Chapter 138 Undercurrent surging
The celebration banquet prepared by Kangxi for the pacification of Dzungar Khanate arrived as scheduled, but the protagonist of the banquet was somewhat deviated out of control.

Fei Yanggu was still bedridden and had taken leave early. Originally, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the absolute protagonist of the day, but he was overshadowed by one person.

Behind the Eighth Prince were two beauties in palace dress. One of them was familiar to everyone, the Eighth Lady. The other had a slightly bulging belly and was supported by someone. The Eighth Lady looked very happy.

Those who knew her began to whisper that it was Nalan, the concubine who was betrothed to the Eighth Prince. She was very lucky as she became pregnant not long after entering the house.

At this time, there were quite a few pregnant women in the royal family. In addition to Nalan, there were Yihuan, the Crown Princess and others, all of whom were pregnant with babies. However, none of them were as shocking as the news that the Eighth Prince's family was finally going to have a baby.

Prince Zhi was the first to raise his glass to the Eighth Prince, "Congratulations, Eighth Prince. You don't know how worried I was before. I almost took you to the Imperial Hospital for treatment. Now it seems that I was overthinking."

The Eighth Prince remained calm despite being implicated. "Thank you for your concern, big brother. How is Hongyu? I have always been concerned about my nephew's health, and I can't help but worry about you. After all, you have only Hongyu as your child."

Prince Zhi snorted coldly: "He is fine, so you don't need to worry about him."

The Ninth and Tenth Princes stood in front of the Eighth Prince and said, "Eighth Prince, I am very happy. Drink this cup to your future nephew."

The Eighth Prince accepted all offers and drank the wine like it was plain water. The younger princes, who were still young and ignorant, came to join in the fun just to have a drink.

Before the meal officially started, the Eighth Prince had already started drinking, attracting the attention of those around him.

Yihuan couldn't drink alcohol because she was pregnant. In front of her was the honey water that Concubine De had prepared for her. She brought it to her lips to moisten her throat. It tasted sweet, just the taste she liked.

Concubine De is an expert at reading people's expressions and words. As long as she wants, she can make anyone feel comfortable.

Oh, except for Yinzhen, this mother and son pair really acted too much all the time.

Wanyan leaned close to Yihuan and said, "Fourth sister-in-law, look at Eighth sister-in-law's expression. She is smiling like the Bodhisattva in the City God Temple. Her expression is more accurate than what can be measured with a ruler."

"You have such a big mouth, be careful that Guo Luoluo hears it and tears it up." The wife of Prince Cheng took over the conversation, her eyes also wandering around the "family of three". "The Nalan family is really high-profile this time. Even the Crown Princess' pregnancy was not so publicized."

Ninth Lady handed Yihuan a piece of dessert and said, "Eighth Master is finally proud of himself. The Crown Princess is focusing on protecting the fetus, so it is wise not to make a fuss about it."

"Do you think Nalan's child can be born safely?" Wanyan asked suddenly.

No one spoke, imitating the Tenth Lady's actions of looking at her nose and her heart, pretending not to hear her question.

Yihuan glanced at the Eighth Prince. As long as he wanted, the child would be born. But could Guo Luoluo watch everything that belonged to her being replaced by another person?
I hope Nalan can be more careful. The fights among adults always involve innocent children. Maybe because she is pregnant, Yihuan is a little sentimental.

"Fourth sister-in-law, have you eaten too much?" Wanyan looked at the two empty plates in front of Yihuan with some horror. Those were snacks before the main meal, with a plate in front of each person. Most people would not touch them because they looked nicely presented but were actually very unpalatable.

There were two plates in front of Yihuan, one of which was pushed over by the Ninth Lady. While waiting for Kangxi, Yihuan had already finished two plates of unpalatable snacks and drank a lot of water.

Wiping her mouth, Yihua was already used to people around her being shocked by her appetite: "It's a pregnancy reaction. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sister-in-law."

Wanyan grinned and said, "I still have some more. Sister-in-law, if you're not full, give me some more."

"No, there will be a meal later, I'll eat that." Yihuan didn't think the snack was delicious, but she couldn't keep her mouth idle. The Crown Princess saw Yihuan and the others whispering and laughing together, so she also tried a bite of the snack and spit it directly on her handkerchief.

The Fourth Lady's taste is indeed unique, Tong Guining thought to himself.

Finally, Kangxi arrived and the banquet officially began.

He made a few concise remarks, expressing his praise for all the soldiers who participated in the battle of Dzungar, and then highly recognized Fei Yanggu's selfless spirit, and finally ended with recognition and praise for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The people attending the banquet cheered "Long live the emperor" and then started singing and dancing to liven up the atmosphere.

When Kangxi first arrived, he found that everyone was surrounding the Eighth Prince, so he naturally discovered something fishy: "Eighth Prince, is someone in your family pregnant?"

"To answer your Majesty, it was the concubine Nalan." The Eighth Prince stepped out and replied.

Kangxi thought about it and remembered that it was he who arranged the marriage for Nalan, so he became more satisfied: "Start a family and establish a career. You have been responsible for the job for several years and have no children. Now that you have one, it's good. I don't have to worry anymore."

"It's my son's fault for making Father worry so much."

After asking about the eighth brother, Kangxi did not forget Hongyu, the eldest brother, and gave him another round of earnest greetings, even wanting to know exactly how much his grandson ate in one meal.

After caring for Prince Zhi and the Eighth Prince, Kangxi suddenly thought of the Thirteenth Prince.

"Thirteen, this time our Qing Dynasty was able to defeat the Dzungars. In addition to the bravery of our soldiers, your map also played a very important role. If we had not taken the new route, the reinforcements would have arrived at least half a day later. If that had been the case, even if we had won, it would have been a miserable victory."

"Your contribution is not limited to this battle. This is a great event that benefits the people. I have decided to confer the title of Beizi on you."

Yinxiang immediately stepped out of the line and knelt down, saying, "I dare not take credit for anything. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

"Get up. We are happy today. No need to be so polite." Kangxi has always liked the Thirteenth Prince. Now, seeing his handsome and elegant son, he is even happier.

Kangxi turned his gaze to Yinzhen who was feeding Yihuan, "Fourth Brother, I heard from Honghui that the crops you planted in your farm have all borne fruit. Why don't you show some of your filial piety to me?"

Yinzhen wiped Yihuan's mouth and stepped out to answer, "We should have sent them to the palace right away for Father Huang to taste, but what I planted were ordinary things that were not worthy of being presented in a high-class hall. It was Honghui who made a fool of himself and made you laugh."

"Honghui is a good child. He always thinks of me. But you, as his father, are competing with your son for food. What a shame!" Kangxi said half-truthfully. He loved Honghui and would not allow anyone to say anything bad about him, not even Honghui's father.

Yinzhen glanced at Honghui with an embarrassed look on his face. This grandson was the treasure, and the son was the weed. He had already faced the reality.

Kangxi showed his concern for everything, even asking about the progress of Prince Cheng's dictionary compilation. He just expressed a bit of concern for the Crown Prince. The ministers looked at each other, and none of them understood what Kangxi meant.

There was nothing wrong with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's actions, so why did he lose the Emperor's favor?
Yinreng was drinking alone, watching his brothers working hard in front of the emperor, his eyes were dark and unclear. He cast his eyes obscurely on Kangxi, which contained strong dissatisfaction.

It was the Thirteenth Brother who had made contributions and was promoted to the title, it was the eldest brother who received the Emperor's care, and it was Honghui who was on the Emperor's mind. Then what was he, the Crown Prince, worth?
Decoration?!