Consort Rong calmly sipped her tea and ate her food, while Consort De silently surveyed the entire banquet, ready to know immediately if anything happened.

After Prince Zhi finished his drum dance, he went straight to Emperor Kangxi's table, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands and said, "Your subject wishes Your Majesty a long and healthy life, and wishes our Great Qing Dynasty to forever enjoy this prosperous and glorious era."

Emperor Kangxi nodded repeatedly and said to Liang Jiugong, who was standing beside him, "Bestow imperial wine upon Prince Zhi!"

Consort Hui then felt she had regained some face and glared fiercely at Consort Shu, who was sitting next to Emperor Kangxi. The latter pretended not to know anything.

Although Lanqin and the others were not qualified to sit in the Rain-Watching Pavilion, their seats were quite close to it, so they could see everything.

Seeing that Prince Zhi had gained favor with Emperor Kangxi, the Third Prince was naturally unwilling to accept it, so he couldn't sit still any longer. Taking advantage of the moment when Prince Zhi was drinking, he quickly stood up, walked up to Emperor Kangxi and said, "Father, I have written a poem for you. Please review it."

Having said that, the Third Prince took out a rolled-up piece of Xuan paper from his sleeve and presented it to the Emperor with both hands. Kangxi gestured for Liang Jiugong to take it.

Lanqin couldn't help but glance at her husband a few times. He sat there as steady as a rock, drinking his wine without a trace of emotion in his eyes. Lanqin looked at the Fourth Prince, and then inadvertently saw the Fifth Prince. This was truly the first time she had seen Consort Yi's son. He was actually more handsome and refined than Peach Blossom Nine, but unfortunately, there was a long scar running from his left eyebrow down to his cheek. Although the color wasn't dark anymore, it was still visible.

"He's indeed disfigured!" Lanqin thought to herself. Historical records indicate that before his disfigurement, the Fifth Prince was highly favored by Emperor Kangxi. He was also the first child born to Consort Yi during their most intimate years, naturally earning Kangxi's special favor. It's said that this Fifth Prince was not only exceptionally talented in literature but also highly skilled in martial arts, truly a man of both. Unfortunately, fate was cruel; he was wounded in the face by the enemy during a military campaign, and from then on, he was never seen before Kangxi again. A prince with a disfigured face was bound to fall out of favor. If he hadn't been disfigured, perhaps the Fifth Prince would still be a contender for the crown prince position today.

Then look at the Seventh Prince, a prince who has been treated specially by Kangxi since birth and could never be qualified to compete for that position. At this moment, he is calmly and contentedly drinking alone, and is quite happy.

Lanqin thought that being like Seventh Master was not bad. As a wealthy and leisurely prince, as long as he didn't care about saving face, he could live a very carefree life.

Lanqin looked at Eighth Master and Ninth Master again. They were like conjoined twins, always sitting together, whispering to each other from time to time, as if they were talking about something.

After reading the Third Prince's poem, Emperor Kangxi seemed quite pleased and immediately bestowed a cup of imperial wine upon him. This caused Prince Zhi to glance at the Third Prince several times; although they sat very close, the two never touched their cups.

After that, there wasn't much fun left. Ministers and their wives began to toast Emperor Kangxi one after another, followed by princes and ministers exchanging greetings.

Lanqin sat in her seat, bored out of her mind. Although there was delicious food in front of her, she didn't really want to touch it. It was all cold, and she knew that eating it would upset her stomach.

Madam Ma seemed tired and didn't want to talk much; she looked listless. Madam Chu on the other side was even more silent. Lanqin looked at the Fifth Prince's consistently indifferent expression and wondered what kind of person this prince, whose future had been cut short, was like in her own residence.

Oh no! Someone has fainted!

Suddenly, a palace maid standing near the emperor collapsed to the ground. Because it happened so suddenly, she knocked over several other palace maids in succession, and the plates they were carrying also fell to the ground, causing a commotion.

Consort De frowned. She had been on tenterhooks all night, fearing that something might go wrong at the palace banquet, which would be her fault as the organizer. Consort Yi, standing beside her, was also startled. As the other half of the organizer, if the banquet caused a feud with the royal family and disgraced the Emperor, both she and Consort De would be punished.

However, after things were clarified, it turned out that the problem wasn't with the people they had arranged, but rather with the palace maid who had followed Kangxi in to serve him—the very same maid who had been favored by Kangxi—Mei'er, who had fainted.

This was a matter under Liang Jiugong's jurisdiction, so he immediately instructed the eunuchs serving nearby to carry Mei'er out.

Mei'er was just a palace maid, so her fainting didn't cause much of a commotion. Emperor Kangxi didn't seem to care, and the palace banquet continued in a lively manner.

"Your Majesty, I have a gift I wish to present to you!" The Eighth Prince suddenly stood up and walked up to Emperor Kangxi.

Emperor Kangxi's already tired face perked up at the words of the Eighth Prince, and everyone was eager to see what kind of gift the Eighth Prince would present to the Emperor.

After Kangxi gave his approval, a young servant carried a birdcage, but the birdcage was covered with a layer of black velvet cloth, which concealed what was inside, but it was undoubtedly a bird.

"Father, I recently acquired a gyrfalcon. It is incredibly powerful, and I feel unworthy to raise such a magnificent bird. Therefore, I thought that only Father could keep it alive. Today, as part of the New Year's gifts, I would like to present this bird to Father as a token of my gratitude," said the Eighth Prince.

Fourth Master inwardly scoffed, thinking that Eighth Brother was always good at flattery and putting on airs.

"Let me see!" Emperor Kangxi had always liked to raise gyrfalcons, a type of giant eagle domesticated by the Jurchens that could help humans hunt.

Eighth Master personally tore off the black cloth covering the cage, and inside stood a huge gyrfalcon. Its feathers were glossy and bluish, its eyes were bright and alert, and its claws looked very hard, indicating that the gyrfalcon was very healthy.

Kangxi narrowed his eyes, watching the bird of prey standing in its cage, its sharp eyes fixed on the human face outside.

"Good, Eighth Prince, you've put your heart into this." Kangxi seemed to like this gift the most. He immediately took off a thumb ring from his finger and had a palace maid present it to the Eighth Prince as a reward.

When the princes saw that the Eighth Prince had received a reward from Emperor Kangxi, they all felt a little uneasy.

"Fourth Prince, look, even Eighth Prince has received a reward from Father Emperor. Why are you so quiet today?" Third Prince teased Fourth Prince from the side.

"Didn't Third Brother also receive Imperial Wine from Father? I was foolish enough to forget to prepare a gift for Father today," Fourth Prince said, seemingly unmoved.

Meanwhile, Liang Jiugong directed the eunuchs to carry Mei'er to the nearest room, then said, "Settle her here first. You lot will have to come back with me to serve the Emperor."