Chapter 67 067 They're eating mutton in the palace too!
The princess's luncheon was held in a pavilion by the lake in the back garden, where two chefs roasted lamb over charcoal braziers on the lawn outside.
In the past hour, Luo Fu played cards with Princess Kangping and the two princesses, while the five royal children played in the garden. The two groups only reunited in the waterside pavilion when the banquet was about to begin.
Luo Fu glanced around quickly and noticed that the two young men from the Shun Prince's mansion were sweating profusely from playing, while the eldest daughter of the Fu Prince and her five-year-old cousin had rosy cheeks from admiring the flowers. Only the heir of the Fu Prince, perhaps because he was too young to play with his cousins and hadn't gone to admire the flowers with his sisters and cousins, still had a fair and clean face, looking as handsome as an orchid or a jade tree.
When they took their seats, Princess Kangping sat in the main seat, Luo Fu and the two princesses sat on the left, the five young noble ladies sat on the right, the two brothers from the Shun Prince's Mansion sat at one table, the eldest daughter of the Fu Prince voluntarily accompanied her younger cousin at another table, and the seven-year-old heir of the Fu Prince sat right opposite Luo Fu.
Luo Fu loved children and got along well with her sister's nephews and nieces, as well as her husband's nephews and nieces. She liked the Prince of Fu even more because he looked like a little fairy. When she saw the Prince of Fu looking over, Luo Fu smiled gently at him.
The Prince of Fu nodded slightly, lowered his eyes, and drank his tea. His demeanor was refined and noble, even more elegant than Xiao Yu's.
That's easy to understand. Xiao Yu learned it by observing the sons of various noble families when he was young. The young imperial grandson had his own people to teach him etiquette, and it was royal etiquette.
Luo Fu whispered to the Princess Fu sitting next to her, "You are just like a fairy, you also gave birth to a pair of fairy children."
Princess Fu was a talented woman who loved poetry, calligraphy, and painting; in short, she loved anything beautiful. Therefore, she was very pleased with her two exceptionally beautiful children. Luo Fu's words struck a chord with her, so Princess Fu, who rarely smiled, actually laughed, making Luo Fu almost unable to look away.
"Fu'er, what are you whispering to your fourth sister-in-law? You've made her laugh!" Kang Ping asked curiously, noticing this scene.
Luo Fu: "...I was hungry, but I was too embarrassed to be the first to eat, so I asked the princess if I could try the pastries first and show them to me."
What a joke! The entire Shunwang family is here. What if the four of them find out that she only praised Fuwang's children and not them? What if they hold a grudge against her?
After saying that, Luo Fu prepared to ask Princess Fu for help with her eyes, but when she turned her head, she saw Princess Fu smiling even more brightly. She actually picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of white jade cake, and took a small bite.
Kang Ping had no doubts and said to Luo Fu with great affection, "Eat if you're hungry. There are no outsiders here."
No matter how noble the imperial grandchildren are, they are all children to Princess Kangping, and she doesn't need her close friends to be wary of them.
Luo Fu smiled, picked up a piece of cake, and savored it carefully.
Prince Shun's son didn't like cakes, and the roasted mutton outside wasn't ready yet. With nothing to do, his gaze fell on the Third Madam of the Xiao family, whom his mother had often mentioned in the past two years: "Third Madam, I heard that Lord Xiao has returned to the capital. Did he tell you any new interesting stories?"
As soon as the boy's voice rang out, Princess Shun's face flushed slightly. She had promised Luo Fu that she wouldn't reveal the contents of the family letters Luo Fu had shared. However, the truth was that Princess Shun had told her husband, the prince, about it, and sometimes even told her three children in the heat of the moment. For example, during the Lantern Festival, she had the kitchen try Luo Fu's Four Happiness Tangyuan (sweet rice balls). When Prince Shun complained about one flavor, Princess Shun said, "Xiao Yu only likes sesame filling, but because it was made by you, Madam, he ate them all..."
Seeing Princess Shun's embarrassment, Luo Fu secretly stuck out two fingers under the table where the children couldn't see and shook them at Princess Shun, mimicking the smug gesture Princess Shun made that morning after winning two taels of silver from Luo Fu in a hand of cards.
The implication is that Princess Shun broke her promise and should compensate Luo Fu with two taels of silver.
Princess Shun was immediately amused by Luo Fu.
Luo Fu glanced at the five young noblemen opposite her, and after a moment's thought, said, "He has been on the road since he set off in late January. Apart from two black goats starving to death because they were picky eaters, there has been nothing interesting along the way. However, I did hear him tell a story about how he escaped from the jaws of a bear. I wonder if you gentlemen and ladies would be interested?"
