The next day, Jiang Yuqing finished organizing her things and entered the palace.
Today was Jing Yan's birthday, and as the crown prince, his birthday celebration was expected to be grand.
However, the emperor and empress were not fond of extravagance, and Jing Yan himself didn't have any special requests.
Therefore, the Eastern Palace held only a small-scale lunch banquet, inviting only his siblings, close companions, and friends.
Jiang Yuqing was the only girl personally invited by Jing Yan. When she arrived, the Eastern Palace was already bustling with activity.
As there were few royal heirs, only two princes and three princesses were alive. Apart from the eldest princess who had already married and moved away, all of them were present today. It was the first time Jing Si, the seven-year-old second prince, had seen Jiang Yuqing.
Due to his congenital disability, he had a sense of inferiority. Moreover, his birth mother, Concubine Li, was not favored, and her family background was not prominent.
As a result, he usually only stayed in his own palace, rarely going out, except for when he went to the study for lessons.
The third princess came with her two companions, or rather, playmates.
She had already reached the age of adulthood and was the oldest among the princes and princesses present. She would soon be selecting her husband after the New Year.
The seventh princess was also fourteen years old. Her companions were also girls from noble families.
Jiang Yuqing had met them briefly before entering the palace. However, because she was older, they subconsciously treated her as a child and excluded her from their small group. There was politeness mixed with distance.
Jiang Yuqing had experienced this kind of thing before, so she didn't mind.
There is a saying from her past life that goes: "Don't force yourself into a circle that isn't yours. Even if you manage to squeeze in, the result may not be what you want."
Besides, she was busy with other matters and didn't have much time to make friends for now.
She hadn't seen Wei Lingyun, whom she got along well with, for a long time.
During this time, Wei Lingyun had come to the Marquis's residence to look for her, but she was either busy with experiments in the laboratory or on her way there. Wei Lingyun couldn't find her on both occasions and had to give up.
Jiang Yuqing knew about it and only sent gifts twice as an apology.
Fortunately, Wei Lingyun understood that what she was doing was important and didn't take it to heart. She asked someone to pass the message that they would play together when she wasn't busy.
In addition to the few princes and princesses, there were also Jing Yan's two companions, Yuan Ji from the Marquis of Zhenguo's residence and Cheng Dingzhao from the Marquis of Anguo's residence.
The two companions of the second prince were Lu Jiuan from the Marquis of Pingxi's residence and the eldest grandson of the Song family from his mother's side. Most of them were boys aged eight to ten.
The gifts everyone brought were packed in extremely precious little boxes.
Only Jiang Yuqing was carrying a large item that covered half of her small body, attracting everyone's attention.
Everyone was curious about what kind of gift this little girl had prepared, and why it was so big.
Jing Yan hurriedly came forward to receive the large gift box from her hands and said warmly, "Such a heavy box, why didn't you let the servants carry it? What if you fall and get hurt?"
Jiang Yuqing smiled and said, "For a birthday gift, it's meaningful to personally deliver it. Happy birthday, Brother Yan!"
"Thank you!" Jing Yan held the box in one hand and patted her little head with the other.
"Miss, what did you bring? It's so big!" a young man curiously asked.
Jiang Yuqing replied, "The gift has already been given. You'll have to ask its current owner."
Jing Yan was also curious. This little girl had once again brought him something strange and unusual. He said, "Stop guessing, let me open it and show you all."
With that, he placed the box on the desk, and everyone gathered around, filled with curiosity.
As the exquisitely carved wooden box was opened, a silver-white, peculiar-looking object was revealed. It had a round base with a large hood on top, and the hood had a flat roof with a deep blue, strange grid pattern on it.
It looked like a strange giant mushroom or a canopy used by an emperor on his outings, except it had a base.
No one had seen anything like it before and had no idea what it was. Even Jing Yan could only look at her and shake his head.
Jiang Yuqing smiled mischievously and gave everyone some context, "This was given to me by my master. It's a treasure passed down in our sect called a 'table lamp.' It's a special lighting fixture used for reading and writing. The light is bright, soft, and gentle on the eyes.
I heard it came from a distant overseas place. There's only one of its kind.
Later, one of our ancestors in the valley invited a mechanical master from the previous dynasty to modify it.
They installed a special mechanism inside it, allowing it to change colors."
Upon hearing her words, everyone became even more curious, especially the two companions who were close to Jing Yan.
They knew about the several extraordinary little items in the hands of the Crown Prince, all of which were gifts from this clever County Mistress and originated from a distant overseas place.
The one that made them most envious was a toy called the 'little car.' When you wind up the mechanism next to it, it runs at an incredibly fast speed. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince never let anyone see it easily and kept it well hidden.
Today, seeing her holding such a big thing again, they couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
Seeing everyone quiet down, Jiang Yuqing pressed a switch on the lamp, and it immediately lit up. Soft, bright, and comfortable light enveloped an area within a meter.
Witnessing this, the surroundings erupted with exclamations.
Jiang Yuqing then pressed it again, and the lamp became a little brighter. Everyone exclaimed, "Wow!"
She continued pressing, and the lamp gradually grew brighter, changed colors, and transformed into a myriad of hues. It finally turned off.
The people in the grand hall, including the palace maids and eunuchs, had their mouths wide open.
The cries of astonishment almost lifted the roof and attracted curious and puzzled gazes from the Imperial Guards patrolling outside.
What rare treasure did the Crown Prince receive today that made these high-ranking princes and princesses disregard their dignity and shout and cheer like this?
After Jiang Yuqing finished demonstrating, she explained, "The lamp doesn't stay bright all the time; it requires a certain amount of energy to operate."
Then she pointed at the solar panel on top of the lamp and said, "This part is called the solar panel. It collects sunlight and converts it into the lamp's power source.
