Chapter 33

Consort Jia, having recovered from her illness, showed no intention of taking the Eleventh Prince back. Instead, upon seeing the Empress, she respectfully requested that the Empress take care of the Eleventh Prince. The Fourth Princess, understanding Consort Jia's meaning, sighed inwardly that she was still too young to comprehend the intricate schemes of the women in the palace.

Living in Yongshou Palace was no different from living in Kunning Palace; the only difference was that Yongshou Palace was surrounded by walls. After her confinement period, the Empress began handling palace affairs. She met several times with Consort Jia and Consort Chun, seemingly discussing something. A few days later, the Fourth Princess finally understood that the topic of their meeting was the upcoming imperial concubine selection, and the three were calculating palace allocations, specifically which prince would receive additional rooms.

The imperial beauty pageant, an official event held in ancient times, greatly intrigued the Fourth Princess. Every novel mentioned it, and many female protagonists in Qing Dynasty time-travel stories experienced it. Seeing the selection process firsthand thrilled her. Unfortunately, despite her repeated attempts to persuade the Empress, the Empress refused each time, citing proper etiquette, leaving the Fourth Princess quite disheartened.

Fifth Princess was very curious why Fourth Princess wanted to watch the beauty pageant. Fourth Princess, chin in hand, stared wide-eyed at the gate. "The contestants are all girls between 13 and 17 years old. Of course I want to see what they look like, what they look like, and if there are any particularly beautiful ones. Everyone has a love of beauty, so naturally I want to watch too." Were all the beauty pageants that followed derived from the emperor's selection process? But what about modern beauty pageants where contestants wear swimsuits? Surely they wouldn't walk the runway in a bellyband! Those old fogies would probably be saying it's corrupting the family tradition, but their eyes would be glued to the screen.

"What are you laughing at, sister?" Wu Gege found it strange when her sister suddenly burst out laughing.

"Nothing, where are Yongqi and Yongxing?" Since the Fourth Princess couldn't see the beauty pageant, she decided to find the two cute little boys to play with.

"Sister Lan took them to pay their respects to Grandmother." Fifth Princess sat down opposite Fourth Princess. "Sister, let's tease Fifth Brother!"

"Why?" Fifth Prince? Yongqi? Fourth Princess stared at Fifth Princess. In the original story, Ziwei and Yongqi were very close, but now she heard that Ziwei wanted to mess with Yongqi, and Fourth Princess felt a little uncomfortable.

"If I said I felt uncomfortable looking at him, it meant I wanted to mess with him, would that be okay, sister?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Fourth Princess was startled by Fifth Princess's sudden sinister smile. How could Fifth Princess, who was clearly a clueless girl, have been led to this? However, she liked this side of Ziwei, which was much better than the one who cried and only knew how to love. "Tell me, what do you want to do? I'll cooperate with you."

"Fifth Brother's apology was so insincere. If he really knew he was wrong, why didn't he reprimand that servant back then? Why did Pianpian wait until she was in front of Father Emperor to apologize? I just couldn't stand his pretentious behavior in front of Father Emperor." Fifth Princess felt angry when she recalled that day when a servant looked down on her, and all she got was thrown out of the palace without any other punishment.

"What do you want to do?" Fourth Princess leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

"An eye for an eye!" Fifth Princess gritted her teeth, determined to embarrass her fifth brother in front of their father, the Emperor. Hmph!

"Are you sure? If you're not absolutely sure, I advise you not to do it." The Fifth Prince is deeply favored by his father, the Emperor; don't let it turn out to be a losing proposition.

"Hehe, this requires your cooperation, sister! Don't you want revenge, sister?"

"Hehe..." The two princesses in Yongshou Palace sat under the shade of a tree, chattering away.

