Chapter 37 Both Wen Shan and Yin Si knew...
Wen Shan and Yin Si both knew that Consort Min was carrying the thirteenth prince, Yin Xiang. Wen Shan was very much looking forward to Consort Min's pregnancy, but Yin Si always had a stern face whenever Wen Shan mentioned it.
Wen Shan teased him, saying he was going to compete with the thirteenth prince for Yinzhen's favor, which made Yinsi so angry that he ignored her all day. In the end, Wen Shan had to make Yinsi's favorite crispy duck to coax him back.
Starting this year, Yinzhen will be moving from Xianfu Palace to Qianxi Wusuo. Wenshan started getting anxious more than a month in advance, packing things for Yinzhen over and over again, afraid that he might be missing something. She was also worried that the people in Qianxi Wusuo wouldn't serve him well enough, and almost took half of the palace staff in Xianfu Palace with Yinzhen.
Seeing Wen Shan frantically directing the palace servants to prepare this and that, making everyone quite exhausted, Yinzhen stepped in to save the palace servants of Xianfu Palace from near-numbness.
“Mother, I only go to the West Fifth Palace to sleep at night. I usually come back to Xianfu Palace.”
Wen Shan said with a bitter face, "You spend all your days in the study and only come back at night. Now you don't even sleep here with your mother anymore."
That would mean she barely sees Yinzhen every day.
Oh no, I'm so sad, my heart is breaking.
Yinzhi watched the spectacle from the sidelines, eager to see how his fourth brother would appease his mother, who was on the verge of tears.
"Should I ask the Empress Dowager or the Emperor to let you stay for a few more years?"
Since that's the case, we can only try to prevent Yinzhen from leaving.
“You’re still so young, how can your mother feel at ease letting you live alone outside?”
Yinzhen was helpless. He was already seven years old this year. The Book of Rites says that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. Naturally, he could no longer live with his mother. Moreover, he was not the only one living in the Fifth Palace of the Western Regions. The eldest prince and the third prince had already moved there.
Wen Shan felt increasingly panicked as she thought about it, and in a moment of desperation, she actually prepared to beg Emperor Kangxi for help, which startled Yinzhen so much that he quickly stopped her.
“Mother, it is the rule that a prince should move out of the inner palace at the age of seven. Even if you beg Father, he will not agree.”
Instead, they would scold Wen Shan for being a spoiled mother who had neglected her son.
Yinzhen gave Yinsi a wink, signaling him to stop watching the commotion and come help.
Yinzhi jumped down, hugged Wenshan's arm, and said sweetly, "Mother, don't be sad. My brother is gone, but I'm still here. I will always be with you, Mother."
Wen Shan looked at him quietly and said, "You're four years old this year. In three more years, won't you also have to leave your mother?"
By then, she'll be an empty nester before she even turns thirty.
"..."
Wen Shan was also surprised to find that her separation anxiety was so severe. She sighed every day, worried that Yinzhen was not doing well outside. Even Kangxi, who was busy with government affairs and finally managed to find some time to visit Xianfu Palace, noticed it.
"What's wrong with you lately? You seem a bit unwell." Kangxi, who usually came over for a free meal and stayed overnight, couldn't help but ask when he saw Wen Shan staring blankly at the candlelight.
Since returning from the Southern Tour, Wen Shan was forced to personally cook whenever Emperor Kangxi visited. Emperor Kangxi had already put Wen Shan through his wringer during the Southern Tour, but upon returning and seeing how perceptive she was, he didn't mention again that Wen Shan had used other people's cooking to appease him. However, he visited Xianfu Palace more frequently than before.
During the Southern Tour, Wen Shan's daily interactions with Emperor Kangxi actually helped her figure out how to get along with him. The key was to avoid playing tricks on such a master manipulator; sincerity was the best weapon.
So Wen Shan rested her chin on her hand, picked up the scissors beside her, and trimmed the candle wick that was about to burst. She said with distress, "Yinzhen is about to move to Qianxi Wusuo. I am worried about him."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi chuckled and began to scold her: "You spoil the child the most. It is an old rule that princes should move to the Fifth Palace in Qianxi when they turn seven. How come others can go but Yinzhen cannot?"
Fortunately, although Wen Shan spoiled the two children in such trivial matters, she was not ambiguous when it came to important matters. Seeing that Yin Zhen and Yin Si were well-educated and intelligent, Kangxi felt at ease entrusting the two princes to Wen Shan.
