Chapter 309 The Empress's "Baby Welcome Banquet" and His Majesty's "Gift List"

Ever since Xiao Che's boastful words, "There are no secondhand items in my dictionary," stirred up a huge wave in the Imperial Household Department, the entire palace has been plunged into a sweet yet expensive chaos.

Li Dequan, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, who was in charge of the most luxurious mansion in the country, now had two huge dark circles under his eyes every day, and his face looked so bitter that he seemed about to cry at any moment.

The reason is simple: His Majesty has gone mad.

Those rattles made from the finest Hetian jade, which were unearthed from the royal treasury and intended for the imperial heirs to be passed down through generations, were discarded by His Majesty for being "tainted with the stench of the past." The swaddling clothes made from Tianshan snow silk, so soft they seemed to slip through one's fingers, and woven by the Jiangnan Textile Bureau over several months, were dismissed by His Majesty as "outdated in style" and ordered to be remade.

According to His Majesty's wishes, his unborn child's first pair of tiger-head shoes, from the cradle to the first pair he wears, must be brand new, unique, and masterpieces that embody the hard work of the world's most skilled craftsmen!

Lin Wanwan's temples began to throb as she looked at the procurement list that Li Dequan presented, which was several meters long and listed materials so precious that they were enough to equip another elite army.

She knew Xiao Che loved children, but this kind of extravagant love was really... wasteful.

If things continue like this, she has no doubt that His Majesty the Emperor would dismantle the pillars of the Golden Palace just to make a teething toy for his child.

No, I have to find a way to guide his overly intense paternal love.

That afternoon, the sun shone warmly. Taking advantage of Xiao Che's good mood, Lin Wanwan casually brought up the matter.

"Your Majesty, while reading some ancient books recently, I discovered an interesting custom," she said softly, cloaking her modern ideas in an antique guise.

"Oh? Tell me about it." Xiao Che was holding a piece of warm jade, gesturing as if he wanted to carve a pattern on it, and replied casually upon hearing this.

“Ancient books say that when a woman is pregnant, before giving birth, she can invite her closest sisters to hold a small banquet called ‘Welcoming the Baby’,” Lin Wanwan said slowly. “The sisters will bring their blessings and give some handmade clothes and trinkets, both to pray for the unborn child and to share their parenting experiences. I think this is a heartwarming and practical way to gather good fortune for the child without being too extravagant.”

What she described is the core concept of a modern "baby shower"—warmth, practicality, and sharing of blessings. She hopes to transform Xiao Che's obsession with "having to use the best" into the warmth of accepting the sentiments of family and friends through this approach.

However, she clearly underestimated the peculiarity of this emperor's thought process.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Che dropped the jade stone in his hand onto the thick carpeted floor with a "thud".

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining brightly, his face filled with the ecstatic joy of "How could I not have thought of that!"

“A baby shower?” He repeated the word, his eyes shining brighter and brighter. “Excellent! This idea is absolutely brilliant!”

Lin Wanwan was overjoyed, thinking that he had finally come to his senses and learned to be thrifty and manage the household well.

But Xiao Che's next words caused the smile on her face to slowly freeze.

He slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "Wanwan, you are truly my wise and capable wife! I was only thinking about giving the child the best before, but I forgot that I also wanted the whole world to know how precious and precious my child is, and how much everyone looks forward to him!"

Lin Wanwan: "...?"

"How can a small banquet be enough?" Xiao Che had completely entered "Emperor Mode," pacing back and forth in the hall, waving his hand with boundless pride. "If we're going to hold one, we'll make it a state banquet! I will announce to the world that all princes, nobles, and civil and military officials will come together to offer their blessings to the heir of my Great Liang!"

"No! Not just the officials!" he said, becoming more and more excited. "And the vassal states of the four directions! I want them to send envoys here too! Let them see with their own eyes how the heir of my Great Liang, from the moment he was conceived, commands the hearts of all under heaven and commands the tribute of all nations!"

Lin Wanwan was completely dumbfounded.

She just wanted to have a cozy family party to save money, but how did it turn into a "World Expo" with strong political ostentation in his hands?

"Your Majesty, this matter...doesn't need to be so extravagant?" she tried to make a final attempt.

"Extravagant? How can this be called extravagant!" Xiao Che walked up to her with a matter-of-fact expression, squatted down, took her hand, and his eyes were full of paternal pride and domineering power. "This is prestige! This is the most prestigious prestige I've ever given to our child!"

Lin Wanwan looked at the animated emoticon above his head, which had already switched to a chibi cartoon emperor standing on top of the earth with his arms outstretched, accompanied by a line of sparkling text.

[My child must possess the whole world! .gif]

She knew it was over; this stubborn mule was beyond saving.

