King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 752 Birthday
A few days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was March 15th, which was Zhu Jinghong's birthday. He had officially turned 24.

As usual, he first went into the palace to pay his respects to the emperor. The rewards had been distributed in advance. Without saying a few words to each other, Zhu Jinghong left the palace.

When he arrived at his own residence, his birthday party officially began. The women in the palace performed various tricks to try every means to please Zhu Jinghong.

In addition to the people from Prince Xiang's Mansion, Zhu Jinghong's brothers and sisters also came, including the legitimate princess Zhu Yunsheng.

It is difficult for them to get together as brothers, but this is not accurate, because it is impossible for them to get together as brothers.

The eldest and second oldest brothers died many years ago. The third oldest, Prince Guangyang, was exiled to a high wall and died of depression two years ago under the joint efforts of Zhu Jinghong and his three brothers.

In addition, the fourth and sixth sons are now imprisoned, and the tenth and twelfth sons died young.

Zhu Xianming had fifteen sons and three daughters, thirteen of whom are still alive today, and only eleven are still active.

In the Cunxin Hall, at the banquet, Zhu Jinghong drank a lot of wine.

His face flushed as he walked in front of Yunyang King Zhu Jingze, who immediately stood up to greet him.

Zhu Jingze is 35 years old this year and became a grandfather last year. Because he is low-key and has no demands, he lives a relatively comfortable life.

Zhu Jingze was very happy that all the brothers were present today, so he drank a few more glasses today.

"Thirteenth brother, I'll toast you again and wish you all the best and a long life..."

Before Zhu Jingze could finish his words, Zhu Jinghong pressed his shoulder and said, "Fifth brother, you are the big brother here today, it's my turn to toast you!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't know that a word he said casually had made Zhu Jingze very uneasy.

Objectively speaking, now that the fourth prince is imprisoned, he is indeed the eldest among the princes.

But from his subjective point of view, he wished he was born a few years later so that he could avoid these deadly false reputations.

"Thirteenth brother, today you are the birthday boy, we should respect you!" Zhu Jingze said.

Seeing Zhu Jingze's slightly embarrassed look, the seventh brother, Xingshan King Zhu Jingzhi, was very glad, as he almost became the target of public criticism.

"Come on, come on, no need to say more, just drink this cup!"

After drinking this cup, Zhu Jingze staggered back a few steps, and then said with exhaustion: "Thirteenth brother, I need to take a break, I need to take a break... I can't handle the alcohol!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't care. He waved his hand and motioned Zhu Jingze to sit down. Then he turned around and looked around, then went to find Xingshan King Zhu Jingzhi.

"Seventh Brother, you are really good at hiding yourself away. Come... let's have a drink together, brothers!"

Zhu Jinghong and his group were drinking here, and at this moment in the side hall of Cunxin Hall, a group of female relatives were also feasting together.

The women were talking at once, which was more lively than a group of men, and the focus of the scene was undoubtedly Baochai.

On Baochai's left and right are Princess Jiaxing Zhu Yunmei and Princess Danyang Zhu Yunhan. The former is 35 years old this year, and the latter is also 30 years old.

As for Princess Jing'an Zhu Yunsheng, she was sitting alone in the corner at this moment, looking a little lonely. Fortunately, Xiangyun was there to keep her company.

As for Daiyu, she was talking to Baoqin at this time. Keqing was at the same table with Yinglian and Zhenqin, and Yang Jingting was at the same table with Qiqi and Genomin. The latter two returned to Beijing last autumn.

"Princess, there are some things I shouldn't say, but since you don't treat me as an outsider, I won't ignore those rules and tell you!"

"Everyone is here today, and they are all talking and having a good time. You're isolating yourself from everyone. Isn't that asking for trouble?"

"Besides, if you do this, I'm afraid others will feel unhappy. It's fine for other people... but if you create a rift between you and Sister Bao, then what's the point of this!"

