Chapter 35 A Difficult Journey: Your Majesty Should Be Allowed to Produce Children
In Yongning Palace, the Third Princess sat on a daybed, with Consort Jia on the other side.
Consort Jia was nearly forty years old, but she was well-maintained. Compared to Consort Shu's sickly pallor, she looked plump and radiant, and the delicate charm of her youth could still be seen in her eyes. However, compared to a young girl, she also had a more dignified and composed demeanor.
Granny Chang went forward to pour tea for the Third Princess, but the Third Princess didn't even glance at it, just sat on the edge of the bed, puffing out her cheeks and sulking.
Consort Jia had three children: two sons and one daughter. The third princess, named Yunying, was her only daughter, and Consort Jia doted on her. However, this did not mean that Consort Jia could indulge her every whim.
Seeing that she still had a tense face and pursed lips, looking very unhappy, Consort Jia also frowned and said, "What, you're not happy that I called you back?"
Qi Yunying snorted softly: "Why did Mother Consort call me back? Seventh Brother did such a disgraceful thing and was demoted from Prince to Prince of the County. As a mother, Consort Shu didn't even bother to keep a low profile and teach Seventh Brother a lesson. Instead, she held a grand banquet and invited so many noble ladies to carry her disreputable daughter-in-law's sedan chair."
"I used to often go boating on Taiye Pond, but today, because she's holding a banquet at Jianzhang Palace, she won't let us near it. Why should we?
"Mother, you too! In front of so many people, you had Granny Chang forcefully call me back. Wasn't that just boosting the morale of others and diminishing our own? How will I hold my head up in front of those women in the future, especially that Miss Shen? Who knows how happy she is!"
Consort Jia scoffed, "What do you mean by boosting the morale of others while diminishing our own? Do you think that if I hadn't called you back, you could have dampened Consort Shu's spirit and boosted your own prestige today?"
"Consort Shu only has one son, the seventh prince, whom she has protected like the apple of her eye since he was a child. Now that her son has finally been able to get married, he has chosen his own wife, and Consort Shu is also satisfied with her choice."
"She's very happy right now. For the first time, her daughter-in-law has taken the initiative to host a banquet. His Majesty has also allocated the Jianzhang Palace, which has the best scenery, to her and let her allocate the manpower in the palace. He's practically supervising it himself."
"Even the Empress didn't dare to say a word about it, and she ordered the palace servants to stay away from Jianzhang Palace today. But you, knowing that her banquet is there, instead of avoiding it, you're rushing to get closer!"
"It's fortunate that I found out in time and called you back. If it had been any later, believe me, your father would have personally sent someone to 'invite' you back. At that point, not only would you be disgraced, but I, your mother, would have lost all face!"
If she called them back, it could be said that Yongning Palace was well-mannered and knew how to discipline their disobedient children. But if the emperor sent someone to "invite" them, Yongning Palace would lose all face, and she, as the mother, would also suffer the consequences.
Qi Yunying was taken aback, and was very indignant: "Why is Father Emperor so biased towards that mother and son! They're clearly just a country bumpkin and a rogue, what's so good about them?"
"shut up!"
Consort Jia rebuked, "Consort Shu is a country bumpkin. If word gets out that your father is anyone, you'll be in big trouble!"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but tap Qi Yunying's forehead, her slender fingernails leaving a shallow indentation between her eyebrows.
The late emperor had few children, having only two sons and a daughter in his lifetime.
Although both children grew up safely, the crown prince was born prematurely and was in poor health from a young age, spending his days in bed. He got married at the age of seventeen or eighteen, but did not have a son until he died at the age of twenty-five.
Seeing that there was no one to carry on the family line, the late emperor had no choice but to adopt a son from a collateral branch of the family.
However, due to the succession struggle during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, almost all of the late emperor's uncles and brothers died, resulting in a lack of suitable candidates. In the end, they could only choose an heir from among those relatives who were no longer closely related by blood.
After this selection process, three people were ultimately chosen.
The court officials initially preferred another person, but after the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated the horoscope, it was said that the current emperor had many offspring and a deep bond with his children. The late emperor, who had suffered the pain of losing his son, made the final decision and chose him as his successor.
Throughout history, we have only ever heard of women being sought after by their husbands because of their "fertility," but we have never seen a man being valued or even chosen as the heir apparent because of his "fertility."
