A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 790 New Year’s Eve Banquet

Chapter 790: Chapter 790 New Year’s Eve Banquet
In past years, the New Year’s Eve banquet was always held in Ninghe Hall.
That place was spacious, yet this year, for some reason, the Empress Dowager insisted on having it in her own Ningshou Palace.
Perhaps the old lady enjoyed the bustle. Or perhaps... she wanted to make a show of it and lay a solid foundation for Noble Concubine Shih and the Shih Family in court?
Anyway, it wasn’t her place to interfere. She would face challenges as they came; she had nothing to fear!
Lost in thought, she arrived at Ningshou Palace.
Neither early nor late, those who were supposed to come had arrived, all except for Noble Concubine Shih.
Xia Ruqing bypassed Consort Ning and took her own seat.
All rose to greet her, and she received them one by one with an amiable attitude and cautious words.
Consort Ning wore an expression of deep displeasure, clearly looking down on Xia Ruqing.
She had always been dissatisfied with Xia Ruqing’s advancement above her!
Xia Ruqing merely smiled faintly, unconcerned.
After sipping some tea, she began to chat and laugh with Consort Hui beside her.
Consort Ning was fuming with anger, glaring vehemently at Consort Hui.
I actually have to share the same rank as that lowly woman! How is she worthy?!
Back in the Eastern Palace, she was nothing more than a concubine of low birth and without favor. After entering the palace, who knows what kind of damned luck she had—she gave birth to a daughter and now sits on equal footing with me! This is absolutely intolerable!
Consort Hui wasn’t foolish; she noticed Consort Ning staring intently at her seat.
She simply kept her gaze low, uninterested in engaging.
Yes, this seating was arranged by the Empress Dowager, so of course, Consort Ning is dissatisfied. But what good does dissatisfaction do? Can she change anything?
Consort Hui took a sip of tea, hiding the hint of irony at the corner of her mouth.
The seating arrangement at the banquet was not complicated.
The Empress Dowager and the Noble Consort sat at the upper end.
Directly below them, to the right were the concubines, and to the left were the imperial kinswomen and Ladies of Enjoin from outside the palace.
It was impossible for everyone to sit in a single row, so they were seated in staggered rows.
Xia Ruqing naturally occupied the first seat on the right.
Behind her were Consort Ning and Consort Hui, followed by several concubines of the Pin rank, with the Honored Ladies further back.
Those below the sixth rank had no right to attend.
Even so, the great hall was nearly overflowing.
No one paid any attention to Consort Ning; people whispered to each other over tea in small groups.
After surveying the room and not receiving even a scornful glance, Consort Ning sullenly gave up her intentions.
After waiting for about half an hour, the Empress Dowager finally appeared, with Noble Concubine Shih supporting her.
Everyone promptly stood up to pay their respects.
The Empress Dowager smiled amiably and said, "On such a fine day, there’s no need to bother with such tedious formalities! Everyone, please take your seats!"
"Thank you, Empress Dowager!"
Everyone rose and took their seats.
The Empress Dowager also sat down, with Noble Concubine Shih attending to her.
After surveying the room and seeing everyone had arrived, the Empress Dowager smiled contentedly.
"Today is New Year’s Eve. It’s good of you all to come and accompany an old woman like me for the New Year! I’ve troubled you all."
Noble Concubine Shih quickly said, "Mother, don’t say that. It’s a blessing and our duty for us, the younger generation, to accompany the Empress Dowager during the New Year!"
"Don’t you all agree?" she asked, turning to the other concubines.
"What the Noble Consort says is true! Being able to show our filial piety to the Empress Dowager is a fortune for us!"
Xia Ruqing looked up. Seeing it was Consort Ning who had spoken, she smiled.
This woman... was she genuinely foolish or just pretending? She had followed the Empress for so many years. Now that the Empress had left the palace, she was the first to switch allegiances. Hmm... the outcome for such people... usually isn’t very good, is it?
Regardless, Xia Ruqing kept her head down and continued to drink her tea.
With so many people at the New Year’s Eve banquet, it was very lively, even without any specific entertainment arranged beforehand.
