CHAPTER 1141: CHAPTER 1120: COUNTERSTRIKE

Mingda returned to his seat, but the Prince of Yizhou chuckled and said to the Empress Dowager, "Mother doesn’t know, but I found this young lady familiar. Isn’t she the famous young divine physician who was recently called into the palace to take the Empress’s pulse? I saw her from a distance once, and she seemed to look just like this."

The Empress Dowager uttered an "Oh?" and turned her head to look at Zhou Man.

Zhou Man glanced at Mingda, then promptly stood up, stepped out of line, and knelt down. After a respectful bow, she stood straight and sweetly smiled, "Reporting to Your Highness, I am Zhou Man, indeed I have been to the palace to treat Her Majesty the Empress."

The Prince of Yizhou then laughed, "Mingda truly is filial, even specially inviting the Empress’s physician to join us at the longevity banquet."

The smile on the Empress Dowager’s face faded slightly.

Upon hearing this, Mingda also stood up and knelt beside Manbao, hurriedly saying, "Imperial Grandmother, there are few girls of my age in the palace. When I visited mother at the Lizheng Dian, I met her and we got along very well, so I regard her as a close and dear friend. That’s why I invited her to join us, not because she is the Empress’s physician."

After a pause, Mingda added, "Speaking of treating Mother, isn’t Director Xiao from the Imperial Hospital the main physician?"

The Emperor smiled and nodded his head repeatedly, "Indeed, Director Xiao has made great contributions to treating the Empress. I see Her Majesty’s condition has significantly improved these past few days; he deserves a reward. Attendants, send a banquet to the Imperial Hospital, say it’s a reward for Director Xiao from me."

The Emperor paused and then continued with a smile, "Mother, if I recall correctly, Director Xiao’s elderly mother is also over seventy this year, another person of longevity. Why not also send her a bowl of longevity noodles to taste?"

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager nodded repeatedly and smiled, "That’s right, it should be done. She’s quite elderly and didn’t come to the palace today; we should invite her another day to share her methods of maintaining health. Attendants, send a bowl of longevity noodles to Director Xiao’s home, along with longevity peaches; pick out more of those."

After discussing Director Xiao, the Emperor then gestured Mingda to come over. She quickly got up, lifted her skirt, and ran to sit beside the Emperor.

The Emperor patted her head and laughed heartily, "I know you and Zhou Man are good friends, and you’re filial too, but the best filial piety is to be healthy. You’re frail and shouldn’t sit for too long. In a while, you can lead Zhou Man to the garden to play. No drinking, understand?"

After instructing her, the Emperor then turned to the Empress Dowager and asked with a smile, "Mother, shall we watch the performance, or shall they go play? Let Zhou Man take your pulse for peace of mind too. Playing with Mingda is quite a convenience for our sick folks here."

The Empress Dowager feigned annoyance and laughed, "Stop talking nonsense. Our family is all in good health; who is sick? But it’s still good to have a peace of mind pulse check."

She then looked down at Zhou Man, who was still kneeling with her head down, and with a slight wave of her hand said, "Alright child, get up. My granddaughter has been frail since she was young. You should keep an eye on her, and remind her if there’s anything she should be doing differently."

Manbao acknowledged and got up.

She slightly raised her head and looked up, locking eyes with Mingda. The two stealthily winked at each other, looking extremely mischievous.

The Emperor saw everything and smiled helplessly. He patted Mingda’s hand and had her go back to her own seat.

Seeing Manbao sit back down next to Mingda, Bai Shan slightly relaxed. But before he could fully relax, the Fifth Prince, sitting in front of him, suddenly stood up, grabbed his arm, and laughingly said to the Empress Dowager, "Imperial Grandmother, Mingda has friends, and so do I, here to wish you a happy birthday."

The Empress Dowager simply said "Oh?" and the Emperor cut him off, "Five, don’t be mischievous. The banquet is about to start."

"Just let it start. You’re not going to let me serve the dishes, are you, Imperial Grandmother? Take a look at my friend."

The Empress Dowager was also fond of the Fifth Prince, her grandson, and thus cast an admonishing glance at the Emperor, "Indeed, you let them start the banquet. I want to talk to the children. Why are you scolding them?"

The Emperor smiled at Bai Shan, who was being held by Five, no longer bothered by them, and turned to command Gu Zhong to announce the start of the banquet.

Gu Zhong responded with a smile, and in a loud, clear voice, he announced the start of the banquet.

Then the court musicians inside the palace began to play, and the dancers followed in file into the center of the great hall, starting to dance to the music.

The palace attendants waiting outside started to serve food in order, first to the emperor and the empress dowager, followed by the empress, and then the crown prince and the Prince of Yizhou...

A set of bowls, chopsticks, and a cup were placed in front of Manbao. The cover of the dishes served was removed; the food was still warm, very fragrant, and exquisitely presented, looking very appetizing, but Manbao’s mind was not on the food at all.

She was staring at the Fifth Prince and Bai Shan across from her.

Bai Shan gave her a slight shake of his head; she then sat in her seat, only keeping her back very straight.

The Fifth Prince pulled Bai Shan out to stand in front of the empress dowager to show him, laughed, and asked, "Great-grandmother, what do you think of my friend here?"

The empress dowager, squinting her eyes to see, noticed the two of them were of similar stature and chuckled: "Better looking than you are."

The Fifth Prince pouted his lips and turned to look at Bai Shan closely. Seeing Bai Shan slightly bowing his head, he leaned down for a closer look, then shook his head saying, "Great-grandmother is teasing me, where is he better looking than me? I’m supposed to look like Cousin Yang."

The emperor was drinking wine and nearly spat it out.

The empress dowager also burst into great laughter and cheerfully said: "Where is Marquis Yang? Come and see if this nephew of yours resembles your son?"

Bai Shan didn’t twist his head to look down, but Manbao did turn her head and blatantly look down, only to see a man sitting at his seat bowing with a smile: "A nephew resembles his uncle, and if the Fifth Prince says he resembles Zhangbo, then there must be some similarity."

The empress dowager laughed: "You, oh you, just like Xiao Wu, shameless. Zhangbo happens to resemble his mother, what does that have to do with you?"

She took a serious look at Bai Shan and nodded: "This child is indeed handsome. Whose family is he from?"

Bai Shan bowed and replied, "The young man comes from the Bai Family of Longzhou."

"Longzhou?" The empress dowager thought carefully and then laughed: "That’s a good place. Is Bai Cheng from your family?"

Bai Shan said: "He is my granduncle."

"Oh," the empress dowager nodded smilingly, "Then where does your forefather serve now?"

The Fifth Prince interjected: "Great-grandmother, both his father and forefather are meritorious servants of the court. He was granted admission to study due to grace and has passed the Imperial Academy exam on his own merit."

The empress dowager, slightly stunned, nodded continuously in approval: "Studying is good, study well, and in the future serve the court just like your father and forefather. Xiao Wu, you must learn well from your friend."

The Fifth Prince then said with a smile: "So great-grandmother, my friends can all sit with me at the banquet, right?"

Turning back, he pointed at Bai Cheng and Yin Huo: "These two are also from the Imperial Academy, and they are all my friends."

The empress dowager glanced at the Prince of Yizhou and nodded helplessly to the Fifth Prince: "If they are your friends, it’s up to you to decide. But while you may enjoy yourselves, do not cause trouble."

"Rest assured, great-grandmother, I will not cause any trouble again."

The emperor managed to swallow the sip of wine, finally not choking and losing face. He put down his cup and looked towards Five with a smile, "Hearing you say this, your friend must be quite remarkable. What are you reading now?"