Chapter Seven
When the Crown Prince got into trouble, besides Emperor Kangxi and the Empress Dowager, no one was more concerned than Soetu.
This is the future of their Hesheli clan, but no one knows what the situation is like in Yuqing Palace, and the Emperor has recently not allowed him to enter the palace.
Honestly, he wouldn't harm the Crown Prince. This is the future of Hesheli, and he's too busy caring about it to think about it.
Finally, more than a month later, in his great anxiety, the Emperor reluctantly agreed to let Suo'etu visit the Crown Prince at Yuqing Palace.
Crown Prince Yinreng's once youthful appearance has been ravaged, leaving him looking haggard. No wonder the Emperor and Empress Dowager are so worried.
Upon arriving at Yuqing Palace, Suo'etu burst into tears, his face full of concern. "Your Highness, Your Highness, what's wrong with you? How did you become so ill?"
Soetu: Could it be that the Crown Prince is as sickly and frail as the Crown Prince of the previous Ming Dynasty, dying young? When will the Hesheli family be able to achieve the same prominence and glory as the Tong family, dominating the court?
The fear in his voice made the still tired crown prince raise his head and carefully examine his maternal great-uncle, with whom he had been quite close since childhood.
Accustomed to the discrepancy between people's true feelings and their true intentions, Yinreng's face remained calm. "I'm fine. Uncle... what brings you here?"
"Isn't it because I'm worried about Your Highness? This servant has wanted to go to the palace to see Your Highness for a long time. Since you fell ill, this servant has been so anxious. Your Highness, no matter what, your health is the most important thing..."
Soetu's face was full of worry; he was almost ready to burst into tears.
My heart was pounding with anxiety: what if the Crown Prince died of his illness? Wouldn't the position fall into the hands of the First Prince? Just thinking about Mingzhu stepping on my head in the future makes me want to vomit blood!
"Has the imperial physician been summoned? What did the imperial physician say?" Soetu had just finished speaking when he remembered the crown prince's status, not his own son, and he couldn't just casually reveal medical records. "Your Highness, you need to rest first. Studying is not as important as your health."
Anyway, I need to get my health back first.
"Hmm." Lately, most of the thoughts Crown Prince Yinreng heard were filled with scheming and malice. Apart from his loyal servant Xiao Shunzi, everyone else…
Yinreng didn't want to see too many people, including his maternal uncle Suo'etu in front of him. Although he knew in his heart that Suo'etu was the clan chief of Hesheli and could not be wholeheartedly devoted to him, knowing this was one thing, but when those voices of the heart assaulted him, he still felt somewhat lost.
Afterwards, Songgotu said many words of concern for the Crown Prince, trying to "deepen" their relationship and intending to use emotions to manipulate Crown Prince Yinreng.
The longer he stayed, the clearer his little schemes became. The more Yinreng listened, the colder his expression grew. "Uncle, I want to rest for a while."
Suo'etu was taken aback when Yinreng spoke up to send him away for the first time. He seemed not to have expected Yinreng to tell him to leave. "Alright, alright, Your Highness, please rest well. Then this servant will take his leave."
As he walked, he kept thinking: Did he say something wrong? Did he displease the Crown Prince? That won't do. He'll have to send some more things over tomorrow to appease the Crown Prince.
In Suo'etu's mind, Yinreng was an easy child to coax, and he could be easily won over.
The Crown Prince remained silent, lowering his eyes to look at the calligraphy and paintings on his desk with an inscrutable expression. The eunuch Xiao Shunzi, who was serving beside him, found the Crown Prince increasingly unpredictable.
When Emperor Kangxi in the Qianqing Palace learned what Suo'etu had said to the Crown Prince, he did not fly into a rage. Bao Cheng was very capable, but how could he be the heir apparent if he was sickly?
In addition, Baocheng disliked the several women sent to him, let alone expect them to produce any offspring. How could Kangxi not care?
"Your Majesty, Consort Rong has arrived." Liang Jiugong came to report. He heard that Consort Rong was furious in Zhongcui Palace. Everyone from the Crown Prince to the Fourth Prince had been chosen as wives, so why was her Third Prince being ignored?
I suppose the reason you came to see His Majesty this time is to discuss this matter?
"What is she doing here?" Kangxi put down his vermilion brush, remembering what Liang Jiugong had told him. He didn't want to pay attention to Consort Rong. How old was the third prince? Why was he in such a hurry?
"Let her go back." The fourth brother insisted on settling down because his cousin's health wasn't good either, but unfortunately, this incident happened, which is why it's happening so early.
The third one... there are no suitable young women of the right age and family background this year. It's not too late to talk about it again in three years after the next general election.
The rejected Consort Rong stood outside the Qianqing Palace with a grim expression, thinking that the Emperor was biased. She thought that the Crown Prince was one thing, but what about the Fourth Prince?
Her face contorted into a grotesque array of colors, like a palette of hues, and Consort Rong wrung out her handkerchief in a huff.
In Chengqian Palace, Consort Tongjia was not too dissatisfied when she learned that the Emperor had chosen Guarjia for Yinzhen instead of Ulanara, whom she had preferred. After all, she was one of the Crown Princesses chosen by the Emperor's most favored Crown Prince, and she was certainly much better than Ulanara in terms of family background and temperament.
"Granny, in a couple of days, have Lady Guarjia come to the palace to see me." She had fallen ill during the previous selection of concubines and hadn't had a chance to see Lady Guarjia before the selection was over.
She coughed several times after she finished speaking, which startled the old nanny, who quickly stepped forward to pat her back and offered her some grapefruit and honey water to stop her cough. "Your Highness, you must take care of yourself."
"Once you're feeling better..." The nanny thought that even though she was from the Guarjia clan and would become the future Crown Princess, she was not as precious as their Lady.
"This illness of mine, cough cough, I don't know when it will get better..." Consort Tongjia coughed several times, covering her handkerchief. She was a little weak. Because she was serious, she coughed a few more times.
The nanny had no choice but to quickly agree and coax the Empress, and immediately sent someone to deliver an imperial edict to the Guarjia residence. However, the day before the audience, Consort Tongjia fell ill and was bedridden due to a cold. It was decided that Guarjia would not enter the palace again until... at least until the Imperial Noble Consort was feeling better.
In response, the Guarjia family replied: "Yes, yes, Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. It's cold in winter, thank you for your concern..."
Therefore, until the day of the Golden Banquet, Lady Guarjia had not yet entered the palace to pay her respects to Consort Tongjia.
Princess Guarjia wasn't uncomfortable at all. She didn't take Empress Xiaoyiren... oh no, she was only a Noble Consort at the moment. She didn't care about her. Anyway, she was going to die in two years.
In addition, before she got married in her previous life, she only had two or three audiences with the Empress Dowager after the imperial decree was issued, and then she passed away. There was never any master or empress above her to keep her in check, so she never thought of so many things.
Lady Jue Luo did think of something for her. She sent gifts to Chengqian Palace and Yonghe Palace twice. Yonghe Palace completely treated the Fourth Prince like 'trash' and didn't care about him. Naturally, they wouldn't send anyone to summon the future Fourth Prince's wife to the palace.
If the Imperial Noble Consort hasn't made a move, wouldn't any action from her make people think she's dissatisfied with the Imperial Noble Consort?
Time passed slowly, and in everyone's different journeys, October arrived, marking the beginning of winter.
(End of this chapter)
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