The ceremony was about to begin. The Emperor and his concubines and the ministers were all present. Everyone stood in their positions and looked solemn.
The six domestic animals for worship were put on the platform, very solemn and grand.
The Department of Astronomy arranged for some wizards to do the sacred ritual, where the wizards were singing and dancing. In short, it was a ceremony to pray for the peace of the nation.
The sun was so hot that everyone was sweating, but no one dared to move.
Ye Xiaoxian was busy in the kitchen room.
After the ceremony, there was a banquet for the imperial family and the ministers. In addition to the meat for the worship, chefs needed to prepare little dishes and desserts.
Obviously, these would be made by other chefs. She was only in charge of the meat used for worship.
…
The ceremony lasted until the afternoon. Everyone standing outside was drowsy and sweating.
When the ceremony was over, they went back to their accommodation respectively, took a bath and prepared for the banquet in the evening.
When the Empress returned to her place, she came across the old maid who had been sent out to watch Little Ye. The Empress summoned her over and asked, “Was everything going well last night? That young lady didn’t make any trouble?”
And then the Empress regretted to ask.
‘Ye Xiaoxian is an ordinary woman, what kind of tricks could she play? I’m just finishing the task of the Empress Dowager, otherwise I wouldn’t care about her at all.’ the Empress thought inwardly.
The old maid knelt down and replied, “Everything was all right. She came back for sleep in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen again this morning, but…”
“But what?” The Empress asked.
The Empress became impatient when she saw the old maid mumbling. “Hurry up and tell me. I have to shower and get dressed after this. I have no time wasting in this.”
The old maid said, “The original surname of Madam Xiao is Ye. I think she looks like… like the Empress Dowager.”
“Like the Empress Dowager?” The Empress was surprised.
There were plenty of maids and concubines in the palace. Most of them came from all over the country. Occasionally, people could find one resembled another. It was quite normal.
When the late Emperor was alive, he loved his Empress very much. So after the late Empress’s decease, he specifically searched for women who looked like the Empress. Otherwise, the current Empress Dowager would not be so favored at that time.
However, few people looked like Empress Dowager. People might be able to find one or two all over the country.
The current Empress Dowager had been the number one beauty in the country when she was young. Despite her current old age now, her charm still remained.
‘If Madam Xiao looks like the Empress Dowager, does it mean that she is a top beauty?’
“Do you mean that Madam Xiao is very pretty?” The Empress asked again.
The old maid replied, “Her look is plain. I can’t compare her with the beauty of Empress Dowager. But there is indeed some similarity between the Empress Dowager’s eyes and hers. Your Majesty, not only do I think they look similar, but also the two maids who served her last night feels the same. Oh right, there is one more… the Seventh King.”
“The Seventh King?” The Empress looked a little out of control. She added, “The Seventh King have also entered the palace?”
“He said that he was here to visit his mother. He chatted a little while with Madam Xiao. He looked quite familiar with her. He seemed a little surprised when he saw Madam Xiao today. Maybe he hadn’t connected Madam Xiao with the Empress Dowager before, but today he saw her, he found their resemblance.”
The Empress smiled. “It can’t be possible. They didn’t look like each other before, but now do?”
Hearing the Empress’s words, the old maid didn’t dare continue. So she said, “It’s possible… I misjudged him. The Seventh King didn’t mean that.”
The Empress’s face changed again when the old maid mentioned the Seventh King.
The Empress said, “How about this? Before the banquet, you go and see if Madam Xiao is in the kitchen. If so, call her to my place and let me see what she looks like.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” The old maid said and went to deliver the order.
…
The banquet was about to start and Little Ye was so busy at the kitchen.
It wasn’t that she got a ton of things to do, but everyone was nervous. It seemed that they were about to lose their heads if anything went wrong, so she was nervous, too.
Therefore, she had to be cautious.
It wasn’t until plates of roast lamb and roast pork were carried out that she let out a sigh of relief.
After the banquet started, Little Ye had her dinner with the chefs in the backyard. She could leave the palace after finishing her dinner.
After a busy day, she was sweaty. She was not in a good appetite and only ate some snacks and desserts.
She was about to leave the palace with Zhang Deshui when the old maid she saw last night came to her again.
The old maid saw Little Ye, and she said in a hurry, “Thank God, you are still here. Are you not in a hurry to leave the palace now?”
Ye Xiaoxian asked, “I’ve got time. What’s wrong?”
“The Empress wants to see you. Follow me. It won’t be long.” The old maid answered.
Ye Xiaoxian was surprised. ‘The Empress wants to see me?’
“What is it?” Little Ye asked.
“She just wants to meet you. It’s not a big deal,” the old maid said flatly.
Ye Xiaoxian wiped off the sweat on her forehead. “I’m all sweaty. It won’t be rude to see the Empress in this way, will it?”
“It’s fine, please follow me.” The old maid looked very demanding because it was the Empress’s order.
