Consort Ju only walked to the screen before gracefully bowing and saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty, and greetings to all the officials. It was inappropriate for me to attend the banquet so abruptly, but I was afraid that some misunderstandings would be difficult to explain, so I rushed here."
"I am aware of the matter of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices allocating silver. Hong'er did offer to exchange silver notes for the Fifth Prince, but later, due to the backlog of matters, I forgot about it. It was only recently, when I was cleaning the side hall, that I discovered the 18,000 taels of silver notes hidden in the crevice. I just didn't have time to tell Hong'er."
There are three layers of meaning here.
On the first level, the eldest prince did indeed take on the job and also took the fifth prince's monthly salary, purely out of kindness.
Secondly, the eldest prince was too busy and forgot about the monthly allowance; it wasn't that he was greedy.
The fact that the Ju family could hide 18,000 taels of silver notes in the cracks shows that the Ju family is not short of money, and the charge that the eldest prince coveted his brother's monthly allowance is unfounded.
With a few tactful words and a gentle smile, she managed to salvage the situation that the eldest prince had created.
I don't know whether to say the son is useless or the mother is amazing.
Chang Yan lowered his eyelashes, knowing that the Yueyin incident, which he had deliberately planned, was over. Consort Ju held considerable weight in the imperial family's heart, and as long as the explanation was reasonable enough, he was willing to believe it.
As expected, the man on the dragon throne relaxed his brow and said with a slight reprimand, "What belongs to Xiao Wu belongs to Xiao Wu. If anyone can overstep their bounds and take control, what is the point of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"
"Your Majesty's reprimand is correct. Hong'er is forgetful and lacks common sense, and he deserves to be punished. How about we punish him by making him give all his annual allowance to the Fifth Prince? What does Your Majesty think?" Consort Ju smiled and agreed.
Even Steward Wu clicked his tongue in admiration at the woman's skill.
The eldest prince was a concubine's son, and his monthly salary was only two thousand four hundred taels of silver. Even if he lost it all, it wouldn't make a difference.
He could also let the imperial family go down the steps, and then said, "Then punish Hong'er by making up for the annual salary of Xiao Wu, and returning the five-year salary to Xiao Wu."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Consort Ju said gracefully.
The eldest prince wasn't completely dumbfounded. He also stood up to express his gratitude and looked apologetically at Chang Yan, saying, "Fifth brother, please don't hold a grudge against your elder brother because of these things. We are brothers, and we shouldn't have any grudges because of these matters."
Chang Yan smiled, his feigned politeness undiminished, "How could such a trivial matter harm my relationship with my eldest brother?"
Anyway, it never existed to begin with.
Whether it's a noble family or an imperial family, all people want to see is brotherly love and respect, humility and harmony.
As the two brothers sat down, Yang Zhanshi, who had almost broken his back from bending over, finally straightened up, wiped his sweat, and returned to his seat.
Consort Ju did not linger; she took her leave with a smile, and the spring banquet continued.
The atmosphere was one of peace and prosperity, with flowers in full bloom and delicious food all around.
The matter seemed to have completely subsided, and the whole farce had vanished without a trace.
Only a clever person could figure out that the Fifth Prince only donated three thousand taels of silver and received twenty thousand taels back. If the imperial family felt guilty, they would inevitably have to compensate him with something else.
On the other hand, the eldest prince's relationship with the Yang family is likely to break down. The fact that Consort Ju has described the matter of withholding her younger brother's monthly allowance will also attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
But for Chang Yan, these were not the biggest gains.
Just now, a strange thought flashed through his mind, as if he had grasped something key, but he lacked a certain feeling.
He was deep in thought throughout the entire spring banquet, not even noticing the glances Jiang Jizong cast his way. Only when the banquet ended did the imperial family rise first, followed by the princes and princesses.
The second prince was the first to leave. Because his birth mother was not well-known and he himself was awkward and dull, he neither understood nor was enthusiastic about matters of imperial power. He quietly completed his duties every day and then hid in the prince's residence.
The third princess looked disappointed, probably because she hadn't expected that all the guests were young ladies from noble families and there were few young men. So she quickly left as well.
The fourth prince swayed leisurely, glancing at Yao Siqing as he slowly strolled along.
The remaining guests were Changyan and the eldest prince. The two brothers exchanged a hypocritical glance, then smiled amicably. One pretended to casually glance at his sister, while the other's eyes darted towards the Fang family. Finally, they both took their leave.
It doesn't seem strange at all.
Jiang Sheng followed behind Madam Jiang with reluctance.
Fang Yuan remained calm and indifferent, slowly rising from his seat to leave.
Given the current situation, the Fang family supports the eldest prince, while the Jiang family, if they are unwilling to abandon Jiang Sheng, will support the fifth prince.
He could feel the look in his sister's eyes just now; despite her best efforts to conceal it, she couldn't hide her concern, which contrasted sharply with Fang Yuan's calmness.
While the five-year sibling relationship certainly played a part, perhaps the Fang family life has become too uneventful.
Thinking back to just now, when the eldest prince made a foolish move, Fang Yuan didn't stand up to help him; instead, he lowered his head and tried his best to distance himself.
Is this how you treat your trump card?
Since the Fang family has chosen the eldest prince, they should hope that he will grow up to be a prince with the qualities of an emperor.
Although Changyan thought Zhu Changhong was not a good piece of clay, and even a bit reckless and impulsive, if it weren't for his good mother, and if the other princes weren't so mediocre, he would never have had a chance to win the throne.
etc.
He was suddenly startled; the key point that he had been unable to grasp before quietly slipped back into his mind.
The eldest prince's advantage in the struggle for the throne lies with Consort Ju, but how many years can Consort Ju help him and exert her efforts once he truly becomes the master of the dynasty?
If the emperor himself cannot establish himself, it will be a disaster for the entire dynasty.
The Fang family's move seems more like using the emperor to command the princes, a scheme to seize the position of regent and treat the eldest prince as a puppet.
But if that were the case, the Fang family should have done everything in their power to help the eldest prince. Instead, at the Spring Festival banquet, Fang Yuan and the Fang family both chose to remain invisible, letting the eldest prince make a scene and suffer the consequences.
There was also a donation proposal, in which Fang Yuan took most of the credit, leaving only a couple of sips of meat soup for the eldest prince.
Is this how you treat your trump card?
Is this how you treat princes vying for the throne?
If Changyan hadn't met Wang Fufeng in Anshui County, he might never have understood it for half his life.
Yes, it's Wang Fufeng from the Wang family.
The son who was abandoned by his own parents because of his frailty, but was used as a target, was actually meant to pave the way for his healthy and talented illegitimate son...
Just think about what the eldest prince has that the other princes don't.
Consort Ju, favored by the Emperor, eldest son, and supported by her maternal grandparents' family.
The Fang family really couldn't choose anyone else but him.
But what if the Fang family is loyal to other princes, and while they appear to be allied with the eldest prince, their real aim is to destroy this popular contender for the throne?
Especially after the Fifth Prince returned.
When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits.
The Fang family needed Consort Ju to purge everything, but they looked down on the eldest prince's behavior, so they simply pretended to submit while secretly maneuvering.
They were just waiting for the eldest prince and the fifth prince to be severely injured before the prince in the shadows would make a glorious appearance and take over everything.
It's just unknown whether the person hiding is the taciturn and dull Second Prince or the lustful Fourth Prince.
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