The scene shifts to the grand celebration of the New Year in the palace, where everything is adorned in festive splendor.

The main palace hall, Qianyuan Hall, is bustling with the royal family and their close attendants.

With the emperor having grown old and preferring simplicity, the grand New Year’s banquet has been replaced by a more intimate family gathering, with no foreign officials or ladies of the court invited.

After the emperor and empress have completed their toasts and wishes, the Crown Prince and his son Yuanbao step forward to offer their congratulations.

Following this, the various concubines and princesses of the palace come up one by one with their children, each holding a cup of wine.

After a round of such formalities, the emperor and empress, both feeling the effects of the wine, retire early.

The Crown Prince is left to continue the New Year’s vigil in the Qianyuan Hall.

With the sovereigns absent, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed, and the royals gather in groups to chat.

The current emperor has six sons and three daughters.

The Crown Prince is the eldest, followed by the Prince of Su, the Prince of Gong, the Prince of Jing, and the Prince of Qing.

The youngest, Liu Xian, is yet to be given a title.

The four older princes each have their own territories but spend a considerable amount of time in the capital due to the emperor’s benevolence.

Though the princes do not need to observe extreme formalities, as the heir apparent, the Crown Prince is still given due respect.

The prince’s take turns offering him wine, starting with the Prince of Su, followed by the Prince of Gong and the Prince of Jing.

When it comes to the Prince of Qing, he remains seated and does not immediately rise.

Only after all the other princes and princesses have offered their toasts does the Prince of Qing finally get up, leading the Princess of Qing forward to present their toast. “Elder Brother, it’s been a long time. Let me offer you a cup.”

The Prince of Qing and the Crown Prince are full-brothers, both sons of the empress.

However, the Crown Prince spent his youth in the Great Xiangguo Temple and has a relationship with the Prince of Qing that is not as close as the one he had with Xie Yuanchu.

Their interactions are polite but distant.

Adding to the complexity, the Princess of Qing is Chen Jinru, who almost became the Crown Princess before the Crown Prince’s marriage was annulled.

Chen Jinru was once the brightest jewel in the capital.

She hailed from the esteemed An Guo Duke’s family and was the empress’s niece, making her a cousin to both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qing.

Besides her noble lineage, Chen Jinru was renowned as the most beautiful and talented woman in the capital.

She was celebrated from a young age, her poem “Ode to Snow” making her famous when she was just ten years old.

At the New Year’s Eve banquet, the Prince of Qing is dressed resplendently, wearing the Nine Peacocks Crown with peacocks clutching golden pearls and a red robe with a deep blue phoenix-patterned shawl, showcasing the grandeur of the imperial family.

This is also the first time the Crown Prince has seen Chen Jinru since their broken engagement.

After the engagement ended, Chen Jinru was married to the Prince of Qing, and the couple moved to their fief, rarely returning to the capital.

This year, at the empress’s request, they returned for the New Year, arriving in the capital on the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month.

“Fifth Brother, Fifth Sister-in-Law,” the Crown Prince nods slightly and drinks from his cup.

The young lady from the marquis’s residence, despite the uproar about her breaking off the engagement with the crown prince years ago, approached with impeccable manners and grace as she made her greetings.

After drinking, the Prince of Qing nodded to the Princess of Qing, who then took out a golden-yellow pouch from her garments and handed it to Yuanbao with a smile.

Yuanbao didn’t immediately reach for it.

She glanced at the Crown Prince, who gave a nod, before gracefully accepting the pouch.

“Quickly open it and see. This was made personally by your Fifth Uncle,” Prince Qing encouraged with a smile.

He had a cheerful expression, reminiscent of the Empress when he smiled.

Yuanbao untied the small red ribbon on the pouch, shook it, and out came a walnut-sized object.

“It’s a little carriage,” Yuanbao exclaimed with delight, holding the tiny carriage up for the Crown Prince to see.

It was intricately carved from yellow pear wood, finely detailed, and even the four horses pulling the carriage were lifelike.

“Do you like it?” Prince Qing asked.