Wen Shan, unusually shameless, said, "The other princes weren't raised by me, so isn't it normal for me to worry?"
“Consort Hui and Consort Rong were not like you. When Yinti and Yinzhi moved to Qianxi Wusuo, I saw that they were very happy.” Kangxi also became interested and started bickering with Wenshan.
What's the point of comparing these two things?
Wen Shan became even more annoyed upon hearing this, and snorted, saying, "That's because I'm honest and don't lie to Your Majesty."
"Nonsense." Kangxi tapped Wenshan's head lightly with the book, but his tone was full of amusement.
Seeing that Kangxi was in a good mood, Wenshan mustered up her courage and pleaded with him to let Yinzhen move out later.
But when it came to serious matters related to the upbringing of princes, Kangxi stopped joking with Wenshan and immediately stated that there was no room for discussion and that things had to be done according to the rules.
"How about this? I promise you that if Consort Min gives birth to a princess this time, the princess will be raised in Xianfu Palace, and you can raise her until she gets married."
Seeing Wen Shan acting coquettishly and playfully towards him, Kangxi was in a good mood but also a little soft-hearted. It was absolutely impossible for Yinzhen to stay, but it wouldn't hurt for Wen Shan to raise a princess who could always be by her side.
"..."
The cake is drawn to be both large and round.
You can't exactly tell Emperor Kangxi that she knew for sure that Consort Min was carrying the thirteenth prince, can you?
Moreover, even if Consort Min is carrying a princess, there is no rule that a princess's birth mother must be of the rank of concubine or above to raise her personally. Why separate a child who can rightfully be raised by her birth mother from her mother?
Seeing that she didn't speak, Kangxi realized the flaw in his previous words and continued, "If this child is a prince, it's fine. I promise you that if any concubine below the rank of consort gives birth to a princess, I will bring her to you."
Wen Shan quickly came to her senses and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. However, I am already preoccupied with both Yinzhen and Yinsi and am not able to take good care of the princess. It would be better if the princess stayed with her mother."
Wen Shan was never one to play hard to get, so when Kangxi saw that she was genuinely uninterested, he didn't bring it up again.
Even though Wen Shan was unwilling, the day still came for Yinzhen to move to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi. Yinsi saw that his mother's mood had been low since morning, and she finally couldn't hold back her tears after sending his fourth brother to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi. He immediately lost his composure.
"Mother, don't be sad. Fourth Brother will still come back every day from now on."
Yinzhen quickly added, "Yes, I will go back to Xianfu Palace to have dinner with my mother after school."
Wen Shan wiped away her tears. Actually, she felt much better after crying. She had started preparing the place where Yinzhen lived in the Fifth Palace of Ganxi a long time in advance. It was almost exactly the same as the place where Yinzhen lived in Xianfu Palace. There was no problem with the accommodation. Moreover, the people around him were all carefully selected by Wen Shan. Wen Shan felt much more at ease.
I'm just a little sad about my relationship, but I'll feel better after a good cry.
After Yinzhen moved to the Fifth Palace in Qianxi, Wenshan adapted in two days and found that it was not as terrible as she had thought. She could hardly see anyone all day long.
Every day, Yinzhen would come to Xianfu Palace for breakfast, then take Yinsi to the Imperial Study. In the evening, he would come back for dinner, chat with Wenshan and Yinsi for a while, and then return to Qianxi Wusuo.
It seems that this is indeed similar to the time when Yinzhen was still living in Xianfu Palace.
Moreover, in order to please Wen Shan, Yin Zhen somehow found several extremely beautiful koi fry, which he paired with a transparent glass fish tank, making them look incredibly beautiful under the sun.
Wenshan kept them in the yard, placing them next to the flowers and plants in front of the porch. Every day she would watch the koi for a while and then feed them. She had indeed recovered from the somewhat dejected mood of the past few days.
Wenshan shifted her focus to the fish, which grew much larger in just a few days. She checked on them several times a day and even cooked for them less often.
Gradually feeling neglected, Yinzhen and Yinsi realized they had let a wolf into their house. Little did they expect these lucky koi to be vixens who had bewitched their mother.
So Yinzhi took the initiative, clinging to Wenshan and asking her to tell him stories, preventing her from feeding the fish.
