Chapter 110: Banquet of a Thousand Autumns
Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Banquet of a Thousand Autumns
"Awan?"
Liang Wan was walking when she heard someone call out from behind. The voice was loud and filled with surprise. It was rare for anyone to shout like this in front of the palace gates, proving just how astonished the person truly was.
She stopped in her tracks, allowing the person behind her to catch up.
"It really is you? Why are you here?" Liang Jing covered her mouth, unable to hide her shock.
Seeing who had arrived, the eunuch beside them offered a timely reminder, "Please mind your manners, heir’s wife of Marquis Wen."
Liang Jing nodded apologetically to her surroundings. Slipping a string of red agate from her wrist under the cover of her sleeve, she passed it over. "Thank you for the reminder."
The eunuch accepted it without changing his expression. "It is no matter. We might as well walk together."
Liang Jing smiled. "Thank you for your trouble."
The eunuch nodded and said no more, focusing on leading the way. Liang Wan and Liang Jing followed closely behind him.
"How could you attend His Majesty’s Thousand Autumn Banquet?" Liang Jing shot her a sidelong glance, lowering her voice.
Liang Wan turned her head openly. "If Sister can come, why can’t I?"
"How can that compare? I—"
"Right, you are a wife, and I am a concubine." Liang Wan withdrew her gaze and looked ahead with a faint smile. "If Sister feels it’s disgraceful, just pretend not to know me during the banquet."
Liang Wan had been with Lu Xiu for some time, and it was rumored that she was deeply favored. Seeing her now, so ostentatious and frivolous, and thinking of the current state of the Liang Mansion, Liang Jing immediately turned cold. "You certainly live with a clear conscience!"
"Mhm." Since they didn’t see eye to eye, even a few words felt like a waste of breath. Liang Wan gave a casual hum of acknowledgment.
Such an attitude?! Liang Jing’s eyes grew sharp and cold. "After staying at the Master’s Mansion for a few days, have you forgotten your proper place?"
Liang Wan gave her a lazy sweep of the eyes. "Yes. Do you know it, then?"
Liang Jing was thoroughly choked by the retort, able only to glare with wide eyes.
Smiling, Liang Wan shook her head. She caught up to the eunuch in front of them and simply said, "I dare not keep the Grand Commandant waiting, so I won’t trouble you to lead the way any longer. I will go on ahead."
The eunuch stopped and stepped aside. "You are too polite, Liang Ji. Please."
Liang Wan threw a passing glance at Liang Jing’s face and walked away with a faint smile. She wasn’t here to get into conflicts; there was no need to waste her breath in a verbal spat.
Inside Chunhua Hall, drums and music played in unison as endless singing and dancing filled the air. Standing at the doorway, Liang Wan looked through the dense crowd and spotted the man sitting there at a single glance.
Dressed in a crimson court robe, his face was as flawless as jade. He leaned back leisurely, eyes cast down in utter boredom as he toyed with the cup in his hand.
His aloofness from the crowd was always so conspicuous. Liang Wan stepped over the threshold and made her way through the back of the crowd. Others brought their wives; he brought a concubine, which was even more glaring.
The Emperor and Empress had not yet arrived, leaving plenty of people bustling about to exchange lively greetings. Liang Wan kept her head bowed the entire time, only raising her eyes to call out to him softly after she knelt to sit behind him.
Lu Xiu seemed to awaken from a dream. He turned his head, a trace of a smile flashing in his dark, jade-like eyes.
Catching sight of those starlit eyes, Liang Wan couldn’t help but recall the past. No matter the time or place, he would always sit quietly with a distant, cold, and unfeeling expression. Perhaps he wasn’t genuinely bored; rather, these matters truly had nothing to do with him.
Before they could exchange even two sentences, the Emperor and Empress arrived. With them was the Empress Dowager. The crowd immediately knelt in greeting.
Liang Wan had only seen the Empress Dowager a few times, and always from afar. After all, serving the Emperor while holding the status of a minister’s wife made her an undeniable, insatiable seductress in the older woman’s eyes; the Empress Dowager would certainly not show her any mercy.
While her thoughts drifted, the royal party had already taken their seats. The crowd only rose after receiving permission.
It was apparent that Gao Qian was in a very good mood. Unlike his usual wicked and gloomy demeanor, he even considerately helped the Empress to her seat. Compared to a month ago, the Empress had not only gained some weight, but her complexion had also turned rosy. Everything was indeed progressing just as expected.
