At the banquet, the princes all smiled and offered their congratulations, but the atmosphere was actually a bit subtle. Seeing their fathers working so hard for the Crown Prince, they felt bitter and resentful at the same time. Why should they be the ones to suffer?
Just because he was born in the womb of Empress Yuan?
The Guarjia clan, needless to say, has always been a prominent and powerful clan. During Aobai's time, only Aobai's cronies were purged. They still wield considerable power, and she was the Crown Prince's first concubine.
Li Jia's family had previously been generals of the Ming Dynasty and had a great influence on the Han Banner Army, which indirectly helped the Crown Prince win over the hearts of the former Ming generals.
The Lin family was born into a prominent southern aristocratic family that had produced many scholars since the Ming Dynasty. Now, with their position in the salt transport, they had not only won over the gentry of Jiangnan but also formed a marriage alliance with such a lucrative position.
Why are people so different? The princes all felt depressed.
Even the Fourth Prince, who always followed the Crown Prince around, felt a pang of jealousy. This was the Emperor's son; what were they compared to him? They probably wouldn't even be as good as the Crown Prince if they were all tied together.
Empress Dowager (Empress Tong) had put in a lot of effort for his marriage, but now that the Fourth Prince's father had died, although he still had influence in the army, it was not as great as before.
The Fourth Prince felt utterly dejected.
The young master glanced sideways at his brothers, feeling incredibly pleased with himself!
See? It all comes down to the skill of being born into the right family. I'm an expert in that area. I love seeing you all unhappy but unable to do anything about me.
The princes were really annoyed by the Crown Prince's grinning face, so they took turns trying to get him drunk. On days like these, there was no such thing as a monarch and his subjects, and the princes didn't hold back at all, especially the Third Prince, Yinzhi, who poured the most wine for him.
He said, "Today is my second brother's big day. Drink as much as you're happy. I'll start with three cups."
The Fifth Prince was betrothed to the daughter of a fifth-rank official, and he was feeling depressed. His primary wife was probably only fit to be a concubine in the Crown Prince's eyes. Even honest people have tempers. The Fifth Prince was also a heavy drinker and quite fierce. He would say things like, "May the Crown Prince have a son soon, three cups," "My younger brother needs the Crown Prince to take good care of him in the future, three cups," and "Our brotherly affection is deep, three cups."
The princes took turns drinking, and in the end even the fourth prince, who was trying to fend off the drinks, collapsed.
As the eldest son, Yinzhi only went to offer a toast once, and then sat alone to drink. When the third son tried to pull him to offer a toast as well, he was almost kicked.
As the eldest son, Yinzhi's feelings for Kangxi and the Crown Prince were the deepest among his brothers.
Oh, you want to ask why?
Because Yinzhi was raised outside the palace, Kangxi wanted to make amends to this son after he returned. Moreover, he was the first son to be established, so there was always a special feeling towards him, just like how we say that we have a different feeling towards our first child.
This made Yinzhi favored, but it also meant that he had to watch Kangxi and the Crown Prince show affection every day. What kind of affection? Father-son relationship. Kangxi had raised the Crown Prince single-handedly, and he had gone to great lengths to raise him. When the Crown Prince was raised in the Qianqing Palace, no matter how late it was, Kangxi would check on the little Crown Prince before going to bed to see if he was asleep or if he had kicked off his blankets. He was just like a loving father in the mortal world.
During the period when the Crown Prince moved to Yuqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi was worried day and night. He sent servants several times a day to check on the Crown Prince to see if he was alright. In the end, he was still not at ease and went to check on him himself.
The Crown Prince was also not used to it. The two of them were distrustful of each other and dependent on each other. It took Kangxi a long time to get used to the fact that the Crown Prince had moved to Yuqing Palace. He would always walk to the room where the young Crown Prince lived, and only when he saw that the Crown Prince was not there would he realize that he had moved away.
When the crown prince was young, the father and son could be said to have depended on each other for survival.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
