C1127 Southern Emergency (1/2)

In the Western Warm Pavilion in the Yangxin Palace, on the east side of the famous Sanxi Hall in dryad, a round table had already been set up. In the middle was a hot pot filled with many flowers and copper, containing many silver threads. Beneath the rich dishes, it was filled to the brim with pickles and fans.

This was the special hot pot that Qing Dynasty had brought into the Central Plains to eat. It was a little bit like a hot pot in a Jiangnan furnace, but the ingredients were much more domineering than the hot pot in the furnace. The ingredients were also mostly focused on the wild food, which gave off a strong temperament to the people of the White Mountain Black River race.

The circle surrounding the blue hotpot was filled with appetizers. They were not too big, but they were all very delicate. With just a glance, one could tell that the imperial kitchens were well-prepared and definitely not a warm meal.

The fact that Ci Xi and Ci An could put out a show of a banquet outside of was a very clear signal. Today, it was a family banquet, and there weren't many courtesies in it.

Li Lianying and Zhou Daoying stood by the table, one holding a wine jug and the other a towel, laughing like two old chrysanthemums. Such a warm and intimate atmosphere was rarely seen in the Forbidden City.

In fact, the two of them knew very well that this kind of banquet was very disrespectful. Although the rules of Qing Dynasty were much less than before, being able to have their sister-in-law and brother-in-law eat together at the same table and without a third party present was not a situation that was allowed.

But who could? If the core members of the Manchu were to sit at these four seats, only they would be able to cause trouble for others, who would be able to cause trouble for them.

Furthermore, the two head eunuchs had long given the order to keep quiet during today's feast. It was best not to think about knowing even a little bit of the external court's influence.

”This is the five years old Chen Shaoxing Wine that Jiangnan sent over. Elder sister should drink a few more cups of it while being warm …” ”Uncles, the dried deer sent by General Heilongjiang this year are really not bad, try some more …”

Ci Xi toasted and toasted to everyone, the atmosphere had become incomparably warm for him, if not for the fact that everyone present knew each other's background, he would have truly tricked them when they first arrived.

Prince of Alcohol secretly sighed. Back then, when you forced Ci An onto the Jingshan to the point where he almost hanged himself, you did not have such a pleasant expression. Now that the late emperor's secret decree has been burnt too, you can be considered as fearless.

Only the common folk would hold a grudge for the rest of their lives. The politicians in the imperial court would be allies tomorrow if they were mortal enemies. The benefits were greater than the heavens, so their personal reputation was nothing.

The sweetness of the Shaoxing Wine was not high, but the aftereffects were still very strong. After three or four cups, empress dowagers's face had become even redder.

Ci An drank a few mouthfuls of hot soup, suppressed the smell of alcohol, and said with a smile, ”I still have some energy to myself, although Fleeting Time is not well, but at critical moments, there are always people who can change the course of events. A bunch of Xiang Army came out, and Zuo Jigao came out of the chaos in the northwest …”

”When the British and French combined forces called, I really thought that the imperial court would be finished, but he never expected that the group of westernization would leave with just a little bit of silver. Furthermore, they have provided us with a lot of Mercenaries s to help us grow feathers.

Ci Xi clapped his hands and said, ”That's right! If only we had known that the foreign invaders had not overturned our hearts, why would we have fought against them when they just wanted money? ”

Yi Yu smiled bitterly and said, ”Ah …” At that time, all of the civil and military officials, including the late emperor, would be exhausted from both internal and external troubles. However, from the bottom of his heart, that big brother of mine thought that the foreigners were like the hairy men, and were here to overthrow the entire Manchu! ”

”In the end, it dawned on me when I was talking to a foreigner in Beijing. From the very beginning to the end, that group of people only wanted switches, they wanted to do business … To put it bluntly, we are just looking at how wealthy our Great Qing Empire is, and all of us are so jealous that our eyes are popping out! ”