Later, the former dynasty passed down that a banquet had already been opened, and naturally, the harem also had to follow suit and open a banquet.

  Lin Di's seat was arranged below Wu Guifei's.

  Empress Wu suddenly smiled and said to Lin Xiang: "Fourth Miss Lin, the palace yesterday accidentally hurt her hand, but the palace also thinks that the palace maid is clumsy and serves poorly. Can Fourth Miss stand by the side of the palace today and help the palace pick some dishes?"

  The ladies-in-waiting inside and outside the palace looked at each other, all thinking that Wu Guifei's actions today were a bit too much. She was treating a future empress like a palace maid, not even bothering to show her superficial respect.

  There were people who got along with the Lin family and wanted to speak up for Lin He, but at this time, a woman wearing an apricot yellow palace dress sitting below Wu Guifei looked at Lin He and then smiled and said: "Your Majesty, let me serve you instead, how would Miss Lin know your preferences?"

  The Empress Wu turned her head and smiled at the apricot-yellow palace dress woman, saying: "Hu Zhaorong, this palace knows you will be considerate of others, but..." She said, using a tone of deliberate difficulty to Lin Xiang, "This palace just wants Miss Lin Si to help this palace clip this dish today." As she spoke, she smiled at Lin Xiang and asked, "Miss Lin Si, are you willing to help this palace with this?"

  Lin Xiao smiled and looked at her, but didn't move.

  Wu Guifei locked eyes with her for a moment, then said: "It seems that Miss Lin is unwilling, so let's just forget it. To think that in the future, Fourth Miss will be the Empress of this palace, and when she enters the palace, I, as a Guifei, will have to stand behind her and serve her. It's only natural that Fourth Miss doesn't put me in her eyes now." She sighed again, saying: "To think that being a first-rank Guifei is not very useful either, it can only be used to intimidate people in my own palace."

  She glanced at the small eunuch who was walking out with his head down at the corner of the palace, then turned back to smile lightly and say: "Since the noble consort has said so, how can I, a humble servant girl, not get up to attend to her? It would be terrible if in the future the noble consort were to think that she, as a first-rank imperial consort, couldn't intimidate anyone. That would be an insult to those who established this rank." There was some mockery in these words, ridiculing Wu Guifei for using her rank to bully others.

  Lin Dai finished speaking and stood up, walked to Wu Guifei's side, slightly bowed, then took the chopsticks from the palace maid's hand, and asked with a slight smile: "I wonder which dish does the noble concubine want to eat?"

  Zhuang was so angry that he felt like his heart was on fire. Several times he wanted to speak up, but Li held him down firmly each time.

  "Mr. Li looked at her calmly and said: 'We can't protect her for a lifetime, her road is very long and arduous, you have to let her learn to cope on her own.'"

  On the other hand, someone naturally reported what happened at Changkun Palace to Duke Wan.

  Wan Gonggong listened and then walked quietly back to the emperor's side, whispering a few words in his ear.

  The emperor frowned, then glanced at the dishes on his desk and pointed to the untouched Steamed Three Delicacies Balls and West Lake Vinegar Fish, saying to Eunuch Wan: "Reward Miss Lin Si with these two dishes."

  The officials in the hall looked at each other, only to think that Miss Lin Si's position in the emperor's heart was indeed not light. This hadn't even reached the grand wedding yet, but the emperor still remembered to reward Miss Lin with dishes, which was a treatment that even Wu Guifei couldn't enjoy. It seems that from now on, when weighing the power between the Lin and Wu families, they need to be more cautious in tilting the balance towards the Lin family.

  But the only ones who didn't show such a look were Lin Ying and Lin Yong. From the moment Wang Gonggong entered, Lin Ying felt that something might have happened to the women's side, so she was worried. It wasn't until the emperor rewarded the dishes that he felt that the emperor at least leaned towards the Lin family, and the women of the Lin family in the harem should be safe.

  The eunuch bowed his head and said to the emperor, "Yes, I will have someone deliver it to Miss Lin Si immediately." He waved his hand and had a small eunuch bring over a food box, and he packed the two dishes that the emperor had pointed out into the box.

  Xiao furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before saying, "You go yourself."

  Wan Gonggong listened with a slight daze, but still bowed his head and acknowledged, then led the small eunuch carrying the food box to Changkung Palace.

  When Secretary Wan arrived at the Changkun Palace, Lin Xi had already returned to her seat. Secretary Wan walked straight up to her and Wu Guifei, first paying his respects to Wu Guifei.

  Empress Wu put down her chopsticks and raised her head to ask him: "Gonggong Wang has come over, what is the noble purpose?"

  Wan Gonggong smiled and didn't respond to her, then looked at Lin Xiao and shouted in a loud voice: "The emperor rewards, rewarding Miss Lin with a dish of steamed three fresh wontons and a dish of West Lake vinegar fish."

  Inside the Changkun Palace, it was quiet for a moment. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Lin Xiao, while Wu Guifei's face had already turned dark before she even finished listening to the sentence, her hands clenched into fists, almost wanting to crush her own bones.

  She had just humiliated Lin Yu on this side, and on the other side, the emperor gave Lin Yu a dish, but only gave it to Lin Yu alone. It wasn't giving Lin Yu face, but slapping her in the face. This imperial concubine's face was not even comparable to that of a little servant girl.

  Li put down the teacup that was originally held near her mouth and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

  Although Lin Xuan was slightly surprised in her heart, she understood that the situation of Changkong Palace would definitely be passed on to the emperor's ears. What she thought most was just to make the emperor dislike Wu Guifei's arrogance, but she didn't expect the emperor to give her face on the spot. However, she did not show her surprise in her heart, calmly stood up, and walked to the front of Wang Gonggong, knelt down and thanked: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  Wan Gonggong smiled at her and then instructed the little eunuch to bring out the reward dishes and put them on Lin Daiyu's table.

  Lin Xiang saw that the dishes used to hold the vegetables were all imperial utensils, obviously brought directly from the emperor's table. Not only did she see it, but other noblewomen and Wu Guifei also saw it, so the eyes of other noblewomen looking at Lin Xiang became more and more different, while Wu Guifei's face became darker and darker.

  Lin Dai stood up, and Wang Gonggong slightly bowed to her again, respectfully saying: "Fourth Miss Lin, please take your time, I will return to the Emperor's side to attend to him."

  Lin Yidao nodded and slightly bent one knee towards Wan Gonggong.

  After Wang Gonggong left, there was a dish of reward vegetables, and some of the inner and outer ladies-in-waiting began to flatter Lin Daiyu with smiles: "The emperor is indeed a considerate person, even at the banquet, he didn't forget the fourth miss, in the future, the fourth miss and the emperor will surely be another pair of imperial couple's deep love story."

  Lin Yan pursed her lips and smiled at the speaker, but didn't respond to her words. She then sat back in her own seat, picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.

  It is customary for the emperor's dishes to be finished, in order to show respect to the emperor. Thus, these two plates of imperial cuisine became Lin Daiyu's arduous and unavoidable task. Fortunately, the dishes made in the palace were all small portions, so two plates did not count as much.