The Little Consort's
Eps. 47: The Queen Mother's Supper

The day Li Anlan had avoided the most had already arrived. Empress Dowager Han Yuemei's banquet will start in an hour's time. The room for the banquet was housed in Shiyue Palace, the palace of the Queen Mother's residence.

Empress Dowager Han Yuemei's Banquet was a regular banquet held every spring. In every year, the banquet place is always fixed, namely at Shiyue Palace. The banquet is usually held at the peak or end of spring, as a form of prosperity and glory.

Those invited to this magnificent banquet were the king's wives, the misses of the extended family residence, the misses of the noble residence, the official residence, and the state guests. In addition to the ladies, the Queen Mother also invited the young masters. Their parents were also invited to attend, only most did not come because they thought that the banquet was special for young ladies. But not infrequently, there are also people who come.

As people say, spring is the most beautiful season. The flowers are blooming and fragrant. In fact, the allusion of the saying refers to the girls, who are already fifteen to eighteen years old. In those days, they bloomed like flowers, spread beauty and clashed cleverness in order to attract the attention of many people.

The girls of the teenage years were hoping for a young master to come to his residence to propose. Some hoped that they could enter the palace and become concubines of the king. They crave status and honor, so often harm each other and drop each other.

When most people consider spring to be a beautiful season, spring is the winter for Li Anlan. This was the first year when he felt a spring that was so bitter and foul-smelling, not sweet and not sweet-smelling, unlike previous years.

In Xingyue Palace, the woman was busy choosing clothes. Another hour of the banquet was about to begin, but the woman had not even prepared at all. It was not the fancy and expensive clothes he was looking for, but the simple clothes that could disgust people and move away. It's fine to be looked down upon, as long as he doesn't become inferior.

Li Anlan deliberately wasted her time. He deliberately made a mistake so that when he arrived at the banquet later, he was immediately expelled out and did not return again. If usually Li Anlan was always on time, this time he would abuse his advantages, he would arrive late, no later than. It's okay to lose pride, because this is a different age to modern times. There will be no lecturer or boss who blames and scolds him.

From then on, the woman continued to tear apart the closet. He regretted that he had once told Xie Roulan to buy expensive clothes. Now, those clothes were already useless if used in the situation that Li Anlan was facing right now.

"This is it!"

"Madam, isn't this too simple?"

"Roulan, listen to me. We can't draw attention. The stage they made wasn't prepared for us."

The woman chose a cream-colored hanfu with a red accent on the chest. Such hanfu stelans are usually used by the hostesses when relaxing, and are not worn in official occasions. Since Li Anlan wanted to mess with herself, she decided to choose him.

He asked Xie Roulan to help him. This time, he cannot be the center of attention. It is dangerous until they realize that a stranger is joining in their midst.

For the headdress, Li Anlan chose two white magnolia-shaped hairpicks inlaid with pearls in the middle. The trunk is a faded silver. In addition to two magnolia hairpicks, Li Anlan also wore a pink peony-shaped hairpin, with a white pearl in the middle.

No crowns, no other hair accessories. His appearance is very simple. But, anyone who saw it would be amazed, because the woman looked elegant with the clothes she wore. Moreover, his proportional body like an international model made Li Anlan like a walking statue.

The people were already sitting in their respective places when Li Anlan arrived. Fortunately, the atmosphere was boisterous until no one realized that one of the participants of the banquet came late. Li Anlan slightly blended in to disguise the existence, then sat on the back bench, which was a short distance away from the seat of the king's concubines.

Li Anlan screeched as he looked at the appearance of the women. They show off not only jewelry and clothing, but also decorating skills. Look at their faces sprinkled with such thick powder! At first glance it looks like a puppet, but if noticed again, in fact they are more similar to opera performers!

Faintly Li Anlan heard the conversation of the women. They talk about their daily activities and talk about the gifts and wealth they have had over the past season. They said they had many gifts from the king and Queen Mother, so they thought the king loved them.

From his tone, Li Anlan knew clearly that the women belonging to His Majesty the King were satirizing each other with piercing subtle words. Who is not mentally strong will definitely lose and choose to retreat. As it turned out, the women were not only good at dressing up, but also great at the art of speaking and the art of word-matching.

"Had their bragging ability been used to argue with a neighboring country, it would have been very useful" Li Anlan murmured. The woman began to feel uncomfortable.

"His Majesty the King has arrived! The Queen Mother has arrived!"

Suddenly silent atmosphere. Everyone stood up, then looked down saluting the three people who were walking from outside the door towards the throne. People also congratulate and pray. Li Anlan also followed his head in salute, only he did not speak.

After being invited to sit down, the people present returned to their seats. The focus of Li Anlan's attention was not on the figure of Long Ji Man and Empress Dowager Han Yuemei, but on a woman sitting beside Long Ji Man.

That woman is so beautiful. Her clothes were beautifully golden brown. His head was adorned with a crown and a colored hairpick was in line with his clothes. Her lips were as red as sinabar powder, and there was a dimple on her left cheek. The woman's face was so radiant and so graceful.

Long Ji Man had glanced at Li Anlan, but then immediately diverted to the invitees present. A faint smile fell for a moment. He was relieved that Li Anlan had not disobeyed his orders, although it was a little disappointed that the woman was purposely dressed modestly.

"Pstf.. Who is the beautiful woman by His Majesty's side?" li Anlan asked in a whisper.