Xiangyun spoke with all her heart. She had spent the longest time with Zhu Yunsheng and their feelings were relatively deep, so she said these heartfelt words at this moment.

Zhu Yunsheng certainly understood these principles, and was even more grateful for Xiangyun's genuine concern.

"Thank you, but I...ah, I just can't muster up the courage. The princess has a broad mind, but it's not so broad that she can't tolerate me!"

Too many changes have happened in this year. A family that was once happy is now torn apart. This has dealt a great blow to Zhu Yunsheng, so he is so negative now.

"If I really offend her and she wants to make things difficult for me, I can only accept my fate!"

Hearing these words, Xiangyun became more worried, but before she could say anything more, she heard Zhu Yunsheng say, "Xiangyun, don't say this kind of thing to anyone else in the future!"

"I am a leisurely person, but you are in the middle of a situation, so you must be on guard against others!"

Xiangyun was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Baochai and others. These were all good sisters she was very familiar with, and they were no different from when she first met them.

But she understood what Zhu Yunsheng meant, so she remained silent for a while.

"We all……"

Guessing what Xiangyun wanted to say, Zhu Yunsheng said softly: "People will change, especially in the royal family!"

"Back then, my fourth, sixth, and thirteenth brothers were all friendly and harmonious... Look at them now!"

After a pause, Zhu Yunsheng continued, "Before, I didn't want you to enter Thirteenth Brother's house. Not only was I afraid of being laughed at, but I also didn't want you to enter the royal family and suffer this torture!"

"It's a done deal now. From now on, you should be careful in everything you do!"

Although this past year was negative, Zhu Yunsheng did not waste his time. Instead, he realized many truths when looking back on the past.

For example, the couple of Brother Thirteen who are currently deciding the victory are the replicas of her parents in her eyes. Even though they are enjoying such a good life now, they may not necessarily have a good ending in the future.

Yes, in Zhu Yunsheng’s opinion, although his parents became supreme beings, they could not be said to have a good end.

"I understand!" Xiangyun nodded.

Here, Zhu Yunsheng lamented Xiangyun's joining the game, while at the other table, there was someone else who was eager to join.

"Yesterday I talked to my brother-in-law and told him that my family was planning to find a marriage for me in Beijing. I asked him if he had any good people to recommend...but he said he would keep an eye out for me!"

Having drunk a few more glasses of wine, Baoqin held Daiyu's hand tightly and said with a smile: "Sister Lin, you say...brother-in-law, does he really not understand?"

Baoqin is already nineteen years old this year, which is considered an old maid nowadays, but she is still unmarried.

Her relationship with Zhu Jinghong certainly exceeds the boundary between sister-in-law and brother-in-law, but until now, that layer of window paper has not been broken.

This made Baoqin very distressed. Although she was satisfied being with her brother-in-law, she couldn't help complaining after drinking too much.

"Don't worry about it. He was just joking with you. You two have already been in that situation... Is it possible that he would give you to someone else?"

"Even if he is willing to do so, the princess is not willing to do so. You can rest assured!" Daiyu said with a smile.

"But why hasn't my brother-in-law given me a status yet?"

Daiyu had actually thought about this question. In her opinion, the main reason was that the queen had passed away. Since Zhu Jinghong wanted to create an image of a filial son, it would be inappropriate for him to take a woman in within one year.

"I guess... after the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhen's death this year, everything will come to a conclusion!"

The Empress Xiaozhen mentioned by Daiyu is the posthumous title of the late Empress Yang Qingyin.

"really?"

Patting Baoqin's sleeves, Daiyu smiled and said, "If he remains indifferent, I will work with the princess to seek justice for you!"

"Hmm!" Baoqin's tears flowed uncontrollably again, which made Daiyu feel very distressed.

Looking at Baochai, she was smiling the whole time, mainly listening to other people talking and responding from time to time.

