Ju Noble Consort had just walked to behind the screen when she gave a graceful curtsey and said, "Greetings to His Majesty and all the eminent lords. This concubine should not have rashly attended this banquet, but I was afraid there might be some misunderstandings that would be hard to explain, so I hurried over."
"This concubine also knows about the matter of the Grand Secretariat paying out silver. It is true that Hong'er took the initiative to offer to exchange silver notes for the Fifth Prince, but later there were too many things piling up and I forgot about it. It was only when I was tidying the side palace recently that I found 18,000 taels worth of silver notes tucked away in a crevice. I simply hadn't had the chance to tell Hong'er yet."
There were three layers of meaning to this.
Firstly, it was true that the Eldest Prince had taken on this task and taken away the Fifth Prince's monthly allowance, purely out of goodwill to help.
Secondly, the Eldest Prince had been too busy and forgot about the monthly allowance, not because he was greedy for money.
Thirdly, the fact that 18,000 taels' worth of silver notes could be left tucked away in a crevice showed that the Ju family was not short of money, so the accusation that the Eldest Prince had coveted his brother's allowance would not stand.
With a few clever turns of phrase and a charming smile, she tidied up the situation where the Eldest Prince had got himself into trouble.
One really could not say whether it was the uselessness of her son or the cleverness of his mother.
Knowing that the incident where he had deliberately schemed over the monthly allowance had reached its conclusion, Chang Yan lowered his eyes. Ju Noble Consort carried considerable weight in the Imperial Court's heart. As long as her explanation was reasonable enough, he would be willing to believe it.
Sure enough, the man on the dragon throne relaxed his frown and scolded in a slightly admonishing tone, "What belongs to little Five belongs to little Five. If just anyone could arrogantly control it, what use would there be for the Grand Secretariat?"
"What His Majesty rebukes is that Hong'er is muddleheaded and careless. He should indeed be punished. Why not punish him by making him give all of next year's monthly allowance to the Fifth Prince? What does Your Majesty think?" Ju Noble Consort smiled as she echoed this.
Even Steward Wu at the side was clicking his tongue at this woman's skill.
The Eldest Prince was born of a concubine, so his annual allowance was only 2,400 taels. Giving it all away would not touch his bones or muscles.
It also allowed her to lead the Imperial Court down the steps and echo this, saying, "Then let's punish Hong'er by making him give next year's monthly allowance to little Five, and give back five years' worth of monthly allowance to little Five."
"Many thanks to His Majesty," Ju Noble Consort gave a charming expression of gratitude.
The Eldest Prince had not lost all his brains. He also stood up to give thanks, and looked apologetically at Chang Yan, "Fifth younger brother, do not blame elder brother for these things. We are close brothers by blood. We should not let these things come between us."
With his skill at hypocrisy undiminished, Chang Yan smiled faintly, "These are trivial matters that could not possibly damage my feelings for Eldest Imperial Brother."
Since there were no feelings in the first place.
Whether it was eminent officials or the Imperial Court, all they wanted to see was harmonious fraternal love, humility and harmony.
As the two brothers sat down, Secretary Yang, who had almost bent his old back double, finally straightened up and wiped at the sweat as he returned to his seat.
After Ju Noble Consort bade her charming farewells and withdrew, the Spring Viewing Banquet continued.
The singing and dancing brought peace; the colorful flowers and delicious foods surrounded them.
It seemed as if everything had thoroughly calmed down, and the whole farce had faded away into nothingness.
Only the clever ones tallied up that with Fifth Prince's contribution of 3,000 taels of silver, he had gotten back 20,000 taels of silver. If the Imperial Court had any conscience, they would inevitably compensate him with something extra.
As for the Eldest Prince, his relationship with the Yang family would likely be damaged. With Ju Noble Consort's portrayal of him embezzling his younger brother's allowance, it would also attract the speculation of those inclined to gossip.
But for Chang Yan, these were not the greatest gains.
Just now, a sudden flash of strangeness had passed through his mind, as if he had grasped something crucial, but he still lacked some feeling.
Throughout the whole Spring Viewing Banquet, he had been desperately racking his brains. He had not even caught the meaningful look cast at him by Jiang Jizong. He waited until the Imperial Court rose to leave first before the Princes and Princesses followed suit and left as well.
