Chapter 52 Consort Hui Shut Up

The Imperial Noble Consort leaned listlessly against the couch, looking at the account books. It was only the end of March, but the cheongsam that had been measured before the New Year was too big for her, making her look like a paper doll.

The hall was completely silent.

A short while later, Chunzhi came in happily and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has returned to the palace, and the Fourth Prince is now on his way to Chengqian Palace."

"Yinzhen is back." Upon hearing this, the Imperial Noble Consort perked up, her dim eyes brightening slightly, as if she had suddenly come to life from her paper-thin state.

Before returning to the palace, the Emperor naturally sent her a letter. In fact, the letters never stopped flowing along the way. There were letters for the Crown Prince, for her, for the Empress Dowager, for the Imperial Concubine, and for the other three consorts. Each time, a thick stack of letters was sent over, and she would then distribute them to the various palaces.

The Fourth Prince's letters were naturally included as well. The Imperial Noble Consort carefully read each letter, then sealed them up and placed them all in a sandalwood box.

Remembering that Yinzhen had written in his letter about bringing her many gifts, the Imperial Noble Consort was somewhat expectant, but also afraid that Yinzhen would worry if he saw her pale face, so she hurriedly said to Chunzhi, "Quickly help me to the dressing table to apply some rouge and powder."

Before long, the sound of the Fourth Prince's light footsteps could be heard outside the palace.

After the Imperial Noble Consort fell ill, she had difficulty falling asleep and was easily startled by the slightest noise. Over time, he also got used to walking quietly.

The Fourth Prince maintained his princely demeanor outside, but relaxed as soon as he entered the main hall, a smile unconsciously appearing on his face. "Mother."

The Imperial Noble Consort beckoned him to come closer, and after taking a good look at him, she saw that although he had lost some weight, he was in good spirits, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

This was the first time Yinzhen had traveled far from home.

She was always worried that he wasn't eating or sleeping well while he was away.

The palace maids brought him some of his favorite Biluochun tea and his usual water chestnut cake. The Imperial Noble Consort said softly, "You must be exhausted from the journey. Look how dusty you are. Please sit down."

The Fourth Prince rarely showed his childlike side, showing the Imperial Noble Consort all the gifts he had brought back, and then somewhat embarrassedly took out a wooden Guanyin statue from his sleeve.

"The locals say that this Guanyin statue can protect people's health and keep them from illness, so I brought it back."

The wood was not of high quality, nor was it gold or jade. It was far inferior to the golden Guanyin statue in the Imperial Concubine's Buddhist hall. Its only advantage lay in the exquisite carving, which brought Guanyin's compassionate and merciful demeanor to life.

Seeing the somewhat worried look in Yinzhen's eyes, the Imperial Noble Consort paused for a moment, then quickly took the document herself and had Chunzhi place it on the Buddhist altar in the inner room.

The jade Guanyin statue in its original position was replaced with ordinary boxwood.

She gently patted the Fourth Prince's head, her voice soft as the wind and full of love, "Good child, you must be tired from the journey, go and rest first."

The journey was arduous, and it was a long and tiring trip for Yinzhen.

The Fourth Prince obediently replied, "Then I will have dinner with Mother tonight."

On the other side, Yanxi Palace.

Baoqing followed Yunyun, chattering away as if he had endless things to say, all about what he had seen and heard along the way.

Interspersed among these are many good deeds he did. For example, when someone sold themselves to bury their father, he donated a small piece of land as a burial plot without hesitation. When someone sang in a restaurant, he spoke up for them and told them to go to the theater, saying that their singing sounded like opera. When someone forcibly abducted a respectable woman, he punched her, and then the woman became attached to him, saying she wanted to repay him with her body.

Terrified, Baoqing ran several miles away without looking back.

How can there be people who repay kindness with enmity?

Yunyun listened, wanting to speak but then stopped herself.

She wanted to say something, but looking into Bao Qing's clear eyes, she felt that this was fine too.

At least keep a pure and innocent heart.

While shopping, Baoqing didn't forget the increasingly unpopular Crown Prince and his adorable eighth brother.

He bought the crown prince a complete set of fishing tools, saying that if he wanted to eat fish, he should go to the Thousand Carp Pond to fish, where the fish were fat and swam slowly, and even if he didn't catch any, he could still catch a few.

I bought a set of cute and innocent-looking clay figurines for the Eighth Prince, saying they looked just like him when he was five or six years old and chubby.

Eight years old this year, still chubby and cute like a glutinous rice ball, the Eighth Prince accepted the gift with a bewildered expression and expressed his sincerest gratitude to Bao Qing.

The Crown Prince used this set of tools to catch several fish at the Thousand Carp Pond the next day. He even personally carried the bucket and passed by Bao Qing, saying: "Catching a fish is as easy as breathing."

Baoqing felt that the Crown Prince was provoking him.

So he went fishing at the Thousand Carp Pond, and then returned furtively.

-

In summer, the Forbidden City is as hot as an oven, and the cicadas' chirping is so noisy that it's irritating.

The wooden Guanyin statue of the Fourth Prince seemed to be just a psychological comfort. The Imperial Noble Consort's body became increasingly thin and her energy was increasingly insufficient. In July, the Fourth Prince even skipped his classes in the Imperial Study and stayed by the Imperial Noble Consort's bedside all day.

Emperor Kangxi tacitly approved of his actions.

After hearing Baoqing mention this, Yunyun remained silent for a while.

The more affectionate the Fourth Prince is towards the Imperial Noble Consort, the less the Consort De will likely like him.

Although everyone knows what happened back then, the Imperial Noble Consort has indeed treated the Fourth Prince impeccably over the years, regarding him as her own son.

