"Order the eunuchs to bring the two of them into the palace."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Fu Yue withdrew and instructed the eunuchs to fetch Princess Chang Le and Prince He Lian to the palace. "The Empress has invited you; the eunuchs will take care of it."
Here, the Empress Dowager ordered a eunuch to come and tell Hailing that she had gone directly from Lanqing Palace to Guangyang Palace, and that Hailing should take Xiaomao'er with her afterward.
Hai Ling nodded, indicating that she understood. She would wait a little longer until Feng Qian and Helian Qianxun arrived, and then they would go to Guangyang Palace together.
Not long after, Helian Qianxun and Feng Qian were brought to Liuyue Palace. As soon as they entered, Feng Qian said with annoyance, "Little kitten, Auntie didn't bring any gifts today! What should we do?"
She didn't know it was the kitten's first birthday party, so she hadn't prepared a gift. Looking left and right, up and down, she finally found a jade pendant on Helian Qianxun's body. It was obviously a fine item. Feng Qian didn't even look at it and just threw it to the kitten. Then she hugged the kitten and gave it a big kiss.
"Call her Aunt Feng."
The kitten played with the jade pendant while sweetly calling out, "Aunt Feng!"
Feng Qian was overjoyed. She snatched the kitten away, hugged it tightly, and then exclaimed, "Little kitten, how come you're so small? If you were a little bigger, I would dump this brat and marry you!"
Helian Qianxun's face was incredibly sour. How could anyone be like this? She completely forgot about him the moment she saw a handsome man, especially such a small, tiny handsome man. Her fiery temper flared up, and she growled, "Feng Qian, do you want to get beaten up?"
Feng Qian ignored him and continued to tease the kitten.
Hai Ling smiled happily as she watched the two of them get along harmoniously. Standing next to Feng Qian, she whispered, "Feng Qian, it's about time you two got married."
These words, neither too loud nor too soft, finally eased the frostiness on Helian Qianxun's face.
Hai Ling couldn't help but laugh, and reached out to push Feng Qian, signaling her to stop being so coy and not to push away such a good man, as that would be a sin.
Outside the palace, a eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager have both gone there. They sent me to urge Your Majesty to come and tell you that all the guests have arrived."
Hai Ling then remembered the important matter. There were a bunch of guests at Guangyang Palace, but they were busy chatting and joking. She hurriedly ordered the eunuchs to fetch a sedan chair, and the group headed to Guangyang Palace to celebrate for the kitten.
Feng Qian held the kitten tightly, unable to put it down. Hai Ling whispered in her ear, "If you like it so much, why don't you get married soon and have one of your own to play with?"
Although Hai Ling spoke softly, He Lian Qianxun, with his skill, naturally heard it clearly. He rarely showed a smile, the only one he had that night. His long, deep eyes looked at the kitten, imagining what his child would look like. He couldn't help but feel excited. This time when he went back, he would tie this woman up and marry her, and then have her give birth to his lovely child.
Hai Ling and Feng Qian walked one after the other towards the gate of Liuyue Palace, with Nalan Mingzhu following behind them carrying their lovely daughter. On the way, Hai Ling thought about the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Has everything been resolved by the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
"Yes, Ling'er, don't worry, everything has been taken care of. Other readers are currently reading: The Sequel to Dream of the Red Chamber: Lin Daiyu - Watery Pearls" (TXT download).
Feng Qian nodded, then seemed to remember something and said, "Luckily, we got back in time last time. I didn't expect that Yun Hai would have such ulterior motives. He wanted to get rid of the Seventh Prince and let the Sixth Prince ascend the throne so that he could control the emperor and command the princes, just like Jiang Batian did back then. However, his ambition was not realized and we exposed it. Later, the Seventh Prince successfully ascended the throne and made my mother the Empress Dowager."
This way, she had no worries at all. Although the Empress Dowager was very sad at first, she eventually came to terms with the facts.
Feng Qian thought of Dana Tu Ke'er's capture, and then she thought of her imperial brother, and her heart ached.
Why is my royal brother so cruel?
Hai Ling glanced at her and said softly, "Actually, what happened on Fulong Island wasn't his idea. He was controlled by Dana Tuko'er with drugs."