Did the bear escape from its mouth?
The five minor dignitaries, large and small, nodded almost simultaneously.
Luo Fu began her story by recounting how Xiao Yu had taken Pang Xin into the mountains to visit the leader of the Abao tribe. This was something Luo Fu had specifically interrogated him about after discovering that Xiao Yu had concealed some dangers from her.
"...The area is mostly deep mountains and forests, and there have always been legends of black bears eating people. Xiao Yu and Pang Xin had never seen a bear before. When they heard a noise in the distance, they only saw a dark shadow. At first, the shadow was not moving, and they thought it was the shadow of a tree or a rock. But just as they were about to move forward, the shadow rushed towards them!"
"The black bear was too fast. Pang Xin instinctively urged Xiao Yu to climb the tree quickly. Xiao Yu had never climbed trees before. Fortunately, he had been climbing mountains frequently after arriving in Loujiang and had developed his skills. He managed to climb a huge tree that was as thick as two people could hug at the last moment before the black bear pounced..."
Just as the five children breathed a sigh of relief, Luo Fu raised her voice and said, "But Xiao Yu immediately discovered that the black bear could also climb trees!"
Princess Shun's five-year-old daughter burst into tears and ran around the table to her mother's arms.
Luo Fu: "...
Prince Shun's heir: "Ignore her, Madam, please continue!"
Seeing that Princess Shun had covered the little girl's ears, Luo Fu continued, "In the blink of an eye, Pang Xin on another tree shot an arrow that struck the black bear in the left shoulder! But the black bear, unfazed by the pain, continued climbing the tree to chase Xiao Yu. In the nick of time, Xiao Yu noticed that Pang Xin's position prevented him from hitting the black bear's vitals, so he quickly changed direction, and Pang Xin's second arrow finally struck the black bear in the head."
"After the black bear landed, it still tried to escape. Pang Xin was afraid that the arrow wound would not be enough to kill the black bear, and that once the black bear recovered, it might come down the mountain to avenge the villagers. So he took his knife and jumped down from the tree. He narrowly managed to plunge the entire knife into the black bear's back. Even so, Pang Xin hid back in the tree and waited for a long time before the black bear was finally killed."
Upon hearing that the black bear was finally dead, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
Kang Ping broke out in a cold sweat and said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, Pang Xin was brave enough, otherwise Xiao Yu might really have died in the bear's mouth."
Luo Fu: "My mother-in-law said that it was fortunate that Xiao Yu often offended his classmates and got beaten up by them when he was young, which made him willing to learn martial arts. Otherwise, he might not even have been able to climb a tree and would have been pounced on by a black bear long ago."
The two brothers from the Prince Shun's Mansion burst into laughter.
The Prince of Fu frowned and said, "There are many wild beasts in the deep mountains. Not all people have martial arts skills. Once they encounter one, it is almost certain death."
Luo Fu paused for a moment, then reassured him, "Your Highness, don't worry. According to the local people, most wild beasts have their own territories and don't frequently come down from the mountains to disturb the people. Moreover, the people have their own ways of preventing such attacks. For example, they sprinkle some wood ash at intervals around the village. Wild animals are afraid of fire, and they will turn away when they smell smoke. If they do encounter wild animals coming down from the mountains, the village and the government will quickly gather able-bodied men to hunt them down. They won't let them go unchecked."
The frown on Prince Fu's brows finally relaxed.
Luo Fu took the opportunity to drink some tea to soothe her throat.
The aroma was irresistible; the goat meat was ready. Everyone began to eat seriously. Whether it was the delicious black goat from the deep mountains of Loujiang that ate only the best grass, or Xiao Yu's feat of transporting the goat from afar that enhanced the flavor of the mutton, all five young nobles ate with great relish. Even Princess Kangping, who was used to delicacies, and the two princesses praised the mutton as it entered their mouths.
Luo Fu was quite satisfied with her meal, but when she thought about how her sister and brother-in-law, as well as her parents in Ganquan Town, had all arranged for her and Xiao Yu to go out for a lamb dinner, Luo Fu started to feel full.
Luo Fu felt too full and didn't return to the palace until evening. When Prince Fu heard that his wife, heir, and daughter had all gone to his sister's place to taste the supposedly delicious Qianxi black goat, which was one of only eight in the entire capital and had been brought back by Xiao Yu, his lips pursed even tighter. However, because he was usually very dignified, his two children did not notice that Prince Fu was secretly thinking about the black goat, and Princess Fu, who was not particularly keen on observing the prince's expressions, was even less likely to notice.
