Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 855 New Year's Eve
The Third Prince's wish to invite Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying to the palace to celebrate the New Year together was simple and plain, just to appease his father. However, with the New Year's Day court approaching, an inexplicable . The Emperor had no intention of hosting this New Year's Eve family dinner, so he not only rejected the proposal on the grounds that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying also had parents and elders to reunite with, but also gave up the task.
"I'm not in the mood. Sanlang, you will host this family dinner in the name of the Queen Mother. I'm annoyed and will stay in Fengxian Hall for one night."
When the Third Prince went to Qingning Palace to see the Queen Mother and stammered out these words, he was really worried that his grandmother would be furious or ridiculed. However, he did not expect that the Queen Mother was only slightly stunned, and then laughed at herself, "He had a quarrel with me as his mother before, and stayed in Fengxian Palace for a whole night in the name of reflection. This time, he even skipped New Year's Eve."
"Is he afraid that the concubines don't know what's going on outside?" After a sneer, the Queen Mother saw the Third Prince standing with his hands down, his face flushed, and he was clearly ashamed of the Emperor's actions. She sighed, "You kid, your father was very discerning in choosing you to be the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. You take on everything for him. Okay, don't think too much."
"Isn't it just a New Year's Eve banquet? Just say that your father missed the late emperor and was afraid that he would be lonely down there, so he specially prepared a banquet and went to Fengxian Palace to talk with him. Speak seriously and shed a few tears, and the meaning will be conveyed. Those people in the palace who call you mother are very smart and won't gossip."
With the Queen Mother's words, the Third Prince felt relieved. However, the Queen Mother's next words stunned him and made him dumbfounded on the spot: "This New Year's Eve banquet is just for show. There is nothing to eat, but it is just a symbol of reunion. Since your father will be alone in Fengxian Hall to accompany the late emperor, you take your fourth brother and follow me out of the palace to the Duke of Zhao's mansion."
"Alas, they say that once you enter a marquis's house, it's like entering a deep sea, but few people know that once you enter the palace, it's even deeper than the sea. Every time I, the empress dowager, leave the palace, it's like the earth is shaking. It's even worse than your father running around everywhere when he has nothing to do. I can't even visit my own sister when she's sick."
The third prince wanted to stop him but couldn't find an excuse. If he didn't stop him, he felt it would be pitiful for his father to be left alone in Fengxian Hall. But in the end, the empress dowager persuaded him to stay up until midnight and set off firecrackers before returning. When he returned to Zhaoren Hall and told the fourth prince the news, he saw his most lively and active fourth brother jumping for joy.
"That's great, that's great, I can go out of the palace to play, long live the Queen Mother!"
The Third Prince wanted to rush over and cover the Fourth Prince's mouth tightly. Fortunately, the Emperor had already gone to Fengxian Hall, and the people in the Qianqing Palace would not go to the gods to report such a sentence, but he still pulled the Fourth Prince's ears hard with hatred, warning him to restrain himself, and then dragged him to Yonghe Palace to visit the Fifth Prince.
This was also the biggest entertainment activity for the two brothers in the palace these days. Even though the little one, who was as small as a pink ball and slept soundly most of the time, would not respond to the two boys who regarded themselves as their elder brothers, the brothers still felt very comfortable with Concubine Yu's attitude of opening the door and welcoming them to visit often, so they would go for a walk every now and then.
Therefore, on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, the two brothers started the visit by poking their face, and ended the visit by poking their face again. The fifth prince, who had a good appetite and a strong body, and had gained a lot of weight in less than a month after he was born, seemed to have gotten used to this almost daily face-poking action. He was too lazy to cry, but would occasionally move his arms impatiently.
When the fourth prince heard the baby crying behind him, he couldn't help but turn around and wanted to go back. As a result, the third prince had to grab him and said angrily: "You act like a brother, but he doesn't even know how to call people! The imperial concubine is generous and never says anything to us, but look at you, you treat us like dolls."
"If you keep poking, there will be fingerprints on Fifth Brother's face!"
Although the two brothers were very careful and always came to Yonghe Palace after bathing and changing clothes, and washed their hands carefully before touching the children, even washing their nails clean, the Fourth Prince still knew that it was difficult to raise children these days.
Therefore, he smiled awkwardly, and when he followed the Third Prince to say goodbye to Concubine Yu, he couldn't help but sigh when he left Yonghe Palace.
