at when passing by a plum garden near the outer city, Ye Wenyan casually plucked two sprigs of late-blooming plums and tucked them into his sleeve.To blossom and nourish all things, to flower and prop...As that cry rang out, a palanquin drove toward the mansion of a first-rank general. 。

A palanquin is different from an ordinary carriage. Not all carriages in a palace are called palanquins, and not everyone is eligible to ride in one.

One who can ride in a palanquin must either have a distinguished status themselves, such as the Emperor, Empress, prince, royal grandson, princess, or concubine, or be accompanying someone of distinguished status, also such as the Emperor, Empress, prince, royal grandson, princess, or concubine. 。In a nutshell, the palanquin is for the people in the palace, it's for members of the royal family. 。Even the most distinguished families outside the palace, such as a general's mansion, could only call their carriages "horse-drawn carriages" and not "palatial carriages". 。Carriages and palanquins also differ in appearance. 。We don't need a carriage, just an ordinary one with a horse and a cart. 。If one's family is well-off, one should have several horses and a larger carriage. 。If your family circumstances are average, then a horse pulling a cart would suffice. 。A palanquin is different! The palanquin has a square carriage. There must be at least four wheels underneath, and there is a platform outside the carriage for maids to stand on steadily 。The platform was surrounded by curtains, which could be drawn down when it was too sunny or rainy. 。In summary, the palace car is luxurious and relatively large in size. 。The eunuch who was delivering a letter to the dowager empress also encountered this palanquin. The driver hurriedly dodged, his wheels almost scraping against the roadside wall before he managed to let the palanquin pass. 。The coachman then turned to look, but after half a glance he still couldn't figure out whose palanquin it was. He only saw rows of eunuchs in purple robes standing on the platform outside the carriage, each holding something in their hands. It seemed like they were giving gifts to a first-rank general's mansion. 。The two of them still stood by the roadside discussing for a while, and the coachman said that with this posture of sending things to the General's Mansion this year, the Ye family must have been swept up in the wind of a day, a courtier's side. They definitely weren't on the same path as the current new emperor. 。But looking again at the just-passed grand palanquin, I felt that perhaps what I had thought was wrong. 。In any case, whether right or wrong, it's none of their business. 。They are nothing but lowly eunuchs in the palace. Being sent out to deliver messages is already a favor from the Imperial Household Department. 。And I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder as that grand palanquin came to a stop at the gate of the General's Mansion. 。The one who just called out was Yun Chen. He came down first at this moment, happily saying to Mu shi: "I'm late, Madame, I apologize for keeping you waiting." 。He spoke, reaching out and handing her a piece of paper. 。At this time, the other two people in the palanquin also got down. They stood on either side of Yun Chen, half a step behind him. 。"Respectfully submit, Your Imperial Majesty!""May the brilliant Flameflower Palace flourish eternally!""Wu Fu from the Internal Affairs Bureau!""Greetings to the esteemed Matriarch! Most humbly invite the Matriarch, Young Master, and Eldest Miss to attend the New Year's Eve court banquet in the palace!"The three bowed together, representing the highest authority in the realm today. 。The post was pushed forward again. The old lady squinted and looked over, discovering that it was a golden invitation. 。Look again at the blank sheet of paper in your hand, and you'll see your hands tremble uncontrollably. 。The Mu family remained unfazed, calm and composed. She gestured to Ye Qingmei to take the posting, then addressed the three with a smile: "There's no need for formality among us." 。To have three esteemed individuals personally deliver an invitation to this palace banquet is truly humbling and undeserved. 。" The cloud minister hurriedly followed up, “Madam, you are too modest. If you can't bear it, then no one else can." 。" Grandma Ji, who always stayed by Mu's side, kindly asked, "Is everything alright in the palace" Lianshi proactively replied, "Grandma, don't worry, everything is fine, and especially good." 。"Finish, and with a profound nod, he also pointed toward the Mu family." 。Mu shi was relieved, Ye Feiyu was also relieved, even Ye Qingmei let out a sigh of relief. 。After all that happened these days, Ye Qingmei felt like she had grown, a little different from before. 。At the very least, the first thing that came to mind when I received the post was pride. It felt like finally winning a round against Old Madam. 。Yun Chen glanced at the invitation the old matriarch had received, and with a "yo", said, "General's Manor received a plain invitation this year! That makes sense, after all, both the old general and the big general are gone. There's no need for a brocade invitation, it would be wasteful." 。"The Northern Qi Dynasty had many rules and regulations. For example, in this post, ordinary officials usually used plain invitations for communication. If an official mansion hosted a banquet, the invitations sent out were all plain invitations. 。A su-tie is just an ordinary piece of paper with a name on it. You can decorate it yourself, there isn't much formality involved. Even officials' households use them. 。But if there's a royal banquet, the types of invitations become more numerous. The worst kind is a silver invitation. 。Silver thread embroidery, known as "Yin Tie," is relatively expensive. However, for the royal family, it is a mere trifle. 。Therefore, invitations to royal banquets issued to officials ranking below the third rank were considered to be of this silver-inlaid type. 。Above the silver plaque is the brocade plaque, which is more elaborate. It is made of brocade woven into patterns and pressed onto a harder, firmer sheet of paper. 。It's not just about the brocade, but also about the embroidery. Officials of rank three or above usually receive this kind of invitation with brocade and embroidery. 。Above the silk banners are golden banners. Golden banners, as their name suggests, are banners woven with gold thread. Not only do they have gold thread, but one corner of each banner also has a hanging ornament made of gold. 。The golden invitation is exclusively for royal use, so anyone who receives one is a member of the imperial family or related to the royal court. For example, the Li family, the maternal clan of Empress Li, and the palaces of princes and princesses are examples of such places. 。For royalty, the most precious thing is the golden invitation. 。But in fact, above the golden notes, there is a jade note, which is something only an emperor can use. 。Unfortunately, over the past four hundred years, the Emperor has never hosted a banquet for anyone, nor has he ever sent a Jade Name Card to seek an audience with anyone. 。So jade slips have always existed only in legends. Everyone has heard of them, but no one has ever seen one. 。 The old lady was displeased by Yun Chen's sarcastic remark and retorted, "Mu Shi is just a wife of a minister. Even if her husband were still alive, at most she would only receive a brocade invitation. How could the palace send out a golden invitation" Yun Chen glanced at the invitation in Ye Qingmei's hand, his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything further. 。Did the Empress Dowager then take over and say, "The Emperor regards his fourth sister as an benefactor. Naturally, a benefactor's mother and siblings are qualified to receive the golden invitation" 。This is a royal honor, showing great importance to the fourth sister's family. 。" The old madam was even more angry, "The emperor hasn't taken the throne yet!" 。"Wu Fei grinned twice, a sly look on his face, "Old Madam, don't worry, Your Majesty is still young. But even turning seventeen this year means he's getting closer and closer to taking the throne." 。"Look at you, your eyes are red with worry. Someone might think you have a special affection for the Emperor! Perhaps we should go back and tell him to remember how much Lady Ye cares for him. Then he'll often visit Lady Ye."

