During the days leading up to the New Year, apart from riding horses out of the city, the Crown Prince spent most of his days in the deer park or the gardens of the Eastern Palace.
Yao Huang had not gone to see exactly how the Crown Prince practiced walking, but since he was standing up more and more frequently while in their inner chambers, Yao Huang knew his progress over the past few days had been remarkably swift.
On the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month, Emperor Yongchang visited the Eastern Palace again. He personally pushed the Crown Prince's wheelchair to the deer park and did not let Yao Huang accompany them. As a result, Yao Huang had no idea what the father and son discussed. After Emperor Yongchang left, she tried to coax the information out of the Crown Prince, but not only did he refuse to tell her, he also revealed a rather complicated expression.
The next day was New Year's Eve.
Emperor Yongchang had made it clear early on that this year's New Year's Eve palace banquet was to be a grand affair. All capital officials of the fifth rank and above were allowed to bring their wives to the banquet, and imperial relatives and noble families were naturally among those invited.
Even Commandery Prince Qing and his wife, who had been punished to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors for three years, received an oral edict from Emperor Yongchang inviting them to the banquet.
Commandery Prince Qing was so happy he could have cried. It wasn't that he cared too much about whether his imperial father still held him in his heart; it was simply that the days of being grounded were too difficult to endure. During the first two months of his confinement, he had felt relaxed and at ease, but as time passed, it felt like being in prison. Sometimes, standing at the base of the wall in his back garden, Commandery Prince Qing would even entertain the absurd thought of climbing over the wall to sneak out for a bit of fun.
Zheng Yuanzhen was also pleasantly surprised. They had only been grounded for a little over half a year, and her uncle was already missing Commandery Prince Qing. If Commandery Prince Qing performed well at the palace banquet, coupled with the increasingly adorable Sanlang, the father and son might be able to coax her uncle into a good mood. Perhaps her uncle would show them special favor and exempt the couple from the rest of their confinement?
Back when Zheng Yuanzhen was still coveting the prestige of being the Crown Princess and the future mother of the nation, she couldn't even let go of the past matter of breaking off her engagement to Prince Hui, always feeling that people around her were secretly mocking her for it. Now, Zheng Yuanzhen's face had long been entirely lost, and her prestige as a Princess Consort had plummeted to that of a Commandery Princess Consort. Having fallen so hard and been grounded for over half a year, Zheng Yuanzhen ironically no longer cared about those idle gossips. All she wanted was to be able to go out and walk around sooner.
Both hoping for their confinement to be lifted, Commandery Prince Qing and his wife prepared meticulously. The couple dressed plainly, only dressing up Sanlang to look festive and adorable. They entered the palace on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, ahead of the officials.
Emperor Yongchang was in Empress Zhou's central palace. The Noble Consort, Consort Xian, and Consort Rou were all present, and the Crown Prince's family and Prince Kang's family had also arrived.
Prince Kang's wife, Chen Ying, had already finished her confinement month. The little commandery princess was too young to be brought to the palace, but Prince Kang had three other children. Now, these three were sitting on the heated couch, forming a circle around Yun'er. Each held a toy, trying to attract their younger brother to crawl toward them.
The lively laughter of the children put the elders watching nearby in a good mood.
Your Majesty, Commandery Prince Qing and the Commandery Princess Consort have brought the third imperial grandson to seek an audience.
Everyone looked at Emperor Yongchang.
Emperor Yongchang was still looking at his grandchildren on the couch, a smile on his face. He said nonchalantly, Bring them in.
Such nonchalance could be interpreted as the Emperor not caring about Commandery Prince Qing's family at all, or it could be understood that he had already forgiven Commandery Prince Qing's faults, meaning it was perfectly normal for his son and daughter-in-law to enter the palace for the New Year, requiring no special treatment from him.
Consort Rou nervously gripped her cuffs.
Finally, after a long absence, Commandery Prince Qing's family of three appeared before everyone.
This unfilial son kowtows to Imperial Father. May Imperial Father enjoy good health and live for thousands of years.
Commandery Prince Qing led Zheng Yuanzhen in a solid, respectful kneel.
The warm pavilion fell silent. Prince Kang quietly signaled the young heir on the couch to lead his younger siblings down, as they would soon need to pay their respects to their third uncle and aunt.
As the three older children put on their shoes, Emperor Yongchang looked up. His gaze swept first over Commandery Prince Qing, who had grown paler and plumper after being confined indoors for over half a year, and then over his niece, whose features remained elegant but whose brows no longer held their former arrogance. His eyes soon landed on Sanlang, who was being held in his wet nurse's arms.