This sounds absurd, but since the three men were essentially the same, it didn't matter which one was chosen. A prosperous lineage would also prevent a situation like that of the late emperor from happening again, so the court officials didn't object much, and the heir was chosen in this way.
Therefore, the current emperor was not actually born to the late emperor, but was adopted from a collateral branch. Consort Shu was his childhood sweetheart when he was still a prince, and the two even had a marriage agreement in their early years.
If Consort Shu was a country bumpkin, then what about the emperor, who came from the same place?
Qi Yunying pouted: "I just don't accept it. In terms of background, appearance, and talent, in what way are you not better than Consort Shu? Yet Father only has eyes for her."
"You are clearly a Noble Consort, while she is merely a concubine, yet you have to defer to her in every way. Why should you?"
On what grounds?
Consort Jia took a sip of tea and said quietly, "Because she's sickly, and because she has nothing to lose, she's not afraid of those who have shoes on."
"You caused such a scene with her today. Even if you gained some face at the time, what difference does it make if she comes to my Yongning Palace another day and says she has a headache and feels unwell, and asks the imperial physician to come and take a look? Whether she is telling the truth or not, your father will not set foot in my Yongning Palace for three to five months."
"You're just happy because you vented your anger for a moment, but what's wrong with calling me Mother Consort?"
Consort Shu has used this tactic countless times over the years. Because of her favor with the emperor, many concubines dislike her and want to cause her trouble.
She wasn't in a hurry. Whoever offended her, she would go to their palace, say she was feeling unwell, and call the imperial physician to take her pulse.
If she were healthy, the imperial physician would know she was faking it as soon as he felt her pulse, and this method would naturally not work.
Unfortunately, she was indeed in poor health and always appeared sickly. No matter which imperial physician came, they dared not say that she was fine, which confirmed that she had gotten into trouble in the other party's palace, leaving the other party with no way to defend herself.
Previously, Consort Hui, knowing her methods, had provoked her and then kept the palace doors tightly shut, claiming illness and refusing to let her in, thinking that this would solve the problem.
Unexpectedly, Consort Shu, under the guise of visiting a sick woman, stood at her door for half an hour before fainting.
This infuriated the emperor, who demoted Consort Hui from the rank of Consort to that of a concubine, and she has not been reinstated to this day.
From then on, no one in the palace dared to bully Consort Shu.
Consort Jia wasn't really that afraid of her, but she felt that she had no direct conflict with her and there was no need to provoke her for trivial matters, especially not in matters involving Prince Ping.
This woman is insane; she'd do anything for her son. If something happens to Prince Ping, and she finds out who did it, she'll probably die in that person's palace.
Her death is nothing, but the people in the palace are in trouble.
Consort Jia believed that even the Empress, if she were to encounter such a situation, might be banished to the Cold Palace.
She scolded her daughter, but seeing that she still had a sullen and unhappy face, she sighed and said, "Alright, when have I ever interfered with your little squabbles with your seventh brother? It's just that your seventh brother is getting married, and Consort Shu has been treating this as a top priority lately, which is why your mother told you to keep a low profile."
Qi Yunying still felt she couldn't swallow this insult, but she had no choice but to nod and agree without saying anything more.
………………
In a private room on the third floor of Yafeng Garden, three young girls sat around a table, chatting and eating tea.
Gu Niannian deftly peeled a lychee and popped it into her mouth. She felt the sweet flesh and the overflowing juice, and immediately squinted her eyes and nodded in satisfaction.
"The lychees that just arrived at Yafengyuan are pretty good, similar to the ones at home. It's a pity that they're expensive and scarce. I only got a small basket, with just a dozen or so in total, which was gone after a few bites."
The Yongchang Marquis's mansion is not short of money, but the rations for everyone in the household are fixed. Just because she is the third young lady of the mansion doesn't mean she can eat as much as she wants. If she wants more, she either has to buy it herself or ask her elders.
Gu Niannian was reluctant to spend money on lychees, and she didn't want to trouble the housekeeper's mother over such a small matter, nor did she want to take away her parents' share, so she could only occasionally go to her third brother's place to freeload.
