Madame Xue paid attention for a moment, but she didn't know that her gaze might be too focused, which made the prince aware of it.

The prince looked at Chen Jingyao, showed a gentle and doting smile, and held her hand.

She almost rolled her eyes.

Mrs. Xue wanted to take another look, but the emperor came with the concubines.

Xue Jinyi looked up after saluting, the emperor was in good spirits, but his face was expressionless, as if everyone at the scene owed him a million.

And Queen Cai, who was half a step behind him and walked aside, was graceful and elegant, kind and friendly, and was completely the style of the queen mother of the world. A group of concubines followed behind them, the older ones walked in a dignified style, and the younger ones took advantage of this opportunity to dress up and show off their flowers, but they only set off the momentum of the emperor and queen.

The emperor sat down on the main seat, and the concubines were scattered on both sides.

After his deep eyes glanced at the people present, he said lightly, "No need to be polite. ”

Everyone did not get up immediately, but respectfully saluted the emperor, and then congratulated the emperor in unison for a long life.

The emperor still had a faint expression in the face of the huge sound of blessings, "Get up." ”

Then they got up in turn and sat down in their places.

The musicians sitting behind the veil played a light and festive tune, and everyone presented birthday gifts to the emperor according to their status.

The crown prince didn't let Chen Jingyao follow him, he came to the main seat with a simple box, and presented the gift with respectful hands, "The son wishes his father a long and healthy life, and also wishes the Great Zhou Dynasty a long and prosperous country." ”

Everyone looked at the box in the prince's hand curiously, His Royal Highness had a bad time before, and now he must take advantage of the Christmas to please the emperor.

Empress Cai looked at her son with confidence.

The emperor raised his chin slightly, and the chamberlain immediately stepped forward and opened the box with both hands, revealing the contents of the box.

Everyone stretched their necks, only to see that there was actually a bowl of longevity noodles in the box?

The thin noodles with white flowers, the soup is very light, and there are a few vegetable leaves and green onions floating, which is much colder than the Yangchun noodles sold in Huazhaolou.

People looked at each other, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince actually only sent a bowl of ordinary longevity noodles? Looking at Queen Cai's expression again, what kind of trick is this?

The prince spoke, "Father, this is a bowl of longevity noodles made by my son when he was inspecting the outskirts of the city a few days ago, begging for some flour from door to door, mixing them together, and learning from the cooks in the East Palace. ”

The prince's expression and tone became more sincere, as if this small bowl of longevity noodles contained infinite true feelings.

"This is a piece of the heart shared by the people of the Great Zhou and their sons, and in addition to blessing the father, I also want to tell the father that the people of the Great Zhou are living and working in peace and contentment under your wise and martial leadership, and they are living a very good life!"

Everyone suddenly realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was playing this trick!

What can make the emperor happier than the people's desire for himself?

The crown prince took out the longevity noodles and personally sent them to the emperor, "Father, please appreciate the sincerity of the people of the Great Zhou and your son to you, right?" ”

The emperor didn't mean to be moved, just nodded, and the waiter stepped forward, first took out some noodles and soup into a small plate, then turned his back, first tested it with a silver needle, and then tasted the noodles himself.

It looks like ordinary noodles are unusually delicious and strong, and it seems that it took a lot of effort to knead the noodles, and the seemingly light soup does not know how long it takes to boil with seafood and other ingredients to make it so clear.

After all, it's a meal for the emperor, how can it be so shabby?

The chamberlain nodded to the chamberlain beside the emperor, who then delivered the chopsticks to the emperor.

The emperor picked up a few noodles at random, put them in his mouth, and then took a sip of the soup.

The crown prince and Empress Cai looked at the emperor a little nervously, watched him chew slowly, and it took a little longer to swallow the mouthful of noodles, feeling that their hearts were in their throats.

Xue Jinyi curiously observed the expressions of these people, and when the waiter lifted the lid, she smelled the faint fragrance of seafood, and knew that the noodles must also be different on the surface.

It smelled so good that she wondered how much of the practice was the same as she had guessed.

"Hmm." The emperor only took a bite before putting down his chopsticks and wiping the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, "The prince has a heart." ”

These words made the prince feel relieved, and he hurriedly saluted: "Making a bowl of noodles for my father is what a son should do." ”

The emperor glanced at him, hooked his fingers, and motioned for him to take a few more steps forward and speak closer.

When Queen Cai saw it, she was overjoyed.

The closer their father and son behaved in front of people, the better it was for the prince!

The prince thought the same thing, and came to his father's approach with joy, and asked respectfully, "Does my father have any instructions?" ”

The emperor's dark eyes looked at this son with great hope, and asked in a low voice: "Can ordinary people afford this kind of soup and noodles made from precious seafood?" ”

"......" The prince was stunned, his body froze in place and could not move.

Empress Cai was nearby, although she couldn't hear what the emperor said, but she knew that something was wrong by looking at the subtle abnormalities in her son's expression!

"Your Majesty," she hurriedly said, "the King of Chu is going to offer a gift over there." ”

The emperor waved his hand and continued to look into the stunned prince's eyes, "Prince, you haven't answered my question yet." ”

"......" The prince felt a little bitter in his mouth, and said with a dry smile: "Because it is for your father to taste, so the son wants to do his best to do better, so he changed his approach......"

"Changed your approach a little bit?" The emperor sneered, "Since it is the same mind as the people, why do you want to change your practice without permission?" Contrary to your rhetoric, this bowl of longevity noodles has lost its meaning of existence. ”

"......" The prince's cheeks were suddenly hot, his breathing was not for a moment, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Take it down." The emperor waved his hand and leaned back in his chair, looking lacking in interest.

The crown prince looked at Empress Cai as if asking for help.

Empress Cai didn't expect things to turn out like this, it was impossible for the emperor to eat the rough food of the people, so she deliberately made some changes according to the emperor's habits, who knew that it would be their fault?

She couldn't think of a good way for a while, so she could only quickly signal the prince not to talk too much, just take the longevity noodles and go down.

The prince felt resentful, so he could only obediently carry the food box.

Everyone didn't hear the conversation between the emperor and the crown prince, because it was a whisper between father and son, so they didn't know what had happened, and looked at the king of Chu and the princess of Chu who were going to present the next gift with some interest.

The two looked at each other and smiled, Xue Jinyi held a flat dark box, and walked side by side with Pu Yangxuan to the main seat.

The emperor looked at Xue Jinyi, and in the strange eyes of everyone, he showed the loving smile of the elders to the younger ones.