The heavy rain continued from noon to evening, which fulfilled Zhao Yao's wish not to go to Wende Hall to study.
In the evening, the downpour stopped, and tonight's dinner was held as usual.
Tonight's dinner is a family banquet, and most of the concubines, princes and princesses will attend.
There was still some time before the dinner, so Liang Zhaoyi and the others were in no hurry to go to Qiong Linyuan. Every time there was an important banquet or to greet Queen Xie, Liang Zhaoyi and Poppy would always go there, neither early nor late.
Zhao Yao rolled around on the couch with Lai Fu and Lai Cai in his arms, "Mother, concubine, do I really have to go?" Although there will be a good show at the dinner tonight, he prefers to stay in Kunde Hall and Come and play with them.
"No." Liang Zhaoyi sat beside the couch, stretched out her hand and pinched her son's chubby face, "You have to get up."
Zhao Yao buried his face in Laocai's belly and pretended to be dead.
Laicai licked Zhao Yao's head with a look.
Liang Zhaoyi reached out and grabbed Zhao Yao's little ear, and Zhao Yao screamed in pain.
"Can't you get up?"
"Get up, I'll get up soon."
Liang Zhaoyi then let go of her son's ears.
Zhao Yao didn't dare to cheat anymore and got up reluctantly.
After they finished packing, Poppy came over with the fifth princess.
Pan Cai's rank is too low and he is not qualified to attend such an important banquet. However, she herself did not want to attend because she was timid and worried that she would make a mistake at the party.
Liang Zhaoyi took Zhao Yao, and Poppy held the fifth princess, and they went to Qionglin Garden together.
"I'm afraid tonight's dinner will not be peaceful." Poppy didn't want to attend tonight's dinner either. She was most afraid of dealing with such an occasion.
Liang Zhaoyi said warmly: "Let's just go there to eat and don't worry about other things."
Kunde Hall is a bit far away from Qionglin Garden, and the four of them walked for two moments before arriving. They arrived neither early nor late, and there were still many people who had not arrived, such as Queen Xie, Concubine Rong, and Concubine De.
Li Pin arrived a little earlier than Liang Zhaoyi and the others, and Liang Zhaoyi took the poppy to salute her.
Zhao Yao obediently greeted the fourth prince sitting next to Li Bin: "Fourth brother."
The fifth princess also said hello.
The fourth prince nodded lightly towards Zhao Yao and the others, and said in a calm tone: "Tenth brother, fifth sister."
Zhao Yao sat down next to the fourth prince, and the fifth princess sat down next to him.
The fourth prince sat with his back straight, his expression very indifferent, and he looked very inaccessible. However, Zhao Yao didn't think so. He thought the fourth brother was quite good, with a steady temperament, studied hard, and was very patient with his younger brothers.
Zhao Yao was not good at reading and was the stupidest among all the princes. The fourth prince often taught him how to read. Sometimes, Zhao Yao deliberately pretended not to understand, but the fourth prince not only did not dislike it, but also patiently taught him over and over again until he understood.
Among all the imperial brothers, Zhao Yao liked the fourth prince the most.
The fourth prince lowered his head and asked Zhao Yao if he understood what the teacher said this morning.
When Zhao Yao heard the fourth prince asking him this question, the alarm bells immediately rang in his heart. He had a bad premonition: The fourth prince brother wouldn't want to teach him here, right? He didn't want to study before dinner.
He hurriedly said: "Fourth brother, I understand." He was afraid that the fourth prince would not believe it, so he emphasized it again, "Fourth brother, I really understand."
The fourth prince looked at Zhao Yao trying his best to look like "I really understand", and a very faint smile flashed across his eyes. He said: "Since you understand, let me test you."
Although there is a big age difference between Zhao Yao and the fourth prince, they are a group of brothers studying in the same school. Every time there is a class, the gentlemen will teach the older princes first and then the younger princes. Therefore, the fourth prince knew exactly what Zhao Yao had learned this morning.
When Zhao Yao heard that the fourth prince was going to test him, his heart skipped a beat. He smiled at the Fourth Prince in a busy manner and said, "Fourth Brother, Father and the others will be here soon. You can take the test again tomorrow. Please let me go today."
Seeing Zhao Yao's begging for mercy, the fourth prince knew that he did not understand what Mr. Today taught him. However, this is really not the right place to teach him.
"Okay, I'll test you again tomorrow."
After Zhao Yao heard this, his face immediately showed a look of escape. He smiled obediently at the fourth prince, then quickly changed the subject and said that the snacks made by the fifth princess were delicious, and asked the fourth prince to try them.
Seeing that Zhao Yao didn't want to talk about studying, the fourth prince felt helpless, so he followed his words and talked about the snacks made by the fifth princess. In fact, the fourth prince did not like to be a teacher. Normally, the ninth prince and his younger brothers would not take the initiative to teach them if they did not understand, but Zhao Yao was different. The fourth prince liked Zhao Yao's clear eyes.
