The Longevity Festival
The third day of the first lunar month is the Emperor's birthday, also known as the Xiao Ge Festival.
Although the struggle for the throne was simmering beneath the surface, the Great Jin still appeared to be a peaceful and prosperous era. The Emperor's birthday celebration was not only a nationwide celebration, but the imperial palace also held a grand banquet, inviting many members of the imperial family and relatives to attend.
Xiao Ge had a wish: to take advantage of his birthday to let his sons sit down together for a heart-to-heart talk and to strengthen their bond.
The brothers had a good relationship when they were young. He hoped that even if they couldn't be as harmonious as they were when they were children, they could at least have some brotherly affection, more courtesy, and less fighting.
Although he was dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, he still did not depose him. This was because the Third Prince's restless activities over the past two years had weakened the Third Prince's power considerably.
The Second Prince was always suppressed by him; the Fourth Prince had always been relatively unknown and held little power; the Fifth Prince had no ambition to seize the throne. He tried his best to maintain a balance among his sons.
He himself was in good health and would live at least another ten or twenty years without any problem. He really couldn't understand why his sons were so eager to fight for power and profit now.
A grand banquet was held at the palace, and Zhao Ruxi, the soon-to-be Consort of the Prince of Qi, was naturally among the invitees.
The old lady was the Duchess of the State, a first-rank noblewoman, and now the grandmother of the Prince of Qi's fiancée; although Lady Zhu's rank was not high, she was also the Prince of Prince of Qi's future mother-in-law. Both of them were among those invited.
Zhao Ruxi, citing concerns for their safety, arranged for Lady Luo to accompany the old lady and Lu Yun to accompany Lady Zhu. She herself took Ma Ling'er with her.
Ma Ling'er is the daughter of Ma Sheng and Lady Luo, and she has learned martial arts from them. Although she is not as good as Lady Luo and Lu Yun, she is still better than Qingfeng and Dianjiang Jiang, who know nothing about martial arts.
In fact, today's coup would not affect the women's side. Zhao Ruxi made this arrangement because she was worried that someone might take advantage of the situation to harm them. With Lady Luo and Lu Yun around, she didn't need to worry so much about the old lady and Lady Zhu, since she couldn't always be by their side.
On the Emperor's birthday, Noble Consort Cen, who was in charge of the Empress's office and organizing the banquet, was naturally present.
She was very welcoming to the old lady and Lady Zhu Lady Zhu, which eased their worries about the marriage.
After exchanging pleasantries with the old lady and Lady Zhu for a while, Noble Consort Cen turned to Zhao Ruxi and smiled, "Your second sister-in-law is quite pregnant. I was worried she might get tired, so I let her rest in my palace. She'll be here in a little while. Pregnant women can be a bit irritable sometimes, so please be patient with her."
Zhao Ruxi naturally understood that Noble Consort Cen was referring to the time when Cen Peixuan had summoned her to the Prince of An's Residence and reprimanded her.
She smiled and said, "Your Highness is too kind. Prince of An's Consort is a lady of noble birth, well-educated and reasonable, and knows all the rules. How could she possibly have any inappropriate words or actions that require my forgiveness?"
She was generally satisfied with Noble Consort Cen's actions. At least she wasn't summoned to the palace for a reprimand after Cen Peixuan had already disciplined her; she could still say such things now.
Regardless of what Noble Consort Cen thought, she was satisfied as long as things remained generally peaceful.
She didn't demand that Noble Consort Cen treat Xiao Lingyan better than Xiao Lingpu, or treat her better than Cen Peixuan. Cen Peixuan was her own niece; the difference in their relationship was obvious, and she couldn't ask for too much.
Zhao Ruxi did not tell the old lady or Lady Zhu about the mistreatment she suffered at the Prince of An's Residence.
Her words were a mix of soft and firm; on the surface, she was praising Cen Peixuan, but in reality, she was expressing her stance to Noble Consort Cen that she was unwilling to be the subservient one.
Why should she tolerate Cen Peixuan? Is it because of the Cen Family, or because of the child in her belly?
