PNB Chapter 387 There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm my child
Chapter 387 There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm my child
The Emperor held a grand celebration for the full moon celebrations of the eleventh and twelfth princes. The addition of twins to the Emperor's family was a sweet burden. A large banquet was held in the Taiji Hall for the guests.
The entire Shen family naturally went to the palace. During breaks in the banquet, the women would visit Shen Shixi, who was in confinement after childbirth, at Zhaoyang Palace and keep her company.
After a month, Shen Shixi recovered very well. She had a rosy complexion, was in good spirits, and had smooth, firm skin. You really couldn't tell that she had given birth to two sets of twins.
Madam Shen felt sorry for her daughter and said in a low voice, "If you can avoid having children in the future, then don't. Having too many children will ruin your health. You are young now and don't understand, but when you get older and realize the importance of it, it will be too late."
Shen Shixi said, "Mother, I know. If I hadn't gotten pregnant, how would I have known it was twins? Besides, I really didn't expect I could get pregnant."
Leaving that aside, Madam Shen brought up Shi Wan's matter, "Her surname is Jiang, she's from Tongcheng. I don't know whether we should agree to her marriage. After all, she's a merchant, and her social standing doesn't match ours."
If things don't go well in the future, are we just going to get a divorce?
Shen Shixi said, "It's nothing. If you want a divorce, then you want a divorce. How you live your life is your own business. What's wrong with bothering others? Third sister is getting old. She can make her own decisions about these things. The elders can help check her character, but we shouldn't interfere with anything else."
The eleventh prince's nickname was Fuguang, while the twelfth prince's nickname was chosen by the princess. She specifically consulted the lecturer at the Chongxian Hall and named him Wangshu, which means "moon".
The two little princes were separated by the crown prince and the princess while they were still in their mother's womb. The crown prince wanted a younger brother and the princess wanted a younger sister. As a result, both were born as younger brothers, which made the princess feel very wronged.
But when she heard that the little brother looked like his mother, the princess turned her tears into laughter, and her heart was at peace. She no longer wanted her younger sister, but only this little brother.
The prince wanted to back out, but his father said that a man once he makes a decision, he cannot back out. He also said that his eleventh brother was very cute, so he would not mind.
Fuguang is also an elegant name for the sun, just like Dongjun (the Eastern Lord).
At this full moon celebration, the Crown Prince and Princess each pushed a stroller, and entered the main hall under the guidance of their father, the Emperor.
The shouts woke the two children. Fu Guang was alright, but Wang Shu was very irritable. She kicked her swaddling clothes and looked very impatient.
The officials gathered around and saw that the twins looked nothing alike. The eleventh prince resembled the emperor in both appearance and mannerisms. The twelfth prince, however, was a carbon copy of the empress, resembling her in both appearance and mannerisms.
Minister of Rites Lu Shixun then laughed and said, "The Prince of Wangshu really looks like the Empress!"
Li Yuanke was overjoyed. Of his four children, one finally resembled the Empress. Looking at Wangshu's little face, his satisfaction and joy were overflowing.
"It's very similar, in every way." He reached out and touched Wang Shu's little face, but his son looked disgusted and pouted, looking like he was about to cry, which melted his father's heart.
Fu Guang lay comfortably in the stroller, indifferent and looking at people with a strange and sarcastic gaze, just like Li Yuanke's disgusted and stupid appearance.
Seeing Fu Guang like this, Li Yuanke couldn't help but reflect on himself, wondering if he had ever behaved in such a shameful way.
He wanted to hide the kid away, feeling deeply that the bastard had given birth to this thing just to make fun of him.
Fu Guang was unaware that his father disliked him so much, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. It was still uncertain who would dislike whom.
He disliked his younger brother quite a bit; he was very spoiled and always cried, mainly to get his father's attention.
The Empress Dowager was unwell and did not attend the full-month celebration, but the rewards that were due to the Empress and the two children were not neglected. On the imperial platform, the Crown Prince, Princess Xihe, and the newborn baby sat with the Emperor.