Yongqi, inside Jingyang Palace, kept sneezing, wiping his nose with a handkerchief while doing his homework. Xiao Luzi, standing beside Yongqi, looked at his master with concern. Was his master ill? Should they summon the imperial physician?

~~~~

"Lord Wu, where has the Emperor been sleeping lately?"

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has been sleeping in Yongshou Palace and Zhongcui Palace recently."

Did they say anything?

"Your Majesty, they all spoke of the selection of officials."

~~~

"Fourth sister, fourth sister," the twelfth prince rushed to the fourth princess as soon as he returned, looking up at her with his little face, "Just now, the fifth prince's smile was so scary."

"Twelfth Prince saw Fifth Prince?" Fourth Princess lifted Twelfth Prince onto her lap and wiped the dust off Yongqi's face. Yongxing stood to the side, watching Yongqi with envy. Fifth Princess and Lanxin found Yongxing's expression adorable, and Fifth Princess imitated Fourth Princess, wiping Yongxing's face as well. Surprise flashed in Yongxing's eyes.

"Alright, tell Fourth Sister what happened to Fifth Prince?" Fourth Princess looked at Yongqi's face after she wiped it clean and began to ask Yongqi.

"I just went to see Father Emperor with Eleventh Brother. I just wanted to see Father Emperor from the doorway. I didn't expect Fifth Uncle to come out of Father Emperor's study and burst into laughter when he saw me and Eleventh Brother." Yongqi scratched his hair and looked at Fourth Sister in confusion.

"Fifth Imperial Uncle just smiled and didn't say anything?" Fourth Princess handed the pastries brought by the palace maid to Yongqi.

"Fifth Imperial Uncle spoke of Princess Xinyue," Yongxing whispered from within Princess Xinyue's arms.

New Moon? Yongxing didn't mention it, and the Fourth Princess had almost forgotten that there was such a princess. She remembered that New Moon seemed to have been sent to the Imperial Clan Court. "Fifth Imperial Uncle is back?" Didn't Father Emperor ask Fifth Imperial Uncle to escort Sister Hewan back to Mongolia?

"Sister Hewan is pregnant. The other day, the Empress Dowager mentioned it and suggested to Father Emperor that Sister Hewan and Third Sister stay in the capital. It's cold in Mongolia, and the Empress Dowager is worried that the two sisters' bodies won't be able to handle it." Lan Xin sat down and told him the news she had heard.

Fourth Princess didn't care whether Hejing and Hewan returned to Mongolia or not; what she cared about was Princess Xinyue. Why was Xinyue always causing trouble, like an unkillable cockroach? Even after entering the Imperial Clan Court, she wasn't behaving herself. Fourth Princess's doubts were answered that night: Princess Xinyue had been beaten up in the Imperial Clan Court.

When Emperor Qianlong dined at Yongshou Palace, looking at the well-behaved children, he couldn't help but recall the matter he had reported to the prince earlier that day. The difference between people was so vast. He looked at the children raised by the Empress, and then at those raised by Consort Ling—a mere princess had been beaten in the Imperial Clan Court! Qianlong was furious. If it weren't for the fact that Keshan was still young, he would have surely executed Xinyue.

Seeing Qianlong's expression, the Empress personally served him two dishes. Qianlong looked at the Empress in surprise, only to see her turn around and feed Yongxing and Yongqi, wiping the children's mouths with a handkerchief. Qianlong was deeply moved. Yongxing was not the Empress's son, yet she treated him so well, without any bias.

Fourth Princess glanced at the Emperor's expression and then at her mother, the Empress Dowager, sighing inwardly. Her mother was truly beautiful and talented, knowing exactly how to attract the Emperor's attention. "Father, Fourth Princess wants to go outside the palace to see my uncle and aunt. And also to see my third sister and sister Hewan. I promise I'll be back before the gates close." Having finished her meal, Fourth Princess began to plead for her favor.

“Father, Fifth Princess also wants to go.” Upon hearing her sister’s words, Fifth Princess immediately raised her head and then carefully looked at the Empress.

