Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid

Untitled Part 156

The palace held a grand banquet for the mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month.

Because it was a moon-viewing banquet that was enjoyed by the monarch and his officials, it was set in the pavilion on the lake within the imperial gardens.

The pavilion was extremely large, constructed upon the blue waters of the lake. There was an open-air terrace constructed of white marble which was perfect for viewing the moon.

The banquet was divided into two areas for men and women. The Jing Emperor sat on the left with the officials and nobility while the empress sat on the right with the concubines and the titled women. They were separated by various potted plants that were as tall as a person.

Such a banquet when hosted at night was extremely magnificent. Countless lanterns lit up the pavilion and there was singing, dancing and playing instruments. It looked like a scene from paradise.

The empress sat in the seat of honor.

She was dressed up in an extremely eye-catching manner. She wore a bright yellow palace outfit and wore a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin on her head. Under the lamplight, she looked graceful and opulent, giving off the prestige of the nation's mother figure.

Below the seat of honor, two long rows of seats were arranged. Xiao Hua sat in the first seat on the left and Virtuous Concubine Qiao was seated the next spot down. Further down, the titled women were arranged by their ranks. The right side's layout was the same, except there wasn't a seat across from Xiao Hua.

There were many fruits and refreshments placed on the table. One of the plates contained various sorts of bite-sized mooncakes. They looked extremely exquisite.

The two children sat with Xiao Hua in her seat. One was wearing a delicate crown prince's outfit and the other wore a pink little palace outfit. Combined with the children's jade-like appearances, they looked extremely cute. They attracted the attention of countless women. They truly felt that this senior concubine was good looking, and her dragon and phoenix pair of children were also extremely outstanding in appearance.

This was the first time the children participated in such an occasion, and they were naturally quite curious. Yi Yi saw the palace dancers performing and couldn't bear to even blink. Zhuo'er was much better off. Although he also felt it was novel, he didn't express anything on the surface. He sat upright next to his mother concubine, exhibiting a crown prince's demeanor to the extreme.

This made his mom Xiao Hua unable to stop herself from smiling.

"Zhuo'er, aren't you tired sitting like that?"

"A little." Zhuo'er furrowed his little brows, "But Gentleman Qian said that although Zhuo'er is still young and doesn't need to learn anything else, basic etiquette needs to be observed. Especially in front of outsiders. Can't let down the royal family's appearance."

Gentleman Qian was the crown prince's gentleman, and was responsible for teaching the crown prince etiquette and correcting his mistakes. The Grand Xi Nation did have an established institution in the eastern palace, which had the three official tutors and three junior tutors to instruct the crown prince. Since Luo Zhuo was still young and still lived with Xiao Hua in the Chenxi Palace, he didn't have to be registered yet. However, he still needed to learn etiquette every day.

Xiao Hua could see that this child had some hard days ahead of him. But as the Jing Emperor said, his position required him to be groomed in this way. If his parents spoiled him too much, it would only result in their child becoming a useless person in the future. Furthermore, Xiao Hua didn't know how to teach a child, and especially didn't know how to teach an heir apparent. Thus, she could only go along with the Jing Emperor's arrangements while doing her best to cherish her children more during their free time.