Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1230 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 154

In previous years, the Manchu traditional boiled meat was always indispensable on the banquet. Of course, it was also on the banquet this year. However, due to the mourning period for the late emperor, the boiled meat would not be eaten directly but used as an offering. Naturally, there was no need for the royal relatives to secretly bring salt, sugar or other seasonings such as five-spice powder.

Especially this year, there is a vegetarian pot on every table, with various vegetables and vegetarian dishes stewed in the broth base. Apart from anything else, drinking that bowl of soup will make you feel warm all over.

Since it was not mentioned whose idea it was, and the New Year's Eve banquet was organized by the Queen, all the praise naturally went to the Queen.

The queen was not thick-skinned enough and immediately explained that it was Jiang Xinxin's suggestion. Jiang Xinxin smiled and said, "I have wanted to change this menu for many years. Even when I was the queen in the past, I couldn't make the decision. Now I just mentioned it to the queen, and she, who is a filial child, did it without even thinking about it."

Jiang Xinxin personally came out to save face for the Queen. The young wives were all envious. The Queen was naturally grateful, and even Qianlong was very grateful to Jiang Xinxin.

After all, the emperor and the empress are one. The empress is filial to Jiang Xinxin, and Jiang Xinxin is kind to the empress, a younger generation. The biggest beneficiary is actually Qianlong, the adopted son and husband.

When the New Year's Eve banquet was almost halfway through, Jiang Xinxin left and returned to the Cining Palace.

All the concubines of the Emperor Shengzu and the late Emperor who had returned to the palace were in the Cining Palace. They were chatting and laughing while waiting for Jiang Xinxin to bring back the children who had gone to the front for appearance. Then the banquet officially began.

Among them is Emperor Shengzu’s youngest son, the 21st Beizi. He is the last child of Emperor Shengzu in the true sense. He is younger than Emperor Qianlong and is not even 18 years old. He was supposed to be looking for a legitimate wife, but unexpectedly, the previous emperor passed away.

Although he was not young anymore, he was not married yet, so he lived in the prince's residence with his nephews. Later, he moved to Changchun Garden with his biological mother.

Four tables were set up in the Cining Palace, with four people seated at the main table. Imperial Noble Consort Tong Jia, He Noble Consort Guaerjia, and the late Emperor's Noble Consort Jing had already taken their seats. There were snacks and dried fruits on the table, waiting for Jiang Xinxin to come back and take her seat.

Jiang Xinxin has the highest status here. Before she showed up, everyone sitting there stood up and lined up to greet her. Jiang Xinxin hurriedly called out, "Today is a festival, there are no taboos."

No one would spoil the fun at such a happy time. The children that Jiang Xinxin brought back quickly found their guardians and took their seats one by one.

The small banquet in the Cining Palace was much more casual. Although there were not many meat dishes, it was certainly not as particular as the previous banquet. The table of princes brought by the 21st prince and the table of princesses had more sweet snacks, such as milk cake, almond tofu, double skin milk and so on.

The adults' table was furnished with fish, shrimp, and large slices of beef and mutton that were cut so thin that they could let light pass through. There were also snacks, sweet soups, and so on, of course. But the women had to maintain their figure, so the taste was relatively lighter, such as milk, rock sugar, and bird's nest.

There are also many fruits in the Cining Palace. In addition to the common persimmons, tangerines, kumquats and apples in winter, there are also coconuts, mangoes, citrons and bergamots that are only available in Guangdong and Guangxi and other further south.

Of course, the most popular fruit in the palace must be lychee, especially because lychee is associated with the various romantic anecdotes between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei during the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, many great poets and lyricists praised the various benefits of lychee. The most important thing is that lychee has a very short shelf life, and northerners cannot eat it at all unless they go to Guangdong and Guangxi.

As the saying goes, rare things are valuable. Lychee is becoming more and more precious and valuable in the north.

