Hall of Mental Cultivation

Recently, Hongli has been quite troubled by the imperial court's selection of imperial concubines.

It wasn't that he was troubled by the large number of new people to be selected; in fact, Hongli thought it was good to have new people entering the palace. Apart from a few who were still pleasing to him, he had long since grown tired of the older women in the harem.

Just like when you eat the same dish for a long time, you need to change it up and find some new flavors to enjoy yourself.

Hongli secretly hoped that he could select a few more new people to keep him entertained this time.

He's already busy enough with handling state affairs on a daily basis. If he can't relax even after entering the inner palace, what's the point of being an emperor?

However, there is a clear difference between choosing something by oneself and choosing something that others force him to choose.

Hongli liked to do whatever he wanted, meaning everyone else had to listen to him and he could do whatever he wanted.

However, during this selection process, the Empress Dowager was there to cause trouble everywhere, forcing even the Empress to tolerate her, let alone Hongli, who considered himself a filial son and wanted to be remembered in history.

Hongli: ...Because of my mother, I have really suffered a great deal.

The Empress Dowager has made it clear that she wants to promote people from the Niohuru clan. The point of contention between the mother and son is not whether people from the Niohuru clan will enter the palace, but how many people from the Niohuru clan can enter and what rank she can give them.

From Hongli's personal perspective, he did not want to give Niohuru a high position.

The standard configuration of the Qing Dynasty's imperial harem consisted of one empress, one imperial noble consort, two noble consorts, four consorts, six concubines, and countless noble ladies, ladies-in-waiting, and ladies-in-waiting.

As for Hongli's harem, there was an Empress, but no Imperial Noble Consort. There were two Noble Consorts, one Consort, two Concubines, and the rest were all low-ranking Noble Ladies, Attendants, and Ladies-in-Waiting.

This time, Hongli intends to loosen his grip and grant the newly arrived Niohuru clan a different rank of concubine. He will then promote her further based on her seniority or the birth of children.

However, the Empress Dowager was very dissatisfied with this. She immediately set her sights on the three unused concubine positions and insisted that Hongli give one of his maternal relatives a concubine position.

If the rank of Consort is given, what if the rank of Imperial Noble Consort becomes vacant after the consort has children? Wouldn't the rank of Imperial Noble Consort, which is equivalent to half the rank of Empress, be given to her?

Hongli was naturally unwilling. The Empress hadn't done anything wrong, and besides, their eldest son Yonglian was still alive. At this time, creating a highly likely Imperial Noble Consort would be a slap in the face to the Empress and Empress Fucha.

Moreover, Hongli was quite satisfied with his eldest son Yonglian, although Yonglian's health had not been very good recently, especially the two illnesses in the first year which triggered his pre-existing physical deficiencies (asthma).

But Yonglian was quick-witted. While the other children were learning at the same pace as the teacher in the study, Yonglian was always the first to learn.

Unlike Yonghuang and Yonghu, Yonghuang was not good at either literature or martial arts, while Yonghu was extremely talented in bukaku, but only average in academics.

By comparing the two, one can understand Hongli's mentality. Someone like Niohuru, who would directly threaten the Empress and the eldest son if she entered the palace, was someone Hongli rejected outright.

This is what's been bothering Hongli lately: Niohuru's appetite is too great, and Hongli can't keep up.

Thump thump—thump thump thump—

"Enter"

With a creak, the tightly closed door was pushed open, revealing Wu Shulai's round, chubby face.

"emperor"

"Someone is requesting an audience?"

"Your Majesty, it is Consort Shu. She has brought soup with her."

"Please come in."

“Zha”

After the conversation ended, Wu Shulai re-entered the room, followed by Chen Yuwei in a light-colored cheongsam.

"Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects."

"My beloved concubine, come quickly to my side."

Hongli stood up and waved, as if beckoning a pet, which made Chen Yuwei mentally complain.

"Your Majesty, I have brought you some soup. You are busy with court affairs, but you must take care of your health."

As she spoke, Chen Yuwei brought over the porcelain bowl that Wu Shulai had already prepared and walked slowly to Hongli's side.

The porcelain white bowl had no patterns at all around its rim; it was incredibly plain.

Chen Yuwei held the bottom of the porcelain bowl tightly with her delicate hands, allowing Hongli to reach out and take it from her.

Hongli did not disappoint the soup that Chen Yuwei brought from Yikun Palace. He held the spoon and lowered his head to taste it.

Hmm, it tastes good. The chicken soup is delicious, and it also contains some flavorful herbs and nourishing ingredients. Drinking a bowl of this at this time makes you feel refreshed and invigorated.

"Thank you for your hard work, Wei'er."

Hongli's expression softened, and he became much calmer. He put down the soup bowl, took Chen Yuwei's wrist, and stared intently at her.

Chen Yuwei: ...

"Your Majesty, I have come here today because I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Chen Yuwei smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, making it clearly visible.

Hongli responded with an "Oh," and asked, "Do you find it difficult?"

Chen Yuwei nodded, "Yes, I am also afraid of affecting Your Majesty's mood."

Well, now that things have come to this point, Hongli was starting to get angry.

However, seeing Chen Yuwei's pitiful and wistful appearance, he sighed and said, "Tell me, would I make things difficult for Wei'er?"

He sat back down in his chair and pulled Chen Yuwei into his arms.

Chen Yuwei didn't stand on ceremony. She sat directly on Hongli's lap, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and then pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

"Your Majesty is worried that you don't want to put me in a difficult position, and I don't want Your Majesty to suffer either."

Pouting slightly, Chen Yuwei playfully rubbed her lips against Hongli's beautiful jawline.

Believe it or not, Hongli's good looks will last at least another ten or eight years.

Chen Yuwei was a little tired of this person, but she could still look at his face.

Of course, we won't consider hairstyles, since everyone's hairstyles these days look so ugly.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!