One by one, they rose to present their New Year’s gifts to the Empress Dowager, kowtowed, and offered greetings.
Then everyone relaxed a bit.
They sat in small groups, chit-chatting.
Above, the Empress Dowager also struck up a conversation with a few of the Imperial Noble Consorts seated on her left side.
Noble Concubine Shih attended to her, occasionally pouring tea.
The atmosphere was very harmonious.
After a while, when everyone had nearly finished eating, the Empress Dowager commanded that the banquet be cleared away and replaced with pastries.
She then had the Pear Garden troupe from the palace summoned to perform.
The Empress Dowager selected two plays, Noble Concubine Shih chose one.
Several Imperial Noble Consorts jointly picked two plays.
The Empress Dowager looked at the concubines and felt somewhat apologetic.
"Let’s start watching! If it’s not enough, you all can choose more later," she said.
The concubines all said they wouldn’t dare.
Actually, after these few plays were performed, it would almost be the Zi Hour, time to eat dumplings.
Besides, with the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Noble Consorts present, the plays chosen were naturally those favored by the elderly.
The younger ones didn’t fancy these plays at all!
Xia Ruqing didn’t much care for plays either.
The constant, drawn-out singing, where a single line could take an eternity, was frustratingly slow for her.
In that amount of time, she could have finished reading two storybooks!
So, when the performers started singing, Xia Ruqing’s attention began to drift.
She had two pieces of pastry and drank two cups of hot tea.
Then she began to feel... restless.
Why does it suddenly feel a bit cold?
"My lady, what’s wrong?" Zi Yue asked at once, upon noticing her unusual behavior.
Xia Ruqing frowned.
"It’s nothing! Let’s continue watching the play," she replied.
Could it be that the night air is too cool? Or perhaps the Ground Dragons in Ningshou Palace aren’t working well?
However...
Looking around, she realized everyone else was engaged in lively conversations, some even breaking out in sweat.
It was clear—it wasn’t cold at all!
Xia Ruqing subconsciously hugged her arms and rubbed them.
Zi Yue still sensed something wasn’t right.
"My lady, are you feeling cold?"
Xia Ruqing nodded.
"Yes, a little. But it doesn’t seem like anyone else is cold in here!"
Zi Yue found it strange as well.
She looked around and didn’t notice anything unusual.
Thinking her mistress might still be weak, she stepped forward to pour a cup of hot tea.
"Drink this, it will warm you up."
"Mm," Xia Ruqing agreed, reaching for the cup.
Just as their fingertips touched, Zi Yue unintentionally noticed that her mistress’s fingertips were very hot.
At first, she did not pay it much attention.
But then, the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off.
If she feels cold, why would her fingertips be hot? That doesn’t make sense.
Then it struck her.
My mistress must be... running a high fever!
"My lady, my lady?" Zi Yue approached quietly.
"Hmm?" Xia Ruqing turned her head towards her.
"What’s the matter?"
Taking advantage of the moment, Zi Yue touched her mistress’s forehead with the back of her hand.
Indeed, it was burning hot.
She then noticed her mistress’s complexion, an abnormal mix of red and pale.
Zi Yue was greatly alarmed.
"My lady, you’ve developed a high fever. We can’t stay here any longer; we must go back and call the Imperial Physician!"
A common cold is one thing, but a high fever absolutely cannot be delayed!
Xia Ruqing came to the same realization.
No wonder I feel cold all over!
But...
She glanced outside.
The snow-covered ground looked extremely cold; she had almost no courage to step out.
Are people with high fevers always so incredibly sensitive to cold? But no matter how much she dreaded the cold, she had to go out. Hadn’t she always cherished her life? Medical conditions in ancient times were poor; she couldn’t afford to be careless. She was always cautious, even when she was alone. And now, with three children, she absolutely couldn’t afford any mishap.
After considering, Xia Ruqing decisively left her seat.
She moved forward two steps and knelt in front of the Empress Dowager.
"Empress Dowager, this servant is feeling feverish and can no longer endure it. I humbly request Your Majesty’s grace to..."