Meanwhile, Lanqin, who was in the palace, was forcing herself to sit at the palace banquet hosted by Emperor Kangxi. The children had specially come to attend this banquet. Except for infants like Hongzhou, all the children who could walk were present. At this moment, the children from various mansions and the children of the imperial family were arranged in a fixed place, and servants were assigned to attend to them.
Lanqin glanced at Wuxiha and Bechuk from afar. Although she had instructed the Third Prince to take care of them, she was still worried. After all, neither of them had ever attended such a royal banquet before.
Lanqin was a little puzzled. What was wrong with Emperor Kangxi? Why did he insist on making the children suffer like this? Did he not know that attending a royal banquet was truly a form of torture? Not only were the dishes cold, but they also had to sit there smiling and deal with both overt and covert sarcasm from all sides.
Watching the monotonous song and dance performances, Lanqin was really bored. Since she couldn't go to the children's side, she could only force herself to talk to the concubine of the Fifth Prince, who sat to her left.
Meanwhile, Kangxi said something, and then saw Liang Jiugong go to the younger children's side and bring all the little princesses to Kangxi. There were the princesses from the Heshuo Prince's family, the two little princesses of the Third Prince, then Namin, Wuxiha, and Bechuk, and then the princesses of the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Princes. A total of fifteen little girls looked around cautiously, each searching for their mother or father.
Lanqin watched as six-year-old Wuxiha and three-year-old Bechuk walked hand in hand toward Kangxi, and her heart tightened, as if she were watching her own children enter kindergarten for the first time. After all, they were so young and were about to have to please the emperor, not a kindergarten teacher, but the emperor who held the power of life and death.
Lanqin's seat wasn't close to Kangxi's desk, so she couldn't see why he had summoned these young granddaughters. She couldn't stand up or go forward to see, and had to remain elegantly seated to continue dealing with the situation. These concubines all sat behind their respective wives, so they could only see their wives' backs; they couldn't see what was happening in front of them.
“Look, Father is giving gifts to each of the princesses!” said the Fifth Princess Consort in front.
"This year, Father Emperor seems to be in a good mood. Every princess received a reward, and what else could it be but a reward for the princes?" the Fourth Princess Consort said. Since her reappearance as a spy within the royal family during the last Golden Offering Festival, the Fourth Princess Consort's status had been restored. No one would tell her why she had disappeared for a year and a half before reappearing. In the royal family, no one cares about your past, only your present and future.
“The prince should reward her even more than the princess. We’ll see,” said the Third Princess Consort.
After the young princesses received what could be considered their New Year's gifts, Liang Jiugong led them back to their seats. Sure enough, once the princesses were seated, Liang Jiugong led a group of Aisin Gioro clan members to Emperor Kangxi to collect their New Year's rewards!
“Your Hongwen seems to resemble the Third Master quite a bit. He can compose poems and write essays at such a young age, and he is highly regarded by Master Zhu in the Imperial Study!” said the Fourth and Third Princess Consorts.
"Hehe, not at all, but this child does indeed have some poetic talent!" the Third Princess Consort said modestly. Hongwen was the Third Princess Consort's son, and also the Third Prince's legitimate son. They originally had another legitimate eldest son, who died at the age of eight, supposedly murdered. Ever since then, the relationship between the Third Princess Consort and the Third Prince had deteriorated rapidly.
"Becoming a Hanlin scholar in the future would be quite good!" said the Fifth Prince's wife from the side.
These words displeased the Third Prince's wife, who was quite confident in her only son. Although the Third Prince was not currently a popular candidate for the throne, she was still furious to be told that her son was merely a Hanlin scholar.
"It's better than being a prince in name only!" the Third Prince's wife couldn't help but say to those ahead. Her voice wasn't too loud or too soft, just loud enough for her sisters-in-law to hear. This was a veiled insult to the Fifth Prince, implying he was merely a cripple, a useless man who held the title of prince in name only because he was a prince.
The Fifth Prince's wife turned pale with anger, turned away unhappily, and stopped speaking to the Third Prince's wife.
“The Crown Prince’s two sons are indeed handsome and talented!” The Fourth Princess Consort, sitting steadily in the middle, started the conversation.
As expected, the wives and sisters-in-law no longer paid attention to the discord between the Third and Fifth Princes' wives, and instead began to comment on the appearances of the Crown Prince's two sons.
Lanqin admired the composure of these primary wives. They were able to change the subject in an instant, quickly burying the previous disharmony and embarrassment.
“Look, aren’t those the Fourth Prince’s twin sons?” the Fifth Princess Consort suddenly exclaimed.
Just as Lanqin was about to lower her head to eat a pastry, she was suddenly drawn to the sound in front of her. She looked up and saw a wet nurse from Consort De's palace and a wet nurse from Qianqing Palace who served Hongli each holding a baby—it was Hongli and Hongzhou!
Lanqin noticed that everyone was starting to talk.
"His Majesty intends to bestow upon these twins a pair of fish-shaped jade pendants!" the Third Princess Consort said, turning to the Fourth Princess Consort. Her eyes quickly glanced at Lanqin, but she ultimately spoke to the Fourth Princess Consort.
Haha, they probably think the twins are still the Fourth Prince's children, since she is the principal wife and the children's legal mother! So, in this kind of situation, Lanqin is ignored.
After a series of actions, Liang Jiugong began to recount Kangxi's New Year's instructions to the princes and princesses, which roughly meant that he wished them to grow up healthily, study hard, and make progress every day in the coming year.
"Father, I've heard these twins are auspicious symbols. What does this good fortune signify?" Prince Heshuo suddenly raised his cup and asked Emperor Kangxi with a smile. His words caused a stir throughout the room. So many people wanted to know, that silence fell instantly.
Kangxi looked at Prince Zhi, his eyes revealing no sign of anger or resentment. To be fair, Yinti's question was not unreasonable, especially in such a setting, and it was not considered out of line.
Emperor Kangxi hesitated, but with so many eyes on the issue, he seemed unable to avoid it.
"Wow!!!"
Suddenly, a clear, loud cry shattered the silence. Then, another one began to cry. It turned out that Hongli had started crying first, and then Hongzhou followed suit.
The two children burst into tears, and Kangxi quickly ordered someone to take them away and comfort them. He then told everyone to continue drinking and eating, and he went to see the two children himself.
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