"So what if he's from a prestigious family?" Gao Zhan put one hand on his hip, turned his head smugly, and grinned at him. "So being from a prestigious family means you can't cry? You can't throw a tantrum? Who do you think you are!"
This "natural familiarity" is no less than Luo Cuiwei's, and his "natural familiarity" is more of an innate enthusiasm and uninhibitedness. There is no calculation of interests or weighing of gains and losses. He just acts spontaneously. If he feels that he is compatible with the other party, he will not pretend to be warm and friendly.
It's hard to dislike someone with this kind of personality.
Luo Cuiwei shook her head with a helpless smile, and her gaze towards Gao Zhan gradually lost its politeness.
The last time she saw him, he was drunk and completely out of sorts. She was also embarrassed because she had lost her temper with her younger brother in front of others, so she didn't have the nerve to take a good look at his appearance.
He arrived today looking refreshed and radiant. His flowing robes accentuated his tall and slender figure, adding to his refined and elegant demeanor. Coupled with his appropriate speech and actions and composed expression, he exuded the dazzling charm of a dignified and noble young gentleman.
Perhaps it was because he had been pampered since childhood, untouched by worldly affairs and hardships, that he exuded a warm and friendly aura that shone brightly from the inside out; in addition, he was at the vigorous age of eighteen or nineteen, and his eyes and brows were full of youthful spirit that could not be concealed.
Actually, his features are not the kind that are exquisitely perfect, but what is most precious is his noble yet not arrogant, warm and friendly demeanor, which gives people a clean, transparent, and lively impression. Whenever he smiles at people, his eyebrows and eyes curve and his lips curve, as if the sun has suddenly broken through the clouds, making him look bright and beautiful.
After Luo Fengming and Gao Zhan exchanged a few words of laughter, Luo Cui smiled and rubbed her temples, saying, "I still have some trivial matters to attend to, so I won't keep you company any longer."
Luo Fengming knew what she was busy with and nodded knowingly: "Sister, you go ahead and do your work. I'll treat him to good food and drinks."
"Huh, isn't my sister eating with us?" Gao Zhan frowned slightly, somewhat disappointed.
Luo Fengming waved his hand dramatically as if joking: "You, Gao Zhan, actually planning to freeload a meal at my house?"
"I've already come all this way, how can you not treat me to a proper meal...?"
The two boys laughed and joked around without any seriousness. Luo Cui smiled and asked Xiahou Ling to go to the kitchen to arrange the meals for the guests. Then she turned around and went back to her own courtyard to continue reciting her thoughts.
****
The history of Jin is divided into two periods. In the first few hundred years, because the royal family was surnamed Li, it was known as Li Jin. Now, the Yun Jin rose to power under Emperor Tongxi, Yun Anlan, who was the first emperor of the Yun Jin and the first female emperor since the founding of the Great Jin.
One of her most admired achievements was her lifelong dedication to promoting gender equality, which drastically broke the nearly two-hundred-year-old tradition of male superiority over women that had existed under Li Jin.
After the vigorous reforms of Emperor Tongxi's generation, with the newly revised Dajin Law as its foundation, "gender equality" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of Dajin. Whether they are nobles or commoners, women are no different from men in their pursuit of education, official careers, military service, inheritance of family businesses, or passing on of skills. They are no longer excluded because of their "woman" status.
However, after nearly two hundred years of upheaval, by the time of Emperor Xianlong, the great-grandson of Emperor Tongxi, while the folk customs had not changed much, there had been a subtle regression within the Yun imperial family.
This subtle regression mainly refers to the harem.
During his decades-long reign, Emperor Tongxi did not establish a harem or take male concubines. He had only one emperor in his life, and they loved each other until old age, eventually passing away together in the imperial mausoleum. This story has been passed down as a beautiful tale by later generations.
However, by the time of her great-great-grandson, Emperor Xianlong, although there were not as many as three thousand concubines in the harem, in addition to the empress, there was one imperial concubine, two concubines, one Zhaoyi and one Jieyu, and about fifty other concubines of the four ranks of Ronghua, Shunchang, Chongyi, and Daizhao. This was no longer comparable to the situation during the Tongxi era.
The "Royal Family Banquet" hosted by Emperor Xianlong today was supposed to be a small gathering before the New Year and was not very grand. However, the Yanhe Garden in the central hall was almost full, which shows that his harem was abundant and his offspring were plentiful.
