As the words faded, the Empress Dowager entered from a corner, supported on either side by Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess.
Seeing the Empress Dowager arrive, Emperor Jingming hurriedly rose to greet her, with the Empress silently following.
“Mother, please take care,” Emperor Jingming extended his hand to support the Empress Dowager. The Fourteenth Princess obediently stepped aside to make way.
The Emperor’s gesture warmed the Empress Dowager’s heart. She smiled, “Your Majesty needn’t trouble yourself. I can still manage.”
Emperor Jingming smiled, “Of course, Mother is in good health. I simply wish to support you.”
Watching Emperor Jingming carefully assist the Empress Dowager to the dais, those present were moved: His Majesty’s filial piety towards the Empress Dowager had remained constant for decades.
The elderly princes and noble ladies nodded approvingly, secretly envying the Empress Dowager’s good fortune. Even in ordinary families, such genuine filial piety from an adopted son to his adoptive mother would be praiseworthy, let alone from the Emperor himself. To reach the position of Empress Dowager was truly a fulfillment of life, a blessing cultivated over many lifetimes.
Amidst countless admiring and respectful gazes, the Empress Dowager ascended the dais, slowly taking her seat with the Emperor’s support, and surveyed those below.
The assembled guests rose and bowed, saying, “We wish the Empress Dowager a thousand autumns—”
The Empress Dowager nodded slightly. When the hall quieted, she smiled, “We are all family here. There’s no need to stand in ceremony. Please, be at ease.”
At the Empress Dowager’s words, everyone took their seats.
Music began to play, and a troupe of colorfully dressed dancers gracefully entered. They began to dance barefoot on the brocade carpet, the silver bells on their ankles tinkling in harmony with the music, gradually elevating the atmosphere in the hall.
The Empress Dowager nodded with a smile to the Empress, “Thank you for your efforts.”
The Empress raised her cup, “It’s my honor to celebrate Mother’s birthday. I only wish for Mother to remain as evergreen as the pine, with many more years like today.”
The Empress Dowager also raised her cup, barely wetting her lips.
Next, the imperial relatives and nobles came forward in their predetermined order to offer congratulations and presents to the Empress Dowager.
First were those of the Empress Dowager’s generation, followed by Emperor Jingming’s generation, and finally the grandchildren’s generation.
Among the grandchildren, the princes naturally came first to offer birthday wishes, and this year, they drew more attention than usual. The reason was simple: the position of Crown Prince was vacant, a matter of great interest to all.
Prince Qin and his wife were the first to step forward.
As Emperor Jingming’s adopted son, Prince Qin always took precedence over the other princes on such occasions, despite having no hope for the throne. Many eyes swept over Prince Qin briefly before lowering to their drinks. His high rank was of no use; after all, he had no connection to the position of Crown Prince.
Prince Qin and his wife presented a pair of white jade peaches to the Empress Dowager.
Among the myriad rare treasures, a pair of white jade peaches wasn’t particularly valuable, but they were exquisitely crafted, appearing as if freshly plucked from the branch.
The Empress Dowager smiled, praised them briefly, and accepted the gift.
Next came Prince Qi.
Prince Qi’s offering was a sutra he had personally transcribed. What made it remarkable was that it was an esoteric scripture from overseas, one that even many of Da Zhou’s high monks might not have read.
The Empress Dowager was naturally delighted and accepted it.
Yu Jin exchanged glances with Jiang Si across the aisle, his eyes full of contempt.
“Fourth Brother is indeed a pauper who spends his wife’s dowry,” he thought. “A mere broken sutra as a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager. Personally transcribed, which means he spent no money at all. As for this so-called overseas true scripture, who knows if Fourth Brother simply memorized it after reading it somewhere? It cost him nothing in the end.”
When one dislikes a person, everything they do seems disagreeable. Yu Jin felt a thousand times more contemptuous of Prince Qi’s opportunistic move.
Jiang Si responded with a smile, gently blinking at him.
Before Ah Jin mocked Prince Qi, he should have considered whose salary Ernui was spending…
As if their hearts were linked, Yu Jin immediately understood her meaning from that single blink, and his handsome face darkened.
So what if he spent Ernui’s salary? He had raised Erniu!
Next, Prince Lu and his wife’s gift was straightforward but substantial: a pair of red coral branches half a zhang tall.
While red coral was a common gift, this pair was truly valuable, certainly more expensive than the white jade peaches or the sutra.
When it was Prince Shu and his wife’s turn, their gift to the Empress Dowager was conventional, and she accepted it with a smile.
Returning to his seat, Prince Shu felt somewhat regretful. He could have given a gift that would have pleased his grandmother, but his mother had asked him to be more low-key, so he had no choice but to choose something more modest.
Sitting quietly in a corner of the dais, Noble Consort Zhuang gave an almost imperceptible nod, pleased that her son had listened to her advice.
Then Yu Jin and Jiang Si rose from their respective seats and approached together to offer their birthday wishes.
“Grandson (Granddaughter-in-law) wishes Grandmother a thousand autumns.”
A small, exquisite box was handed over by an attendant and opened before the Empress Dowager.
Inside lay a string of agarwood prayer beads.
The moment the Empress Dowager saw the gift, her pupils contracted, and her expression changed subtly, beyond her control.
Emperor Jingming, always attentive to the Empress Dowager, noticed her unusual reaction and curiously asked Yu Jin, “Seventh Son, what made you think of giving your grandmother a string of prayer beads?”
The Empress Dowager had a string of agarwood prayer beads that she often wore, and Emperor Jingming remembered them well.
Hearing the Emperor’s question, Yu Jin replied candidly, “Son thought Grandmother would like them.”
Emperor Jingming smiled, “Such prayer beads—”
He wanted to say that the Empress Dowager already had a similar string that she always wore, but he swallowed the rest of his words, his gaze unconsciously drifting to the Empress Dowager’s wrist.
At some point, the prayer beads on the Empress Dowager’s wrist had disappeared.
Strange, when had the Empress Dowager removed those prayer beads? He had seen them the day he announced that Seventh Son would be registered under the Empress’s name.
As these questions flashed through Emperor Jingming’s mind, the Empress Dowager spoke, “I do indeed like such prayer beads very much. You are truly thoughtful.”
Yu Jin looked up at the Empress Dowager, smiling slightly, “I’m glad you like them.”
With that, he and Jiang Si withdrew.
The gift-giving continued, but the Empress Dowager’s heart was stirred by those prayer beads.
And Emperor Jingming’s heart was equally unsettled.
It was just a string of prayer beads, normally not worth dwelling on, but why had Mother shown such an unusual expression? Could there be a reason why Mother was no longer wearing her previous string of prayer beads?
For some reason, thinking about when the Empress Dowager might have removed her agarwood prayer beads, Emperor Jingming felt inexplicably uneasy. However, this touch of gloom was quickly dispelled by the festive atmosphere in the great hall.
The banquet continued, now reaching its peak.
The guests, slightly tipsy, became less restrained and began to toast more frequently.
Unlike in the past when he was ignored, today many people surround Yu Jin, clearly his status as the Empress’s son has elevated his position.
Prince Xiang watched, his eyes burning with envy, thinking for the umpteenth time: If Father had chosen him that day, these people would be currying favor with him instead!
A hand gently patted his shoulder.
Prince Xiang turned to see Prince Qi raising a cup to him, “Eighth Brother, let your brother toast you.”
Prince Xiang drained his cup and walked towards Yu Jin.