Chapter 14 Cuju
"Your Majesty really dotes on the little princess. The full-month banquet was held so lavishly." Concubine Jiang raised her voice in an exaggerated tone.
[The treacherous concubine is making trouble again.]
Xia Miaoyuan curled her lips.
"Yes, yes, almost the entire royal family has been invited. This is even more grand than the prince's full-month banquet!" Concubine Xian said.
"Today, there are 88 tables set up. When I gave birth to Chengshun, there were only 39 tables set up!" Concubine Jiang glanced at the banquet and raised her eyebrows to look at the queen.
[You treacherous concubine, you lie so naturally. Did you give birth to the fifth prince Xiao Chengshun? You can't even give birth.]
What? The fifth prince was not born by Concubine Jiang! She can't even give birth!
The queen's eyes widened in shock, but she immediately changed her expression to calm after a moment: "I originally said that the princess's full-month banquet should be simple, but Your Majesty is too happy to have a daughter and insisted on having a grand banquet."
"It is a great joy for Your Majesty to have a daughter, but now the Qianjiang River is flooded and the court is in need of money. I'm afraid it's not a good idea to be so extravagant. Your Majesty, why don't you persuade Your Majesty?"
Concubine Jiang raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, what if those censors use this to criticize Your Majesty? That would be terrible. Your Majesty will be blamed!" Lin Zhaoyi pretended to be shocked.
The Queen stood there with a serious look on her face. After scanning the three concubines, she said in a cold voice, "The expenses for the little princess's full-month banquet are all paid for by your Majesty's private treasury, and not a single ounce of silver from the Ministry of Revenue is used. If anyone is dissatisfied, feel free to write a letter."
Jiang Guifei and the other two were shocked when they heard this. They knew that the emperor doted on the little princess, but they never expected that Xia Zhengqi would pay out of his own pocket to give the princess a grand full-month banquet.
"Your Majesty is still thoughtful." Concubine Xian smiled awkwardly.
[Hahaha, three idiots, you didn't do your homework well, and you come to make trouble. Look at my mother to kill you.]
Xia Miaoyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The three concubines showed embarrassed expressions and hurriedly found an excuse to slip away.
The queen calmed herself down and walked towards her seat. The guests beside her saluted her one after another.
Nanny held the little princess and followed the queen.
[Really? Mother is going to sit back down again? It's so boring. It's really boring to sit there. Let's walk around, walk around again!]
Xia Miaoyuan twisted her little butt restlessly in Nanny's arms and started crying.
"Did the little princess urinate?" Sang Qi asked Nanny.
"No. Why is she crying for no reason?" Nanny was puzzled.
"Sang Qi, follow Nanny and take the little princess for a walk around. This child may have stayed in the hall for too long and is bored." The queen looked at Xia Miaoyuan lovingly.
[Mother still understands me, hehe.] Xia Miaoyuan grinned and made a smiling expression, with tears still hanging on her cheeks.
In front of the main hall of Shanglin Garden, there is a large open space with flower beds and pavilions scattered around.
Because Xia Zhengqi is kind and loves children the most, he is always reluctant to restrict the princes at palace banquets.
At his palace banquets, the princes and the children of guests are allowed to relax and play in Shanglin Garden after attending the formal events.
At this time, it was very lively outside the main hall.
After the children followed the adults to listen to the emperor's speech and patiently greeted the elders, they were already extremely bored and ran out of the main hall, found their good playmates, and played in the open space in groups of three or two.
Sang Qi protected the little princess, and the nanny held the little princess. The three of them had already strolled out of the hall.
Xia Miaoyuan was in the arms of the nanny, stretching his neck to look around. The scene outside the palace was really lively.
Nearby, three children who were only three or four years old were squatting on the ground playing pinball; there were several noblemen and ladies who were seven or eight years old playing pot tossing; and a few older people gathered in the pavilion to drink tea and talk about poetry.
A little further away, four boys were playing Cuju. Xia Miaoyuan looked carefully and saw that the four boys were all wearing yellow satin robes with dragon patterns.
[Wearing yellow dragon patterns, could they be my little brothers?]
Xia Miaoyuan was thinking to himself when suddenly a Cuju flew towards him.
[Oh no, there is a hidden weapon! 】
Xia Miaoyuan only hated herself for being a little baby. Seeing the Cuju flying towards her, she couldn't dodge.
【God bless, don't get hit to death! 】
Xia Miaoyuan closed her eyes nervously, but after a moment, she didn't hear the sound of the Cuju hitting her.
"Ouch!" A familiar woman's voice came into her ears.
Xia Miaoyuan opened her eyes and saw the nanny holding her with one hand, squatting down and covering her head with one hand.
Sang Qi raised her hand and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
Xia Miaoyuan was immediately surrounded by several palace maids and eunuchs, asking if the little princess was injured.
Sang Qi helped the nanny up, took Xia Miaoyuan over, and carefully examined the nanny's forehead, only to see that there was a swollen bump on her forehead.
The nanny calmed down and said, "Fortunately, Sang Qi was agile and raised his hand to block the Cuju. It only hit me, not the little princess."
The four boys who were playing Cuju in the distance were all stunned.
Sang Qi frowned and said to the boys, "Fifth Prince, you should be careful when playing Cuju. The princess is still so young. If the Cuju hits the princess..."
[Mommy, I was scared to death. The Cuju is wrapped in leather and filled with rice bran. If it hits me, it will be terrible. My small body might be broken.]
Xia Miaoyuan muttered with lingering fear and looked at the boys. The tallest boy looked disdainful, and the other three boys looked panicked.
"It's no big deal, it's just that I was careless." The fifth prince said, his tone full of indifference.
"Besides, how can a little girl get into trouble so easily? She was fine even if she was born in a galloping carriage, can a Cuju ball really kill her?!" The fifth prince walked slowly towards Xia Miaoyuan in a joking tone.
"You..." Sang Qi was so angry that her face turned blue.
The fifth prince Xia Chengshun was the son of Concubine Jiang.
Concubine Jiang relied on the fact that the Empress Dowager was her aunt and Master Jiang was her father. She was used to being arrogant in the palace and didn't even take the Queen seriously.
With such a mother's words and deeds, the fifth prince naturally followed suit. At the age of 9, he already had an arrogant and domineering face. He was usually disrespectful to other princes.
Although Xia Zhengqi did not like the fifth prince's flamboyant personality, he was extremely kind to the fifth prince for the sake of the Empress Dowager and Master Jiang.
Usually, he gave the most rewards to the princes, except for the crown prince.
It can be said that the fifth prince is second only to the crown prince among all the princes.
But now that the queen has given birth to a little princess, the emperor has changed his usual behavior and has become cold to the fifth prince. He has given the most favors to the little princess, and even the full-moon banquet was more luxurious than that of all the princes.
After the birth of the little princess, the emperor came to Jinxiu Palace less often.
Therefore, the fifth prince was very hostile to Xia Miaoyuan.