"My dear, let me take you to the yard to tell you. Baoxin made a hanging basket, it's very pretty."
Wen Shan was eager to go out and see her precious koi fish, but Yin Si tugged at her sleeve and said that it was getting cold outside and he didn't want to go out.
Unexpectedly, Wen Shan became even more anxious upon hearing this and ran out immediately.
"Oh dear, I forgot it's gotten cold lately. What if they freeze if I leave them outside?"
Yinzhi followed behind and said helplessly, "Mother, they are fish, how could they be frozen?"
Are things that live in water afraid of the cold?
Wenshan went out and was heartbroken: "How could you not? Don't you look less energetic than before?"
Anyway, she felt a little listless.
Yinzhi looked left and right but couldn't see anything different. He was still the same dull and foolish, lazy and greedy, and didn't want to move much except when being fed.
Sometimes, Yinzhen and Yinsi even wondered if their mother was raising fish or turtles.
Wenshan insisted that the fish had frozen because of the cold weather, and then began to direct Baoquan and the others to carry the fish tank into the house.
Yinzhi: "..."
I finally understand what it means to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot—I actually let those little vixens into the house!
That would be terrible in the future!
Yinzhi began to consider how likely it was that he could persuade Fuqi to catch and eat the fish.
As for why Laifu wasn't allowed to do it?
It's a joke, so this kind of unlucky thing of taking the blame should naturally be left to Fuqi. Anyway, Fourth Brother doesn't have time to take care of it now. He takes care of feeding and walking the dog. It's time for this silly dog to repay its debt.
Although there was some chaos in Xianfu Palace, Wen Shan's mood clearly returned to its previous relaxed and cheerful state.
Yinzhen and Yinsi breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Wenshan cheer up again. They hadn't expected their mother to be so upset for so long because of Yinzhen's move to the Fifth Palace in the west.
Even Consort Yi and Consort Niohuru, who came to visit, found the matter somewhat amusing.
“The princes will all have to leave their mothers when they grow up. Now they are already reluctant to leave their sister Xuan in the Fifth Palace of Ganxi. What will happen if the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince get married and leave the palace to establish their own residences in the future?” Consort Yi said with a smile.
Fifth Prince was not raised by Consort Yi from a young age, so Consort Yi accepted this well. Even if it were the Ninth Prince's turn to move to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi in the future, she would not feel anything about it.
Consort Niohuru, perhaps due to her pregnancy, became increasingly sentimental. Putting herself in her shoes, she would be heartbroken and extremely reluctant if Xiao Shi had to leave her to live in the Fifth Palace in Ganxi. Therefore, this time Consort Niohuru and Wen Shan stood on the same side to jointly condemn the "heartless and ungrateful" Consort Yi.
Consort Yi, unable to defeat four opponents with her bare fists, could only admit defeat in a sorry state.
“So daughters are the most considerate,” Consort Yi said, touching Consort Niohuru’s belly. “If only Consort Niohuru had a princess this time. It’s such a pity that none of the three of us have a daughter.”
Wen Shanmo thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed true. The three of them had a total of six princes, all of whom were rascals and not a single one of them had a lovely daughter.
Consort Niohuru also smiled and said, "I also hope that this child will be a daughter."
Having both a son and a daughter is something most people hope for.
Wen Shan said with a smile, "Then my sister will surely have everything she wants this time."
Consort Niohuru was due later than Consort Min, and by the calculations, she should have given birth in September. While everyone in the palace was focused on Consort Niohuru's pregnancy, Consort Ping turned her attention to the relatively unknown Consort Min.
Since Songgotu was dismissed from office, the Hesheli clan has been far less powerful than before, while the Niohuru clan is deeply rooted. Since the new generation leader of the Niohuru clan, Aling'a, officially inherited the title of First-Class Duke and entered the court as an official, he has become increasingly powerful. Moreover, Consort Niohuru already has a prince and is now pregnant with her second child, which makes the Hesheli clan somewhat uneasy.
Among the princes in the harem, only the tenth prince, born to Consort Niohuru, can rival the crown prince in terms of maternal family status. If Consort Niohuru gives birth to another prince this time, it will be troublesome for the two brothers to support each other.
Moreover, there is an even more troublesome problem: Consort Niohuru is now very close to Consort Xuan and Consort Yi. These two not only have five princes in their families, but if the three of them join forces to support the Tenth Prince...
