Chapter 43 Paying Respects

"Based on my understanding of the Emperor, the Fourth Prince's refusal of the Tong family's invitation will actually please him more. Not competing is the best form of competition. The Fourth Prince's inaction is the right thing to do, but our Tong family must act—act to show the Emperor, act to show the court officials. The more open and honest we are, the less we will be feared..."

After explaining to Longkodo, the shrewd and calculating Tong Guowei, regardless of whether he understood or not, restrained him from causing trouble for the Fourth Prince, and at the same time sent a letter to the palace.

Soon, Yixiu received a summons from Consort Tongjia. Instead of ordering her to enter the palace immediately, Consort Tongjia thoughtfully gave her time to prepare and told her to come to the palace the next day.

The nanny who came to deliver the message treated Yixiu very gently, and the gifts she brought were all of the finest quality. She also spoke very eloquently, only saying that she had just been promoted to the position of Imperial Concubine and was capable of doing her best for Empress Xiaoyi, and that she was simply inviting Yixiu to the palace for a chat.

Yixiu was hesitant for a moment. The matter of Prince Beile altering the imperial genealogy had been going on for quite some time. The sudden appearance of Consort Tongjia at this time, which involved Yinzhen, made Yixiu very cautious. She specially sent someone to deliver a message to Yinzhen.

After Yinzhen stepped down from his post, he went to the main courtyard for a meal. Everything seemed to have returned to normal, but Yixiu was still somewhat cautious and reserved in her response.

After spending time with Yuan Kang, the two began to eat.

Yixiu, observing Yinzhen's demeanor and seeing that he was in a good mood, spoke gently, "Your Highness, someone from the palace came today, saying that Consort Tongjia has invited me to the palace to pay my respects tomorrow..."

"I understand. Don't worry, just get along with Consort Tongjia normally." Yinzhen picked up a piece of vegetables for Yixiu and gave her a gentle instruction.

"Yes, I understand." Yixiu was no longer worried, seeing that Yinzhen had started to care about her again. Even if it was just a bite of food, Yixiu felt relieved, and the storm had passed.

...

"Your Highness, the Fourth Princess Consort has arrived." The serving maid reported softly. Consort Tongjia expressionlessly reached out her nail-covered hand to adjust her hair bun, then took the maid's hand and walked out.

"Your Majesty, I, Ulanara, pay my respects to the Noble Consort. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings."

"Please rise quickly." Consort Tongjia frowned slightly, then put on a gentle smile and had a palace maid help Yixiu up.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Dressed in the formal attire of a prince's wife, Yixiu behaved with exceptional grace and obediently sat down below Consort Tongjia.

"I summoned you here for no important reason, just to check on my sister's wife," Consort Tongjia said affectionately to Yixiu, smiling at the nanny serving beside her. "I see that she is indeed a dignified and virtuous beauty. No wonder the Fourth Prince favors you so much."

"Your Majesty flatters me. I am unworthy of such praise." Consort Tongjia was kind, but Yixiu dared not take it seriously and replied cautiously.

"Don't be nervous, we're just having a casual chat. As you know, the Fourth Prince was raised under the care of Empress Xiaoyiren when he was young, and I've met him. Now that his lineage has been changed, he's officially a member of the family. If anything happens in the future, you can come to me."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Yixiu rose and curtsied to express her gratitude, understanding in her heart that it was still for the sake of Prince Beile.

"No need for formalities, please sit down," Consort Tongjia waved her hand, gesturing for her to sit, and chatted with her gently throughout, "It's not easy for you to manage the affairs of the household, and you also gave birth to the First Prince, you are a meritorious official. Speaking of the First Prince, I have never had the chance to meet him. The child is over two months old now, how is he?"

"Your Majesty, Yuankang is doing well. He's eating well and sleeping soundly." Yixiu's tone softened considerably when she mentioned the child.

"Yuankang? Is that the child's nickname?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"It shows her love for her son. As long as the child is healthy, that's all that matters. My sister had the same expectations and concerns for the Fourth Prince back then, and she didn't forget to tell me this before she passed away... Let's not talk about this anymore. Granny, bring out the necklace I prepared for the little prince."