"Your Majesty, let Lan'er and Qing'er go for a walk as well." After saying this, the Empress thought of Xinyue again. The Empress originally wanted to mention it, but then she thought of the words Xinyue had used to describe her as vicious and lowly that day, and the Empress lost the will to plead for her.

"After the Empress has made the selections, she should go out for a walk." Qianlong nodded, then gave the Empress a few more instructions and arranged for some eunuchs who knew martial arts.

After dinner, Qianlong listened to the innocent conversation between Yongqi and Yongxing. Yongqi, remembering what he had seen Prince He during the day, looked at the emperor and said, "Father, Fifth Uncle's smile during the day was so scary."

"Oh?" Didn't Hongzhou only go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation?

"During the day, Yongqi and Eleventh Brother secretly went to see Father Emperor. Father Emperor is so tired, Yongqi wanted to rub his back." Yongqi climbed onto the couch and stood up. His small body wasn't even as tall as Emperor Qianlong sitting on the couch, so he could only lift his legs to rub his father's back. Yongqi became unhappy, and tears started streaming down his face, "Father Emperor, Yongqi can't reach you..."

Emperor Qianlong laughed heartily at Yongqi's antics. "My Yongqi is such a thoughtful boy," he said, patting Yongqi's head. "From now on, you can't sneak off to see your father. If you want to see him, just have someone announce your arrival and come in openly."

The Fourth Princess, sitting in an inconspicuous spot, pursed her lips, and Qianlong twitched again.

"Your Majesty, Xinyue is not young anymore. Why don't you find a suitable match for her and arrange a marriage?"

"I'll discuss it with Consort Ling tomorrow and ask for her opinion." The Empress thought that Xinyue should be out of mourning by now, and there were many things to prepare for her wedding. Naturally, she couldn't make the decision alone, since Xinyue was being raised by Consort Ling.

"You can decide this yourself, don't worry about her. This Xinyue is too outrageous. She got into a fight at the Imperial Clan Court and was injured and carried back to Yanxi Palace." Qianlong said with a bad expression, recalling Hongzhou's report.

Fourth Princess gazed silently into the distance. Princess Xinyue, it's so annoying! Fourth Princess really wanted to ask Xinyue why she was beaten, but seeing the Emperor's expression, she knew he wouldn't say. Anyway, she would be going to Prince He's residence tomorrow after leaving the palace, so she would go and ask Prince He.

"We need to prepare for the weddings of Fourth and Fifth Princesses. Is there anyone suitable for the Empress?" The Emperor looked up and saw Fifth Princess embroidering, and then he remembered that the two of them were of marriageable age.

"Some time ago, I asked Qing'er..." The Empress paused, "Si'er begged me, insisting that I wait until she was over sixteen before arranging a good marriage for her."

“That’s up to her,” Qianlong said, but then he realized he was reluctant to see his two princesses marry so early, so he changed his mind. “If it’s too late, all the good families and talented men will be snatched up. It’s better to settle them down before they get married.”

"What does Your Majesty mean?" The Empress looked at the Emperor cautiously. The marriage of the Fourth and Fifth Princesses was no small matter, as it involved the future power and influence of the princes, especially Yongqi and Yonghui.

Emperor Qianlong looked at the Fourth and Fifth Princesses and said, "Tomorrow I will draft a list, and the Empress and the Empress Mother can discuss it."

