Chapter 107 The Tenth Old Man of the 107th Bunker's Office complains

After passing through Longfu Gate, Yin'e parted ways with the Fifth Prince and the Ninth Prince outside Yikun Palace, and led Xiao Linzi toward Yongshou Palace, which is located south of Yikun Palace.

Yin'e, who should have been studying in the Imperial Study, suddenly appeared in Yongshou Palace. The Imperial Concubine was pleasantly surprised but also a little puzzled: "Yin'e, why are you back in Yongshou Palace now? Shouldn't the Imperial Study still be in session at this hour?"

Yin'e was a prince, and sooner or later he would have to study in the Imperial Study. Long before Yin'e was old enough to move to the Western Three Palaces, the Imperial Concubine had already inquired about the Imperial Study in detail.

Before Yin'e moved to the West Third Palace, the Imperial Concubine specifically instructed Wang Mama, who had been chosen by Yin'e to manage the affairs of the Prince's Palace, to take good care of Yin'e's daily life and help him adapt to living alone in the West Third Palace as soon as possible.

Speaking of the schedule of the Imperial Study, the Imperial Concubine might know it better than Yin'e, and remember it even better—after all, Yin'e was already thinking about skipping classes before he even enrolled, and never thought about obediently following the rules of the Imperial Study.

"When Father Khan came to the Imperial Study to check our studies, I took the opportunity to ask him for leave. I left school early this morning to come back and visit Mother." Yin'e chuckled and sat down comfortably on the soft couch in the inner room, reaching for the pastries on the table.

The Imperial Concubine's beautiful and fair face revealed a genuine smile, but she still gently scolded, "Didn't you just come back the other day? Why are you back again today? The Imperial Study has a lot of homework, and you're wasting your time running back and forth like this."

Yin'e didn't think that the Consort was truly unhappy to see him return. He simply blinked his bright, clear almond-shaped eyes and asked with a smile, "It's my first day in the Imperial Study. Aren't you worried about me, Mother?"

this……

The Imperial Concubine's smile deepened. She pursed her lips and remained silent, simply sitting down beside Yin'e. With her slender, graceful hands, she gently wiped Yin'e's mouth with a handkerchief, cleaning the crumbs from the corners of his lips.

With gentle and tender eyes, she gazed at Yin'e. Seeing him wolfing down the snacks, a hint of worry appeared in her eyes: "Are you very hungry? Why are you eating so fast?"

After finishing a steamed bun, Yin'e nodded his head up and down like he was pounding garlic: "That's right, I'm starving."

"I was woken up by my nanny before midnight tonight. I studied hard in the Imperial Study for two hours. The Imperial Kitchen sent me leftover food, which was not only bad, but it also looked terrible. It looked messy and unappetizing. I had no appetite at all and barely ate any breakfast."

After complaining bitterly about the Imperial Kitchen to the Consort, Yin'e then sweetly pleaded, "Mother, I'll have lunch at Yongshou Palace today. Please have the kitchen prepare a few more of my favorite dishes."

While instructing Luyi to urge the palace servants in the back kitchen to quickly prepare and bring up lunch, the Imperial Concubine furrowed her beautifully shaped willow-leaf eyebrows: "Is the breakfast sent by the Imperial Kitchen really just plain rice and pickled vegetables?"

Yin'e was so focused on begging the Consort for a sumptuous lunch that it wasn't because he was only thinking about having lunch at Yongshou Palace and forgot to mention to the Consort that Yongshou Palace would send meals to the Imperial Study every day. Rather, it was because he had already discussed this matter with the Consort.

Regarding the distribution of food and the delivery of meals, when Yin'e was still studying in the Imperial Study, the palace servants around him went to Yongshou Palace to report the matter to the Consort. Since Xiao Linzi and the others could not enter the school, they couldn't just stand outside the school waiting for Yin'e to finish his studies and do nothing while he was studying.

With a whole piece of steamed bun stuffed in his mouth, Yin'e couldn't speak, but he nodded vigorously with a accusing expression, trying to express his meaning through his actions.

