Chapter 61 A Son's Nobility and a Mother's Lowliness Just as Yinreng said, after the Emperor finishes celebrating today…
Just as Yinreng said, the Emperor would set off for Changchun Garden after celebrating his birthday this year, and their family would naturally follow. Upon arriving at the West Garden again, Cheng Qianyue was overjoyed. She immediately ordered someone to catch fish in the lake, remembering the time she used to keep goldfish in the fish tank.
When the fish tank of goldfish was brought out, the Third Prince stared intently at them. "Mom, Mom," he called out, his voice clear and bright, clapping his little hands and bouncing on her lap.
Cheng Qianyue supported his waist with her hand, answering while teaching him to speak: "This is a fish."
"Whoosh!"
"It's not 'wu' (乌), it's 'yu' (鱼). Repeat after me, y, u, yu (鱼)."
The Third Prince turned his head and stared at her lip movements, his lips pursing in sync, but he couldn't pronounce the words correctly for a long time. Cheng Qianyue was overjoyed and patiently taught him. No matter how the Third Prince tried to pronounce them, he couldn't get them right, and he got so frustrated that he started thrashing around. Then he stuck his hand into the fish tank.
"Oh dear!" Cheng Qianyue quickly reached out and lifted him up. Children are clumsy, and besides, she was afraid he might actually grab the fish and put it in his mouth. But the Third Prince seemed quite happy, constantly splashing his arms and hands. Cheng Qianyue figured he just enjoyed playing in the water, so she simply asked someone to fetch some for him. And so the Third Prince ran wild, standing beside the basin and splashing water with his hands, leaving a puddle on the ground every time, like a mountain of gold being flooded.
After that, she didn't want him to play in the water anymore. They had finally arrived at the garden, so why should they stay in the courtyard all the time? She simply took him outside to see new things.
It was springtime, and the summer heat hadn't yet arrived. The temperature was just right, and the flowers and plants were in full bloom. So she took the Third Prince out for a stroll, from south to north and from east to west, while also teaching him to talk about flowers, trees, grass, and bridges.
This went on until May, when suddenly Yinreng brought her a thick stack of memorials. Cheng Qianyue was very excited, as she had never seen a minister's memorials before. However, she didn't dare to reach out and ask to see them unless Yinreng gave the order.
Yinreng said, "They've all come to inquire about the Third Prince."
Hmm? Cheng Qianyue then readily picked up the top memorial, opened it, and sure enough, it was indeed there. Skipping over the first few lines of greetings, it was all about congratulating the Third Prince on his first birthday. She said, "The first birthday banquet is still a month away, how come I've received a congratulatory memorial so early?"
Yinreng smiled and said, "It's better to be early than late, there's more to come." Sure enough, he brought over many more in the following days. Yinreng selected the memorials in front of her, then took another piece of paper and pen to copy down the names and positions on them. The list included officials ranging from princes and nobles down to first and second-rank officials, with the lowest being a fourth-rank official. Cheng Qianyue knew that this was the list of officials to be invited to the Third Prince's first birthday banquet. Cheng Qianyue sighed, extremely glad that she hadn't invited her family members.
The list was written over two or three days, with additions and subtractions made before it was finally finalized. Then, in front of her, Yinreng had someone copy the list and send it to the Crown Princess.
The next morning, Cheng Qianyue went to pay her respects to the Crown Princess as soon as she saw Yinreng off. Upon arriving at the main courtyard, she knelt down and bowed to the Crown Princess, saying in a deep voice, "This servant pays her respects to the Crown Princess. This servant is grateful for the Crown Princess's hard work in preparing for the Third Prince's first birthday banquet."
The Crown Princess called her to rise and said slowly, "I am his legal mother, it is my duty." After saying that, she asked her to come over every day to help write invitations. So Cheng Qianyue went to the Crown Princess's courtyard every day, sat below the Crown Princess and wrote furiously, while listening to the Crown Princess's various arrangements.
