Before the Lunar New Year, Shu Chengfeng had already drafted a list of those to be promoted.

We just need to wait for it to be read out on New Year's Eve.

By the end of the lunar year, Yan Nangui had fully recovered. Although he was still under house arrest, it didn't interfere with his work.

Shu Chengfeng came a few more times, and she began to serve him in bed.

“You don’t need to move. You’ve done a great job here. Feiluan Palace isn’t even as big as yours. Besides, it’s not exactly a nice place,” Shu Chengfeng said.

"Of course not, I'm fine here. Let the future Consort Ye live in Feiluan Palace. Has His Majesty given her a title yet?" Yan Nangui asked.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs will handle it," Shu Chengfeng said.

"Alright." Yan Nangui nodded.

"Isn't it time for Yu'er to nurse?" Shu Chengfeng stood up: "I'll go take a look."

It's not that His Majesty dotes on the Seventh Princess; it's just curiosity and novelty.

Even though His Majesty has so many children, he has never watched them grow up so carefully before.

Suddenly, I noticed that the seventh princess was suckling with great energy.

Sleeping is fun, and being chubby is cute.

So I always want to take a look.

Yan Nangui certainly wouldn't stop him; he could let him go.

In the following days, His Majesty was busy and did not enter the inner palace.

On New Year's Eve, everyone was busy worshipping their ancestors, and a banquet was held in Yaoguang Hall.

The Empress is also dressed in her finest attire today. Although most people outside probably already know what's going on, the Empress is still the Empress.

The old ways must be followed.

The Empress has lost a lot of weight, and her once-fitting ceremonial robes are now a bit too big.

However, it still has a certain imposing presence.

After His Majesty and the Empress Dowager arrived, the imperial relatives, concubines, princes and princesses all rose to pay their respects.

After everyone was seated, Shu Chengfeng announced the start of the banquet.

The banquet was lively. There were many princesses and princes, as well as quite a few children from the royal family, so it was still quite energetic.

When the banquet was halfway through, Yun Ji began to announce the imperial decree.

The first one is Consort Chen Hui.

And everyone noticed that what was being discussed was not a promotion, but a change of title.

She was promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine.

Then Ye Lingyi was promoted to the rank of Consort He.

Consort Rong was promoted to Consort Rong and granted residence in Yiyuan Palace.

Consort Huo was granted the title of Jin.

Wen Guirong was promoted to the rank of Guiyi.

Consort Mei was promoted to the rank of Zhaorong and granted residence in Zhenxia Pavilion.

Song Lingyi was promoted to the rank of Beauty. Naturally, she was overjoyed at the promotion.

But this made Consort Jin feel extremely awkward, caught in the middle.

The Empress Dowager's expression was quite interesting.

However, since it was New Year's Eve, nothing was said.

The next day, court officials also had to go to the palace to offer New Year's greetings. Everyone was busy for several days in a row.

I finally had time to rest on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

In the Jade Lotus Palace, the eldest prince came to the main hall to pay his respects.

The eldest prince is now grown up and should move out this March.

"Peace be with my mother."

"Please sit down," Consort Ning said with a smile.

"My son just went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and on his way back, he ran into people from Consort Chen's quarters. He was clearly quite pleased with himself," the eldest prince said.

"Remember to call me Consort Chen, whether in public or in private," Consort Ning said.

"Yes, son remembers," the eldest prince said.

"Of course she was pleased. His Majesty changed her from Consort Hui to Imperial Noble Consort. Although the imperial edict explicitly stated it was a change of title, it was because he didn't want the title of Imperial Noble Consort to seem too special. But it is still special after all. Otherwise, what would be the point of changing it?" Consort Ning said.

"Yes, I thought Consort Ke also had a chance." The eldest prince shook his head.

“Your father has disliked her from the beginning and is wary of her. However, although she is out of favor, the Third Prince is intelligent and your father likes him very much, so you cannot be negligent,” Consort Ning said.

"I know, Father. Right now, my favorite is Seventh Sister. There's nothing to worry about," the eldest prince said.

"Yes, your father favors Consort Chen, and naturally he also favors the Seventh Princess. It doesn't matter. You should also remember to maintain good relations with them. It won't do you any harm. You are your father's eldest son. If a crown prince is chosen, there will be an order of seniority, and you have a chance of winning. But you must not be arrogant. Back then, your father was the legitimate crown prince, and he still faced many hardships because of the scheming of his older brothers. You must not repeat those mistakes, lest he become disgusted with you. You must take good care of your younger brothers," Consort Ning said.

The eldest prince naturally agreed.

After he left, Consort Ning sighed, "This child is good in every way, it's just a pity he's the eldest son. His Majesty is still young."

She no longer cares about being favored; all she thinks about is her son.

But she knew it wouldn't be easy to get the eldest prince to stand up for her.

“Fortunately, Consort Chen gave birth to a princess. In any case, the ministers will definitely agree to establish the eldest son as heir. His Majesty suffered greatly at the hands of the late Emperor. As long as a crown prince is established, there will never be a situation where the crown prince is deposed again,” Hongdou said.

“You’re right. All I can do is tell him to study hard and be more sensible. Look at the Third Prince, he’s so young, yet so learned. No wonder the Murong family is considered a model for scholars; they really are quite capable,” said Consort Ning.

“The late Emperor couldn’t have seen how outstanding His Majesty was back then. Now, no matter how good the Third Prince is, His Majesty doesn’t favor his mother,” Hongdou said.

"It's strange, really. Murong has never been favored since she entered the manor. She's beautiful and comes from a good family. Why isn't she favored? It's not uncommon for women to be out of favor. But it's quite rare to find someone like her who doesn't serve the emperor all year round." Consort Ning shook her head.

Although Consort Ning had acted the same way in the past, she knew it was because of the Empress.

Things have been different ever since the Empress had her incident and she was promoted.

Although it was very rare, I still saw His Majesty occasionally.

“Sometimes, it might just be that we don’t click with each other,” Hongdou said.

"Perhaps."

In Guiyun Pavilion, Consort Jin Cong felt a severe tightness in her chest since early morning.

Not daring to delay, they summoned the imperial physician.

The imperial physician knew what was wrong after examining the patient.

I'm so angry.

I couldn't just prescribe any medicine; I could only tell her to rest.

How could she not be angry? It would have been fine if she hadn't brought it up, but instead, others were promoted while she only received a title. And a mere "cautious" one at that.

However, she wasn't the only one who was angry about this.

Consort Yi was also furious.

In her opinion, among the three concubines, Consort Rong was the least likely to be promoted. But what happened?

They've gone up!

She was happy for months, but it all turned out to be pointless!

Isn't that embarrassing enough?

But what can you do even if you're angry? Who dares to say anything against His Majesty's decree?

There are only two possibilities why His Majesty won't promote you: one is that he has forgotten you even exist.

Secondly, they felt you were not qualified for promotion.

Consort Yi, who considered herself to have two daughters, could not possibly have forgotten them.

That means His Majesty thinks it's unacceptable. He's unworthy.

In any case, the year has passed well.

Once the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is over, the New Year celebrations are considered finished.

On the sixteenth day, everyone must first pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.

As the geese flew south, her clothes weren't much more elaborate than before.

Upon meeting Consort Xiangxian at Ruining Palace, Yan Nangui smiled and said, "Sister, you look radiant today."

"My sister is the same."