Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 7 Celebration Banquet
At this time, the sun had risen completely, and the golden rays of light spread over the earth, making the vermilion Daming Palace glow brightly.
Li Yuechen quietly squatted at the entrance of the inner hall on the left, revealing half of his head and looking at the ministers who were already waiting in the hall.
Crown Prince Li Hong, who was standing in the front row of the ministers, turned his head inadvertently and discovered half of a head sticking out from behind the screen opposite him.
He was slightly stunned, and a hint of confusion appeared in his bright eyes. He didn't understand why his sister was here.
Seeing his elder brother looking at him with a puzzled expression, Li Yuechen smiled cutely, then raised his arm and waved at him.
Li Hong subconsciously looked up at Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. Neither of them had any special reaction, so it seemed that they had permission.
Looking at his sister waving at him, Li Hong raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a smile, and raised his wrist imperceptibly to wave at her implicitly.
Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne, seemed to see Li Hong's little movement, and then glanced slightly towards Li Yuechen.
However, he did not say anything. Instead, he showed an almost imperceptible doting smile.
Behind him, behind a pearl curtain, sat Wu Zetian, who was also dressed in gorgeous attire.
To be honest, Li Yuechen now feels a little uncomfortable no matter how he looks at her.
Although she is wearing gorgeous clothes and has various head ornaments on her head, this makeup is really a bit unbearable to look at.
First of all, his entire face was painted pale. It is no exaggeration to say that he really looked like a ghost.
The blush on both sides of her cheeks is also applied very thickly, and to say that it looks like a monkey's butt is a bit modest.
The lipstick was not applied all over the lips, but only a small lip shape was applied in the middle, which was about half the length of the mouth.
The remaining half is left empty on both sides, also painted with white base, which visually reduces the width of the mouth.
There is a small red dot on each side of the mouth near the dimple.
But the most important thing is the eyebrows. In this era, the higher the eyebrows, the higher the status.
As the queen, Wu Zetian was of course the woman of the highest status, so her eyebrows were drawn particularly high.
The back half of her eyebrows seemed to be covered by a layer of something else, while the front half was tilted upwards.
Yes, that’s right, just like the last big boss Kaguya in Naruto, whose long and thin eyebrows turned into two thick black dots.
This makeup made Li Yuechen feel uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but get goose bumps.
It cannot be said to be ugly, it can only be said that it looks a little abnormal, not like a real person, but more like a puppet.
This may be due to the difference in aesthetics caused by different times. Li Yuechen said that she would never paint her face like this anyway.
But speaking of it, seeing this makeup, Li Yuechen nodded slightly, thinking to himself that the makeup of Japanese geishas was probably based on this.
Just as he was thinking, Zhang Chengxin, who was standing beside Li Zhi, flicked the whisk in his hand and shouted loudly: "Announce - Li Ji, the chief military commander of Liaodong Road, Liu Rengui, the deputy chief military commander of Liaodong Road, and Xue Li, the general of the Left Guard, to see you -"
What's more, in the quiet hall, Zhang Chengxin's voice actually echoed throughout the hall.
Three figures, their beards already gray but with firm and strong steps, walked in from outside the hall.
He came to the high platform where Li Zhi was sitting, raised his hand, bowed, and bent down.
"Your Majesty, I am Li Ji (Liu Rengui, Xue Li)! I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"
Kneeling was not a popular ritual in the Tang Dynasty. Generally, kneeling was only done on important days such as the winter solstice, New Year's Day, and sacrifices.
Li Zhi said with a smile: "My three dear ministers, please stand up! This battle can be won completely, and you three dear ministers have made great contributions!"
As they were being humble and courteous to each other, Li Yuechen was also secretly observing the three of them.
The one in the middle must be Li Ji. He is now over seventy years old, but he still looks strong and healthy. He speaks with full energy. It can be said that he is worthy of being a veteran of many battles!
But the remaining two could not be distinguished, so Li Yuechen turned his head, gently pulled Eunuch Fu's sleeve, asked him to bend down, and whispered in his ear: "The one in the middle must be General Li, what about the other two?"
Eunuch Fu also replied in a low voice: "Your Highness, the one on the left is Lord Xue, and the one on the right is Lord Liu."
Li Yuechen leaned forward to look again, and the person on the left was the legendary Xue Rengui!
Even though I know almost nothing about history, I have heard a lot of legends about this person since I was a child.
Now that I have seen the real person, I feel a little excited.