"Isn't it because I didn't have a younger brother before... Third brother, if father had a few more sons and daughters, wouldn't he not be so sad?"
The Third Prince's face suddenly changed, but after a while, he reached out his hand and hugged the Fourth Prince, then whispered: "It is indeed a happy thing for someone as generous and understanding as the Imperial Concubine to give us a brother. But if those stingy and stupid people give us brothers and sisters, it is easy to cause trouble. This is not what I said, but what my father said."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince had lowered his head and looked away, although he did not nod or shake his head, he clearly understood, so he took the Fourth Prince's hand, and the two brothers walked side by side as before. However, even though they were inseparable most of the time, when the New Year's Eve banquet began that night, the two of them could no longer sit next to each other.
The Third Prince, as the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, who hosted the New Year's Eve banquet on behalf of the Emperor, needed to accompany the Queen Mother, appease the concubines, take into account everyone's emotions, and say some very nice words that had no practical meaning.
The Fourth Prince was ordered by the Queen Mother to pour wine at each table, so he was too busy to stop. After he finally sat down, the New Year's Eve banquet was over before he could take two bites.
The fourth prince used to be a little prince, he just had to hide in the back to eat and drink, he had never experienced this before, at this moment he put down his chopsticks in anger, it was only because the third prince winked at him that he followed the others to pay respects. When the concubines left, the palace servants came to clean up the tables and cups, and he was pulled to the back by the third prince again.
At this time, he only saw a few delicious snacks on the small table. He was slightly startled and heard a laugh: "Your father is not here, so everyone is inevitably resentful. Seeing you pouring the wine yourself, they will feel better."
"I know you didn't have time to eat a few bites. These are Cantonese-style desserts made by the apprentice taught by Mr. Song in Zhang Yuan. Eat less and eat more at Duke Zhao's mansion later!"
The fourth prince raised his eyebrows in disbelief, looked up at the queen mother, and confirmed that this was not a polite remark. He immediately cheered a little, rushed forward and stuffed a silver roll into his mouth, and after choking, he drank another mouthful of stew. Fortunately, he knew that he would go to Zhaoguogong Mansion for another meal later, so he did not eat up everything in a hurry, and put it down after he was about 70% full.
At this time, the Queen Mother had already changed into a new outfit and examined the two grandsons in front of her. Seeing that they were dressed in homely clothes, she told them not to change and just follow her out. Yuquan had gone out early to arrange for the people to follow, so when the Emperor in Fengxian Hall got the news, he counted with his fingers and found that he could not catch up...
Maybe people are leaving from Bei'an Gate at this time, and Duke Zhao's Mansion is almost here!
"When a son grows up, he is no longer under the control of his father..." After the emperor said this, which almost made Chen Yongshou burst out laughing, he sighed with boredom, "Since the Queen Mother has taken them out, let them go!"
The lonely emperor was thrown into the Fengxian Palace, and the fourth prince happily followed the queen mother and the third prince into the Zhaoguogong Mansion. Although he had often left the palace in the past year or so, and even stayed in a place like Baijia Village for a month, he did not often come to the Zhaoguogong Mansion. In the past, it was because the emperor did not want to be too ostentatious, and later it was because Zhaoguogong Zhu Jing took charge of the Ministry of War.
So, when he saw Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying standing side by side behind Zhu Jing, he couldn't help but smile. After they had bowed, he ran up to them and called them "teacher" with a smile on his face. Zhang Shou habitually stretched out his hand to stroke the hair, but then he immediately realized that this was not his territory, so he withdrew his hand and laughed dryly, "My hand slipped."
Zhu Ying burst out laughing when he said this, while Zhu Er simply turned his back to hide his expression that was about to burst out laughing. Although Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang felt that Zhang Shou was so disrespectful in front of the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince, they decided to pretend to be blind and deaf when they saw that the Fourth Prince was grinning foolishly and had no sense of inappropriateness.
As expected, the Queen Mother pretended not to have seen this action at all, nor heard Zhang Shou's words. She looked around and smiled, "Is Jiu Niang accompanying her daughter-in-law in Qing'an Hall?"
"The Queen Mother is right."
Zhu Ying certainly would not be restrained just because the Queen Mother was here, so she smiled and said, "Grandmother has been in better spirits than usual these past two days, and mother and sister-in-law often take turns accompanying her. I just heard that the Queen Mother brought the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince together, and Grandmother wanted to chase them away, but mother said that the Queen Mother would not pick on this, and it would not be too late to pay respects in Qing'an Hall later."
