The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 276 A Sage Ruler Exists in the World, A Chosen Sage by Heaven

In fact, it wasn't just Emperor Qianxi who was waiting to see what birthday gift the Crown Prince would send; others were also very curious.

And so, amidst everyone's anticipation, the Qianxi Emperor's birthday celebration officially began.

It must be said that Ma Wu, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, was indeed a master at organizing birthday celebrations.

Although the Rehe Imperial Palace was far from the capital, the birthday celebration he arranged was still solemn and grand.

Offering sacrifice to Heaven!

Pray!

Grace!

After going through a series of ceremonies, even Emperor Qianxi, the protagonist of this birthday celebration, felt a little tired.

However, in his opinion, this kind of hard work was worthwhile.

Putting everything else aside, just take the sacrificial ceremony to heaven as an example—tens of thousands of people kneel on the ground, while he alone stands on the high platform holding incense and conversing with heaven. Just this scene alone is enough to make people feel satisfied.

It's even more enjoyable than having thousands of monks praying together.

Fortunately, after these ceremonies, the next step was to present the birthday gifts!
On the occasion of Emperor Qianxi's birthday, various parties naturally presented birthday gifts!
As an emperor, Emperor Qianxi received an overwhelming number of gifts for his birthday.

Most people are not actually qualified to present gifts in person; they usually just present a gift list.

Only those of noble status or special position have the opportunity to present gifts in person.

For example, according to the old customs, the leaders of various tribes on the grasslands would simply send a gift list as a birthday gift.

But now, with Emperor Qianxi personally celebrating his birthday on the grasslands, it's as if he's given them an opportunity to shine.

As the Russian Kingdom came to sue for peace, these tribes grew increasingly awe and reverence for Emperor Qianxi.

Therefore, the birthday gift sent this time was particularly generous.

For example, the birthday gifts presented by the nine tribes of the left wing included 10,000 taels of gold in the shape of horseshoes, 1,000 fine horses, 10,000 cattle, and 100,000 sheep!
This birthday gift didn't have any fancy "auspicious" items, but it was excellent in two words: practical!
Putting everything else aside, that ten thousand taels of gold ingots alone is already a huge fortune.

Not to mention there are also 100,000 sheep!
Emperor Qianxi was quite satisfied with the birthday gifts from the nine ministries of the left wing.

Although the seven tribes on the right wing of the grasslands were not as wealthy as those on the left wing, the birthday gifts they presented were still very sincere.

Although Emperor Qianxi agreed to only investigate Kerzang's relatives and not involve others in the case of Kerzang, it was still Emperor Qianxi's own daughter who died.

They are also related to Kerzang.

So they specially invited skilled craftsmen to cast a golden Buddha statue for Emperor Qianxi.

The gold alone cost over 30,000 taels, not to mention the other large gifts.

As an emperor, he was very pleased to receive birthday gifts.

At the very least, after this birthday celebration, Emperor Qianxi's personal treasury will be very full.

Apart from the outer vassal states, the order of presenting birthday gifts then proceeded according to rank, from lowest to highest.

After all, the higher a person's status, the more money they have, and the more valuable the birthday gifts they offer.

For example, the Prince Kang's Mansion presented a large diamond purchased from the West, as big as a pigeon egg, which sparkled in the sunlight.

However, compared to these extravagant birthday gifts, most people are more interested in the birthday gifts of the eldest prince and the crown prince.

The Crown Prince's birthday gift was an auspicious white deer, as everyone present knew.

But even though people knew about it, the effect of the auspicious white deer being brought out was still quite stunning.

The prince's birthday gift, though said to be "no less than the auspicious white deer," remained unknown to anyone.

Soon, it was the turn of the princes who accompanied the emperor to present birthday gifts.

The youngest of the princes who came with us this time is the fourteenth prince.

The fourteenth prince, who was twelve or thirteen years old, was dressed in a prince's riding and archery uniform. Although he was young, he already gave people a feeling of being heroic and extraordinary.

Emperor Qianxi naturally favored his youngest son.

"Yunti, what is your birthday gift for your father?" Emperor Qianxi asked with a smile as he saw the Fourteenth Prince step forward.

Yunti respectfully replied, "Your subject is young and weak, and cannot compare with your elder brothers."

"But my blessings for Father Emperor are the same as those for all my elder brothers."

"This is a painting titled 'Longevity Picture' written by your son. It contains ten thousand 'longevity' characters written by your son himself. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"

As they were speaking, the fourteenth prince respectfully presented the scroll he was holding.

The four eunuchs hurriedly accepted the birthday gift and slowly unfolded it. They saw that it was covered with neat and small characters for "longevity".

Although the calligraphy of these "longevity" characters is of a decent quality, it is still far inferior to that of professional calligraphers.

However, that's ten thousand "longevity" characters; it would take at least a month to write them all.

Looking at the meticulously crafted longevity characters in regular script, Emperor Qianxi couldn't hide the smile on his face.

As emperor, he was wealthy and had no shortage of treasures.

The thought of his son preparing such a thoughtful gift warmed the heart of Emperor Qianxi, the old father.

"Yunti put in a lot of effort!"

"When I return, my father will reward me handsomely!"

Several of the older princes, though smiling, felt a little uneasy seeing the fourteenth prince in the limelight.

