20. Chapter 20
"Human Relations and Worldly Affairs, Volume 1"
After school in the afternoon, as soon as the teacher left, the eldest brother couldn't wait to announce: "Remember to come tonight! Seventh brother, don't eat too much at Ukuma Ma's tonight, save some space."
Seeing that the eldest prince was getting excited, Qi You thought for a moment and asked, "Brother, I want to go back to the Cining Palace with my fifth brother. Will he come with me?"
If you invite guests selectively, and the guests let something slip, it will be embarrassing for both parties.
Especially this group of princes, even though they are not very old, the relationship between them can only be described by Qi You as subtle.
The eldest prince frowned slightly, as if he had finally made up his mind, and said, "Call him."
Concubine Yi always thought more than others. Qi You didn't want to cause any trouble, so he smiled and suggested, "Fifth Brother is waiting for me up ahead. Why don't you go and tell him in person?"
The eldest prince didn't have so many thoughts and agreed immediately. At the end, he patted Qi You on the shoulder, glanced at him and said, "You are the only one who has too many things to do. Okay, I'll go. As for the eighth child, forget it. The eighth child is too young and has just started school. Stay and do your homework."
Qi You opened his mouth to remind him that the Fifth Prince had just started school. However, since the relationship between the First Prince and the Eighth Prince was different, he didn't bother to intervene.
After paying respects at the Cining Palace, the Fifth Prince attended his own banquet for the first time. He was very excited and asked the Empress Dowager to help him choose clothes. Qi You returned to his own courtyard.
Qi You was not as serious as the Fifth Prince. He wore his usual clothes and after taking some time to read a book, he came to the door with a small cloth bag.
As soon as he entered the room, the Fifth Prince had already arrived and was talking with the Fourth Prince. The Third Prince and Qi You came in one after another.
Following the Third Prince came the Crown Prince. Qi You saw a flash of displeasure on the eldest prince's face and guessed that the Crown Prince was an uninvited guest.
As expected, the eldest prince's expression changed. He stepped forward with a smile and greeted, "What a rare guest! I didn't expect the Crown Prince to be here too."
Qi You and the other brothers followed suit and came forward to pay their respects. The prince smiled and said no need to be polite, and jokingly said, "Big brother, you are really unkind. It's so rare for us brothers to get together, and you didn't even call me. I came here uninvited, so please don't mind."
The eldest prince suppressed his annoyance and ushered the prince to the main seat, saying dryly, "We are just getting together to eat, drink and have fun. The prince is busy with his studies and has no time to join us in such a festivity. I dare not invite you."
The Crown Prince felt a little embarrassed when he saw the evasion in the eldest prince's words. He pointed at Qi You and said, "This busy man is here, how busy can I be?"
The busy man Qi You held the cloth bag and smiled without saying a word, but he sighed secretly in his heart. It was not easy for the six princes and six mothers present to maintain superficial harmony.
The prince is half the king. With him around, you always have to be cautious and can't have fun.
The eldest prince secretly glared at the third prince, then noticed the cloth bag Qi You had been holding and asked curiously, "Seventh Prince, what treasure is in your arms? You've been holding it since you entered the room, and you don't even feel tired. Come on, put it down."
Qi You handed the cloth to the eldest brother and said, "Brother, this is a longevity fruit, not a treasure. I heard you wanted to drink some wine, so I brought it here to go with your wine."
"Oh! This is a real treasure!" The eldest prince was overjoyed. He opened the cloth bag and smiled from ear to ear. "Seventh Brother, where did you get so many longevity fruits? I only got a few during the Chinese New Year, and they were gone before I could even taste them."
Peanuts, the longevity fruit, are considered a rare and precious dried fruit. The imperial family certainly had them, and Kangxi was the only one who did. The princes all had their monthly allowances, and peanuts and other dried fruits were not among them.
At regular banquets, peanuts would be placed together with pine nuts to form a dried fruit platter. Just like banquets in later generations, as soon as these snacks were served, children would immediately rush to share them.
Banquets in the palace were shared, with each person having a small table on the kang, and there was no need to fight with others for the dried fruit platter.
There are only rules at the banquet, and they basically don't dare to touch anything that makes a lot of noise when eaten.
The dried fruit platter was placed on the small kang table for a while, and when other dishes were to be served, the eunuchs took the plate away.
In the end, they could only look at it to satisfy their craving. The only way they could actually eat it was through the gifts from Emperor Kangxi and the Empress Dowager.
When Kangxi bestowed dishes, he would give things that symbolized wealth and good fortune, or rare fresh fruits that were tributed from other places, such as mangoes and lychees. No one would ever think of giving something like peanuts.
