Chapter 113 The Legend of Zhen Huan: An Lingrong 23
Yongshou Palace —
Qingwu served a cup of tea and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager summoned two princesses to Shou Kang Palace and also specially invited the Emperor to have dinner there, but the Emperor declined, citing his busy schedule."
"Which family?" An Lingrong raised an eyebrow, already having a guess in her mind.
"One is from the Ulanara family, and the other is from the Uya family. Both princesses are in their prime and have never been married."
"The Empress has only been gone for a little over three months, and the Empress Dowager is already so eager to bring her maternal relatives into the palace." An Lingrong sighed, as if she were pitying the dignified and graceful late Empress.
"With so many things that have happened, the Emperor originally did not want to hold a selection of concubines, and the Empress Dowager could not possibly allow only two princesses to enter the palace."
Being too conspicuous, one always needs to cover up their shortcomings; it's just a question of how many younger sisters will be entering the palace with them.
Si Yun smiled playfully and flattered, "No matter how many concubines enter the palace, they can't surpass Her Majesty. Her Majesty is deeply favored, manages the six palaces, and has three princes under her wing. No one can compare to her."
An Lingrong tapped Siyun's nose from a distance and said, "You're so glib."
Although the Emperor did not meet the two princesses, he still agreed to let them enter the palace.
After discussing it with the Emperor, the Empress Dowager decided to send four concubines into the palace, and all of them were given the title of Noble Lady.
Among them, Guarjia Wenyuan, daughter of Censor Guarjia Emin of the Censorate, was granted the title of Noble Lady Qi.
Li Ying, the younger sister of Li Bin, the deputy commander of the Xiaoji Camp, was granted the title of Consort Mu. Both Consort Qi and Consort Mu were daughters of meritorious officials who quelled the rebellion.
Ulanara was granted the title of Consort Jin, and Uya was granted the title of Consort Shen.
The word "cautious" reveals the Emperor's dissatisfaction with the Empress Dowager and his admonition to the two women. It remains to be seen whether they understand the Emperor's meaning.
Consort Qi's residence was arranged by An Lingrong to be Changchun Palace, Consort Mu's residence was Xianfu Palace, and Consorts Jin and Shen's residence was Yonghe Palace, where the Empress Dowager had lived.
Before the four noble ladies entered the palace, An Lingrong and the others received an imperial decree granting them the title of Grand Consorts.
An Lingrong was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, holding the Phoenix Seal and ruling over the six palaces.
Consort Wan was promoted to Imperial Concubine Wan, Consort Jing was promoted to Imperial Concubine Jing, and Consort Yu of the Imperial Palace was promoted to Imperial Concubine Yu.
Consort Tian was promoted to Consort Tian, Consort Hui was promoted to Consort Hui, Consort Borjigit was promoted to Consort Zhen, and Consort Xin was promoted to Consort Xin.
Consort Hui was moved to Chuxiu Palace and became its principal wife.
The only ones who were not promoted were Consort Qi, Consort Li, and Noble Lady Cao. Consort Qi was promoted because the Emperor did not want to establish any more Noble Consorts for the time being.
After all, An Lingrong was able to become a Noble Consort because she gave birth to twins. She had three sons, which raised the bar for becoming a Noble Consort.
Even so, the Emperor granted Consort Qi the same rank and benefits as a Noble Consort, which was considered compensation for not being promoted.
As for Consort Li and Noble Lady Cao, they were implicated by Consort Hua and thus did not receive promotions.
An Lingrong was an Imperial Noble Consort, holding the Phoenix Seal. Since there was no Empress in the palace, the concubines should naturally pay their respects to An Lingrong.
An Lingrong instructed them to pay their respects every five or ten days. These daily greetings were for trivial matters and did not need to be too frequent. Important matters would be notified separately.
Three days after the newly appointed concubines entered the palace, the four young ladies came to Yongshou Palace to pay their respects, first greeting An Lingrong.
Of course, it wasn't the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows that An Lingrong performed when she entered the palace. After all, An Lingrong wasn't the empress, and although the Imperial Noble Consort could be called the deputy empress, she was still just a concubine.
"This concubine greets Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort. May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
"Get up." An Lingrong sat at the head of the table, looking at the four people who had risen.
After seeing the face of someone in the first row, he feigned surprise, and the other concubines in the front rows also looked surprised.
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