Chapter 112 Extra 3 (Part 1)
After returning to the capital with Ning'an at noon, Yinzhi went to Xianfu Palace to see Wenshan that evening.
Yi'an and Hongxi were playing chess by the window, while Wenshan was making toys for the two children.
"Royal Grandmother!"
As soon as Ning An was put down by Yin Si, he ran inside. Wen Shan laughed when she heard the little guy's voice.
"Our Ningning is back."
Yi'an and Hongxi stopped playing chess. Yi'an threw down the chess pieces and jumped off the bed, bumping right into Ning'an.
Hongxi looked at the game he was about to win and sighed.
Yinzhi followed him in and said with a smile, "You two sisters really feel like they've been apart for three autumns in a day."
Wenshan helped the two up, smiling, and said, "Be careful, are you alright?"
After saying that, she looked at Yinzhi and said gently, "Why are you back so soon? Didn't you say you would be back in ten days?"
"Father is fine. I got bored after a few days and came back," Yinzhi said.
Xiao Shunzi brought in several packages, and the three children happily began to distribute the gifts on the tatami mat.
Wen Shan hummed in response and nodded, not seeming to care much about Kangxi's situation.
In short, Yinzhen and his family would provide him with good food and drink, and as long as he didn't cause trouble, he would naturally be able to live out his days in peace.
Ning An whispered, "Grandpa is a bit fierce, Ning Ning doesn't like it."
Yi'an and Hongxi still remembered their grandfather. Yi'an was simple-minded and always spoke her mind. When Yinzhi had his accident, Yi'an was already old enough to remember things. At that time, she no longer had the same respect and admiration for Kangxi as before. Therefore, when she heard about Kangxi, she pursed her lips and muttered, "Grandpa treated Eighth Uncle and Father Emperor so badly, I don't like Grandpa anymore."
"That's my grandfather, don't talk nonsense," Hongxi said softly.
Yi'an stuck out her tongue, made a funny face, and then played with Ning'an again.
Ning An, being quite shrewd, overheard Yi An's words and immediately pulled her aside to ask what her grandfather had done in the past. Yi An initially didn't want to answer, but couldn't resist Ning An's persistent pleading, so she told her what she knew.
The two maids were whispering in the corner, but Wen Shan and Yin Si didn't hear them as they were talking.
Yinzhi brought Ning'an with him for two reasons: firstly, after returning from a long trip, he felt it was his duty to pay his respects to Wenshan; secondly, Ning'an missed Yi'an and Wenshan and insisted on staying at Wenshan's place for the night, so Yinzhi had no choice but to bring her along.
After talking with Yinzhi for a while, Wenshan urged him to leave the palace and return to his residence to spend more time with Guoluo and Hongwang, leaving Ning'an with her. However, when Yinzhi went to the side hall to find Ning'an, he saw the little girl with red eyes, hugging him tightly and refusing to let go, saying that she would not stay in Xianfu Palace anymore and insisted on returning to her residence with Yinzhi.
"What's wrong? Who bullied our little princess?" Yinzhi bent down and asked patiently.
Ning'an had been playing with Yi'an the whole time, so Yi'an naturally wouldn't bully her. Since it was in Xianfu Palace, Yinzhi was genuinely puzzled, wondering why this little darling had been made to cry again.
Seeing that things were not going well, Yi'an immediately fled.
Ning An, feeling wronged, recounted what Yi An had just told her. Children's memories are always somewhat inaccurate, and besides, adults like Yinzhen and Wenshan wouldn't have specifically mentioned these things in front of Yi An, so Yi An only knew the more serious and undeniable events.
For example, Yinzhi was imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court for a long time, and Lady Guoluo, who was pregnant, was ordered to move out of Yuqing Palace and was even reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi at a birthday banquet.
Ning An became increasingly distressed as she listened, and then, recalling Kangxi's attitude towards her at the Chengde Mountain Resort, she finally understood why her father wouldn't let her see Kangxi.
Ning An wanted to go home and stay with Yinzhi and Lady Guoluo. Yinzhi had no choice but to send someone to tell Wen Shan and then carried her away.
Wen Shan knew this and only told them to be careful when leaving the palace, then looked at Yi An, who was obviously feeling guilty and pointing at his finger.
What did you and your sister talk about?
Yi'an chuckled: "I didn't say anything. Grandmother Yi'an just wants to eat rice cakes!"
Wen Shan shook her head helplessly; this girl has been like this since she was little.
