When the three brothers came out of Qianqing Palace, it was already dark outside.
"It's so late? I thought it was over early, so you should go and sit at my place first." Zhu Biao said with a smile: "Xiongying knows that you are back, and he talks about playing with his fourth uncle and sixth uncle every day."
"The main reason is to find his sixth uncle, right? His fourth uncle always scares him to tears." Zhu Di joked.
"You love to scare children so much." Zhu Biao smiled bitterly: "But the more Xiongying makes you cry in fear, the more he wants to find someone to play with. I don't know what this kid is thinking."
"It's getting late today, and Concubine Xian is still waiting for the sixth child." Zhu Di smiled and said, "Let's spend the whole day playing with him during the Chinese New Year."
"Fourth sister-in-law is also waiting for fourth brother." Lao Liu chuckled.
"Ah." Zhu Di stopped pretending and nodded: "I'm worried after being out for so long. I have to go back and take a look."
"I'll take Xiongying over to see Gao Chi tomorrow." Zhu Zhen smiled at Lao Si.
"Understood." The fourth child gave the sixth child a meaningful smile, but the prince was confused as to what these two guys were doing.
After saying this, the fourth child bowed his hands to his eldest brother and hurried out of the palace before the palace door closed.
"This guy originally had to stay with me for a few days when he returned to Kyoto. He really forgot about his brother after marrying his wife." The prince said bitterly: "Sixth, you can't do this in the future."
"Brother, don't worry, I can't." Lao Liu hurriedly smiled and said, "How about I go back with you?"
"No need, Concubine Xian, it's time to wait." Zhu Biao told him the good news with a smile: "Oh, by the way, your mother-in-law is about to be promoted again."
"Ah? Brother or sister?" Lao Liu was deeply shocked.
"Uh..." Zhu Biao was speechless for a while, and finally said at a loss of whether to laugh or cry: "It's about being promoted from a virtuous concubine to a noble concubine, not about giving birth to children."
"Oh, that's right." Lao Liu smiled sheepishly and said, "I've been talking to the old man for too long, and my brain has become hard to use."
"Okay, go back quickly. If you have any questions, let's talk about it another day." The prince adjusted Lao Liu's collar out of habit and watched Lao Liu leave.
Looking at his younger brother's burly figure, the prince touched the mustache he had just started to grow and was filled with emotions for a moment.
It's so fast. In the blink of an eye, everyone has become an adult and has their own ideas. They no longer rely on themselves like before...
~~
The palace attendants of Wan'an Palace had been waiting outside the palace gate for a long time. When they saw His Highness coming back, they announced loudly and joyfully: "Your Majesty, Your Highness is back!"
"Oh, you're back, you brat." After hearing the news, Concubine Hu Xian came out happily.
"My father has just released her, are you anxious to wait for Sister Hong?" Zhu Zhen looked at his mother and concubine with a smile and praised: "Sister Hong's style is still the same, she is still so young and beautiful!"
"Keke, don't talk nonsense, mother is already old." Concubine Hu Xian laughed so hard that her branches trembled. She held her son's upper arm with both hands, looked up and down carefully, and said distressedly:
"You are a lot taller, but why are you so thin? Is it because you are not used to Jiangxi food, or are you too busy to take care of meals?"
"Haha, neither of them. My son eats delicious food and is in great health." Lao Liu raised his arm and gestured: "It's because I have been obsessed with martial arts recently and exercised too much..."
"Hey, your kid has started to practice martial arts too?" Concubine Hu Xian suddenly said with itchy hands: "I have a fight with my mother someday. Let's make friends with each other through martial arts and compare notes."
"Forget it, you are going to be a concubine, so you should be more cautious." Lao Liu did not accept the move. He practiced martial arts purely to lose weight and fight? He would never fight in this life.
"Scared, you know?" Concubine Hu Xian wanted to be reserved, but she was overjoyed and said, "I also want to give you a surprise."
"That's enough of a surprise." Lao Liu laughed and said, "I'll have a nice drink with Sister Hong today to celebrate with you!"
"What?" Concubine Hu Xian couldn't believe her ears and asked Miao Shanggong on the side: "What did you hear him say?"
Miao Shanggong said in a loud voice: "His Highness said that he would have a nice drink with his wife today to celebrate her."
"Oh, that's great!" Concubine Hu Xian was immediately ecstatic, as if she was even more excited than when she heard that she was going to be crowned a noble concubine. She immediately ordered in a loud voice: "What are you guys doing standing still? Hurry up and bring out the good wine. No need to wait anymore."
Hidden!"
"Sister Hong, you're talking like you're hiding?" Lao Liu teased her, "Does it count as hiding if you label the shochu jar as medicinal wine? Isn't it basically a cover-up?"
"Of course, forget it." Concubine Hu Xian said seriously: "As long as you don't let go, son, my mother will not drink openly. Covering your ears and stealing the bell is also my mother's love for you."
"Then this love is really special." Lao Liu laughed and followed Concubine Hu Xian into the main hall.
In the main hall, the banquet had been laid out long ago, and a jar of high-quality soju finally took off its disguise and was revealed to the light of day.
Drinking in Wan'an Palace was a lively affair, so in addition to Concubine Hu Xian and her son, Miao Shanggong, Wang Ma, Mu Xiang and other female officials and eunuchs all came to the table to drink with them.
After a few drinks to welcome people back and congratulate them on their promotion, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively. The female officers and eunuchs became lively and started shouting and drinking, making fists and drinking. They were very happy.
Therefore, it is hereditary that Lao Liu likes to invite people to dinner.
When the wine was half drunk, Concubine Hu Xian insisted on toasting her son with a glass of wine.
"Why? Because my greatest achievement is to give birth to a good son." Concubine Hu Xian proudly held Lao Liu's arms and boasted to all the palace officials:
"On New Year's Eve, I was drinking hot pot and drinking wine with Concubine Ning and Concubine Hui. I heard Concubine Da Ding boasting that the seventh son had followed Wu Liang, the Marquis of Jiangyin, for his success in suppressing bandits. You didn't listen to her bragging. You were just like
It’s like Lao Qi has made an unparalleled contribution.”
Lao Liu had heard about this matter. After Lao Qi did something outrageous in Fengyang, his father recalled him, imprisoned him for half a year, and then sent him to the army for training.
Unexpectedly, he and Wu Liang got together. However, Wu Liang's Yangtze River Navy did not make any big moves this year, they just wiped out a few Yangtze River water bandits...
"She said that during the victory, Wu Liang praised Lao Qi for being so good. Your father then asked, since you like this boy so much, why not let him be your son-in-law?" Concubine Hu Xian continued.
"Pfft..." Lao Liu sprayed Wang Ma's face with a sip of wine, and quickly picked up the handkerchief to wipe his face apologetically.
No matter who the other party is, as long as it is his fault, he will definitely apologize. This is what makes Lao Liu different from all his brothers.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll receive the fairy dew on my face. What a blessing this old slave is." Wang Ma smiled kindly and said, "It must be beautiful and nourishing."
As he spoke, he asked in a low voice: "Isn't this marriage inappropriate..."
"Yeah." Lao Liu nodded. Of course, something was wrong. His father already knew that Wu Liang had ordered the pirates to attack him at sea, but he wanted him to be Lao Qi's father-in-law. No matter how he thought about it, it felt weird.