Inviting guests is no easy task, Cheng Qianyue thought to herself, her hand holding the pen aching slightly. But she didn't feel tired. It's all for the children, what's a little hand ache!
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Third Prince's first birthday banquet finally arrived. Early in the morning, the main gate of the West Garden was blocked by carriages. The eunuchs on duty were busy leading the horses and welcoming people.
Before long, the front courtyard of the West Garden was filled with people. The Third Prince had been dressed up early and brought over to draw lots. The table was covered with all sorts of things, including books, an unsharpened sword, and an abacus. In short, they were all things with very auspicious meanings.
The Third Prince sat on a large table covered with red silk. He wasn't shy at all, and even with a group of people surrounding him, he crawled around very quickly. First, he crawled to the book holder, picked up the book, and tore it up in a few quick movements. After tearing it up, he put the paper scraps into his mouth, smearing saliva everywhere. In no time, all the ink from the book was imprinted on his face.
The people around immediately burst into laughter.
After finishing his book, the Third Prince seemed to realize it wasn't very appealing, so he crawled off to another spot. He suddenly sat down beside the dagger, picking it up with both hands. The scabbard of the short dagger was made of gold and inlaid with many jewels. He held it upright and tried to gnaw on it with his tiny baby teeth. After a while, he realized he couldn't chew it anymore and gave up, instead reaching out to try and pry open the inlaid jewels.
The Third Prince, who was acting as the master of ceremonies, immediately laughed and said, "The Third Prince will surely be accomplished in both literature and martial arts in the future."
The banquet was about to begin after the Third Prince drew lots. Cheng Qianyue immediately took the Third Prince, bowed to Yinreng, and took her leave. She returned to Donglizhai to change her clothes, and then hurried to the pavilion in the nearby garden, where the ladies of the household held their banquet. She arrived just in time; the Crown Princess had just arrived as well, and many princes' wives and ladies from various families bowed to her.
Cheng Qianyue first bowed to the Crown Princess, then avoided the bows from the lower-ranking ladies, and sat down next to the Crown Princess. The conversation then turned to the Third Prince, beginning with the Third Princess Consort. First, they praised how well he was raised, so healthy and chubby, then they remarked on his remarkable courage, not being afraid of strangers at all. Finally, everyone praised the Crown Princess.
Cheng Qianyue chimed in with a couple of comments about the Crown Princess's kindness, generosity, and hard work, then smiled and watched them go off to talk about other things.
Since it was a child's first birthday party, the most talked-about topic was the child. People talked about which family had a new baby, which child looked like a lucky charm, and in short, everyone was saying that having many children meant having many blessings.
Not long after, Cheng Qianyue noticed that the Eighth Prince's wife's expression was getting worse and worse. Among a group of chatting and laughing people, that resentful face was impossible to ignore!
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the Eighth Prince's wife spoke up: "The Third Prince's first birthday banquet was really lively. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the Third Prince was the Crown Princess's own son."
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately fell silent.
The Eighth Prince's wife didn't seem to mind, and said in a deep voice, "Many children bring many blessings. I've recently arranged for the Eighth Prince to take in a few princesses who were born into servant families, hoping to help him have more children. But the Eighth Prince told me that if any of his servants have children, they should be raised by me, since the mother is of lowly birth and it would be bad if the children picked up any bad habits."
Cheng Qianyue's expression immediately changed upon hearing her words. What did she mean by that? Was she trying to show off her magnanimity and flaunt her husband's affection? But what was with dragging her and the Third Prince down with her?!
Cheng Qianyue was furious and immediately poked at the Eighth Prince's sore spot: "How many children do you have now?" If she remembered correctly, the Eighth Prince didn't have a single child, let alone any.