Just then, Yinzhen and Lady Fucha arrived hand in hand.
"You two have come at just the right time. Your daughter was just asking for some snacks. How about we have a late-night treat together?" Wen Shan said with a smile.
Today, Yinzhen hosted a banquet at the Qianqing Palace to entertain Yue Zhongqi, who had just returned victorious, as well as Tian Wenjing, Li Wei, Ortai, and others who had made great contributions to the implementation of the new policies. Since Ma Qi was also present, he brought Fucha Shi along as well. They came over as soon as the banquet ended.
Yinzhen sat down opposite Wenshan and said, "I just finished eating with the court officials, so I'm not hungry right now."
Empress Fucha pulled Yi'an aside, took out a handkerchief, and wiped her slightly sweaty face: "The Emperor is right, Your Majesty, there's no need for you to go to such trouble."
"Where has Yi'an gone off to play again? She's covered in sweat."
Wen Shan said, "Yin Si and Ning An just left, and the two sisters played in the side hall for a while."
Yinzhen said regretfully, "Then we are a step too late."
"Now that Yinzhi is back, how could you not see him?" Wen Shan glanced at him. He usually treated Yinzhi and Yinxiang like cattle, but now that Yinzhi is back, he probably still can't escape.
Yinxiang has recently gone to Shanxi to inspect salt production and is not in the palace, but he often sends letters back to Wenshan, chatting about daily trivial matters and complaining about his fourth brother's terrible behavior of seizing laborers.
Yinzhen touched his nose: "Now that the affairs of the court have come to an end, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
The initial phase of implementation has been largely completed; now it's time to see how effective these new policies are.
With the previous dynasty less busy, the matter of enriching the harem was brought up again by some idle ministers.
It's really unacceptable that the harem is so empty after four years of Yinzhen's reign, especially since the concubines have not had any children since Honghui's birth.
Lady Fucha took the initiative to suggest to Yinzhen that even if there was no imperial concubine selection, several women from families of meritorious officials could be chosen to enter the palace. This would both silence the critics and avoid extravagance in the selection process.
Yinzhen was truly indifferent to women, especially after ascending the throne, he devoted himself entirely to state affairs and even thought it was better to have fewer people in the harem, as it would be noisy with too many people.
However, the court officials were quite noisy, so when Lady Fucha made the suggestion, Yinzhen agreed and allowed her to make the decision on which people to bring into the palace.
He specifically instructed that there shouldn't be too many people, and that only a few with good temperaments should be chosen to avoid chaos in the underground palace.
Empress Fucha then held several flower viewing parties and tea tasting parties, inviting the wives and daughters of princes and ministers in the capital who had women of marriageable age. Everyone knew that the Empress was selecting concubines for the Emperor to fill the six palaces, and they all happily brought their daughters or sisters to the banquet.
Fucha was dizzy from looking at the land, and only after carefully verifying the family background and personally seeing them at the banquet did she decide on five people.
They were all pretty, from good families, with fathers and brothers who were capable, and also gentle, humble, and easy to get along with.
After Fucha finished drafting the list, she presented it to Wenshan. As the Empress Dowager, Wenshan only needed to glance at it as a formality.
However, Wen Shan was not enthusiastic about choosing concubines for Yinzhen, so she just glanced at them and decided to follow the example of Fucha's choice.
Upon closer inspection, I spotted several familiar names.
"Is Ms. Nian the daughter of Nian Xialing?"
Wen Shan paused when she saw the name. It seemed that Lady Fucha was quite satisfied with the girl and had proposed a concubine rank for her.
“Indeed, her father, Nian Xialing, once served as the governor of Huguang and was highly favored by the Emperor. Although he has retired due to illness, he has remained loyal and upright since the Emperor ascended the throne, and the Emperor has praised him as well,” said Lady Fucha. “Moreover, after the Emperor conferred the title of Prince Yong, the Bordered White Banner, where the Nian family belonged, was placed under the Emperor’s command, making them his own servants. My daughter-in-law has also met this Miss Nian. She is delicate and graceful, with almond-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, and is a well-mannered person. Therefore, she was given the title of Consort.”
Empress Fucha was very generous in her treatment of the newcomers entering the palace. The lowest rank among the five was a Noble Lady. Yue Zhongqi's sister, who had just won a great victory in Qinghai, was also on the list and was given the highest initial rank, directly becoming a Consort.