Emperor Yongchang excused the three from their formalities and waved at the wet nurse.
The wet nurse quickly brought Sanlang to Emperor Yongchang's arms.
Sanlang had been born prematurely. As the older brother, he hadn't been as big as Yun'er when he reached his one-month mark, but now they looked about the same size, and he weighed a solid twenty pounds or so in one's arms.
However, since this was the first time Sanlang had seen so many people since he was barely old enough to remember, the little fellow was clearly shy of strangers. Unable to warm up to his imperial grandfather, he twisted his body, wanting his mother to hold him.
The hopes of Commandery Prince Qing and Zheng Yuanzhen to use their son to lift their confinement instantly cooled by half.
Emperor Yongchang patted Sanlang's head and had the wet nurse carry Sanlang to the couch to play with Yun'er.
Consort Rou remained silent. She had wanted to hug her own grandson too.
Emperor Yongchang simply asked Commandery Prince Qing a couple of questions. Once he was done, the Commandery Prince and his wife went to pay their respects to Empress Zhou, followed by paying respects to the Crown Prince, who was esteemed as a half-sovereign, and the Crown Princess.
Zhao Sui was still sitting in a wheelchair. Aside from Emperor Yongchang, Empress Zhou, the Crown Princess, and Prince Kang, no one else present knew that his legs were slowly recovering.
Zheng Yuanzhen's gaze swept over the Crown Prince's legs. By now, she no longer dwelled on useless regrets that would only worsen her mood. Instead, she focused on thoughts that brought her comfort. For instance, even though the Commandery Prince Qing she married had failed to become the Crown Prince, he still possessed the prestige of a commandery prince and a strong, healthy body. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, even if he became emperor in the future, would be an emperor confined to a wheelchair, ultimately lacking in some way.
With all the required respects paid, Empress Zhou granted Commandery Prince Qing and his wife seats.
Yao Huang didn't pay much attention to the two of them. Commandery Prince Qing used to often disrespect his second brother in the wheelchair, but from now on, he probably wouldn't dare do so again. Therefore, Yao Huang simply treated the couple as imperial relatives with whom she shared no affection, only needing to maintain superficial harmony.
She was more curious about whether Yun'er and Sanlang could play together on the couch.
Yun'er was quite enthusiastic. Having gained a playmate about his size, the little fellow grabbed a gold bracelet with a golden bell attached and crawled rapidly toward Sanlang. Unfortunately, he crawled too fast. Unable to discern his intentions, Sanlang was mostly just scared. He turned his head and scrambled away, quickly crawling into the arms of his own wet nurse, who was guarding the edge of the couch.
Yun'er chased him all the way to the edge of the couch. Propping himself up with one hand, he held the gold bracelet high toward Sanlang with the other.
Sanlang clung to his wet nurse's shoulder, pointing his bottom at his younger cousin.
Emperor Yongchang laughed. He walked over to the couch and reached out to Yun'er. Give it to Imperial Grandfather. Imperial Grandfather cherishes it.
Yun'er happily placed the gold bracelet into his imperial grandfather's hand.
Commandery Prince Qing and Zheng Yuanzhen were left speechless.
After dusk fell and the sky darkened, the palace banquet began. Emperor Yongchang hosted the male guests in the Qianyuan Hall, while the empress and consorts hosted the female guests in the central palace.
On the side of the monarch and his officials, where there was a banquet, there was bound to be wine. Emperor Yongchang was in a good mood and drank several large bowls in succession. By the time the banquet was halfway through, the Emperor's majestic face was flushed red, clearly showing signs of intoxication.
When Emperor Yongchang picked up his wine bowl again to drink with the officials, Prince Kang left his seat and advised, Imperial Father is drunk. It would be best to just take a sip from this bowl. We subjects will drink ours to the bottom.
Emperor Yongchang waved for him to sit down and snorted, I know my own tolerance. What do these few bowls of wine amount to? After I finish this bowl, I will personally take the floor and perform a sword dance to add to your amusement.
The officials were stunned into silence.
Performing a sword dance while this drunk, what if he accidentally injured his imperial self? What if he accidentally injured them?
The officials immediately began to offer words of dissuasion one after another.
