Seeing that no one had any objections, Yan Yuling followed Huanbi, who had come in to serve, and said, "Go find Granny Li and bring over a pair of drumsticks."
Huan Bi bowed, acknowledged the order, and then went to the main room to find Granny Li.
Meanwhile, in the front courtyard, the Third, Fifth, Eighth, Seventh, and Ninth Princes, along with the Tenth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Princes, were all present. The Prince of Zhi sent a congratulatory gift, but he himself did not arrive. Besides the "digital legion," the members also brought their respective advisors, in addition to their women. The group sat haphazardly at two tables. These gentlemen, unlike the women, couldn't pass the time by simply chatting and eating melon seeds. They needed to drink to truly let loose. The Fourth Prince instructed the kitchen to prepare the dishes for the front courtyard first, so that he could begin the feast there at his command. As for the women in the back courtyard, they could kill time by gossiping, so it didn't matter if their feast started later.
"Fourth brother, come, let me toast you." The third brother was a little unhappy because he was ordered to compile classics and could not accompany Emperor Kangxi on his tour. However, he was a romantic and leisurely person, and if he were to go out, he really wouldn't be able to manage anything.
Fourth Prince raised his wine cup and said, "Taking advantage of this toast from Third Brother, I'd like to say thank you all for coming. I hadn't really taken this birthday seriously, but it's all thanks to you brothers for remembering. I, Yinzhen, will first offer you a toast." He then downed his cup in one gulp. Third Prince, seeing this, naturally couldn't just take a sip, so he tilted his head back and downed his cup. Seeing the two of them finish their drinks, the others naturally followed suit, each raising their cup and drinking their first cup of wine.
"Accompanying Father Emperor on this tour will probably not be an easy task. Fourth Prince and Eighth Prince, you two are the most favored by Father Emperor. We are just accompanying him," said Peach Blossom Nine.
"You can accompany me, but I don't even have the right to accompany you," the seventh prince said sullenly. His legs had been bad since birth, and he still walked with a slight limp, so he was never favored by Emperor Kangxi. But no matter how much he was disliked, he was still Emperor Kangxi's son. So apart from not giving the seventh prince any official duties, he was not treated poorly in other ways. Like the other princes, he was allowed to leave the palace to establish his own residence, marry a primary wife, and take a princess as a concubine.
"In my opinion, I'm more comfortable in the capital. Seventh Brother, if I were you, I could have a blast. Father isn't here, and none of my brothers are here either, so what can I do..." Under the Fourth Prince's sidelong glance, the Fourteenth Prince finally realized he had said the wrong thing, but the words had already been spoken, and even if he stopped himself, he couldn't take them back.
"Seventh Prince, when you have time, go to the palace and spend more time with your mother. When Fourteenth Prince and I are not in the capital, please go and pay our respects to Consort De on our behalf." Fourth Prince knew Seventh Prince's frustration, but it was only because of his bad luck from birth; he was disabled in the womb. Fourth Prince would always help him when he could. Back when Seventh Prince left the palace to build his residence, it was Fourth Prince who supervised the construction. If Fourth Prince hadn't constantly kept an eye on things, the people in the Imperial Household Department would have cut corners, embezzled, and taken advantage of Seventh Prince's lack of favor with Emperor Kangxi, and even his mother wouldn't have been able to speak up. Seventh Prince had always been grateful for Fourth Prince's kindness, but he couldn't find an opportunity to repay it. This made him feel uneasy, like someone had done you a favor, but you had no power to repay it.
"Yes, Fourth Brother, don't worry. My mother often goes to pay her respects to Consort De; we can pay our respects to them together then," the Seventh Prince said.
Just as the Fourth Prince was about to express his gratitude, Su Peisheng hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words in the Fourth Prince's ear. The Fourth Prince's expression changed repeatedly, and everyone else noticed as well, wondering what that servant Su Peisheng was saying.
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said to everyone, "The Crown Prince will be arriving soon. Please follow me to the door to greet him."
Everyone was surprised that Su Peisheng said such a thing. What surprised them even more was that the Fourth Prince had such a good relationship with the Crown Prince that he could personally come out of the palace to congratulate him on his birthday. It was truly enviable and made people jealous.
The Fourth Prince had already made his point, so no one else dared to disobey him. After all, he was the future emperor, and no one dared to offend him!
Sure enough, as everyone arrived at the main gate of the Fourth Prince's residence, a dark yellow carriage sped up, followed by guards with swords. It was the carriage representing the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace that stopped at the gate of the Fourth Prince's residence.
The Fourth Prince immediately stepped down the steps, and the others followed. A pair of boots embroidered with four-clawed dragons emerged from the carriage first. The Fourth Prince immediately patted his sleeves and knelt down to greet him, saying, "Welcome, Your Highness! Long live the Crown Prince!" The others also knelt down to pay their respects.
The Crown Prince had already dismounted from the carriage. After he was off the back and stood up, the Crown Prince offered a helping hand and said, "Everyone is here, please get up. We are brothers, there is no need for so much formality!"
The Fourth Prince got up from the ground with the others, who immediately made way for the Crown Prince to enter. The Fourth Prince naturally followed behind the Crown Prince, while the others followed behind with their own thoughts.
The ninth and eighth princes walked at the back. When they saw the crown prince and the fourth prince enter the room, the ninth prince lowered his voice and said, "The fourth prince has quite the nerve, even the crown prince came to wish him a happy birthday!"
The Eighth Prince maintained an extremely gentle and amiable smile as he said, "I feel that the Crown Prince must have come for some reason. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to make the trip in person just to offer birthday wishes."
Once they reached the door, the two stopped talking, immediately changed their expressions, and followed the others into the front yard.
The Fourth Prince welcomed the Crown Prince to the seat of honor, and everyone else sat around him.
"Come, Fourth Prince, let me toast you, wishing you many happy returns of this day." The Crown Prince raised a cup of wine and said to the Fourth Prince to his left. Everyone else also raised their cups to toast the Crown Prince. Instantly, the hall was filled with the clinking of glasses and lively conversation.
After several rounds of drinks, the Crown Prince whispered something to the Fourth Prince, then stood up and said to everyone, "You all continue drinking. If you manage to get him drunk today, come to the palace tomorrow to receive your reward! I cannot stay any longer, so I offer this cup of wine to all of you brothers."
Everyone immediately stood up, raised their cups, and drank the wine with the Crown Prince. Then, the Fourth Prince got up to see the Crown Prince off. The others wanted to go with him, but the Crown Prince stopped them, telling them not to be too polite and to stay and drink.
After seeing the Fourth Prince see the Crown Prince off, the Ninth Prince immediately whispered to the Eighth Prince, "Just now, I saw the Crown Prince whisper something to the Fourth Prince. I don't know what they were saying, but they were acting all mysterious."
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