Born a phoenix? The husband I picked up is the young emperor

Chapter 1007

Chapter 1007

The meal was arranged to be served in the east room of Chaoyang Hall.

Originally, they were supposed to eat at separate tables, but since it was a family dinner, Emperor Mingde did not allow for too many rules.

Emperor Mingde sat at the first seat, with Cen Yuan and Shi Anxia sitting on one side of the table, and the second prince Xiao Yong and Princess Yunlan sitting on the other side.

The order to serve the meals was passed down one by one, and the eunuchs serving the meals came to the east room.

There are twelve dishes today, which is already a lot.

In fact, according to etiquette, the emperor's meal should generally have ninety-nine dishes, which would fill at least three or four large tables, and one meal would cost two or three hundred taels of silver.

How could an emperor like Emperor Mingde, who wanted to divide every ounce of silver into two ounces for the people's livelihood, allow such extravagance and waste?

After Emperor Mingde came to power, he simply changed the ninety-nine dishes to nine dishes. Later, nine dishes were considered too many, so he changed it to four dishes.

In his words, how much can I eat by myself? Don't waste it. Sometimes he would share these four dishes with Eunuch Qi.

It is also because of this that it became much easier for someone to poison Emperor Mingde.

You should know that the emperor's setting of ninety-nine dishes was not for show. It was mainly because it would be difficult to poison when there were too many dishes.

Moreover, the emperor's appetite and preferences could not be revealed at will. For example, it is said that after Emperor Mingde liked to eat Suzhou pumpkin, he never ate pumpkin again.

When dining in the palace one must eat without speaking, but Emperor Mingde has said that family banquets do not need to be so formal.

After the eunuchs finished testing the poison and left, Emperor Mingde ate a piece of donkey meat and asked, "Yong'er is twenty this year, right?"

When Xiao Yong was called, he hurriedly stood up and prepared to answer.

Emperor Mingde stopped him and said, "Sit down and answer."

Xiao Yong sat back down obediently, "My son just turned 20 last month. I am ashamed of myself for not having accomplished anything so far."

Compared to Prince Consort Haiyan, who was appointed Minister of Northern Propaganda Department at the age of 18, he, as a prince, seemed somewhat incompetent.

In fact, most of the time, he kept several tricks in mind and deliberately appeared to be not so good. Otherwise, it would bring no benefit except for bringing misfortune to his mother and sister.

Emperor Mingde thought for a moment and said, "After the other nations leave, I will grant you the title of 'King Rui'. You can take your sister and mother to your fiefdom."

Xiao Yong was startled, overjoyed but nervous, and quickly stood up and knelt to thank the emperor, "Thank you, father, for your grace."

Emperor Mingde's eyes were dark. "A few years ago, I wanted to grant you the title of 'King Rui', but you and your mother were unwilling. Was it your grandmother who put pressure on you?"

Xiao Yong lowered his head and paused before saying, "No, it was because I didn't want to leave my mother and father that I rejected his kindness. Now that I've grown up a little, I understand his good intentions."

"Oh? Then tell me, what are my good intentions?" Emperor Mingde motioned for him to stand up and answer.

Xiao Yong then stood up and returned to his seat, still answering carefully, "Father hopes that his son will return to his fiefdom to make a difference and help the people. But his son is nostalgic for the prosperity of the capital, which is really unfilial."

Emperor Mingde nodded. "The fact that you can think this way shows that you have indeed grown up."

Although this son is not as good as the prince consort, he is quite good compared with the Prince of Jin.

Although the government affairs handled by this boy did not have any highlights, at least there were no mistakes. Being able to be mediocre and not make mistakes is also a kind of skill.

Emperor Mingde added, "As for your mother, I'm afraid her mind has not been in the palace for many years. Of course, it depends on her own wishes. If she wants to stay in the palace, then she can stay in the palace. If she wants to go back to her fiefdom with you, then she can go back to her fiefdom. I... have been busy with government affairs these years and have not been able to take care of her. You can also give your grandfather some advice."