“Yes,” Yuanbao said, happily nodding while holding the carriage, then looked up at the Prince Qing and smiled, “Thank you, Fifth Uncle.”

The Crown Prince said nothing, but his expression softened significantly.

He smiled and said, “You are quite skilled, making such wonderful things.”

“I often have nothing to do, so I play around,” Prince Qing replied. “If you like it, next time Fifth Uncle will make you something else.”

“I like everything Fifth Uncle makes,” Yuanbao said cheerfully.

“Haha, I often hear that Yuanbao’s temperament is as cold as the Crown Prince’s, but today I see it’s all just rumors. Our little Yuanbao is much friendlier than the Crown Prince,” Prince Qing said, his big personality evident.

The Princess Zhaoyang tugged at his sleeve, reminding him to be quiet.

Yuanbao looked at Prince Qing, then at the Crown Prince, and pouted in defense of the Crown Prince, “Father isn’t cold; he just doesn’t like talking to people he doesn’t like.”

“You’re the only one who knows so much,” the Crown Prince said, glancing at Yuanbao with a hint of affection rather than annoyance.

“Did you hear that? The Crown Prince doesn’t like you, so he doesn’t want to talk to you,” Princess Zhaoyang, who was sitting close to the Prince Qing, interjected sourly.

She had been teasing Yuanbao earlier, but Yuanbao had ignored her.

Prince Qing didn’t mind at all and laughed, “Yuanbao likes talking to Fifth Uncle, you know! That’s better than what you have!”

Prince Qing gloated, causing Princess Zhaoyang to leave in a huff and go over to join her sisters.

“Stop bullying your little sister,” the Princess Chen said to the Crown Prince. “Your Highness, yesterday when I went back to the Duke of An’s residence, my parents asked me to bring a gift for Yuanbao.”

“It’s rare for Uncle and Aunt to remember,” said the Crown Prince.

Her father, the old Duke of An, was still alive but had retired from official duties due to his old age.

He passed the title to his son, Chen Ping, who is the Princess Consort’s father.

“My father specifically had a gold lock made for Yuanbao, wishing for peace and safety.”

Years ago, due to a broken engagement, the Duke of An’s residence and the Crown Prince had a strained relationship.

The old Duke of An even scolded the Crown Prince several times for being disrespectful.

When Yuanbao was born, the Duke’s residence did not send any congratulatory gifts.

Therefore, this gold lock from the Princess Consort can be seen as a belated gift from four years ago.

The Crown Prince nodded slightly, holding Yuanbao still, and Fuquan understood and stepped forward to accept the gold lock.

Even though many years had passed, the Crown Prince didn’t want to hold a grudge but also didn’t want to act like nothing had happened.

The Princess Consort was not bothered by the Crown Prince’s indifference and said, “Grandfather misses you and Yuanbao very much. He even said that if you have time, you should bring Yuanbao to visit the Duke of An’s residence.”

The old Duke of An was over seventy this year and was Yuanbao’s great-grandfather.

After the incident, the Emperor and Empress’s attitude had disappointed him, and due to his old age, he had not visited the capital for a long time.

The Crown Prince hadn’t seen him for two or three years.

The Crown Prince thought about that stubborn old man and squinted his eyes, “How is Grandfather’s health?”

“Still quite strong, he takes the medicines from the Imperial Physician regularly.”

“I see.” The Crown Prince nodded slightly, not committing to whether he would visit the Duke’s residence.

He didn’t see the need to repair their relationship over something as trivial as a Duke’s residence.

After discussing the Duke of An’s residence, the Princess Consort Chen and Prince Qing played with Yuanbao for a while before leaving.

“Do you like Uncle Wu?” the Crown Prince asked softly.

Yuanbao was focused on playing with a wooden toy carriage given by Prince Qing and nodded.

“Another day, I’ll invite Uncle Wu to the Eastern Palace to keep you company.”

Yuanbao thought about it and asked, “Can we not invite Aunt Wu?”

“Don’t like her?” The Crown Prince’s eyebrows raised slightly, and a smile almost showed on his lips.

