July is approaching, and it is already midsummer. With no rain for a long time, the weather has become even hotter. It’s just too late. The temperature is already frighteningly high, even if you are hiding in the dark wearing single clothes. , it is impossible to escape the invasion of the heat wave, let alone wearing neat court clothes and standing under the bright sun. The pain of being in a furnace is really not that easy to bear, a group of ministers standing outside the East Palace Gate Everyone was already sweating through their heavy clothes, as if they were just fished out of the water, but no one dared to move even a little bit, not only because Emperor Gaozong was approaching, but also because Prince Li Xian was standing in front of everyone.
Being rude in front of the emperor is not a fun thing. The ministers and workers did not dare to make any mistakes in this. They just stayed quiet. The eyes of everyone looking at Li Xian were full of complicated expressions. There is no other reason. It's just that the ministers not only knew about it, but also saw the astonishing scale of the refugee wave gathering on South Street. The ministers close to Empress Wu were of course gloating about the misfortune, while the ministers close to Li Xian They couldn't help but worry in their hearts, but no matter what they thought in their hearts, on such occasions, no one dared to show the slightest bit, and could only quietly wait for the arrival of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Queen of Heaven has arrived!"
Waiting and waiting, until the time has come, the courtiers who have looked through the autumn water finally waited for the arrival of the imperial chariot. However, listening to the loud music of drums and waving flags, a large group of Yulin Army soldiers guarded a splendid golden chrome car in high spirits. The car came from the Zetian Gate. As Cheng Denggao gave a high-pitched and high-pitched shout, the car curtain was lifted. Emperor Gaozong, who was dressed in a bright yellow single robe, and Empress Wu, who was wearing a purple dress, were already standing in front of a group of young eunuchs. After being served, he bent down and got out of the carriage.
"My sons and ministers (ministers) bow to His Majesty the Emperor, and bow to the Queen of Heaven."
As soon as they saw Gaozong and Empress Wu showing up, Li Xian and others, who had been waiting for a long time, did not dare to neglect them. They hurriedly rushed to them according to their rank, and each of them paid homage to them.
"All my dear friends, please be safe."
Although the weather was extremely hot, it did not hinder Gaozong's good mood. At this moment, facing everyone paying homage, Gaozong raised his hand with a smile on his face and called out warmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
Since Emperor Gaozong had already called out, the ministers and workers did not dare to neglect him. They thanked him in unison as usual, and stood up and stood on both sides.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, and your ministers have already prepared everything. Please invite your Majesty your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, and your Majesty to come in and take a seat."
As soon as the ceremony was over, Li Xian did not dare to let the frail Gaozong be exposed to the sun any longer. He hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and asked for instructions.
"Well, okay, Xian'er, just lead the way."
Although two young eunuchs held up the canopy for Gaozong as soon as he got off the carriage, which blocked the bright sun, he was delayed for a while at the palace gate and was already suffocated by the sweltering heat. He was sweating profusely and didn't want to stay here any longer, so he agreed with a smile and walked into the palace accompanied by Li Xian.
"I come to see your majesty, my concubine, and to see your empress!"
"Grandson, please give your regards to Grandpa Huang and Grandma Huang!"
Gaozong and others had just arrived in front of Binshan's gate when they saw Princess Zhao Qiong, Princess Mingyue, and Yan Hong coming forward with their children, and each of them saluted and paid homage.
"No, no, Zhongyi, come on, come to Grandpa Huang."
Although Gaozong was a bit cowardly, he attached great importance to family ties and loved his children and grandchildren, especially Li Chongyi, who looked like a beautiful girl. Since February, Gaozong had often announced Li Chongyi's entry into the palace. Companion, seeing his beloved grandson now, he didn't care to pay attention to the greetings from all the daughters-in-law. He said something casually and then waved to Li Chongyi with a smile on his face.
"Grandpa Huang."
Even though Li Chongyi was only six years old, his mind was quite lively. When he should be calm, he was serious, and when he should be cute, he was also fierce. As soon as Gaozong called, the little guy had already excitedly jumped into Gaozong's arms. She called out in a coquettish way, not to mention how sweet it was for her little mouth.
"Hey, Xiaoyi, I haven't been to the palace for the past two days. Do you miss Grandpa Huang?"
Gaozong rarely cared about the majesty of an emperor. At this time, he hugged his little grandson and looked like an old man. He was in a mood to lick a calf. He didn't care about the ministers waiting behind him and started teasing Xiao Zhongyi with a smile.
"Yes, my grandson misses Grandpa Huang every day. It's just that the adopted son has to practice Chinese literature and martial arts, so he can't accompany Grandpa Huang every day."
Xiao Chongyi slumped in Gaozong's arms, raised his head, and said with regret on his face. His childish voice was clear and sweet, and he was really cute to the extreme.
"That's right. Xiaoyi has read a lot of books. Would you like to talk to Grandpa Huang about it?"
Gaozong scraped Xiao Chongyi's nose lovingly and asked with a smile.
"Returning to Grandpa Huang, Yi'er has already finished reading "The Thousand Character Classic". My husband has said that starting from next month, he will be taught "The Analects of Confucius". Next, there will be "Spring and Autumn", "Great Learning", "The Analects of Confucius". "Historical Records" and so on, there are many, many, and Yi'er can't even be counted."