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
Later, when Wen Shan learned about this, she found it somewhat amusing. These brothers had indeed joined forces, but they were supporting not the Tenth Prince, but Yinzhi.
It was obviously unrealistic to try to sabotage Consort Niohuru's pregnancy, so Consort Ping thought of something she had wanted to do before but hadn't been able to.
They adopted a prince to assist the crown prince.
When the twelfth prince was born, Consort Ping had considered this idea, but Consort Ding and Consort Tong worked together to save the twelfth prince. At that time, Suo'etu had not yet been dismissed from office, and Hesheli was still relatively stable. Consort Ping tried it once and then did not pursue it further.
But if Consort Min's child is a prince this time, she will definitely snatch him away.
Consort Min's rank was not high enough to raise a prince. According to custom, the child should be given to Consort Duan, who had been in obscurity in the palace for many years and had long since fallen out of favor, so Consort Ping felt that she still had a good chance of bringing the child to her palace this time.
Consort Ping then decisively found an opportunity to bring up the matter with Emperor Kangxi.
Currently, among the high-ranking concubines in the palace, only Consort Ping is still childless.
Emperor Kangxi knew what Consort Ping was planning, or rather, Consort Ping never intended to hide it.
The dismissal of Suo'etu from his post and the re-pregnancy of Consort Niohuru are several events that, when combined, could indeed shake the position of the Crown Prince.
Emperor Kangxi coldly observed that not only in the harem, but also in the court, people were beginning to stir up trouble.
So after thinking it over for a while, Emperor Kangxi neither directly agreed to Consort Ping's request nor refused, only saying that they would discuss it again after Consort Min gave birth.
But that's basically considered an agreement.
It's just that Emperor Kangxi was used to avoiding dead ends and leaving some room for maneuver.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the palace. When Wen Shan heard the news, she was so shocked that she almost dropped her chopsticks.
Should the Thirteenth Prince be raised by Consort Ping?
There doesn't seem to be any history of this.
Wen Shan privately asked Yin Si, who said that in his previous life, the thirteenth prince was raised under the care of Consort Duan, until Consort Min gave birth to another daughter and was promoted to Consort Min in the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi's reign, at which point the thirteenth prince was brought back.
Yinzhi didn't seem to care much about the matter, saying, "The thirteenth prince was originally part of the crown prince's faction, so it's not necessarily a bad thing now."
Now look what's happened; he's become a princeling cultivated from childhood.
Yinzhi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. This was a good thing, as it would save him from constantly worrying about the deep brotherly bond between the thirteenth prince and the fourth prince.
Yinzhi was a very possessive person. Since he had already decided that his fourth brother was his own brother in this life, then his supposedly best thirteenth brother should stay as far away as possible.
Over the past few years, Yinzhi had gradually infiltrated the harem and there was basically nothing he didn't know. Wenshan found it strange and asked him why Consort Ping suddenly wanted to raise the Thirteenth Prince. Yinzhi even found this interesting, and the reason was actually related to Wenshan.
When Wen Shan heard that it was because of her friendship with Consort Niohuru, she had several black lines appear on her forehead.
Is this considered the flapping of butterfly wings?
The women in the harem didn't really react much to this, since there were too many princes now, and a prince born to a concubine was nothing special. If Consort Ping wanted to raise him, so be it.
The only victim was Consort Min.
Consort Min was unwilling to let her son be caught up in the vortex of struggle from birth and become someone else's tool, so ever since she learned the news, she was uneasy and unable to eat.
After much deliberation, Consort Min realized that the only person in the palace who could help her was Wen Shan, so she visited Wen Shan despite being heavily pregnant.
Wen Shan was also in a dilemma when she heard Consort Min's request. Emotionally speaking, she and Consort Min had a good relationship, and she was partly responsible for this matter. Of course, most importantly, this was the Thirteenth Prince, and she was willing to help Consort Min for the sake of Yinzhen.
However, Yinzhi had already analyzed with her that Kangxi loved the Crown Prince. Now that the Crown Prince's position in the court was unstable, Kangxi wanted to give the Thirteenth Prince to Consort Ping to raise. Whether or not it would work out was another matter. The main thing was to send a political signal to everyone that the Emperor was on the side of the Crown Prince.
