webnovelfull Chapter 565: Longevity Chapter
Chapter 565: Longevity Chapter
Consort Lan's movements had already been noticed by the people Li Chu had placed in the palace, and also by Li Fuguo.
However, they all decided to hold back for the time being and see what Consort Lan was up to. In any case, they already knew that the Li family and Consort Lan were cooperating, which was obviously to help the Li family obtain the position of Crown Prince, or even directly seize the throne. But how many princes who were not legitimate could successfully succeed by forcing the emperor to abdicate?
So they agreed to observe from the shadows, and as long as the process was relatively controllable, they wouldn't take action. They would wait until they had direct evidence to take down the two of them in one fell swoop.
Consort Lan has been causing trouble these past few days, for reasons unknown. First, she found a pretext to accuse Consort Meng of insubordination, had her slapped 20 times by Yu'er, and then forced to kneel for two hours, nearly ruining Consort Meng's knees. Then she got a cat as a pet, which almost injured the Seventh Prince.
In short, the court officials eventually submitted a memorial stating that Consort Lan was too arrogant and domineering, causing chaos in the harem, and requested Emperor Suzong to banish her to the Cold Palace.
Emperor Suzong would not so easily banish her to the cold palace, but he went along with it, stripping Consort Lan of her title and demoting her to the rank of Jieyu, confining her to the Zilan Palace and forbidding her from leaving unless summoned. He also sent her son to be raised by Consort Yu.
When Li Fuguo went to deliver the imperial decree, Consort Lan, no, she should be called Consort Du now, pretended to want to see the emperor, saying that she didn't mean it and would never dare to do it again, and even shed tears.
However, Li Fuguo said that the imperial edict had been issued and there was no room for negotiation. Du Jieyu collapsed to the ground. After Li Fuguo and the others left and the palace gates were closed, Du Jieyu was no longer the same as before. There was no trace of sadness on her face. She wiped away her tears and was helped up by Yu'er, who said, "Alright, go and prepare paper and pen for me."
Thus, although Consort Du made a fuss with the guards a few times, seeing that it was useless, she obediently stayed in the Zilan Palace.
Of course, Li Xi was also anxious. Firstly, this ally could provide money, and even weapons and provisions. Secondly, he remembered what they had done every time they met. However, he couldn't express it too obviously, so he could only wait. He always felt that this Consort Du was also a strategist and shouldn't be imprisoned so hastily.
The Emperor's birthday celebration arrived quietly, and the palace was bustling with joy and excitement.
Many court officials and representatives from neighboring countries came to the palace to offer their birthday greetings. Among them were the Uyghur Khan, Moyanchuo, and his adopted son, Prince Yehu.
Dugu Jingyao came to offer birthday wishes on behalf of the Chu Prince's Mansion, and she also brought a sword and a "Wind-Swept Robe".
The Prince of Yunnan's family naturally came, but Shen Zhenzhu, being seven or eight months pregnant and unable to move easily, did not attend. Dugu Moyan, wanting to stay with Shen Zhenzhu, also did not come. In the end, only Dugu Xin and Dugu Jingyue represented the Prince of Yunnan's family.
After Dugu Jingyao took her seat, she realized that Shen Zhenzhu was not there. But that was fine. She remembered that in her previous life, Mo Yanchuo and Shen Zhenzhu had some connection, and in the end, Li Ruo was involved in the marriage alliance.
Fortunately, Shen Zhenzhu did not attend the banquet this time. If they hadn't met, then presumably none of what happened later would have occurred.
Soon everyone had arrived, and a shout of "His Majesty has arrived! His Majesty the Empress has arrived! Consort Xiao has arrived!" drew everyone's attention. The conversation stopped abruptly, and everyone stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and Consort Xiao pay their respects."
Emperor Suzong, the Empress, and Consort Xiao entered gracefully. After they were seated, Emperor Suzong said, "All of you, rise. Today is my joyous occasion, so please be at ease and not stand on ceremony."
That's what they said, but who dared to actually disregard the formalities? They all said, "Thank you, Your Majesty," and then took their seats, and the banquet began.
The Empress first raised her glass, saying, "Your Majesty, I wish you a happy birthday and all the best."
Emperor Sukjong looked at the Empress and smiled, "Then I'll take your kind words as a sign." After saying that, the two of them drank their wine.
Consort Xiao was not to be outdone, so she offered tea instead of wine to Emperor Suzong. Although Emperor Suzong smiled, the smile did not reach his eyes. However, since she was a concubine he had once favored, he was still able to pretend to be fond of her.
After everyone had eaten for a while, Li Xi took the initiative to offer a gift to Emperor Suzong. He presented a very rare red coral, saying, "This red coral was obtained by your son from a famous person who went to Penglai Island. Such coral is a once-in-a-century find. Your son wishes Your Majesty boundless happiness and longevity."
Emperor Suzong said with some satisfaction, "Good, Xi'er is very thoughtful."
After Li Xi sat back down, he asked Dugu Jingyao, "Sister-in-law, what congratulatory gift have you prepared for Father?"
Dugu Jingyao had just taken a sip of water when she put it down and stood up, saying, "Father, although Your Highness is still unconscious, I have heard you mention that you have a special fondness for calligraphy and painting. So I took the liberty of finding a landscape painting by a famous artist from the previous dynasty to express the feelings between Your Highness and me."
As they spoke, "Feng Shengyi" and Shi Jian presented the scroll. When it was unfurled, the landscape was so lifelike that everyone praised it.
Emperor Suzong was overjoyed. "Jingyao, you are very thoughtful. Although Chu'er was not here in person, I appreciate your kind intentions." Dugu Jingyao smiled, bowed, and took her seat.
At this moment, the Uyghur Khan, Moyanchuo, stood up and laughed heartily, "Your Majesty, today is your birthday, and I have brought generous gifts. There are some jewels and a Ferghana horse, but this horse is not suitable for the palace. Your Majesty can go to the horse farm to check it out when you have time." After saying this, his men carried out several boxes of jewels. Emperor Suzong was naturally pleased and chatted happily with Moyanchuo.
Next, princes and princesses such as Li Tan and Li Ruo took turns presenting gifts, and Emperor Suzong's smile never stopped. Then came the gifts from the empresses, concubines, and ministers. Among them, the most impressive were the two-tiered birthday cake presented by the Prince of Yunnan's palace and the blood-written sutra copied by Consort Du, who was still in confinement.
Upon seeing the blood-written sutra copied by Consort Du, Emperor Suzong pondered for a moment and said, "Consort Du is very thoughtful. However..."
The Empress probably understood Emperor Suzong's meaning, so she went along with it and said, "Your Majesty, I think Consort Du is truly repentant. Since it is Your Majesty's birthday today, why don't you be magnanimous and forgive her this time?"
The Empress's virtue is understandable, but I didn't expect Consort Xiao to also have the intention to persuade her. She said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I didn't expect that Consort Du could copy scriptures with blood. It can be said that Your Majesty did not disappoint you by not directly banishing her to the inner palace."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Suzong said, "Li Fuguo, go to the Zilan Palace to convey my decree. Considering that she has been reflecting on her mistakes these past few days, I will grant her a one-day lifting of her confinement. However, she will still be under house arrest afterward. If necessary, she may only ask one palace servant to enter or leave with a token. The others are the same; they may not leave without being summoned."
Li Fuguo accepted the order and left, and the matter was handled as if it had never happened. Afterwards, the singing and dancing continued as usual, with wine being poured and cups being clinked.