The old woman's heart skipped a beat, and her face grew even more unpleasant

How could she possibly look towards that emperor She dreamed of him rolling off the throne immediately, making way for the Sixth Prince, who had supported her for so many years. 。Unfortunately, His Highness the Sixth Prince was not suitable. And she never got the chance to explain the misunderstanding face-to-face with Empress Dowager Li. 。She was still thinking about meeting the Empress Dowager at the New Year's Palace banquet and went over the events of these days... 。It's not the time to fall out with Empress Dowager Li, even though the Sixth Prince is no longer in the running. She still believes that Empress Dowager Li has a chance to make a comeback. 。At this point, her eyes were red, but it wasn't from being rushed. She was angry and envious, her eyes reddened with that emotion. 。Mu Qianqiu could actually accept the gold invitation What right did Mu Qianqiu have to accept a gold invitation She'd never accepted one in her life, at most just silk invitations. Today, she was even resurrected, and she only got a plain invitation! It wasn't surprising that she felt something was off when she received the invitation earlier. If it weren't for Yunchen reminding her, she would have forgotten about it completely. 。 When did the Ye family's status plummet, and what caused itThe older madam thought about it the more she felt stifled, and couldn't help but glance at Ye Qingmei's hand again. 。Once I saw it, my eyes never looked back. Not only did they not look back, but they widened even more and more. 。Maybe she's blind, or maybe she's senile, otherwise how could she have missed it just now 。This isn't a golden ticket, it's clearly a jade one! She's only looking at the gold trim and thinks it's a golden ticket. 。But I never expected even the golden plaque wouldn't be enough for Mu Qianqiu, the royal family actually brought out the jade plaque! No, no, that's not right, it wasn't given by the royal family... 。Today, only the Emperor can afford jade talismans! She swayed a bit, her vision darkening slightly. 。Yun Chen smiled at the corner of his mouth. When the old woman was struggling with the gold ticket just now, he wanted to laugh, but he held back until now, and finally couldn't help it, so he said: "Grandma Ye, your eyes are not good!" Lian Shi nodded in agreement, “That’s right, you argued with Uncle Wu about a half-gold ticket What were you doing This isn't a gold ticket sent by the royal family. You don't have to"Madam Ye was very embarrassed and wanted to go back quickly and close her door so that no one could see her, and she didn't want to see anyone either. 。She wanted to think carefully about life, pondering how Mu Qianqiu had managed to get a jade invitation and what was going on with Ye Wenyan - whether he was alive or dead, who his backing was. 。But these three in front of me are not intending to leave, and even Li is arguing with her: "Old Madam Ye is truly foolish. If she had only sent a gold invitation, Master Wu would have been enough. Why did our family and Lord Yun also come together Our family and Lord Yun personally coming represents something. Don't you have any idea what that means"Wu refuted him: "Otherwise, how can people know when to advance and retreat as they get older People who are too old are not suitable to be in charge anymore..." 。As people age, their memory tends to decline and their thinking becomes less sharp. They are more prone to making mistakes and saying things they didn't mean. 。Let's just take today's matter, if it were someone who understood, they wouldn't ask another word. 。Even if it wasn't a jade post, but just a gold post, that's something that shouldn't be asked. 。"Because the golden plaque represents the royal family, who dares to question the royal family"

Yun Chen shook his head upon hearing this, "No, no, everyone knows that Old Madam Ye has no dealings with the current emperor, and she hasn't even had any contact with Empress Dowager of the East Palace." 。So she has a point questioning the royal family, after all, she doesn't really put much stock in the emperor!

Lady Ye broke out in a cold sweat...e she got up. She sighed and bowed to Mu, then wanted to go back home, but hesitated and stopped when she turned around. 。Mu shi saw that she seemed to have something to say, so she took the initiativ...