To the Prince of Fu's delight, on the 20th, during his day off, his father and mother invited him and his three siblings to bring their families to the palace for a meal of mutton.
Emperor Yongcheng was sixty-nine years old, and Empress Gao was sixty-five. No matter how well the elderly couple took care of themselves, they couldn't chew mutton with the same vigor as young people.
The imperial chefs in the palace used their skills to prepare a black goat in eight different ways.
The Crown Prince is the oldest, forty-five years old this year. He has two legitimate sons, three illegitimate sons, five unmarried illegitimate daughters, and one grandson and one granddaughter. He hadn't planned to bring them all, but since his mother had made it clear in advance that she wanted a lively family banquet, the Crown Prince had no choice but to bring all his children.
Compared to the Crown Prince, Prince Qi, who only had three legitimate sons, Prince Shun, who had two sons and one daughter, and Prince Fu, who had one son and one daughter, were all considered to have few offspring. Princess Kangping, because her husband died young, had no children at all.
When seating was arranged at the banquet, the Emperor and Empress sat in the center, Princess Kangping sat to the side, and then the Crown Prince's family was on the lower left. The three princes' families on the lower right were lined up in a row, but they were not as long as the Crown Prince's side.
Emperor Yongcheng was used to this. Before the banquet began, he asked with a smile, "Does anyone know where the black goat that the Empress and I are serving you today came from?"
“Grandfather, I know!” The Prince of Shun raised one hand high.
Emperor Yongcheng then had his grandson speak.
The thirteen-year-old Prince Shun, with his strong chest puffed out, told the story of Xiao Yu bringing the black goats back to the capital, including why the two goats starved to death on the way.
Emperor Yongcheng disliked his fat son but adored his fat grandson, praising him before asking, "Do you know why I demoted Xiao Yu to Loujiang?"
The Prince of Shun glanced at his uncle, the Crown Prince, and dared not utter a sound. The others also lowered their eyes and remained silent.
Emperor Yongcheng made no attempt to conceal the reason for punishing Xiao Yu, and even scolded Xiao Yu severely for his reckless suggestion to depose the crown prince. Then, he changed the subject: "Who knows why I recalled Xiao Yu and even promoted him?"
Every single sentence he uttered mentioned Xiao Yu, and the Crown Prince's face turned pale and then green, wishing that what would be served later was not mutton but Xiao Yu's flesh!
"What? Not a single one of you understands my intentions? Have I raised all of you descendants to be utterly useless?"
Emperor Yongcheng said something extremely unpleasant in a calm tone.
The Crown Prince would have been the most suitable person to answer this question, as it would have been a good opportunity for him to demonstrate his humility. However, before the Crown Prince could suppress his anger towards Xiao Yu, Prince Qi suddenly stood up and recounted all of Xiao Yu's achievements that Emperor Yongcheng had praised in court: "He punishes the guilty and rewards the meritorious. Your Majesty's rewards and punishments are fair and just. You are truly the most enlightened ruler in history!"
After a long silence, the crowd finally chimed in, and the Crown Prince forced himself to smile, refraining from glaring at his increasingly ambitious second brother.
Emperor Yongcheng gave a faint "hmm," seemingly not particularly pleased with Prince Qi's flattery. He then turned to instructing his grandsons, both high and low, on the art of personnel management: "No one is perfect. We cannot assume that everything someone does afterward is right just because they have made great contributions in the past. We must continue to scrutinize their words and actions, and guard against their arrogance. But we also cannot negate all their previous achievements because of one mistake. We must learn to be lenient and give them opportunities to display their talents."
All the princes and their descendants said they would remember it.
Emperor Yongcheng nodded, indicating to Empress Gao that the banquet could begin.
During the banquet, Emperor Yongcheng did not discuss state affairs again. Only when everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the banquet was about to end, Emperor Yongcheng glanced at his descendants on both sides and suddenly said to Empress Gao, "Prince Qi and Prince Fu have few children. Take advantage of this year's peony banquet to choose two more concubines for each of them."
Empress Gao accepted the order with a smile.
Prince Shun, who had one less son than his second brother and only one more son than his fourth brother, was speechless.
The crown prince, who had neither a lack of sons nor daughters but suspected his father's actions had ulterior motives: "..."
-----------------------
Author's note: Meow meow, eat eat eat!
100 little red envelopes, see you at midnight!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com