With the emperor's relentless boasting, after the palace banquet ended, the fact that "His Highness the Crown Prince, along with the princes and princesses, personally cooked longevity noodles to celebrate His Majesty's birthday" was spread throughout the entire capital as the ministers returned home!
I wonder how many people envy the emperor's children for being filial, while simultaneously complaining that their own children are good for nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun.
Yun Shu was the one who was disliked.
"You've been studying with His Highness the Crown Prince for several months now, how come you haven't made any progress at all?" The Marquis of Zhongyong's disdain was blatantly displayed on his face.
"Even His Highness the Crown Prince knows to personally cook longevity noodles for His Majesty's birthday. Your grandmother loves you so much; when she celebrated her birthday last month, did you show any appreciation?" Marquis Zhongyong asked with exasperation.
"I clearly made Grandmother happy!" Yun Shu protested, "On the other hand, Father, although the birthday gift he gave seemed very valuable, it was just valuable in name only; he didn't put any thought into it!"
So, what right do you have to look down on me?!
Yun Shu conveyed this meaning to Marquis Zhongyong with her eyes.
Marquis Zhongyong understood and picked up his usual feather duster.
"You little brat, what do you mean by that look? Did I say something wrong? In all your life, have you ever done anything that we can talk about with pride?"
Another chase scene unfolded at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, with one son chasing after the other with a feather duster while the other dodged and weaved in front of him.
While skillfully dodging his father's feather duster, Yun Shu also had the leisure to think that His Highness the Crown Prince had not lied to him. After persisting in running, his body was indeed much lighter and more agile, and he could avoid most of his father's attacks.
But today, I don't know what triggered my father, he chased him for a long time with a feather duster and wouldn't stop, and he was getting tired of dodging.
"It's just making longevity noodles, isn't it? Your Highness can make them, and so can I! If Father is craving them, I can cook a bowl for you too!" Yun Shu pleaded as he dodged, but his words were far too unpleasant to hear.
What does it mean to be greedy?
Is he just being greedy?
That's clearly because I'm craving it!
What he craved wasn't the longevity noodles for the princes and princesses, but their filial piety.
and--
"When did you learn to cook longevity noodles? I didn't know that!" asked Marquis Zhongyong as he chased after Yun Shu.
"I learned it at the East Palace, of course you wouldn't know! I studied for two whole days!" Yun Shu dodged the feather duster while turning back to proudly show off to her father.
When Marquis Zhongyong was toasting the emperor at the palace banquet today, he was forced to watch the emperor's smug face for a long time. Now, seeing a similar expression on Yun Shu's face, he became even angrier and chased him away even faster.
"Why are you still chasing me and hitting me? Do you still want to eat longevity noodles?" Yun Shu shouted while dodging.
"I can't afford your noodles, I'm afraid you'll burn down this century-old manor!" Marquis Zhongyong mocked.
Back then, he envied His Highness the Crown Prince for sending flowers to His Majesty. He mentioned it when he got home, and the next day he also received a large flower bud.
He had carefully nurtured the rare and precious Cymbidium goeringii for three years, and it had finally blossomed into a single bud. But before he knew it, his filial son, Yun Shu, had broken it.
Upon seeing the flower bud, Marquis Zhongyong felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and he almost fainted from anger.
His Highness the Crown Prince sent flowers to His Majesty, sending him the entire spring! But when it came to his son, he sent flowers, but his real intention was to take his life!
After this incident, he no longer doubted Yun Shu's filial piety, but he had come to understand a principle: some filial piety is better left unfulfilled!
"Alright, alright—this is what you didn't eat yourself, so don't go around saying I'm unfilial and ruin my reputation!" Yun Shu quickly said.
The Marquis of Zhongyong was already heartbroken at the thought of the prematurely deceased Molan. Seeing Yunshu jumping around, he became even angrier and chased him away even more fiercely.
Unlike the chaos at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, after returning home from the palace banquet, the Minister of Rites summoned Wu Zemin to his study, where the father and son sat facing each other.
Silence fell for a long time.
Wu Zemin broke the silence first, asking, "Father looks grave. Did something unexpected happen at today's palace banquet?"
"No surprises. It's just that today is His Majesty's birthday, and His Highness the Crown Prince, along with the princes and princesses, personally cooked a bowl of longevity noodles for His Majesty, who was delighted," the Minister of Rites said in a deep voice.
Wu Zemin then realized why His Highness the Crown Prince had led them to learn how to cook noodles for two consecutive days, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
"Isn't this a good thing? His Highness the Crown Prince and all the princes and princesses are commendable for their filial piety and should be a role model for all children in the world," he said.
"Outrageous! The Crown Prince, instead of focusing on his studies and learning how to govern the country, is leading his princes and princesses in fooling around. His Majesty not only doesn't stop him, but takes pride in it. What if the Crown Prince neglects his studies and becomes complacent because of this?" The Minister of Rites shouted, his emotions running high.
“Father, you are overthinking it. Although His Highness the Crown Prince is young, he has a broad vision and foresight, and he will surely become a qualified heir apparent,” Wu Zemin comforted him.
"His Highness is only eight years old, his mind is still developing, and everything is uncertain. You are his study companion, so you must constantly advise him and never let him go astray!" the Minister of Rites admonished.
Wu Zemin did not feel that the Crown Prince needed him to offer any advice, but he did not argue with his father. He simply replied respectfully, "Your son will follow your teachings, Father."
The Minister of Rites looked at his son, who was polite in his residence and knew how to behave properly, and nodded with satisfaction.
Today, the emperor also boasted in front of him, and although he outwardly agreed, he didn't really think so.
His Highness the Crown Prince has a bad reputation, how can he compare to his gentle and polite eldest son?
The Imperial Academy Chancellor was also the subject of the Emperor's boasting today, but unlike the other three, he remained completely unmoved by the Emperor's display.
His child is the most renowned child prodigy in Daeyu, so he has no need to envy anyone!
"Bei Chen, all you need to do is study hard and strive for the top honors in the imperial examinations for the Gu family. That would be the greatest act of filial piety," he said to Gu Bei Chen after returning home.
As the biggest victim of today's palace banquet, Prime Minister Wang became angrier and angrier after returning to his residence. He summoned all his children and grandchildren and picked on them one by one, scolding them harshly from the oldest to the youngest.
He wasn't angry about the bowl of longevity noodles, but rather about the difference between intentional and unintentional actions.
Because of this palace banquet, many officials who returned home found their children and grandchildren disagreeable.
Of course, some people believe that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, and that His Highness the Crown Prince and the princes and princesses, being of noble birth, should not enter such a filthy place as the kitchen!
Of course, these voices only dared to circulate in a small circle and not in the open.
However, from then on, a trend of eating longevity noodles on birthdays suddenly emerged in Dayuan, from the royal family and nobles to ordinary people. Elders in the family were proud to eat longevity noodles made by their children and grandchildren on their birthdays.
Suddenly, the price of flour in Dayuan rose.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
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