By the way
Emperor Yongping walked into the hall with a smile, and Yu Jin and the others stood up and saluted.
He Xuan, who was closest to the door, had just been playing with Yu Jin and the other two children on a blanket without any dignity. The Fifth Prince, with his burdens as a prince, had been caught in such an embarrassing state by his own father. He glanced outside angrily. The palace servants outside were kneeling in silence.
Liang Pei'an, who was standing behind him, immediately saluted when he saw him looking over, and quickly asked the palace maids to stand up. Then he smiled apologetically at He Xuan and said, "Don't blame me, Fifth Prince. The Emperor didn't allow us to report this."
He Xuan: “…”
Li Qingping was still a little surprised. Why did Emperor Yongping come so suddenly? But he still smiled and welcomed Emperor Yongping to his seat: "How come the emperor has time to come at this time?"
Emperor Yongping leaned back against a cushion that Li Qingping had sewn and stuffed with cotton, sighing comfortably. Li Qingping handed him a cup of tea, and he took a sip and said, "After I sent my grandmother and mother back to the Cining Palace, I remembered that Concubine Ke seemed a little unhappy at the family banquet, so I went to the Chengqian Palace. I also came to see you on the way."
Oh, I was just passing by. But even though Chengqian Palace was so close, I didn't hear the sound of the forbidden whip. It seems that Emperor Yongping's visit to Chengqian Palace just now was also a surprise attack! Li Qingping thought silently.
"The Emperor didn't even send word." Li Qingping said angrily, "He and the others were playing on the ground and making a mess."
Emperor Yongping didn't care: "It's okay, let the children play if they like."
"I just heard Ping An say that he wanted to leave the palace?"
Ping An felt a little embarrassed but nodded longingly.
Emperor Yongping sighed, "I was negligent. You've been in poor health since childhood, and the Empress and I were afraid you'd get into an accident, so we always kept you outside. We forgot you might enjoy the beautiful scenery outside."
Ping An smiled and said, "Father and Mother are both doing this for my own good. I know that."
Li Qingping said, "Your Majesty, Ping'an is now in much better health than before, and with so many palace servants waiting on him, there's no need to worry about his safety. I've heard that the red maples over at Beishan are truly exceptional. Why not let Yujin take him there to see them?"
Emperor Yongping smiled and said, "How can I refuse my daughter's wish to go out and play?"
"Come to think of it, I've never taken the girls out for an outing. It just so happens that Yulang is getting married next year, so I'll take you out for a day."
Does this mean they're taking all the princesses out? And they even mentioned Yulang's upcoming marriage. Li Qingping's smile deepened, "That's great. Yulang has been bored lately, having Concubine Ke supervise the embroidery of her wedding gowns and learn how to manage the household. She'll definitely be happy to know."
Anyway, the two younger ones, Ping'an and Yuxi, were already happily leaning on Emperor Yongping on either side, saying nice things like "Long live father" and "Father is the best".
He Xuan lay on Emperor Yongping's knees and said pitifully, "Father, my sisters can go, but can I go too?"
Emperor Yongping tapped his forehead and said, "Isn't it easy for the princes to go out? Didn't your third brother take you out before? It's not easy for your sisters to leave the palace. But He Xuan, why did I hear that you fell asleep in front of the teacher while studying a few days ago?"
After hearing this, He Xuan became obedient and no longer mentioned going out to play.
Li Qingping felt a little hot in her ears, after all, he was exposing her own son's shortcomings. Especially since Emperor Yongping had said to her, "He Xuan's personality is nothing like yours. He is mischievous and dishonest. But when I was a child, I never slept in front of the teacher."
"Father, please stop talking. You're almost making your aunt angry and embarrassed." Yu Jin smiled and tried to defend He Xuan: "Although He Xuan is a little out of touch, he is still smart."
Emperor Yongping looked at He Xuan's heartless face and pretended to scold him, "It's because he's smart but doesn't study hard. He always makes me and the Master angry."
