vstars Chapter 417: Lantern Festival
Chapter 417: Lantern Festival
Even at the last moment of Uryuji's life, it was that man's persistence that allowed her to live a few more years.
Prince Ding looked speechlessly at Prince Kang, who was panting heavily and wiping his sweat, and thought to himself, "Serves him right! You'll have to pay for what you did in your youth!"
On the Lantern Festival, Emperor Shenwu hosted a banquet in Qiulu Hall. The luncheon was for all civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above, along with their families who held imperial decrees. Imperial relatives and relatives were inevitably present. Lan Qingwu and Emperor Shenwu, flanked by Empress Dowager Li, walked together to the highest point of Qiulu Hall.
Lan Qingwu and Emperor Shenwu sat side by side, while Empress Dowager Li sat in the highest seat among the royal relatives.
Everyone shouted "Long live His Majesty," "Thousand live the Queen," and "Thousand live the Empress Dowager."
Lan Qingwu was looking down from a high position. She could see all the little movements, whispers, and even changes in eyes of the civil and military officials, royal relatives, and concubines in the six palaces. She sighed in her heart. No wonder everyone wanted to fight and wanted to sit in a higher position. The desire for the pinnacle of power had an endless appeal to people.
Emperor Shenwu raised his glass first and said, "My lords, on this occasion of the Lunar New Year, I extend my sincerest wishes to all the people of the world! Looking back on the past year, I am deeply gratified. The prosperity of the Dasheng Dynasty and the peace and contentment of its people are all my blessings. This is all due to the contributions of all of you, my dear ministers, who have made Dasheng prosperous and the country peaceful. In the new year, I hope that you, my dear ministers, will continue to assist me in benefiting the people of the world, so that Dasheng will prosper forever and enjoy eternal peace! My lords, I salute you!"
All the civil and military officials of His Majesty were extremely excited. They raised their glasses and drank them all. Then they shouted loudly: "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"
Emperor Shenwu was still in high spirits, and he subsequently announced a list of officials to be promoted in the main hall. These were all vacancies left by officials from the Shi family.
The atmosphere in the hall became even more heated. Emperor Shenwu was generous with promotions, rewards, and beauties. What was even more eye-catching was that Emperor Shenwu asked Wang Shuren to work under the Second Assistant Minister of the Cabinet. Although he did not promote him, any discerning person could see that he was training Wang Shuren to be the First Assistant Minister of the Cabinet and replace the position of Grand Tutor Shi.
Last year, the Grand Master was the head of all officials in this hall, but this year he was nowhere to be seen. The prince's office was also missing an adult prince.
Lan Qingwu also promoted some of the concubines in the six palaces. Except for a few high-ranking concubines who remained unchanged, the rest of the lower-ranking concubines were promoted one level. Everyone in the six palaces was very happy.
While Emperor Shenwu was toasting and drinking, Princess Ding stood up and toasted Lan Qingwu alone: "I offer a toast to the Empress!"
Of course, there couldn't be real wine in Lan Qingwu's cup. She would get drunk easily after just one glass of wine, so Emperor Shenwu didn't dare let her drink it.
After Lan Qingwu put down the glass cup, Princess Ding continued, "In the early winter, I found some small things. Today, I specially present them to Your Majesty the Queen. Please do not despise them!"
Lan Qingwu couldn't help but laugh and said, "How could that be! At worst, I'll reward you more later!"
The other royal consorts nearby burst into laughter, but Princess Ding didn't take it seriously: "Compared to the Queen's kindness, these are nothing!"
Princess Ding had the things presented to her. Emperor Shenwu also became interested and took a look. When the bright red silk was lifted, colorful crystal gems were revealed underneath. They were of uniform size, each as big as a quail egg. Lan Qingwu was a little surprised. Over the years, she had seen all kinds of treasures. The nine private vaults of Emperor Shenwu were all opened for her, but the top-grade gems in these two boxes were still relatively rare. Only the emperor's private vault could surpass them.
Emperor Shenwu was used to it, "These gems can be used to make some jewelry for the Seventh Princess."