Things quickly took a turn for the better than Lin Wanwan could have imagined.

Not only did Xiao Che want to hold a grand event, but to prevent those "foolish" ministers from sending unpalatable "vulgar gifts," he even decided to personally guide the process!

He immediately summoned Li Dequan, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. This old eunuch, who had just thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, almost fainted on the spot after hearing the emperor's new decree.

"Issue my decree!" Xiao Che sat at his desk, picked up a vermilion brush, and began to dictate with a serious expression that suggested he was planning the future of the nation. "To ensure that the gifts for the 'National Banquet to Welcome the Infant' fully demonstrate the sincerity and heritage of our Great Liang, I have prepared a 'Guideline List of Gifts' and distributed it to all ministries. All my beloved ministers may, according to their means, voluntarily... claim the gifts!"

Li Dequan ground ink with trembling hands while listening intently, a sense of foreboding already creeping into his heart.

Xiao Che's voice rang out clearly and powerfully.

"Firstly, the light from ordinary candles used for nighttime lighting in the nursery is unstable and can harm the dragon's eyes. Therefore, a 'night-shining pearl' of the size of a fist should be presented from Donghai County. Its light should be soft and can keep the room bright all night."

Li Dequan's pen trembled, almost spilling the ink. A fist-sized luminous pearl? Isn't that something from legends?!

"Secondly, the heir to the throne needs a good companion as he learns to walk. Among the Ferghana horses offered as tribute by the vassal states of the Western Regions, the finest one can be selected, a newborn foal. Its height is just like that of an infant, and its temperament is gentle, making it suitable for the crown prince/princess to lead the horse."

Li Dequan's hands were already trembling. To use a young Akhal-Teke horse as a walker for the future crown prince? This…is this an idea even humanly conceived?

"Thirdly, the rattle drum used by the Crown Prince is made of ordinary jade, which is too brittle and may harm the Emperor's body. Therefore, the Imperial Observatory is ordered to search for meteorite iron from outer space, and skilled craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department are to forge a unique 'Starry Sound' rattle drum..."

"Fourthly, the brocade used to wrap the infant..."

Fifthly, jade artifacts used for grinding teeth...

A truly outrageous "gift list" was thus drawn up one by one by Xiao Che. Each item was shockingly precious, and its absurdity made Lin Wanwan want to cover her face several times, pretending not to know this man.

This gleaming list of congratulatory gifts was quickly delivered to the residences of every official of the third rank or above in the capital at the fastest speed.

The entire officialdom in the capital was instantly in an uproar.

When the ministers saw the list, their first reaction was shock, their second was financial pain, and their third was deep political anxiety.

This isn't a gift request list; it's clearly a pledge of allegiance to a political faction!

"Look! The list says 'Crown Prince/Princess'! His Majesty did not specify the gender!" A quick-thinking official immediately noticed the key point.

"Hiss—" His aide gasped. "Does the master mean that sending this gift is to show His Majesty whether we support the prince or the princess?"

A single word awakened me from my dream!

The entire court was instantly thrown into turmoil by this list.

The Ministry of War's Office.

Looking at the "Ferghana horse from the Western Regions," Wang Defa slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "This is the will of Heaven! A warhorse for a hero, it must be a prince! Men! Prepare generous gifts immediately and go to the Western Regions embassy! Tell them that this horse is for me, Minister Wang!"

The Ministry of Rites' Office.

The old minister stared at the item on the list, "silk and satin woven from the feathers of a seven-colored phoenix," for a long while before stroking his beard and smiling, "The phoenix is ​​the king of birds, a metaphor for the empress. This item must be prepared for the future little princess! I will claim it!"

Thus began a tacitly agreed-upon process of "choosing sides." Ministers, each employing their own unique methods to present the "correct" gift, caused prices throughout the capital to skyrocket due to their frenzied purchasing.

However, this trend quickly spread to a wider area in a way that no one expected.

Inside the largest gambling den in the capital, "Tongtianbaoju".

The shrewd dealer, having heard rumors in the imperial court and spent a fortune to acquire a copy of the "gift request list," had an unprecedented glint in his eyes.

He slammed his fist on the table and, in an excited tone as if he had discovered a huge business opportunity, roared to his subordinates:

"Quick! Get me that biggest betting signboard! It should read: 'A High-Stakes Gamble of the Century! The Crown Prince Arrives VS The Princess Descends!'"

"According to the Minister of War's claim of the colt, the odds for the Crown Prince are 1.5 to 1! According to the Minister of Rites' claim of the phoenix feather, the odds for the Princess are 1.8 to 1! Quickly! Open betting throughout the city! Accept all bets!"