Her current state is very similar to that of Empress Xiaozhen when she was alive. This is also the reason why Zhu Yunsheng was reluctant to come, because she felt that Baochai had taken over her mother's personality.

But is this usurping power? Of course not, it is the demeanor that a person in this position should have.

Previously, the position of Mother of the Country belonged to Yang Qingyin, and in the future it will belong to Baochai if nothing unexpected happens. To put it another way, it is not that they occupied this position, but rather that they were "tamed" by this position.

When they were having a great time, Princess Jiaxing Zhu Yunmei stood up with her glass in hand, looked around and said, "Come...sisters, let's toast to the princess!" "Sister, sit down!" Baochai reached out and pulled Zhu Yunmei back.

It is true that the royal children are extremely pampered on a daily basis, but it is also true that they are all deep-minded since childhood.

"Princess, today we are celebrating the birthday of our Thirteenth Brother. We were originally going to toast the birthday boy... but since he is not here, we should toast to you!"

"Since it's a toast, how can we not be serious?"

"You guys... just know how to drug me!" Baochai said with a smile.

But no matter what, everyone drank happily. But when Baochai put down her wine glass, she saw Zhu Yunsheng coming over.

"Sister-in-law, I want to toast you too. These days... I have made you and Brother Thirteen worried!"

It's lonely at the top. Baochai seldom hears the title "sister-in-law". Even the two princesses Xu and Zhao, who are on good terms with her, call her "Niangniang" most of the time.

Lifting the wine glass, Baochai said with a warm expression: "As long as you are healthy and happy... your Thirteenth Brother and I will be relieved!"

Just as the two of them drank the wine and the atmosphere in the room became more harmonious, a maid came into the side hall and whispered a few words in Ying'er's ear.

After hearing this, Ying'er did not dare to neglect it and whispered it to Baochai.

After hearing the news, Baochai's expression became noticeably colder, which lowered the temperature in the hall for a moment, and the people who were talking gradually quieted down.

"You two can talk for a while. I have some things to deal with. Fourteenth and fifteenth daughters-in-law, please entertain them for me!"

The two princesses who were mentioned by Baochai hurriedly stood up and responded, and then Baochai turned and left.

A few minutes later, Zhu Jinghong entered the Tongxin Hall.

"What's the matter? Why are you being so secretive? Just send someone to tell them!"

Seeing Zhu Jinghong's face flushed with elation, Baochai said coldly, "Just got the news, Lao Liu hanged himself!"

My goodness, these words were like a bolt from the blue, and the drunkenness I felt immediately disappeared without a trace.

"what?"

"The person is not dead, he was rescued. Lao Liu cried and said that someone wanted to kill him, and he couldn't live anymore so he committed suicide!"

Such important news should have been passed directly to Zhu Jinghong, but because he drank too much today, others did not dare to disturb his interest, so the news was passed to Baochai.

"The drunkard's real intention is not to drink!" Zhu Jinghong looked unfriendly.

After a few moments of silence, Baochai replied, "Well... that can't be said, he really hasn't been doing well recently!"

"Oh?"

"I asked the fourteenth and fifteenth sons to deduct their expenses!" Baochai answered frankly.

Lao Liu must have staged such a drama in order to report it to the emperor; the matter of embezzlement could not be concealed.

Although it was indeed done by Xu and Zhao, Baochai could not really let them bear the responsibility, so she spoke out clearly at this moment.

"What? Who told you to do this!" Zhu Jinghong looked dissatisfied.

"Old Six is ​​in the mansion, saying bad things about you every day, and even using all kinds of taboo words to curse you. I can't stand it... so I want to teach him a lesson!"

Sitting aside angrily, Zhu Jinghong said angrily: "When did you become so ignorant of the seriousness of the matter? A few scoldings from him will only cost you a piece of meat? Why do you have to argue with him?"

"What he said is enough to curse you to have no children or grandchildren. I don't want to endure it!"

"It's a big deal, so let the old man judge and see what Old Six thinks about his mistakes behind closed doors!"