As soon as Consort Tongjia finished speaking, a prepared nanny brought out a plate with a delicate little necklace inlaid with gold and jade on it.

"This bracelet is a replica of the one my sister made for the Fourth Prince. It's exactly the same as the one the Fourth Prince had. I gave it to Yuan Kang as a way of passing it down from father to son."

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness." Upon hearing this, Consort Tongjia's heart was instantly moved. It was a gift she could not refuse anyway. However, she accepted it with even greater satisfaction. Regardless of Consort Tongjia's thoughts, her sincerity was genuine.

"No need to be polite. There are also some small trinkets that you can take back for the eldest prince as well..."

After another round of casual conversation, Yixiu finally couldn't refuse and left with a large pile of gifts that Consort Tongjia had prepared in advance. There were gifts for her, for the Prince, and for Yuankang, all kinds of rare and exquisite items.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess Consort has been sent out, but I saw that the people from Yonghe Palace are waiting in front of the palace road..." Lan Yan, the head maid of Chengqian Palace who was in charge of seeing Yixiu and her party off, returned to the side of Consort Tongjia. She was originally a first-class palace maid serving Empress Xiaoyiren. Before Empress Xiaoyiren died, she was handed over to Xiao Tongjia and became her head maid.

"Hmph—" Consort Tongjia sneered, her face cold and indifferent. "Let her be. Uya Clan is always restless..."

"Your Highness, is it because you are dissatisfied with the Fourth Prince's wife?" Lan Yan asked cautiously, noticing her expression.

"Are you satisfied with her surname and status, Granny?" Consort Tongjia retorted. Although Empress Xiaoyiren's selection of a consort for Yinzhen was not reported to Emperor Kangxi, how could the head palace maid and her close sister not know about it?

Consort Tongjia felt sorry for her sister, and by extension, for the Fourth Prince Yinzhen. Naturally, she looked down on the treacherous Ulanara clan, as well as Rouze and Yixiu.

"Your Majesty, for the sake of the Fourth Prince, please forgive her for now," Lan Yan whispered, trying to comfort her.

"If it weren't for the Fourth Prince, as the niece of the Uya clan, I wouldn't even give her a second glance." Consort Tongjia was holding her breath, feeling very uncomfortable thinking about the letter that came from home. It wasn't that she looked down on the Fourth Prince; on the contrary, she had always believed that the Fourth Prince should have been her sister's child, and now it was just a matter of setting things right.

However, her family wanted her to get along well with Ulanara, and while Consort Tongjia did so, she inevitably harbored resentment. Therefore, once outside Chengqian Palace, she turned a blind eye to whatever Ulanara wanted to do.

"Greetings, Fourth Princess Consort. The Emperor invites you to a gathering at Yonghe Palace." Zhu Xi suddenly appeared on the palace road and stopped Yi Xiu, who was leaving the palace.

Looking at Zhu Xi, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Yi Xiu felt somewhat dazed, and then his brows furrowed. Now that the Prince had changed his imperial genealogy, and thinking about what Consort Wuya had done to the Prince before, Yi Xiu hesitated.

Seeing Yixiu's behavior, Zhuxi was angry and her tone became harsh. She said to Yixiu with a seemingly respectful but actually threatening tone, "After all, it is blood ties. As an aunt, if you want to see your niece, shouldn't Fourth Princess understand your master's feelings?"

Yixiu gritted her teeth. How dare a mere servant speak to her like that? But she was powerless to do anything about it, even though Lady Wuya was now only a Noble Lady. Even though Yinzhen had changed the imperial genealogy, she was still inextricably linked to Lady Wuya.

Not wanting to be seen as "disrespectful," Yixiu could only agree, "That's right, I'll go with you to pay my respects to my aunt."

"Fourth Princess Consort, please."

Yixiu and her group changed direction and followed Zhuxi towards Yonghe Palace...