In Jiaxiang Palace, Yu Zizhen met for the first time the second prince Xiao Yuanmin and the eldest princess Xiao Yuanjiu, whom she had heard of for a long time but had never had the chance to meet.
The eldest princess, Xiao Yuanjiu, is two years younger than Yu Zizhen. She was born to a low-ranking concubine who was used by Xiao Lu as a surrogate mother. The character "Jiu" in her name was also given by Xiao Lu, which means "a light black stone like jade."
Because she was a daughter, she was not raised by Xiao Lu after she was born, so her biological mother did not have to face the original fate of losing her and keeping her child.
But even so, the eldest princess still had a very difficult time in the palace.
Because her biological mother was of humble origin and held a low position in the palace, even the lowest-ranking palace servants could bully them.
How difficult was the situation of the mother and daughter in the palace? It was so difficult that the eldest princess actually envied her half-brother Xiao Yuanmin, who was bullied in Xiao Lu's palace and lived a life worse than Xiao Lu's dog.
Xiao Yuanmin was one of the emperor's only two sons. He was three years younger than Yu Zizhen and one year younger than his half-sister, the eldest princess. He was also born to a low-ranking concubine who was used by Xiao Lu as a surrogate mother.
Unlike the eldest princess, he lost his biological mother at birth because he was a son.
On the surface, his biological mother died of postpartum hemorrhage. In fact, the reason why his biological mother suffered from hemorrhage was because Xiao Lu instructed the midwife to tamper with her delivery.
Xiao Yuanmin's name was also given by Xiao Lu. The word "Min" means "white stone like jade."
From these two names, we can tell what attitude Xiao Lu has towards the eldest princess and the second prince.
As the heir to the throne, although the Second Prince was raised by Madam Xiao Lu and was the object of envy of his half-sister, the eldest princess, he was actually also bullied in Madam Xiao Lu's palace.
Especially his nominal mother, Xiao Lu, who would beat him when she was upset. For example, when Yu Zizhen first entered the palace, he happened to catch Xiao Lu in a bad mood and beat her so badly that she secretly invited the imperial physician to see her.
This pair of brothers arrived very early, and their seats were below the eldest prince, who was the eldest son.
Yu Zizhen and the others were placed opposite the eldest prince.
While Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Lu were still here, Yu Zizhen took a subtle look at the royal family members in Jiaxiang Palace.
In addition to the eldest prince's half-brothers and sisters-in-law, Yu Zizhen also saw several of the emperor's concubines here. None of these women dared to show up. Even Wan Jingrong's aunt, Wan, was sitting cautiously in a remote corner at this time, and did not dare to speak casually or wander around.
In addition to those who originally lived in the palace, Jiaxiang Palace also housed many royal relatives whose families lived in the capital.
These royal relatives are either the descendants of the late emperor's uncles and brothers, or the bloodlines left by the current emperor's brothers who died early.
These people had no real power or prestige, but because they were closely related to the emperor by blood, they were used as targets by Da Lu to show her kindness to the royal family members. They lived a life of luxury and received a salary for nothing every year.
What Mrs. Lu didn't know was that some of these royal relatives, whom she treated like kittens and puppies, would change their previous timid attitude towards her and the Lu family after a few years.
At the same time that the Lu family killed the emperor and supported a puppet to take the throne, they took advantage of the chaos to escape from the capital with Xiao Shaoke. Soon after, they joined hands with some influential officials to push Xiao Shaoke onto the throne, making the small Later Qi court one of the three major forces competing with their Lu family.
Touching the delicate patterns on the teacup in his hand, Yu Zizhen thought to himself, it seems that a large number of these royal relatives are very good at pretending to be pigs and eating the tiger.
Sure enough, no one in this world can be underestimated.
As she was sighing, Mrs. Lu finally arrived accompanied by Mrs. Lu.
Hearing the eunuch's announcement outside the door, the emperor immediately stood up and took everyone to welcome Mrs. Lu into the house.
Big Lady Lu was in a good mood today. With the support of Little Lady Lu, she smiled and said, "No need to be polite." Then, accompanied by the emperor and Little Lady Lu, she went behind the innermost table.
Xiao Shaoke, who was following behind the elder and younger Lu ladies, seemed to be non-existent. Led by the young eunuch, he quietly sat behind his desk.
Among all the royal family members in the hall, only the eldest prince raised his glass to him from afar and greeted him with his mouth, "Uncle Emperor".
Xiao Shaoke's eyes were filled with tears, but he didn't dare to show his sadness. He clenched his slightly trembling hands and nodded to the eldest prince from a distance.
His position was taken by Yu Zizhen. Seeing the eldest prince greeting him, Yu Zizhen immediately raised his glass to Xiao Shaoke enthusiastically.
Xiao Shaoke originally had some inexplicable grievances and sadness lingering in his heart, but when Yu Zizhen showed his attitude of "I do whatever the eldest prince does", Xiao Shaoke was immediately speechless and didn't care to continue feeling sad.
He really couldn't understand how Yu Zizhen, the prince of Zhenbei, could be so sincere and devoted as to be the eldest prince's little follower.
You have to know that the emperor is just a mascot emperor. He has no real power. Naturally, Yu Zizhen does not need to please the emperor or deliberately cater to his preferences and establish a good relationship with the eldest prince.
As for the eldest prince, he was frail and sickly, unable to walk, and had no chance of inheriting the throne. He didn't even have the chance to be a mascot emperor.
However, Yu Zizhen not only has a father who is a prince with a large army, but he is also the legitimate prince of Zhenbei. If nothing unexpected happens, he will inherit the military power of Zhenbei prince in the future.
Comparing the two, the difference is immediately apparent. In Xiao Shaoke's opinion, there is really no need for Yu Zizhen to revolve around the eldest prince.
But Yu Zizhen did just that, and he was quite happy doing it.
Xiao Shaoke was both confused and envious. He often couldn't help but think, if only there was someone willing to protect him like this, then wouldn't his bitter life be a little sweeter?
Then he thought about how the eldest prince had done his best to help him out in the past few years, preventing him from being bullied by Lu Heng and Wan Jingrong. Xiao Shaoke suddenly felt that his life was not so bleak after all.
He felt a little better, and when he saw Yu Zizhen and the eldest prince communicating frequently, he only felt funny, but no longer felt weird.
After listening to the routine speeches of Empress Dowager Da Lu and the Emperor somewhat absentmindedly, everyone picked up their chopsticks to the singing and dancing of the actors.
Children including Yu Zizhen held teacups, ate food, listened to music and watched dances, while adults clinked cups and talked to each other to the sound of soft music.
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