Yuanbao didn’t say she disliked her but just gave the Crown Prince a mischievous smile and hesitated to answer.

“Alright, just invite Fifth Uncle to come and play let’s not invite Aunt Wu.”

The palace banquet was all about toasting and drinking, with the Crown Prince not having to toast anyone himself.

Just sitting there was quite boring, and it wasn’t long before Yuanbao started yawning.

“Father, when are we going back to the Eastern Palace?” Yuanbao was young and had been sleepy ever since the Emperor and Empress left.

However, since the Emperor had asked his father to stay up for the New Year, he had to obediently stay by his side.

“Tired?” The Crown Prince gently touched Yuanbao’s little head and asked softly.

Yuanbao rested his head on the Crown Prince’s knee and blinked his eyes, nodding.

He was indeed very tired, feeling weak all over, and couldn’t stay in his seat any longer.

He simply moved to sit beside his father.

“After the midnight hour, we’ll go back to the Eastern Palace,” the Crown Prince said.

Fuqian, standing nearby, smiled and replied, “There’s still half an hour until midnight. If the Prince wants anything to eat, I’ll have it brought over.”

Seeing Yuanbao frowning and not saying anything, Fuqian added, “It’s New Year’s Eve today, and anything you want to eat, the Crown Prince will agree to.”

“Really?” Yuanbao’s sleepy eyes instantly brightened. He turned around and grabbed his father’s sleeve, saying, “I want crispy fried shad fillets.”

“But you usually don’t eat fish or shrimp,” the Crown Prince asked.

“But Auntie Rongrong makes it really delicious,” Yuanbao said seriously.

The Crown Prince looked up at Fuqian, who knew that the master thought it was himself who was causing trouble.

Fuqian hurriedly explained, “That day, when the Crown Prince and the Young Master went hunting in the mountains, Miss Xue didn’t know that Young Master Yuanbao doesn’t eat fish or shrimp, so she made this dish to offer to Young Master Yuanbao. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be to Young Master Yuanbao’s liking.”

“Have the Imperial Kitchen prepare it and bring it over,” the Crown Prince said.

Yuanbao mumbled, “That’s not the same,” but was completely ignored by the Crown Prince.

“Understood.” Fuqian saw Yuanbao deflate instantly and found it amusing.

He responded and went to instruct the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a dish of crispy fried shad fillets.

Just as he was about to return to the inner palace, suddenly, a shadow flashed in front of Fuqian.

“What’s the matter?” Fuqian recognized the shadow guard, Dark Moon, from beside the Crown Prince.

Seeing him appear in the palace, Fuqian was puzzled and a bit annoyed.

There were so many palace guards; why was a shadow guard from the Eastern Palace running around, which might upset the Emperor?

“Master Fuqian, it’s urgent. Miss Liuli brought Miss Xue back to the Eastern Palace.”

Fuqian was taken aback and muttered, “Didn’t Miss Xue go back to her hometown for the New Year? Why did she suddenly decide to return to the Eastern Palace?”

“Miss Xue was drugged with an aphrodisiac…”

“Just an aphrodisiac. Can’t Miss Liuli handle it? Why bring her back to the Eastern Palace?” Fuqian said grumpily. “Are you afraid the Crown Prince will beat you up? Last time I got a beating, I had to recover for half a month!”

“That aphrodisiac is indeed a common thing and not difficult to resolve. However, Liuli said that when the aphrodisiac took effect, Miss Xue kept asking for the Crown Prince.”

“Kept asking for the Crown Prince?” Fuqian was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned knowing and he chuckled, finding it very interesting.

“Master Fuqian, how do you think this should be handled?” Dark Moon asked.

“How would I know how to handle it? She’s asking for the Crown Prince, not me. How should I handle it?” Fuqian gave the shadow guard a white look and said casually, “Liuli has already brought her back. Don’t know how to handle it? They’re all clever people, always trying to trick this old man. They have mouths and legs; they should go ask the Crown Prince themselves.”

After saying this, Fuqian went back to the inner palace.