Seeing that she was eating lychees one after another, and soon there was a pile of lychee shells in front of her, Li Yaozhi advised, "Eat less, or you'll get a sore throat and break out in pimples tomorrow."
Gu Niannian didn't mind: "So what if it's long? I'm taking advantage of Prince Ping today, so I should eat more."
Because Shen Yan was very good at pitch-pot and wooden archery, Li Yaozhi and Gu Niannian both wanted to learn, so the three of them agreed to come to Yafeng Garden together today.
Qi Jingxuan originally wanted to go along, but since it was a girls' gathering, Shen Yan insisted on "politely declining." Qi Jingxuan could only see her to the door and then watch helplessly as she, Li Yaozhi, and Gu Niannian went inside, leaving him behind.
The three of them played in Ya Feng Garden for a while, and when they got tired, they wanted to find a private room to rest. When they called the waiter, they learned that Qi Jingxuan had already reserved the largest private room for them and had instructed Ya Feng Garden that all the expenses for the three of them today would be charged to the Pingjun Prince's account.
Upon hearing this, Gu Niannian immediately ordered everything she wanted to eat, especially lychees, which she ordered in a large basket.
She ate to her heart's content and peeled some for Li Yaozhi and Shen Yan as she peeled, saying, "Have you heard? Yang Huiru is sick and has been sent to her family's estate to recuperate. She left last night."
Li Yaozhi chuckled upon hearing this: "Your information comes quickly. You found out about what happened last night today."
Gu Niannian raised her eyebrows smugly: "That's right. Ever since that palace banquet, I've had people keeping an eye on the Yang family to see how they would handle things. Sure enough, they sent Yang Huiru away."
"Saying she was sick and needed to recuperate was just an excuse. Anyone with eyes can see that she was sent away because she failed to frame Aci at the palace banquet and was exposed on the spot, causing the Yang family to lose face."
"I originally thought that given the Yang family's style of doing things, they would have sent her away on the day the incident happened. The fact that they took so many days to act is beyond my expectations."
“It’s not surprising,” Li Yaozhi said. “The Yang family is now in charge of Madam Yang, and Yang Huiru is her biological daughter. Even if she makes a big mistake, her mother will help her to smooth things over.”
"I guess it's because Yang Huiru caused such a big mess this time, and was exposed in public in the palace. After dealing with it for several days, Madam Yang had no choice but to send her away."
Gu Niannian clicked her tongue twice: "I really don't understand. Aci doesn't even know her. Why would she frame her and use such a low-level method?"
"Even if Aci couldn't prove her innocence that day, the evidence at the time wouldn't have been enough to convict her. What's the point of making such a fuss? What benefit could she possibly gain?"
Shen Yan didn't recognize Yang Huiru, so she naturally couldn't answer that question.
Li Yaozhi pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because I said a few words to her at Baoyuxuan that day."
Gu Niannian thought for a long time before remembering the matter of Baoyuxuan, and couldn't help but open her mouth wide.
"Seriously? Just for something this small? But... even if it's for this, shouldn't she be targeting you? Why is she targeting Aci?"
After she finished speaking, she saw that Shen Yan looked puzzled, so she told her what had happened at Baoyuxuan that day.
After listening, Shen Yan nodded and said while eating lychees seriously, "It's probably because Azhi is out of reach for her. Even if she doesn't like her, she doesn't dare to do anything, so she can only target me."
Gu Niannian looked puzzled and asked, "What's the logic behind that?"
Li Yaozhi answered her: "For example, if a vicious dog is beaten by a strong and tall person, someone it cannot shake no matter how hard it tries, the dog will be afraid of this person. It will either hide away or wag its tail to please him, and will not dare to bark once."
"But it was a vicious dog to begin with. After being beaten, it was still angry and didn't dare to vent its anger on the person who beat it. So it took out its anger on innocent passersby and would bite anyone it thought was weak and vulnerable."
Her example was so vivid that Gu Niannian suddenly realized: "Yang Huiru spoke rudely to Aci in order to please you, but she didn't understand your personality. Her attempt to flatter you backfired, and you immediately shut her down."
“She was angry, but dared not do anything to you. She thought that Aci was from a poor family, weak and easy to bully, so she took her anger out on Aci.”
"I didn't expect Aci to be so easy to bite. Her bite didn't do anything to Aci, but she broke her own tooth instead."
