kvmb Chapter 488 Uprising
Chapter 488 Uprising
The Prince Xian considered himself the most honored guest of the Minister of Personnel’s residence. Who else could warrant the Minister’s wife’s personal greeting?
According to etiquette, the wife of a high-ranking official, being the birthday celebrant and holding an imperial title, should simply wait inside for guests to offer their congratulations. If a guest is of higher status than her, she need not go out to greet them; she should wait until the distinguished guest enters the room before offering her greetings.
The fact that the Ministry of Rites made such a fuss makes one think that someone from the palace has come.
The wise prince had an excellent relationship with the Minister of Personnel, which is why he presented the congratulatory gift in person.
Seeing that the Minister of Personnel was focused on the upcoming distinguished guest, he instructed his attendants to take the congratulatory gift to the designated gift-receiving area in the front hall for registration.
"Lord Yin, what other distinguished guests have arrived at your residence?"
The wise prince stared intently at the wrinkled face of the Minister of Personnel.
Zhang Weiping said that his supporters had already become disloyal.
But he didn't believe it.
These ministers had planned for him for many years and put in countless efforts. How could they back down at the last minute?
He asked, word by word, "Aren't you going to greet them?"
The Minister of Personnel was surprised that the Prince Xian would lift his confinement and personally attend his wife's birthday banquet.
Now, by sheer coincidence, I've run into the Princess Consort of Guangling.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard a guest exclaim in surprise: "The Princess Consort of Guangling has arrived!"
The Prince turned his head sharply and saw the Minister's wife following behind Shen Qingtan with a smile on her face. The relatives in the mansion were also very enthusiastic and talking to Shen Qingtan.
As they approached, the Prince Xian heard the words of the women from the Minister's residence: "Your Highness, this morning when my grandmother got up, she heard a sparrow chirping outside the window, announcing good news."
"She hurriedly called in a maid to help her dress and wash up, and immediately drafted an invitation, instructing my mother to send it to you to add to your joy."
The old lady laughed so hard her eyes disappeared: "You rascal, how dare you make fun of your own grandmother."
"How could your granddaughter dare to tease you? I'm only speaking from the bottom of my heart." The young girl helped the old lady up and acted coquettishly, actually trying to please Shen Qingtan: "You're always thinking about the Princess's health, and the first person you think of when something happens is the Princess. Look, when you came back from offering incense at the ancestral hall, you saw a twin lotus blooming in the pond, and you ordered Qinxiang to cut it down. You also wrote a note and asked your granddaughter to send it to the Princess, adding joy to joy."
These flattering words turned into an invisible slap, landing hard on the wise king's face.
He only received one invitation from the Ministry of Rites, which he received three days ago.
Shen Qingtan received three invitations.
According to the customs of the Northern Qi Dynasty, the host would only send three invitations to the most distinguished guest.
The first invitation is sent three days in advance to show respect to the guests.
The second invitation was delivered on the day of the banquet.
The third invitation was sent an hour before the banquet, the purpose of which was to greet the distinguished guest on the way and to show respect for the guest.
In comparison, the Minister's Mansion showed Shen Qingtan great care, but treated him with utter indifference.
That old bastard actually betrayed him.
The expressions on everyone's faces became very subtle.
The Minister of Personnel has clearly switched sides to support the Prince of Guangling.
The wise prince felt the furtive glances directed at him, and his face darkened. He wanted to turn and leave, but he couldn't.
He had never suffered such humiliation before. Once he sat in that position, he would definitely wipe out the entire family of the Minister of Personnel.
The Minister of Personnel was not afraid of the Prince Xian, after all, he had switched his allegiance to Zhao Yi and was bound to sever ties with the Prince Xian.
If you try to control both ends, you'll end up with nothing.
He gestured for him to come in and sit down: "Your Highness, please come in and have a seat."
The wise king said with a forced smile, "Lord Yin is quite capable."
He flicked his sleeve, took two steps forward, stopped at the threshold, and looked back again, meeting Shen Qingtan's gaze.
