eurekapd Chapter 229 The Second Prince is in Trouble
Chapter 229 The Second Prince is in Trouble
After holding the cup for ages, she finally finished drinking it. Before she could even sit down properly, the person in front of her stood up again. Completely unaware of what was happening, Song Jiaojiao had no choice but to continue going with the flow.
And so it went, wave after wave, until finally when it was time to eat the vegetables, they were already ice cold.
"I'd rather eat pastries," Song Jiaojiao thought angrily.
After the toasts were finished, it was time for the gift-giving. The Emperor has three sons and five daughters. The eldest prince, born to the Empress, is sixteen years old this year and is of marriageable age.
Today's banquet was also carefully prepared by the Empress, partly for the purpose of selecting a consort for the eldest prince.
"The Second Prince is fifteen years old and was born to Consort Li. As for the Third Prince's mother, she is the daughter of a minor official whom no one has ever heard of. She rose in rank because of her son and was originally a low-ranking concubine.
The Fifth Princess was born to the Empress and is twelve years old this year. The Third Princess was born to Consort Li and is fourteen years old this year. The Eldest Princess was born to the Emperor's personal maid when he was still a prince and is almost seventeen years old this year. She has never had much presence in the palace. If no one mentions her, you probably wouldn't even know who she is.
The second princess, sixteen years old, has already been married and moved into the princess's residence. As for the youngest, the fifth princess, she's barely able to walk; she was a newly selected concubine two years ago, the daughter of the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Lady Cheng'en was worried that Song Jiaojiao wouldn't recognize the people at the banquet, so she sent Rong Mama, who had been with her for years, to wait by Song Jiaojiao's side. At this moment, Rong Mama was telling Song Jiaojiao about the princes and princesses in the palace.
"Isn't His Majesty getting on in years?" Song Jiaojiao whispered in Rong Mama's ear.
"Your Majesty is forty-six years old this year and has been on the throne for eighteen years. The late emperor had many children, including no fewer than ten princes, and the current emperor is the fourth in line."
The battle for the throne back then resulted in many deaths, and in the end, the current emperor emerged victorious. However, after ascending the throne, the emperor faced internal and external troubles, and it took him three years to bring the Great Jin Kingdom to its current prosperous state.
Song Jiaojiao nodded. It seemed that the Emperor was a wise ruler after all.
A melodious zither tune drifted over, and the dancers had been removed at some point. The women now on stage, judging from their attire, seemed more like daughters of officials.
"Young Madam, the person on the platform now is Bai Wanqin, the granddaughter of the Left Prime Minister, and the second young lady of the Left Prime Minister's residence."
"The niece of Consort Li is fifteen this year. Rumor has it that Consort Li desperately wants this niece to be her daughter-in-law, but judging from the current situation, it's unclear whether Bai Wanqin is unwilling or if it's the Left Prime Minister's intention."
When the song ended, everyone applauded.
"This Miss Bai truly lives up to her reputation as a talented woman from the capital; her zither playing is unmatched."
"Yes, I was completely captivated by it."
Song Jiaojiao heard the conversation coming from the side; no wonder it sounded so pleasant.
"Now coming on stage is Chen Siyu, the daughter of the Junior Tutor. She became famous for her dance and is also a talented woman. Her father was a student of the Grand Tutor of the Empress's family. She is one of the people being guessed to be the one to be chosen as the Crown Prince's consort."
Song Jiaojiao looked at the woman in red on the field, who was bright and generous.
Song Jiaojiao had drunk too much tea; it was simply a matter of time before she needed to use the restroom.
"Granny, I want to change my clothes," Song Jiaojiao said to Granny Rong.
"Young Madam, let's go! I'll go with you." Rong Mama beckoned a palace maid to lead the way.
A breeze swept by, carrying the unique fragrance of plum blossoms.
Song Jiaojiao breathed a long sigh of relief, finally feeling alive again. She couldn't move around freely while sitting at the banquet; her legs were numb from sitting so long.
Having completed this major life event, Song Jiaojiao didn't want to go back so soon.
"Granny, I've heard that the palace has beautiful scenery, especially the Imperial Garden. Do you know how to get there?"
Since Song Jiaojiao was already here, she figured she should at least take a look at the Imperial Garden that everyone praised.
"Young Madam, there are no flowers in the Imperial Garden at this time of year, so it's not very beautiful. Let's go back quickly!" Rong Mama did not agree.
Song Jiaojiao thought about it and agreed. The Imperial Garden? Naturally, it was full of flowers of all colors. There were plenty of these things on her back mountain.
Thinking of this, Song Jiaojiao didn't insist. It was quite cold outside, so the two of them headed to the banquet.
As I passed by an artificial hill, I heard noises coming from inside.
"Is everything ready?" a sharp voice asked in a low voice.
"Don't worry, sir, everything has been taken care of." The person who answered sounded like a young palace maid.
"Nobody noticed, right?"
"Rest assured, no one else knows except you and me."
"That's good. Here, this is your reward. Now you can leave!"
Then came a muffled groan, followed by footsteps. Song Jiaojiao and Rong Mama quickly hid. They saw a person dressed as a eunuch emerge from the artificial hill. It was too dark to see the person's face clearly, but they could sense that the person had some difficulty walking.
After the person walked away, Song Jiaojiao came out. She hadn't seen a second person come out for so long, so she was afraid that the person was probably in grave danger.
Song Jiaojiao was about to step behind the artificial hill when Rong Mama quickly stopped her.
"Young Madam, we've been out for so long, let's go back!"
"Granny, I'll just take a look, it won't bother you."
Song Jiaojiao still wanted to go and see. Sure enough, behind the artificial hill was a little palace maid who had her throat slit and was holding a fine purse with red plum blossoms embroidered on it.
When Rong Momo saw it, she was immediately startled. This technique seemed to be from the Empress's palace.
"Young Madam, this is beyond our control. Let's go!"
"I urge you on," Rong Momo urged, glancing around every now and then.
Song Jiaojiao glanced at the design of the purse again, then obediently left.
The two returned to the banquet with lingering fear. As soon as they sat down, Mu Qing asked a question.
"Mother, why have you been gone for so long? Did something happen?"
"It's nothing, I just got lost because it's my first time at the palace." Song Jiaojiao didn't intend to tell Mu Qing what she had seen.
No sooner had he sat down than a young eunuch rushed in in a panic, knocking over a palace maid who was pouring wine for Prince Ling'an, spilling wine all over the prince.
"What kind of behavior is this, all this panic and disarray!" the Emperor rebuked sternly.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!" The little eunuch trembled and prostrated himself on the ground.
"What exactly happened?" the Emperor asked.
The young eunuch glanced up in the direction of the Empress, but said nothing.
The Emperor saw the eunuch's actions, glanced at the Empress, and scolded, "If you don't want to talk, then don't! Guards!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down! Something has happened to the Second Prince!"
"What happened to my son?" Consort Li asked anxiously, and immediately knelt down after regaining her senses.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not mean it. I was just too worried about the Second Prince."
"Alright, get up. Continue, what exactly happened?" the Emperor asked sternly.
"When I passed by the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, I heard the Second Prince shout. I didn't see any of the Second Prince's attendants around, so I thought something had happened and that's why I was in such a panic and disturbed Your Majesty."
The young eunuch glanced at the Empress again. She had just been very flustered, as if something terrible had happened, but now she spoke as if it were a trivial matter.