In this way, the Thirteenth Prince's whereabouts were no longer a matter of ordinary palace intrigue, and Wen Shan had nothing to say about it.
Seeing Consort Min's anxious appearance with her pregnant belly, Wen Shan couldn't bear to refuse her directly, so she could only tell Consort Min everything that Yinzhi had told her.
Consort Min was a smart woman, and she knew from Wen Shan's words that this was the truth she was telling her from the bottom of her heart.
"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. Thank you, Your Majesty." Although Consort Min was somewhat disappointed, she was still grateful that Wen Shan had told her these things.
Seeing her dejected look, Wen Shan thought for a moment and added, saying that Consort Min's delivery was still a long way off, and if things could turn around, she would do her best to help.
Upon receiving Wen Shan's words, Consort Min was deeply grateful and asked for nothing more. Whether the matter succeeded or not, she would always remember Wen Shan's kindness.
After returning from the Imperial Study, Yinzhen and Yinsi heard from Pearl and others about Consort Min's visit to Wenshan that day. Yinzhen was not very enthusiastic about the matter, but he clearly understood the current situation and advised Wenshan not to get involved.
Yinzhi thought the same thing; since the matter was already a foregone conclusion, why bother taking action?
Wenshan sighed, "That's what I think too, but is there really no other way?"
After speaking, he looked at Yinzhi, who shrugged and shook his head.
Wen Shan pursed her lips, pinched Yinzhen's little face, and said that she was only troubled because of him. Yinzhen looked confused and didn't understand, but Yinsi understood but pretended to be confused and suppressed a laugh.
After finishing their meal and washing their hands, Yinzhen and Yinsi were sitting on the couch playing chess while chatting with Wenshan.
“If Mother wants to help Consort Min, in my opinion there is only one way,” Yinzhi said, placing a piece on the board. “That is to promote Consort Min to the rank of Imperial Concubine, so that she can raise the child herself.”
After saying that, he looked up at Yinzhen again and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"
Yinzhen thought for a moment and remained noncommittal, only saying, "This method is also difficult to implement."
At this critical juncture, his promotion in rank is almost equivalent to the Emperor himself giving up on letting Consort Ping raise the Thirteenth Prince.
“Actually, there’s an even simpler way…” Yinzhi didn’t finish his sentence, but just pursed his lips at Yinzhen.
Yinzhen understood immediately. Yinsi meant that since his father was worried about the Niohuru Consort's family becoming too powerful, separating his mother, Consort Yi, and Niohuru Consort would naturally solve the problem.
It's simple to use and quick to show results.
But Mother might not be too happy.
After all, the three of them had gotten along quite well during this period, chatting and laughing every now and then.
When Yinzhen returned to the Fifth Palace in Qianxi and only Yinsi and Wenshan remained, Yinsi came over and said, "Mother, there were some things that Fourth Brother was saying that I couldn't say. Please don't worry about it."
"You forgot, Consort Niohuru's child is a princess."
Wen Shan's eyes lit up. In her haste, she had completely forgotten about this. Once Consort Niohuru gave birth, the atmosphere naturally eased.
It will be much easier to figure out a solution then.
Yinzhi rested his chin on his hand and glanced at Wenshan, asking, "Mother, do you really want to help the thirteenth prince?"
Wen Shan sighed and said, "I really want to help, considering that the thirteenth brother and your fourth brother depend on each other for survival."
"..."
What do you mean by depending on each other for survival?
Mother, could you please stop using such fantastical and unconventional language?
Before Consort Niohuru gave birth, this matter was indeed difficult to handle. Even Yinzhen and Yinsi could not come up with a good solution. So it was not until September that Consort Niohuru gave birth to a princess. Moreover, Consort Niohuru suffered a difficult childbirth and damaged her body. The imperial physician diagnosed that she would have difficulty conceiving again in the future, and only then did the situation take a turn for the better.
The entire court and the harem were focused on Consort Niohuru's pregnancy. The fact that it turned out to be a princess and that Consort Niohuru could not have any more children relieved many of the Crown Prince's faction, and also eased Consort Ping's worries.
After the princess was born, Yinzhi made a special trip to talk to Wenshan about it.
Seeing his unusually serious expression, Wen Shan asked him what was wrong.
“My son can persuade Consort Ping not to take away the thirteenth brother, but I want the thirteenth brother to be raised in our palace.”
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