The late Emperor's Consort Jing and Consort Ning also recited a lot of poems about lychees. Jiang Xinxin was happy to hear them and was infected by the atmosphere. She waved her hand and promised: "I have a big ship. Since we can go to Southeast Asia, we can also go north to the capital."

"Lychees are precious and not easy to preserve, so they are indeed precious in the palace. Next year, when we all go to Changchun Garden, I will transport two lychee trees from Lingnan to the capital. It just so happens that I have a farm with a greenhouse, so after we eat the fruits, we can plant the lychee trees and perhaps we can eat them every year in the future!"

Transporting lychee trees from Lingnan to the capital just for a bite of lychee fruit, this idea is actually affordable for everyone present, but unfortunately their status is not suitable and their prestige is not enough to suppress gossip and criticism.

But as the queen mother, Jiang Xinxin is extremely wealthy and has a decent fleet under her control. Not only is this very cheap to do, but the cost is also not as high as everyone imagines.

The most important thing is that Jiang Xinxin herself has a very high prestige, both in the court and among the people. Even though she has become the empress dowager now, in the minds of many people, she is the only and well-deserved mother of the country.

The Imperial Concubine Dowager was the first to express her support: "Oh, this is great! I have never left the capital in my life, and I never thought I would have the opportunity to taste lychees in this lifetime!"

The late Emperor Jing Guifei also immediately followed up: "Yes, yes, I wrote so many poems with my sisters before, but it is most cost-effective to eat them in your mouth."

The late Emperor's Consort Ning was also very interested: "I have always stayed in the north. I have been able to travel a lot because my ancestral home is in Jeju and my maternal family lives in the capital, but I have never had the honor of seeing the south of the Yangtze River, let alone the Lingnan region. Today we are really going to fulfill a big wish."

The late emperor's concubine Roupin couldn't help but say, "I was born in Jiangnan and came all the way from Jiangnan to the capital. Logically, I should have had experiences that my sisters didn't have, but I was so busy on the road that I didn't get to experience the local customs and people. Now I have to rely on the Empress Dowager to fulfill my wish."

They were all good talkers. Jiang Xinxin was already in a good mood, and was flattered by a group of beauties with different styles. After two glasses of rice wine, she felt really dizzy, and she didn't even remember a lot of things she had promised herself.

The Cining Palace was in turmoil late, and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Emperor Qianlong and the Empress brought several children to the Cining Palace to pay New Year's greetings, and they almost trapped Jiang Xinxin in bed.

Jiang Xinxin asked Jianqiu with a guilty conscience, "Have you prepared the New Year's money?"

Jiang Xinxin had nothing to say, and Jianqiu could only cooperate: "Everything is ready. The red gold necklace and red gold ingots have been wrapped long ago. The auspicious pattern of peace and longevity embedded in the Year of the Rat on the red envelope was drawn by you yourself."

Just as we finished cleaning up, we heard a message from outside saying that Emperor Qianlong, the Empress, the eldest prince, the eldest princess, the second prince, and the third prince had come to pay New Year's greetings.

As soon as he entered the room, Qianlong threw his sleeves and lifted his clothes, then knelt down and kowtowed: "Your son wishes the Empress Dowager all the best, and a long and peaceful life."

The queen led the eldest prince and the eldest princess to kneel down. Behind her, the second prince and the third prince were held in the arms of their wet nurse, who was kneeling.

The Queen also congratulated: "Your daughter-in-law wishes the Queen Mother peace and prosperity every year."

The eldest prince was sensible enough to say a few auspicious words: "Grandson wishes the Royal Grandmother good health and longevity, and may the family be blessed with good fortune."

After saying this series of auspicious words, Jiang Xinxin directly passed Qianlong and the Queen, took the eldest prince and the eldest princess in her arms, looked at Qianlong and the Queen, and said angrily, "You parents are really bad. The children are still young. You can't wake them up so early. It's still cold outside!"