This was a straightforward statement. Even if Jiu Niang really said this, only Zhu Ying dared to repeat it. The Queen Mother just smiled when she heard it. After all, Jiu Niang was neither humble nor arrogant even in front of her. What else could she complain about when someone could take care of her seriously ill mother-in-law with all his heart?
She was no longer at the age of finding fault with everything. If she really wanted to find fault, who could find more faults than the emperor?
Therefore, when they arrived at Qing'an Hall, the Queen Mother nodded to Jiu Niang and Zhang who came out to greet them. When she entered the inner room, she saw the Madam sitting there. Although she looked thinner than before, her complexion was still . The heavy emotions that had been weighing on her heart for the past few days finally eased a lot. Without saying a word, she went forward and sat on the edge of the bed, and then gently held the Madam's hands.
At this time, there was no one in the room who could not read the expression. Even if the Queen Mother brought the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince out, the two had already come to visit the Madam, so of course they would not stay any longer. So, in an instant, everyone in the room quietly retreated, leaving only Mother Jiang watching at the door.
When the sisters met, the Queen Mother, with her temperament and status, certainly would not complain about the Emperor's son, or talk about the recent bizarre incident, but would just talk about her grandchildren. And this topic naturally pleased the Queen Mother, who was most proud of the fact that her grandchildren all had a place to stay, especially her grandson-in-law Zhang Shou, who was even more capable and more loyal.
Therefore, when the Queen Mother talked about their recent meeting, Zhang Shou very naturally touched the Fourth Prince's head, and the Queen Mother couldn't help but laugh. After laughing, she said softly: "The Emperor has really raised these two brothers very well, and after Shou took over as a teacher, he taught them by example, and they are better than before."
"Yeah, if I had known this would happen, I might have made the decision earlier, and I wouldn't have had to deal with all those bad things."
The Queen Mother smiled bitterly, and finally whispered, "You are now in the most blessed period of your life, so you must take good care of yourself and enjoy the blessings of your grandchildren. Alas, the Emperor's temperament is to do things in a twisted way, and he only believes in his own judgment. So although it is good that Zhang Shou can catch his eye, it is inevitable that he will be like Jing'er, who will think of him for everything. This is too eye-catching."
"It's not like there are no people in the world, but the emperor always keeps using the people he likes the most. This is indeed a big problem."
Even though the person who said it was the supreme ruler of the world, the lady did not hide it. But she knew very well that the queen mother did not leave the palace just to visit her, nor for these trivial matters. Sure enough, next, she heard the inside story with richer details and more bizarre plots than Zhang Shou knew, and the expression on her face almost couldn't hold back.
"The Second Prince was actually persuaded by those unidentified guys to go to the Haidong Hua Kingdom? The ruler over there has no descendants, so they sent an envoy, sailed across the ocean with great difficulty, and then begged our dynasty to send royal family members to take over the country? This is just a show, how can it be true!"
The old lady, who was calm and composed in the face of adversity, could not help but ask the empress dowager a question. She couldn't help but hold her forehead with her hand, and then she sorted out her messy mood and asked, "Where did you get this news? The emperor didn't say that when he sent Chen Yongshou to find Ah Shou, so Ah Shou dared to come up with such an outrageous and bad idea. Could it be that the emperor said half of it and hid the other half?"
"Your Majesty doesn't know."
The Queen Mother was not afraid of saying anything shocking. After a faint smile, she said in a deep voice: "Chu Kuan knows the Emperor's temper, so he specially sent a reliable person to report to me, worried that the Emperor would directly order the killing in anger. But he didn't think about it. How could I be soft-hearted? Even if I personally picked the person to depose the Queen, I am at least 70% responsible for her death."
The recent news really overturned her usual understanding of the world. The lady didn't know whether she should laugh at the absurdity or seriously think about whether there is such a Haidong Hua country, or something else. In the end, she could only say helplessly: "I really doubt whether the people on this boat are crazy."
But after questioning, she lowered her eyelids slightly, and then said word by word: "There is nothing to say, let Chu Kuan act decisively, as long as one or two people can be saved. In the past, it was the royal merchant ships that went overseas, but now it seems that the court should send more official ships overseas to show the country's prestige."
"We must find the Haidong Island where the so-called Taizu Stele was left. We can't delay any longer. We have one ship now, but in the future, there may be eight ships!"
