Song Yinghuai stood up and ordered Han Fen and the others to carry in the birthday gift.
The birthday gift was covered with a red silk cloth, so it was impossible to tell what was hidden underneath.
One could only tell that it was quite large, about half the height of a person.
Everyone craned their necks.
Just now, the Crown Prince had made a fool of himself when presenting his birthday gift, and now it was the turn of the King of Yan, who was constantly at odds with the Crown Prince.
Everyone was curious to know what kind of birthday gift the King of Yan had prepared.
Song Yinghuai walked up to the gift and pulled away the red silk cloth, revealing a small mountain carving.
Emperor Guangwu narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the rockery carved from yellow dragon jade.
It seemed... nothing special?
But then again, there seemed to be something unique about it.
Empress Ma couldn't tell what was so special about the gift either, but she still wore a gentle and kind smile.
A gift was just a token of one's affection.
It was the thought that counted.
Gong Qingliang stared in surprise, leaned in for a closer look, and then looked up in confusion.
"Your Highness, the King of Yan, I've seen many strange rockery bonsais, but I've never seen one like this..."
"Why do I feel that the stones on this rockery look like ginger, a common seasoning in the folk?"
As Gong Qingliang said this, everyone finally noticed what was unique about it.
It was actually a rockery carved from yellow dragon jade in the shape of ginger!
Song Chengyuan let out a sneering laugh. "I thought the Fourth Brother would present a valuable birthday gift to amaze everyone, but who would have thought it would be just a carving of yellow dragon jade? Although this jade is of good quality, it's not the best. And what on earth did you carve?"
"Ginger?" Song Chengyuan shook his head and sighed. "The Fourth Brother's taste is as bad as ever!"
"The Fourth Brother is a vassal king after all. He should be able to find something special and valuable. Isn't he being too careless about Mother's birthday banquet?"
"It's a shame that Father has been cultivating you all these years, and Mother has always praised you. This is how you repay them?"
Empress Ma coughed lightly. "Crown Prince, no matter what the gift is, it's a token of one's affection. There's no distinction between expensive and cheap... Your Fourth Brother's fief is in Yanjing. The north of Yan is a cold and harsh place, and he has to support an army. As his elder brother, you should be more understanding."
Since Mother had spoken, Song Chengyuan had no choice but to comply reluctantly.
Lv Baiwei said softly, "The Fourth Brother's birthday gift is quite unique. Not only in the Great Ye, but even in the previous dynasties for thousands of years, there has never been such a thing."
Song Chengyuan cast a venomous look at her. "Shut up! What's so unique about it? Tell me then."
Lv Baiwei immediately looked flustered, like a bullied little white flower. Mist quickly gathered in her eyes. She timidly glanced at Song Yinghuai and said in a trembling voice,
"I... I was just expressing my feelings. Your Highness, please calm down."
Caiyu, standing in the distance, saw it clearly. Lv Baiwei had said a few words for Song Yinghuai on purpose, just to provoke the Crown Prince's scolding and make Song Yinghuai feel sorry for her.
Hypocrite!
This woman was not a white moonlight, but a white lotus!
Caiyu's good mood was completely ruined by Lv Baiwei.
She wondered if Song Yinghuai would care that Lv Baiwei had been wronged.
Lv Baiwei was also watching Song Yinghuai's reaction.
She had been scolded by the Crown Prince because she had spoken up for him. He should at least look at her, right?
But Lv Baiwei was disappointed.
Song Yinghuai didn't even look in her direction. He was just looking straight at Emperor Guangwu and Empress Ma.
It was as if her self-directed and self-acted play was like that of a clown.
Moreover, since Song Yinghuai was standing up, Lv Baiwei noticed the pouch at his waist.
Lv Baiwei's face changed.
He didn't wear the ink lotus pouch that she had embroidered herself and sent over through Maid Mei!
Instead, he wore a poorly embroidered pouch at his waist!
The flowers embroidered on the pouch were simply unbearable to look at!
The King of Yan, Song Yinghuai, who was always perfect, would never wear such a flawed item!
While Lv Baiwei was lost in thought, Song Yinghuai had already bowed to Emperor Guangwu and Empress Ma.
"Father and Mother, this birthday gift of mine was a whole piece of yellow dragon jade that I had someone search for in the Dali Kingdom half a year ago. It weighs a thousand catties. I invited the contemporary master carver, Sun Qing, to spend five months carving it, and then it was blessed by the abbot of the Great Compassion Temple, Master Guangzhi."
"It was just transported to the capital the day before yesterday. Ginger sounds the same as 'river' in Chinese. Jiang Shan means 'rivers and mountains', which is a metaphor for the country."