The gifts they prepared were not only thoughtful, but also cost a lot of money!

Unexpectedly, the Fourteenth Prince, a mere child, beat them to it.

Although they were unwilling to accept it, they had to admit that the Fourteenth Prince's gift was indeed superior to theirs. The Fourteenth Prince has grown up.
Some people became wary, while others remained calm.

The thirteenth prince presented a gold-threaded horsewhip, which he had personally woven, as his birthday gift; the twelfth prince presented a handwritten copy of the Amitabha Sutra; and the tenth prince also…

While the gifts from these princes weren't particularly amazing, they were certainly decent enough.

In short, the princes put a lot of thought into these gifts.

However, most people didn't pay much attention to the gifts given to these princes, because these princes were all young and had not yet shown any interest in the throne.

"What I present to you are two golden eagles that I found in Changbai Mountain."

As the Eighth Prince spoke, he had two golden eagles brought up.

At this moment, the wings of the two golden eagles looked as if they were cast in gold under the sunlight.

Moreover, the two golden eagles stood on the stand held by the eagle trainer, looking around with an arrogant expression.

Emperor Qianxi always enjoyed hunting.

Golden eagles, which can spot prey in advance and aid in the hunt, have always been highly regarded.

Golden eagles are rare to begin with, and good golden eagles are even rarer.

The golden eagle presented by the Eighth Prince was exactly what he wanted.

If it weren't for the white deer symbolizing good fortune, he would have said that this was his favorite gift ever received.

Emperor Qianxi stepped down from his seat, glanced at the golden eagle, and then said to one of the eagle trainers, "Let it fly around and see."

The eagle trainer dared not disobey Emperor Qianxi's order. He raised his arm and the golden eagle, which had been trained to be very intelligent, immediately soared into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, the golden eagle flew away and became a tiny black dot.

Upon seeing this scene, Emperor Qianxi burst into laughter.

This golden eagle is just to his liking!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on acquiring this pair of magnificent golden eagles. According to my observation, these eagles are not only flightless, but also extremely strong."

"While I wouldn't dare say I could tear a tiger or leopard apart, capturing a sheep would be absolutely no problem." These were the words of Lang Kelong, who was now frantically flattering Emperor Qianxi to secure his position.

Emperor Qianxi knew that Langkelung often went hunting on the grasslands when he had nothing to do, and could be considered an expert hunter.

Hearing this, Emperor Qianxi laughed even more heartily!

Five minutes later, the golden eagle flew over.

After eating the raw meat fed to it by the eagle trainer, it chirped a few times.

"Your Majesty, the golden eagle just spotted a flock of sheep heading this way from a distance."

Upon hearing the report from the eagle trainer, Emperor Qianxi frowned.

Ma Wu, who was standing to the side, hurriedly reported: "Your Majesty, for your birthday banquet, this servant has had a batch of sheep specially transported from Khorchin."

"This is what the golden eagle saw."

Hearing Ma Wu say this, Emperor Qianxi was even more pleased. He smiled and said, "You have done a very good job."

Seeing that his contribution of the golden eagle had been well received by his father, the Eighth Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was just beginning to make a name for himself, and in this situation, he couldn't afford to make a single mistake.

If those golden eagles turn into dead eagles, then he'll be in deep trouble.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

After the Eighth Prince finished presenting his gifts, it was the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince's turn.

The fifth prince's gift was rather ordinary; it was a set of armor made of gold, which was quite valuable but not particularly outstanding.

The fourth prince's gift was a copy of the Heart Sutra that he had personally copied and recited a hundred times every day.

The two of them put thought into their gifts, but neither of them was particularly eye-catching.

Especially considering that the Fourteenth Prince's "Longevity Painting" and the Eighth Prince's golden eagle were already present, the gifts from the two princes seemed all the more unremarkable.

However, the Fifth Prince had no desire to win, and the Fourth Prince remained calm, as if he had no intention of showing off at all.

As the two presented their gifts, the spirits of everyone present were immediately lifted.

Because the gifts from the eldest prince and the crown prince are about to be presented!

The auspicious white deer that was the eldest prince's lucky charm was no secret; the only question was what reward Emperor Qianxi would give the eldest prince.

“Father, thanks to your great fortune, I have encountered a pair of auspicious white deer. In fact, it is Heaven’s way of presenting this pair of auspicious white deer to you through my hand, to demonstrate your civil and military achievements.”

"Your Majesty, I wish Your Majesty a long and healthy life, may you live ten thousand years!"

As the eldest prince knelt down, two pure white deer were led up.

Although many people have heard of this auspicious pair of white deer, many are seeing them for the first time because the eldest prince is keeping a close watch on them.

They'd seen plenty of deer, but this was the first time they'd ever seen a pure white one.

For a moment, everyone was full of praise.

Just as Emperor Qianxi was about to speak, an elderly monk sitting to the side of Emperor Qianxi, dressed in a red robe, stood up.

He slowly said, "The scriptures say: When the court has a wise ruler, auspicious omens will descend from heaven!"

"Those who encounter auspicious omens and offer them to the Holy Lord are chosen by Heaven!"

"This humble monk congratulates Your Majesty on Your Majesty's ascension to the throne!"

"Congratulations to the imperial court on the eternal stability of its empire!"

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(End of this chapter)