Chapter 42 Conferring of Imperial Concubine

To be honest, ever since Yinzhen used the initial "Rou Ze incident" to clean up the Prince's mansion, not a single spy could have gotten in if he hadn't let them get away with it.

The entire mansion was under his control. Moreover, with the advantage of his mental powers, he didn't need to create a secret guard organization like the Blood Droplets that the original owner had. He could be a clean, innocent, harmless, upright, and dignified prince, without anyone finding anything amiss, which fit his persona, but it didn't hinder his intelligence gathering.

Therefore, Yinzhen immediately noticed the problem with Song Wan'er's diet and quickly found the source. The method of slowly eroding the body through food incompatibility was quite ingenious, further increasing Yinzhen's appreciation for Yixiu's abilities.

To put it bluntly, he didn't really care whether Yixiu was good or bad, or what her character was like. The affection and sentimentality he showed were all for fun and to serve the play he designed; in reality, he was heartless.

The so-called right and wrong are meaningless in the eyes of a succubus who is used to stirring up trouble. The reason why Yinzhen chose to stop and warn her was simply because he did not want Yixiu's actions to interfere with the development of his subsequent drama. Before it was Yixiu's turn to take the stage, Yinzhen would naturally not allow her to come out and cause trouble.

Therefore, his interest in Song Wan'er and his promotion of Rouze were not due to love clouding his judgment, but merely a means to control Yixiu. He admired ambitious and driven individuals who dared to express their desires. Yixiu could have both, provided that she did not interfere with him.

...

Since being warned by Yinzhen, Yixiu regained much of her composure and realized that she had been too successful since entering the household. She entered as a secondary consort, the highest-ranking woman in the household. Then she became pregnant and gave birth to the eldest prince, and the prince kept his promise and made her the principal wife. With a child and the emperor's favor, even the usually aloof Rouze had to bow to her, so she became arrogant.

Driven by a mere whim of jealousy, he readily chose to target Song Wan'er, knowing full well that even if she gave birth to a prince, she wouldn't threaten his position, yet he still found a pretext to eliminate her.

Suddenly realizing her arrogance and recklessness, Yixiu shuddered. She suddenly realized that she, who depended on Yinzhen for survival, was living in a dream world, yet she couldn't see clearly how to build her own foundation.

If Yinzhen hadn't chosen to forgive her, losing his favor and merely holding the title of Fourth Prince's Consort would have been useless. Looking at the unfavored Fifth Prince's Consort, Yixiu instantly realized that she absolutely could not allow herself to end up like that.

From then on, no matter how uncomfortable she felt, Yixiu chose to ignore it and no longer harmed Song Wan'er. However, she remained wary of Rouze. She could disregard others, but Rouze must never get up.

The storm brewing in the Fourth Prince's mansion remained hidden beneath the surface. Apart from one or two astute individuals who noticed something amiss, the rest remained oblivious. It was simply that Princess Rouze's favor had vanished like a mirage, not entirely gone, but rather faded into obscurity.

Days passed by, and nothing major happened in the court during this time. However, it was clear that the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, was receiving increasing attention from Emperor Kangxi.

The Eighth Prince was gentle and mild-mannered, showing no arrogance of a prince when interacting with others. His act of seeking medical treatment for the Fourth Prince revealed his loyalty and righteousness, and his erudition was demonstrated when accompanying Emperor Kangxi on his tours. He handled various affairs with great efficiency, instantly winning the favor of many officials.

The imperial decree conferring the title of imperial concubine in December once again highlighted the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi.

[By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I, the Emperor, believe that the virtue of a woman is supremely gentle, and the exemplary conduct of a mother is truly admirable. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon you, Lady Wei, the title of Liangpin (良嫔), for your virtuous and gentle nature, your dignified and respectful conduct, your gentle and kind character, and your chaste and virtuous conduct deeply comfort my heart.]