After a while, Concubine De, Concubine Shu, and Concubine Liang arrived. The third prince, second princess, third princess and fifth prince, fourth princess and sixth princess followed behind them.
Concubine Shu is the mother-in-law of the third prince and the second princess.
Concubine De is the mother-concubine of the third princess and the fifth prince.
Liangfei is the mother-in-law of the fourth princess and the sixth prince.
These three concubines all came from wealthy families. Regardless of the number of people in the court who support the Crown Prince and His Highness the King, there are also many ministers who support the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince.
Li Bin, Liang Zhaoyi and the others quickly stood up and saluted Concubine De and the others.
Concubine De and the others did not speak to Li Bin and the others, but nodded perfunctorily.
Li Pin's background is much better than Liang Zhaoyi's, but in front of the third concubine, her background is not enough.
The three concubines regard each other as enemies. Of course, their biggest enemy is Concubine Rong.
Why not Queen Xie?
Although Queen Xie came from a top family, the Xie family, and gave birth to the seventh prince, she was the successor.
Behind Queen Xie is the Xie family, but the Xie family supports the prince, not the seventh prince.
The prince is the son of the first queen, who is also the daughter of the Xie family.
As long as the prince is still there, Queen Xie's son, the seventh prince, will never have a chance. The most important point is that Queen Xie is not as favored as Concubine Rong.
Concubine Rong is the cousin of Emperor Wu of Zhou. The two grew up together and have a very good relationship. If it weren't for the marriage with the Xie family, Emperor Wu of Zhou's wife would be Concubine Rong.
Emperor Wu of Zhou loved Concubine Rong very much. Concubine Rong favored the Sixth Palace for more than 20 years and has remained standing ever since.
Even the three concubines and Queen Xie could not defeat Concubine Rong.
Even if Concubine Rong was favored, her eldest son, King Dai, was very outstanding and was deeply loved and reused by Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty.
If the son of the third concubine wants to compete for that position, the biggest obstacle is not the prince, but the acting king.
"The King Dai is really powerful and he won a great victory." Liang Fei suddenly said.
Concubine De said in a sour tone: "Concubine Rong is so lucky to have given birth to such an outstanding son as King Dai." As she said that, she turned to look at the gentle and beautiful Concubine Shu, "Sister Concubine Shu, at that time, King Dai was the third prince. At such a young age, he goes into battle to kill the enemy, but the third prince is still studying in the Hall of Wende, it is really infuriating to compare one person to another."
The third prince spoke before Concubine Shu: "Concubine Demu, I don't like to lead troops to fight, I only like to read and draw." The third prince is good at painting. Even though he is only fourteen years old, his painting is very good. He is worth a fortune. It's hard to find a picture of him. "The second emperor brother joined the army when he was twelve years old. The fifth brother is exactly twelve years old this year. The fifth brother can learn from the second emperor brother and go to the military camp to train. Maybe the fifth brother can make the same meritorious service as the second emperor brother."
When the fifth prince heard this, he quickly shook his head and said, "I won't go. I don't want to be a soldier in the military camp."
Concubine Shu smiled softly at Concubine De: "Sister Concubine De, it seems that your dream is about to be shattered."
Concubine De first glared at the fifth prince, and then glared at Concubine Shu: "You are just a broken dreamer."
Seeing that Concubine De and Concubine Shu were about to quarrel, Concubine Liang hurriedly persuaded her, "Sisters, please stop arguing. Tonight's dinner is to celebrate the victory of the King on behalf of the King. The Emperor and Queen are coming soon."
When Concubine De and Concubine Shu heard that the emperor was coming soon, they quickly shut up and said nothing more. However, a pair of eyes stared at each other fiercely.
After a while, the sound of saluting Queen Xie and the Prince was heard not far away.
Queen Xie brought the seventh prince, and the prince and the princess came to attend the dinner.
Everyone hurriedly stood up and saluted Queen Xie, who asked them to sit down in a gentle tone. Then, Emperor Zhou Wu appeared with Concubine Rong and the Ninth Prince.
"Everyone, get up."
Although Emperor Zhou Wu came with Concubine Rong, he sat next to Empress Xie. When Concubine Rong saw this scene, a trace of hatred flashed in her eyes.
If you wait a little longer, she will become the queen before long and will be able to sit next to the emperor.
Concubine Rong bowed to Queen Xie in a polite manner: "I have met the queen." In front of Emperor Wu of Zhou, Concubine Rong would behave very well. However, if Emperor Wu of Zhou was not around, Concubine Rong would perform this ceremony very perfunctorily. .
Queen Xie personally helped up Concubine Rong, "Sister, get up quickly." She gently held Concubine Rong's hand and said with a smile, "Sister, you really gave birth to a good son for the Emperor and for Da Zhou! If it weren't for you this time, King, the rebellion in Liangzhou will not be put down so quickly, nor will it be so smooth!"