Her eyebrows furrowed, and a hint of annoyance flashed across the beautiful, delicate face of the Imperial Concubine.

She gently stroked Yin'e's head to comfort him, her voice soft as a babbling brook, yet her tone suddenly flashed with a sharp edge: "Mother knows, Mother is aware of this matter, and will not let you be bullied for nothing."

Not at all did Yin'e feel that it was wrong to contact his parents after already reporting the incident. He not only had no psychological burden, but was even proud that he had someone backing him up.

He felt he understood the Crown Prince a little better. Being pampered and indulged so without any limits could easily make one arrogant and give rise to the illusion that whatever one did would be tolerated and forgiven.

Fortunately, Yin'e was a capable adult with the ability to judge his own character. Even though he was spoiled by the Consort from a young age, he was not truly spoiled.

Yin'e has a bottom line and self-awareness; he knows what he can and cannot do. He will reciprocate the Consort's love without hurting her or disappointing her, thus ensuring he doesn't lose her favor.

After Yin'e entered the Imperial Study to study, he had few opportunities to return to Yongshou Palace to visit her and see her. The Consort did not want to waste time being angry, so she regulated her emotions and suppressed her dissatisfaction with the Imperial Kitchen.

As her anger subsided and reason returned, a thoughtful look flashed in the Consort's eyes: "The Imperial Kitchen is under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department... This shows that the Imperial Household Department is unwilling to be suppressed and wants to extend its reach outwards."

Yin'e swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth with difficulty, and took a big gulp of the warm honey water that Lan Zhi handed him in time before he could catch his breath.

He looked up at the Imperial Concubine with a puzzled expression, asking, "Mother, is there some other story behind this?"

It wasn't just a routine matter for the imperial kitchen to give a new prince, who was new to serving meals, a show of force; there was more to it than met the eye.

"Hmm." The Imperial Concubine responded softly, a hint of gloom creeping into her beautiful brows. "Empress Xiaoyi has passed away. The Manchu noble families are no longer powerful enough in the harem. The bondservant are probably harboring ulterior motives and having other ideas."

When the late emperor was alive, the harem was dominated by Mongolian women. Noble ladies from Mongolia firmly controlled the harem and held power within it.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, after Empress Renxiao married into the palace, the power in the harem shifted from Mongolian women to the hands of a Manchu aunt from a noble Manchu family.

Empress Renxiao (née Hesheli), Empress Xiaozhao (née Niohuru), and Empress Xiaoyi (née Tongjia), who died not long ago, all came from Manchu noble families and were symbols of the close connection between the imperial family and Manchu nobles.

However, with the deaths of the three empresses, the connection between the imperial family and the Manchu nobility gradually weakened. On the contrary, the connection between the imperial family and the bondservant (baoyi) became increasingly close, to the point that the bondservant, who had always been in a dependent position, began to stir and wanted to seize power in the harem.

Currently, in Emperor Kangxi's harem, only two high-ranking concubines come from Manchu noble families: Consort Gui and Consort Chuxiu.

However, one was neither favored by the emperor nor the other was a nobody in the palace, so neither could serve as a bridge between the royal family and the Manchu nobles, thus keeping the power of the harem in the hands of the noble ladies from the Manchu noble families.

It is unlikely that Consort Gui and Consort Chuxiu will ascend to the position of Empress. They will most likely remain in their current positions. They were originally replacements for Empress Xiaozhao and Empress Renxiao after their deaths. It is unlikely that Emperor Kangxi would allow a family to produce two empresses in succession.

Moreover, Emperor Kangxi was somewhat superstitious. He was wary of his birth chart indicating that he would bring misfortune to his wives, and after the death of his third wife, Empress Xiaoyi, he was unlikely to appoint a fourth empress.

As for not bestowing the title of Empress but only the title of Imperial Noble Consort, Emperor Kangxi would not easily do so after careful consideration.

In the absence of an empress, the Imperial Noble Consort, who held the same rank as the empress, was essentially only different from the empress in title; the difference was really not that significant.

