This torrential rain had been pouring from noon until evening, fulfilling Zhao Yao's wish not to go to Wende Hall to study.
In the evening, the heavy rain ceased, and the banquet was held as scheduled.
The banquet tonight was a family gathering, and most of the concubines and princes and princesses would attend.
There was still some time before the banquet started, so Liang Zhaoyi and her companions were not in a hurry to go to Qionglin Garden. On important occasions, or when paying respects to Empress Xie, Liang Zhaoyi, and Yu Meiren usually went in the middle, neither early nor late.
Zhao Yao was rolling around on the couch with Lai Fu and Lai Cai in his arms. "Mother Consort, can't I really not go?" Although there would be a good show at tonight's banquet, he preferred to stay in Kunde Hall and play with Lai Fu and the others.
"No." Liang Zhaoyi sat by the couch, gently pinching her son's chubby little face, "You need to get up now."
Zhao Yao buried his face into Lai Cai's belly, playing dead.
Lai Cai stuck out its tongue and licked Zhao Yao's head.
Liang Zhaoyi reached out and tugged Zhao Yao's little ear, and Zhao Yao immediately cried out in pain.
"Will you get up or not?"
"I'll get up, I'll get up immediately."
Only then did Liang Zhaoyi release her son's ear.
Zhao Yao dared not procrastinate any longer and reluctantly got up.
After they tidied up, Yu Meiren arrived with the Fifth Princess.
Pan Cairen's status was too low, and she wasn't qualified to attend such an important banquet. However, she herself did not want to attend, as she was timid and worried about making mistakes at the banquet.
Liang Zhaoyi held Zhao Yao's hand, and Yu Meiren held the Fifth Princess's hand as they headed to Qionglin Garden together.
"Tonight's banquet won't be peaceful," Yu Meiren, who also wasn't eager to attend, said. She feared handling such occasions the most.
Liang Zhaoyi responded softly, "We're just going to eat; don't bother with anything else."
Kunde Hall was quite a distance from Qionglin Garden, and it took them a quarter of an hour to arrive. They weren't early or late, as many others, like Empress Xie, Noble Princess Consort Rong, and Princess Consort De, had yet to arrive.
Consort Li had arrived a little earlier than Liang Zhaoyi and the others, and Liang Zhaoyi led Yu Meiren in saluting and paying their respects to her.
Zhao Yao obediently greeted the Fourth Prince sitting beside Consort Li, "Fourth Brother."
The Fifth Princess also chimed in with a greeting.
The Fourth Prince nodded lightly towards Zhao Yao and the others, speaking calmly, "Tenth Brother, Fifth Sister."
Zhao Yao sat down beside the Fourth Prince, and the Fifth Princess sat close to him.
The Fourth Prince sat upright, his expression indifferent and looking unapproachable. However, Zhao Yao didn't think so; he found his Fourth Brother very good-natured, stable in character, diligent in his studies, and very patient with his younger brothers.
Zhao Yao wasn't good at studying and was considered the slowest among all the princes. The Fourth Prince often tutored him. Sometimes, Zhao Yao would feign ignorance deliberately, yet the Fourth Prince never showed disdain and patiently taught him repeatedly until he understood.
Among all his royal brothers, Zhao Yao liked the Fourth Prince the most.
The Fourth Prince lowered his head to inquire about what the teacher lectured on that morning and whether Zhao Yao understood it.
Upon hearing the Fourth Prince's inquiry, Zhao Yao's alarm bells went off, sensing an unpleasant intuition: was his Fourth Brother planning to teach him here? He wasn't interested in studying before the banquet.
He quickly said, "Fourth Brother, I understood it." Afraid the Fourth Prince wouldn't believe him, he emphasized again, "Fourth Brother, I really did understand it."
The Fourth Prince saw Zhao Yao striving to appear as if he truly understood, a faint smile flitting across his eyes. He said, "Since you understood, let me test you."
Though there was a considerable age gap between Zhao Yao and the Fourth Prince, all the brothers studied in the same classroom. During lessons, the teachers taught the elder princes first, followed by the younger ones. Thus, the Fourth Prince was well aware of what Zhao Yao learned that morning.
Upon hearing that the Fourth Prince wanted to test him, Zhao Yao's heart skipped a beat. He promptly smiled ingratiatingly at the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, Father Emperor and the others are about to arrive. Could you test me tomorrow instead, and spare me for today?"
Seeing Zhao Yao's pleading demeanor, the Fourth Prince realized Zhao Yao hadn't truly grasped what the teacher had taught that day. However, the location indeed wasn't suitable for teaching.
"Very well, I'll test you tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yao's face immediately lit up with a saved-by-the-bell expression. He grinned at the Fourth Prince, then quickly shifted the topic, praising the Fifth Princess's delicious pastries and urged the Fourth Prince to try them.
Noticing that Zhao Yao wished to avoid the topic of studying, the Fourth Prince felt a touch of helplessness and followed along, speaking about the pastries made by the Fifth Princess. In truth, the Fourth Prince didn't enjoy being a self-appointed teacher. Ordinarily, when brothers like the Ninth Prince didn't understand something, he wouldn't usually volunteer to teach them, but Zhao Yao was different. The Fourth Prince liked the pure look in Zhao Yao's eyes.