His beard and hair were mixed with a lot of white. He had a stocky build, slightly shorter than Li Ji and Liu Rengui, but looked much braver than them. He had a tough face that showed that of a ruthless man.
Liu Rengui on the right, on the other hand, looks much more amiable and has a gentle and refined air.
He just seemed to be older than Xue Rengui, and his hair and beard were mostly white.
What followed was an extremely boring work report. Li Yuechen had no interest in listening to it, so he took Eunuch Fu and left quietly.
As long as the celebration banquet at noon is not late, as for now, I plan to go to the Yunting Palace.
During this period of time, Li Yuechen went to the Yunting Palace every now and then to chat with her two sisters and kill time.
I won’t stay too long, just about half an hour each time.
Liu Shanggong did not receive any orders from Wu Zetian. Knowing that the little princess was favored, she arranged the easiest jobs for the two princesses.
Every day, all she had to do was supervise the other palace maids at their work and she didn't have to do it herself.
After such a long time, the two princesses have become very familiar with Li Yuechen.
Seeing her coming, Princess Yiyang smiled and picked her up: "Chen'er, the army is returning to the capital today, why don't you go to the banquet, but come here instead?"
"I just went to watch the court meeting, it was boring," Li Yuechen replied, "I thought the two sisters might be lonely here, so I came here to chat with them."
Princess Xuancheng, who was standing nearby, took her in her arms and shook her vigorously: "Chen'er is so good!"
Li Yuechen smiled and stretched out her hand to pinch Princess Xuancheng's cheek and said, "Sister is also very good. She looks much better recently!"
Princess Yi Yang beside her lifted her hair and said, "Yes, this is all thanks to Chen Er!"
Because they don’t have to work every day recently, and Liu Shanggong has also made their meals much better, so their complexion has basically returned to normal recently.
The two princesses were born beautiful. Once they regained their spirits, even though they were wearing palace maids' clothes, they still had a hint of the princesses' noble temperament.
Li Yuechen chatted and played with them, and sighed in her heart, this is family love!
"Sister, please put me down. Don't be too tired." Li Yuechen reminded.
"It's okay. Hold me more while you still have some strength." Princess Xuancheng nudged her forehead with hers. "In a few years, you won't be able to hold me anymore."
Princess Yi Yang next to her clearly agreed: "It seems that Chen'er has grown up very fast during this period."
Li Yuechen himself didn't feel anything about this, perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he got up every morning to exercise.
Although she has found a master, before officially studying with him, Li Yuechen still does yoga and stretches her ligaments every morning.
She didn't know martial arts, but as an extreme athlete, her agility and flexibility, if not an expert, were at least professional level.
After staying with her two sisters for a while, Li Yuechen quickly said goodbye. After all, she had to dress up for the lunch banquet, and she was still wearing casual clothes, so she had to go back and dress up quickly.
The two sisters saw her off to the gate of the Ye Ting Palace, and then waved goodbye as Li Yuechen had taught them.
Li Yuechen followed Eunuch Fu back to Chengxiang Palace. The palace maid Xiaohe was already ready and immediately began to help Li Yuechen dress up.
The formal wear in ancient times was extremely complicated. Not only did they have to wear a bunch of different kinds of jewelry on their heads, they also had to wear a conspicuous jewelry necklace around their necks.
The key is the wide sleeves. Even if you cross your hands in front of your abdomen, the hem of the sleeves almost reaches your ankles.
If your hands hang naturally, they will almost touch the ground.
When wearing this kind of clothes, you have to walk very carefully, just like a restraint.
…
Finally it was noon and the banquet was about to begin.
But before that, there was a more important activity - the prisoner presentation ceremony.
Li Ji had done this once in front of Taizong's mausoleum on his way back with his army, but he had to do it again today.
Li Yuechen was not sure whether the captive-surrendering ceremony in other dynasties required killing, but in this era, whether to kill or not depended on the decision of the emperor himself.
Li Yuechen appeared beside Wu Zetian in gorgeous clothes, standing still with the look of a good boy, while her four brothers could only stand below with the ministers.
It is no longer a secret that the princess is favored. It is also thanks to the fact that Li Yuechen is a girl, otherwise, many people would have had ideas about her.
Several captives were forced to kneel before Li Zhi, awaiting the verdict.
The most important among them are the three sons of Yeon Gaesomun, a powerful official of Goguryeo.
In order to avoid the name of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, he changed his surname to Quan. The following are his three sons, Quan Nansheng, Quan Nanjian and Quan Nanchan.
