Chapter 997: The Hundred Day Palace Banquet

ort, Major! We have temporarily broken through their network blockade, but the pirates are also synchronously repairing and intercepting. We have sent out the message, but we haven't received a reply..."Is this true"

Rill pretended to be surprised.

"Nature is true, and these two days the Ministry of Rites will compile a list of guests."

The prince said with a smile.

"Your Highness, if you had told me sooner, I could have sent a letter home and asked them to come to the three children's hundred-day banquet. Since the children were born, my family has only received a letter and haven't seen them yet!"

The ripples said in a somewhat resentful tone.

"Ripples, please rest assured, I've considered all of this. Back then, I wasn't sure if your body would be fully recovered, so I couldn't let your relatives see you looking frail and ill. They would only worry even more."

Now that you look better and can take care of the child yourself, I finally felt like it was time to plan a hundred-day celebration for the baby.

Even if you miss the hundred-day banquet, it doesn't matter. Just come visit your family.

The prince looked like he was doing it all for you, patiently explaining.

"Thank Your Highness for your understanding of my homesickness. Since I have had a child, I understand even more the difficulty of being a mother. Therefore, I feel even more grateful for the upbringing my parents gave me."

Ripple left the prince's embrace, performed a formal bow, and said with reddened eyes, half truthfully,

"Well, this is a good thing. Why are your eyes red You're the mother, you can't cry or the children will make fun of you."

The prince chuckled as he coaxed Lian Yi, with just a few words, making her eyes light up with joy. The two of them whispered sweet nothings to each other for a while before Lian Yi led the prince to see their three little ones.

Just on the third day that the Crown Prince told Lianyi, the Ministry of Rites in the palace sent invitations to the families of officials of rank four and above in the imperial city. Six days later, a hundred-day banquet for the three royal grandsons would be held in the palace.

The Second and Third Princes now huddled together, clutching the invitation in their hands, a gleam passing through their eyes. What a stroke of luck! They had been racking their brains for a legitimate reason to enter the palace, and now this perfect opportunity had presented itself.

"Let him strut for a few days. When he loses his child and that position, we'll see who the real winner is."

The Second Prince spoke in a sinister tone.

The Third Prince, sitting on the side, didn't respond. He just tapped the post in front of him with his finger, lost in thought.

Both of them joined hands only to bring down the Crown Prince, their common enemy. As for who would ascend to that position after the Crown Prince's downfall, that remains to be seen.

Both of them had their own thoughts, but they each started to arrange manpower. As the hundred-day banquet approached, both inside and outside the palace were bustling with activity.

General Meng, who lived far away in the city on the edge, was at a loss when he heard that his "daughter" had given birth to three children for the prince. Although his "daughter" had once been close to death, she managed to cross the threshold of hell for her children and now has a place in the palace.

After that, it was about the invitation to the 100-day feast. The messenger relayed what Ripple had said:

“My daughter misses her parents dearly. She knows that her father is stationed at the border and cannot leave, and her mother's health cannot withstand the journey. If possible, could she ask her second brother to come to the capital city to visit her It doesn't have to be rushed; as long as he arrives before autumn begins.”

General Meng and his wife finished listening to the message, then sent the messenger to rest first. The two of them looked at the letter, and General Meng discovered there was something fishy about it.

Although this letter is filled with ripples recounting the hardships of her childbirth and longing for family, if you were to string together the second word of each sentence, it would spell out "The imperial city has changed, prepare early!"

General Meng, the only thing he could think of was a change in the throne. He paced his study twice before saying to his wife:

"Send Shen'er to the Imperial City with a hundred-man squad. We must have firsthand information."

"Husband, this is a royal power struggle, not something we should be involved in."

Mrs. Meng frowned.

"Right now, it's not a matter of simply saying we won't participate. After all, our 'daughter' is married to the prince. If the prince truly cannot control the situation, it will inevitably affect us. So we must be prepared."

She isn't our daughter anyway, we can just abandon her when the time comes!

Mrs. Meng said very decisively.

This woman, taking her daughter's name, enjoys the treatment her daughter should have. In the end, their Meng family has to cover for her, which she doesn't want to see.

"Even if the Lady wishes to discard him, she must be well-prepared. Otherwise, we would be guilty of treason against the emperor, and the royal family would certainly hold our Meng family accountable. It would also provide a convenient excuse for them to reclaim the military power I currently possess."

As a lady from the Imperial City, you should understand this better than me. If the Meng Family loses its military power, it will be like a toothless tiger, and the Emperor could dispose of us at any time. Even if our Meng Family has never rebelled, being too powerful is a crime in itself.

Since the suppression of the Qianglang tribe, the Emperor has in recent years started favoring civil officials over military generals. Do you think I wouldn't want to lay down my arms and return home after completely eradicating the Qianglang tribe

The Emperor's refusal to issue an edict is precisely to have the Qianglang tribe restrain me and the Meng army.

General Meng sighed and sat down in a chair, telling his wife things he had been reluctant to share with her before.

“This”

Mrs. Meng was also somewhat surprised, she didn't expect that this involved such a deep level.

"Alright, one mistake leads to another. Since we started this, there's no turning back. My husband, just arrange things as you see fit."

Mrs. Meng waved her hand and left the study.

General Meng fell silent for a long time before calling his second son to the study.

"Shen'er, tomorrow you will lead a hundred elite soldiers to the imperial city. Keep twenty people by your side and head to the imperial city to participate in the 100-day banquet of the three princes. Take this opportunity to visit your little sister."

General Meng ordered.

"But is there something different about the imperial city"

"Yes, Ripple sent a message back. Be careful."

The son knows.

That night, Meng Guangshun left Biancheng with his men.

On the day of the Hundred Days Banquet, Lian Yi wore a new dress and dressed herself carefully. She then took her three children to Fengqi Palace first to pay respects to the Empress.

The Empress smiled, looking at Lian’i who was blooming more and more beautifully. Her eyes flickered, she praised her, then gave gifts to the three children before letting Lian’i take them to rest in a side hall of the palace banquet. Soon, the guests arrived for the feast.

Three children must show themselves in front of the guests for Lian Ri's task to be complete. Afterward, she will take the children back to the East Palace.

The royal children are precious, ripples just escorting the child for a formality.

Then ripples entered the palace banquet hall with her three children. The Emperor hugged each child individually and bestowed names upon his three grandchildren, prompting cheers of congratulations from the entire assembly.

The three little ones were quite cooperative, smiling broadly as they accepted everyone's attention. They even drooled all over the Emperor before being carried away by the wet nurses.

Upon leaving the grand hall where the palace banquet was held, Lian'i immediately instructed everyone to hasten their return to the East Palace.

In a hurry urged on by the ripples, the group nearly ran back to the East Palace.

"Locked!"

After entering the East Palace, Lian Yi issued her first command.

The chief eunuch of the East Palace was not surprised to hear Lian Ri's order. He simply waved his hand to have someone close the door, while he himself remained in the main hall.

Ripple entered the bedroom with three children, this time disregarding the objections of the three nannies and forcefully keeping the children by her side. this time, Gong Fan also hurried over and said to the two people:"Those three were pretty honest, after paying the money they're in the process of shipping the goods. I received word from the road, d...