"Damn, this is too much! My two children were taken out by someone without even saying hello." Lanqin really wanted to stand up and see, but reason prevailed over her impulse.
So, Lanqin watched helplessly as her two sons were carried away, while the other princes, each with their annual rewards, were led away by Liang Jiugong.
After Hongli's interruption, Prince Yinti couldn't bring it up again and could only sit there sullenly drinking. Because he didn't have a senior prince, and his other child was best left alone, Yinti was even more depressed. Looking at the Crown Prince sitting below Kangxi, whose face was always adorned with a warm, spring-like smile, and then at his two sons, Yinti felt that in Kangxi's eyes he was probably the same as the Eighth Prince—basically childless.
The Crown Prince also noticed Prince Yinqi's gaze. He no longer avoided or ignored it as he had done before, but met the gaze head-on. These two former brothers, when they were the same age as Hongxi and Hongxi, had chased and played together; they had climbed trees and destroyed beehives together; they had skipped school together and been punished by Kangxi... The colors of those years had long been worn away by their lust for power. Now, only hatred and indifference remained in their eyes.
Because of the Crown Prince, the officials below would toast Emperor Kangxi and then go on to toast the Crown Prince, making the Fourth Prince less prominent. Occasionally, officials would come to drink with the Fourth Prince, exchanging auspicious New Year greetings.
After toasting Emperor Kangxi as usual, the Fourth Prince also went to toast the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince seemed a little surprised, but seeing that the Fourth Prince was not acting strangely, he gladly picked up his wine cup.
"Your Majesty, I wish you great success this year and that you will accomplish the tasks entrusted to you by Father Emperor. I also wish our Great Qing Dynasty prosperity and peace!" the Fourth Prince said to the Crown Prince.
"Thank you, Fourth Brother. Under Father Emperor's leadership, our Great Qing Dynasty will surely prosper and last for generations." The Crown Prince deliberately raised his voice, as if he wanted Kangxi to hear him.
The Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince raised their cups and then drank them down in one gulp.
“Look, the fourth prince is still flattering the crown prince!” Ninth Prince said to Eighth Prince. “To be honest, the one who has the most favor in front of Father Emperor these days is not necessarily the crown prince. Our fourth brother is still acting humble and modest. It’s really admirable.”
"Perhaps this is why the Fourth Prince won the Emperor's favor. He knows how to restrain himself and doesn't easily reveal his inner thoughts," said the Eighth Prince, taking a sip of wine.
"So that's why he's called the Cold-Faced King! Anyway, I just can't stand him. If he takes power in the future, I don't know if my brother and I will still have any good days left?" Ninth Master snorted.
"Silence! Be careful someone hears you." Eighth Master frowned and said.
"Myna, why have you become like a gourd with a sawed mouth? You even hesitate to speak." Ninth Master felt that the myna he used to admire was gone, and the current myna was too cautious.
"Ninth Brother, you've seen the situation now. Father only has eyes for those few, and your Eighth Brother has no chance now!" Eighth Prince said to Ninth Brother in a low voice.
Meanwhile, the wives of the principal wives began to discuss among themselves. The principal wife, Lady Jue Luo, remained seated calmly, her face displaying her usual dignified, elegant, and graceful demeanor.
"Sister-in-law, let me toast you! Prince Heshuo asked that question for us today, but Father Emperor did not answer!" Third Princess Consort Dong E said as she approached First Princess Consort.
Jue Luo's heart skipped a beat. What did Dong E mean by that? She already thought Yin Ti's question was too rash, and now even Dong E was mocking him! Was that anonymous letter really written by the third prince?
Seeing that Lady Jue Luo remained silent and did not raise her cup, Lady Dong E felt extremely embarrassed.
"Elder sister-in-law, what's wrong with third sister-in-law! Come, elder sister-in-law, let me toast you!" Crown Princess Shi, surprisingly, also approached Jue Luo Shi. As the Crown Princess, she had the right to refer to herself as "this palace"!
"Thank you, Your Highness! I should be the one to offer my thanks to Your Highness!" Jue Luo Shi immediately came to her senses, stood up and thanked the Crown Princess.
The Third Prince Consort, Lady Dong'e, watched as they toasted each other as if they had forgotten about her, and her face turned pale and then red!
Seeing that neither Lady Jue Luo nor the Crown Princess seemed to care about her, she awkwardly took her wine cup and walked to her seat.
"What's there to be proud of? They're just two old clams that can't produce sons!" Dong Eshi muttered angrily in a low voice. She was merely venting her dissatisfaction, but her words still reached the ears of the Grand Consort and the Crown Princess!
"You! What did you say!" the Crown Princess shouted angrily. The Jue Luo clan member also stared coldly at Dong E's back.
When the Crown Princess called out to her, Dong Eshi panicked slightly. This was, after all, a royal family banquet, and they were her sisters-in-law; her words had indeed been somewhat disrespectful!
"Ah, Your Highness, my sister-in-law was thinking of a sister-in-law from my maternal family. She's been causing trouble for my brother lately, so I couldn't help but mutter about her." Dong Eshi forced a few awkward laughs, but the smiles were really strained.
“Third sister-in-law, you’re really meddling in things too much. It’s really just making conversation for no reason that your sister-in-law from your own family has come here to say this,” said Jue Luo Shi.
Upon hearing this, Lady Dong'e quickly tossed her handkerchief aside and walked away.
Lanqin watched as Dong'e returned with a gloomy expression. Dong'e also noticed Lanqin glancing at her a few times. Lanqin instinctively turned her head away, no longer looking at the Third Princess Consort, but this action made Dong'e feel as uncomfortable as a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Fourth Princess Consort, your concubine is truly blessed. These two sons have received a pair of jade pendants in the shape of twin fish from Father Emperor," the Third Princess Consort said sarcastically.
Lanqin suddenly realized: This Third Princess Consort must have been upset by the Crown Princess and the First Princess Consort, and is looking for someone to vent her anger on.
"Your second son, Hongwen, also received a hug from Father Emperor. He inherited the third son's traits and is very much liked by Father Emperor," the Fourth Prince's wife said.
The Third Prince's wife always followed the Fourth Prince's lead, so when she heard the Fourth Prince's wife praising her son, she was quite pleased and immediately stopped bothering Lanqin.
Lanqin watched the Fourth Prince's retreating figure, a chill running down her spine. The Prince's wife never did anything that didn't benefit her; for her to say such a thing, she must have something to gain. Although she had stopped the Third Prince's wife, her words were clearly an attempt to curry favor with the Fourth Prince. After all, the Fourth Prince wouldn't want to see Lanqin humiliated by the Third Prince's wife in such a setting.
What's terrible isn't the lack of opportunity, what's terrible is having teammates who are as incompetent as pigs! The Fourth Prince's wife thought to herself as she spoke to the Third Prince's wife.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com