NCCnovel Chapter 62 Grandmother's Birthday (3)
Chapter 62 Grandmother's Birthday (3)
Just then, my eldest uncle arrived with his second and third uncles and their families to wish my grandmother a happy birthday. As soon as my eldest uncle, Fan Cheng, entered the house, he saw my grandmother sitting in the main room. He quickly went up to her and said, "Aunt Fang, my mother originally planned to come and wish you a happy birthday in person, but something happened a few days ago, which caused us to return a little late. Moreover, because my mother rushed back, she was a little seasick on the boat, so she said she would visit you this afternoon."
Hearing her eldest uncle's words, Grandmother felt a little worried, thinking that something might have happened. So she quickly asked, "Is Sister Ning feeling unwell? You must rest well! Don't worry about me, I'm fine! In that case, why don't you all stay here tonight? I want to have a good chat with Sister Ning tonight!" Her eldest uncle readily agreed and said he would follow Grandmother's arrangements.
However, the eldest uncle rolled his eyes dismissively and muttered, "Pretending to be innocent again..." Hearing his uncle's complaint, the eldest maternal uncle smiled smugly, raised an eyebrow provocatively, and replied, "What's wrong? Call me 'Big Brother'! Say it and let me hear it!" His expression seemed to threaten that if the eldest uncle didn't, he'd be in trouble. Surprisingly, the eldest uncle, who was usually fearless at home, obediently called him "Big Brother."
After calling out, his uncle even patted his head like he was coaxing a child, saying, "Hmm, good boy."
Upon hearing this, the eldest uncle was stunned, clearly not expecting his maternal uncle to pull such a stunt. When he came to his senses, he glared fiercely at his maternal uncle, but the maternal uncle burst into laughter.
Then, the eldest uncle and his family sat down next to the eldest uncle. Everyone was stunned. They couldn't believe that the Duke of Jingguo, who was decisive and domineering in the business world and never bowed his head, would actually call the Duke of Anguo "elder brother" in front of so many people.
At this moment, seeing everyone's surprised looks, the eldest uncle smiled and explained, "What's so surprising about that? My eldest brother was born earlier than me, so isn't it normal for me to call him 'elder brother'? Besides, I've always been the eldest in the family and have to take care of my younger brothers. Now that I finally have an older brother, I can also enjoy being taken care of. Isn't that great? Right, eldest brother?" After saying that, he looked at his maternal uncle.
The eldest uncle nodded in agreement, then said to the eldest brother, "I've found that rare book you mentioned last time."
Upon hearing this, the uncle's eyes lit up instantly, and he said in a very obsequious manner, "Really?"
The eldest uncle smiled slightly and replied, "Of course."
The eldest uncle immediately grabbed his eldest brother's arm and said excitedly, "Big brother, let's go take a look after we finish eating, okay!"
The eldest uncle smiled and nodded in agreement, but still reminded him, "Sure, but we should go after we finish eating."
The eldest uncle's eyes were full of expectation. He was about to speak when his maternal uncle covered his mouth with his hand.
The eldest uncle said softly, "Eat your meal first."
The uncle quickly nodded in response, "Okay."
Then, the uncle warmly invited everyone to start the banquet.
The eldest aunt and the eldest maternal aunt said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, only the eldest brother can handle him."
The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
Even his father and third uncle were very surprised; they never imagined that their eldest brother would listen to Cheng-ge so obediently.
The eldest uncle noticed that both of his younger brothers were looking at him, so he put on a stern face and said seriously, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat!"
Then, the group got busy, each calling their family members to join them for the feast.
Just as the banquet began, a commotion arose outside. It turned out that the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Second Prince, Second Prince's Wife, Third Prince, and Fourth Prince had all arrived, along with the three princesses. Hearing the noise, everyone stood up to greet them. However, before they could even perform their greetings, the Crown Prince hurriedly stepped forward to stop his grandmother, personally helping her up, saying, "Absolutely not! Your seniority is higher than my Imperial Grandmother's! If you bow to me, my Imperial Grandmother will surely punish me severely when I return to the palace." His grandmother smiled slightly and replied, "In any case, a ruler is a ruler, and a subject is a subject; etiquette must not be disregarded." The Crown Prince explained with a smile, "Today, we will not discuss the etiquette between ruler and subject, but only the distinction between elders and juniors. Is that acceptable?" His grandmother readily agreed. Since the Crown Prince insisted on not bowing, no one pressed the matter further. The others didn't see anything wrong with it, but only the Third Prince cursed the Crown Prince and the others in his heart. He Mingwen thought to himself, "He Mingyu, you're pretending to be high and mighty here. Don't you enjoy being worshipped? If that's the case, then why are you so determined to be the Crown Prince? You're so hypocritical!"
