Daming: My grandfather is Emperor Hongwu!

Chapter 34 34 Birthday Banquet

"Did you chop it back?" Empress Ma asked with tears in her eyes.

"My son cut it back and chased the Tartar cavalry for more than 100 miles!" Ping An said loudly, "My son didn't embarrass you!"

Empress Ma helped Ping An wipe away the tears with her own hands, and then looked at others.

Watch and count.Back and forth, counted two or three times.

"Where's the donkey? Where's the tiger?" Queen Ma asked Muying.The two people she called were also her adopted sons.

Mu Ying knelt down again, choked with sobs and said, "They followed their son to conquer Yunnan and died in battle!"

"Mother!" Zhu Biao hurried forward to help her.

"I haven't seen each other for several years, and once we see each other, there will be two less!" Empress Ma cried, "Although it is not my own, but it is all the flesh of my body!" Crying, she beat Muying twice, "You are a brother Yes, why don't you protect the safety of your younger brothers!"

Mu Ying burst into tears.

"Where's the corpse?" Queen Ma asked.

"The ashes they brought back are the ashes!" Mu Ying cried, "Their last wish is to be buried next to your old Xiaoling Mausoleum after death, so that they can watch you day and night and be with you!"

"My son!" Empress Ma cried out.

Zhu Xiongying also had a sore nose and raised her head to keep her tears from falling.

"Mother!" Mu Ying said again, "It is the lives of our sons who die on the battlefield. We are the sons of you and His Majesty, and also the sons of Daming. We will protect our family and our country!"

Empress Ma wiped her eyes fiercely with her apron, "Go, come home with me, I'll make dumplings for you!"

Afterwards, a group of men surrounded her and walked out.

~~~~
On the birthday, everyone in the palace wore auspicious clothes and decorated with lanterns and festoons.

The courtiers will congratulate the emperor, and envoys from Annan, Goryeo, Siam and other places who are often in the capital will also meet and congratulate.

Empress Ma put on a phoenix robe for a rare occasion, and sat in front of the dressing table, allowing the female relatives to dress her up.

In the palace, all the concubines are in the Kunning Palace, and they will follow Empress Ma to the Rouyi Palace to receive congratulations from the imperial court wife.

Concubine Guo Hui is Empress Ma's sister, she put a phoenix hairpin on Empress Ma's head with a smile.

"Sister!" Concubine Guo Hui smiled, "You, you need to dress up more! Look, how beautiful you are!"

"I'm at this age, why do I still dress up?" Empress Ma looked at herself in the mirror, feeling a little sad for no reason, "I'm old! The last time I dressed up like this was when the big girl was around. Look, these hairpins , earrings, she ordered someone to make them for me!"

The big girl she was talking about was Zhu Xiongying's biological mother, former Crown Princess Chang.

These words made the atmosphere in the hall a little cold.On the day of great joy, the first thing the queen thought of was her late daughter-in-law.This made many people's eyes turn to the current Crown Princess, Mrs. Lu, who was dressed in the same costume but was not very close.

The latter always had a faint, unmistakable smile on his face.

"Where's Brother Ying?" Empress Ma asked, looking around, but she didn't see Zhu Xiongying.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying came in from the outside with his hands behind his back, "Grandmother, grandson is here!"

Wearing a brand-new red golden dragon uniform and a golden crown, he ran to Queen Ma.He knelt down suddenly, and raised his hands behind his back, "Grandson wishes the emperor grandma, good luck like the East China Sea and longevity!"

Seeing the things in his hands clearly, the concubines in the palace all laughed.

What Zhu Yingxiong held in his hand was a bouquet of flowers.

Immediately, Zhu Yingxiong took out one of them, stuck it on Empress Ma's temple, and said with a smile, "Grandson, I hope you will have today every year, and today every year."

"I still wear flowers at this age, but I'm so ashamed!" Empress Ma smiled lovingly and looked at herself in the mirror, but she didn't take them off after all.

"Brother, wait, I."

At this time, there was another voice from outside the door, and Zhu Yunxie, Zhu Xiongying's younger brother, also stumbled in.In a hurry, he tripped over the threshold and fell.

But she didn't cry, but also ran to Empress Ma, and said in a childlike voice, "Grandmother, Dai Hua! Brother said, yes, Dai Hua looks good!"

There was still a little dirt on his pink face, and his immature appearance made all the concubines in the palace laugh.

"Good! My old grandson has a heart!" Empress Ma pressed Zhu Yunxi's face affectionately, and then hugged Zhu Xiongying affectionately.

In the crowd, Lu's smile was so embarrassing.

The same is the emperor's grandson, her sons can only watch from a distance outside, and cannot get close.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious time has come!" Jia Gui came in from the outside, knelt and smiled, "Please, Your Majesty, get up!"

"Okay!" Empress Ma stood up and pulled Zhu Xiongying.Concubine Guo Hui was behind, holding Zhu Yunxi in her arms, followed by a group of concubines.

"The Queen's Empress drives, and the woman ordered by Rouyi Hall pays homage!" Jia Gui shouted, scratching his neck.