Shen Qingtan was quite surprised, seemingly not expecting the Prince Xian to come as well.
When the old lady saw Shen Qingtan stop and look towards the front hall, she followed her gaze and saw only the angry back of the Prince Xian.
“My husband used to be a subordinate of the Prince Xian, and there is some history between us.” The old lady clarified her relationship with the Prince Xian: “Today is my birthday, and the Prince Xian came to wish me a happy birthday out of consideration for our past relationship.”
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly and went to the inner courtyard with the old lady.
The political situation at court has been changing too much lately, and the ladies of various families are using birthday banquets to gather information.
Their husbands' families were not as powerful as the Minister of Personnel, and they always followed the Minister's lead.
Now that the Minister has turned against the Prince of Guangling, what about their husband?
They were undecided, but the entire birthday banquet was filled with compliments to Shen Qingtan, preventing the atmosphere from becoming awkward.
Shen Qingtan felt an unprecedented level of enthusiasm from the ladies of the various families.
By the end of the birthday banquet, her smile had become somewhat stiff.
Shen Qingtan suppressed her exhaustion and bid farewell to the old lady.
The old lady took a brocade box from Qinxiang and put it into Shen Qingtan's hands: "When I was young, I was weak and often bedridden. My family got me two pills. I took one and my health improved greatly. I even became pregnant with my eldest son. Now there is one left. Please take it to nourish your body."
Shen Qingtan was stunned. The old lady had given her a fertility pill?
"Grandma, you..."
"Your Highness, I still have to entertain guests, so I won't see you off any further."
The old lady did not give Shen Qingtan a chance to refuse and instructed her eldest daughter-in-law to see Shen Qingtan out of the mansion.
Shen Qingtan, holding the brocade box, sat down in the carriage, still somewhat dazed: "Liuyue, has the old lady misunderstood something?"
Liu Yue covered her mouth and chuckled: "Most newlywed brides in most families will announce good news within a year or two. You and your husband have been married for a long time, but there is still no sign of pregnancy. It's inevitable that others will have many speculations."
Shen Qingtan touched her lower abdomen: "The prince is away on official business, how can I get pregnant?"
Liu Yue knew why her master was not pregnant.
Initially, the son-in-law was in poor health, so the couple delayed consummating their marriage.
After the son-in-law finally recovered, the couple left their hometown again and came to Northern Qi.
These are turbulent times, and it's not a good time to have children.
The master's words clearly indicate that he misses his son-in-law.
After returning to the Prince of Guangling's residence, Shen Qingtan carefully put away the brocade box and wrote down everything that had happened at the Minister of Personnel's residence that day in a letter to tell Zhao Yi.
Judging from the current situation, the overall outcome is likely settled.
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On the other side, the wise prince realized the crisis and left the Ministry of Personnel's office. He hurriedly went to the palace to discuss the matter with the Northern Qi emperor.
Eunuch Liu entered the hall and announced, "Your Majesty, the Wise Prince has arrived."
The Emperor of Northern Qi was troubled by the matter of Prince Xian. When he heard that the person in question had arrived, he angrily said, "Let him get in here."
Eunuch Liu quickly invited the Prince Xian into the palace.
Upon entering the hall, the Prince Xian immediately lodged a complaint: "Father, you are most averse to court officials forming cliques and factions with the imperial heirs. Yet my elder brother is actually cultivating his own power base by court officials, openly defying your orders. Is he plotting a rebellion?"
The Northern Qi emperor's face darkened. How could he not know why the Prince Xian was trying to undermine Zhao Yi behind his back?
She hasn't even cleaned up her own mess, and now she's causing him more trouble.
The emperor of Northern Qi considered himself a man of great wisdom and strategy, so how could he have fathered such a fool?
Before he could speak, a palace attendant reported from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary and several ministers, including the Censor-in-Chief, have come to see you. They said that urgent reports have come from the provinces that people have risen up in rebellion."