When it came to his achievements, Xiao Zhongyi immediately showed a proud look on his face. He pointed his fingers and murmured in a crisp voice, which made Gaozong laugh so hard that he couldn't even close his mouth.
"Okay, okay, my little adopted son has grown up and can read and write. Good, very good. Come and have a banquet with Grandpa Huang."
Emperor Gaozong was so amused by Xiao Chongyi's childlike innocence that he burst into laughter. He held Xiao Chongyi's hand with great affection and walked toward the palace while chatting and laughing. When the crowd saw this, they did not dare to wait for a moment. There was a delay, so they all started to follow him. After a while, they arrived at the Mingde Hall. They saw that several bowls, chopsticks and other items had been prepared in the hall, but no food was presented. Although there were many people waiting, There was some suspicion, but no one dared to ask random questions at this time. They could only sit down according to their rank.
"Xian'er, where is the feast you mentioned?"
They were already seated, but after a while, no food was presented. Others didn't dare to ask questions, but Gaozong couldn't help it any longer. He waved his hand and called Li Xian, who was standing beside him. He came over and asked suspiciously.
"Father, please wait a moment. I will order a banquet right now."
Li Xian responded respectfully, then gave a high-five, and soon he saw groups of palace maids in costumes walking in from the outside of the palace holding food boxes in their hands. They quickly placed all kinds of dishes in front of everyone. superior.
"Buzz..."
All the ministers and workers arrived at the East Palace early in the morning. After staying up under the sun for a long time, their stomachs were already empty. When they saw that the dishes were served, they all became energetic. But when they looked again, Seeing that many of the dishes were served, none of them recognized anything. They were all weird-looking things. They were so confused that they all started talking about it. For a while, the whole hall became noisy.
"Xian'er, these are some strange things. I don't know anything about them. How can I possibly get them?"
Not only the ministers were at a loss, but Emperor Gaozong was also confused. He pointed at the dishes on the table and asked some confused questions.
"Returning to my father, these are fine seeds brought by my son from overseas. They are all planted by my own hands. As for the recipes, my son has grinded them many times. Everything is a delicacy. This is peanuts, this is a roasted sweet potato, and this is a roasted sweet potato. Yes, this is corn bone soup..."
Facing Gaozong's doubts, Li Xian smiled confidently, pointed to the various dishes on the table, and explained them one by one.
"Oh? That's actually the case. Xian'er has a good intention, but how should we use this thing?"
Hearing what Li Xian said was so mysterious, Gaozong was really interested. After looking at the food that was full of food, he picked up a shelled peanut and pinched it. He felt that it was very hard, but it was Not daring to take it into his mouth easily, he asked suspiciously.
"Father, this thing is called peanut. The shell must be peeled before it can be eaten. Please allow me to demonstrate one or two."
Li Xian explained with a smile, and picked up a peanut from the box in front of Gaozong. With a slight exertion of his fingers, he pinched the shell open, and with a little pull, two saltwater peanuts were already in the palm of his hand. Without saying any more nonsense, I just stuffed it into my mouth and chewed it a few times, leaving a lingering aroma in my mouth.
"Grandpa Huang, these saltwater peanuts are so delicious, I will peel them for you to eat."
Xiao Chongyi had tasted peanuts before, so he knew how delicious they were. Seeing that Gaozong was still hesitant, he immediately picked up a peanut and bit it with his teeth, only to hear " With a "crack" sound, the shell had cracked. Xiao Zhongyi peeled it off with his little hands and took out the two peanut kernels inside. He held it in his hand and handed it to Gaozong obediently.
"Okay, okay, okay, Grandpa Huang, just eat it."
Facing the peanuts peeled by his beloved grandson, Emperor Gaozong did not doubt that he was there. He took them with a smile and put them in his mouth.
"Your Majesty, wait a minute, this thing must be inspected before it can be eaten. Come, inspect it!"
Empress Wu was dissatisfied with Li Xian, and she hated Xiao Chongyi very much. She was already dissatisfied when she saw her grandfather and grandson being so happy. Now she saw Gaozong listening to Xiao Chongyi like this. Yi's words made him even more angry, so he found a reason to abruptly interrupt Gaozong's interest.
"This..., let's test it."
The emperor's banquet already had eunuchs who tasted the food. Every dish had to be tested before it could be eaten. It was custom-made, but Li Xian had already taken the lead in using it before, so there was no need to serve it again. Gao Zong himself did not have this intention, but now that Empress Wu had spoken, Gao Zong could not object in public. After a slight hesitation, he still agreed to Empress Wu's suggestion, but looked at Li Chongyi with a confused look in his eyes. Unavoidably, there was a hint of guilt.
The food inspection is not complicated. There are only two procedures. One is to use a silver needle to probe the food to see if there is any change in color. This step is very fast. The eunuchs responsible for the food inspection are all veterans. He was very familiar with them all, but in a short time he had tried all the dishes placed in front of Gaozong, and found no problems. As for the second procedure, it was not difficult, just let someone try it. It's just that eating is fast, but it takes a stick of incense to wait for a reaction. Before the results come out, there is nothing else for the people to do except sit there, so the atmosphere in the hall is inevitably tense. Some things are getting boring...
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