Chapter 38: All Living Things
The sound of music in the palace began——
Everyone started eating.
Yuying had long coveted the shrimp balls in the dish of Phoenix Spreading Wings in front of her. When she heard that it was time to eat, she couldn't wait to pick up a piece with chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
Lady Fang beside her seemed to have not expected her to be so unrestrained and stared at her blankly.
Seeing this, Qingtao, who was beside Yuying, tugged at her young mistress's sleeve and leaned over to whisper, "Young mistress, please be careful, there are people watching us!"
Yuying was stunned.
It’s over. I was so happy eating that I forgot this was a company dinner.
Yuying put down the chopsticks in her hand and looked around carefully, realizing that except for Concubine Fang beside her and Concubine An not far away, everyone else was busy with their own things and would not notice her little corner.
Yuying saw Anpin frowning at her with a look of disapproval on her face. Yuying smiled at her ingratiatingly and promised to be more careful.
And all this happened to fall into the eyes of those who were interested.
There was a hint of smile in Kangxi's eyes. The Empress Dowager beside him followed Kangxi's line of sight and saw a beautiful little concubine. She must be the little noble lady who has been favored by her grandson in recent days.
I heard that Kangxi made exceptions for her many times and even let her stay in the Qianqing Palace.
Thinking of this, Xiaozhuang couldn't help but look at her with scrutiny. She wanted to see what was so special about her that made her so loved by her grandson.
Looking at her delicate face, Xiaozhuang's eyes flashed with displeasure. Seeing such a face, she thought of Hai Lanzhu and Dong Efei in the past, both of whom were equally weak and seemed to be able to survive only by relying on the favor of men.
"What are you looking at, great aunt?" The Queen Mother at the side saw that the Grand Empress Dowager's eyes were not moving, so she put down her chopsticks and asked curiously. Following her gaze, she saw that it was a young concubine, and she understood.
Then he smiled and said, "So you're attracted to the pretty girl."
Xiaozhuang came back to her senses and looked at Qiqige beside her with an unclear expression.
Is she overthinking? Otherwise, how come Qiqige also experienced the period of Dong Efei, why didn't Qiqige realize that this woman was the same type of person as Dong Efei?
Xiaozhuang smiled, shook her head, and retracted her gaze.
The Queen Mother saw that everything was alright, so she happily started eating again.
From beginning to end, Yuying didn't realize that she was disliked by her boss just because of her face.
After eating and drinking, Yuying finally had the mind to observe the other people in the hall.
Let's not talk about Kangxi and the Crown Prince, who were acting out the loving father-son relationship, but the Empress Dowager beside Kangxi. Yuying had heard of her like thunder in her ears, and now she finally saw the real person, but she felt that she was slightly different from the vigorous and vigorous image in history. She seemed to be just a kind old lady, but the sharp light in her eyes showed that she should not be regarded as an ordinary old lady.
Seeing that Yuying was about to meet the eyes of the Empress Dowager, she quickly shifted her gaze away guiltily and set it on the Imperial Noble Consort Tong Jia below. At this moment, Tong Jia rarely did not show her arrogant expression, and even looked a bit like a kind mother.
I guess this is thanks to the little carrot head sitting next to her.
This should be the future Emperor Yongzheng, the current Fourth Prince Yinzhen!
There was a flash of surprise in Yuying's eyes, and she stared at the little carrot head without blinking.
It seemed that Yuying's gaze was too intense and Yinzhen noticed it. Their eyes suddenly met. Yinzhen did not sense any malice and gave Yuying a sweet smile in return.
Yuying was struck by this cute smile!
Human babies are so cute!
Is this really the cold-faced Fourth Master of the future?
Yinzhen just thought that his Khan's concubines were really strange. They either looked at him crying or looked at him with a silly smile. His mother was still the best! Thinking of this, Yinzhen took a spoonful of food and put it into Tong Jia's bowl, "Eat, mother."
Tong Jia touched Yinzhen's head and praised him, "Mother's Yinzhen is so well behaved."
