Chapter 22 Consort Niohuru...

Consort Niohuru arranged a very lively palace banquet. The interior of the palace was decorated in an elegant and refreshing yet grand and luxurious manner, which was obviously carefully arranged to cater to Emperor Kangxi's preferences.

Wen Shan also gave high praise to the arrangement of string and wind instruments and song and dance. Thinking back to the banquets prepared by the Imperial Noble Consort in the past, Wen Shan thought that the Noble Consort Niohuru's aesthetic sense seemed to be better than that of the Imperial Noble Consort.

How to describe the Imperial Noble Consort's aesthetic sense? Well... it's a typical style of gaudy, extravagant, and luxurious fashion. It almost blinded Wen Shan. Wen Shan used to complain that the Imperial Noble Consort was born at the wrong time. If she were one of Qianlong's concubines, the two of them would definitely be kindred spirits who wished they had met sooner.

This palace banquet was a grand occasion for the entire palace to gather, and everyone maintained a facade of peace, chatting and laughing all night without incident.

During the banquet, Emperor Kangxi asked Consort De a few questions about her health, and Consort De answered with her usual cautiousness, gentleness, and consideration.

The pitiful appearance of the Sixth Prince, coupled with his innocent and childlike words of missing his father, deeply moved Emperor Kangxi, who promised to visit them at Yonghe Palace that evening.

When the palace banquet ended, Consort Niohuru and Wen Shan happened to go out together. Consort Niohuru adjusted her hair and said, "Today is the day of Xuan's happy occasion. His Majesty should have gone to Xianfu Palace, but Consort De beat him to it."

Wen Shan was conferred her title today. Although there is no explicit rule that the emperor must go to the palace on the day a concubine is conferred her title, generally speaking, the emperor will give face and go to the palace to show his favor to concubines of the rank of consort or above.

Of course, since there were too many concubines who were conferred titles in the six palaces a few days ago, Kangxi went to Consort Niohuru according to their rank, and there was nothing to say about the others.

Today she was conferred the title of Consort Ping, and if nothing unexpected happens, Emperor Kangxi should indeed go to Xianfu Palace.

Yinzhen and Yinsi were carried behind by the palace servants and couldn't hear what Wenshan was saying to Consort Niohuru. Yinsi thought it must not be anything good. Consort Niohuru and his mother had a long-standing feud, and she was also very competitive and always causing trouble.

"It's only right that the Emperor goes to accompany Consort De, who is pregnant; the imperial heir is of utmost importance." Wen Shan smiled and didn't take it seriously.

Kangxi could go wherever he wanted; she couldn't control him.

Consort Niohuru didn't say anything more. The two parted ways in front of the palace and returned to their respective palaces.

In the following days, Consort Niohuru was unusually warm towards her, often coming over under the pretext of discussing palace affairs and bringing gifts. Yinzhen and Yinsi were not left out, receiving various clothes, toys, and writing implements carefully prepared by Consort Niohuru.

However, neither Yinzhen nor Yinsi liked Consort Niohuru very much, and most of the gifts they received were left unused.

Not long after, Consort Niohuru revealed her true intentions, stating that she hoped Wen Shan could form an alliance with her to defeat the Imperial Noble Consort.

The three highest-ranking concubines in the palace are the Imperial Noble Consort, Consort Niohuru, and Consort Wenshan. The two consorts working together pose a considerable threat to the Imperial Noble Consort.

Although Yinzhen was only four years old, the children in the palace were all precocious, and Yinzhen had already begun his education, so Consort Niohuru would deliberately avoid talking about Yinzhen when discussing these matters.

Consort Niohuru didn't pay much attention to Yinzhi's one-year-old child, so Yinzhi overheard quite a bit.

"Although we have had some disagreements, they are ultimately minor matters and nothing compared to the Imperial Noble Consort. Now that the Imperial Noble Consort has regained favor, she will inevitably turn against us. Why don't we turn hostility into friendship?" Consort Niohuru said sincerely.

Yinzhi pretended to be playing with toys, thinking to himself that the Imperial Noble Consort would not harm his mother and fourth brother now, whether in order to win back the Emperor's favor or to consolidate her position in the palace. Instead, she would try her best to befriend Xianfu Palace.

