Chapter 33 Rewards
reward
Chen Guanxue was not entirely comfortable with the monotonous life in the palace.
In the past, Emperor Kangxi spent all his time with her, and she had become accustomed to letting go of her own thoughts and relying on him wholeheartedly.
However, Kangxi is currently burdened by the heavy responsibilities of state affairs, and the days to come will be filled with various troubles and worries.
There were also many concubines in the harem who were not friendly to her.
She needs to make plans for herself and her family.
"Alright, I'll do as Your Majesty says." Chen Guanxue's quick reply surprised even Kangxi.
Meeting Kangxi's incredulous gaze, Chen Guanxue said matter-of-factly, "These people will all be granted longevity and blessings in the future. I'm just borrowing them for now. Doesn't His Majesty already have enough manpower for the princes? They should naturally receive the longevity and blessings they deserve."
Fallacy.
Kangxi was afraid that saying it would upset her, so he did not argue with her.
He didn't just give the princes officials to do things; he didn't have any spies or informants doing shady work.
But after thinking about it, he denied it.
It's not that they haven't given them before; the Crown Prince had a batch of them in his early years, but whether they're still around now is unknown.
"Then you'd better make a good vetting of Fu Shou." Since she was interested, he supported her.
After saying this, Kangxi brought up her investiture ceremony.
"The Chengqian Palace was conferred the title on the same day as you, which will give those outside the palace something to talk about."
Being able to be conferred a title alongside Consort Tong would silence any speculation outside the palace.
Chen Guanxue understood.
Her maternal clan, the Chen family, is still not outstanding at all, and even somewhat of a drag on her family.
If the title were bestowed individually, it would likely provoke discontent from the maternal families of many concubines.
But the Tong family is different; they have an empress in front of them, and the Tong family as their backing.
When they are jointly conferred titles, no matter how much others speculate, they will consider the Tong family and keep their words to themselves.
The Tong family didn't say anything and agreed to the joint conferment of titles on the two imperial concubines, so no one else dared to cause trouble.
Emperor Kangxi, however, had much more to think about.
With Fu Shou, Consort Tong's adopted son, around, it's unlikely that the Tong family would favor Empress Tong's adopted son too much.
He did have feelings for Empress Tong, but more so for her blood ties. His momentary leniency back then led to the estrangement between the fourth prince and Consort De, and it was also his momentary leniency that made the Tong family feel that they had a prince to rely on.
Although the Tong family no longer needs to scheme about those things, they have already produced their own emperor.
But who would complain about having too many chips in their hand?
The fourth prince was always well-behaved and followed the crown prince, doing only his duty. However, things are unpredictable, and if something unexpected happens in the future, the Tong family's favoritism towards him will become an obstacle for Kangxi.
It would be good if Fu Shou could share some of the Tong family's attention.
Chen Guanxue knew that no matter how nice Kangxi's words were, his affection for Fushou was also a matter of extending his love to Fushou.
She knew all too well how stubborn he was.
The love was too pure.
Although Fu Shou was the child he acknowledged, decades had passed. He was willing to believe the child was his only because the child came from her womb.
Let it end here; it's fine if his love for good fortune and longevity stops here.
The Crown Prince is still young, and Emperor Kangxi still has decades to go. If he were to show excessive favoritism towards Fushou, she dared not imagine what the future would hold.
"It's good to confer titles on two imperial concubines at the same time. It saves the palace from having to go through two rounds of trouble. It's also an unprecedented event," she agreed.
It was indeed an unprecedented event.
Emperor Kangxi nodded, and then ordered the Imperial Household Department to raise the standards of the investiture ceremony to the level that should have been used when the Imperial Noble Consort was investitured.
Li Quan felt a headache coming on as he listened to Kangxi's latest imperial edict.
Since Consort Chen entered the palace, the Emperor's demands have been increasing.
Listen to what he has to say.
The ceremony should be elevated to the level of Imperial Noble Consort.
ah?
That's an Imperial Noble Consort! How can the ceremonial regalia of our Imperial Noble Consort be so worthless?
Even if two imperial concubines are conferred titles together, it shouldn't be a ceremony that exceeds their rank.
Li Quan inwardly groaned, then smiled.
never mind.
As long as the Emperor is happy.
As for being impeached for bypassing his authority, it wasn't him who was criticized.
Could Emperor Kangxi withstand the criticism?
Before the investiture ceremony was even held, someone submitted a memorial about this matter.