Seeing that he wasn't really angry, Yu Jin snorted and continued, "It's better to ask my daughter to be more lively, so as not to raise a conservative child. Like the taciturn one in my family, my father and aunt would be worried then."
Emperor Yongping smiled at his eldest daughter and said, "Child, you treat Hexuan as your Chengyi and love him very much." Li Qingping, the biological mother, had not said anything yet.
Li Qingping spoke up at this time: "Isn't Yujin always like this towards his brothers and sisters?"
Emperor Yongping looked on with amusement. Yujin was protecting the younger one, and Li Qingping was protecting Yujin, so he seemed to be the bad guy.
Of course, Emperor Yongping also understood this. They say an elder sister is like a mother. Yujin was so much older than Hexie, and her own son was about the same age as Hexie, so it was inevitable that she would treat the younger ones as her own children. Even for a younger sister as old as Ping'an Yuxi, Yujin was affectionate and protective.
But the matter was over. Emperor Yongping said to Hezhen, "Next time, if you behave better in your studies, your father will take you out."
He Xuan then smiled happily.
Emperor Yongping called Yu Jin's two children over and admired his grandson for a long time. It happened that Chang woke up from his sleep and went to the main hall to look for his mother. He then asked his father to hold him in his arms and play with him for a long time.
Fortunately, Emperor Yongping was busy with his duties and left after a short stay.
After seeing off Emperor Yongping according to etiquette, Yujin would also take the children to find their husband. After all, the palace banquet would be divided into separate seats for men and women, so Chengyi would still have to stay with his father.
Ping An also said goodbye to Li Qingping and left. Although Queen Li was relieved that Ping An stayed in Yonghe Palace, it was not appropriate for Ping An, who was now the legitimate princess, not to show up in Kunning Palace on a day like Mid-Autumn Festival.
After everyone left, Yonghe Palace became quiet.
Li Qingping was feeding He Chang some egg custard, while Yuxi was also enjoying a snack nearby. The food at the palace banquet later would be just so-so, so why not fill up now?
When the time was almost up, Li Qingping prepared to take the two children, Yuxi and Xun, to the palace banquet.
He Chang was too young to stay in Yonghe Palace.
Unlike family banquets, palace banquets were not eligible to attend by lower-ranking concubines; only the heads of the palaces could attend. So, there was no need to wait for Concubine Rou and Concubine Wu from the side halls; Li Qingping and the others could prepare the sedan chair as soon as they were ready.
Just after passing the palace road, the figure of Concubine Ke appeared from Chengqian Palace.
When she saw her close sister Li Qingping, Concubine Ke couldn't help but look at her with pitiful eyes.
"What's the matter? It's only been a few hours since we last met. Who made our Concubine Ke angry again?" Li Qingping said with a smile.
Concubine Ke looked around, then covered her lips with a handkerchief and whispered, "It's not the Emperor yet. He just came quietly. When he came, I was worried about the child Xian who was so jumpy all day and didn't know when he would settle down. The Emperor thought I was sad about Concubine Yi's pregnancy. Then he comforted me and said that if I really wanted a child, I could have another one."
Concubine Ke felt so wronged. How could she be misunderstood by Emperor Yongping?
Who else would want another child?! She was already in her thirties when she became pregnant with He Zheng, and life wasn't as easy as it had been with the first two. Childbirth is like going through the gates of hell for a woman, and the older she gets, the more dangerous it becomes. He Zheng had already taken half of Concubine Ke's life, so another one would definitely be too much for her.
Li Qingping couldn't help laughing: "Really?"
"Sister, please stop laughing. Actually, what you said before is right. He Xian might be having a child soon. If I give him a brother or sister now, I will be laughed at." Concubine Ke snorted twice: "You are too old to be virtuous."
I don’t know whether it is Emperor Yongping or Concubine Yi.
The palace banquet was quite boring.
Li Qingping sat in her seat. If someone came to toast her, she would drink. If no one came, she would just hold the glass and stare blankly.
