Chapter 212: Pai Gow

Wanyan had seen the vicissitudes of life during this period. Not to mention others, even her family members didn't care about her, as if she was a plague god. When she received the imperial edict from the empress in the palace, she wanted to show off her wealth, so she dressed up.

As a result, she and Fourteen met in the flower hall and they were silent for a few seconds without speaking.

If Wanyan was in her best form to announce her return to the entire capital, then the Fourteenth Master was dressed like a poor little thing.

He was wearing a very inconspicuous dark-colored suit, which was wrinkled as if he hadn't changed it for several days. He didn't even bring his favorite ring accessories, and looked like he had just returned from a retreat in a temple.

The Fourteenth Master wanted to ask her to change, but the time was almost up and he didn't have time for Wanyan. He said in a bad tone, "You didn't touch the gift I picked yesterday, did you?"

"No." Wanyan felt that Fourteen was a little angry, so she quickly restrained herself.

"Okay, let's go. We can't keep the palace waiting anxiously." Although there is still some time before dinner, he is going there to ask for forgiveness. It would be stupid to go there before dinner time.

"You don't need to say much to the Queen. Just cry when the mood strikes." Fourteenth reminded him tirelessly.

"Yes." Wanyan replied, "Master, are we still going to visit the Queen Mother?"

The Fourteenth Master glared at her and said, "Listen to the Queen, if she takes you there, just go there. Stay quiet and don't act on your own!"

This sentence also set the tone for the evening banquet.

The Fourteenth Master was stopped at the entrance of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, which was not surprising to him, so he sat outside like a door god, and every minister who went in and out would stare at him out of the corner of their eyes.

Such times seemed to have returned to the Kangxi period. He and his fourth brother often waited outside the door for a whole day, but they were not panicked at that time.

Sure enough, having his father be an emperor and having his brother be an emperor are two different experiences. He can only adapt and cannot choose.

The Fourteenth Master, who was being stared at like a monkey, was finally invited in by Su Peisheng after running to the toilet twice.

Fourteenth knelt down as soon as he entered the room. Yinzhen was tired and wanted to relax, so he called him in. When he looked up, he saw that there were no refugees here.

Lao Jiu and others tactfully retreated, leaving only the two brothers in the room. No one knew what they said, but they only knew that when Fourteenth came out, he was wearing one of the emperor's old clothes.

They went to the Yiku Palace together. As soon as they entered, they could hear the sound of opera. It turned out that Yihuan had specially invited the most popular actor in the capital to perform for an afternoon, just in time to kill time.

Yihuan had already made instructions for the children in advance, so she set up a table for Honghui and let them enjoy the meal by themselves. Anyone who wanted to join could be invited. Mainly considering Fourteenth's face, it was better not to let the children show up today.

Wanyan just cried out of grievance: "Empress, the Fourteenth Master and the Emperor are brothers from the same mother. Even if he is angry, he still remembers their friendship. But the group of flatterers in the Ministry of Internal Affairs dared to deduct the Fourteenth Master's share. And that eunuch, who I don't even know, blatantly asked for money. You have to stand up for me and the Fourteenth Master!"

Yihuan found it funny. When she was the prince's wife, Wanyan was used to her cleaning up her messes, but now she blurted it all out at once. She was too naive.

The Ninth Lady couldn't bear to see her do something stupid, so she took over the conversation and said, "You don't have to do anything, Queen. When the Fourteenth Master gets a job, they will have to bow and scrape to him."

The Tenth Lady was coughing badly. She tried to hold it in, but her face turned red. Yihuan had someone serve her pear juice, "Tenth Sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me that you were so sick? You need to rest well. You can't eat foods that cause inflammation, such as beef and mutton."

"Thank you for your concern, Empress. It wasn't that serious yesterday, but today I feel my throat is really itchy." The Tenth Lady spoke incoherently. "We are just having a family dinner. Why are you forcing yourself to stay awake when you are not feeling well? Nanny Chen, please arrange for someone to send the Tenth Lady back home safely, and have the imperial physician take her pulse carefully and make sure she is cured." Yihua hurriedly sent the person back.

The Tenth Lady stood up, thanked him gratefully, and left.

The Thirteenth Lady was a man of few words. She sat closer to Yihuan's sewing box and saw half of the sweater's outline. She reached out and grabbed the pattern on the collar: "Empress, are these bunny ears?"

"Yes, I did it for fun. Little Wolf loved it before, but now I have to coax him to wear it." Yihuan said with some regret. It was really a killer for a child to wear a doll costume, but the child was getting older and knew shame, so he refused to cooperate anymore.

"Your Majesty, your ideas are so novel. The fox pillow you gave me before is so popular with children that they have to fight for it every day." The Ninth Concubine said with a smile.

"They came to ask me for something." Yihua said with a smile, "After the party tonight, everyone will have a share. Everyone can take a few dolls back for the children."

"That's daring."

"Let's go and listen to an opera. After we finish eating the hot pot, we'll set up another table. It's been a long time since I played Pai Gow with you guys. Today we must try to win some money from some rich guys." Yihuan arranged a full schedule of activities.

When Yinzhen and others arrived, the play was just coming to an end. They took the reward money and left the stage.

Yihuan took a look at the Fourteenth Master. He had lost a lot of weight. Yinzhen's old clothes fit him now, but they seemed a little short. The Fourteenth Master was much taller than the Fourth Master, so he looked a little funny.

When men drink, one meal becomes two or three meals.

Yihuan instructed Su Peisheng to serve his master well, and then started a gambling game with her brothers and sisters. She didn't know whether she was really lucky or others were giving her the advantage, but it didn't take long for Yihuan to win a lot of money.

Anyway, ever since she became the queen, she has never lost money playing Pai Gow.

Wanyan was the first to complain. She called her maid over and said, "Go ask Eunuch Su if the Fourteenth Master is free. I have no money left. If I continue playing around, I will have to mortgage my mansion. Ask the Fourteenth Master to send some money over."

Yihuan grabbed a handful of change from her desk and said, "Consider it a loan from me. Remember to add interest. Come quickly."

Yinzhen and the others were so jealous that they stopped drinking and came over. The eight of them played a few rounds of cards. The men acted as military advisors and money bags, while the women were responsible for playing randomly.

It was noisy, but Yihuan had a lot of fun.

Ever since Yinzhen came to give her advice, she lost all the money she had won before.

It turns out that Yinzhen is still a bad "card" trash, and he is not as omnipotent as he seems.

The moon was above the treetops, and their game was not over until the palace gates were about to be locked. Yinzhen was unwilling to accept defeat in the end, and muttered to himself that he would find some related books to read, summarize the experience and lessons, and fight again another day.

Yihuan instructed everyone to clean up the leftovers and rubbed the brows of the drunk Yinzhen.

The next day, the Fourteenth Prince entered the Ministry of War and worked under the Tenth Prince. The Tenth Prince was a person who didn't care about anything, and the Fourteenth Prince smoothly took over the Ministry of War, and there was no trace of the decadence of the previous days.