CHAPTER 675: CHAPTER 655: DEAR MOTHER

With the year-end approaching, the first year of the new dynasty was marked by continuous celebrations and a heightened sense of grandeur compared to previous years. The palace banquets extended over five days. Xie Xun and Fengyu could tell from the event schedule how taxing it must be for the noble officials and their wives, waking early to wait in the wind and snow, yet treating it as an honor.

Neither Xie Xun nor Fengyu favored tedious formalities. Since they were hosting the palace banquet, their aim was to ensure both hosts and guests enjoyed it fully. Hence, they deliberately chose the largest venue, Yuqiu Palace. Nearby were several smaller palaces where early arrivals could shelter from the cold, rest, and wait for the banquet to begin. In past years, attendees had to wait outside the palace gates early in the morning, often enduring an hour of frigid air before the Emperor and Empress arrived. Nobody dared to be late on such occasions, so people always arrived early. Fengyu herself had experienced such palace banquets and knew how biting the cold winds could be. She instructed the palace maids and eunuchs to prepare the smaller palaces nearby, ensuring no one had to wait outdoors in the snow. To her and Xie Xun, strict adherence to such etiquette was of little concern.

Organizing a grand palace banquet was an intricate and demanding task, requiring significant coordination skills. The Minister of Rites initially doubted Fengyu’s ability due to her youth and inexperience with large-scale events, so he went through every process with her in painstaking detail. To his surprise, Fengyu managed it more skillfully than even the Minister himself. She even made subtle adjustments to the seating arrangements, which were largely based on rank but included slight modifications.

For instance, since the Lin Family had ties through marriage to the family of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Fengyu specifically arranged for Vice Minister Yang’s family to sit behind the Lin Family.

The Marquis An Yuan’s family, being close friends of the Feng Family and the Fang Family, was arranged to sit together with them.

Mrs. Fang had longstanding enmity with the main branch of the Li Family. In previous years, due to their equivalent status and marital connections, they were always seated together. This year, Fengyu made a point of seating the Li Family directly opposite the Fang Family. The seating arrangement file was archived by the Ministry of Rites, which Fengyu also referenced.

After reorganizing the seating, Fengyu noticed that the Marquis An Yuan and the Feng Family were seated at the center, surrounded by favored figures from noble families and close associates to the Emperor. This created a distinct sense of exclusivity, which Fengyu deemed inappropriate. She revised the arrangements once again to ensure no impression of favoritism.

It took three rounds of adjustments before Fengyu was finally satisfied with the seating arrangements.

When it came to the dishes served at the banquet and the palace attendants, Fengyu ensured everything was orderly. Considering that the Imperial Kitchen was far from Yuqiu Palace, she arranged for the imperial chefs and kitchen staff to temporarily relocate to the vicinity for the duration of the banquets.

Xie Xun seemed puzzled. "Why? Isn’t that too much trouble?"

"Didn’t you notice how bad the food was at previous palace banquets?" Fengyu asked.

"Now that you mention it, the food wasn’t great!" Xie Xun frowned disdainfully. "After I ascended the throne, I thought the meals from the kitchen were decent. Was the Yuwen Dynasty just too impoverished for good ingredients?"

Fengyu: "..."

If even Xie Xun, who wasn’t picky about food, thought the banquet dishes were bad, it was clear that something was wrong.

But it wasn’t simply because the Yuwen Dynasty was too poor.

Fengyu explained, "It’s because the Imperial Kitchen is too far from the banquet venue, especially during winter. From the moment the dishes leave the stove to the time they reach the banquet, even at the fastest pace, it takes about the time of one incense stick burning. By then, the food is already cold. I remember one year at the palace banquet, a dish of roasted duck that reached my table was covered with a layer of cold grease. It was both cold and tough, completely inedible. I didn’t even have a single warm soup dish. For large banquets, it’s impossible to have hot stoves at every table; the dishes served are inevitably cold. The kitchen knows this, so they try to avoid preparing overly greasy dishes.

"Ah, I see!" Xie Xun reflected. At past palace banquets, he mostly drank wine and, being less discerning, hadn’t paid much attention to the food. Complaining about the banquet dishes, however justified, would be seen as disrespecting imperial favor—a folly none would commit.

"For New Year’s Eve, you should reward them with fresh fruits and vegetables." In the palace, dishes bestowed upon noble families carried a sense of pride and honor, signaling imperial favor. The palace banquet officially commenced on the first day of the year, following the family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve. Each household watched closely to see which families received dishes from the palace. Fengyu continued, "When you send a dish from the palace to another household, the fastest it would arrive would be in about an hour, and the dish would have turned cold. Moreover, people are expected to eat every last bite of such imperial gifts, which just makes it unpleasant!"

