On the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Crown Prince finally made his appearance.
However, everyone could see that the Crown Prince had become very listless due to his illness, and naturally, the Crown Prince received a lot of care from His Majesty.
The eldest grandson of the emperor, Hongxi, was also present, and during the banquet, he even came to the fourth prince's place to ask for some cakes.
This child is very clever; at the age of four, he speaks very clearly.
However, when faced with the Fourteenth Prince's teasing, Hongxi lost the composure he had shown when facing the Fourth Prince, and his face became somewhat sullen.
When Hongxi isn't smiling, he actually looks a lot like the former Crown Prince. After being teased by the Fourteenth Prince, he's become a bit more childlike.
While keeping an eye on the situation, the Fourth Prince quietly inquired about the Thirteenth Prince's recent condition.
At present, the Thirteenth Prince is considered a favorite of His Majesty, so the Fourth Prince is not worried that the Emperor will misunderstand if he sits with the Thirteenth Prince.
After all, thirteen and fourteen-year-olds are too young to form cliques.
After briefly explaining, the Thirteenth Prince looked around and then leaned close to the Fourth Prince and whispered, "I heard from Father that we will be going to Mount Wutai to pay respects to our ancestors in a few days. Fourth Brother, you should make the preparations."
After speaking, the Thirteenth Prince seemed to have some doubts: "But it seems the Crown Prince isn't accompanying us—"
When the Fourth Prince heard the Thirteenth Prince speaking, he handed him a bowl of milk tea, showing his understanding: "The Crown Prince is overseeing the country."
After he finished speaking, he added, "Don't tell anyone else about this. Next time you find out something, don't even tell your fourth brother, so as not to disappoint Father Emperor."
The thirteenth prince agreed, but in his heart he naturally disagreed.
From the day his mother, Lady Zhangjia, passed away, his last shred of filial piety towards his father, the Emperor, vanished. This was especially true after his two older sisters both ended up being sent to marry foreign rulers in Mongol alliances.
The only person the Thirteenth Prince trusts right now is his Fourth Brother, who is standing right in front of him.
Thirteenth Prince moistened his lips with milk tea: "Eighth Brother has been coming to see Fourteenth Brother a lot lately. Sometimes Fourteenth Brother goes and sometimes he refuses."
When the prince refused, it was naturally the thirteenth prince who found an excuse to keep the fourteenth prince there.
The Fourth Prince was also quite troubled by this. He and the Fourteenth Prince used to be quite close, but since his wedding and the establishment of his own residence outside the palace, he spent less time in the palace and thus became much more distant from the Fourteenth Prince.
Thirteenth Prince looked at Fourteenth Prince, who was teasing Hongxi, with some envy, and whispered, "Ninth Brother hasn't been playing with Fifth Brother much lately, but he's been getting close to Eighth Brother with Tenth Brother."
The fifth master is sitting below the fourth master.
The Ninth Prince and the Fifth Prince were born of the same mother, both to Consort Yi, of the Guo Luo Luo clan.
These two brothers were different from the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince; they were always very close. In the past, at banquets of all sizes, the Ninth Prince would always set up a small table next to the Fifth Prince.
The Emperor loved seeing such scenes of brotherly affection and praised them several times.
Today, however, I did not see the Ninth Prince next to the Fifth Prince. Looking further down, I saw the Eighth, Ninth, and Thirteenth Princes sitting together.
Why is the Tenth Prince here too?
That person is of very high status, comparable to the Crown Prince.
The Tenth Prince's birth mother was the late Consort Wenxi, of the Niohuru clan.
He was a descendant of Niohuru Eidu, a founding hero of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner, and his status was exceptionally noble.
It was only then that the Fourth Prince realized that once the new year began and spring arrived, the Seventh Prince and the Eighth Prince would be getting married one after the other, and at that time, the Emperor would also bestow titles upon the princes.
Fourth Master was not happy about it, while Seventh Master naturally had no objection. What displeased Fourth Master was Eighth Master.
The Fourth Prince was not someone who cared about one's background. His mother was just a palace maid in the past, but the Fourth Prince never showed any disdain for the Uya clan.
What displeased the Fourth Prince was the Eighth Prince himself, who sacrificed his mother, Lady Wei, for his own future, forcing Lady Wei to submit to Consort Hui, the First Prince's birth mother, for the sake of her good son's future.
He, on the other hand, was carefree, forming cliques and factions.
Moreover, the Fourth Prince had heard quite a bit that the Eighth Prince's soon-to-be wife, Lady Guoluo, disliked the Eighth Prince's birth mother, Lady Wei, and declared that she only recognized Consort Hui as her birth mother.
It's utterly absurd and laughable.
The most ridiculous thing is that the Eighth Prince even condoned and promised Guo Luoluo's words and actions.
The thought that the Eighth Prince might be granted the title of Beizi after the New Year, or even sit alongside him as a Beile, fueled the Fourth Prince's ambition to make a name for himself and be granted the title of Junwang.
The reason why the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Princes were able to be granted titles was entirely because they earned their titles by following His Majesty in the campaign against the Dzungars last year.
What makes Lao Ba so special?
Fourth Master lowered his head, concealing the cold smile on his lips.
The Thirteenth Prince watched as the Fourteenth Prince led Hongxi back to the Crown Prince's side before revealing the last piece of information he knew.
"I heard from Liang Jiugong that after Father Emperor goes to Mount Wutai, he might go on a southern tour directly—"
Upon hearing this, the first thing that came to the mind of the Fourth Prince was that there was no need to rush the construction of the Rehe Imperial Palace, which had been a source of great concern for the Ministry of Revenue.
The subsequent reaction was that the promise made to the little princess to stay at the estate for a while after the New Year might not be fulfilled.
However, since the Fourth Prince knew this information in advance, he definitely needed to make proper preparations.
——
On New Year's Eve, a table was naturally set up in the mansion's Taiqing Courtyard.
However, with Zhang and Hu missing, and Bai Jia still under house arrest, Li Chenjiao only belatedly realized what was happening when she finally arrived at the Qingyuan Courtyard—
There are indeed very few people in the Fourth Prince's backyard.
Having learned from her previous experience, Li Chenjiao made sure to keep track of the time before leaving the house, so as not to arrive too early and get bored, but also not to arrive too late.
When Li Chenjiao arrived, both Wu Gege and Song Gege were present, and Madam Xu was already seated. Upon seeing Li Chenjiao enter, she quickly rose to greet her politely.
Today's small banquet was naturally also managed by Princess Wu, and the dishes served were similar to those last time.
Li Chenjiao had already eaten half a full meal before she arrived, so she wasn't hungry now.
During the toasts, Song Gege seemed to have accidentally twisted her ankle, but her maidservant caught her in time. However, Wu Gege, who was next to Song Gege, reacted rather strongly.
From Li Chenjiao's perspective, it's easy to see that when Song Gege twisted her ankle and fell towards Wu Gege, Wu Gege instinctively used her hand to protect her abdomen.
Seeing that Song Gege was being supported by the maid, he subtly withdrew his hand, but still showed some concern on the surface.
Song Gege pressed her eyebrows, as if she wasn't very good at drinking.
She smiled apologetically at Wu Gege before changing her clothes.
In that sudden movement, the wine in the glass was completely spilled.
Li Chenjiao watched a play, and when she looked away, a smile appeared on her lips.
It's unclear whether Song Gege's twisted ankle was unintentional or deliberate.
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