Now, Lady Fucha has a close relationship with Yinzhen and Wenshan, and with a son and a daughter, her position is secure. Moreover, Lady Fucha is not a jealous person by nature, so she still has great goodwill towards these girls who are about to enter the palace.
Wen Shan asked, "I remember that Nian Xialing had a son named Nian Gengyao, who was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the same year as Zhang Tingyu?"
Zhang Tingyu is now a trusted and favored minister of Yinzhen, and he was also Yinzhen's study companion in the palace when he was young, so Wen Shan did not find it strange that he was from the Fucha clan.
"Indeed, Nian Gengyao was the General of the Cavalry in the battle of Qinghai, and it seems he made quite a few contributions."
Yinzhen and Yinsi had seriously discussed whether and how to use Nian Gengyao.
This person does indeed have some ability, especially in warfare, but he is too ambitious and prone to arrogance. Therefore, after repeated discussions, the three of them decided to employ him, but they would not give him important positions from the beginning as before. If he can rise from humble beginnings and temper his temperament, then it is not impossible to use him. If his nature is hard to change, then they will just keep him in a low-ranking official position.
In this battle in Qinghai, Nian Gengyao still went to the battlefield, but he was not the commander-in-chief. So after the victory, Yinzhen simply rewarded him in the usual way without giving him any special commendation. At this time, Nian Gengyao was indeed not as arrogant and domineering as he was in his previous life. At least he looked passable now.
Empress Fucha chose Lady Nian because she considered all these factors and felt that letting her enter the palace was a way to appease the Nian family.
Wen Shan hesitated, thinking for a long time but still not knowing what to say.
Regardless of her brother's actions, Lady Nian was indeed innocent. Historical records describe Consort Nian as virtuous and kind, and she was greatly favored by Prince Yinzhen. However, this girl was unlucky; she gave birth to three sons and one daughter, but none of them survived. Later, she was caught in a dilemma due to the Nian Gengyao affair, and her poor health led to her death.
Wen Shan didn't know what would become of the Nian family in this life, but she felt a little reluctant to let the girl go to the palace again.
Seeing Wen Shan's hesitant expression, Lady Fucha pondered for a long time before carefully speaking, "That day, I hosted a banquet for the ladies of the palace, and His Majesty came by and met Miss Nian. He seemed to take a liking to her, so..."
Lady Fucha didn't finish her sentence, but what she meant was that she let Lady Nian in because she thought Yinzhen liked her. As a concubine, family background was important, but Yinzhen's liking was the most important thing.
Lady Fucha thought that Wenshan disliked Lady Nian, so she quickly said some nice things to her, praising her for being intelligent and kind-hearted, and beautiful inside and out.
Wen Shan: "It's not that Miss Nian is bad... Has this list been shown to Yinzhen?"
Yinzhen glanced at Nian Shi a few more times, perhaps not out of liking but out of curiosity, after all, he had heard a lot about her and her brother from Yinxiang and the others.
"Not yet. Matters of the inner palace must naturally be reviewed by the Empress Dowager first," Fucha replied.
Wenshan thought about it and said she would discuss it with Yinzhen later.
Fucha obediently agreed, as she was only responsible for selecting people; whether or not they should be kept was entirely up to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
Wenshan glanced down again and saw another familiar face.
"Niugu Lushi?"
Wen Shan was shocked. Was it Fucha's discerning eye or was their fate just too deep?
Fucha hurriedly explained, "Although Niohuru's father was only a fourth-rank official, this girl is of outstanding character. In addition, there are not many Manchu girls of marriageable age now, so she was chosen."
As mentioned earlier, Yue Zhongqi's sister and Nian Gengyao's sister were both from the Han Banner Army, so it's true that we had to include a few girls from the Manchu Banner Army.
Moreover, Lady Fucha had a very good impression of Lady Niohuru, who was honest, dutiful, and well-behaved.
Wen Shan sighed, "The problem isn't with Niohuru herself, it's just her son..."
Wen Shan left the list and let Fucha go back first. When it was time for dinner, she sent someone to invite Yinzhen over. Yinsi and Yinxiang were also in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so the three brothers came together.
Wen Shan showed them the list drafted by Lady Fucha, which delighted Yinzhi and Yinxiang, who burst into laughter.
"Fourth Sister-in-law has a really sharp eye," Yinzhi said with a smile. "I remember that Fourth Sister-in-law once took a fancy to Li Shi. She really has managed to collect them all."
