The next day was Su Rong’s birthday. She slept until three sticks were past noon.
Zhou Gu did the same, accompanying her in a deep sleep.
When they woke up, they both felt refreshed and invigorated. They had not slept in for a long time, yet this sleep was deep and satisfying, enough to deal with the lively birthday banquet today.
All the royal family members arrived at the palace before noon to present birthday gifts to the Princess.
Since Su Rong returned to the capital, the royal family of Nanchu was directly shocked by her execution of Prince Liu’an and all those involved. For the past six months, they have been too afraid to approach Su Rong, fearing that if she took a disliking to them, she might execute them all in the Vegetable Market in a fit of anger.
Half a year has passed now, and it seems that Su Rong has no intention of troubling the other royals who haven’t plotted against her, so they have all gathered some courage. Seizing the opportunity of the princess’ birthday, they hastily entered the palace to wish her well in advance, in a display of their loyalty and goodwill towards the princess.
Su Rong also gave them face. These people, who all bore the surname Chu, were the ones truly connected to her by blood.
She warmly welcomed the old dowager of Wang Residence who was the oldest amongst her kin, already seventy-two years old. However, her mind was not muddled, nor were her eyes dimmed with age. Her speech and actions revealed her to be a gentle and candid older lady.
Su Rong took her hand, invited her to sit down, and sat next to her for a chat. "Old Dowager, it’s just a birthday, nothing much. Why would you trouble yourself to come to the palace to congratulate me, a junior, on my birthday?"
The old dowager was surprised by the Princess’s amiability towards her. Although this was her first meeting with the Princess, she knew all too well that the Princess, who had forcefully defeated Dawei and while in royal capital, was decisive and resolute in her tasks. This made her a formidable woman who was hard to deal with and in the past half a year, everyone in the court and country respected her.
The officials dared not slack off in their daily duties for fear of being ousted from the court. Everyone was working diligently and the people were universally pleased. With the spring farming season completely over without any problems, the people could see the seeds planted in their fields and foresee a bountiful harvest in the fall. With their food secured, it was said that everyone was smiling and no riots had occurred.
The Old Dowager’s originally anxious heart eased a little in response to Su Rong’s attitude, she held Su Rong’s hand and smiled at her: "I have not had the chance to see the Princess before, knowing that you have been busy with court matters, I dared not disturb you. Today just happens to be your birthday, how could I not come to see the Princess?"
She laughed and said, "Your features resemble your mother, but your aura is actually more like His Majesty. When His Majesty was young, he was like this, with a fascinating and romantic look when he smiled. But who knew that when he grew fond of someone, it had nothing to do with his appearance."
Su Rong also laughed when she heard this, "Is that so? Many people say I’m like my mother, but few say I resemble my father." She blinked, "You can tell me more about my father’s romantic exploits in his youth. When I get the chance, I can tease my father with this."
Upon hearing this, the old dowager exclaimed, "Well, I dare not say that then."
Although she said this, the old dowager still shared some amusing stories about the Nanchu King in his youth. Back then, the former king was still alive and he was the crown prince. Nevertheless, one had never seen such an unconventional crown prince. Compared to Yan Huisheng in Daliang and Yuan Zhao in Dawei today, his crown prince’s demeanor was absent. If not, he wouldn’t run away to Daliang, and stayed there for half a year after falling in love at first sight with Princess Zhenmin.
If it were to be called a marriage, indeed, it was. What a pity, they could not stay together.
Apart from the old dowager, there were many other royal family members, including the impoverish Fulu Earl Residence, within the royal family. This Fulu Earl Residence, despite its auspicious name, was not fortunate. With an insufficient number of descendants and two generations of incompetence, it had now become a well-known decline in the royal family, leaving only widows and orphans. If this generation could not inherit the earldom, then the Fulu Earl Residence would probably be gone. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
The wife of Earl Fulu was in her early thirties, and her son was fifteen this year, a very handsome and polite young boy. It was evident that the two of them lived a tight life. The clothes they wore on such a day were not brand new, but about eighty percent new. Those were probably the best they had at home.
Among all the royal family members, this mother and son did not rush to Su Rong like everyone else, when they saw that Su Rong was now kind and friendly to the royal family. They just gave their gift and then quietly withdrew.
Su Rong, with her sharp eyes, scanned all the relatives, and the boy caught her attention.
She ordered the person next to her, "Go invite the Madam of Fulu Earl Residence and her son over."
The Madam and Young Master of the Fulu Earl Residence were both a little nervous when they saw the close female official of the princess coming to call them. The mother and son looked at each other and quickly came to Su Rong.
"Princess!" The two saluted.
The royal family members were confused and gave way, all avoiding to the side, curious.
These mother and son, have been living a frugal and quiet life among the royal family for many years. With such a vast royal family of Nanchu, not many people would pay attention to a declining Fulu Earl Residence. Only a few kind and straightforward people, like the old dowager, would occasionally look after these two. But her house was oppressed by Prince Liu’an, and was mainly female, so life isn’t very good, and there’s only so much they can help.
Now, this mother and son have attracted the princess’ attention for some reason and have been called in front of her.
Su Rong looked at the nervous Madam of Fulu Earl Residence, then at the boy who had quietly bowed.
The boy wasn’t too nervous, just thinking that his family hadn’t done anything wrong. The gifts he and his mother had brought, though not generous, were the best their household had to offer. The princess was smiling, so she probably wasn’t planning on reprimanding them.
Su Rong invited the Madam of Fulu Earl Residence to sit down, "Madam, please sit."
The Madam of Fulu Earl Residence quickly shook her head, "I...I can stand and talk, Princess, just say what you want."
Seeing her still so cautious, Su Rong laughed and said, "Madam, there’s no need to be nervous. I just wanted to ask, has your son participated in the Golden Autumn examination?"
The Madam of Fulu Earl Residence was stunned and shook her head, "No."
Su Rong looked at the boy, puzzled, "Why?"
The boy glanced at Su Rong, then lowered his head, "The Royal family does not participate in the examination, it’s the tradition of Nanchu."
Su Rong was taken aback, thinking to herself, does Nanchu have such a rule? After she came to Nanchu, she hadn’t looked at the rules and etiquette of the ancestors because, in her eyes, they were useless. If they obstructed her from doing what she wanted to do, she would break them. Anyway, the rules were set by people. If they don’t comply, she would simply set new ones. Anyone who disagrees can keep it to themselves.
She turned to look at the old dowager.
The old dowager nodded, "Yes, from the beginning of the dynasty, there has been such a rule, established by the great founding king."
Su Rong nodded, thought for a moment, it seemed that indeed, there were not many royal officials in the court. So many people are sitting idle and eating, she asked, "What about the royal family’s granting of officials? What are the rules?"
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