frightfiction Chapter 207: Birthday Invitation
Chapter 207: Birthday Invitation
Chapter 207: Birthday Invitation
The two chatted for a while, and the things that Shangguan Yuzhe had sent to fetch were delivered.
He looked at Fang Hua and found her really uninteresting. Even during a simple chat, she acted like a shy young girl, refusing to answer any questions and just laughing like a fool. She was truly boring.
"Miss Fang, I'll go see the Empress Dowager first, and we'll talk later." He smiled, then took the things the man brought and left.
The small fishpond outside was fine; upon seeing the Empress Dowager's carriage, they went straight there.
"Empress Dowager," he called out, and the Empress Dowager slowly turned her head to look at him, but the previous warmth was gone.
The wine was presented, and he explained, "I have always loved fine wine, and this jar of wine in my hand is the result of my hard work; it is called Divine Wine."
"You must have had a hard time." She frowned and had the wine put away.
"Your Majesty, why don't you try it? The taste is different from the tributes offered to the palace."
After hesitating for a moment, the Empress Dowager had someone bring wine vessels. The two sat down at the stone table in the pavilion in the middle of the lake.
As soon as the seal on the wine jar was opened, a delightful fragrance wafted out, and even the Empress Dowager couldn't help but exclaim "Good!"
"It is indeed several times better than ordinary wine."
Shangguan Yuzhe smiled and said, "This wine was brewed by a husband and wife. I originally intended to offer it as a tribute to the Empress Dowager on her birthday, but after thinking about it, I thought it would be better to introduce it to her now."
"Is this why you've come?" Her expression remained unchanged. After drinking a cup, she had it refilled. Without asking about the wine again, she said, "The Cangzhou Prefect's family has four daughters in total. If you are not satisfied with this one, you can ask the Prefect to send another one."
Shangguan Yuzhe didn't speak, but after drinking a cup of wine, he agreed with her, saying, "I'll leave it all to the Empress Dowager."
"That girl is too foolish. A foolish girl like that is the least suitable to be the head of the household. We should find someone else, someone more clever."
He forced a smile and repeated what he had just said.
After enjoying the fine wine, he prepared to leave. The Empress Dowager did not try to stop him, but said, "The wine used for this birthday celebration must be of the highest quality. You will be in charge of this matter."
Shangguan Yuzhe was overjoyed, but he didn't show it on his face.
Upon returning to the Prince's residence, he immediately sent someone to relay the message.
Several days had passed since Ji Meiqing received the message. After reading the note, she was completely stunned. Lu Yu came up from behind, glanced at it, and then Ji Meiqing suddenly jumped up again.
She jumped and skipped, hugging his shoulder excitedly, saying, "We can go to the palace now! We can go to the capital! We can see the Emperor and the Empress Dowager!"
"You're so eager to see the Empress Dowager?" Lu Yu asked, somewhat curious and puzzled. Everyone knew how dangerous those two were.
Ji Meiqing looked into the distance with a longing expression, "I just want to see the living Empress, Empress Dowager and Emperor."
Her words were strange and baffling. A living Empress Dowager, a living Emperor—were all the people she'd seen before dead?
Lu Yu remained calm. "I'll go make some preparations. The Empress Dowager's birthday is not far away, and we need to set off tomorrow."
"Hmm." Without saying a word, she went back to her room to pack. Granny Mei, hearing the commotion, came over to ask what was going on. Lu Yu casually recounted his trip to the palace, but to her surprise, she was also taken aback.
Lu Yu didn't understand why they were all so surprised about just entering the palace; it was hard to believe.
The things were packed up quickly, and the pre-made liquor was also ready to be loaded onto the vehicle at any time. In order to ensure that there was enough liquor to last them, it had been piled up in several places over the past few days.
"I'll be bringing some people with me this time. I've already arranged for people to wait in various places. So you go first this time, and I'll follow with Jiu."
He had already made all the arrangements, but Ji Meiqing was a little worried, "Aren't you coming with us?"
"The wine needs to be guarded, but don't worry, it won't be long before we meet. I'll have Li Ming go with you."
"The Ji family might be involved in this matter..."
Before they could finish speaking, a commotion broke out outside. The two looked at each other, then went outside together.
Upon seeing that it was Ji Yangshan, the two were somewhat puzzled, wondering what he wanted to do.
"What brings you here, Master Ji?" Ji Meiqing asked him first.
"Don't be so formal, we're all family." He chuckled, his face grinning mischievously, looking like he had ill intentions.
Now, Ji Meiqing only feels a little disgusted when she looks at it.
"I heard you're going to the capital to attend the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration." He got straight to the point, then added, "I also heard you're in charge of all the rice wine for the celebration."
"Yes, but why are you asking this?" Lu Yu stepped down and blocked Ji Meiqing's path.
Ji Yangshan smiled. "You don't need to be so wary. I'm not here for anything else. It's just that the palace is not like an ordinary residence; if anything happens there, you can be executed. So..."
"So?" Ji Meiqing pressed, though she didn't seem to care.
Ji Yangshan, on the other hand, smiled awkwardly before saying, "I think you can let me go to the capital this time. Firstly, I am quite familiar with the palace, and secondly, I understand the rules of the palace."
"You're being sent?"
"I will have the Ji family escort your wine over there."
Ji Meiqing found it amusing and chuckled twice. Then, looking at him in the same way, she said, "Don't you think it's ridiculous? We don't know the rules of the palace, yet you insist on going there. If you're so capable, why don't you come with us?"
"What are you saying? If it weren't for the fact that you still share the surname Ji, I wouldn't bother with this at all."
"Then let's not worry about it. As for the palace, being alive is our blessing and dying is fate. If you go there, does that mean you won't die?" She glanced at Ji Yangshan's face, which had turned a deep purplish-red, and shook her head helplessly after scoffing.
"You ungrateful wretch!" He stormed off, having been rebuffed. Losing face now didn't matter; he'd see how they behaved in front of the palace again, and someone would deal with them then.
After declining the Ji family's offer and watching them leave, Ji Meiqing felt quite tired. She left the packing to Lu Yu and Granny Mei, and went back to lie down for a while.
Ji Yangshan, however, refused to give up. He ordered his men to keep a close watch, and then had Ji Tianzhuo bring in more people. Ji Tianzhuo didn't understand what his father was up to, so he could only watch helplessly.
Ji Meiqing's winery has quite a few workers, so a few more or fewer wouldn't make much difference. He chuckled smugly, as if he could already see their future.