"Let's start eating!" Kangxi didn't even look at them, but just teased the Fourth Prince from the side.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort!" Consort Wan and Consort Wen rose and performed a curtsy.

"Sister Chen, Sister Wen, you're here too! My sisters and I were just about to come see the peonies! But someone beat us to it!" The Imperial Noble Consort seemed to be explaining to Kangxi how they got here, but she also seemed to question Wanyi and the others' behavior!

"Your Majesty, my concubine and Sister Wen just happened to wander here and that's how we met you! Just like the Imperial Noble Consort!" They hadn't been spying on the Emperor's whereabouts, so the Imperial Noble Consort's meaning couldn't be clearer.

"So that's how it is!" the Imperial Noble Consort said somewhat awkwardly, secretly resenting that Consort Chen was always like this, showing her no respect whatsoever.

"Is that the Fourth Prince? He's so chubby and cute!" Consort Hui said with some envy. Her eldest son was sent to the Princes' Residence as soon as he was born, and was sent out of the palace before he was even a year old. She never got to hold him properly.

"Indeed! I wonder how Consort Chen raises her. Perhaps she could teach me. I'm always so thin and small, just like the princess."

Consort Bu also cared a lot about the princess. After all, the Imperial Noble Consort was only in name, and Consort Bu was the one who took care of everything else. So when she saw the chubby Fourth Prince, she naturally wanted to learn a thing or two from him.

"If Consort Bu wants a solution, she can ask Physician Lu. It's Granny Kong who gets the solutions from Physician Lu. After all, this is my first pregnancy, and I don't know anything about this!" She wasn't going to do something thankless. If there was a problem, she should find a professional!

"The eldest prince is five years old now. It just so happens that the crown prince is preparing to study at the Imperial Study. Let him prepare as well, and he can go with you in the second half of the year! We'll bring him back to the palace tomorrow so you and your son can have a good time together!"

Emperor Kangxi has issued an edict to renovate the Imperial Study and appointed Zhang Ying as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, along with Li Guangdi, Xiong Cili, and Tang Bin to teach the Crown Prince and other princes the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as riding and archery.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Consort Hui hadn't expected such a big surprise to await her this time. Her Yin Ti was coming back! How wonderful!

"Congratulations, Consort Hui!" Wanyi said sincerely. If it were her, she might not have sent her child away. However, according to Granny Kong, Empress Chengren was the most ruthless. Under the circumstances, the best way Consort Hui could think of was to painfully send her child away from the palace.

"Thank you, Consort Chen!" Consort Hui didn't care whether Consort Chen was sincere or not; she was simply overjoyed and wept.

"Although it's already May, the weather is still a bit chilly. Fourth Prince, you're dressed so lightly. Children are weak, what if you catch a cold?" The Imperial Noble Consort noticed that the Fourth Prince was dressed rather thinly and said with a hint of reproach.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The Fourth Prince and his father were playing and got a little sweaty, so they took off some clothes. They will put them back on once they leave the pavilion!"

Wanyi smiled insincerely, but inwardly she was thinking that the Imperial Noble Consort was really nitpicking and making trouble out of nothing!

"Your Highness, the Imperial Noble Consort, has never raised a child, so naturally you don't know the reasons behind it. It's good to ask more questions. When you have your own child in the future, you will definitely become more skilled through practice!" Consort Wen was not as polite as Wan Yi. She would retort when necessary, since everyone knew that they had a grudge against each other anyway.

"Sister Wen, you are joking. I also raised Princess Duanjing. How could I not have raised her?"

The Imperial Noble Consort gritted her teeth and said that she had no children of her own, and she had to give way to Consort Chen, Consort Rong, and Consort Hui, who all had children. Otherwise, what would her cousin, the Emperor, think of her?

"Is that so? I almost forgot!" Consort Wen said dismissively. Her birth mother was still alive, so her adoptive mother didn't need to worry about her at all!

"The Imperial Noble Consort is the kindest to Princess Duanjing. Not only does she often bestow gifts upon her, but she also visits her every day. She cares for her far more than I, her own mother, do!" Consort Bu reluctantly came out to lie for the Imperial Noble Consort.

"Hmm, whether it's a princess or a prince, I love them all. Since everyone is gathered here, let's all take a look at these beautiful peonies!" They're here to admire the flowers, yet they're chattering away. Isn't that annoying? Kangxi thought, somewhat puzzled.

"These flowers are beautiful, but they are all the same. But you ladies are different. Your Majesty, how about we hold a flower-viewing banquet here today since we are all here? The ladies can also appreciate your talents, so Your Majesty can judge and reward the best ones!"

The Imperial Noble Consort suddenly suggested that since Kangxi had entered the harem, it would be best to keep him there, no matter who stayed. After all, Kangxi rarely entered the harem, and when he did, he would either stay with Consort Chen or Consort Wen. The rest of the people wouldn't even get a drink of soup. How could that be?

"Very well, it has been a long time since I have seen such a lively scene!" He had been immersed in sorrow, but today he was in a rare good mood, so he naturally did not disappoint and took out a fine hairpin as a prize.

"This is a five-tailed phoenix hairpin, which can only be worn by concubines of the rank of Consort or above!" Consort Guo Luoluo said regretfully. Even if they, as lower-ranking concubines, obtained it, it would only be left aside to gather dust.

"Since I have brought this out, whoever gets it today can take it with them!" Kangxi's words successfully ignited their fighting spirit.

"All the younger sisters have gone to prepare, isn't Sister Chen going to perform something?"

Seeing that even Consort Wen was thinking of performing, the Imperial Noble Consort wondered why Consort Chen hadn't made a move. In her heart, she was thinking about how to subtly get Consort Chen to take the initiative to perform her talent!

"Like the Imperial Noble Consort, I'll just watch. Let the young and beautiful concubines have the chance. Why should we, at our age, join in the fun?"

As soon as Wanyi arrived, she mocked the Imperial Noble Consort for being too old and not as young and beautiful as others. She also said that even if she was eating meat, she should leave some room for others to live!

"Wan'er is not even twenty years old yet, how can she be old? Really, your mother is talking nonsense again!" Kangxi thought Wanyi was disgusted by his age and did not realize that she was mocking the Imperial Noble Consort.

"Yes! They should also perform a talent together. I have never seen Consort Chen perform anything before!"

Kangxi's words made the Imperial Noble Consort, who was in her mid-twenties, look embarrassed, but she found another topic to ask the Imperial Noble Consort Chen to perform on stage.

"This concubine doesn't possess any talents, and even the ones she knows are beneath her dignity. I must go ahead in a bit! Looking at the time, Fourth Prince needs to go back to nurse and prepare for his afternoon nap!"

She wasn't going to join in the fun! They could set up a table in the Imperial Garden and eat whatever they wanted, but her fourth prince wouldn't settle for anything like that.

"Oh, I see! It was my oversight." The Imperial Noble Consort said awkwardly, and could only turn around and make arrangements for the performance with her personal maid.

Consort Hui, who hadn't gone, had given up on vying for the emperor's favor early on. Now that her child was about to return, it was a crucial moment, and she knew that doing nothing would be a mistake, so she sat there calmly.