mtl008 Chapter 125: Nan cooperates with the plan as before
Chapter 125: Nan cooperates with the plan as before
After the birthday ceremony, the sound of stringed instruments rang out in the hall, actors began to dance, and the palace banquet for the Wanshou Festival officially began.
At this time, Prince Yu Fuquan stood up with a smile and bowed respectfully to congratulate:
"Your Majesty, I wish you good health and many offspring. I also wish our Great Qing Dynasty prosperity and a long and blessed reign."
He did not pick up the wine glass, because according to palace rules, he could only pick up the wine glass after the emperor picked up the glass, and he could only drink after the emperor finished drinking the wine.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi raised his wine glass with a warm smile on his face.
"I appreciate your kindness, brother."
As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. His movements were graceful and smooth, and the ladies and concubines who had not seen the emperor for a long time stared at him in amazement.
Heather Brook is watching too.
Kangxi was an emperor. At this moment, he was wearing a dragon robe and was respectfully embraced by everyone. It seemed as if all the light in the world was focused on him. The way he was understated yet dominated everything was so free and easy that he was truly noble and majestic, making people unable to take their eyes off him!
When Kangxi put down his wine glass, he caught a glimpse of Shi Nanxi cautiously but couldn't help but steal a glance at him, and he felt both amused and proud.
Normally, she was too shy to even look up when they met in private, but now she dared to peek at him. He would definitely tease her the next time they met.
At this time, Prince Yu Fuquan saw that the emperor had finished drinking, so he picked up the wine glass with both hands, raised his head and drank it all. Seeing this, Prince Gong Changning smiled and interrupted:
"Speaking of having many offspring, Second Brother, you don't need to worry about that for the Emperor. Look at the princes and princes that His Royal Highness has, all of them are healthy and smart.
Besides, tomorrow will be the day for the re-election. By then, the Emperor will have another group of beauties entering the harem, which will naturally add more heirs to the throne for the Emperor."
Hearing this, everyone subconsciously looked at the beautiful ladies who had the honor of participating in the Wanshou Festival.
When they saw Shi Nanxi, everyone glanced at her. Everyone knew that Shi Rongyue was the designated Crown Princess, and as the Crown Princess's younger sister, it was impossible for her to enter the palace.
On the contrary, it seemed certain that Tong Jiawan would enter the palace, and everyone looked over.
As the focus of the whole audience, Tong Jia Wanru was dressed up today. After feeling the gaze, she subconsciously adjusted the crabapple flowers on her head. Although she tried her best to restrain her expression, she still couldn't help showing a hint of excitement.
Seeing this scene, the concubines in the harem smiled, but their eyes were full of knives, and they wanted to shoot Tong Jia Wanru into pieces.
In contrast, Concubine De picked up the tea, lowered her head and gently scraped the tea lid a few times, took a sip, and then put it down. Compared with others, her reaction seemed indifferent and noncompetitive.
Shi Nanxi paid special attention to Concubine De, taking her reaction in with the corner of her eye, then glanced at Tong Jia Wanru who was enjoying the glory not far away, pursed her lips, and confirmed her guess in her heart, but lowered her head.
Kangxi looked around casually when he heard this, but his eyes stayed on Shi Nanxi for a second longer, then he quickly retracted his gaze and slowly stroked the wine glass and said:
"Old Fifth, you are envious of me for having so many children and grandchildren. Then in this selection, I will give you a few beauties and give you more children."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will obey your order." Prince Gong Changning immediately climbed up the ladder and bowed to accept the order.
"You!" Kangxi shook his head helplessly.
With the two princes taking the lead, the remaining concubines, ministers, and foreign envoys also began to toast Kangxi. There was a lot of toasting, and after three rounds of drinks, Shi Nanxi found that Shi Rongyue beside him could no longer sit still.
She first glanced at the prince, and then Shi Nanxi discovered that the prince seemed to have said something to the Fourth Prince, and then the two brothers stood up and quietly retreated.
After the two of them walked for a while, Shi Nanxi saw Shi Rongyue go out. She retracted her gaze and seemingly casually picked up a fish ball and put it into her mouth.
However, she was casually thinking in her heart that Shi Rongyue was indeed a cunning person. She knew that if she left first and the Crown Prince then tried to take the Fourth Prince away, the Fourth Prince would definitely find an excuse to refuse given his personality, so she switched the order of the two.