Wen Shan looked at Yinzhen and said, "The Empress said that you seemed to like Lady Nian quite a bit, so she included her in the list and gave her the rank of Consort."
Yinzhi and Yinxiang started exchanging winks and glances.
"Fourth Brother, have you taken a liking to him?"
“Mrs. Nian is indeed outstanding in appearance and has a good temperament, it’s just a pity that she has such an older brother.” Yinxiang pondered and said, “But Mrs. Nian’s health is not very good, and she couldn’t keep any of her children. Fourth Brother, you should think about it again.”
Yinzhi also said, "Moreover, if Lady Nian enters the palace and gains favor, Nian Gengyao will start to tremble again."
"It would be absolutely unacceptable for Fourth Brother to suffer for the sake of a mere Nian Gengyao. If Fourth Brother wishes to bring him into the palace, that's fine too."
Yinsi and Yinxiang were clearly joking with Yinzhen, while Wenshan was genuinely wondering if it was really a deep connection that made Yinzhen unable to forget her after only meeting her once.
This doesn't seem like Yinzhen's style at all.
As expected, Yinzhen was left speechless by his two younger brothers' teasing.
"You two, stop making a fuss," Yinzhen said. "It's just that when I heard she was Nian Gengyao's sister that day, I remembered what you two had talked about and took a second look. There's nothing particularly appealing about her."
Just as Wen Shan had expected, Yinzhen only glanced at it a few more times out of curiosity.
"Then... how should this list be arranged?" Wenshan asked.
Yinzhen pondered for a moment: "Since the Empress made a bad choice and offended her, let's arrange it this way."
Yinzhen didn't really care much about the few concubines.
Since she was carefully selected by Lady Fucha over these past few days, there's no need to torment her any further.
After finishing their conversation, Yinzhen ate a few bites of food and suddenly said, "Why haven't I seen Ning'an come to the palace lately? Yi'an asked about it yesterday."
Yinzhi sighed and told Ning'an that she knew what had happened when she was still in Guoluo's womb. She had been in a bad mood these past few days and had been clinging to him and Guoluo all day, not wanting to leave the mansion.
“Yi’an always tells everyone.” Yinzhen shook his head, thought for a moment and said, “A few days ago, the foreign countries sent some fresh fruits and food as tribute. Take some back with you to appease Ning’an later.”
"The engineering college outside has also developed a lot of fun things. I'll pick a few to bring back to Ning'an later."
Both Yinzhen and Yinxiang doted on Ning'an, and when they heard that Ning'an had been depressed lately, they racked their brains to think of ways to cheer her up.
"It's alright, you don't need to worry too much. Ning'an is still young and easy to coax."
In a few days, they will surely come to the palace again in high spirits.
After the new concubines entered the palace, Yinzhen did not show much favoritism towards any of them. He still spent most of his time in the palace of Lady Fucha, and occasionally visited Honghui in the palace of Lady Ulanara.
Honghui is now over three years old. Under Yinzhen's deliberate care, he is as strong as a calf. Ulanara herself is somewhat indifferent to worldly affairs, and her son is also very kind and honest. He has always had a good relationship with the brothers Hongxi.
As Hongxi has grown up over the past few years, his abilities and character have gradually become apparent. At the beginning of this year, Yinzhen had already written an edict to establish a crown prince. However, given the precedent of deposing a crown prince, Yinzhen was worried that establishing a crown prince too early would lead to a repeat of the same mistake. Therefore, he continued the practice of his previous life and placed the edict behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Qianqing Palace.
It must be said that having more concubines is indeed beneficial for having more offspring. Half a year after the new concubines entered the palace, Niohuru and Nian became pregnant one after the other. The two were about the same month pregnant, and it was estimated that Nian would be about a month later than Niohuru. Wen Shan originally calculated that if both Niohuru and Nian gave birth to princes, Niohuru's son would be ranked first and should be the third prince, at least not the fourth prince Hongli.
As a result, when Nian was a little over eight months old, she accidentally slipped and fell, and went into premature labor, giving birth to a prince.
The child was indeed physically weak, and Yinzhen could only have the imperial physicians take good care of him. A month later, Niohuru gave birth to a prince, who happened to be the fourth prince.
Wen Shan and Yin Zhen remained silent. Yin Xiang and Yin Si carefully examined their newborn nephew and commented that although he was still wrinkled, it was vaguely clear that he was similar to Hongli in his childhood.
After all, they were born to the same parents, so it's normal.