The Eighth Prince's wife, her secret thoughts exposed, immediately glared angrily. All these years, the Eighth Prince's household hadn't produced a single child; how many people gossiped about her jealousy? No matter how many servants she promoted, she couldn't change her reputation. She was anxious, so anxious her hair was practically turning white. Hearing others speak of tolerance, magnanimity, and the blessings of many children made her feel guilty and short of breath.
Cheng Qianyue met her gaze without flinching, thinking to herself that this was still her own territory, and she absolutely couldn't let herself be humiliated and have to put on a smiling face.
The Crown Princess's face was also not very pleasant. It was a joyous occasion, and encountering a troublemaker was never a pleasant experience. She said in a deep voice, "Eighth Prince Consort, you have some wine."
Whether she was confused with anger or not, the Eighth Princess Consort didn't take the Crown Princess's advice at all, and continued sarcastically, "The Crown Princess Consort has quite the sharp tongue; no wonder she rose to power because of her son." The Crown Princess didn't even have a son yet, and she didn't believe that the Crown Princess could be without resentment.
Cheng Qianyue clenched her fists and said, word by word, "A son's status depends on his mother's, and a mother's status depends on her son's; there are many such cases in the world. Think things through before you speak, so you don't offend people the moment you open your mouth. It's true that I am of humble origin and my voice carries little weight, but there are many people of lower birth but higher status than me!"
What kind of skill is it to get angry at her? How many of Kangxi's concubines were born into slavery? Take Consort De and Consort Liang for example, weren't they all bondservants under the Imperial Household Department? If you're so capable, why don't you make fun of them? What kind of skill is it to show off your power in front of her!
Seeing that the atmosphere at the table was getting worse and worse, and no one dared to interrupt, the Fourth Prince's wife had no choice but to step in and smooth things over, saying, "The Eighth Prince's wife is drunk. Why don't you have someone take her outside to sober up, Your Highness?"
The Crown Princess nodded to the side, and Granny Shuang hurriedly directed two palace maids to help the Eighth Prince's wife. The Eighth Prince's wife also realized that she had gone too far with what she had just said, especially since Cheng Qianyue had tangled her up with her words. So she simply pretended to be drunk and was helped outside unsteadily.
Cheng Qianyue had been firing off a barrage of words like a machine gun, but she shut up after the Eighth Prince's wife left. She stood up, curtsied to the Crown Princess, and said softly, "This servant was rude just now. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
The Crown Princess waved her hand and said, "Sit down."
Cheng Qianyue said yes.
With the Eighth Prince's wife gone, the banquet soon became lively again, but Cheng Qianyue never spoke again.
The banquet lasted from morning until noon, and people gradually left after noon. Cheng Qianyue bid farewell to the Crown Princess and hurried towards Donglizhai.
As the Crown Princess watched Cheng Qianyue's departing figure, she murmured, "I've always thought she was a bit of a scatterbrain, it's rare to see her like this." She spoke aggressively, like a mother hen protecting her eggs, leaving everyone speechless with her barrage of words.
Granny Shuang helped the Crown Princess walk towards the central courtyard, saying as they walked, "If the Crown Princess hides away timidly, who will respect the Third Prince in the future?" Aren't people in this world all about stepping on the high and flattering the low? No matter how favored Crown Princess Cheng is, her status and family background are what they are, so she can't lose face in public, otherwise she'll become a laughing stock.
The Crown Princess sighed softly. What did it matter if she wanted to fight for a moment? As long as the Third Prince was successful in the future, who would look down on him? But then she thought again, the Eighth Prince's wife's words were too harsh, so it was no wonder that Lady Cheng was angry.
Cheng Qianyue returned to Donglizhai, changed her clothes and rinsed her mouth after sitting down before carrying the Third Prince. She had also drunk wine during the banquet and didn't want to smell the alcohol on the child. Just thinking about what had just happened made her angry, but holding the lively Third Prince, a smile slowly appeared on her lips.
She thought, "The Eighth Prince's wife is just jealous. She's jealous that she has a child while I don't. Humph!"
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