Chapter 302: Marquis Mansion Madam vs. Younger Prince 45
Liang Wanzhou covered his right arm and let out a scream.
This kick happened to hit the whip mark, causing him to grimace in pain. He suspected that his arm had been dislocated, but he did not dare to challenge the Third Prince, so he could only respond timidly:
"Yes, yes, yes! I just want to get close to Madam, and I have no intention of offending Madam. The whole family of the Marquis' Mansion regards Madam as the mother of the family. All matters in the inner house are decided by Madam. Today, we are just having a little disagreement. I hope Your Highness the Third Prince will not misunderstand me."
Liang Wanzhou explained this to the nobles who were watching the fun around him, but Ji Yunhuan kept a cold face and didn't even look at Marquis Xuanwu, so his words were really not convincing.
Jing Yu snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "Get lost!"
Liang Wanzhou sat back in the corner dejectedly, curled up obediently and dared not make any more noise.
"The Emperor has arrived~"
"The Queen is here~"
"Empress Liangpin has arrived~"
"The Second Prince has arrived~"
Accompanied by the loud shouts of the servants, the emperor's dragon sedan stopped at the gate of the Linding Hall.
There were people kneeling on the floor in the hall. Jing Yu had a warm smile on his face, as if he was still the naive Third Prince. He enthusiastically went over to support the Emperor.
"Father, be careful. I have seen that this birthday banquet is very conventional. Mother is too conservative and refuses to try something new. You should listen to me and hang up thousands of lanterns and invite more opera troupes. That will make it more lively."
The Empress was wearing a queen's dress embroidered with a pattern of a phoenix dancing in the sky, and a phoenix crown on her head, exuding the majesty of a mother of the country.
She glared at Jing Yu and said angrily, "You kid, you always act on your whim. Do you think His Majesty is as ignorant as you? His Majesty loves the people like his own children, so the birthday banquet should be celebrated with the people."
"There are porridge shops in the capital, and the people are grateful for your majesty's kindness. This is no more meaningful than thousands of lanterns."
Jing Yu looked at the emperor with admiration, "I am young and ignorant, and I am far inferior to my father in both civil and military skills. I need to learn more from my father."
The Queen and Jing Yu sang the same tune and made the Emperor very happy.
"Ayu is the legitimate son of the Empress, so he is naturally different from others. I usually treat him more strictly, so please don't be angry, Empress."
The queen smiled gently and generously, "Your Majesty is so fond of A Yu, I am so happy. I just hope that he can learn a little bit of your character, and then I will be satisfied."
The emperor took Jing Yu's hand and walked into the Linde Hall. The empress lagged behind half a step. The family of three looked very happy, as if the position of crown prince was already a foregone conclusion.
The civil and military officials in the palace also thought so, and they all believed that the third prince would be the future crown prince.
The Empress's position was stable, while the four concubines in the palace were not in great favor. The three princes and three princesses born to them were not valued by the Emperor. The three princes were of mediocre qualifications and had no hope of seizing the throne.
Only because the Second Prince was smart since childhood, His Majesty loved him a little more. As a result, Concubine Liang was also favored more because of her son's status. However, no matter how favored she was, His Majesty did not promote Concubine Liang. The positions of the Four Concubines were stable, so their families felt at ease and had no dissatisfaction.
After all, who dares to compete with the Queen? As long as the other concubines don't put pressure on them, it will be fine.
The four concubines had been waiting in the Linding Hall for a long time. When His Majesty arrived, they brought their children to congratulate His Majesty on his birthday, and naturally pushed Concubine Liang to the back.
Concubine Liang and the Second Prince came in with the Emperor, but the limelight was stolen by the Empress and Jing Yu, and the two of them had basically no sense of presence.
Liangpin was extremely beautiful, but her beauty was not at all aggressive. She was like a delicate flower blooming on a branch, which seemed like it would scatter at the slightest breeze, making people feel pity for her.
She was not annoyed at being pushed to the back. Instead, she bowed respectfully to the four concubines and stood obediently in the corner waiting, even behind Prime Minister Ji and the cabinet ministers.
The second prince looked at those princes and princesses angrily with an unwilling look in his eyes. He was obviously the prince in front of the others, and logically he should be the first to congratulate his father on his birthday.
Liangpin held the Second Prince's hand and said softly, "Don't worry, my son. Those who accomplish great things make plans before taking action. That position will be my son's sooner or later."
The Second Prince retracted his gaze, lowered his head and put on an honest look, muttering in dissatisfaction: "Mother always tells me to wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, when will this end?"
"A fool like Jing Yu only has the title of a legitimate son, otherwise... humph... Father would look down on him."
Liangpin has been quite uneasy recently. She couldn't tell what the feeling was, but the Third Prince seemed to have changed. He always did what the emperor wanted. It seemed stupid, but the emperor just liked such "loyal and honest" people.
"You should behave yourself recently and don't let His Majesty know that you are trying to fight for power. If His Majesty is also on guard against you, it will be difficult to deal with."
Prime Minister Ji looked at Concubine Liang and the Second Prince in the corner without leaving any trace.
No one knew what the two of them talked about, but the Second Prince was definitely not an honest person. Liangpin's birth was relatively low, but the Second Prince was favored by the Emperor, so he must have developed ambitions a long time ago.
The emperor was quite kind to the princes and princesses born to the four concubines. Although he did not pay much attention to them, he gave them the proper respect.
As for those heirs of lower birth, the emperor could not even remember their names, and there was no seat for them at the birthday banquet.
The emperor had many children. Except for the eldest prince who died young, all the other children survived. With so many children, it was naturally not a rare thing for him to have.
"I know your filial piety, please leave."
The emperor sent his other sons away, waved at Jing Yu and said, "What good stuff did Ah Yu prepare? He has been hiding it from me. Now is the time to show it to me, right?"
Jing Yu used to have great admiration for the emperor, thinking that the emperor was the most doting father in the world. Every year, he would put a lot of thought into preparing birthday gifts for the emperor's birthday banquet. This time, he really didn't put much thought into it, and it was Sister Huan who helped him prepare it.
He just got it yesterday and hasn't figured it out yet, but what Sister Huan prepared must be a good thing.
Jing Yu ordered his servant to bring a brocade box, and after opening it, he found a jade ornament of a flying crane.
The second prince came over to take a look, patted Jing Yu's shoulder, acted intimately, and said jokingly:
"I thought Third Brother had prepared something new, but it turned out to be another jade ornament. Third Brother is indeed wealthy, but giving this as a present every year is a bit monotonous and seems insincere."
"I see this one is not as big as last year's. The jade is also average and not clear enough. Third brother is used to spending lavishly. Could it be that he was cheated and bought a defective product at a high price?"
[Idiot! I made you laugh at me last year, and now you've been fooled too, right? You're so embarrassed, hahahahaha]
The Second Prince couldn't help but reveal a smug expression on his face. Jing Yu saw it clearly. He found that his second brother's acting skills were really poor. How could he have been deceived by him for more than ten years?
It's really a blind spot.
The emperor kept smiling, "Ayu is my son. Whatever I send you is out of filial piety. I am happy."
[What the second brother said makes sense. Ayu has the support of the queen and lives a wealthy life, unlike the second brother who can only rely on me for support. Ayu is getting older and older every year, and I don’t know how much respect he still has for me as an emperor. He even perfunctorily presents gifts to me.]
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