Chapter 976: Banquet (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Madam Li’s body had been weakened because of childbirth. Apart from a few madams who were on good terms with her, she had almost never been outside in the past two years. When she decided to host a banquet, it could be said to have shocked everyone.

As soon as the invitations were sent out, there were already people wondering what happened. After asking around, they found out that most of the people who received the post this time were low-ranking families with young girls. They could not help but speculate.

The heir of the Bulwark Duke’s residence was already ten years old this year. It was just right for him to be engaged at this age.

However, with the heir’s status, what kind of noble lady could he not marry? In the past, not to mention entering the Bulwark Duke’s residence, even if someone saw the Song family from afar, they would not dare to stare at them carefully. Why was this invitation sent to the houses of low-ranking families?

One such recipient was baffled. Could it be that the servants had sent it to the wrong person? He looked at the invitation again. The names and addresses were all from his own family. Fortunately, there was no mistake.

If they couldn’t figure it out, they would gather with their wives and talk to them. Some of them could see through it.

Not only did the Bulwark Duke’s Residence have a lot of military achievements, but were also the maternal family of the Empress. The crown prince had to call the old duke his maternal grandfather.

For such an extremely noble family, even if they showed the prince a noble lady, it would only be icing on the cake.

However, the winds howled around the highest peaks. In order to avoid attracting the attention of the person above, they had to avoid arousing suspicion.

They were not stupid. They could understand the twists and turns just by mentioning it. They were really surprised and happy that their family could receive the thread. It was no different from having something fall into their laps,

After praying to the Bodhisattva, they began to count the days of the banquet and tried their best to dress up in a way that stood out.

They added clothes and jewelry. At the last minute, they invited the teachers to teach the young ladies the rules. The teachers were so busy that they were dizzy. A few jewelry shops in the capital became famous, and the embroidery rooms were also making a lot of money.

It made the entire capital lively for a few days.

There were even many people who did not receive the invitation. They tried their best to give gifts and build friendships, hoping that the madams invited would bring their daughters along on that day.

However, most of them could only return in disappointment. Putting aside whether they would offend the Duchess if they brought people in recklessly, with one more woman, they would have one more competitor. Only a fool would agree.

Such a huge commotion naturally did not escape Emperor Chong’an’s ears.

When Emperor Chong’an heard this, he sneered again. “Look, look. Those who don’t know might think that the palace is choosing a concubine.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know that many people were scolding him behind his back for kicking someone to the curb when they’ve outlived their usefulness. They said that a cunning rabbit would be cooked by a lackey. However, how could he not be afraid of the influence of the heir of the Bulwark Duke’s residence?

He really should let those people sit in his position and try. He did not believe that they could sleep.

“Your Majesty, calm down.” Eunuch Li quickly lowered his head and persuaded, “Actually, this is a good thing for Your Majesty. If Heir Song is engaged, it would be impossible for that young princess to have anything to do with the Bulwark Duke’s residence in the future.’

If the princess of a foreign country did not marry into Great Xia, she would have to return sooner or later. This way, regardless of whether she would marry into the royal family, at least he would not have to worry about the Bulwark Duke’s residence.

Emperor Chong’an was prone to getting carried away when it came to the matters of the Bulwark Duke’s residence. When he heard his words, he calmed down. He looked at the list of guests handed in by the spies. They were all family members of civil servants below the third-grade who did not have any real power. His last bit of displeasure dissipated completely.

“Fine. At least they know their place.”

Eunuch Li secretly felt aggrieved for the old duke. If the old master really had the intention to disobey, this empire would have belonged to him long ago.

It had to be known that back then, when the late emperor died, the various vassals took advantage of the chaos. It was only because the old master personally led troops to quell the rebellion that His Majesty could sit firmly on the throne. Without the old master, His Majesty would not have been able to rest easy today.

It had only been a few years. How could His Majesty forget those things and think that the Song family was disloyal?

If he was the old master, he would definitely not care about anything. He would wait for the rebels to kill His Majesty before coming out to clear the emperor’s name.

Of course, he only dared to think about such blasphemous thoughts in his heart. He did not even dare to dream about it.

Madam Li did not care what Emperor Chong’an thought. She wanted to find a match for her son. She wished she could read the thoughts of the attendees. If she could, she would be able to see through the young ladies of the various families.

Duke Song had taken on an idle job in the Ministry of Rites and left early. Madam Li brought the twins out for breakfast. While she was cleaning up, she summoned her eldest maidservant, Bi Zhu, and gave her some instructions..