A moment later, Princess Consort De, Consort Shu, and Princess Consort Liang arrived. The Third Prince, Second Princess, Third Princess, Fifth Prince, Fourth Princess, and Sixth Princess followed behind them.
Consort Shu is the mother of the Third Prince and the Second Princess.
Princess Consort De is the mother of the Third Princess and the Fifth Prince.
Princess Consort Liang is the mother of the Fourth Princess and the Sixth Prince.
These three concubines all come from aristocratic backgrounds. Although many in the court support the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, there were also plenty of ministers supporting the Third Prince and Fifth Prince.
Consort Li and Liang Zhaoyi quickly rose to salute Princess Consort De and the others.
Princess Consort De and the others didn't speak to Consort Li and the others, merely nodding perfunctorily.
Consort Li's background was much better than Liang Zhaoyi's, but in front of the three concubines, it wasn't significant.
The three concubines viewed each other as adversaries. Of course, their main adversary was Noble Princess Consort Rong.
Why not Empress Xie?
Though Empress Xie hailed from a distinguished noble family, the Xie family, and had given birth to the Seventh Prince, she was the successor empress.
Empress Xie had the backing of the Xie family, but the Xie family supported the Crown Prince, not the Seventh Prince.
The Crown Prince was the son of the late empress, who was also a daughter of the Xie family.
As long as the Crown Prince remained, Empress Xie's son, the Seventh Prince, would never have a chance. Most importantly, Empress Xie was not as favored as Noble Princess Consort Rong.
Noble Princess Consort Rong was the Emperor's cousin, and they had grown up together with a very close relationship. If not for the political marriage with the Xie family back then, the Emperor's wife would have been Noble Princess Consort Rong.
The Emperor favored Noble Princess Consort Rong greatly. She had stood strong in the favor of the entire palace for over twenty years, remaining indomitable.
Even if the three concubines joined forces with Empress Xie, they couldn't overthrow Noble Princess Consort Rong.
It was one thing that Noble Princess Consort Rong was favored, but her eldest son, Prince Dai, was also exceptionally talented, deeply cherished, and heavily relied upon by the Emperor.
The main obstacle for the sons of the three concubines vying for that position wasn't the Crown Prince but Prince Dai.
"Prince Dai is really impressive, another big victory," Princess Consort Liang suddenly remarked.
Princess Consort De spoke with a sour tone, "Noble Princess Consort Rong truly is fortunate, having given birth to such an excellent son like Prince Dai." She then turned to the gentle and graceful Consort Shu, "Consort Shu, when Prince Dai was the same age as the Third Prince, he was already on the battlefield, while the Third Prince is still studying in Wende Hall. Comparing people really drives us mad."
The Third Prince spoke before Consort Shu could, "Consort De, I don't like leading troops in war, I just like studying and painting." The Third Prince was proficient in painting, and though only fourteen, his paintings were highly esteemed, fetching a high price. "Second Brother joined the army at twelve, and Fifth Brother is exactly twelve this year. Perhaps he could follow Second Brother to the military camp to train; maybe he can achieve merit like Second Brother."
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince quickly shook his head, "I'm not going; I don't want to be a soldier in the military."
Consort Shu softly smiled at Princess Consort De, "Consort De, it seems your dream is shattered."
Princess Consort De glared at the Fifth Prince first, then at Consort Shu, "It's your dream that's shattered."
Seeing that Princess Consort De and Consort Shu were about to quarrel, Princess Consort Liang hurriedly persuaded, "Sisters, please don't argue. Tonight's banquet is to celebrate Prince Dai's victory, and the Emperor and Empress will arrive soon."
Upon hearing that the Emperor would soon arrive, Princess Consort De and Consort Shu quickly closed their mouths, saying no more, but each still glaring fiercely at the other.
Shortly after, the sound of people saluting Empress Xie and the Crown Prince came from not far away.
Empress Xie led the Seventh Prince, and the Crown Prince arrived with the Crown Princess Consort to attend the banquet.
Everyone quickly stood to salute Empress Xie, who gently instructed them to be seated. Following this, the Emperor appeared with Noble Princess Consort Rong and the Ninth Prince.
"Rise, all of you."
Although the Emperor arrived with Noble Princess Consort Rong, he sat beside Empress Xie. This sight caused a flash of resentment in Noble Princess Consort Rong's eyes.
Just wait a little longer. Soon enough, she would become the Empress and then be able to sit beside the Emperor.
Noble Princess Consort Rong respectfully saluted Empress Xie, "I pay my respects to the Empress." In the Emperor's presence, Noble Princess Consort Rong behaved very properly, but when the Emperor was absent, her salutes became perfunctory.
Empress Xie personally raised Noble Princess Consort Rong, "Sister, please rise." She gently held Noble Princess Consort Rong's hand, smiling warmly, "Sister, you truly have borne a fine son for the Emperor and for Great Zhou! Were it not for Prince Dai, the rebellion in Liangzhou wouldn't have been quelled so swiftly and smoothly!"