Xie Xun: "..."

Originally planning to send a dish of braised pork based on tradition, Xie Xun hadn’t considered such practical details.

Imagining households receiving a cold dish of braised pork and reluctantly eating it, Xie Xun agreed that fresh fruits and vegetables were a good alternative—but winter offered scant options for fresh produce.

Xie Xun helplessly spread his hands. "They’ll have to bear with it!"

Fengyu: "..."

In practice, though, Xie Xun included small heating stoves with the dishes sent out on New Year’s Eve to ensure warmth.

New Year’s Eve featured only a private family dinner in the palace. Breaking long-standing traditions, Xie Xun allowed officials to celebrate the evening in their own homes while hosting a smaller family gathering in Changshou Palace, attended only by himself, Fengyu, Xie Jue, and Ruyi. Although personal and intimate, Xie Xun maintained fairness by sending dishes to nearly every household, including special care for Dugu Jing and the Princess, spending the New Year in Beijing far from their homeland. He instructed the chefs to prepare Beiman-style dishes for them.

The private family dinner was held in Changshou Palace amidst a warm and peaceful atmosphere. Palace attendants set off fireworks and firecrackers outside. Ruyi’s eyes were glued to the spectacle, brimming with excitement, because Xie Xun and Xie Jue had promised to take him for a boat ride after dinner. Little Ruyi ate particularly diligently, even urging Fengyu to hurry and finish her meal so they could go out together.

The family gathering in Changshou Palace was cozy and laid-back, allowing everyone to converse freely without formal constraints.

"Second Brother, our cousin got engaged recently. Have you sent a gift?" Xie Xun asked.

"I did," Xie Jue replied curtly.

"Did Uncle have a chat with you?"

"No."

Fengyu’s eyes sparkled mischievously, knowing exactly where Xie Xun intended to steer the conversation—and so did Xie Jue.

Xie Xun continued, "Uncle and Second Uncle both had a chat with me, saying that since our cousin is now engaged, you should hurry things along as well. They even urged me to have Fengyu host more palace banquets to invite noble ladies to the palace, giving you a chance to pick one."

Xie Jue glanced at him coldly, raising an eyebrow. "Have you finished eating?"

"Not yet!"

"Then keep eating and stop talking."

"Second Brother, you’re too domineering." Despite being Emperor, Xie Xun rarely dared to provoke his Second Brother. He shifted his focus to little Ruyi. "Ruyi, would you like to have a mother?"

Ruyi was busy munching on spare ribs, his tiny hands greasy. Xie Jue was restraining himself as he wiped Ruyi’s hands with a napkin. Upon hearing the question, Ruyi blinked his chubby eyes, wide with curiosity. "What’s a mother?"

Xie Xun: "..."

Fengyu: "..."

Xie Jue: "..."

Little Ruyi, at his tender age, was still uncomprehending about the notion of having a mother. From birth to now, there had been no such figure in his life. The Feng Family’s matriarch and Su Yuejiao were topics that were never mentioned. In Prince Manor, talk of Ruyi’s mother was strictly forbidden since it was believed that she had passed away. Ruyi’s only companions were two children from Feng Wan’s household—one too young to mention their own mother often, the other still stumbling over words. For Ruyi, the concept of a mother was elusive and blurry.

Fengyu thought of her elder sister, and her eyes grew slightly red. Her emotions were tumultuous, as though her heart was stuffed with cotton, heavy and suffocating.

Quietly, Xie Jue nudged Xie Xun under the table with his foot.

Xie Xun hadn’t anticipated that a single question could upset Fengyu so deeply. Seeing her forlorn expression, he felt guilt and frustration, looking at her with both heartache and regret.

"Ayu, don’t be sad."

"I’m fine," Fengyu replied gently, suppressing the longing in her heart and turning instead to comfort Xie Xun.

For a moment, none of them knew how to answer Ruyi’s question. Xie Jue said, "When Ruyi grows older, we’ll explain it to him."

At just three years old, having only just learned to write his own name, there were things Ruyi simply couldn’t grasp yet.

Fengyu believed this was something that should happen naturally. When he grew older, he would come to understand what he needed to. With his striking features that left no doubt about his lineage, there was no need to burden him with matters of his parents too soon.

They could tell him when he came of age.