The invitations to the lotus-viewing banquet hosted by the Fourth Prince and Lanqin were gradually received by the guests. Among those invited were the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and others. This was the first time that the brothers and their wives had gathered together so neatly since the death of Emperor Kangxi.
It was more like a family gathering than a lotus viewing event, but the unexpected nature of the gathering still sparked some strange and unusual thoughts.
The palace eunuchs also sent an invitation to the Eighth Prince's residence. The invitation came suddenly, which surprised the Eighth Prince and his wife. The two had mixed feelings and were clearly reluctant to attend the lotus appreciation banquet.
The Eighth Prince and his wife sat upright in the room, with two cups of hot tea on the table. They looked at the invitation on the table, remaining silent.
This invitation is red, and the paper is obviously very valuable. The patterns on the title page are exquisite. It is indeed something used by royalty, and it is so luxurious.
Eighth Master suddenly reached out, opened the invitation, looked at the words written on it, and sighed, "Sending out invitations like this, I believe everyone is as surprised as we are!"
He suddenly broke the awkward silence, and the Eighth Prince's wife said, "The lotus-viewing banquet is a wonderful affair. The scenery in the Yuanmingyuan Garden is exquisite, and the lotus flowers in the pond are indeed a feast for the eyes. The reason Your Majesty held this banquet is to allow everyone to appreciate such beautiful scenery together. I vaguely remember that Your Majesty is quite easy to get along with, but..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but presumably Eighth Master already knew what she was going to say next.
Eighth Master placed the invitations on the table, somewhat troubled. "The ones at Yuanmingyuan are very beautiful, but I'm afraid everyone will be too preoccupied to appreciate the flowers. Sigh..."
Neither of them wanted to go, but they had no choice. After all, it was the Emperor's kind invitation, and it would be ungrateful of them to refuse.
The Eighth Prince's wife felt a headache coming on at the thought of going to the Yuanmingyuan. Suddenly, she recalled seeing the situation of Consort Yi in the palace. Consort Yi was still worried and distressed. Whenever she thought of that scene, she would feel sad and heartbroken. If she went to the lotus appreciation banquet, she would definitely have to force a smile in front of the Emperor and Lanqin and say things against her will.
If we could avoid going, that would be great. So she suggested, "Why don't we just pretend to be sick and not go? Surely the Empress and the Emperor won't force us to go while we're ill."
This seems like a good idea, Eighth Master pondered silently.
Seeing that he didn't speak, the Eighth Prince's wife had an idea and quickly said, "Anyway, admiring the lotus flowers isn't a big deal. In the end, it's just for the Empress and the Emperor to enjoy themselves, so we others shouldn't join in the fun."
"Let me think about it." Eighth Master knew Fourth Master's temperament well. Although he really didn't want to go, he didn't want Fourth Master, who was always picky, to find fault with him again, and he would feel unhappy.
However, it would be even more inappropriate not to go. Although it was just to admire the lotus flowers, the Fourth Prince was naturally suspicious. If he did not go, the Fourth Prince would definitely become suspicious of him.
Caught in this dilemma, agonizing over whether to go or not, the Eighth Prince finally made his decision: "We still have to go; we can't let the Emperor become suspicious of us."
The Eighth Prince's wife frowned. Seeing that the Eighth Prince had already made his decision, she couldn't say anything more. She could only sigh in her heart. Fortunately, it was just a trip to admire the flowers. So be it, the day would be over soon.
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