However, the jade tablet has not been altered. If anything happens to the Imperial Noble Consort, the Fourth Prince will still have to return to his birth mother's side.

In addition, Consort De now has the Fourteenth Prince, and it is said that she is personally involved in everything and cares about him very much.

hiss.

On one side is her eldest son, with whom she shares a deep bond but with whom she has little emotional connection; on the other is her youngest son, whom she has personally cared for and devoted a great deal of effort to.

Everyone knows who Consort De loved more.

"Mother, don't worry, I will never skip class," Baoqing said, his interest as curious as ever.

After making that promise, he remembered that the Fourth Prince was his younger brother, and that he had visited him at Chengqian Palace with the Crown Prince when they were young. So, a bit of brotherly affection resurfaced, and he asked with concern, "But if Mother is no longer here, where will the Fourth Prince go?"

Of all his brothers, only the Crown Prince originally did not have a mother.

However, the Crown Prince received all of the Emperor's favor, and since he did not live with them but had his own Yuqing Palace, no one could mistreat him.

The fourth brother is different. Father Emperor doesn't pay much attention to his younger brothers, and with his mother gone, I can't imagine what kind of hardship the fourth brother will have to endure in the future.

Baoqing's trip abroad broadened his horizons considerably.

I can picture the Fourth Prince without his mother, pitiful and miserable, only able to eat the bland, specially prepared food from the imperial kitchen, and probably having to go to bed hungry every night, day after day.

He felt that as the eldest brother, he should care for his younger brother, and said boldly, "Mother, from now on, my fourth brother will dine at our Yanxi Palace!"

He couldn't guarantee anything else, but at least he made sure his fourth brother had enough to eat.

Yunyun was shocked by Baoqing's words, and her thoughts were instantly pulled back. "Do you want Mother to offend Consort De?"

The Fourth Prince is Consort De's biological son, yet he came to Yanxi Palace, which has no connection to the palace, to eat. Isn't this a blatant slap in Consort De's face, implying that she mistreats her own son?

Baoqing was even more surprised than her, "What does this have to do with Consort Guan?"

Yunyun touched Baoqing's forehead with concern, wondering if he had gone stupid from studying too much. "The Fourth Prince's birth mother is Consort De."

"Yeah?"

Bao Qing's eyes widened. "When did this happen?"

He remembered that he and the Crown Prince went to Chengqian Palace to see his fourth brother.

Yunyun patiently explained to him, "When Consort De gave birth to the Fourth Prince, she was still a Noble Lady. According to the rules of the palace, her rank was not high enough to raise a prince. So the Fourth Prince was raised by the Imperial Noble Consort, who was then a Noble Consort."

Bao Qing still had questions, and her points were spot on.

"But I have never heard my fourth brother mention Consort De, nor has Consort De sent anyone to the Imperial Study to deliver anything to my fourth brother."

He would ask about it every single time that happened.

Sometimes, when the eighth brother was in the Imperial Study, he would say that the clothes he wore were embroidered by Consort Wei and the food was sent by his mother.

The fourth brother never mentioned Consort De even once.

This involves the concubines' personal motives and all sorts of intricacies, which Yunyun couldn't discuss with Bao Qingming. She could only make an excuse, saying, "Anyway, you know that Consort De is the Fourth Prince's birth mother, and he'll probably be returning to Yonghe Palace afterward."

Worried that her son might accidentally say something hurtful, Yunyun warned him, "You know this, but don't talk nonsense outside, and especially don't say anything to the Fourth Prince. If I find out you've said something you shouldn't have, I'll tell your father, the Emperor, and he'll deal with you."

Baoqing thought he was good at comforting people. Every time he comforted his mother, she would immediately become energetic and show no signs of sadness.

Seeing the unreadable expression on his face, Yun Jun frowned. "Did you hear me clearly?"

Not wanting to be scolded, Bao Qing could only nod and say, "Your subject understands."

Back at the East Third Palace, Baoqing resentfully told the First Princess about the incident, feeling that his mother was really judging him by a narrow eye—she underestimated him.

The First Princess Consort, however, felt that her mother-in-law had truly been prescient.

She knew how straightforward her husband was.

A few days ago, a princess in the courtyard said she was feeling unwell and sent someone to invite him.

The eldest prince was quite puzzled. "If she's not feeling well, just call the imperial physician. I don't know how to treat illnesses. Oh, and tell her to drink more hot water."

Drink more hot water.

The eldest prince's favorite phrase when facing his wives and concubines.

What a straight man!

Therefore, she felt that her husband should just focus on studying and doing his job well, and speak less and make fewer enemies.

The First Princess smiled and said, "It's best to listen to Mother. Last time you took it upon yourself to send Mother a wolf king specimen, but we haven't received any food from Yanxi Palace for a whole month."

After being told that by his wife, the eldest prince immediately became obedient, muttering, "I know, I know, I'll shut up."

-

A person's words are good when they are about to die.

Emperor Kangxi was not without feelings for this cousin.

However, many things stood in their way: the Crown Prince's status, the Tong family's power, the balance of power...

Many things prevented the Imperial Noble Consort from becoming Empress.

However, Emperor Kangxi eventually made up his mind and issued an imperial edict from the Qianqing Palace to confer the title of Empress upon the Imperial Noble Consort.

Although the investiture ceremony and all related rituals could not be held due to the Imperial Noble Consort's serious illness, she had already become the rightful third empress in the imperial edict.

On the night of the ninth day of the seventh lunar month, which was also the day the Imperial Noble Consort was made Empress, the Imperial Noble Consort, who had been in a coma for three days, briefly regained consciousness. She first spoke with Baoqing, who had been guarding her bedside, for a while, and then asked him to leave so that she could have some private words with the Emperor.