Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 172 Longevity Festival

On the day of the Emperor's birthday, the emperor left the palace, accompanied by all the officials. The grand carriage passed through Zhuque Street and went straight to the Imperial Temple in the suburbs of Beijing.

Fang Tong and Lu Tao waited at the place where people had to pass out of the city. They found Feng Twelve in the team leaving the city through heavy guards of the imperial guards.

Feng Twelve turned his head slightly and was talking to the Seventh Prince who had caught up on horseback. He seemed to have noticed Fang Tong's gaze and raised his head to look in her direction.

With just one glance, his sharp brows softened instantly.

The Seventh Prince noticed that he suddenly stopped talking and looked in the direction he was looking out of curiosity.

"Hey," he recognized Fang Tong at a glance and joked, "Twelve, who are you looking at?"

Feng Twelve ignored him and nodded slightly towards Fang Tong.

Fang Tong leaned on the railing of the teahouse and waved at him with a smile.

She went out to watch the fun and see her boyfriend off.

The Seventh Prince saw Fang Tong's actions from afar and looked around enviously, but unfortunately he couldn't find his wives and concubines.

He felt sad and urged in a low voice: "Let's go, let's go. We will only be gone for half a day and will be back in the evening. What's worth sending?"

A laugh came from behind: "One day without seeing you feels like three years. Seventh brother, you don't understand the thoughts of young people."

The Seventh Prince turned his head and looked behind him, only to see Prince Jing Feng Yuyang sitting in the carriage, half of his face showing through the window with a teasing smile on his face.

The Seventh Prince was stunned for a moment, then said indignantly, "Third Brother, you are not young anymore. Why didn't you bring a royal sister-in-law back with you when you returned to the capital this time?"

Before Feng Yuyang was crowned king and left the capital, he had a princess consort, who died of illness not long after arriving at his fiefdom. Since then, there has been no news of Feng Yuyang marrying again.

Hearing this, Feng Yuyang leaned back lazily and said, "I'm a cripple and I'm not in a hurry to pass on my family line, so what does it matter if I marry or not?"

The Seventh Prince chuckled twice: "Yes, I heard that the Third Brother is living a carefree life outside, and he can be happy even without marrying a wife."

Feng Yuyang leaned forward and said, "If my seventh brother is envious, why don't you find an opportunity to apply for a fiefdom from His Majesty?"

The Seventh Prince's face froze: "I won't talk to you anymore. Hey, Twelve, wait for me."

While the two were talking, Feng Twelve had already followed the team to the front.

The seventh prince kicked his horse and chased after him, leaving Feng Yuyang's carriage behind.

Feng Yuyang looked at their receding backs, chuckled, and lowered the car curtain.

At noon, the emperor and his ministers arrived safely at the imperial temple. After having a vegetarian meal, they listened to scriptures and prayed in the temple. By the time the ceremony ended, it was already past 3:00 p.m.

Chao En helped the emperor get up from the futon and said softly, "Your Majesty, the carriage back to the palace is ready. Do you want to set off now or wait for a while before leaving?"

The emperor pressed his eyebrows and said, "Let's go now. It's too late to come back. I'm afraid we'll miss the palace banquet."

Chao'en responded and gave a few instructions to the eunuchs who were accompanying him. Immediately, someone passed the order outside, ordering everyone to pack up and leave.

When the emperor came out, Crown Prince Feng Yunxi had already led the other princes waiting beside the carriage.

When the emperor got on the carriage, he stumbled. Feng Yunxi quickly caught him and asked, "Your Majesty?"

The emperor broke free from his support and said, "I'm fine. I just stepped on a rock."

The Seventh Prince stood in the team, looked ahead, and whispered: "Where did the stones come from on such a flat ground?"

The person next to him pulled his sleeve and said, "Shut up."

The Seventh Prince then withdrew his gaze, staring at his toes, until the Emperor sent a message from inside the carriage, asking everyone to get on their carriages and horses and return to the palace. The grand carriage returned along the way it came. The Seventh Prince followed the team for a while, and was really bored. He saw an opportunity and slipped to Feng Twelve's side again.

Ever since he helped Feng Twelve at the Yaotai Banquet that day, the Seventh Prince felt that he had become much closer to his twelfth brother and could speak to him without any reservations.

"Twelve, why didn't I see you when I was listening to the sutra?" He drove his horse closer to him and asked affectionately.

"I'm behind." Feng Twelve was as frugal with his words as ever.

The Seventh Prince groaned, "Seventh Brother has already called me, why are you still being so distant with me? I guess you are not in the back, but hiding outside, right?"

He had an expression that said "You don't need to explain, I understand" and reached out to pat Feng Twelve's shoulder, but the two of them were riding horses at a distance from each other and his hand was too short to reach out, so he could only give up awkwardly.

"If I hadn't been assigned to the front, I would have also wanted to sneak out and get some fresh air," the Seventh Prince winked at him, "The old monk's scriptures are long and difficult to understand. I yawn every time I listen to them."

He tried hard not to fall asleep and endured for more than two hours before the chanting was over.

"I think your Majesty is exhausted today," he said to himself, "his legs were weak when he got in the car just now."

Feng Twelve glanced over and said, "Be careful with your words."

The Seventh Prince shrugged: "Your Majesty's carriage is so far away from us, and he can't hear it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden carriage in front slowly stopped.

Feng Yunxi was closest to the emperor's carriage. Seeing this, he rode forward and leaned close to the window and asked, "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

"I feel a little chest tightness." The emperor's voice came from inside the car, "Call Chao En and the imperial physician over."

"I'm here." Chao En responded from outside the carriage, hurriedly called the imperial physician, and climbed onto the carriage together.

After a while, Chao En got out of the car and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty is feeling unwell. We need to find a place for him to rest."

Feng Yunxi frowned slightly and looked at the empty surroundings.

Chao En said, "There is an imperial farm three miles ahead. Why don't we go there to rest first? It will also allow the imperial physician to give your majesty acupuncture and treatment."

Feng Yunxi nodded: "Okay."

"Your Majesty said that the manor is not big, so not everyone needs to stay with him," Chao En said, "You can let all the officials return to the city and the palace first, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the other princes can stay with him."

After the emperor's oral order was passed down, the returning team quickly split into two groups, one group continued to return to the capital, and the other group went to the nearby imperial farm.

Some ministers were worried about the emperor's health and came to the imperial carriage to greet him before he left.

The emperor is nearly sixty years old and he was ill at the beginning of the year. Although he looked well in the past six months, he is old after all. Today is his birthday, and his sudden physical discomfort is worrying.

Fortunately, the emperor's voice was calm when he replied, which made people feel a little relieved.

After the ministers left, the princes followed the carriage. The emperor smiled and said to Chao En from inside the carriage, "These people are surprised by what they have seen. I am just feeling unwell for a moment, but they act as if the sky is falling."

The rest of the words could not be heard clearly, but the emperor was still in a mood to joke, which showed that it was not a big deal.

The Seventh Prince followed Feng Twelve and whispered, "I think His Majesty wants to be lazy. He doesn't want to go back so early. What's so good about the banquet in the palace? It's not as lively as the folk banquet."

Feng Twelve glanced at him.

The Seventh Prince understood and covered his mouth with his hands: "You want me to be careful with my words again? Fine, I'll shut up."

The imperial farm, three miles away, was soon reached. The guards had gone there in advance to make arrangements. When everyone arrived, all the idlers in the imperial farm had been driven away, and the emperor's carriage drove in through the open gate.