Ye Xiaoxian could only let Zhang Deshui wait for a while and then followed the old maid.
The night fell and Ye Xiaoxian followed the old maid through the palace.
Even though she had already walked this path once in the morning, she really couldn’t figure out when she should turn left, and when to turn right, or which palace was which. She really wanted to ask the old maid how to distinguish these paths.
However, the old maid walked very quickly, obviously in a hurry.
Finally, they reached the outer wall of a palace and the old maid stopped.
Ye Xiaoxian asked her, “Why do you stop here?”
The old maid said, “You wait here. Not everyone can enter the Empress’s palace.”
Ye Xiaoxian thought, ‘Isn’t the Empress wanting to see me? Why does she forbid me from entering her palace? So I have to wait on the way?’
Sure enough, she waited for about a quarter before a sedan appeared in front of her. The old maid pulled Little Ye down and ordered her, “Don’t move!”
Ye Xiaoxian could only kneel down.
Even though she was Xiao Baoshan’s wife and was temporarily serving as a head chef, everyone knew that Xiao Baoshan was a pawn in the imperial family’s game. And as his wife, she was just like a prisoner.
And in this palace, she was even nothing.
When the Empress’s sedan approached, the old maid shouted, “Your Majesty!”
Ye Xiaoxian was about to raise her head when the old maid stopped her. She said to the Empress, “Your Majesty, I brought her here.”
After a while, Ye Xiaoxian heard the Empress’s superior voice, “Stand up, let me look at you.”
Ye Xiaoxian looked towards the old maid. She didn’t know what she should do. She dared not move until the old maid asked her to.
The old maid said to Ye Xiaoxian, “The Empress asks you to stand up. Come on, stand up!”
“…” Ye Xiaoxian stood up.
The company of the Empress were carrying lanterns with them. After Ye Xiaoxian stood up and looked at the Empress, a maid lifted a lantern to light up her face. Her vision was blurred and she vaguely saw a lady dressed in luxurious clothes sitting on a sedan. The gold ornaments on her head and body shimmered under the light of lanterns.
Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t see clearly what the Empress looked like, but the Empress saw Ye Xiaoxian’s face clearly.
Ye Xiaoxian felt very uncomfortable shone by the lantern, so her face was slightly tilted.
But the Empress saw her clearly. Ye Xiaoxian did look like the Empress Dowager.
Although she wasn’t as good-looking as the Empress Dowager, she was young and had the similar charm of the Empress Dowager.
After seeing Ye Xiaoxian’s face clearly, the Empress did not say anything to Ye Xiaoxian. She only told the eunuch in front of her, “Let’s go!”
After the lantern in front of Ye Xiaoxian was moved away, her vision was still slightly blurred.
‘What happened just now?’
First, she was shone by a lantern, then the Empress left without saying a word. Ye Xiaoxian felt like she was being looked down upon and stepped on under the mud.
But then, she thought to herself that ever since she transmigrated, she had been a farmer. She had been living in small county cities, but now she was in the capital city and could even meet the Empress.
When she went back and let Xiao Tieshu and Xiao Tongshu know what she had seen, they must be so jealous.
“Madam Xiao, it’s getting late. If you have got things to do, then you can leave the palace now!” The old maid said politely to Little Ye.
Ye Xiaoxian said, “Okay, it’s time to leave!”
At the same time, she let out a long sigh.
…
It was a grand and splendid banquet. The lights in the palace were shining brightly.
The royal family were sitting in the center front of the room, while the ministers were sitting aside. When Li Chengkun raised his glass and announced that the banquet officially started, everyone also raised their glasses.
Li Chengkun was very satisfied with this scene. He sat in the most honorable seat with people worshipping him below. Every time he saw such a scene, he felt that the Great Qi Dynasty was prosperous and the greatest compared to other countries.
The Empress sat next to Li Chengkun and was very satisfied with the scene, too.
At this moment, she was the Mother of the Nation and everyone had to address her as the Empress. She felt that her life was meaningful.
However, there was a trace of regret on her face when she saw Li Chengru sitting below.
However, Li Chengru never looked at her back in her eyes.
The dishes came up one after another. Of course, the first dish to come up were roast lamb and roast pork.
The servants cut the roast lamb and the roast pork and distributed them into everyone’s plate, then respectfully filled everyone’s glass, everything in good order.
Then Li Chengkun took the lead in eating the first bite.
Normally, people didn’t care about the dishes on palace banquets. After all, they didn’t intend to get filled on the banquet. They just needed to have a taste of the dish. After all, no one dared to swallow up on palace banquets.
However, after Li Chengkun took the first bite, he looked satisfied.
He couldn’t help but praise, “This roast lamb is really delicious, better than any lamb in previous years. The Ministry of Rites has done a great job this time.”
Someone sent Li Chengkun’s words to the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and he was overjoyed.
Others heard Li Chengkun’s praise about the roast lamb, and they tried it, too.