Emperor Kangxi directly wrote in vermilion ink: "This is my order."
Then, memorials of admonition flew into the Qianqing Palace like snowflakes, each one seemingly wanting to say everything that had been said over the past thirty-odd years.
The person being advised simply replied: Read.
Then I went to the East Warm Pavilion.
How could Emperor Kangxi possibly withstand such criticism? He didn't even read the contents. If it weren't for the fact that using the seal to approve memorials would irritate the ministers, he would have done it long ago.
Chen Guanxue, unaware of what good deed Kangxi had done, was selecting new clothes for Fushou to be made by the Imperial Household Department.
There were palace maids in the East Warm Pavilion who made clothes, but they didn't make many. The Imperial Household Department sent some more as per the rules, and she was very happy to see them, so the Imperial Household Department made a few more.
Fu Shou is still young, and his clothes are not the same as what he wears now.
“Your Majesty, look how beautiful this dress is.” Chen Guanxue picked up a small red dress. It was made of brocade and had no embroidery, but it had beautiful woven patterns.
"Why are there so many flowers?" Kangxi frowned. The princes' clothes also had flowers and plants on them, but he had never seen such delicate flowers as peonies and peonies.
“I had the Imperial Household Department make it.” Chen Guanxue held up the little clothes and compared them to Fushou. “If you don’t wear them when you’re little, you won’t be able to wear them when you’re older.”
Kangxi remained silent.
Chen Guanxue compared them one by one, and Kangxi watched from the side. He found that all the ones she thought were beautiful were brightly colored, and the woven or embroidered patterns on them were all quite nice.
She chose carefully, and the next day Fushou changed into the new clothes, and then a dress of the same color was put on her.
When the postpartum period ends.
Chen Guanxue has learned how to hold Fushou without making him uncomfortable or hurting him.
Emperor Kangxi also grew accustomed to her sweet, milky scent.
On the day of the investiture, Chen Guanxue wore a court robe, yellow with intricate dragon and phoenix embroidery, and court beads draped over his body, looking dignified and elegant.
The investiture ceremony in the Qing Dynasty was very elaborate. In addition to the officials of the Ministry of Rites presiding and reading the imperial edict, the recipient of the imperial edict had to kneel and bow after receiving the jade book and jade seal.
Chen Guanxue and Consort Tong stood together outside the Kunning Palace. Below the steps were noble ladies, some young and some old.
A black and blue imperial robe, like a crow or sparrow, bows its head to imperial power.
Chen Guanxue didn't feel anything about the investiture; she had already experienced it.
Back in the East Warm Pavilion, she told Runxi to take off her heavy clothes and put on the Hanfu she usually wore.
"Why is the court hat so heavy?"
Considering the pearls, gems, and gold on top, it seems normal that it's a bit heavy.
Runxi placed her slender white fingers on the back of her neck and immediately reached out to massage it. "Your Majesty, you've worked hard."
These days, Chen Guanxue had her stay with Granny Chana and Fushou, but she was only called back today for the investiture ceremony.
After her postpartum period, although she wanted to recuperate, many people wanted to visit her.
If you don't want to see someone in the palace, just decline; but it's safer to see someone outside the palace.
Now that there is no empress, and there are two imperial concubines in the palace, many things will be pushed onto them.
Chen Guanxue didn't want to exhaust herself, but the connections between relatives couldn't be broken.
She knew these rules.
Both Consort Tong and she needed to contact their relatives. If she didn't show up, it might not be long before a memorial impeaching her arrived.
It wasn't that she was afraid of impeachment; she just didn't want Kangxi to bear too much infamy because of her.
It's acceptable to have a favored concubine, even one who makes the emperor abandon his principles a little. But there can't be a favored concubine who is so pampered by the emperor that the officials have no choice but to accept her.
A scholar's pen is sharper than a knife; who knows if he might find a pretext to criticize Emperor Kangxi and leave him with a bad reputation?
Chen Guanxue flipped through the booklet that was handed to her.
The imperial relatives and noblewomen, while not necessarily having excellent handwriting, still managed to write in a somewhat decent manner.
Today we are to meet the Fourth Prince's wife.
Even if a prince or princess establishes her own residence outside the palace, her wife needs permission to enter the palace. When high-ranking concubines are conferred titles, they will enter the palace one after another to exchange a few pleasantries.
Although we had met at the investiture ceremony, we needed to meet in the palace to maintain our private relationship.