The other princes and princesses were below the stage, with a clear distinction between superiors and inferiors. The eighth prince was quite angry. They were all the emperor's children, but just because they were born to the empress, the emperor treated them better.
The Eighth Prince whispered to the Third Prince, "Third Brother, Father is so biased."
The third prince glanced at it, said nothing, and ate in silence with his head down.
The Emperor's favoritism has been going on for a long time. The Empress Dowager said that the Emperor likes the Empress Dowager and therefore likes the children born to her. Since a son's status depends on his mother, he can also make his mother's status depend on her son.
As long as he stands out and surpasses the Crown Prince, his father will see him sooner or later. He wants his father to know that the best successor is him, not the Crown Prince.
The eighth brother also wants to compete. It's hilarious that a prince born to a disgraced concubine would have such wishful thinking.
The Third Prince was truly grateful to his mother. Through her actions, the mothers of the vast majority of princes in the harem were now convicted of crimes, either due to their own mistakes or the mistakes of their maternal clans. After a thorough investigation, they had basically all lost their eligibility to be considered for the throne.
Besides him, there was the sixth prince and his three legitimate brothers.
He is not yet qualified to be the crown prince, but if his sixth brother wants to compete for it, he will definitely not let him go.
While the full moon banquet was being held here, Consort Jing had her carried to Consort Du's place.
Du Cai Ren was too weak to get out of bed and even speaking was difficult. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to Consort De. In this palace, the two of us are the only lonely people here."
Consort Jing was no longer afraid that Consort Du would lay a hand on her. Consort Du had difficulty even getting up, so she sat directly on the edge of the bed and said, "Oh, I forgot, you're not Consort De anymore, you're Consort now."
Du Cairen coughed a few times in anger, "You and I are both practically on our deathbeds, Pei Linghua, what's the point of saying all this?"
"Why is it so boring?" Consort Jing said. "It's so lively outside, you know? Today is the full moon celebration for the eleventh and twelfth princes, and the Emperor is holding a grand banquet for his officials in the Taiji Hall."
"Of all the children in the palace, those born to you and me, and those born to other concubines, none of them have ever had a full-moon celebration. Only those born to the Empress have received this treatment. Du, do you really want that?"
Consort Du remained silent, while Consort Jing burst into laughter. "In the past, you always said that you had given birth to three imperial heirs for the Emperor, that the eldest son and the eldest daughter had both crawled out of your womb. Do you think the Emperor was thinking when you said those things?"
Did the Emperor even care about the children you gave birth to? Hahaha!
Consort Du retorted angrily, "Didn't you also want to bear the Emperor a legitimate son back then? Did the Emperor ever care about the Seventh Prince?"
Consort Jing was momentarily stunned, then laughed and said, "It doesn't matter whether you care or not, I don't care anymore! The Seventh Prince is no longer my child, he is registered under the Guo family's name;
The Emperor said that my name will not appear in the imperial court or the harem, and no one will laugh at me in the future.
But you are different. You spoke of a thousand generations to come. How will future generations judge you? Will those scholars think, "What heinous things have you done, from Consort De to Consort Shen, then to Consort Xiu, and finally to this state?"
Consort Jing was helped out, while Consort Du vomited several mouthfuls of blood.
In order to name their younger brothers, Dongjun and Xihe made several trips to Chongxian Hall and then had the idea of going to school. Li Yuanke was very reluctant to let them go. The children he had raised were suddenly going to leave. He was extremely worried and always afraid that someone would harm his children.
Shen Shixi, however, fully supported the children's decision and couldn't understand the Emperor's concerns. "Now there are two more, aren't you going to take care of them? You expect me to? If they don't go to school, can you manage them all by yourself?"
This is a problem!
It doesn't make sense that he personally raised the two older ones while leaving the two younger ones to the servants. He doesn't care about the rough third one, but how could he bear to let the fourth one suffer?
That's right, that's how Li Yuanke ranked his legitimate sons and daughters by their birth order – the eldest, second, third, and fourth.