The emperor began distributing imperial meals and mooncakes. Empress Li received six dishes, Concubine Ke and Concubine Yi four, Li Qingping three, and Concubine Jia two. Empress Li received a larger portion of mooncakes, while everyone else received the same.
The emperor's gift of food had to be eaten, otherwise it would be considered disrespectful to the emperor. Li Qingping stopped staring blankly at his wine glass and started eating the cold imperial meal mouthful by mouthful.
Fortunately, each portion was not very large. Li Qingping finished his meal slowly and rinsed his mouth with tea. The palace banquet was almost over.
It turns out that it used to be so difficult for Empress Li, the consort of a prince, to come to the palace to attend the banquet every year. Li Qingping sighed in her heart: Now that I am the empress of the palace, I have to go through such boring things every year and festival. I really cannot accept it.
But at least I can take a break for a while after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Shortly after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Yongping issued an edict to confer the title of Princess Shuhui on the third princess Yulang. The following year, she was married to Cao Mingrui, the son of the mighty general and Marquis of Qing'an. He also ordered the Ministry of Works to select a site in the capital to renovate the princess's mansion.
The next day after the imperial edict came down, Emperor Yongping took his daughters out of the palace for a trip.
This decree meant that Yulang's marriage was completely settled. Even though she had already been preparing for her daughter's wedding, Concubine Ke still couldn't help feeling sad when the time came.
It was a rare occasion when Emperor Yongping was not in the palace. Concubine Ke came to Yonghe Palace to look for Li Qingping and cried, "Yulang is getting married too! I really can't bear to let her go. I wonder what kind of person that boy from the Cao family is, and whether he can treat Yulang well..."
Li Qingping had been worried about Yu Jin's wedding, so he could only offer comfort in a gentle voice, "Yu Lang is a princess, a daughter of a noble family. Besides, anyone with a discerning eye can see that our emperor loves his daughter. How could anyone treat her badly?"
"Not daring is one thing, but if Cao Mingrui doesn't know how to love Yulang, like Princess Changle, then life will be boring." Concubine Ke said worriedly.
The affairs of Princess Changle and Yuzhen's household were no secret within the palace, with Concubine Jia even sometimes publicly venting her distress and seeking remedies. Princess Changle and her husband had no common topics, rarely speaking to each other. Whenever they met, they were distant and cold, hardly a married couple. If it weren't for their child, they would be no different from strangers.
You can't always see your natal family, and your husband's family only treats you with respect but no affection. Over time, even the most cheerful person will become depressed. Yuzhen was given the title "Changle," but lately, she's been smiling less and less. Every time you enter the palace, you can tell she's in a bad mood.
Concubine Ke was also afraid that her own daughter would become like this.
Not everyone is as lucky as Princess Mingjing Yujin to marry a husband of her dreams.
Concubine Ke muttered, "Isn't the Emperor taking the princesses to the outskirts of the capital today? If I had known, I would have asked He Xian to find a way to bring Cao Mingrui over so the two children could meet. Wasn't that how Yu Jin and her husband met back then?"
Li Qingping said helplessly: "How did you come up with this?"
She thought for a moment and said, "Speaking of this, although we are the inner household and don't easily see outsiders, we can invite the women of the Marquis of Qing'an's mansion to come to the palace to have a look. It just so happens that the chrysanthemums are blooming recently, so it would be nice to hold a flower viewing banquet."
Concubine Ke hesitated: "Isn't this too deliberate?"
Li Qingping smiled and pondered for her, "How could that be? Everyone knows that Princess Shuhui is about to get married, so as Yulang's mother, why wouldn't it be a shame for her to meet the women of the future prince consort's family? If you feel like it's important, isn't He Yun getting married next year? Lady An isn't high enough to hold such a grand banquet, but she's definitely going to want to meet that family. Tell her the news and invite the future Princess Yong's relatives as well. Lady An will definitely be indebted to you in return."
"Then... shall I go and tell Her Majesty?" asked Concubine Ke.
Li Qingping nodded.
Empress Li also thought it was feasible and said with a smile, "Qingping is right. Just go ahead and do it. The palace should be bustling with activity."
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