Cining Palace

Consort Lan, of the Niohuru clan, was discussing with the Empress Dowager the matter of Princess Hewan, who was to be married off to the Dzungar Khanate by Emperor Hongli.

"Your Majesty, please help us. That child is timid and cowardly. If he marries into the Dzungar Khanate, he may not survive."

Junggar is too dangerous; it's a den of tigers and wolves.

He Wan is just like her name suggests; she is gentle, kind, and has no temper. This girl is simply not suitable to marry into the Junggar tribe.

Consort Lan, who was born into the Niohuru clan, entered the harem only because of the kindness of Imperial Noble Consort Huiyi. It was her conscience that made her think about it for a long time before she came to talk to the Empress Dowager.

Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager had no conscience at all. She could quickly abandon and exile anyone who had no use to her, whether they were her own relatives or her adopted children.

The situation is the same now; the Empress Dowager has absolutely no intention of protecting Consort Huiyi's daughter.

"Consort Lan, you should know that my relationship with the Emperor is not harmonious, and I am powerless to do anything about Hewan's marriage."

The Empress Dowager sat in a chair, relaxed, with palace servants fanning her from behind.

That haughty and all-controlling demeanor was particularly irritating to Consort Lan below.

Consort Lan thought to herself with a hint of sarcasm, "As the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's mother, what is there that you are powerless to do?"

It's because they felt that whether Princess Hewan got married or not wouldn't bring them any benefit, so they were thinking of just going through the motions and letting the Emperor do whatever he wanted.

Sure enough, the entire Niohuru clan, from top to bottom, was utterly corrupt.

"Your Majesty, could you allow Princess Hewan to stay in the palace for another two years?"

"The Imperial Noble Consort Huiyi has only been gone a short time; Princess Hewan should wait until the mourning period is over before she can marry."

Consort Lan lowered her head, using the light to conceal the sarcasm in her eyes from the Empress Dowager.

"The Imperial Noble Consort Huiyi passed away last year, and the Emperor plans to issue an imperial decree to grant her marriage after some time."

Don't worry, we won't make things difficult for that child. Besides, the Dzungar Khanate has just experienced a war and doesn't yet have the strength to rise again.

"If Hewan marries into the Qing Dynasty, with her title as a princess, her life will certainly not be difficult."

The Empress Dowager's words did not offer any comfort to Consort Lan.

On the contrary, because of her prior knowledge, every word the Empress Dowager said disgusted Consort Lan.

What does it mean to rely on the title of a Qing princess, and what does it mean that the Dzungars cannot be disrupted in a short period of time?

Are these words really spoken with He Wan's sake in mind? Aren't they just meant to satisfy one's own selfish desires, treating He Wan like an object to be tossed aside at will?

Yes, the title of Qing princess would not necessarily make Hewan's life outside very bad, but it wouldn't necessarily make it very good either.

The Dzungar Khanate was located on the Qing Dynasty's frontier, a region that was perpetually unstable.

Consort Lan dared not even imagine how much suffering she would endure if He Wan were married off to him.

After leaving Cining Palace, Consort Lan was not in high spirits, and her maidservants dared not offer any words of comfort.

After carefully helping the person onto the sedan chair at the door, Consort Lan suddenly said, "To the Princess's residence."

The palanquin turned around, deviating from the direction of returning to Jingren Palace, and headed towards the princess's residence.

A few days later, the Emperor took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet to bestow a marriage upon Princess Hewan, still granting her the title of Princess Gulun.

The date was set for March of the twenty-fifth year, taking into account the mourning period for Imperial Noble Consort Huiyi, which was one of the few remaining acts of kindness that Hongli had.

"Your Majesty, should we urge the Imperial Household Department to expedite the process?"

As Xia He helped Chen Yuwei back from the Imperial Garden, she asked a question in a low voice.

"Hurry up and send a copy of the form to both Cining Palace and Jingren Palace."

As the princess's elder, she arranged the procedures according to the normal rules for legitimate children.

However, if the Empress Dowager or Consort Lan wanted to add to their dowry, Chen Yuwei would not stop them.

"Don't worry, Master, I understand."

Xia He nodded slightly, then pondered in her mind who to send to do this task.

"Oh, right, don't forget that we have a real empress's daughter in our palace who is waiting to be married."

Princess Hejing has been residing at her residence in the capital; it seems she intends to take this opportunity to finalize her marriage plans beforehand.

Hejing always cared a lot about his younger sister. When the emperor was choosing someone to marry into the Dzungar Khanate, Hejing was afraid that after all the selections, the woman would end up marrying his younger sister, who had no mother to take care of her.

Fortunately, the Emperor still had a sliver of fatherly compassion and knew that his sister's body couldn't withstand it.

However, Hejing cannot always rely on Hongli. She must take the initiative to find a good husband for her younger sister in order to solve the problem at its root.

Chen Yuwei was in charge of palace affairs, and every day she would receive all sorts of gossip.

She already knew about things like He Jing's busy work for his younger sister.

However, for various reasons, Chen Yuwei chose to remain indifferent and observe.

Now that the Emperor has already settled the marriage of one of his daughters, Princess Hejing's younger sister, Heyi, will not be able to stay in the palace for long.

It should be noted that the Hui people are closely following the Dzungar Khanate, making a ruckus and showing their claws.

Xia He should be right, but she had a more favorable view of this true legitimate princess.

"Princess Hejing probably already has a choice, and now she is just waiting for the Emperor to bestow the marriage upon her."

Chen Yuwei raised an eyebrow, "Do you know the inside story?"

Xia He didn't mince words, "Some people say that Princess Hejing has taken a fancy to several of the sons of the Fucha clan."

They are all direct cousins, and marrying their own sister would strengthen their bond.

Although the Fucha clan has enjoyed great prestige in recent years, they are all military generals who have many opportunities to go to the battlefield, which also means they face great danger.

"Princess Hejing is willing to do that?"

One could easily end up a widow; if I remember correctly, many talented young men from the Fucha clan died on the battlefield.

"They are better than other Manchu nobles, and their maternal family is more reliable."

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