During this period, Wanyan had witnessed the fickleness of human nature. Not to mention others, even her own family members were shunned, as if she were some kind of plague. Upon receiving the Empress's decree from the palace, she was determined to regain her dignity and dressed up in her finest attire.
As a result, she and Shisi met in the flower hall and remained silent for a few seconds without saying a word.
If Lady Wanyan was presenting her best self to announce her return to the entire capital, then the Fourteenth Prince was dressed like a pitiful little thing.
He was wearing a very inconspicuous dark-colored outfit, wrinkled as if he hadn't changed it in days, and he wasn't wearing any of his favorite thumb rings or accessories, looking as if he had just returned from a temple retreat.
The Fourteenth Prince wanted to ask her to change her clothes, but seeing that time was running out, he didn't have the time to leave it for Wanyan. He said in a rather unfriendly tone, "You didn't touch the gift that I picked out yesterday, did you?"
"No." Wanyan Shi sensed that the Fourteenth Prince was a little angry, so she quickly composed herself.
"Alright, let's go. We can't keep the palace waiting." Although there's still some time before dinner, I'm going there to apologize. It would be foolish of me to go right before dinner time.
"You don't need to say much to Her Majesty the Empress. Just cry when the mood strikes," Fourteenth repeatedly instructed.
"Yes," Wanyan replied. "My lord, shall we still go to visit the Empress Dowager?"
The Fourteenth Prince glared at her: "Listen to the Empress. If she takes you, then go quietly. Don't make any decisions on your own!"
This statement also set the tone for the grand banquet that evening.
The Fourteenth Prince was stopped at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which did not surprise him at all. So he sat outside like a gatekeeper, and every minister who went in or out would stare at him out of the corner of his eye.
Such moments felt like stepping back into the Kangxi era, when he and his fourth brother would often stand guard outside the door for an entire day, but they weren't panicked at the time.
Indeed, being emperor with one's father and being emperor with one's brother are two completely different experiences; he can only adapt, not choose.
After being stared at like a monkey, the Fourteenth Prince was finally invited in by Su Peisheng after making two trips to the outhouse.
The fourteenth prince knelt down as soon as he entered. Yinzhen was tired and wanted to relax, so he called him in. When he looked up, he saw that there were no refugees here.
The ninth brother and the others tactfully withdrew, leaving only the two brothers in the room. No one knew what they said, but they knew that when the fourteenth brother came out, he was wearing one of the emperor's old clothes.
They went to Yikun Palace together, and as soon as they entered, they could hear the sound of opera singing. It turned out that Yihua had specially invited the most popular actor in the capital to perform for an afternoon, which was a good way to pass the time.
Yi Hua had already given instructions to the children, so a table was set up at Hong Hui's place as well, and they could enjoy their meal together. They could invite whoever they wanted to join, but the main concern was saving face for Shi Si, so the children shouldn't show up today.
Wanyan had just finished crying in grievance: "Your Majesty, the Fourteenth Prince and the Emperor are siblings from the same mother. Even when they are angry, they still care about their relationship. But those sycophants in the Imperial Household Department dared to cut off the Fourteenth Prince's allowance. And that eunuch, whom I don't even know, blatantly asked for money. You must stand up for me and the Fourteenth Prince!"
Yi Hua found it amusing. Back when she was a prince's wife, Wanyan was used to cleaning up her messes. Now she was blurting everything out. She was too naive.
The Ninth Prince's wife couldn't stand her foolishness and chimed in, "There's no need for Her Majesty the Empress to intervene. Once the Fourteenth Prince gets a job, they'll be all over him, bowing and scraping."
The Tenth Princess Consort was coughing badly, and she tried to hold it in, her face turning red. Yi Hua had someone bring her pear juice: "Tenth Sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me you were so sick? You should rest properly. You can't eat foods like beef and mutton that are considered 'heaty'."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. It wasn't this bad yesterday, but my throat feels really itchy today," the Tenth Princess said haltingly.
“This is just a family dinner. Why force yourself to be unwell? Granny Chen, arrange for someone to take the Tenth Princess back safely, and have the imperial physician take her pulse carefully. Make sure she gets better.” Yi Hua quickly sent her back.
After the tenth princess rose and bowed deeply in gratitude, she left.
The Thirteenth Princess Consort was a woman of few words. She sat closer to Yi Hua's sewing box and saw half of the sweater's outline. She reached out and tugged at the pattern on the collar: "Your Majesty, are these little rabbit ears?"
"Yes, I did it for fun. Little Wolf used to love it, but now I have to coax him into wearing it." Yi Hua said with a hint of regret. Dressing children in mascot costumes is a real killer, but as the child grows older, he also knows shame and refuses to cooperate anymore.
"Your Majesty's ideas are still so novel. The fox-shaped pillow you gave me before was very popular with the children. They would fight over it every day," Ninth Princess said with a smile.
"They've come to ask me for something," Yi Hua said with a smile. "After the party ends tonight, everyone will get a few dolls to take home for their children."
"That would be great."
"Let's go listen to the opera, and after we finish the hot pot, we'll have another table. It's been a long time since we played dominoes together. Today, we're going to try and win some money from these rich folks." Yi Hua had a full schedule planned.
When Yinzhen and his entourage arrived, the opera was just coming to an end. They accepted the reward money and then dismantled the stage.
Yi Hua looked at the Fourteenth Prince. He had lost a lot of weight. Yinzhen's old clothes now fit him well, but they looked a bit short. The Fourteenth Prince was much taller than the Fourth Prince, which made him look somewhat comical.
Men who drink alcohol often turn a single meal into two or three.
Yi Hua instructed Su Peisheng to serve his master well, and then started a gambling game with her younger siblings. Whether it was because she was really lucky or because others were intentionally letting her win, Yi Hua won a lot of money in no time.
Anyway, ever since she became the Empress, she has never lost money playing Pai Gow.
Wanyan was the first to complain. She called her head maid over and said, "Go and ask Eunuch Su if the Fourteenth Prince is free. I'm out of money. If I keep playing around, I'll have to mortgage the mansion. Ask the Fourteenth Prince to send some money over."
Yi Hua grabbed a handful of loose silver from her desk: "Consider it a loan from me. Remember to add interest, and hurry up."
Yinzhen and the others, envious, stopped drinking and joined in. The eight of them played several rounds of cards, with the men acting as strategists and money purses, while the women just played randomly.
It was noisy, but Yi-hua had a lot of fun.
Since Yinzhen came to give her guidance, she has lost all the wins she had previously made.
It turns out that Yinzhen was a terrible card player, and he wasn't as omnipotent as he seemed.
The moon rose above the willow branches, and their game didn't end until the palace gates were about to be locked. Yinzhen was unwilling to accept defeat in the end, and muttered to himself that he would find some related books to read, summarize the lessons learned, and fight again another day.
Yi Hua directed everyone to clean up the leftovers and massaged the temples of the already drunk Yin Zhen.
The next day, the Fourteenth Prince entered the Ministry of War and worked under the Tenth Prince. The Tenth Prince was someone who didn't care about anything, and the Fourteenth Prince smoothly took over the Ministry of War, no longer showing the dejection of the previous days.
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