He concealed his true feelings well, wearing a polite smile and greeting everyone warmly before sitting down with the Crown Prince. Seeing this, the Second Brother quickly led them to the table where He Yanxi and He Mingfeng were. The Second Brother said to the Crown Prince, "If Your Highness has any needs, please tell Aji." The Crown Prince smiled and replied, "I understand. You go ahead and attend to your business! When you're finished, remember to come and have a drink with me; it's been a long time since we've had a drink together." The Second Brother nodded in agreement.
After everyone was seated, the Crown Prince immediately noticed He Yanxi sitting at the head of the table. Out of habit, he led everyone to rise and prepare to pay their respects. However, He Yanxi stopped them in time, saying, "Didn't you just say there was no need for formalities?" The Crown Prince smiled and replied, "The situation is different!" He Yanxi calmly responded, "Alright, this isn't the palace. You should all sit down and eat." The Crown Prince smiled and replied, "Yes, Uncle." He then obediently sat down. He Yanxi ignored them.
The Fifth Prince, He Mingfeng, was overjoyed to see his older brothers and sisters arrive, a bright smile spreading across his face. He strode towards the Crown Prince and urged, "Big brother, please sit down and eat! I'm starving!" The Crown Prince smiled at He Mingfeng and teased, "Little Fifth, why are you still so greedy?"
The Fourth Prince, He Minglin, sitting next to He Mingfeng, couldn't help but laugh after hearing their conversation. Seeing this, He Mingfeng quickly complained to the Crown Prince, "Big brother, look, Fourth Brother is making fun of me too!" He Minglin, seeing He Mingfeng's adorable appearance, laughed even harder, saying, "Big brother is right!" Hearing this, He Mingfeng pouted and pretended to be angry, saying, "Fourth Brother, you don't love me anymore!"
Just then, Cheng Ying, returning from outside, witnessed this amusing scene. Her eyes met He Mingfeng's, and seeing the smile on Cheng Ying's face, He Mingfeng felt his cheeks burn and his heart race. He was about to explain when Cheng Ying turned and walked towards the women's section. Watching Cheng Ying leave, He Mingfeng inwardly groaned, "Oh no, that little brat Cheng Ying is definitely going to laugh at me..."
Thinking this, He Mingfeng turned his head and stared at He Minglin with an extremely resentful look, looking exactly like a wronged puppy. He Minglin looked at his younger brother's flushed face and couldn't help but feel very puzzled, so he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? And why is your face suddenly so red?" He Mingfeng didn't want to pay any attention to this slow-witted second brother and simply turned his head to the side.
At this moment, the Second Prince He Mingshu couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Haha, Fourth Prince, can't you even see that? When Fifth Prince was being affectionate with you just now, someone saw him! He must have blushed because he was shy!" He Minglin suddenly realized and slapped his thigh, saying, "Oh! So that's how it is! A little girl saw him... By the way, Second Brother, wasn't that girl laughing?"
His Highness the Crown Prince chuckled and comforted He Mingfeng, saying, "Don't worry about it. Little Wu's coquettishness is actually quite cute. That girl probably won't laugh at you." As he spoke, he thoughtfully placed a piece of braised pork rib in He Mingfeng's bowl. He Mingfeng had been enjoying his favorite braised pork rib with relish, but He Mingyu's reminder brought back memories of what had just happened, and suddenly the rib in his mouth tasted bland.
He Mingyu coughed lightly and gave He Minglin a look. He Minglin immediately understood and leaned closer to He Mingfeng, asking softly, "Xiao Wu, do you like that girl?"
Upon hearing this, He Mingfeng abruptly raised his head, staring at He Minglin in astonishment, and stammered, "You... how did you know?"