Feng Qian didn't say anything more. Regardless of whether her brother was ultimately controlled by the drugs, he had killed so many people, and Ye Lingfeng would never forgive him. All that awaited him was a pile of yellow earth.
In the end, neither of them spoke. Outside the palace gate, several sedan chairs were parked.
Feng Qian handed the kitten to Hai Ling and helped Hai Ling sit in the first sedan chair. She and Helian Qianxun sat in the second sedan chair, while Mingzhu and her son sat in the third. Together they headed towards Guangyang Palace.
Guangyang Palace was bustling with activity, packed with people waiting for the birthday celebrant. When Hailing carried the kitten inside, many people in the hall stared intently, especially the noble ladies, whose eyes were glued to the kitten.
The little prince is so handsome; he'll be a heartthrob in the future. Most importantly, he already exudes the noble and dignified air of an emperor.
Inside the main hall, everyone rose and respectfully greeted, "Your Majesty the Empress and the young prince."
Hai Ling nodded and smiled, gesturing for everyone to rise. The Empress Dowager, seated high on the throne, had already beckoned Hai Ling to take the kitten over. Hai Ling, carrying the kitten, led Helian Qianxun and Feng Qian to the front of the main hall. Ye Lingfeng now considered Helian Qianxun a friend, so he immediately summoned a eunuch to arrange tables and chairs for Helian Qianxun and Feng Qian not far from them. As for Mingzhu, she went straight to Ji Shaocheng's side and sat down as soon as she entered the main hall.
For a time, the main hall was filled with the sounds of various instruments and singing, creating a lively atmosphere.
The kitten's cute and handsome face was full of smiles. It wasn't afraid at all from beginning to end. On the contrary, it was extremely excited and laughed as it looked at everything in front of it.
The banquet atmosphere was very lively, with people frequently coming over to toast the Emperor. The Empress, however, was exempted from such toasts because she was pregnant again. The royal family truly has many children and grandchildren, so everyone at the banquet drank to their hearts' content.
The events on Fulong Island and in the capital had previously weighed heavily on the court officials, but now that everything was settled, everyone was in high spirits and enjoying their food and drink.
The banquet lasted for more than an hour.
After the banquet, the little boy's first birthday celebration began. The eunuchs had already prepared the table, which was covered with all sorts of items, including swords, the Imperial Seal of the State, writing brushes, paper, an abacus, and so on. Later, the ministers of the court also brought out the birthday gifts they had given to the little prince. In no time, the entire table was filled with a dazzling array of items. Everyone gathered around the table, watching the little boy perform the first birthday celebration.
The kitten glanced at the sea of people around it, displaying the air of a royal descendant. It casually swept its eyes over the people around it, then set its sights on the things on the table. Finally, it crawled to its feet, wobbled, picked up a five-phoenix hairpin with a phoenix head and a golden body, and swayed to its mother's side. It then stuck the hairpin into Hailing's hair with its little hands.
The onlookers immediately cheered.
"Wow, the little prince is so filial! He puts benevolence and filial piety first in his heart."
Hearing the praise in her ear, Hai Ling happily kissed her son's cheek, encouraging him to continue getting things. Actually, how could such a young child know these things? (The following is unrelated and appears to be a separate entry: "First the bridal chamber, then the wedding ceremony: This prince is a bit wicked" latest chapter.)
The kitten rummaged and searched, and finally found the replica of the Imperial Seal of the State among a pile of things. It wobbled and swayed as it approached Ye Lingfeng and presented it with both hands: "Father."
Ye Lingfeng's face was filled with pride. Only now did he feel the pride of being a father. Although this guy was not usually very affectionate towards him, he could see it in crucial moments. A father and son are a father and son, and no one else can compare.
Cheers erupted again from the court officials.
"The young prince is truly a peerless prodigy, unparalleled in heaven and earth."
"Yes, a child prodigy! To know at such a young age that the Imperial Seal still belongs to the Emperor, that's truly remarkable."
Suddenly everyone started praising the kitten. Hai Ling was both amused and exasperated. She didn't know what was wrong with this guy today; he kept doing auspicious things. No wonder everyone was praising him so much. She estimated that by tomorrow, the whole of Kyoto would know how amazing this kid was.