roccoschili Chapter 282 Winter Banquet
Chapter 282 Winter Banquet
The Sixth Prince, who had become the Emperor, thought that his mother had not lied to him. He sat on this supreme throne and gained the whole world, but in return, he had also lost a lot. No one would ever be able to truly love him with all their heart and soul again!
His father taught him that as an emperor, he shouldn't force himself to have those things. But the Sixth Prince knew that wasn't the case. Otherwise, why would his father hold on to his mother so tightly and never dare to let go? He didn't refute his father at the time, but this doubt lingered in his heart.
Later, the Sixth Prince, who had been crowned Crown Prince, thought helplessly, "Who would dare to be completely open and honest with an emperor who had the power of life and death?" Of course, this was only a story for later. At this moment, the Sixth Prince was leisurely leading his group away from Listening Snow Pavilion.
There was finally movement in Tingxue Pavilion. Li Xiang summoned the dragon chariot to the bottom of Tingxue Pavilion. The emperor wrapped Lan Qingwu tightly with a black gold cloak, carried Lan Qingwu horizontally and went down from Tingxue Pavilion. He walked to the front of the dragon chariot in a few steps. After getting on the dragon chariot, the emperor went directly to Qianzheng Hall.
At night, Emperor Shenwu hugged Lan Qingwu on the bed and said lazily, "Ruoruo, is there going to be a winter banquet tomorrow?"
Lan Qingwu was a little helpless: "Yeah! Brother Heng, are you coming?"
"Look at my time, weakling. The Empress of the Central Palace only holds four or five banquets a year, and you're so indifferent? You should know that these are times to establish majesty and show favor, and you can't just avoid them! You've divided the power of the palace over and over again. I've never seen an Empress so unattached to power as you."
Of course, the Emperor Shenwu was just giving a proper reminder. He still had himself, didn't he? He had never relaxed his control over the palace.
Lan Qingwu, however, had his own ideas and practices: "Brother Heng, the four or five palace banquets a year are just for the six palaces. There are also other royal family banquets, festival banquets, and so on. It's really quite a lot."
Who would have the patience to gather a bunch of concubines competing for beauty in less than a month? She still had a lot of work to do.
"As for palace power, it's just about finding some things for Concubine Jiang, Concubine Liang, and Concubine Yang to do. They're very good at managing the palace, and I haven't let go of everything. This way, I can always be with you. Besides, don't you have Brother Heng watching over me?"
Emperor Shenwu was helpless: "You! Well, I should just focus on taking care of my health in the near future. That's the most important thing. But as for Concubine Yang... do you know who she belonged to in the early years?"
Lan Qingwu's eyes widened, and Emperor Shenwu looked down at her: "She was very close to Concubine Chen in her early years."
Lan Qingwu's heart skipped a beat. In this harem, there really was nothing that could be hidden from the Divine Martial Emperor. Lan Qingwu whispered, "I heard Ru Ping say this a few years ago, but she has always been obedient and law-abiding."
The Shenwu Emperor's phoenix eyes were dark, revealing no emotion: "Yes! Currently, I'm quite obedient."
When it came to these sensitive topics, Lan Qingwu didn't know what to say, so she kept silent. She certainly understood what the Emperor Shenwu had left unsaid. In a few years, when the princes stood at the court, would Concubine Yang still behave herself?
After revealing these future events, Emperor Shenwu gently covered Lan Qingwu's eyes with his big hand: "Go to sleep! I will accompany you!"
Lan Qingwu no longer thought about those trivial matters. He lay peacefully in the arms of Emperor Shenwu and slowly fell asleep.
The second time, the Empress of the Central Palace held a winter banquet in the Qiulu Palace, inviting the ladies and masters of all the palaces to enjoy the winter snow and red plum blossoms together.
All the concubines in the harem who could still get up came out in force. This was because they all knew that the emperor would always attend the empress's banquets. Moreover, there were other concubines with various motives. For example, Sun Guipin, who had always been almost invisible in the harem, had a second princess who was already older, only fifteen years old. Although a princess would not have trouble getting married, marrying well was not easy. As a concubine, she could not make the decision on the princess's marriage, so she had to find a way to save the country. Sun Guipin never missed the empress's banquets and would often bring the second princess to Fengqi Palace to pay her respects.
The eldest princess has the support of Empress Dowager Li and is also the legitimate princess of His Majesty, so she naturally has nothing to worry about. The third princess has the powerful family behind Concubine Wen as her backing, so she naturally has nothing to worry about. The fourth princess will have to wait for a few years, and only her second princess is caught in the middle. If Concubine Sun does not think of any solution and can only wait, who knows whether the emperor will forget about her and her daughter.
This time, Concubine Sun was also present. Not only her, but also Concubine Jiang, the head of the imperial concubines, the four concubines, all the noble concubines, concubines, and even the noble ladies and beauties were all present.
Behind the main seats of each palace concubine were the seats of their respective princes and princesses. Behind Concubine Jiang was the Second Prince, behind Concubine Wan was the Eldest Prince, behind Concubine Wen was the rebellious Third Princess, and the Third Prince was behind Concubine Yang. The Fourth Prince was farther away from the front of the main hall. After all, his biological mother was just a noble lady. However, the Fourth Prince was very calm in such occasions, and Concubine Bai was even more calm and dignified.
The Fifth Prince was behind Concubine Zhang. He was actually the closest to the Fourth Prince. Unfortunately, the Fifth Prince's eyes were darting around, and all his attention was focused on the main hall in front of him. Therefore, he did not notice the Fourth Prince's increasingly cold look as he looked at him.
Indeed, who would look back at a prince whose status is lower than their own? At a time like this, who wouldn't look up?
At this time, Concubine Bai felt the most guilty towards the Fourth Prince. It was because her status as a mother was too low that she implicated her son.
When the Fourth Prince was just a few years old, Concubine Bai was indeed down-to-earth and contented, thinking only about raising her son. But when the Fourth Prince was six or seven years old, her ideas gradually changed due to the influence of various factors.
In the harem, sons are noble because of their mothers. Although they have no worries about food and drink, concubines have no status. Their children have to endure and retreat even from good educational resources. Look at Concubine Wen. She is just a princess, but she is spoiled by Concubine Wen in all kinds of ways. She has everything she wants. The third princess's eyes are on top of her head.
Looking at the Empress's three children, Concubine Bai felt a tightness in her chest. Just because the Sixth Prince was the Empress's firstborn, not only was he personally brought up by the Emperor to teach him, but renowned scholars and capable generals were summoned by the Emperor to be his tutors! How unfair was this! Her Fourth Prince was clearly no less capable than any of the other princes! Just because her mother was of humble origin, the Emperor treated him differently!
When Concubine Bai thought of this, she looked at the Fourth Prince behind her with a hint of guilt. The Fourth Prince understood what Concubine Bai was thinking and then gave a comforting smile.
Concubine Bai turned around calmly, her face still looking dignified and quiet.