The Husband Games

A Gift to a Sister

Laughing Minister Ban exclaimed, "The Emperor's right, they are still young. May the Crown Prince have many children!" Suddenly the atmosphere got better as everyone joined in. 

Except for Lady Ban who was scrutinizing the couple at the moment. Thinking to herself she asked, "What does the crown prince see in that girl. I'm obviously prettier than her..." 

As she was glaring daggers at the Crown Prince and Princess unknowingly the Emperor's Consort saw this. The Emperor's Consort spotted Lady Ban glaring and silently thought, 'These lady's don't know how to respect the Crown Prince's decision of having only one wife at the moment. The princes must stay away from cunning women like her.' With a sigh she watched everyone enjoying their food.

It seemed as if the people in the banquet hall had forgotten that this banquet was a celebration of the marriage between the Second Prince and Consort Wu, his wife. After everyone finished their food, gifts were presented to the Second Prince and Consort Wu.

Each official took his turn in presenting their gifts from famous paintings and calligraphy, to gold hair pieces and expensive jades. 

Looking on, I watched the procession of officials trying to outdo the other person before them. I chuckled at how childishly the officials and noblemen acted. At my chuckle, my fifth brother looked at me with a smile on his face too. Probably finding humor in the gift giving too.

Not long after the procession started, my fourth brother gazed intently at the gift giving with a gleam in his eye. His crafty demeanor did not want to miss out on a chance to make fun of the officials. 

He always needs the attention of the public's eye without it being horrendous on his part. With a slight grin given our way, he leaned forward in his seat giving off a mischievous glint in his actions.

After the next official went back to his seat after presenting his gift of a famous porcelain tea set from a craftsman named Lu Yuan. The official went back to his seat wondering who would be able to find such a rare and expensive gift as his. Just as he sat down next to his beautiful wife adorned heavily with jewels, the young fourth prince stood up making everyone in the room curious. Every guest eagerly watched as the handsome young man stood up gracefully from his seat.

In that moment a gust of the summer's breeze rushed into the great hall and swirled past the fourth prince, lifting his hair around him. This motion only added onto his majestic appearance. The scene caused many young daughters of the officials and wealthy families to gasp in awe at the sight of his beauty. 

A light shade of rosy red graced many young girls features as they thought how could someone be so handsome and pretty at the same time. Some would say that he was even better looking than a lot of girls in the kingdom. Which only explains his behavior of being the kingdom's number one playboy at the age of 18. 

My fourth brother is the total opposite of his twin brother who is a scholar and is training to be the next great general of our kingdom. Their personalities couldn't be any more different from each other. My third brother is the oldest by a couple of minutes.

 Instead of being carefree and sweet talking to anyone he sees like his twin, he is more reserved with a serious demeanor. They don't look exactly alike since my third brother has a distinctly manly appearance that my fourth brother doesn't have. He is still handsome nonetheless and it goes better with his title to be the next general for the kingdom. His power as a prince is just as great as his impressive deadly swordsmanship that could best any man.

The playboy title given to my fourth brother doesn't bother the families since anyone would like to marry into the royal family even if they were one of his many wives. The mothers of these families don't mind that he is a playboy since they couldn't think about anyone better than the fourth prince to be with their daughters. The fourth prince had unmatched beauty and everyone could tell with him standing in front of everyone dressed in the finest silk robes

Any one of the princes would be a perfect match for their daughters. They couldn't help but start to deviate plans in matchmaking to put their daughter into the prince's harem. Each of the prince's were known to have unmatched beauty in the kingdom and the fourth prince isn't the only one who has gained a lot of suitors.

 If anyone would say otherwise they would have a hard time with their many fans. With that being said, many of the princes have been sought after for matchmaking since they were introduced to the public. The fourth prince has had hundreds of marriage offers but declines each and every one since he turned 13. 

Watching his twin brother, the third son looked on slightly interested in the change of events produced from his brother. Placing his left arm on his knee, he sat up intrigued. Sipping his tea, he raised his eyebrow at his brother and waited in silence as to what he would do next. His behavior changed from being nonchalantly about the whole procession to showing anticipation for the turn of events from the boring gift giving.

The prince's long raven hair swished around him before settling perfectly on his back. His movements were precise and smooth and befitting of a prince. A slight grin graced his face and caught his fathers watchful eye. The Emperor silently watched his son hoping he wouldn't bring disgrace to his title as a prince, knowing he couldn't do anything to stop his behavior. 

The prince then leaned forward in his seat giving off a mischievous glint into his actions. He gave praises to all the guests who gave gifts. With one swift bow down he stood up with a smile to all who attended. The officials bowed quickly in a fluster not wanting to be disrespectful to the royal family since the prince's bow was not predicted.

Smiling I looked on as officials and wealthy families quickly stood up and bowed multiple times in return to the prince's bow. Bowing is a form of respect and acknowledgement. When my brother bowed to the people, he showed his sincerity towards those who came to celebrate his brother and his wife's ceremony. 

One might not realize this, but bowing to those in lower power is a very big deal. The recipients must bow deeper than the prince who gave an already deep bow. It is uncommon for a member of the royal family to bow to others. So my brother left the other people in the banquet hall flustered and scared because if they didn't bow right they could easily lose their position.