"Greetings to the Imperial Concubine, may the Imperial Concubine enjoy boundless blessings."
"Sit down." Chen Guanxue saw that she was heavily pregnant, so she didn't actually tell her to squat down.
Two years after marrying Yinzhen, Ulanara was not favored by Consort De in the palace, and was often reprimanded when summoned to the palace.
She wasn't particularly close to the other concubines in the palace, and her visits to pay her respects were merely in accordance with custom.
She is only sixteen or seventeen years old, but she is very mature for her age.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Ulanara thanked her and sat down before saying, "I heard that Your Highness likes beautiful clothes. My household does not have anyone skilled in making clothes, and I'm afraid the clothes we make will not meet Your Highness's standards. So I had someone make a cloth tiger so that my seventeenth brother can play with it when he is a little older."
Whether Fu Shouxi liked it or not, Chen Guanxue liked the gift.
Cloth tigers can also be made in the palace, but since Fu Shou is still young, no one delivers them.
She said something was missing.
"This gift is truly to my liking, and it's kind of you to have come all this way while you're heavily pregnant." Chen Guanxue casually took off the bracelet on her wrist. "This bracelet was a gift from the Emperor a couple of days ago, so I'm giving it to you."
The bracelet was handed to Runxi, and the nanny behind Ulanara took the bracelet and put it on her.
The red jade bracelet complemented her skin tone to some extent. Now that she was pregnant and her figure was a little plump, the brightly colored bracelet added even more vibrancy to her wrist.
After talking for a while, Ulanara saw the awake Fushou, and Chen Guanxue did not keep her.
Ulanara returned to her residence with a pile of gifts, looked at the bracelet on her wrist, and ultimately did not take it off.
"Some of the fabrics and jewelry bestowed by the palace were sent to the backyard, while the rest were put into the storeroom."
Being a prince's wife is not a good thing.
When the princes got married, there were always princesses or concubines in their rooms. They were young and energetic, so it was normal for them to have one or two princes and princesses.
What's most heartbreaking is that those princesses or concubines were all originally palace maids, and had childhood sweethearts with the princes.
Before the Fujin (wife of the emperor) even gave birth to any children after marrying into the family, she had to deal with the infighting among women.
Someone as unlucky as her, even though Yinzhen had no children of his own, he didn't grow up by his mother's side and they were estranged, so he had to suffer from his mother-in-law's temper.
When she first married into the family, Consort De kept urging her to get pregnant as soon as possible.
But Yinzhen was not interested in lust.
After finally becoming pregnant, Consort De sent several more princesses to her residence, saying that she was unwell.
She's not feeling well, so is there no one in the backyard?
Despite her anger, Empress Ulanara did not mistreat the people in her harem, and she would distribute any rewards from the palace to them.
As for the concubines whom Yinzhen favored, she almost never brought them into the palace to let Consort De waste her time.
Only when Consort De specifically requests a name will she bring the person into the palace.
"May the Princess Consort be blessed." Just then, Consort Li arrived.
Li was the most beautiful woman in the household, and she also loved clothes and jewelry. Before she even sat down, I noticed the bracelet on her wrist.
"This bracelet was bestowed by Consort Chen, wasn't it?" Li was considered one of the smartest people in the household, and because of her favor with the emperor, she had been the target of Consort De's veiled insults many times.
Upon seeing the bracelet and hearing the news from the palace, he immediately beamed with joy.
"I heard that Consort Chen still lives in the Qianqing Palace, which shows that she is the Emperor's favorite."
Ulanara understood what she meant, chatted with her for a few minutes, and then gave her a set of jewelry and headdress.
After Li left, Ulanara touched the bracelet and told the nanny beside her to put it away.
"Wear this bracelet next time you go to the palace."
The next time she enters the palace will be after her confinement period. At that time, Consort De will have to see her regardless of whether she wants to see the child or not.
She didn't want to hear those hurtful words, nor did she want any more wicked people to come to the mansion, and she especially didn't want Yinzhen to blame her because of these women.
Whether it will succeed depends on Chen Guanxue's status in the palace.
She thought about it and sent a message home.
Within half a day, news arrived.
She unfolded the paper and saw that it contained numerous pieces of evidence proving Chen Guanxue's favor with the emperor.
That evening, he spoke with Yinzhen and asked him a couple more questions. Seeing Yinzhen's cryptic expression, he could guess some of Kangxi's thoughts.
I'm in a great mood.
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