[By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I, the Emperor, consider the utmost virtue of the Empress, her gentleness and grace exemplary; therefore, in accordance with established laws and regulations, I hereby bestow upon her the title of Consort Liang. Consort Liang, of the Wei clan, is gentle and kind, virtuous and respectful. She has won my heart; therefore, I hereby promote her to the rank of Imperial Concubine Liang and grant her residence in Zhongcui Palace.]

The Eighth Prince's mother, Lady Wei, remained a concubine for over a decade before being promoted to Consort Liang, and then to Imperial Concubine Liang. This was almost unheard of in the Kangxi Emperor's harem, where rank was strictly enforced. Everyone believed that her rise in status was due to her son, and ultimately, it was because the Eighth Prince was favored by the Emperor.

The earlier minor squabbles didn't attract the attention of the major figures. It wasn't until the imperial decree conferring the title of imperial concubine was issued that the leaders of the First Prince's faction and the Crown Prince's faction truly began to take the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, seriously.

However, more than Suo'etu or Mingzhu, both were more inclined to believe that this was a tactic by the Emperor to strengthen the First Prince's faction. After all, everyone knew that the Eighth Prince had grown up with Consort Hui and was a natural member of the First Prince's faction.

In reality, it wasn't just Lady Wei who was promoted in the harem; Concubine Tongjia also jumped several ranks and was successfully promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.

This is why, even though Yinzhi has been riding high these past two months, it hasn't attracted much attention. Although, judging from his surname, one can tell why the Tongjia clan was promoted.

Everyone was used to the Emperor favoring his maternal clan, but things were different now. The Tongjia clan had a legitimate son. Ever since Yinzhen changed the imperial genealogy, the status of a "legitimate son" had made it difficult for people not to be wary.

Of course, after several tests, Yinreng still trusted his younger brother's character. But Suo'etu didn't trust the Tongjia clan; would she not want the merit of supporting the emperor? So even if Yinzhen appeared harmless, Suo'etu advised the crown prince to be wary.

So what exactly was Tongjia thinking?

Seeing the three characters "Longkodo" on the invitation brought in by the gatekeeper, Yinzhen smiled. He had almost forgotten about this person. Yinzhen was still somewhat curious about this guy who loved to seduce married women.

"Go back and tell them I'm busy." You can't force someone to do something; Yinzhen wanted to see what Longkodo was capable of.

...

"Bang!"

"What are you doing? You're so unsteady." Tong Guowei glanced at the third son, who was angrily slamming his fist on the table, and gently scolded him.

"Father, the Fourth Prince didn't give me any face at all, he even rejected my invitation." Longkodo was furious after receiving the servant's report.

"Your face? What face do you have? You need a prince to give you face?" Tong Guowei glanced at him irritably. His third son was the most outstanding of all his sons, but also the most arrogant. He was so flattered that he didn't even know who he was anymore.

"He's already changed it to my sister's name, shouldn't he have some basic respect for me, his uncle!" Longkodo slammed his fist on the table indignantly, his arrogance partly attributable to his dissatisfaction with Yinzhen because of Uya, though he couldn't tell Tong Guowei the reason.

"Longkodo!" Tong Guowei's face darkened instantly. "You dare to say anything? Whose uncle are you? You don't know your place! Just because the Emperor dotes on you, you think you're something special?"

“That’s how it is…” Longkodo retorted defiantly.

"Hmph! How can I entrust the Tong family to you in this state? My elder brother has already passed away. Although Consort Tongjia has been promoted, she doesn't have much affection for the Emperor. Once the Emperor abdicates and the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the future of our Tong family is uncertain. Now that we finally have a prince belonging to the Tongjia clan, you actually expect him to cater to you..."

Seeing his father's angry and distressed appearance, Longkodo suppressed his dissatisfaction and said no more, but he still held a grudge against Yinzhen.

"Longkodo, be careful, the Fourth Prince is the hope of the Tong family..."