Chapter 252 The Subtle Circumstances at the Banquet

The birthday banquet was eventually held, but it wasn't the quiet longevity noodle feast that Fucha Yingjun had described in Jingren Palace. Instead, the Empress Dowager arranged a small-scale banquet in Shou Kang Palace.

Those attending the banquet were naturally all close friends and family. The Empress Dowager was in charge of the event, and the Emperor, Empress, Princess Jinghua, Hongzhou, and Hongyan were also present. It was truly a family dinner, and there was no one closer to them than the Empress Dowager and Hongyan.

With the year-end approaching and things getting busy, and with his four trusted generals along with his third brother being sent out to all corners of the country for various tasks such as sea voyages, expeditions, and flood control, Hongzhao was practically immersed in a sea of ​​memorials and documents, running back and forth between the Imperial Study and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, with wave after wave of people coming and going in meetings. The only inconvenience was for him, sitting steadily at the head of the table.

Fucha Yingjun, now nearly eight months pregnant, was inevitably heavy and found it difficult to move around. Hongzhao, having learned his lesson, always reminded her to be vigilant while riding in the sedan chair. After all, falling off such a thing was no small matter.

Therefore, although it was Hongzhao's birthday banquet, he and Fucha were the last to arrive.

"Your son greets His Majesty the Empress."

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

Everyone at the table except the Empress Dowager stood up to avoid the Emperor and Empress's formalities. Lü Jiaying nudged Xuexin beside her, urging her to quickly help the Empress up, her face beaming with joy as she repeatedly said, "Good, good, it's good that you're here, get up quickly."

Fucha supported herself on the Emperor's arm with one hand, feeling the obvious gesture of the person beside her giving her support, and gently said while holding Aunt Xuexin's hand, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After exchanging greetings, everyone took their seats.

Today's banquet was to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, and the conversation revolved entirely around him. Besides birthday wishes, the Empress Dowager reminisced about the four children's childhood anecdotes. These four were siblings born of the same mother, and Fucha had grown up in Yongshou Palace since childhood, so she could easily join in the conversation.

Although the most amusing incidents involved the older sister and her two younger brothers, since they had always been under their mother's care since childhood, Hongzhao didn't mind too much. The atmosphere at the banquet was harmonious and joyful, and even Hongzhao, who didn't like attending banquets, couldn't help but relax a bit.

Today, in their joy, even the youngest son, Hongyan, was allowed to drink some fruit wine. After a few rounds of drinks, even the Empress Dowager's face was flushed with the smell of alcohol.

"Yingjun is almost eight months along, and soon I will be holding my grandson. Seeing how well you two love each other makes me happy."

Fucha Yingjun, supporting her belly, smiled shyly with her head down. Then she saw the Empress Dowager turn to look at Hongjin opposite her—"Amur is also a good child, always giving way to you. You two siblings are both blessed, and I am even more relieved."

After saying that, she sighed, seemingly both satisfied and worried, "Now that you have all started your own families, Hongyan is still young, and next will be Hongzhou. When he gets married and establishes his own household, I will be able to put down a great deal of the burden in my heart."

Hongzhao paused almost imperceptibly in the hand that held the wine cup, then, as if nothing had happened, brought the cup to his lips and drank it all in one gulp. Fucha Yingjun, however, keenly noticed the change in her husband's emotions and secretly paid attention to him.

This wasn't the first time Hongzhao had heard his mother mention these words; on the very first day of his ascension to the throne, she had said almost the exact same thing.

Empress Dowager was never one to ramble on, but she repeated these words twice, both times on important days, which suggests she was truly serious about it.

Under the cover of his wine glass, he secretly glanced at his younger brother, who was struggling with a pork knuckle across from him. Hongzhou, on the other hand, seemed to have never been mentioned and was enjoying his meal with complete focus.

But Hongzhao knew in his heart that his younger brother was not stupid.