Consort Chuxiu's deliberate attempt to get close to the Crown Prince displeased Emperor Kangxi, so he would not consider bestowing a title upon her. As for the Noble Consort—in fact, the Noble Consort was qualified and capable of taking on the responsibility of connecting the royal family and Manchu nobles—she had a son named Yin'e under her care, and because of the Crown Prince, Emperor Kangxi would not mention the title of Noble Consort again.

Even if Consort Yin'e's rank were to rise just one step further, his lineage would be on par with that of the Crown Prince—even though Aling'a had separated from the Duke of Guoyi's mansion, the Niohuru clan was still more powerful than the Hesheli clan. Yin'e had gained too many advantages in terms of his maternal family, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.

The Imperial Concubine glanced at Yin'e, but instead of explaining the whole story to him directly, she asked with a hint of probing, "Do you know why the bondservant has gradually become arrogant?"

Yin'e is old enough to study in the Imperial Study. There are some things that the Imperial Concubine doesn't intend to hide from him; he should know what he needs to know. She can't be completely ignorant of what's going on in the palace.

Moreover, children born in the palace may not need to be cunning, but they cannot be so easily fooled.

Yin'e was born into a noble family. After he moved to the Prince's Residence, the Imperial Concubine was afraid that something would go wrong without her watching over him. She hoped that Yin'e could grow up quickly and at least learn to protect himself and not be passively involved in trouble.

Yin'e thought for a moment and then slowly replied, "The successive deaths of the three imperial mothers are one reason, and the fact that the three concubines, Huiyi and De, held high positions and had sons and were favored is another reason."

Of the four consorts, only Consort Rong was of bondservant origin. This is why, among the older princes, only the Third Prince had the closest relationship with the Crown Prince.

Consort Hui has her eldest son, the First Prince; Consort Yi enjoys the most imperial favor and has three sons: the Fifth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and Yinzhi; Consort De has given birth many times and currently has the Fourth Prince, the Ninth Princess, the Eleventh Princess, and Yinzhen.

Each of the three of them individually is nothing special, but when they are tied together as one, all their strength combined, their power becomes immense.

With the passing of Empress Xiaoyi, the high-ranking concubines from Manchu noble families gradually faded away, no longer a match for the powerful concubines from bondservant families.

Yin'e opened his mouth, then suddenly felt a little ashamed. He tugged at the hem of the Imperial Concubine's robe and whispered, "Mother, was it wrong of me to encourage you to divide the power of the palace among the four imperial concubines?"

The Imperial Concubine smiled gently and shook her head: "Mother knows you're worried about me being overworked and having too much trouble handling palace affairs."

Patting Yin'e's head, the Consort smiled lightly, a calm and confident look flashing in her eyes: "Consort Hui, Consort Yi, and Consort De all came from bondservant families. On the matter of confronting the Manchu nobles, they share the same stance, but in other aspects, they are not."

Yin'e listened attentively to the Imperial Concubine's analysis, waiting to hear what she would say next, when suddenly the Imperial Concubine changed the subject and said, "Besides, this has nothing to do with us."

If the Imperial Kitchen hadn't bullied Yin'e, the Consort really wouldn't have cared whether the bondservantes wanted to extend their reach further.

Unexpectedly, the Imperial Concubine said that, and Yin'e was completely dumbfounded and didn't react at all: "Huh?" How could it have nothing to do with them? The Imperial Concubine comes from a noble Manchu family!

The Imperial Concubine pinched Yin'e's chubby cheeks, then pointed in a direction and said with a smile, "The one who should be worried is over there."

Yin'e blinked, then suddenly realized: The direction the Imperial Concubine was pointing to... was Yuqing Palace.

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Author's Note: Prince: Beset by internal and external troubles, this is too difficult for me. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 11:52:46 and 20:53:52 on April 13, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: 10 bottles from Mandihuanghua; 6 bottles from Ayin; and 1 bottle from 25964724.

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!