The Second Prince was the first to leave because his birth mother was insignificant. He himself was also awkward and withdrawn, not understanding or interested in imperial power and affairs, spending his days peacefully and quietly completing his duties before retreating into the Prince's residence.
Disappointment was visible on the face of the Third Princess. She had probably hoped there would be dashing young gentlemen instead of young ladies from eminent officials' families. She swiftly departed as well.
The Fourth Prince staggered as he walked, glancing now at Yao Siqing, now slowly pacing away.
That left Chang Yan and the Eldest Prince. The two brothers gazed falsely at each other, then smiled politely, one pretending to casually glance at his sister while the other's gaze roams towards the Fang family, before both bid farewell.
It did not seem particularly strange.
Jiang Sheng lingered reluctantly as she followed behind Second Madam Jiang.
Fang Yuanping sat with tranquil indifference as he slowly got up and left his seat.
From how things stood currently, the Fang family was supporting the Eldest Prince. Provided the Jiang family was unwilling to part with Jiang Sheng, they would support the Fifth Prince.
He could sense his sister's feeling behind her gaze, which she had tried hard to conceal but could not hide her concern completely. This stood in striking contrast with Fang Yuanping's tranquility.
Of course, there were the five years of sibling bonds to account for this. But was the Fang family not too indifferent?
Furthermore, just now when the Eldest Prince had blundered, Fang Yuanping had not stood out to help. Instead, he lowered his head and strove to distance himself.
Was this how one treated the crucial piece in one's hand?
Given that the Fang family had chosen the Eldest Prince, shouldn't they wish for the Eldest Prince to become better and better, to grow into a prince with the qualities of an emperor?
Although in Chang Yan's opinion, even with a great mother like Ju Noble Consort, combined with doting from the Imperial Court and status as the eldest prince, with the support of eminent officials on his maternal side, Zhu Changhong was still undeserved of claiming heir to the throne given his tendency for rashness and impulsiveness. If not for the obscurity of the other princes, the fight over succession would surely not have fallen to him.
Wait.
He suddenly froze as the crucial point that had eluded his grasp finally crept back into his mind.
The Eldest Prince's advantage in the fight for succession lay with Ju Noble Consort, but for how many years would Ju Noble Consort actually be able to help as dowager, and exert her strength?
With the Imperial Court himself unable to stand on his own, it would be disastrous for the entire dynasty.
Given the Fang family's actions, they seemed more like they wanted to take the Emperor hostage to give orders to his ministers; to take the position of Regent using the Eldest Prince as a puppet.
But if this was truly the case, shouldn't the Fang family go all out to help the Eldest Prince? On the contrary, during the Spring Viewing Banquet, both Fang Yuanping and the Fang family had chosen to act as if transparent, watching impersonally as the Eldest Prince caused trouble and suffered losses.
There was also the matter of the contribution proposal, where Fang Yuanping had taken most of the credit for himself, only leaving the Eldest Prince with a little broth to drink. Was this how one treated the crucial piece in one's hand? Was this how one treated the Prince fighting to be Heir Apparent?
If Chang Yan had not met Wang Fufeng in Anshui Commandery, perhaps he would not have been able to puzzle this out even if it took half his life.
That's right, the Wang family's Wang Fufeng.
That sickly son abandoned by his own parents, who was set up as a target. In truth, he was to be wedding clothes for the healthy and talented son of a concubine...the legitimate heir.
One could understand just by thinking about what the Eldest Prince possessed, that the other princes did not have:
Ju Noble Consort, imperial favor, Eldest Prince, support of eminent officials on his maternal side.
Apart from him, the Fang family really could not choose another.
But suppose the Fang family were actually loyal to another prince, and had only formed an alliance with the Eldest Prince on the surface, while their actual aim was to destroy this popular frontrunner in the fight for succession.
Especially after the return of the Fifth Prince.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
What the Fang family needed was for Ju Noble Consort to remove all obstacles. Yet they looked down on the way the Eldest Prince handled matters. Hence they pretended to submit on the surface while operating in the shadows.
They were just waiting for the Eldest Prince and Fifth Prince to destroy each other, before letting that Prince concealed in darkness finally emerge gloriously to gather in all under heaven under his command.
The only unknown was, just who was this hidden Prince: was it the taciturn and withdrawn Second Prince, or the one addicted to feminine charms, the Fourth Prince?