Consort Niohuru is completely lying.

Fortunately, although Wen Shan was not skilled in these political schemes, she had a simple way of thinking. The Imperial Noble Consort had been out for several days and had not made things difficult for her. She had even sent many gifts. It was impossible for her to get involved in these troublesome matters.

As for whether the Imperial Noble Consort is only feigning goodwill, let's wait and see if she actually makes a move against her.

Consort Niohuru tried to persuade Wen Shan several times but found that she was completely unyielding and had no brains. No matter what she said, Wen Shan would ask three questions in a row.

"No way?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Little sister is overthinking it."

Then add a pure and innocent smile.

Consort Niohuru: "..."

In the end, she could only settle for second best by frequently pushing Kangxi to Xianfu Palace to accompany Yinzhen and Yinsi, intending to start with the children to get Wenshan to join her on the same side.

Moreover, this way, one can also share some of the Imperial Noble Consort's favor.

Everyone in the palace knew that the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, was intelligent and lovable and was greatly favored by Emperor Kangxi. As a result, Emperor Kangxi visited Chengqian Palace less often.

Completely speechless at Wen Shan's behavior, Consort Niohuru finally gave up trying to instill in Wen Shan the idea of ​​defeating the Imperial Noble Consort and began to simply come to freeload.

Over time, Wen Shan discovered that Niu Gulu was a bit arrogant, but sometimes quite cute. For example, after Wen Shan had been coming to eat for a long time, Niu Gulu would feel a little embarrassed and would send her some ingredients in different ways to make up for the debt. Even though Wen Shan did not join her camp as she wished, Niu Gulu would still send her jewelry that Wen Shan liked from time to time, and would proudly say that she did not like these things and that the storeroom was full of them with nowhere to put them.

As the two imperial concubines seemed to grow closer, the imperial concubine became increasingly restless.

It would be troublesome if Consort Xuan and Consort Niohuru really joined forces.

It's unlikely that the Imperial Noble Consort will be able to reconcile with Consort Niohuru. Their families, locked in a bitter feud, are the only ones who can truly become friends. As for Consort Xuan… the Imperial Noble Consort thought it over. Although she and Consort Xuan had their share of past grievances—Consort Xuan was known for her affection for Yinzhen—it wasn't an insurmountable feud. If the Imperial Noble Consort completely let go of Yinzhen and stopped interfering with Xianfu Palace, then there was no reason for Consort Xuan to get involved.

After figuring it out, the Imperial Noble Consort quickly took action. First, she sent a lot of precious ingredients to Xianfu Palace, saying that she had been having a poor appetite lately and wanted to trouble Wen Shan to make some food. Afterwards, she also sent a lot of rare treasures as a thank-you gift.

Moreover, she tried her best to avoid meeting with Yinzhen, and even came up with a way to personally intervene so that Yinzhen would no longer need to go to Yonghe Palace to pay his respects to Consort De. Her intention to curry favor was very obvious.

The fact that Yinzhen no longer needed to pay his respects at Yonghe Palace surprised many of the concubines in the harem who were watching the drama unfold. The Imperial Noble Consort's sincerity was truly remarkable.

When Wen Shan had some free time, she thought about it and realized that she seemed to have been having a lot of good luck lately. She hadn't done anything, but she had received so many gifts that she was overwhelmed with gratitude. She had also solved her most troublesome problem. Although Yinzhen didn't say it, she knew that Yinzhen didn't like going to Yonghe Palace.

The alliance between the two imperial concubines, which had not yet been formed, was thus broken.

The Imperial Noble Consort breathed a sigh of relief, as did the Noble Consort Niohuru.

The Imperial Noble Consort's sincerity this time was so great that even Consort Niohuru was afraid that Wen Shan would turn against her. Fortunately, Wen Shan still happily accompanied the two princes every day, and went to Cining Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager. As usual, she did not get too close to anyone or have any intention of competing for favor.

The Imperial Noble Consort and the Noble Consort Niohuru tacitly let Wen Shan off the hook, and as long as she didn't join either side, they didn't bother with her.

"Mother, Mother, Fuqi is sick!"