Yinzhen didn't have any particular feelings. After all, this was his son, and he just needed to teach the child properly.
"So... what name are you going to give him, Fourth Brother?" Yinxiang asked, leaning closer.
Are you planning to name him Hongli again?
Yinzhen also felt that the name Hongli was not good, as it carried some bad luck, at least in his mind. So he changed the name to Hongyun, and the third prince born to Lady Nian was named Hongchen.
A month later, Niohuru noticed that her son was acting strangely. He seemed to be very resistant to the name Hongyun. Every time she called him, he would ignore her and act coldly like a little adult.
Yinzhen and the others naturally noticed the difference in this son.
"He never cried much as a child, nor did he like being held. His eyes were bright and clear." Yinxiang stroked his chin and said, "Could it be..."
Just like him and the myna bird.
"At least it looks very similar now," Yinzhi commented.
Yinzhen smiled slightly: "Isn't that perfect? We can teach this rebellious son a good lesson."
It was this rebellious son who closed the country off from the world and favored treacherous officials, causing the Qing Dynasty to decline.
"..."
All they could do was shed a tear for Hongli.
Hongli, who inexplicably became an infant again after the emperor's death, was also bewildered.
In the first few days after he arrived, his vision was still blurry and he could not hear clearly. He vaguely heard some information that made him realize that he seemed to have been reincarnated into the royal family.
Yes, at first Hongli thought he had been reincarnated after dying of old age.
At that time, he was quite leisurely thinking that he had been reincarnated with the memories of his previous life, which was indeed an extraordinary opportunity for a celestial being. He wondered which descendant he had been reincarnated into this time.
Hongli fell silent once he could see things clearly.
Aaaaaah!
Isn't that his mother, Niohuru?
Could it be that he wasn't reincarnated, but rather reborn through the cycle of reincarnation?
But this doesn't quite make sense. His father hadn't ascended the throne when he was born, but the decor looks like it's in a palace, and his mother's attire resembles that of a concubine.
What puzzled him even more was that he had a new name, Hongyun.
But in the past few days, he had also figured out the situation through his mother and several palace maids. He was his mother's eldest son and his father's fourth son.
He's right, but something doesn't seem quite right either.
There were too many changes in this life that made Hongli question the meaning of life.
The Emperor ascended the throne many years ahead of schedule, and it seems that the throne was abdicated by the Emperor's grandfather. The Eighth Uncle and the Thirteenth Uncle became the Emperor's right-hand men, like brothers. Moreover, the Emperor's principal wife was not from the Ulanara clan but from the Fuca clan.
His grandmother also changed from Consort De to Consort Xuan, whom he barely remembered.
This series of changes left Hongli somewhat bewildered; he racked his brains but still couldn't figure out why things had turned out this way.
But one day he realized he must never reveal that he was a reincarnated person. He was too weak now and could only pretend to be stupid to accumulate strength.
However, what he didn't know was that his father, the emperor, and his eighth and thirteenth uncles had already set their sights on him.
Hongli was genuinely dissatisfied with the name Hongyun. No matter how many times he heard it, he felt that it didn't sound as grand and comfortable as his own name, Hongli. However, this was not something he could decide. He could only kick his legs to express his dissatisfaction when he heard Niohuru call him that.
Father Emperor rarely visits Mother Mother's palace, and when he does, he mostly stares at him with a gaze that makes him feel uneasy. He has no choice but to pretend to be asleep each time.
When he was almost ten months old and able to say a few words, his eighth and thirteenth uncles came to visit him one day.
Yinzhi and Yinxiang couldn't help but laugh when they saw Hongli sitting in the cradle with his eyes darting around.
This kid is still the same as before, full of tricks.
“Hongyun, I am your eighth uncle.”
Yinzhi smiled and picked up Hongli. Hongli indeed pouted, clearly not used to the name.
Yinxiang nudged him from the side: "Why does our Hongyun seem to dislike this name? He always has a stern face. This was a name your father thought about for a long time before giving it to you."
Hongli: "..."
Helpless, he could only grit his teeth and squeeze out a few words: "Hongyun likes it."
Yinzhi and Yinxiang were satisfied. They only stopped when they had thoroughly dealt with their powerless nephew.
“Actually, even Eighth Uncle thinks this name sounds a bit awkward. Wouldn’t Hongli sound better?” Yinzhi said coolly.
Hongli, who had already given up and resigned himself to being humiliated, suddenly raised his head upon hearing these words.
Wait, what did he just hear?
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