In this case, the Fourth Prince already has a good relationship with the Crown Prince, and he would definitely not refuse or be on guard if anything was proposed. But I don't know what the Crown Prince's reaction would be when he finds out that he was deceived and used by Shi Rongyue from beginning to end.
At this moment, a sharp light flashed quickly in her eyes, and then quickly disappeared. The next moment, she frowned and looked at her clogs.
There were a few drops of sauce-colored soup on the shoe, which was very conspicuous. A palace maid who was serving soup was kneeling beside him. At this moment, she apologized with a horrified look on her face:
"This slave deserves to die, this slave deserves to die."
Seeing this, Hongying immediately looked up and down at Shi Nanxi, and was relieved to see that she was not spilled. Finally, she looked at the flower-pot shoes and said unhappily:
"You are so careless. My second daughter's shoes are all dirty."
The little palace maid was still holding the soup in her hand, and her hand shook again with fear. Fortunately, the soup did not spill this time. She just apologized in even greater fear.
Shi Nanxi watched the scene calmly. Even though she was so scared, her hands were still so steady. How could she "accidentally" spill the soup on her shoes when serving the dish?
Thinking of this, she recalled the looks from Concubine Yi's sister-in-law and Concubine De before. She knew something was about to happen, so she said softly:
"Forget it, Hongying, she was just careless. Come with me to change your clothes." After saying that, he stood up from his seat.
After hearing this, Hongying stopped worrying about the little palace maid and quickly supported Ergege. Seeing this, the little palace maid immediately gave way and thanked her:
"Thank you, Second Princess, for your magnanimity and kindness."
Generosity? Kindness?
Shi Nanxi covered the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled meaningfully, "Soon you will see my "magnanimity" and "kindness"!
When Concubine Yi and her sister-in-law saw this scene, they looked at each other quickly and then quickly looked away. Concubine De glanced at Shi Nanxi who had left her seat calmly, and then looked at Nanny Cui, who nodded imperceptibly.
At this time, Kangxi, who was sitting at the top of the table, was holding a wine glass in his hand while listening to Liang Jiugong's report.
"The Crown Prince took the Fourth Prince to the Immortal Tower, and Princess Shi followed behind them?"
Liang Jiugong lowered his voice and replied:
"Yes, I also found out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send fireworks to the courtyard of the Immortal Tower in advance. Maybe he wanted to use fireworks to celebrate your birthday?"
But fireworks are usually set off at night, and we can't see them being set off in broad daylight. Why would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want to set them off during the day?
There had never been such an action before, and he had a guess in his heart that it might be related to that Princess Shi.
What Liang Jiugong guessed, Kangxi could naturally guess as well, but his attention was on the Fourth Prince, the Fourth Prince again.
He stroked the wine glass slowly, his eyes darkening.
"Have someone keep watching her. This time we must find out her purpose. Also have someone keep an eye on the Fourth Prince. Seal off the Immortal Tower from now on."
"Whoo."
At this time, Kangxi, who had just finished speaking, happened to see Shi Nanxi leaving, and he paused.
Liang Jiugong followed the emperor's line of sight and saw the Second Princess leaving the table. He immediately called someone to ask her about the reason, quickly found out the reason, and hurriedly whispered to the emperor.
Kangxi frowned secretly after hearing this. The little girl almost got into trouble several times when she went out during the intermission. There was an undercurrent in the field today. He felt a little worried, so he glanced at Liang Jiugong.
Liang Jiugong understood immediately and hurried downstairs to make arrangements. When he came back, Kangxi put down his wine glass, stood up and pretended to change his clothes.
Tong Jia Wanru, who was next to her, was feeling depressed because her birthday gift did not please her cousin the emperor, and instead the two sisters of the Shi family stole the limelight once again. When she saw her cousin the emperor leaving the table, she immediately thought of their last trip to Changyin Pavilion.
Her eyes moved slightly, and she immediately put down her chopsticks, stood up and followed.
This scene was seen by some people who were interested. They recalled the rumors about Changyin Pavilion and were immediately moved. Some noble people could not help but follow him out.
At this time, a palace maid in the corner glanced at Nanny Cui beside Concubine De.
Nanny Cui secretly gave a look, indicating to the other party that although she was going out, the follow-up plan remained the same.