~~~~
The bustling etiquette ended in one day, and when the lanterns first came on, a banquet was set up in the palace.

This kind of banquet is divided into meals.Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma sat on the imperial steps, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying lined up on the two sides, and extending down were several vassal kings who had returned to Beijing, and further down were other princes, Zhu Yunqi and other grandsons and mother concubines.Further down, there are princes and generals.

The dishes used are not delicacies, but they are well prepared.There are a total of 22 dishes, such as roasted mushrooms, beaulieu vegetables, broiled clams, fried prawns, frog legs, bamboo shoots and chicken breasts, three things, boiled puffer fish, distiller's lees cockles, roasted venison, stuffed belly, frozen ginger vinegar fish, raw Cuan Niu, Flower Pearl, Cooked Tiger Meat, Roasted Loach, Vinegar Tofu, Jellyfish Stew, Fried Chicken, Roasted Duck, One Twist Pearl, Water Pork Meat.

In front of Zhu Yuanzhang, there was one more dish of venison than the others.

Ordinarily, such dishes do not fully conform to the etiquette of the emperor's home, but neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor Empress Ma are people who pay attention to these vain etiquettes.

In the eyes of these two, such dishes are already very extravagant.

Every year during the Zhengdan Dynasty, the emperor would entertain his courtiers who had worked hard for a year for a banquet.Throughout the dynasties, all of them regarded it as the biggest event of the year, and the dishes and utensils used were afraid that they could not show the wealth of the celestial dynasty.

When he arrived in Daming, Zhu Yuanzhang entertained his courtiers with three dishes and one soup. After eating, he hurried back to the yamen to work, and he didn't even have a red envelope.

"It's the queen's birthday today, so don't be too formal, drink more!" Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood, holding up a golden cup and said with a smile, "If you don't drink and lie down a few times, it's not good!"

The princes and officials in the palace laughed.

"Later, I have to offer my birthday to the queen. Do you remember what my mother taught you?" At Lu's table, she whispered to Zhu Yunqi.

"Son, remember!" Zhu Yunwen nodded solemnly. For some reason, he was a little nervous, and his palms were covered with sweat.

After drinking for three rounds, King Zhu of Qin and King of Jin stepped forward and knelt down in front of Empress Ma.

"Today is the queen mother's birthday, the unfilial son wishes the queen mother a birthday!" The two kowtowed at the same time, and a palace official brought a birthday present.

King Jin's birthday gift is a huge Chinese character for longevity composed of fifty handfuls of crystal-clear jade Ruyi.

Queen Ma is exactly fifty this year.

King Jin's birthday gift was two golden Buddha statues.

"Ah, it's too precious!" Empress Ma exclaimed, "I'm an old woman, what do you want all these gold and silver for?"

"You raise your sons, and the sons naturally want to give you the best!" King Qin laughed.

On the side, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, and wanted to say something, but seeing that it was a birthday banquet, he didn't say much.

Afterwards, Yan Wang Zhudi stepped forward holding a box, opened it with a smile and said, "Mother, this is a 300-year-old ginseng from the Jurchen Department of Liaodong. I dedicate it to you. May your old phoenix body be safe and happy, and prolong your life!"

"300 years?" Empress Ma laughed, "This is a rare treasure!"

At this moment, Mrs. Lu suddenly stabbed Zhu Yunqi, "Go over!"

Zhu Yunwen stood up with a solemn face, and knelt at the feet of Empress Ma, "Grandson congratulates the emperor's grandmother on her birthday!" As he said, he clapped his hands outside.

Several eunuchs came in carrying a screen, and when it was unfolded, it was covered with birthday characters of different sizes.

"This is the old Longevity screen given to you by grandson, and every word on it is written by grandson himself!" Zhu Yunwen said loudly, "May you grow old and live forever!"

Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang were amazed, "Ten thousand characters? You wrote them all by yourself? When will this be written!"

"Grandson started writing a year ago, and writes 28 pieces every day after sunset!" Zhu Yunqi said loudly.

People in the world value filial piety. Although this screen is not gold or silver, it is not a medicinal material that prolongs life.But it is the sincerity and filial piety of the younger generation, far surpassing treasures.

"You have a heart!" Empress Ma laughed.

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded and said with a smile, "Among the emperors and grandchildren, you are the best at reading and the most stable and mature. Your congratulatory gift is much better than that of your uncles!"

Hearing this, Lu's smile couldn't be hidden.

But in the next second, the smile on her face disappeared and turned into doubt.

Because Zhu Xiongying, who was always by the Queen's side, disappeared at some point.

(End of this chapter)