Chapter 290 - 290 New Year

290 New Year

Yu Niaoniao immediately asked.

“Am I usually not beautiful?”

Xiao Juan was helpless. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Usually, she was naturally very beautiful, but because she was young, she always gave off the vibe of a girl next door. She was cute, lively, and likable.

But today, she was very different.

She was wearing a grand princess gown and exquisite and bright makeup. The childishness on her body disappeared all of a sudden. She was like a rich peony that had bloomed and become dazzling. She could capture a man’s gaze with just one look.

Yu Niaoniao smiled, her red lips curving beautifully.

“You look beautiful today too.”

She was not being polite.

Xiao Juan was indeed exceptionally good-looking today.

He usually liked to wear dark clothes and was dressed in black almost every day. Although he was quite handsome, his handsomeness exuded a strong murderous aura that made people afraid to look at him.

Other than the day of the wedding, this was the only time Yu Niaoniao had seen him wearing red.

Unlike the bright red wedding gown, however, the scarlet gown was more solemn. Coupled with his cold and handsome face, he looked like a high and mighty god, making people want to submit to him.

Xiao Juan reminded her, “Beautiful is not used to describe men.”

Yu Niaoniao said, “Who said that? In my opinion, anything beautiful can be described as beautiful.”

Xiao Juan could not do anything to her and could only let her talk nonsense.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the palace.

Xiao Juan helped Yu Niaoniao out of the carriage.

There were already many carriages parked at the entrance of the palace. They were all royal family relatives preparing to enter the palace to pay their New Year greetings.

Originally, they were chatting in groups and greeting each other. The atmosphere was very warm, but the moment Duke Lang and his wife appeared, everyone seemed to be stifled and instantly fell silent.

The scene instantly fell silent.

Xiao Juan was used to this.

He estimated that it was about time. He held Niaoniao’s hand and walked straight ahead. He did not even look at anyone else.

When they reached the entrance of the palace, Xiao Juan asked the imperial guards guarding the door.

“Can we enter the palace now?”

The imperial guard hurriedly said, “Yes, please come in.”

Xiao Juan held Yu Niaoniao’s hand and walked into the palace. When they walked past the palace gate, Xiao Juan especially reached out to hold her waist to prevent her from falling.

The palace door was very tall. Yu Niaoniao needed to raise her leg very high to walk over.

It was fine usually, but the headdress she was wearing today was too heavy and she could not lower her head. This action was quite difficult for her.

Fortunately, Xiao Juan supported her and helped her maintain her balance.

The two of them successfully passed through the palace gate.

A palanquin had already been prepared in the palace.

Xiao Juan usually did not like to sit in a sedan chair, but today was different. He could not let Niaoniao walk such a long distance with him in a gown, so he made an exception and sat in the sedan chair with her today.

The sedan stopped outside Zhengde Hall.

The other royal nobles also arrived one after another.

When everyone arrived, the entire Zhengde Hall was already filled with people. Some of the royal relatives who were not valued could only stand outside the Zhengde Hall.

After the old emperor appeared, everyone knelt down to pay their respects and wish the emperor well in the new spring.

After that, everyone would have to kneel and listen to the old emperor’s vision for the new year and his expectations for everyone.

The lines were prepared a long time ago.

He spoke for a full hour before it ended.

Yu Niaoniao knelt until her knees were numb.

It was not easy for her to endure until the emperor finished his speech. She could finally stand up.

She finally understood why Little Swallow, a character in her favorite television show, wanted to make an ‘easy to kneel’ gadget. She told herself that she would also make one for herself so that she would not get arthritis at such a young age.

Next, the men and women had to separate.

The men had to stay on to accompany the old emperor, while the women had to go to the Fengyi Palace to pay their respects to the empress. Afterward, they would accompany the empress to Biquan Palace to pay their New Year greetings to the empress dowager.

Yu Niaoniao left the Zhengde Hall with the other women and rode a sedan to the Fengyi Palace.

The Fengyi Palace was the residence of Empress Wen. Because Empress Wen was not in good health and was bedridden all year round, the matters in the harem had always been managed by Noble Consort Shu and the four virtuous consorts.

Therefore, Empress Wen had a minimal presence in the palace. Yu Niaoniao had rarely heard anyone mention her.

If not for the fact that she was going to the palace to pay her New Year’s greetings, she would not have known that there was still Empress Wen in the Dayan Dynasty.

This also meant one thing: Empress Wen was not favored.

When Yu Niaoniao walked into the Fengyi Palace and saw the old clothes on the palace servants and the palace that had not been repaired for many years, she was even more certain of this.

She did not understand why Empress Wen, the rightful mistress of the palace, was in such a miserable state.

Under the guidance of the palace servants, the women entered the main hall.

Soon, the concubines in the palace also arrived at the Fengyi Palace. Only Noble Consort Shu was still not there.

Yu Niaoniao realized that everyone was used to this. No one felt that there was anything wrong with Noble Consort Shu.

The women sat down according to their status. Some of the lower statuses could only stand in the rear.

Yu Niaoniao sat in the middle.

She was very satisfied with the position. She would not stand out too much, but she could sit in peace.

The women knew each other. They gathered together and whispered. The concubines chatted in groups. Only Yu Niaoniao was alone.

No one wanted to talk to her.

It was not that she was too aloof, but the others were deliberately avoiding her.

As long as she looked over, those people would immediately evade her, as if they were avoiding a plague.

Yu Niaoniao knew in her heart that it was because of her relationship with Duke Lang that everyone was afraid of her.

At this moment, she personally experienced Xiao Juan’s feelings. She thought to herself that this should be how he was ostracized in the court.

A moment later, the maid helped Empress Wen out.

Empress Wen was 40 years old this year. Her face was pale and she was extremely skinny. It was as though a gust of wind could blow her away.

The grand empress gown draped on her loosely. Even though she had makeup on, it could not cover up the dull sickly aura on her body.

It was hard to imagine that such a sickly woman was actually the Empress of the Dayan Dynasty.

Yu Niaoniao knelt down and bowed with the others.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty good luck in the new spring.”

Empress Wen said, “We are family, there is no need for formalities. Sit down and talk.”

She sounded as weak as she looked. If one stood further away, she might not be able to hear what she said.

When everyone was seated, Noble Consort Shu finally arrived.

She was dressed even more elaborately than usual today. The pearls on the golden hairpin were tributes from the South Sea, and the dress was made of rare high-grade Cloud Flower satin with lifelike peacocks embroidered on it.

Perhaps it was because of the embroidery or the light, but the peacock on the skirt looked a little like a phoenix.

Noble Consort Shu bowed to Empress Wen lazily.

“I’m late. I hope you won’t blame me.”