Chapter 451: Talent Performance Second Watch (1)_1
Caiwei stole a few glances at the Empress Dowager, then lowered her gaze. True enough, the Empress was a beauty among beauties, a national treasure, the most stunning in the Imperial Harem. It is no wonder she gave birth to such a handsome son as Nangong Yi.
However, the Empress emanated a cold and proud aura, as if she was all alone in this world, lacking the maternal affinity expected from the mother of a nation.
Empress Mo, hand on Luo Xue’s arm, ascended the steps to the Waterside Pavilion, where her throne was already set up. Before the throne was an ornately carved lacquer table and on either side behind the Empress, eunuchs and palace maids lined up like the wings of wild geese. They held items such as the incense burner, embroidered handkerchief, rinse bowl, and duster. Luo Xue stood unwaveringly by the right side of Empress Mo.
To the left and right of the Empress’s throne were a few empty chairs, indicating that there were some yet to arrive, but it wasn’t clear who.
The seating arrangement for the young ladies was dependent on the official rank of their families. The higher their family’s status, the closer their seats were to the Waterside Pavilion. Consequently, Caiwei’s table was placed far from the Waterside Pavilion, so far that she could barely see the people inside.
Whereas, Helana’s seat was arranged inside the Waterside Pavilion. Even though it was at the far end, the young ladies who had seats inside the pavilion were, besides princesses, only her and Li Ruizhu.
Today, the Empress Dowager seemed to be in poor spirits. After uttering a few polite remarks, she commanded for the banquet to begin and for the food and wine to be served.
Everyone had arrived early at the palace, and to avoid needing the washroom, they had come on an empty stomach. At this point, having played for the whole morning and with mealtime long past, they were all famished. As soon as they heard the banquet was about to begin, they all perked up, eagerly anticipating the meal.
The court banquet was exceedingly sumptuous. There were five delicacies: white boiled fish lips, Luohan big shrimp, venison tail roast, rare delicacies of fivefold thorns, and eight-treasure diced rabbit.
Additionally, there were four types of cakes, one plate of steamed dishes, and one plate of braised dishes, two boxes of snail appetizers, along with pearl-like japonica rice and lamb strip soup served in a silver hot pot.
Apart from this, there were also ten varieties of rice and flour dishes, as well as dairy products, including small bamboo roll bread, small elephant eye bread, snail-shaped buns with bean paste, paste oil square points, oil cakes, pea buns, spoon buns with red cakes, and three types of oven biscuits.