A New Year's feast.
The palace was bustling with activity.
This year, the Zhao family is doing quite well, having another grandson of the emperor.
Today, he holds his eldest grandson, showing him off to others, then hides him away to keep a bunch of noise from bothering him.
Two rooms were prepared for the eldest prince in a side hall of the Linde Hall, so he could play or sleep as he pleased, which was perfect.
Yan Boxuan is here with his younger brother. He's the perfect older brother, especially since his brother is so handsome.
Xie Fufu had to keep an eye on things from the side; Yan Boxuan was still a child and might end up hurting his cousin.
With Lady Yang watching from the side, the eldest grandson wasn't stupid; he just didn't say much.
Huan Yue was busy in the Linde Hall, just like a proper mistress of the house, and she still had a lot to deal with.
Huan Yue is already very skilled at it; if she weren't, no one could challenge her, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to beat her.
Dou pulled her aside and whispered, "That belongs to Wu Meiren's family. It was fine before, but I'm afraid they're up to something this time."
Huan Yue blinked.
Dou Shi Le. Only the Emperor can control what Consort Wu does. But in reality, the Emperor granted Qing'e Palace this power.
Huan Yue was too lazy to bother with it for the time being. Some things are beyond your control no matter how much you try to manage them.
Dou let her have her way. Anyway, she was too lazy to care and wouldn't make any mistakes. But when she did take charge, there was no room for discussion.
So it depends on everyone's self-discipline. Those with brains already know how to act. Don't mess with the Crown Princess; she's easy to talk to.
Behind the curtain, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Everyone knows that Wu Meiren is very gentle, but it's hard to say whether a gentle person will cause trouble.
Consort Zhu didn't care, Consort Shen didn't care, Consort Xing didn't care, and Qian Sha didn't care either.
Qiansha was busy taking care of her daughter. If her daughter made a fuss, she would quickly take her away. Now that her daughter wasn't making a fuss, she was playing here.
Princess Taining and her seventh sister are together.
The Seventh Princess was originally in poor health, but Consort Huan suggested that she move around more.
The Linde Hall is noisy, but the area behind the throne is relatively quiet.
This is not only a banquet, but also a family celebration for the New Year, and no one can be missing.
The seventh princess has become more sensible, and with her eighth sister by her side, she smiles much more often.
Consort Shen took great care of her, looking after her health but not spoiling her too much, which caused her to have many health problems.
If you really don't know how, just let her read more books. The Seventh Princess is happy when she doesn't have to read.
Everyone was chatting and laughing, but Wu Meiren felt quite awkward.
Consort Fang doesn't need to consider her feelings. There are no true sisters in the harem. If you get along, that's fine; if not, Consort Fang isn't in a position to control others.
Princess Guangning and Chang Zihan were both seated below.
Princess Guangning has to deal with people now. But she can manage.
Chang Zihan sat with her mother and sister-in-law. This was a blessing from the saint.
Chang Zihan's stay in the palace was already special, so it's not surprising that she was with her biological mother.
He Shuiying doesn't need to feel sorry for her. She can live well in the palace and see her often. She has nothing to fear in the future.
Chang Zihan could work as a lady-in-waiting in front of her sister, or she could go to the charity department, etc., so she wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Jing Wei was busy chatting with people.
Although some were familiar and some were not, they became familiar with each other through chatting.
Jing Wei has a good personality, and although she became a village woman in Baishi Village, she didn't have any of the rustic air about her.
An old woman pulled Jing Wei aside: "Is there any rice left? I love the rice from Baishi Village."
Jing Wei laughed and said, "Actually, it's the same. If the ones from Baishi Village are gone, you can still find them in the next village."
The old woman was unwilling to give up: "You didn't stock up?"
Jing Wei said, "Sometimes we even switch to other types of rice. And even then, people say we sold the good ones and bought the cheaper ones. I'm eating my own rice and there's so much fuss about it."
Madam Xu chimed in, "Isn't that right? Rice from Baishi Village costs three to five taels of silver per shi, ten times that of other rice. Baishi Village is still poor, isn't it? Why not make money when there's silver to be made?"