One day, Yinzhen suddenly rushed in, carrying Fuqi in a hurry. Yinsi was making pastries with Wenshan, his hands and face covered in flour. Hearing Yinzhen's words, he looked up. Yinzhen's face was anxious, and Fuqi in his arms whimpered weakly.

"What's wrong?" Wenshan asked hurriedly.

Yinzhen said that Fuqi had not been eating for the past few days and had been lying in its nest without moving. Today, it refused to eat anything at all.

Wenshan hurriedly sent someone to the dog kennel to ask someone to come and take a look. She also carefully examined Fuqi and found that he did look listless but had no external injuries.

Yinzhi jumped off the bed and circled Fuqi twice, thinking that the dog might really have some incurable disease. If so, his fourth brother would be really heartbroken.

Seeing Yinsi's face covered in flour, Yinzhen pulled him over, washed a handkerchief, and carefully wiped his face. Yinsi, seeing his fourth brother's expression, didn't dare to struggle.

Wenshan held Fuqi and observed it for a while. She touched its belly and it seemed to have bulged a little. A strange idea rose in her mind.

"Fuqi...could she be pregnant?"

Fuqi is a female dog, and since there are no sterilization methods available now, it seems quite normal for her to get pregnant.

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen froze on the spot, and Yinsi also showed an incredulous expression. The dog was so small, yet it was pregnant?

Sure enough, the arriving veterinarian confirmed that Fuqi was indeed pregnant, and these symptoms were normal; she just needed to be taken good care of.

Yinzhen was struck dumb, looking as if his beautiful daughter had been violated by a hooligan. Yinsi was also gritting his teeth, wondering which audacious dog dared to bully their Xianfu Palace.

The case was finally solved when Wen Shan caught the Fifth Prince's little lapdog sneaking into Xianfu Palace to stick the lucky charm in.

Yinzhen couldn't stand the sight of that dark, silly dog, so he transformed into the Queen Mother of the West and forcibly separated the young couple, ordering the dog to be driven out.

The next day, the Fifth Prince noticed that the Fourth Prince seemed to be angry with him. The Fourth Prince didn't share the snacks he brought from the Imperial Study with him. When he went up to talk to the Fourth Prince, the Fourth Prince just snorted and ignored him.

Even the Crown Prince noticed Yinzhen's low spirits. Since he had received quite a few good things from Yinzhen recently, the Crown Prince's attitude towards Yinzhen was relatively kind, so he asked him a few questions.

The Fifth Prince, completely bewildered, ran to Xianfu Palace after school and chased after Yinzhen, asking why he was being ignored.

Yinzhen brought out Fuqi without saying a word and just stared at him. The Fifth Prince felt his scalp tingle under his gaze and didn't know what was going on. He turned his head and saw that the Eighth Prince was also sitting on the couch, resting his chin on his hand and looking at him with a deep gaze.

Fifth Prince: "..."

His fourth and eighth brothers teamed up to bully him!

Just as the Fifth Prince was about to burst into tears, Wen Shan came in and rescued him.

"Your Highness, Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother are ignoring me!" Fifth Prince complained, clinging to Wen Shan's leg.

Wen Shan looked on with amusement as she picked up the still lazy Fuqi and let the Fifth Prince touch its slightly bulging belly.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Fuqi?" the Fifth Prince asked in surprise.

“Fuqi is pregnant, and there are puppies inside,” Wenshan said seriously. “The father of the puppies is Heidou, whom you raised.”

"Black...black beans?" Now it was the Fifth Prince's turn to be shocked, and he even started to stammer.

"How could Black Bean do such a thing..."

Yinzhen looked at the Fifth Prince with a serious expression: "Don't you want to take responsibility?"

The Fifth Prince was on the verge of tears and quickly raised his hands in surrender. No wonder the Fourth Prince didn't want to talk to him; it turned out that their pig had stolen someone else's cabbage.

The Fifth Prince ran back to Cining Palace and brought all of Heidou's snacks and toys, piling them up in front of Fuqi's doghouse. He patted his chest and said that he would definitely take full responsibility and would even give Fuqi a dowry, making Fuqi his daughter-in-law in the future.

Enraged, Yinzhen almost kicked him out.

A few days later, the end of the year officially arrived, and the year was about to come to a close.