The more they tried to persuade Emperor Yongchang, the less he listened. Tipping his head back, he downed a whole bowl of wine and slammed it heavily onto the imperial desk. Stepping around to the front of the dais, he flicked his sleeves and declared loudly, "Bring me my sword!"
Eunuch Wang immediately offered up Emperor Yongchang's sheathed sword with both hands.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Emperor Yongchang took the sword and walked down the dais step by step. As he walked, he urged the officials who were all staring at him, laughing, "Drink! Why are you all looking at me..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Emperor Yongchang stumbled!
The military officials reacted the fastest. Duke of Zhenguo, Li Qian, who sat at the very front, and Marquis of Weiyuan, Cen Lianshan, who had been specially summoned back to the capital to report on his duties, leapt from their seats simultaneously. Like two tigers, they charged toward the dais. Just as they were halfway there, two figures from the opposite side also rushed toward the dais. The one running at the front was Prince Kang, while the other figure ran a few steps before slowly dropping to their knees on the ground...
Emperor Yongchang, whose upper body had swayed wildly for quite a while but somehow managed not to fall, finally steadied himself. He looked at the person kneeling in the hall with absolute disbelief.
The two noblemen, who were just about to catch Emperor Yongchang, saw that the Emperor had steadied himself and instinctively looked in the direction he was staring.
Seeing their reaction, Prince Kang, who was halfway there, also looked back.
Prince Qing, whose reactions had grown sluggish after being grounded for over half a year and was only just leaning on his table to stand, widened his eyes. Just like the two prime ministers and six ministers behind him, he froze in the posture of having just stood up or lifted a foot to help the Emperor. All of them stared dumbfounded at the Crown Prince, who had fallen to his knees on the ground.
Were their eyes playing tricks on them? The Crown Prince had actually stood up and even ran a few steps?
The lower-ranking officials sitting in the back still did not know what Emperor Yongchang and the others were so shocked about. For instance, Yao Zhenhu, who had been granted an earldom thanks to his daughter, and Yao Lin, who had just been promoted to a regular fifth-rank Battalion Commander. The father and son were sitting far away; even if the Emperor needed catching, it wouldn't be their turn. While others were in shock, the father and son exchanged a look, both feeling that there were simply too many rules at these royal banquets. After drinking for a bit, they had to respectfully listen to the Emperor speak, and now who knows what had happened...
Before the father and son could finish their exchange of glances, they heard Emperor Yongchang shout, "Sui'er!" Immediately after, as if the Crown Prince had contracted some sudden, severe illness, the Emperor dropped his sword and sprinted toward him.
Sui'er, Zhao Sui, the Crown Prince?
At this realization, Yao Zhenhu and Yao Lin scrambled up from the ground, rushing to the very front in a flurry. They arrived just in time to see Emperor Yongchang holding the Crown Prince by the shoulders, while the Crown Prince slowly straightened his legs to stand.
Yao Zhenhu and Yao Lin: "..."
Emperor Yongchang was still in a state of shock. "Sui'er, how... how are you suddenly able to stand?"
The Crown Prince lowered his eyes. Perhaps because he was too emotional, his voice was much lower than usual. However, the great hall was incredibly quiet at this moment, so the officials still clearly heard his words. "I... I do not know either. Just now, seeing Imperial Father in danger, in my moment of desperation, I just..."
Emperor Yongchang suddenly pulled the reserved Crown Prince into a tight embrace, tilting his head back to laugh heartily. "Excellent! My son's filial piety has moved heaven and earth! The Heavenly Emperor has bestowed his blessing, helping my son break through the confines of his crippled legs to stand once more!"
The Crown Prince had long since closed his eyes.
Prince Kang, who only knew that his younger brother's legs could move but was unaware that he had been able to walk a few steps for some time now, believed his father's words without a shred of doubt. Tears streamed down his face.
Seeing this, the civil and military officials all knelt on the ground. Led by the Left and Right Prime Ministers, they loudly praised the Crown Prince's filial piety. Once they finished their praises, they too raised their sleeves to wipe away their tears.
Yao Zhenhu and Yao Lin, who stood frozen in the middle and looked exceptionally conspicuous: "..."
Emperor Yongchang ignored the father and son. After the officials finished their chorus of agreement, the Emperor said with some concern, "Sui'er, try again. See if you can walk a few more steps?"
The Crown Prince, eyes still lowered, slowly turned around. Step by step, he walked back to his wheelchair and sat down.
This time, the sea of kneeling civil and military officials all saw it clearly: the Crown Prince of the Great Qi Dynasty could truly walk!