I didn't expect that the relationship between the Imperial Concubine and the Fourth Prince was so good. Yuying took all of this in, but she also thought that in two years, the Imperial Concubine would be gone. The Fourth Prince would return to his biological mother, Concubine De. Thinking of this, Yuying looked at Tong Jia with a hint of pity.
And she remembered that in history, it seemed that Concubine De was not very kind to the Fourth Prince?
Yuying's gaze turned and fell on Concubine De again. Yuying had met Concubine De several times, and she always looked gentle and kind, and there was no sign that she would favor her youngest son in the future.
There was quite a lot of people around Concubine De at the moment, with a palace maid on each side holding a swaddling baby. Yuying used her brain to think about it and decided that these should be the Seventh Princess and the adopted Thirteenth Child.
Yuying didn't know much about her youngest daughter. She only remembered that she seemed to have died young. But she knew a little more about her second daughter, Princess Wenxian, who was sent to be raised by the Empress Dowager.
Speaking of being adopted by the Empress Dowager, besides the Fifth Princess, it seems that there is also Concubine Yi’s Fifth Prince?
Wow, look!
Who is the person staring at the young boy beside the Empress Dowager at this moment? It is none other than Concubine Yi!
There are two younger children beside Concubine Yi. Yuying's eyes can't help but fall on the older one. This is the Ninth Prince, the man behind the future Eighth Wise Kings.
At this time, Yinzhen was only two years old, and he was longing for his mother's love. Seeing that his mother was not paying attention to him, he was going to make a fuss!
He grabbed Concubine Yi's sleeve and climbed up until he climbed into Concubine Yi's arms. He then stretched out his little hand and tried to turn Concubine Yi's face to face him.
This made Yuying very happy. Concubine Yi seemed helpless about her son's overbearing character and was forced to retract her gaze. She seemed to coax him with a few words, until Yuying saw the Ninth Prince laughing, and his teeth were showing.
Yuying withdrew her gaze with a lingering look.
It is worth coming to this palace banquet. It is indeed the most lively time of the year in the palace.
At this time, no matter how arrogant and domineering a person is, he would not come out to cause trouble today. Here I specifically mention Concubine Xi.
What is Concubine Xi doing?
Concubine Xi was staring straight ahead without blinking, but it was unclear whether she was staring at Kangxi or the Crown Prince beside him.
Over there, Imperial Concubine Niuhuru was so busy with her fat son that she had no time to eat, but Imperial Concubine Hui next door was quietly enjoying her meal.
There is also a child by Concubine Hui's side. Unlike the domineering Ninth Prince, and unlike the lively Tenth Prince who was raised by Concubine Niohuru, he is quiet and will eat whatever is given to him. He looks like he is easy to raise. This is the Eighth Prince Yinsi, who is raised by Concubine Hui.
Yuying didn't expect that the current Eighth Prince would actually look so pitiful. But think about it, since his biological mother was of a low status and his adoptive mother had a grown-up prince in front of her, it was normal that she was not valued.
The eldest prince Yinzhi, who was sitting on the other side, attended today's palace banquet with his wife. The eldest wife looked young and behaved in a dignified and polite manner. On the contrary, Yinzhi beside her was staring at the prince with gritted teeth. It was only after the eldest wife patted him that he calmed down a bit.
He then took a bite of the meat in the bowl angrily, as if he was taking his anger out on someone.
Time passed in the blink of an eye and the palace banquet was about to end.
A group of eunuchs cleared the dishes from the tables.
Next it's show time.
…
Only after the performance was over and a few auspicious words were said, the palace banquet was truly over.
The Grand Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother left first, and then Kangxi left with the Crown Prince.
When passing by Yuying, Kangxi seemed to pause, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Yuying didn't care whether Kangxi had anything to say to her. She had just drunk a lot of wine and was feeling sleepy.
After these four people left, the remaining concubines went back to the palace in groups of three or four.
Yuying still stayed with Concubine An on her way back.
It was late at night and the palace roads were all lit with palace lanterns, so the road did not seem difficult to walk on.
The snow started falling again.
When I wake up tomorrow, I'm sure a lot of branches will be bent again.
The twenty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign passed quietly in the falling snow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