"But now that Lao Liu has hanged himself, the old man will only think that I can't tolerate my brothers!" Zhu Jinghong said by slamming the table.

"Just push it to me. I'm a woman, and I can't endure it as much as you do. If the old man wants to punish you, just punish me!"

Standing up and walking aside, Baochai said slowly, "Anyway, I just can't bear it. In the past, we tolerated them when they were powerful, but now they have become like that, and they still want me to tolerate them... I don't want to tolerate them!"

After shaking his sleeves and standing up, Zhu Jinghong sighed and replied, "I'll go and apologize to the old man, you spendthrift woman!"

Seeing that Zhu Jinghong was really angry, Baochai tried to make up for it, "Even if we are wrong, if the old man knew that the sixth son did those things in the mansion, he would not know who to blame!"

"Okay, stop talking!" Zhu Jinghong said unhappily.

Zhu Jinghong was of course well aware of what the Sixth Brother had done in the mansion, and he hated his Sixth Brother to the core, but he ignored these things in order to maintain the dignity of the royal family.

But the various curses and insults from the Sixth Brother did make Zhu Jinghong extremely hateful, so he was not too angry about Baochai's revenge.

Therefore, the birthday boy could only hurriedly go to the palace for the second time on his birthday.

Zhu Xianming also knew the news that Prince Rui had hanged himself, and he also knew other things he should know.

So this mess also made him extremely worried.

What he was worried about was that if the two brothers didn't even care about superficial harmony, they would kill each other a hundred years later.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang is here to see you!"

After waiting for a few seconds, Zhu Xianming said, "Let him in!"

After a while, Zhu Jinghong entered the inner hall and found that there were more memorials on the emperor's desk than in the morning.

The previous political struggle had ended, but it was the beginning of a tough battle. Land surveying was being carried out nationwide, and there were too many things to deal with every day. It was laborious and also offended people.

Therefore, in the past two years, Zhu Jinghong has been avoiding the throne, because if he sat on it, he would be extremely busy.

"Dad, I'm here to ask for forgiveness!"

"What's the crime?"

"Because Baochai lost her temper and withheld Sixth Brother's expenses, he committed suicide today. This is all my son's fault!"

Zhu Jinghong was worried that the emperor would think too much, but in fact the emperor was also afraid that he had changed his mind and was unwilling to acknowledge Lao Liu as his brother.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong apologize frankly, Zhu Xianming felt relieved. At this moment, he didn't think about scolding him, but about calming his younger son's emotions. After all, Zhu Jinghong was also wronged in this matter.

"Old Six is ​​a bastard. He might as well be dead for all the things he did in the mansion!"

"I think your wife is right. She should cut off his food and drink and let him live more soberly, otherwise he will not even know who he is!"

To be honest, Zhu Jinghong was a little surprised to hear the emperor say these words, and then he said: "This is all my son's fault, Dad, just punish me!"

"Alright, alright, Lao Liu is fine now. What's the point of saying whether to punish him or not? From now on, their expenses will be the same as now. Let him suffer a little bit!"

Zhu Xianming didn't want to talk about this anymore, so he asked, "It was very lively at the mansion today, did you drink a lot of wine?"

"Yes, I drank some!" Zhu Jinghong replied with a little restraint. This was the humble attitude he should have.

"It's still good to be young. I envy you... You are not like your father, who works hard on paperwork all day long. You are the emperor, but you are just like an old farmer in the fields!"

Zhu Xianming's emotion came from the bottom of his heart. Only then did he remember that he hadn't talked to anyone about his true feelings for a long time.

The main reason is that there are not many people in this world who are qualified to talk to him about their inner thoughts, or even none at all. Zhu Jinghong can only be considered as one.

Sighing, Zhu Xianming said calmly: "It's just right, it's time for lunch, come and have a drink with me!"

"Yes!" Zhu Jinghong replied.

(End of this chapter)