Gu Niannian laughed as she spoke, nearly swallowing a lychee pit.
She quickly spat out the lychee pit from her mouth before continuing, "They say you shouldn't take on a job you're not qualified for, and I think the same applies to doing bad things."
"If you don't have a firm grasp on the situation, then be honest and don't do anything you shouldn't, or you'll end up like her and suffer the consequences."
Li Yaozhi slowly shook her head and said, "Yang Huiru may not have intended to convict Aci from the beginning, but only wanted her to be suspected. If Aci hadn't been clever and come up with a way to prove herself on the spot, even with Prince Ping and our help, it's hard to guarantee that others wouldn't suspect her because of her background."
"For Aci, even just being suspicious is quite serious..."
Shen Yan was already in the eye of the storm because of her affair with Qi Jingxuan; if she were to be branded with the stigma of 'theft' on top of that...
Gu Niannian finally understood the crux of the matter and slammed her hand on the table in anger: "She's too vicious!"
After saying that, she added with relief, "Luckily, Aci, you're smart, otherwise we would have fallen for her trick."
With an apologetic expression, Li Yaozhi said to Shen Yan, "Speaking of which, you suffered this undeserved misfortune because of me. I am truly sorry."
Shen Yan chuckled and pushed a bowl of peeled lychees toward her: "You only spoke up for me against Miss Yang. If I'm going to blame you for that, then I should go and slit Prince Ping's throat right now."
Li Yaozhi and Gu Niannian were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Gu Niannian laughed until tears streamed down her face. After laughing, she told them about the Yang family's situation.
“The whole family lived together, with five or six uncles and aunts alone, and countless brothers and sisters.”
"Where there are many people, there are many troubles. In order to maintain superficial harmony, people always try to smooth things over and just get by."
"Yang Huiru probably watched too many people smoothing things over at home and thought everyone was like that, suppressing problems and avoiding making a scene if possible. She never expected that Consort Shu was not like that at all..."
………………
While the group was chatting in the private room, Qi Jingxuan sat next to them.
There stood a man in front of him, with a round head, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, who looked rather simple and honest.
Qi Jingxuan frowned so deeply upon hearing his reply that it could have trapped a fly.
"How could it not have been found?"
"There is indeed no such person as you described."
The round-headed man replied.
"I have sent people to inquire about the Imperial Guards, the Five City Garrison Commands, and the four major camps in the east, west, south, and north. There are a few archers who never miss, but none of them have a bruise on their forehead, or even any other part of their face."
"Impossible..." Qi Jingxuan muttered, "What about those wealthy and powerful families? Have you inquired whether they have such people among their personal guards?"
The round-headed man shook his head: "I haven't found out yet."
Although they had only been inquiring for a few days, someone with such superb archery skills and distinctive features could not be unknown; they should have found them long ago.
Unless the prince is wrong or exaggerates, such as the man not having any dark marks on his face, or his archery skills not being that good.
Qi Jingxuan crossed his arms and hissed, his face full of confusion: "This shouldn't be... Could it be... could it be that because he's too capable, he's been hidden away as a bodyguard?"
The round-headed man thought for a moment, then shook his head again: "I don't think so."
"Why"
“Secret guards are meant to protect their masters in secret. The less distinctive their features, the easier it is for them to blend into the crowd. The person you mentioned, although highly skilled in archery, has very obvious facial features that would easily attract attention in a crowd. Such a person is not suitable to be a secret guard.”
Qi Jingxuan nodded, subconsciously agreeing: "Indeed, if the secret guards are no longer secret, then they are naturally inappropriate."
"But... if he's not in the army, nor among the guards of wealthy and powerful families, where could he be hiding?"
Surely the person behind the scenes didn't just find them somewhere at the last minute?
Qi Jingxuan thought he had found a breakthrough, but after several days he found no clues at all.
Completely baffled, he could only say, "Let's expand the search area and keep looking."
With such distinctive features, even if they couldn't be found, there should be at least some information about them.
He refused to believe that even if they dug up the entire capital and surrounding areas, they still wouldn't be able to find this person!
The round-headed man nodded, bowed, and left.
Qi Jing sat listlessly in the private room, listening to the occasional laughter coming from next door, and pouted, "What are they chatting about so happily... without even inviting me in..."
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A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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