Royal children are never truly brainless and only know how to have fun... Third Brother is an exception.

Hongzhao swallowed the slightly bitter wine in his mouth, wiped his lips with a handkerchief, and then casually tossed it aside—"Hongyan is still young, it's too early to choose a consort. If Mother wants Sixth Brother to have someone who cares for him, she can choose a good one from the Imperial Household Department and put her by his side first."

"In the future, I will also ask my son Yingjun to keep an eye out for any daughters that the Empress Dowager takes a liking to. She can discuss it with Yingjun and see if they are ready. Once they have made up their minds, there is no fear of delaying things."

Seeing Hongzhao say this, Lü Jiayingfeng remained silent for a few moments, then smiled again—"Alright, let's do as the emperor says. I'm getting old and my thoughts are not as comprehensive as yours, young people."

Seeing the questioning look from his sister across from him, Hongzhao returned a reassuring look, then turned to look at Yingjun, stood up and said, "Empress Mother, it's getting late today, and we have to attend the morning court tomorrow, so Yingjun and I will take our leave now."

"Are you leaving already?" Lü Jiaying first raised her voice slightly with a hint of melancholy, then looked at the sky outside and at Hongzhao's unmoved expression, and could only go along with it—"Alright, get some rest, be careful on the way back, and Xiao Dezi, you stay alert with the Emperor."

"Yes, sir." Xiao Dezi nodded respectfully.

Fucha Yingjun rose and bowed, then followed the Emperor's steps out of Shou Kang Palace.

On the way back.

Looking into the Emperor's still calm eyes, Fucha Yingjun couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke his brow under the dim light of the night, and said softly, "The birthday celebrant cannot be unhappy on such a wonderful day."

Hongzhao reached out and grabbed the hands that were causing trouble between his brows. He turned his head to meet Yingjun's worried gaze and held her slightly cold hands tightly in his own to warm them up.

"It's alright, it's not a big deal, so I'm not upset." He turned his gaze to the starry sky that he could see clearly at the moment, and the melancholy in his eyes was not fake—"I'm not upset, but I'm definitely not in a good mood."

Although Fucha Yingjun entered the palace at a young age, there were still some things she didn't know.

"Back then, when my mother was pregnant with my sixth brother, my father brought me to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to take care of me personally. Although my mother was happy, the pain of separation was not pleasant." Hongzhao's gentle voice rang out, and Fucha listened attentively, seeing that the emperor intended to speak.

"After I came to Father Emperor's side, I rarely stayed at Yongshou Palace. It just so happened that my sixth brother was born at that time. You should know that he was always making a fuss and never staying still since he was a child. He would throw tantrums and cry from childhood to adulthood, which took up most of Mother's energy. At that time, I thought it was not bad. My sister has always been quiet and obedient. Having a noisy Mother would not make her lonely."

Fucha Yingjun could also see it. After all, when she entered the palace, the Sixth Prince was only one or two years old. As soon as she stepped into Yongshou Palace, she could hear his loud wailing. Such a scene was played out almost every day.

"Empress Dowager...is also most worried about Sixth Brother." Fucha didn't know what else to say, so she could only gently comfort him.

Hongzhao nodded. "I know. Mother has said before that there's no need to say much about me and my elder sister. My seventh brother is also intelligent. Only my sixth brother loves to play all day and isn't very much liked by Father. He's such a silly child that she always worries about him."

People are concerned about sunk costs. If you invest the most energy in a child, you will naturally want to care about and pay more attention to them.

In addition, parents tend to favor the child who is the least successful among all their children. All these factors combined make it inevitable that things will turn out this way.

Fucha grasped his hand and shook it gently—"Since Your Majesty understands, why torment yourself?"

Hongzhao gave a self-deprecating laugh, lowered his head and remained silent for a long time. As he got closer and closer to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he slowly uttered a sentence.

"I've just gotten used to being favored, and now that it's suddenly gone, I'm not used to it."