If the lamp doesn't have enough energy to light up, you need to place it under the sun for about two hours to recharge, and then it can be used again."
"Oh my goodness, this treasure is truly amazing. It can actually absorb sunlight and use it for itself. Today, I've truly witnessed something remarkable."
Moreover, it is much brighter than a candle, with soft and stable light that doesn't flicker. Most importantly, it can be bright or dim as desired, which is incredibly convenient.
Jiang Yuqing said, "When we go out, we rely on human power if we take a sedan chair. If we ride in a carriage, we rely on animal power, and if we take a boat, we rely on the power of water and wind.
When we normally dry our clothes and blankets, aren't we using the power of sunlight? The forces of nature are diverse, and we have many ways to harness them in our daily lives. It's just that you all haven't paid attention to it before."
After she said this, everyone suddenly realized it, as if it was true. They didn't have much contact with her before, only hearing that she was very clever. But today, they truly saw how clever she was.
What were they doing when they were her age?
Sneakily playing in the mud, or trying to act cute and coax a pet dog like the older family members?
But she could already see through all these things. That's the difference, and there's no choice but to admire it.
After everyone had seen it, Jing Yan carefully put away the table lamp.
The group moved to the small garden in the Eastern Palace to play the game of pitching arrows. They happened to encounter the Emperor and the Empress Consort, followed by several palace concubines.
The Emperor was in high spirits and offered several ancient objects from the previous dynasty as rewards. He let them compete in pitching arrows.
The rules were set for four rounds, with five arrows each round. The scores from the four rounds would be added up, and the corresponding rewards would be given based on the rankings.
For a moment, everyone's enthusiasm was ignited. Everyone wanted one or two trinkets, but the significance of those bestowed by the Emperor was different.
Everyone tried their best to win the competition.
In the end, after a round of fierce competition, Jing Yan took the lead with a perfect score of 20 arrows. Prince Jing Hong and Cheng Dingzhao, the eldest grandson of the Duke's Residence, tied for second place with 18 arrows each.
The Third Princess ranked third with 15 arrows... Jiang Yuqing scored 0 arrows, placing last.
Although she had played before at home, she rarely hit the target because she was young and lacked strength.
Now, as a cultivator, her physique was completely different from before, and even without using magic, she could easily hit the target.
For cultivators, it was equivalent to cheating against ordinary people.
It was just a game, and doing so would spoil the fun of the game itself.
Therefore, everyone more or less gained something, except for her, who came away empty-handed.
The Emperor asked her, "Little one, do you have anything to say?"
With her head held high, Jiang Yuqing confidently replied, "Friendship comes first, the competition comes second, and participation is what matters." Her answer amused everyone present.
Empress Qin gently patted her little head and comforted her, "You're right, participation is what matters. You're still young, and there will be another chance next year. One day, you'll surpass them and take first place."
Jiang Yuqing stood with her hands on her hips and declared loudly, "Yes, that's right! Don't laugh at me just yet. The waves behind the Yangtze River push those ahead. The first wave dies on the beach. When I grow up a little more, I will definitely surpass all of you and leave you stranded on the beach!"
So everyone laughed even harder and thought that this child was truly amusing. In the future, they could bring her along for any activities.
Afterward, there was a lively lunch banquet.
The emperor and empress sat at one table with their concubines, while Jing Yan and his brother sat at a table with their tutors. The two princesses sat at another table with their attendants.
Jiang Yuqing had originally intended to join the princesses, but before she could make a move, Jing Yan pulled her over to sit beside him, and she went along with it.
They served each other dishes and poured water back and forth, but Jing Yan was the one who attended to her more.
At first, she didn't think much of it because that's how she and Jing Yan always interacted. But when she noticed the several young men at their table exchanging glances and winking, she realized something was amiss.
She looked up and saw everyone looking their way, and then she realized she might have made a huge mistake. Her mind went blank.
With a mouthful of food, Jiang Yuqing chewed and swallowed it down. She pretended to be clueless and said, "Why are you all looking at me? The food is delicious. Why aren't you eating?"
Empress Qin smiled with hidden meaning and blinked at her son.
Jing Yan averted his gaze, unable to look at his mother, and his ears turned crimson.
However, this guy was single-minded and wouldn't give up his act of feeding her just because it attracted attention. He continued to do so as he pleased.
The people present were not fools, and they quickly understood something. As a result, the atmosphere at the dining table soon returned to its previous liveliness.
After finishing the meal, during the break, the emperor and empress heard that their son had obtained a rare treasure and insisted that he show it to them under the pretext of mutual appreciation.
After seeing the extraordinary nature of the desk lamp, they were also amazed for a while. But they knew that such magical overseas treasures were hard to come by, so once they had seen it, they let it go.
Bianque Valley had a history of nearly six hundred years, and it wasn't surprising to have a few treasures. Jing Yan also had quite a few treasures in his private collection, so he didn't mind parting with this one.
After the emperor and empress left with their concubines, the young people stayed behind in the Eastern Palace to continue their play.
Jiang Yuqing had eaten her fill and felt a bit sleepy. She leaned back in her chair and yawned, tears streaming down her face.
She wanted to go home and sleep, but everyone was still having fun, and their enthusiasm was high. She didn't want to leave first. As she leaned back, she ended up falling asleep just like that.
Jing Yan was playing a word-filling game with the others, and when he noticed that the little girl hadn't moved for a while, he became concerned. He quickly looked around and saw the little girl curled up in the chair, fast asleep like a little piglet.
He raised a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.
Then, he walked over gently, picked her up, and carried her back to his own sleeping quarters. He laid her on his bed and covered her with a blanket.
In a soft voice, he instructed the eunuchs and palace maids to take good care of her before turning around and leaving.