He Minglin laughed and replied, "Haha, not only do I know, but my eldest brother and second brother also figured it out!" After saying that, He Mingfeng hurriedly looked across and saw his two older brothers staring at him with knowing eyes.
He Mingfeng turned his head, stared at He Minglin, and asked anxiously, "Fourth brother, how exactly did you find out? Who told you? Is there anyone else who knows about this?"
He Minglin smiled and said, "Is it really necessary for anyone to say it? You've never cared about what others think, but now you're blaming me because that young girl blushed. Don't you think that's very abnormal?"
At this moment, He Yanxi, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Alright, stop talking and let's eat first. If you're really worried, go and talk to them. If you want to eat properly, then eat quickly; if you don't want to eat, then get out and stop bothering us."
Upon hearing this, He Mingfeng quickly lowered his head to eat, afraid his little actions would be discovered. He Mingwen, sitting further away and deep in thought, hadn't noticed the interaction between his brothers. Hearing He Yanxi's words, he assumed He Mingfeng had done something wrong and was being scolded, secretly pleased with himself. However, no one paid him any attention; everyone continued eating in silence.
He Mingfeng was unaware that He Yanxi's words were actually directed at him. Since he had been engrossed in eating, He Yanxi wanted to remind him not to be too greedy, and also subtly hinted to the others that if they didn't hurry and enjoy their food, they might miss their chance. After exchanging glances, the group lowered their heads and quietly continued eating.
On the women's side, Cheng Ying returned to her seat. Qin Yaoyao, seeing her beaming smile, asked curiously, "Why are you so happy? Did you find some money outside?" Cheng Ying replied mysteriously, "Even happier than finding money!" Qin Yaoyao immediately perked up and pressed, "So what happened? Tell me quickly!"
Cheng Ying looked at Qin Yaoyao with a slight smile, but didn't answer her question. Seeing Cheng Ying's silence, Qin Yaoyao wasn't in a hurry. Instead, she smiled and said, "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But I bet it's about the Fifth Prince!" Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Ying quickly covered Qin Yaoyao's mouth. Cheng Ying nervously leaned close to Qin Yaoyao's ear and whispered, "Shh... keep your voice down. Do you want the whole world to know?"
Qin Yaoyao reluctantly removed Cheng Ying's hand from her mouth and replied in a low voice, "What's wrong? Are you going to keep your relationship with the Fifth Prince a secret?" Cheng Ying sighed helplessly and explained, "I don't intend to hide the fact that we're friends. But we can't just spread it around everywhere, can we? That would be too conspicuous." Qin Yaoyao couldn't help but roll her eyes and said disdainfully, "Hmph, you always have so many reasons! Hurry up and eat!"
During the meal, Grandma suddenly felt tired and decided to go back to her room to rest. This left only the younger generation playing. At this point, her sisters-in-law started teasing Qin Yaoyao: "Yaoyao, it's strange, it's Grandma's birthday today, but you received the most gifts!" Qin Yaoyao replied proudly, "Well, what can I do? Everyone likes me so much! They always give me gifts, and even when I see my three brothers-in-law on the street, they give me some pocket money. It makes me feel so embarrassed!" Cheng Ying teased, "Oh, you can be embarrassed now?" Qin Yaoyao pretended to be angry and said, "What did you say?" She even reached out her hand. Cheng Ying immediately backed down, and everyone burst into laughter.
Just then, the Third Princess, He Mingxuan, suddenly spoke up, "Yaoyao, which table are your nephews and nieces at?" Qin Yaoyao looked up, then pointed to a corner not far away and said, "Xuan'er, they should be at the back over there! Why are you asking?" He Mingxue winked playfully and replied with a smile, "Guess." Before Qin Yaoyao could even reply, He Mingxuan impatiently walked out. Seeing this, Qin Yaoyao understood the other's intention, so she smiled knowingly and softly reminded her, "Be careful." He Mingxuan waved her hand without turning around, indicating that she had heard her.
Cheng Ying, standing to the side, looked at Qin Yaoyao with some confusion and couldn't help but ask, "When did you and the Third Princess become so close? I remember she used to cause you a lot of trouble." Qin Yaoyao smiled slightly and explained, "It started at the poetry gathering last time, but I'll tell you the details later." Cheng Ying nodded and didn't press further. The two continued to enjoy the sumptuous meal, chatting idly and savoring this wonderful time.