CH 77.1

Chapter 77.1 – Drunken Prince Consort

By the time Qi Yang and Lu Qipei returned, all banquet participants had arrived, and they were the last to appear.

It was almost noon, just the time to have the feast, so everyone gathered together and sat down. There were guards in the distance, and there were attendants nearby to attend to their needs. When you look up, you could see that Princess Xiangcheng and King Qi had also prepared songs and dances. It really wasn’t any different from having a banquet in the mansion.

Qi Yang and Lu Qipei got on their seats, took the handkerchiefs handed by the servants and wiped their hands. Then, they took a couple sips of tea from the table in front of them.

Someone on the other side laughed and said, “Qi Yang and her prince consort are so in love. Only the two of you came back late to the banquet today, so you should drink two cups of wine as punishment. Why are you only drinking tea?”

The one who said that was Princess Nanping. She and Qi Yang had always been at odds. Today, she especially brought her prince consort to watch Qi Yang make a fool of herself, but then saw that they were just as in love as before. She was in disbelief and felt disdainful, and wanted to find fault with her.

However, Qi Yang couldn’t be bothered to care about her and just replied, “Me and my prince consort aren’t good at drinking, so we drink tea instead of wine.”

Princess Nanping was a little angry when she saw her half-hearted reply and wanted to say something else, but was stopped by her prince consort.

Before the banquet started, the atmosphere was already not very good. Princess Xiangcheng invited Qi Yang here, obviously not to make enemies with her, so she quickly rushed over to smooth things over.

This matter wasn’t a big deal at all, and was soon resolved.

Soon, the banquet begun, and everyone started drinking. All the kings and princesses who shared good and bad relationships gathered together to talk.

The Fifth Prince who had been titled King Chu sat to Qi Yang’s left. After drinking a few cups, he leaned closer to Qi Yang and asked her, “Royal Father’s birthday is approaching, I wonder what kind of birthday gift have Royal Sister prepared this year?”

The Longevity Festival1 would come in two months; the Emperor’s fiftieth birthday would definitely be celebrated grandly. But the Emperor did not like opulence nowadays, and in previous years those whose gift were too over the top would be reprimanded.

But this year’s birthday was different, and everyone knew that it was going to be a big deal. Of course, the congratulatory gift had to be better than previous years, but they were not sure exactly how much.

But for Qi Yang and the Crown Prince, who the Emperor had favored since they were young, he would be happy with whatever they sent. Over time, their brothers and sisters seemed to have found a yardstick. Whenever they had to prepare a gift for the Emperor, these two would be the basis for comparison.

But in recent years, the princess’s mansion had become more strictly guarded. It was difficult to get news about the princess’s mansion, so he had to bite the bullet and ask directly.

King Chu’s question was obviously what everyone wanted to ask, so they all stopped talking and looked over.

Qi Yang felt that it was a bit dull, but she had nothing to hide, so she casually said, “I wish Royal Father a hundred years of good health, so I went to Huguo temple to fast and pray for blessings, and get a statue of the honorable Bodhisattva to give him on the Longevity Festival.”

There was nothing wrong with this gift. The Emperor would never scold her for being opulent, and it also showed her sincerity. Given the Emperor’s favor for Qi Yang, he would definitely be happy.

But this way, her congratulatory gift could not be used as a reference. After all, they couldn’t all just put down their business, run all the way to Huguo temple to fast and pray for blessings, then bring all the statues of the Gods and Bodhisattvas in the temple back, right?

King Chu became somewhat awkward. Under everyone else’s gaze, he bit the bullet and asked again, “Royal Sister’s idea is very good. Then, I don’t know if Royal Sister knows what brother Crown Prince is preparing this time?”

For ordinary families, it was common for brothers and sisters to prepare gifts for their father and exchange information, so as to avoid embarrassing each other if something went wrong. But the royal family was different and there was competition everywhere, it was very ‘nice’ for King Chu to keep asking this question.

Qi Yang wasn’t a child who didn’t understood the importance of things, so she immediately frowned and replied, “I don’t know.”

These words made everyone a little unhappy, and it was especially apparent on King Qi’s eyes. But Qi Yang acted as if she didn’t notice it and took a sip from the teacup in front of her, just to hide the sneer on her lips.

In fact, she had already noticed the change in everyone’s attitude. In earlier years, although those princes and princesses were unwilling, they would hide it in front of her. But now, they showed their feelings so openly, and even often provoke of find faults with her.

The root cause was nothing other than the Crown Prince.

In the battle at the northern border three years ago, the Third Prince was executed for treason, while the Crown Prince returned with victory. His only opponent in the court got himself killed, while he got some military achievements – theoretically, the Crown Prince position should have become more stable.

However, the world was unpredictable. The Crown Prince received and unexpected grave injury in the northern border, and the fact that his right hand was half disabled could no longer be hidden from the court. Plus, the experience of running away in the ice and snow for two days with those injuries seemed to have left him with some sequela, and he had become increasingly pale and weak in the past two years.

A Crown Prince with a handicapped body was already a bit less convincing, and to add to that, his health also didn’t seem very good. Over time, the few remaining princes who had been on the decline gradually began competing again, and Qi Yang was looked down upon by those ambitious people.

But Qi Yang had always been proud. Even though the Crown Prince’s health was getting worse and it also made her worry, but none of these unsightly princes could enter her eyes, let alone make her submit.