"Your Majesty really dotes on the little princess. The full moon banquet is held so luxuriously." Concubine Jiang raised her voice exaggeratedly.
[The treacherous concubine is causing trouble again. ]
Xia Miaoyuan curled her lips.
"Yes, yes, almost the entire royal family has been invited. The grandeur is even greater than the prince's full-moon banquet!" Concubine Xian chimed in.
"There are 88 tables set up today. When I gave birth to Chengshun, there were only 39 tables!" Concubine Jiang glanced at the banquet and looked at the queen provocatively with raised eyebrows.
"You treacherous concubine, you lie so naturally. Did you give birth to the Fifth Prince, Xiao Chengshun? You can't even have children."
What? The Fifth Prince wasn't born to Concubine Jiang! She's actually infertile!
The Queen's eyes widened in shock, but after a moment, her expression faded. "I originally said a simple banquet would be fine for the Princess's full moon, but Your Majesty was so overjoyed at the birth of his daughter that he insisted on a grand celebration."
"It is a great joy for Your Majesty to have a daughter, but the Ganjiang River is flooding right now, and the court is in dire need of money. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to be so extravagant. Empress, why don't you try to persuade Your Majesty?"
Concubine Jiang raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, it would be terrible if those censors use this incident to criticize Your Majesty. The Empress will probably be to blame!" Lin Zhaoyi pretended to be surprised.
The Queen stood sternly, her expression serious. After glancing at the three concubines, she said in a cold voice, "The expenses for the little princess's full-month banquet will all come from your Majesty's private treasury. Not a single ounce of silver will come from the Ministry of Revenue. Anyone who has any complaints, please feel free to write to us."
Concubine Jiang and the other two were shocked when they heard this. They knew that the emperor doted on the little princess, but they never expected that Xia Zhengqi would actually pay for a grand full-moon banquet for the princess out of his own pocket.
"Your Majesty is very thoughtful." Concubine Xian smiled embarrassedly.
[Hahaha, three idiots, you didn't even do your homework and you're here to cause trouble. Look at my mother, she'll beat you to death.]
Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The three concubines looked embarrassed and hurriedly found an excuse to slip away.
The queen calmed herself down and walked towards her seat, and the guests around her saluted her one after another.
The nanny followed the queen, holding the little princess.
"No way? Mom's going to sit back down again? It's so boring. It's really boring to sit there. Let's walk around, walk around some more!"
Xia Miaoyuan twisted her little butt restlessly in the nanny's arms and started crying loudly.
"Did the little princess pee?" Sangqi asked the nanny.
"No. Why are you crying for no reason?" the nanny asked in confusion.
"Sang Qi, follow the nanny and take the little princess for a walk around. The child may have stayed in the hall for too long and is bored." The queen looked at Xia Miaoyuan lovingly.
[Mother still understands me, hehe.] Xia Miaoyuan grinned, tears still hanging on her cheeks.
In front of the main hall of Shanglinyuan, there is a large open space with flower beds and pavilions scattered around it.
Because Xia Zhengqi was a kind person and loved children the most, he was always reluctant to restrict the princes at occasions like palace banquets.
At his palace banquets, the princes and the children of guests were allowed to relax and play in Shanglin Garden after attending the formal activities.
At this time, it was very lively outside the main hall.
After the children listened to the emperor's speech with their adults and patiently exchanged greetings with their elders, they were already extremely bored. They ran out of the main hall, found their good playmates, and played in groups of three or four in the open field.
Sang Qi protected the little princess, and the nanny held the little princess in her arms. The three of them had already strolled out of the palace.
Xia Miaoyuan was in the nanny's arms, stretching her neck to look around. The scene outside the palace was really lively.
Nearby, three children, about three or four years old, were squatting on the ground playing pinball; a few noble boys and girls, seven or eight years old, were playing tossing pots; and a few older people were gathered in the pavilion, drinking tea and talking about poetry.
A little further away, four boys were playing Cuju. Xia Miaoyuan looked closely and saw that all four boys were wearing yellow satin robes with dragon patterns.
[Wearing yellow dragon patterns, could they be my younger brothers?]
Xia Miaoyuan was thinking to himself when suddenly a Cuju flew towards him.
[Oh no! There's a hidden weapon!]
Xia Miaoyuan only hated himself for being a little baby. Seeing the Cuju flying towards him, he couldn't dodge it.
【God bless you, don’t get crushed to death! 】
Xia Miaoyuan closed his eyes nervously, but after a moment he did not hear the sound of the ball hitting him.
"Ouch!" A familiar woman's voice came into my ears.
When Xia Miaoyuan opened his eyes, he saw the nanny holding him with one hand, squatting down and covering her head with one hand.
Sangqi raised his hand and looked around vigilantly.
Several palace maids and eunuchs immediately surrounded Xia Miaoyuan, asking in unison whether the little princess was injured.
Sang Qi helped the nanny up, held Xia Miaoyuan in his arms, and looked carefully at the nanny's forehead. He saw that there was a swollen bump on her forehead.
The nanny calmed down and said, "Fortunately, Sang Qi was agile and raised her hand to block the Cuju. It only hit the servant and did not hurt the little princess."
The four boys playing Cuju in the distance were all stunned where they were.
Sang Qi frowned and said to the boys, "Fifth Prince, you have to be careful when playing Cuju. The princess is still so young. If the Cuju hits her..."
"Oh my god, this is so scary! The cuju is covered in leather and filled with rice bran. If it hits me, it's going to be terrible. My tiny body would probably break."
Xia Miaoyuan muttered with lingering fear and looked at the boys. He saw that the tallest boy had a look of disdain on his face, while the other three boys had panic-stricken expressions.
"It's no big deal. It's just that I was careless." The fifth prince said with an indifferent tone.
"Besides, it's not so easy for a little girl to get into trouble. She was fine even when she was born in a galloping carriage. Can she be killed by a Cuju?!" The fifth prince said in a joking tone and slowly walked towards Xia Miaoyuan.
"You..." Sang Qi was so angry that his face turned blue.
The fifth prince Xia Chengshun is the son of Concubine Jiang.
Relying on the fact that the Empress Dowager is her aunt and Grand Tutor Jiang is her father, Concubine Jiang has always been arrogant and domineering in the palace, and even looks down on the Empress.
With such a mother's words and deeds, the Fifth Prince naturally followed suit. At only 9 years old, he already had an arrogant and domineering face. He usually showed no respect to other princes.
Although Xia Zhengqi did not like the Fifth Prince's flamboyant personality, he was extremely kind to him for the sake of the Empress Dowager and Grand Tutor Jiang.
Usually, he gave the most rewards to the princes, except for the crown prince, to the fifth prince.
It can be said that the Fifth Prince is second only to the Crown Prince among all the princes.
But now that the queen has given birth to a little princess, the emperor has changed his usual behavior and become cold towards the fifth prince. He has given the most love to the little princess, and even his full moon banquet is more luxurious than those for all the other princes.
After the little princess was born, the emperor came to Jinxiu Palace much less frequently.
Therefore, the fifth prince was very hostile towards Xia Miaoyuan.
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