Rewards were not given every day. Kangxi had too many people to reward, so it was rare for them to get a turn.
The Third Prince came over to take a look, gave Qi You a sidelong glance, and said sourly, "I'm afraid this was given to my Seventh Brother by Khan Ama alone."
Qi You saw that the other brothers were looking at him, his expression remained unchanged, with his usual smile on his face, he waved his hand and said: "No, no, this is what I have saved up."
The Third Prince immediately became interested and asked, "How did you save all this? Tell us!"
Qi You said frankly, "I saw it at banquets and when I paid my respects to Ukuma Mama, and I put it all in my pocket. I ate some and left some. Since big brother is treating us, I don't have anything good to give, so I'll just give it to you. Big brother, please don't despise it, and you guys shouldn't despise it either. Hehe, it tastes better when we eat together."
Qi You did not lie, these were really what he had saved up. He just acted like a child sitting at a table and put the plate of dried fruits into his pocket without changing his expression.
Moreover, when he went to the Cining Palace to pay his respects, if there was any food at the Empress Dowager's place, he would act like a squirrel storing food and tell her that he liked to eat it. The Empress Dowager would take the initiative to let him take it home and eat it slowly.
The other brothers who came empty-handed: "......"
The Third Prince cried out in surprise, stepped forward and put his arms around Qi You's neck, saying unwillingly, "Seventh Prince, you're so good! It's fine if you beat us in school, but when we come to Big Brother's place to eat and drink for free, you really make us look like freeloaders."
The eldest prince stepped forward and pulled the third prince away, hiding the bag behind him. He laughed and said, "Seventh Prince, since the third prince is here to eat for free, I have to save the longevity fruit and not give it to him."
The Third Prince immediately jumped up and said, "No, that won't do. The Seventh Prince said it's better to eat together. Big Brother, you can't be stingy. Hurry up and share it!"
The brothers were laughing and joking together. As the crown prince, he had no shortage of these things. He was just surprised that Qi You could be so shameless as to ask for food in the Cining Palace.
The prince pondered for a moment, then pretended to smile casually and said, "Seventh brother, you're eating and taking things in the Cining Palace. Be careful not to make Ukuma angry."
As long as the elderly are not single, they will only worry that their children and grandchildren will not have enough to eat, and they would like to take out all the food and stuff it into their mouths.
Qi You was too lazy to explain so much, and said with a smile: "I'm young and still growing. Eating more will make my legs stronger. Ukuma Mama won't blame me."
The prince paused, chuckled dryly, glanced at Qi You's left leg, and breathed a sigh of relief. His smile faded when he saw the brothers in the room.
There are more and more brothers, sprouting and growing like wild weeds in spring.
The eldest prince asked everyone to sit down, and the crown prince and he drank wine. The third prince also wanted to drink, but after only drinking half a cup, his face turned as red as a monkey's butt.
Qi You definitely doesn't drink alcohol. The Fifth Prince doesn't dare to drink it for fear of disturbing the Empress Dowager when he gets home. The Fourth Prince feels that alcohol is bitter and spicy and doesn't like it.
After all, they were just a group of teenagers and kids in their early teens. After a few sips of wine, the eldest prince and the crown prince bumped heads together, laughing and whispering something.
The fifth prince ran up to eavesdrop, but the eldest prince smiled and pushed him away, "You are still young, don't listen."
Seeing this, the Third Prince refused to listen and said, "Big Brother, Prince, what good things are you talking about? Let me hear it too."
The eldest prince and the crown prince exchanged a glance, grinned, and said, "You'll all know in a few years anyway. Don't say I don't think about you. Come on, I'll let you open your eyes and see some good things in advance."
Qi You watched as the eldest prince got up and went to his bedroom. He came out mysteriously with a book in his hand, called everyone forward, opened the book, and laughed strangely: "Do you see what it's like?"
The Fifth Prince answered honestly, "No." The Fourth Prince remained silent, and the Third Prince blushed. The Crown Prince turned his head away, chuckled, and returned his gaze to the book.
What the eldest prince took out was a flowery album. The prince had just had a palace maid who was well versed in human affairs serving him, no wonder he could get along well with the eldest prince.
Qi You looked at the more abstract paintings and really wanted to laugh. No matter when, reading books that adults are not allowed to read together is the favorite thing for teenagers.
"Third brother, be gentle and don't tear it. If you want to continue reading, I'll turn it over for you." The eldest prince smiled and pulled away the third prince's hand.
"What are you looking at so eagerly? Let me take a look too." Kangxi's majestic voice came from behind.
There was a deathly silence in the room, and then there was a commotion with the clattering of cups and plates.
Qi You screamed "Ah!" and was caught.
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