jdhmnovel Chapter 509 Full Moon Banquet
Chapter 509 Full Moon Banquet
In addition to the traditional New Year's Eve, there is another important time node in this festive year, which is the full moon celebration of Li Yu, the eldest son of the Li family.
Although it was still the Chinese New Year period, the full moon banquet naturally attracted the attention and participation of many people because the Li family seemed to be one of the strong contenders for the future crown prince in the eyes of the public.
People flocked to offer their congratulations, both to celebrate the birth of a new life and to explore the Li family's position and influence within the court. After all, in this court world rife with intrigue and struggle, every action could hold profound implications.
What everyone was most looking forward to was whether, on Li Yu's one-month anniversary, the imperial edict would be issued, similar to the one-month anniversary of Li Shi and Li Ying's births, to confer the title of Prince on Li Xi and Crown Prince on Li Yu. This not only affected the honor of the Li Xi family, but also had a significant impact on the entire imperial court.
Before the imperial edict arrived, the guests unexpectedly discovered something strange: the relationship between Li Xi and Gu Shiyi seemed less harmonious than rumored. This was especially true given that Gu Shiyi had previously given birth to Li Yu prematurely after a quarrel with Li Xi. Now, they seemed to be close, but who knew if it was just acting.
Some people were still discussing this issue at the dinner table. A lady whispered, "I heard that the Prince of Nanyang and the Princess reconciled on New Year's Eve. The Prince of Nanyang was so impatient that he didn't even wait for the Princess to finish her confinement..." Then she showed an expression that said it all.
Of course, the other ladies at the table understood what he said, but they just said it casually and did not discuss it too much. After all, they were in someone else's house, so they should just eat honestly or talk about other topics.
Of course, Li Chu and the others would naturally come to such an occasion, but only Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao came.
When Li Xi and Gu Shiyi saw Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao coming, although they didn't have anything good to say about them in their hearts, they still greeted them with smiles.
Li Xi said, "Royal brother, you and your wife are finally here." From his tone, it seemed that he was blaming them for being late.
However, Li Chu did not refute, but followed Li Xi's words and said: "I'm really sorry, second brother, we just coaxed the two children to sleep, so your sister-in-law and I were able to get away." As he said this, a happy smile appeared on his face.
Li Xi felt indescribably depressed and felt it was unfair. Why was Li Chu so lucky? He was the eldest son and married the person he loved. The two of them were in love and gave birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl. He was also made a prince because of this!
Since he couldn't marry the person he loved, he could only find a substitute. The princess was also a scheming person, so he had to be on guard against her.
But despite this, Li Xi still had to act like a brother, after all, there were so many people around. He said, "Now that I have a child, I naturally understand what you are saying."
Dugu Jingyao also smiled and asked Si Jian behind her to take out the gifts. She said, "I don't know what the emperor's sister-in-law has prepared. I just found a good thing called a baby carriage. If you get tired of holding Yu'er in the future, you can let her sit in it and it will be easier. And this is the beauty cream from the store where I bought the beauty secrets. It's for my sister-in-law. I hope you don't mind this small gift."
Li Xi didn't mind any of this, but Gu Shiyi was a little disgusted. However, she didn't dare to show it either. She covered her lips and smiled, "You are joking, sister-in-law. The gift is small, but the sentiment is great. Please come in!"
After saying that, he invited Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao into the mansion. Naturally, Guo Ziyi and his family also came. However, Guo Fengmin was indeed indifferent to Li Xi. Although Li Xi seemed to have let it go on the surface, he was not very willing to accept it in his heart.
With such reluctance and unwillingness to let go, Li Yu's full-month ceremony began. Shortly after the full-month ceremony ended, Suzong's imperial edict arrived as expected.
Not only Li Xi and Gu Shiyi, but also other people who came to attend the full moon banquet were looking forward to it.
Suzong issued two imperial edicts. One was to appoint Li Yu as the crown prince, but the other was not to appoint Li Xi as a prince. However, it was also a good edict, as it was to promote Li Xi.
The imperial edict said that Li was a rookie who needed some experience, so he was promoted first, but there was no mention of conferring the title of prince.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Emperor Suzong actually valued Li Chu more. After hearing this imperial edict, Li Xi became even more furious, but at least he had been promoted, and his child was a month old, so he had no choice but to endure it.
After Li Xi received the order, everyone came to congratulate him, including Li Chu. Li Xi thought that the congratulations from others were sincere, but when these congratulations came out of Li Chu's mouth, they sounded like a mockery to him.
However, he could only endure such occasions and drink with the ministers. By the time the full moon banquet was about to end, Li Xi had already drunk a little too much.
Gu Shiyi fulfilled her responsibilities as a princess and sent the guests away. When she returned to the courtyard, she found Li Xi still drinking. Seeing him like a hopeless case, Gu Shiyi felt a little frustrated. However, after all, she was now the princess of Nanyang County, so she had to find a way to support Li Xi and get what she wanted.
She walked up to Li Xi and said coldly, "Your Highness, have you had enough to drink?"
Li Xi's opinion of Gu Shiyi was overturned. After all, Gu Shiyi used to speak to him in a soft tone, but now she used such a harsh tone. Was she disgusted with him?
Li Xi then stood up, slamming the table and shaking his head, saying, "What? This is in my palace, and you're going to interfere even if I drink a little?"
Gu Shiyi calmly sat down and said, "I understand why Your Highness drinks to drown his sorrows, but what good is that? No matter how much you drink, will your father still make you a prince?"
Li Xi saw that the woman in front of him seemed to have changed into a different person, so he stood behind Gu Shiyi, pinched her shoulders and asked, "So what do you say we should do?"
Gu Shiyi rolled her eyes from an angle where Li Xi couldn't see and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor is helping you. Don't forget, you have no military merits, nor any other achievements. Now that the Emperor has promoted you, if you can make some more achievements, and now that you have a legitimate eldest son, it will be more legitimate for you to be crowned a prince."
Upon hearing this, Li Xi, though dazed by the alcohol, suddenly understood. He exerted force on his hands and laughed, "Hahaha, Princess, you are right. It is I who am narrow-minded!"
After saying that, he let go of his hand. Gu Shiyi was really hurt by his pinch and couldn't help rubbing her shoulder. Li Xi also realized that he was too strong, so he sat next to Gu Shiyi and asked gently: "Did I hurt you?"
Gu Shiyi didn't hide it either. She nodded and said, "Yes, Your Highness was too strong and hurt me."
Li Xi said again: "Then let me help you rub it." After that, without waiting for Gu Shiyi to refuse, Li Xi approached Gu Shiyi and asked while rubbing: "How is the strength?"
After being busy for most of the day, Gu Shiyi was indeed a little tired. He had never expected that this pampered prince would actually give massages to others? He happened to massage the sore spot on her shoulder, and Gu Shiyi couldn't help but sigh.
This aroused the interest of Li Xi, who was drunk. He took advantage of Gu Shiyi's unpreparedness, picked her up sideways, and put her on the bed and pressed on her.