The Grandmaster and Chancellor Cao raised their cups together, leading the officials in offering congratulations to the Emperor. The female family members were merely accompaniments, all sitting behind the men with their heads bowed.
Right at that moment, a gaze drifted over, lingering on her over and over again. Clearly, this scrutiny had also alerted Lu Xiu.
Just as she had anticipated, Lu Xiu was not yet married, so bringing a female companion made it hard not to attract attention—especially since he was by no means an obscure figure.
Lu Xiu stood up unhurriedly. Before he could even open his mouth, Gao Qian laughed and beat him to it, "By the looks of it, this Lady is very much to the Grand Commandant’s liking."
He was as frivolous as ever. Liang Wan could only see Lu Xiu’s back, completely unable to gauge his expression.
"What Your Majesty has arranged is naturally excellent."
There was a hidden meaning in Lu Xiu’s words. Since the Dragon Boat Festival, many rumors had circulated, which Gao Qian had long caught wind of. Seeing him make a public declaration now, the Emperor was immensely satisfied and immediately raised his wine cup.
Lu Xiu obligingly followed suit.
Liang Wan kept her head buried. During this exchange, that gaze continued to stare fixedly at her. If she wasn’t mistaken, it had to be the Empress Dowager.
Only after the monarch and his minister finished their exchange did Lu Xiu sit back down, while the Empress Dowager also turned to speak with the person beside her.
With the Empress Dowager present, Gao Qian was quite restrained. It wasn’t until the banquet drew to a close that the Empress Dowager finally left, taking the Empress with her under the pretext that the Empress, pregnant with the Dragon Descendant, could not sit for too long.
The moment the Empress Dowager and the Empress departed, the delicate, flower-like concubines who had been sitting in the lower seats seized their chance. Two of them instantly swarmed Gao Qian, doing their utmost to please him. As if this still wasn’t enough to satisfy him, the Palace Attendant who had been playing the pipa earlier somehow caught his eye and was immediately summoned to his side.
Chancellor Cao had long held objections to the Emperor’s indulgence in sensual pleasures. Having endured it for the entire night, he finally reached his limit. The moment he stood up, Gao Qian furrowed his brows. A flash of sinister gloom crossed the Emperor’s eyes; he maintained a smile, but it was merely superficial.
With his arm around the Palace Attendant, he asked lazily, "Is Chancellor Cao also feeling unwell and wishing to take his leave early?"
"This subject—"
"Exactly. This subject wishes to leave together with Chancellor Cao."
Chancellor Cao had barely opened his mouth when the Grandmaster interjected, taking over the conversation. He coughed lightly twice and added, "After all, we are getting on in years and can no longer compare to the past. We beseech Your Majesty’s gracious permission."
As he spoke, he walked over to Chancellor Cao. Since the Grandmaster himself had spoken, Gao Qian didn’t dare refuse. Not to mention the fact that the Grandmaster was his maternal grandfather, more importantly, at this time Gao Qian still heavily relied on the Lu Family.
Sure enough, Gao Qian smilingly granted their request.
Once they left, Gao Qian was thoroughly free of any restraints, eagerly busying himself with drinking and merrymaking. Some joined in the revelry, some felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles, and others simply turned a blind eye.
Liang Wan had been sitting for so long that her legs and backside had gone numb. She only dared to covertly rub them under the cover of her sleeves. In the end, she decided to take advantage of the lack of supervision and slip away for a breath of fresh air.
By the time she returned, the banquet in the grand hall had truly reached its very end. Gao Qian’s eyes were hazy with intoxication. Embracing a woman on his left and another on his right, he was playing finger-guessing games and drinking with the beauties clustered in front of him. Having finally managed to win a round, Gao Qian acted with absolute abandon right in front of everyone.
Even those who found his behavior repulsive didn’t dare speak out against it. Of course, there was no shortage of sycophants eager to flatter and fawn over him either.
Liang Wan lowered her neck. Gao Qian’s current antics were merely child’s play. It wouldn’t be until the Empress Dowager fell severely ill and became bedridden that he would truly run rampant.
She walked back to her original spot. Unexpectedly, just as she sat down, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from the high seats, startling her into a violent shudder.
Clutching her chest, Liang Wan looked up. She saw the concubine Gao Qian had been holding—dark red blood was pouring endlessly from the corner of her snow-white face as her entire body went into convulsions.
The servants attending nearby turned ashen-faced, all dropping to their knees and trembling like leaves in the wind.
His drunkenness completely evaporating, Gao Qian kicked the concubine away.
"Protect the Emperor!"
At the loud shout, the imperial guard surged in from all directions.