Jing Wei said, "Some people even rushed into the villagers' homes, almost wanting to overturn the dining table. So I said, it's all the same rice, isn't he just greedy? He can't buy it even if he has money, so what's he showing off for? No matter how much money you have, you can't grow eight bushels of rice per mu."
The old lady was delighted.
Jing Wei said, "There are also those who steal grain. They come to steal it at night when it's almost harvest time."
The old lady of the Li family asked, "Was the theft serious?"
Jing Wei smiled and said, "The village is keeping a close watch on things."
Everyone sighed.
Jing Wei said, "Fortunately, Baishi Village doesn't rely on this little bit of food to survive. Baishi Village has a large population, right? Everyone takes turns guarding it."
The old lady of the Han family said, "This is not a good thing."
Jing Wei laughed and said, "Actually, it's not so bad. We caught them, tied them up, and made them recite the Great Law of Zhao. They didn't get any food if they couldn't recite it. It really forced out a few capable people. They recited the Great Law of Zhao very fluently. Next time, I plan to make them recite the Four Books."
The county princess chuckled, "Isn't it possible that you've recited something that sounds like a scholar's name?"
Jing Wei said, "Who knows? He's a talented person whose potential has been wasted."
Mrs. Song said, "It seems like there's a lot of petty theft around the New Year."
Jing Wei said, "It's alright. Our Baishi Village has an endless supply of books. That's our greatest wealth."
Princess Guanghua said, "No wonder Zhai Minglan is so good at memorizing texts."
Jing Wei laughed and said, "She's testing others."
The old lady of the Han family shook her head. Baishi Village is having a tough time.
Jing Wei thought it was quite fun too.
Like the Empress, once you've come to terms with it, everything will be alright. Besides, isn't this a form of moral education?
You need to have that kind of free time. If you can't even afford to eat, your mindset will be different.
Once Baishi Village is well-fed, they can start thinking about other things.
Most of the thieves were from the neighborhood. They got to know each other after a while and knew that Baishi Village was not to be messed with.
If it's far away, it's inconvenient; if you're nearby, you'll be recognized.
Many people frequent Baishi Village, but it's not difficult to distinguish between acquaintances and strangers.
Stealing rice is no easy task.
If you were to steal silver from someone's house, most people didn't have much silver, and getting caught would be a terrible fate.
The man's side.
Chang Shuigen, Chang Zihe, and Chang Ziyan sat quietly.
Someone teased Chang Ziyan: "Have you ever been to Pingkangfang?"
Chang Ziyan said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a decent human being."
The King of Wu spoke up: "That's right. Entering and leaving Pingkang Ward is nothing to be proud of."
Xie Zhen said, "There are always some people who are unambitious, unmotivated, and consider vulgarity a virtue. They're so proud of having slept with a few beauties. Have you included your mother and sister? You should include your aunt and niece too."
The criticism was too harsh.
However, what Chang Ziyan meant by flirting was that he raped her.
Therefore, it's no wonder that he was criticized by the King of Zheng.
An old man protested, "Does King Zheng dislike women?"
Xie Zhen said, "You like your mother, but you're definitely not worthy of her. None of your family members are worthy of my attention."
The King of Wu admonished his nephew: "Don't talk nonsense."
Xie Zhen is another story; look at his father, the Emperor, happily holding his eldest grandson.
The King of Wu glanced at the emperor and said that if the emperor liked it, he could hug him.
Everyone paid their respects to the emperor and also paid their respects to the eldest grandson of the emperor.
There's not much to say about this. To put it bluntly, it was probably brought forward.
Besides, it's only once, not twice, so the eldest prince didn't get the better deal.
Today, she sits down holding her grandson.
Xie Zhou was speechless. Should Xie Yi have gotten used to this kind of scene from a young age?
He himself might not be used to it.
Huan Yue wasn't worried. A sensible child would understand when the time came.
He'll understand once he memorizes a few more books.
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