After the banquet, everyone sat down with Emperor Xianlong for a chat and answered his routine questions of concern.
Emperor Xianlong seemed to be in a good mood today, and unusually called out Yun Lie's name: "Fifth Prince doesn't seem to have eaten much today, is it not to his liking?"
Yun Lie's mother was originally just a palace maid. She caught the eye of Emperor Xianlong by chance, but did not receive any favors for many years afterward. It was not until he was granted permission to establish his own residence based on his military merits that his mother was promoted from the seventh-rank "Chongyi" in the harem to the fifth-rank "Ronghua".
His mother was not particularly noticeable in Emperor Xianlong's somewhat crowded harem, and he himself was rather upright and straightforward, never having been good at being obsequious or charming. Therefore, Emperor Xianlong treated him indifferently.
Today, he suddenly noticed something as trivial as that he "didn't eat much during the meal." Although Yun Lie was surprised, he still respectfully stood up and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, Father. Perhaps it's because I haven't been moving around much since returning to the capital that my appetite has decreased."
Emperor Xianlong nodded: "Indeed, the capital is not as free as Linchuan, where you can ride your horse at will. If you are confined to your residence all day, you will get hungry more slowly."
The meaning behind these words was not immediately clear to anyone, and Yun Lie did not try to figure it out. After thanking him for his concern, he returned to his seat.
“Speaking of horse racing,” Emperor Xianlong turned to Du Fushan, his close attendant, “hasn’t it been two years since I last went on a spring hunt?”
Du Fushan smiled, bowed, and took two steps closer to his side, replying, "Your Majesty, if we include this year, it will be the third year."
Emperor Xianlong nodded thoughtfully and instructed Du Fushan, "Have someone make arrangements to take us to the Quanshan Hunting Grounds on a quiet day after the New Year."
Quanshan Hunting Ground is located in Jingnanwei City, a hundred miles away. There are palaces and hot springs on the mountain. It is quiet and has a wild charm, making it a good place for a spring outing.
Du Fushan nodded quickly and agreed.
Emperor Xianlong then addressed his children, saying, "You all should go too. Anyone who doesn't have urgent official business should go. Go for a ride, soak in a hot spring, or something to loosen up your muscles."
All the princes and princesses stood up and bowed in response.
"Oh, right," Emperor Xianlong seemed to suddenly remember something, and then instructed Du Fushan, "relatives and dukes must also be invited, and scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants should not be overlooked..."
"Sharing joy with the people" was a custom of the Yun royal family. When hunting or traveling in spring and autumn, some commoner families were always included in the entourage as representatives to demonstrate the royal family's love for the people.
However, since it was an imperial tour, which would last for more than ten days, the list of attendees had to be carefully considered and selected in advance. It was necessary to ensure that everything was in order and to demonstrate the royal family's "enjoyment with the people." It was not something that could be done by simply issuing an imperial edict with one's eyes closed.
However, such trivial details were not something Emperor Xianlong needed to worry about.
****
Emperor Xianlong was over fifty years old after all, and after chatting for a while, he inevitably became a little tired. So he left Princess Huanrong Yunxi and Prince An Yunhuan behind and let the others leave the palace and return to their residences on their own.
It was past midnight when Yun Lie walked unhurriedly to the palace gate passageway, where he happened to meet Princess Jin Hui, Yun Pei. The two smiled at each other and walked side by side toward the palace gate.
Yunpei was born to Consort Chen and was one of the five princes who had established their own residences under Emperor Xianlong. He led the Yuancheng naval forces to guard the sea border in the northeast.
She was the fourth among the princes and princesses, only one year older than Yun Lie; although the two were not exactly inseparable, they were not cold towards each other either.
"The Ministry of War has once again withheld the winter rations and pay for your Linchuan Army, hasn't it?" Yun Pei glanced at Yun Lie beside him.
Yun Lie replied nonchalantly, "Fourth Imperial Sister actually has the leisure to laugh at me. I suppose your Yuancheng Navy has already received its winter pay?"
"Tsk, not even a scrap of silver. They said the Ministry of War has closed its doors and sealed it up because it's almost the end of the year," Yun Pei scoffed, his words hitting a nerve. "Hey, tell me, how come some people haven't improved at all over the years? All they can do is this disgusting trick. They don't have any new tricks up their sleeves."
In this matter, the Linchuan Army and the Yuancheng Navy were in the same boat, often having their rations and pay delayed under various high-sounding pretexts.