The old lady, unaware of this, politely and modestly replied, "Our Miss Xi is stubborn and not very sweet-talking. If she does anything wrong, we would be grateful if Your Highness and Prince of An's Consort would forgive her."
These words were so perfectly spoken that Zhao Ruxi wanted to applaud her grandmother.
With the old lady saying this, Noble Consort Cen could no longer bring up the matter from that day.
She smiled and said, "Xiaoxi is such a good girl. You have no idea how Gao Xing I was when I heard that Little Five wanted to marry her."
The old lady naturally had to say a few words of modesty.
Lady Zhu could hear the subtle veiled meaning in Zhao Ruxi and Noble Consort Cen's words. Seeing Noble Consort Cen's excellent attitude, she was willing to reciprocate with goodwill.
A good relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is always better for Zhao Ruxi than a bad one.
She smiled and said, "I've heard that Your Majesty doesn't sleep well. Miss Xi has had some wine brewed in Nanyang; it's especially good for women. Once it's ready, I'll have her send some to Your Majesty. A small cup before bed each night will greatly benefit your sleep and improve your complexion."
Noble Consort Cen lived a life of luxury and wealth, and had few hobbies, except for being extremely concerned about her appearance.
Upon hearing this, she became extremely interested and turned to ask Zhao Ruxi, "What kind of wine? You can brew wine?"
"It's a recipe I had someone compile when I was in Nanyang, which I then improved upon. It's called 'Sealed Jar Wine'," Zhao Ruxi said. "Because it's newly brewed, the taste isn't very good yet. It needs to be buried for another two years to reach its optimal flavor."
The old lady chuckled beside her, "This wine is indeed excellent. When I passed through Nanyang on my way back to the capital, I stayed Nanyang for a few days, Miss Xi gave me some newly brewed wine. Because it had been brewing for a while, the taste wasn't great, but the effects were quite remarkable. After drinking it, I slept much better. Normally, I would wake up in the middle of the night and then be unable to fall back asleep for half the night. But after drinking that wine, I slept soundly until Tianming."
Noble Consort Cen, who had been suffering from insomnia, was overjoyed to hear this and quickly said to Zhao Ruxi, "Don't wait until it tastes better. I've drunk so many bitter medicines already, a little more taste won't make a difference. If you have any left, send me some to try."
"Okay." Zhao Ruxi nodded.
"Mother, what are you chatting about so happily?" A soft voice suddenly sounded from the side.
Zhao Ruxi turned her head and saw Cen Peixuan, who was heavily pregnant.
"Miss Xuan is here? Come, have a seat." Noble Consort Cen beckoned to her.
Cen Peixuan glanced at the three members of the Zhao Family who had already stood up and bowed to her, nodded slightly, and then sat down, holding her stomach, without smiling or saying a word.
Noble Consort Cen frowned upon seeing this.
This was the first time Lady Zhu had met Cen Peixuan. Seeing her attitude, her expression softened, and she said to Noble Consort Cen, "Your Highness, you are busy. Let's go rest over there."
Noble Consort Cen smiled and said, "That's fine. The banquet will begin soon, and I'm busy, so I won't keep you company any longer. There will be plenty of time later."
Zhao Ruxi bid farewell to Noble Consort Cen and then found another place to sit down with her grandmother and mother.
"Your Majesty, look at their attitude! They even dare to give you the cold shoulder." Cen Peixuan's expression was not good.
Before she came, her husband instructed her to reconcile with Zhao Ruxi.
She just lost her temper for a moment.
She had intended to put on airs and say a few nice words, but Zhao Ruxi's family immediately turned their backs and left. Feeling embarrassed and worried that Noble Consort Cen would blame her, she decided to sow discord.
Noble Consort Cen looked at her ignorant niece and sighed softly, "You must understand, this marriage wasn't Zhao Zhiwei begging to marry into the royal family; it was our Little Five Prince begging to marry Zhao Zhiwei. The Emperor pleaded with him for a long time before Mister Kumu finally agreed to the marriage."
Cen Peixuan was stunned.