"I don't know, Madam. Maybe she's Jin's consort."

"Empress Jin?"

"Say, Empress Jin was His Majesty's consort. His full name is Han Jinxi. He entered the palace while His Majesty was still the Crown Prince," Xie Roulan replied no less quietly.

"He's surnamed Han?"

"Emperor Jin is the Queen Mother's distant relative."

Ah, the tyranny of Han family power apparently, inner Li Anlan.

If it is true that the woman is the empress, then even perfection is Long Ji Man. When the two of them stood together, everyone would look in amazement. How not, the handsome King Dongling was paired with a woman as beautiful as Han Jinxi, whose beauty exceeded the beauty of flowers blooming in spring. Really a very nice couple.

"So, she's the female lead!" li Anlan cried inwardly.

"Is he kind?"

"People say, Empress Jin is a gentle and friendly person, Madam."

It's good if it's like that. At the very least, Li Anlan would not get into any trouble and become the object of Empress Jin's hunt when she found out that Li Anlan had close contact with Long Ji Man.

The banquet began with a dance offering from the palace dancers. The flexible bodies of the dancers were meandering like snakes, yet graceful and soft. Their movements are slow and harmonious, a sign to show tenderness and politeness.

After the dance performance, the banquet continued with a dinner party. Li Anlan wanted to leave this terrible place immediately. The frenetic frenzy that came from the conversation and the voices of the people here deafened his ears. The woman silently looked at the situation, and when all was caught off guard she would turn around and run away.

"Isn't that Consort An of Xingyue Palace?"

Ah, this cunning fox deliberately wanted to trap him!

"Concubine An? You mean Li Anlan, the daughter of Royal Li Han?" This time, Empress Dowager Han Yuemei spoke.

"Your Majesty, you must give me justice! That woman wanted to kill me!"

Xu Lingshu's slippery tongue started to become venomous, incarnating into a serpent tongue. Li Anlan stared lazily at the woman who was a guifei. Why would he appear at a time like this?

"really?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Li Anlan increasingly wanted to leave this place. Arguing with Xu Lingshu was the same as talking with a loud empty barrel. The precious time he sacrificed would be in vain if it were to be used to serve the female fox.

Not to mention these shitty people. They deliberately made Li Anlan the center of attention. In the past, they often heard rumors that there was a king's concubine who was never known. They don't believe that the rumors are true.

"If Your Majesty does not believe, just ask His Majesty the King" Xu Lingshu said.

"Is that true?" The Queen Mother turned to look at Long Ji Man.

"It was just a misunderstanding."

Short, dense, clear, but enough to give people an explanation. Li Anlan cheered as the man still had the heart not to corner her. Long Ji Man might still feel indebted because Li Anlan had already saved his life.

"No way! Your Majesty, you told him to save me yourself!"

"Wait on! Guifei, what do you mean?" Li Anlan finally opened her voice.

"How can this weak me push you into the lake?"

"Obviously you pulled me down!"

Li Anlan laughed in his heart. All he needed to do was to draw the sympathy of these people in self-defense. The woman would naturally not let Xu Lingshu win in her charade. The winner at this banquet must be himself.

"Guifei, I've never met you."

"If it wasn't you, then who pushed me back then? Concubine An, don't look for excuses!"

"Oh. Guifei, the one you met is definitely not me."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't guifei know? The one who pushed you into the lake was my twin."

"Concubine An, stop bragging!"

"Should I say what else? I'm a wasted concubine who drowned. The gods protected me and gave me my life back. How could I harm you?"

The people present began to sympathize. They pity upon hearing Li Anlan's misery. Really, a very poor concubine. The woman was not only wasted, but also almost dead. They began to doubt Xu Lingshu's words. If it was true that Li Anlan was about to drown, then that woman would definitely not have the ability to push Xu Lingshu.

After all, Li Anlan was an outcast concubine, who entered the palace out of pity for the Li Nobles family. It was impossible to deliberately look for trouble because all this time he had never been out of the area of Xingyue Palace and Houchi Lake.

"Obviously you're pushing me!"

"Yes my. My brain was damaged by drowning and my memory was lost. Guifei, is it possible that the one you met is me from another world?"

Two women kings of different castes argued incessantly. One was an outcast concubine with no title, the other was a high-ranking and high-ranking main concubine. Who will win?

"Then can you explain the details of what happened? My brain is damaged again" Li Anlan said. He was playing around with the fox, he wanted to see how far the arrogant woman could twist the facts.

"That day me and two other concubines came to rebuke you. You pushed me into the lake!"

"Why are you reprimanding me?"

"Because you have seduced His Majesty the King!"

"Where did you know that I was flirting with His Majesty the King?"

Xu Lingshu instantly fell silent.

"You're spying on Hongwu Palace?" ask Li Anlan again.

Xu Lingshu was speechless. His face was flushed like shrimp. He was confused because Li Anlan was asking a trap question. Meanwhile, Li Anlan was precisely cheering inwardly. The fox-haired woman was easily provoked, to the point of telling the truth without coercion and unconsciously.

"Guifei, is it true that Consort An said?" long Ji Man asked with a serious look. His tone became cold. The aura within the banquet room changed by one hundred and eighty degrees. Long Ji Man looked coldly at Xu Lingshu. The gaze of the eagle's eyes pierced into the skin and flesh.

...***...