According to Li Ji's report, this battle captured 176 cities and more than 700,000 households from Goguryeo.
Listening to Zhang Chengxin reading the imperial edict, Li Yuechen roughly understood the outcome of the handling.
He established the Andong Protectorate in Pyongyang and appointed Xue Rengui as the Andong Protector with 20,000 soldiers in charge to pacify the people and establish the Tang Dynasty.
The King of Goguryeo was demoted to Siping Taichangbo, which is the Minister of Works, but there is another sentence at the end: "Yuanwai Tongzheng".
It means that he enjoys all the treatment of the Minister of Works, but does not have to work. He just has the title.
Unless there is a shortage of people due to some natural disaster or man-made disaster, he is basically an invisible person.
The main culprit, Nanjian, was exiled to Qianzhou; the meritorious Nanguan was appointed General of the Right Guard; and Nanchan, who finally opened the gates of Pyongyang and surrendered, was appointed Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
Of course, each general of the Tang army also had different rewards...
To be honest, Li Yuechen was a little surprised by this outcome.
Although I have heard before that the Tang Dynasty was open-minded and inclusive and employed people regardless of their ethnicity, this is still too exaggerated.
Although the boy said that he did make a contribution this time, which was equivalent to offering the entire Goguryeo to the Tang Empire, it was a bit exaggerated to directly appoint him as the chief of the capital military region.
Of course, logically speaking, it would be much safer for him to stay in the capital than in Goguryeo. After all, he would be alone here and there would be no need to worry about him forming a new team to rebel, which would help the Tang Dynasty to completely incorporate Goguryeo into its territory.
But to be honest, Li Yuechen felt that if he were in Li Zhi's position, this kind of situation might not occur.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raise his head slightly, and there was a hint of respect in his eyes when he looked at Li Zhi!
In the past, people on the Internet said that Li Zhi was a giant baby, a complete coward, who had no ability and relied entirely on his wife Wu Zetian to stabilize the situation.
But after three years in this world, he saw this scene again. If he could return to his original world one day, Li Yuechen would definitely post a message so that Li Zhi would not be so unbearable!
Perhaps feeling Li Yuechen's gaze, Li Zhi turned his head, glanced at her, and smiled calmly.
As a father, being able to have my beloved daughter look at me with such admiration gives me a special sense of accomplishment that can make me feel extremely happy!
So subconsciously, Li Zhi straightened his back a lot.
…
The ceremony was completed, it was noon, and the welcoming banquet officially began.
The banquet was held in the Linding Hall as usual, with ministers and foreign envoys sitting below. Li Yuechen was still held in Wu Zetian's arms, sitting next to her.
If any other prince received this kind of treatment, the ministers would almost instantly start to think about taking sides.
But Li Yuechen didn't care about this. She was so hungry that her big watery eyes stared at the Hu pancakes and roasted lamb on the table and blinked twice.
It was not until Li Zhi announced the start of the banquet and started working that she reached out to take it.
There is no way. In ancient times, etiquette was a very serious issue. If you take something before your parents have done anything, it would be considered as an act of usurpation.
Li Yuechen, who was bent on improving her favorability and determined to be a good boy, would never embarrass Li Zhi and Wu Zetian by doing such a thing.
Hubing feels like the naan of later generations, but it is not that big. The one in Li Yuechen's hand is only slightly bigger than her face.
Holding a piece of naan in your hand and eating a large piece of roasted lamb next to it is a pretty good enjoyment.
The food during the Tang Dynasty was far less rich than one might imagine. Many vegetables had not yet been introduced at that time, and there was no stir-frying.
Most of the food is still cooked by steaming, and meat is basically boiled in water or roasted directly over the fire.
Li Zhi took the half-glass of wine, clinked it lightly with Wu Zetian's, and drank it down with his head tilted back.
Li Yuechen was still too young, so Wu Zetian naturally would not allow her to drink alcohol, so there was a palace maid who was specifically responsible for making tea for her.
It's called tea, but it feels more like a soup.
Because in the process of making tea, you also need to add some seasonings such as onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, cardamom and salt.
In Li Yuechen's opinion, the taste of this tea cannot be said to be unpalatable, it can only be said to be weird.
In the hall of Linde Hall, ministers were chatting and eating and drinking.
The palace maids and musicians who came out of the Jiaofang were dancing and playing accompaniment, and the official prostitutes were sitting next to the officials to chat and drink with them. The scene was full of joy.