The Queen nodded.

~~~~~

Sitting in the luxurious carriage, the Fourth and Fifth Princesses were somewhat excited, while Qing'er forced a smile and Lan Xin laughed at them. Qing'er didn't want to come out; her marriage was surely known outside the palace. The Prince's wife wasn't a kind person, and she wouldn't leave her any room for maneuver like the people in the palace did. Her sister, He Jing, was even less likely to say anything nice. But since the Empress Dowager had asked her to come out and clear her head, she had no choice but to go.

As the carriage exited through the Xihua Gate and entered the Prince He's residence, Qing'er remained in low spirits.

Servants arrived early at Prince He's residence to deliver the imperial decree that several princesses would be arriving that day, and the residence had been bustling with preparations since morning. The carriages of the four princesses emerged from the palace, and Prince He's wife, along with several concubines, sat down in the reception hall. The wife knew a little about the fourth and fifth princesses, especially the fourth; Prince He would always remark upon returning from the palace, "What a pity," demonstrating her intelligence. As for Qing'er, Prince He's wives didn't particularly want to pay her any attention. This Qing'er was a prominent figure in the capital; she had initially gone too far by wanting to marry a servant, but after her arranged marriage, her husband died shortly after. Rumors circulated that Haozhen was an imposter, a servant himself. Lanxin, the adopted daughter of the Empress, was destined to become a Heshuo princess, and the wives, having nothing better to do, decided to observe her.

After the four princesses arrived at the Prince He's residence and exchanged greetings, the Princess Consort led them to pay their respects to the Dowager Consort. The Fourth Princess was very curious about this Dowager Consort who had raised Emperor Qianlong. The Empress Dowager in the palace was normal, and the Fourth Princess was normal, so the reason why she raised such an abnormal Emperor Qianlong could only be found in this Dowager Consort.

Before her first meeting with the late Imperial Noble Consort Yu, Lady Geng, the Fourth Princess had mentally prepared herself, fearing she might encounter someone as erratic as Emperor Qianlong. However, upon meeting her, she abandoned her initial assumptions; Qianlong's occasional erratic behavior had absolutely nothing to do with this Dowager Consort. Although the late Imperial Noble Consort Yu didn't possess the Empress Dowager's rigid expression, it still conveyed sternness. She only addressed the four princesses after they had properly bowed. After questioning them about palace affairs, the late Imperial Noble Consort Yu reiterated the rules to the princesses, using sharp words with Qing'er. Only after she was satisfied did she allow the four princesses to leave.

When they came out, Qing'er looked unwell. Although the three of them had some reservations about what Qing'er had done before, they had come out together after all. They quietly comforted Qing'er for a few words, but didn't say much. After all, they couldn't say that Qing'er was right in what she did!

Because they had many places to visit, the four princesses did not stay long at the Prince He's residence. They did see the Prince He's four sons, but they did not see Yongbi, who appears in every fan fiction. Instead, they saw Yongbi's wife, Borjigit.

Sitting in the carriage, the Fourth Princess was still quite displeased. It seemed fanfiction was all a lie; Yongbi was born in the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, and now his son was old enough to run errands. Yongbin, born in the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, had already married his primary wife, and Yonghuan, born in the fifth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, had also been betrothed by imperial decree. How could Yongbi be relegated to a minor role in so many fanfictions? After venting her displeasure, the Fourth Princess looked up and saw Lanxin blushing and wringing her handkerchief. The Fourth Princess nudged her younger sister sitting beside her. What was going on? Lanxin was only ten years old; could she already be harboring such thoughts? The Fourth Princess's actions caught Qing'er's attention, who looked at Lanxin beside her.

"Ahem, Lan'er, tell me the truth, have you taken a fancy to someone? Tell your sister, and when we get back to the palace, I'll ask the Empress Dowager to keep them for you." Fifth Princess couldn't help but tease Lan Xin as she looked at her.

"Go away, you're the one who's taken a liking to her... she..." Lan Xin lowered her head again, wringing out her handkerchief, "Can she really stay?"

"Haha..." Fourth Princess couldn't help but laugh at Lan Xin's appearance, and Qing'er and Fifth Princess laughed along with her. This made Lan Xin hit Qing'er with a handkerchief, but she didn't dare to pounce on the other two older sisters. After the playful fight, Fourth Princess asked who it was, "Good sister, tell your fourth sister, and your fourth sister will help you ask who you have your eye on if there is an imperial decree for marriage."

"It's Brother Yongkun."

Author's Note: Second update uncertain. This chapter is the culmination of my hand being on an IV drip TAT

Catching a cold is really bad...