Lan Qingwu came back to his senses: "Isn't this too precious? Princess, you should keep it for the princess's wedding."
Princess Ding's eldest daughter was already engaged, and Princess Ding had already given birth to Prince Ding's legitimate son. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have left the princess' share. You are considerate of me, but this is my own dowry and has nothing to do with our prince."
Prince Ding, who was among the imperial family, shook his head helplessly. He stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Queen, this is a small mine that was part of the princess's dowry. In early autumn, the miners discovered some colorful stones. The princess sent a confidant to the mine, and they unearthed three boxes of gems. These are specially presented to the queen! Two years ago, my mother was seriously ill in the palace. It was the queen who, against all odds, allowed her to return to Prince Ding's mansion to recuperate. This allowed me and my wife to fulfill our filial duties. My mother can enjoy the joy of family life without being separated from me and her son. Now is the opportunity for me to fulfill my filial duties! And these are just some mundane things. Compared to my heartfelt gratitude, they are nothing!"
Princess Ding also said, "That's it!"
The concubines of the previous emperor were all given the titles of Grand Concubine and Grand Concubine. They were supposed to stay in the palace for the rest of their lives, and even if they had sons and daughters, they had to stay in the harem.
Prince Ding's mother, Consort Wang, was of humble status, originally a maidservant to the late emperor. At the time of his death, she was still a minor noble. After Emperor Shenwu ascended the throne, he favored Prince Ding and promoted his mother's status, rising to the rank of Consort Wang Dowager within a few years. However, Consort Wang's influence within the harem was limited. Even Prince Ding, disfavored and neglected as a child, endured the humiliation and abuse of the other princes, let alone a mere beauty. Consort Wang's life finally improved somewhat, but she was already plagued by illness.
Two years ago, Concubine Wang became seriously ill again. Emperor Shenwu only wanted Prince Ding to visit her more often, have Concubine Ding take good care of her, and have the imperial physician diagnose and prescribe medicine. However, Lan Qingwu suggested to Emperor Shenwu that Concubine Wang could return to Prince Ding's mansion to recuperate.
Emperor Shenwu was stunned. This had never happened before, and it seemed completely against the rules. Lan Qingwu asked, "Your Majesty, are you still worried that Prince Ding might have second thoughts?"
"How could it be? How could a weakling like me think of asking the imperial concubine to leave the palace?"
Lan Qingwu only shook her head gently. "I didn't think that the Concubine Dowager would grow old, get sick, and die in the palace. I just thought about the love between mother and child, and the thought of a child wanting to support his parents but not being able to! Since Prince Ding is so loyal and has followed Your Majesty for so many years, why not fulfill Prince Ding's filial piety to his mother?"
Emperor Shenwu was not someone who would not listen to advice. Later, with his support, Lan Qingwu personally issued an imperial decree, allowing the seriously ill Concubine Dowager Wang to return to her son to recuperate. Upon hearing the Queen's decree, Concubine Dowager Wang's illness was immediately cured!
Not long after that, Prince Kang also found Emperor Shenwu and pleaded with him to allow his mother to return to Prince Kang's Mansion. It turned out that Prince Kang's mother was very envious of seeing the Queen Mother and her son reunited happily. After she met Lan Qingwu, she allowed Prince Kang to go to the palace to ask for an audience with Emperor Shenwu.
Emperor Shenwu had anticipated this, and since he had already made the move, he decided to follow through. As a result, Prince Kang was reunited with his mother. Emperor Shenwu was so happy because Prince Kang had not caused any trouble in all these years.
More and more female members of the royal family went to Fengqi Palace to pay homage to Lan Qingwu. Seeing that the time was ripe, Lan Qingwu directly issued an imperial decree, and then the imperial decree of Emperor Shenwu also arrived, stating that all the concubines and imperial concubines who had princes and princesses, as well as the grand concubines and imperial concubines, could be brought to the palace by their own children and daughters to enjoy the happiness of family and the blessing of having children and grandchildren around them!