Chapter 58 Flower Appreciation Banquet

Yihuan received an invitation for a banquet held by the Crown Princess Yuqing Palace, and said to Nanny Chen: "It's not a festival, why is the Eastern Palace hosting a banquet for all the officials?"

The palace maid who came to deliver the invitation was beaming with joy, saying that not only the royal family members but also the Crown Princess had invited the wives and daughters of important officials of the court, and it was obvious that she was planning to hold a grand wedding.

"None of the four concubines in the palace has ever held such a grand banquet. I guess it must be a big happy event." Nanny Chen speculated.

Yihuan counted on her fingers: "If it is the prince's wedding, then men should be invited. Now only the female relatives are invited, either to see each other, or..."

In terms of appearance, the Qing Dynasty implemented a selection system, where women were selected as selected girls after birth, and could not freely marry before being selected. Of course, there were also childhood sweethearts who were in love, but if they had arranged it in advance, they would inevitably be eliminated.

"The Crown Princess's happy event, could it be that she is finally pregnant?" Yihuan guessed, "That's not right. The Crown Princess has been preparing for pregnancy for many years, and even I have heard about it. If she finally has good news, why not take good care of the baby?"

Nanny Chen fanned Yihua and said, "Why do you think so much, Fu Jin? Let's just follow the rules and go in and out with the princes' wives. It won't be wrong."

The next day, Yinzhen took Honghui to Yonghe Palace first, and Yihuan took the eldest princess to Yuqing Palace for the banquet.

When Concubine De saw Honghui coming, she quickly asked Nanny Lu to serve him fruits and pastries. She took his hand and asked him carefully about his diet for the day. She looked kind and considerate.

Honghui liked Mam very much. He answered word by word while sipping milk tea, and occasionally made a few witty remarks to make Defei happy.

Yinzhen was listening nearby and felt more and more that something was wrong. Where did this kid learn these flattering words? Could it be that one of the servants around him was not sincere and started to drug his master?

As he was thinking, Yinzhen began to look at the eunuchs following Honghui. They all kept their heads down and were obedient, so it was hard to tell whether they were loyal or treacherous. So he decided to check them one by one.

Honghui had already progressed to reciting poems for Concubine De. Yinzhen touched his nose. This was the first time he was completely ignored by the Empress in Yonghe Palace, but he didn't feel sad at all. This feeling was quite novel.

The reason why Concubine De loved Honghui so much was probably not only because he was favored by Emperor Kangxi, but also because he was her eldest son and she loved him as much as he belonged to her.

Yinzhen thought of this and said a few soft words to Concubine De: "I heard from Concubine Fu that the queen has been craving for coolness recently. Is she in trouble?"

"It's nothing serious, it's an old illness. It's healed after taking medicine." Defei was in a good mood, and her tone was much gentler when she spoke to Yinzhen.

"Your Majesty, if you want to find any medicinal herbs, please tell me and I will look for them outside the palace for you."

"I feel fine after taking the pills prescribed by the imperial physician. You should do your job well and don't make yourself suffer." When Defei said this, she even choked up a little, and it was obvious that she was expressing her true feelings.

Yinzhen was also somewhat moved and was about to say something.

Concubine De continued, "Your family still has too few descendants. Honghui cannot do anything on his own, so he needs the help of his brothers."

"Li is a good fertile woman. When your wife came last time, I mentioned the matter of a concubine. What do you think of it?"

Yinzhen saw that Defei had resumed her usual high and mighty attitude. Everything that had just happened seemed to be an illusion, and his heart slowly cooled down again. "Your Majesty is considering this, but my son is only a Beile. He wants to be a concubine without any achievements. My son is afraid that the emperor will beat him out. Let's talk about this matter later."

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is waiting for Honghui in the Yangxin Palace. Your son will take him there." Without waiting for Concubine De to speak again, Yinzhen pulled Honghui out without looking back.

Green Nanny advised: "You said these things that the prince did not like to hear. Just now, I saw that the prince was deeply touched. As a result, when you mentioned Li Gege at the end, the prince was unhappy again."

Concubine De was also angry: "I am worried because he has so few children at his age. How many sons did the emperor have at his age? He is not anxious, and he doesn't even think about what will happen if Honghui... Prince's Mansion!" Nanny Lu was startled, and she whispered: "My queen, you..."

"Honghui had two accidents in a row, and I am always terrified." Defei expressed her concerns, "When has there been an accident in the palace? It's all man-made. These uncles can't win the emperor's favor, but they attacked a child who is less than six years old. They are despicable!"

"If it was the women in the harem who did it, I still had the confidence to protect Honghui. Now it seems that I thought too little." Defei was worried, "I'm afraid that I will wake up and hear that something happened to Honghui again!"

"Don't worry, you have the prince." Nanny Lu advised, "Wouldn't it be nice if you could tell the prince these words?"

Defei smiled bitterly. How could she say that?

The adoption they had received in the early years had turned them into neither mother nor child.

******
When Yihuan arrived at Yuqing Palace, Prince Cheng's wife Dong E was talking excitedly.

It turned out that recently, Emperor Kangxi was pleased to see that Prince Cheng had made great contributions in editing books, so he rewarded him with a garden. Now, Prince Cheng's mansion is undergoing a large-scale construction and has begun to renovate the garden.

Dong E said that there were rare treasures in the garden, and listening to the flattery and congratulations of the housekeeper, her inner vanity was greatly satisfied.

She saw Yihuan coming in and stepped forward: "Fourth sister-in-law, you are good at hiding yourself away."

"What do you mean, sister-in-law?" Yihuan was pulled by Dong E to an open place, where she could see everything without any blind spots, so she didn't have to worry about others eavesdropping.

Dong E pinched Yihua's cheek and said, "You are still pretending to be nice to me. Why don't you provide some new ideas for our shop?"

Yihuan dodged a bit and said, "Third sister-in-law, what you said is strange. That is your dowry shop, and there is no share for my sister. Besides, look at my belly. How can I have the energy to think about these things? I just eat and sleep every day."

Dong E looked at Yihuan's belly with some envy: "You are favored constantly."

Dong E lowered her voice and leaned closer: "How are you going to thank me, sister?"

Yihuan raised her eyebrows, signaling Dong E to continue.

"People from Prince Yu's Mansion have been hanging around outside my shop these days. How could it be such a coincidence that the Tong family member was so lucky to run into Prince Yu's wife that day?"

Yihuan clasped her hands together and said, "Maybe God can't stand it anymore."

Dong E burst out laughing: "I don't care, I will help you deal with Prince Yu's Mansion. You owe me a favor, and you have to pay it back in the future."

Yihua shrugged indifferently: "Whatever you say."

Dong E stopped when she saw that things were going well, and did not ask any further questions, changing the subject: "Do you know why our good second sister-in-law is holding a banquet?"

Before Yihuan could speak, Dong E spoke up: "On the surface, she found some rare peonies, but in fact, she wanted to announce that she is already three months pregnant."

Seeing Yihuan's calm expression and no sign of shock, Dong E rolled her eyes and said, "You are becoming more and more like your grandfather. How boring!"