The emperor was in good spirits today. He watched his grandsons, brothers and sisters greet the queen one by one, say auspicious words, and present the gifts that everyone had carefully prepared, and nodded with satisfaction.
When the emperor saw the son of Prince Duan's eldest son being brought up by Princess Duan to kowtow to the emperor and empress, he was even more delighted and signaled Lu Chengbao to hold the child.
The child was over one year old, with a chubby face and very cute appearance. He was the first great-grandson of Emperor Jing'an.
Prince Duan watched the emperor holding up his grandson, and then he looked at his brothers with a proud look on his face. He was especially pleased when he saw the prince's pale face.
Thinking about the arrangements he had made over the years, the emperor's deteriorating health, and most importantly, the prince's sickly daughter, it seemed that everything was developing in the direction he had expected.
The only thing missing now is the east wind. If it is really as Meng Hai promised, as long as he has the military power in the northwest, he can take action.
Prince Duan shifted his gaze from the Crown Prince to Song Chengze. He had been skeptical about the previous incident. Although Guan Lao Si (the former Princess's fourth brother) had spotted several spice vendors, one of whom had an arm wound that was clearly caused by a dagger, those individuals were highly skilled in martial arts and could run quickly. He only knew they were heading northwest.
This left him at a loss. Those men were clearly well-trained, and heading northwest, so whose men were they? The one he sent to Meng Hai to investigate hadn't returned yet, so no matter how anxious he was, he could do nothing but make arrangements in the palace first.
Thinking of this, Prince Duan's face once again broke into a smug smile. Even Heaven had been helping him, allowing Concubine Xiang to uncover such an important secret. It was difficult to pin this secret on the Crown Prince, but it would be a waste to leave it alone. So, he decided to use it on this person. Regardless of whether he and the Crown Prince were truly brothers or just superficial, bringing him down would effectively cut off the Crown Prince's left arm.
Song Chengze felt a strange sense of relief when he felt Prince Duan's gaze withdraw from him. Lately, whenever his second brother looked at him, it felt like a snake licking his neck, cold and clammy.
After the emperor hugged the child, he smiled and said to the queen, "Fanghua is very mysterious. I asked her what she had planned the other day, but she didn't tell me a word."
The Queen smiled sweetly and said, "I am really looking forward to it. No matter what it is, it is the child's filial piety."
The emperor patted his thigh and said, "Yes, that's right. In that case, tell the children to have some fun with you. I'll take them to Chengtian Palace and have dinner with you tonight."
The Queen watched the Emperor stand up and quickly followed suit, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
The emperor waved his hand and beckoned to Fanghua. Fanghua walked up slowly, looking up with a rosy face.
"The prize you asked me for yesterday has been brought by Lu Chengbao. See if it's enough."
Fanghua nodded with sparkling eyes, "Thank you very much, father. If it's not enough, I will ask for more."
The emperor laughed and said, "Look at this girl, she's addicted to begging."
Rong Zhaoyi smiled and said, "It's because the emperor has so many good things that we are jealous. I also want to get a few."
The Emperor smiled slightly but did not respond. Fanghua, however, raised her eyebrows and said, "If Rong Zhaoyi wants it, it depends on your performance. If you are sincere to the Empress, you will naturally get it. Today, we are all relying on our own abilities."
For a moment, everyone hurriedly escorted the emperor and the princes out of the Kunning Palace.
The queen sat back on the throne and said to Fanghua with a smile, "Well, let's see what you've been up to lately."
Fanghua sat below the Empress, raised her chin to signal the female official to come forward, then turned to Yongan and said, "Thank you for your hard work, sister."
The Empress watched Fanghua bossing Yong'an around, furious. Just now, the Emperor had only mentioned Fanghua's idea, but now, with her son Fanghua sitting there, Yong'an was being asked to do the work. But she couldn't show it. Not to mention that it was her birthday, but after the Emperor's words and Fanghua's apparent inability to move, she couldn't object, no matter how angry she was.
Yong'an walked to the middle with a smile, bowing to the queen first. "Sister, you've been very thoughtful. You've arranged some small games for my brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces to play. There's a prize for the first place in each game."
"It seems we have nothing to do with it." Someone whispered.
Fanghua said quietly, "If you're interested in joining in this fun, I don't mind."
The concubines shut up after hearing this, and Meng Qi was relieved. What Fanghua had just said made her realize that Fanghua still valued Song Chengze very much. And now Fanghua was making fun of children, so Fanghua would definitely not let these children of Rui Wangfu embarrass themselves or be bullied by others.
Fortunately, the children were only there for a formality and would go home after playing. Meng Qi thought carefully: if Fang Hua didn't target her or do anything that she could take advantage of, then she would have to think of a solution at the palace banquet that evening.
For a moment, Yong'an directed the palace maids and eunuchs to bring the props. Fanghua divided the children into two groups according to their age, and they had a lot of fun.
Song Bairan was too young, so Song Baimo stood there the whole time to protect his younger brother, fearing that the children running around would bump into Song Bairan.
Song Nongyu played cat's tangle with them for a while, while Ms. Zhang and Ms. Li kept their eyes on the children from Prince Rui's mansion. However, she hadn't seen Hu Changsheng, and she thought he might be taking this opportunity to go to the palace on a special errand.
Meng Qi sat aside, looking at Ms. Zhang coldly. Today's discovery was truly an unexpected one. A few days ago, she had instructed Hu Erjia to take San Ya and Xiao Man to spread rumors in the courtyard, mainly targeting Bai, Ms. Zhang, and Xiao Lin.
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