"The whole ginger mountain is fixed on a golden pedestal, which symbolizes the unification of the country."
"This mountain has the blessings of all the gods and Buddhas. Our Great Ye will surely recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and unify the country. Father and Mother will live a long and prosperous life!"
Song Yinghuai's voice was loud, sonorous, and powerful.
In the air above the carved railings and jade palaces, between the embroidered columns with coiling dragons and dancing phoenixes, his voice spread out like the sound of Buddha falling to the mortal world, making people's hearts surge with excitement.
All the officials were momentarily stunned on the spot, not knowing how to react.
They only felt a sense of excitement pounding in their chests.
Their blood was boiling uncontrollably in their veins.
Emperor Guangwu's eyes glanced slightly at Song Yinghuai, and he slowly narrowed his eyes, revealing a glint of unhidden sharpness.
He knew that this fourth son had always been in favor of war.
But the Great Ye had only been established for more than thirty years. The war in the previous dynasty had just ended, the people were suffering, the country was unstable, the national treasury was empty, and the food and supplies were scarce.
The soldiers were exhausted after years of fighting.
Moreover, the Crown Prince had become increasingly mediocre in recent years.
If they were to launch a war against the Tartars regardless of the consequences at this time, they would face both internal and external troubles.
Emperor Guangwu was a cautious man all his life. Besides not daring to fight a war without certainty, he was also worried that if Song Yinghuai recovered the Tartars, he would not be able to protect the Crown Prince's position as the heir apparent.
Emperor Guangwu's silence did not suppress the excitement in people's hearts.
"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"
Unexpectedly, the first sound that rang out in the silent imperial garden was a series of crisp clapping sounds under the catalpa tree.
Everyone looked in surprise in the direction of the sound.
They saw a woman standing under a large cluster of cherry-pink flowers that reached up to the sky. Her eyes were as bright as the morning star under the sky and like a flame in the darkest depths.
Emperor Guangwu frowned.
Eunuch Cen quickly shouted in a shrill voice, "Bold! Which family's maid are you? How dare you make noise and clap in front of His Majesty?"
Eunuch Cen was a smart man.
Caiyu was not wearing a maid's uniform and was standing with a group of servants. Obviously, she was a personal maid of an official who had entered the palace with her master.
Caiyu knew that she shouldn't have attracted attention at this time.
But as the daughter of a military family, she couldn't help but feel excited when she heard Song Yinghuai's powerful words. By the time she realized it, she had already finished clapping.
Moreover, it was obvious that Emperor Guangwu didn't want to go to war, and the pro-war officials in the court didn't dare to speak up. So she, a little woman, had to take the risk to encourage them.
Caiyu quickly knelt down. "This maid deserves to die. I'm from the Prince of Yan's Mansion. I was just so excited when I heard the Prince's powerful words that I couldn't help but clap and cheer."
Neither Song Yinghuai nor Sheng Jiangli had expected Caiyu to suddenly attract attention. They both frowned tightly and clenched their fingertips.
Song Yinghuai took a deep breath and said, "Father, Caiyu is a maid in my mansion. It's my fault that I've been busy with my Buddhist practices and neglected to discipline her. I'll definitely discipline her strictly when I get back."
Emperor Guangwu frowned tightly and pursed his lips slightly. It was obvious that he was weighing whether to get angry or to praise the birthday gift with a smile.
Empress Ma saw it clearly. Before he could speak, she suddenly said with a smile,
"The servants of Xuanyao's family are really different. They have a lot of courage. An ordinary maid would be scared out of her wits when she enters the palace and sees so many noble people. But your maid is very calm... Your name is Caiyu, right? Come closer. Let me take a look at you."
Since Empress Ma had said so, Emperor Guangwu had to hold back his words of reproach for the time being.
Caiyu obeyed the order and walked forward to kneel down.
Lv Baiwei's pupils shrank slightly, and her face turned green.
Song Yinghuai's pouch and Caiyu's clothes were a matching set!
Not only that, but the fabric they used was also rain silk brocade!
A few days ago, Maid Mei had gone to Song Yinghuai to ask for some, but something unexpected had happened on the way... She had heard from Empress Ma that Song Yinghuai had come to the Changchun Palace the next day to ask for another bolt.
She had thought that Song Yinghuai had asked for it from Empress Ma to give to her some day, but she never expected that Caiyu would be wearing it today!
Lv Baiwei clenched her hands tightly under the table, and her eyes were filled with hatred as if she wanted to burn a hole through Caiyu.
Empress Ma asked kindly, "Caiyu, why were you so excited after hearing the Prince's words?"