted: "Grandmother's teachings are correct. Xiang Rong will definitely learn from second sister and Yao shi's mother. I will not lose face for the Feng family."
Only then did the matriarch feel satisfied and waved her hand, "Then you can all disperse. Go back and properly prepare. Thinking about it, there are not many days left."
Everyone stood up and saluted the matriarch before leaving.
While Feng Yu Heng was walking towards the yard, she pulled Xiang Rong aside and gossiped, but her voice was a little louder "Xiang Rong, did you know? Speaking of it, it really is funny. Don't look at how his Highness Prince Chun usually wears white clothes or black clothes. He also has a very elegant appearance, but in reality, I heard that his favorite color is red! Especially girls wearing red clothes. They are always able to attract his attention. "
Xiang Rong was an honest child. She felt that what Feng Yu Heng said was true. She could not help but laugh and discuss it with her.
The two sisters walked while talking. All of this fell into Feng Chen Yu's ears.
Red, his Highness the seventh prince likes red!
At this very moment, her mind was filled with this phrase. It slowly took root and sprouted, encouraging her to immediately send Yi Yue to Ming Yue Building. She invited imperial daughter Qing Le to meet at Ming Yue Building in the evening.
Feng Yu Heng pulled Xiang Rong and An shi back to Tong Sheng pavilion. Bringing Yao shi along, they entered her courtyard.
Huang Quan brought out two sets of clothes and had a few maidservants carry them out for everyone to see.
One was a long dress made of refined cloud silk, and the other was a long robe made of commoner's brocade. The Autumn sun was just right. Once these two sets of clothes appeared, they felt that the small courtyard was instantly filled with light. It was so dazzling that people did not dare look directly at them, but they were also unwilling to look away.
Not to mention An shi and Xiang Rong, even Feng Yu Heng herself felt that they were too beautiful. It was no wonder the ancient people called these fabrics national treasures. They were just placed there like pieces of cloth, but now that they were finished, they were actually so dazzling.
Refined cloud silk, under the light of the sun, it felt as though there were clouds floating on the clothes. It was like smoke or fog, as though they were in a fairyland. Huang Quan said: "When the moonlight comes out, it will shine like a rippling water."
Commoner's brocade, looking at it during the day, it would enter one's heart. No matter how anxious or irritable a person was, they would be able to calm down in front of this set of clothes. Huang Quan continued: "Once night falls, this set of clothes can cause anyone who sees it to willingly submit to the wearer. If it is someone of the opposite sex, they will definitely feel a sense of admiration; however, it will definitely not cause any lust."
This was a national treasure.
An shi did not know how she should thank Feng Yu Heng. She only pulled Xiang Rong and said: "Second young miss' great grace is something that we, mother and son, are unable to repay. In the future, no matter what happens, we will stand behind second young miss and do our best."
Feng Yu Heng did not hold back, only advising Huang Quan to pack up the clothes. She then wrapped up the set of clothes and handed it to Xiang Rong's maidservant. She then said: "When Xiang Rong gets married, elder sister will naturally send you another set of wedding clothes."
That evening, Chen Yu and Qing Le sat across from each other in Ming Yue Building's private room. They heard Chen Yu plead to Qing Le: "I beg imperial daughter to think of a way to bring me into the palace on the night of the Mid-Autumn banquet."
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