Chapter 59 The Fifty-Nine Chapters: Consort Niohuru's Passing Through This Time...
This was Consort Niohuru's thirtieth birthday celebration. Emperor Kangxi actually held a birthday banquet for Consort Niohuru with a scale that was much higher than that for a consort.
However, since they were still in mourning, singing, dancing and entertainment were prohibited, and they could only have a banquet together.
The birthday banquet was not held in the Yongshou Palace, the residence of Consort Niohuru, as was customary. Instead, Emperor Kangxi arranged for the banquet to be held at Shouxuan Chunyong in Changchun Garden, which was considered an extraordinary favor.
Not only concubines from the imperial harem attended, but princesses, princesses, and wives of ministers with imperial titles also entered the palace to offer birthday greetings. There were even special banquets set up in the front hall for princes and ministers.
Early in the morning, Consort Hui, Consort Rong, and Consort De entered Changchun Garden and happened to meet each other, so they walked together for a while.
"Now both of the Imperial Concubines are favored by the Emperor. One has gained so many good daughters-in-law, and the other has been granted a birthday celebration at Changchun Garden by the Emperor himself, with even princes and ministers coming to offer their congratulations."
Consort Hui spoke with a sour tone, and walked slowly, holding the hand of her maid.
Although Consort Rong was more composed than Consort Hui, she couldn't help but say a few words about the Third Prince's marriage.
"In the end, we are not as noble as the Imperial Concubine, and even our sons are not as noble as the Fourth Prince."
Consort De simply smiled and remained silent.
Consort Hui and Consort Rong exchanged a glance. They had been so caught up in their own words that they had forgotten that the Fourth Prince's real birth mother was still standing there.
"Speaking of which, the first child is always a little different from the others. It must be hard for Consort De to feel bad that her child, which she went through so much trouble to give birth to, is now registered under someone else's name?" Consort Rong said, glancing at Consort De.
Consort De's expression remained almost unchanged, as if they were talking about someone completely unrelated to her.
"Both princesses are still young, and Yinzhen is only two years old. My younger sister is really too busy to take care of him. It would be good if the Noble Consort could take care of Yinzhen."
Consort Hui, who still had some camaraderie with Consort De, interrupted the conversation and started talking about the scenery in Changchun Garden. Just then, a palace servant came to report that the Fifth Princess was looking for Consort De, so Consort De made an excuse to leave first.
"Why did you mention the Fourth Prince in front of Consort De? Everyone knows that Consort De doesn't like this son," Consort Hui said in a low voice after Consort De had walked away.
She and Consort Rong had been rivals for many years, and now, among the concubines in the palace in the early years, only the two of them had made it to the top and sat on the throne of a consort.
"It was just something I said offhand."
"I can't manage so many other things," Consort Hui said. "Yinti's marriage is enough to keep me busy."
"I heard that the eldest prince will get married next year after the mourning period ends?" Consort Rong was clearly more interested in her sons' marriages than before.
Consort Hui couldn't help but reveal a smug smile: "Your Majesty dotes on Yinti. This marriage has been arranged for three years, and Yinti is almost twenty. We have to hurry. Your Majesty already has several princes and princesses when Yinti is his age."
Consort Rong nodded in agreement, a rare occurrence for her.
They all have sons and are hoping that their sons will grow up, get married, and start their own families.
"His Majesty's intention is to wait two more years to hold the wedding with the Fourth Prince. What can we do?" Consort Rong sighed.
At first, Kangxi wanted his sons to get married as soon as possible, but Wenshan firmly stopped him.
She couldn't control the Third Prince, but Yinzhen absolutely couldn't get married at fourteen; sixteen was her bottom line.
Seeing her insistence, Kangxi had no choice but to agree to postpone Yinzhen's marriage for another two years. Yinzhi was only one year older than Yinzhen. After thinking for a while, Kangxi simply waved his hand and allowed the two brothers to get married together.
The two chatted as they strolled leisurely toward Shouxuan Chunyong. On the way, they encountered Lady Dong'e, who was there to offer birthday greetings and was the future mother-in-law of the Third Prince.
With the imperial decree issued, Lady Dong'e and Consort Rong were now considered in-laws, so they entered the hall together, took their seats, and exchanged a few words.
Wen Shan and Consort Yi arrived together. When they arrived, more than half of the people had already come. The concubines and wives of the emperor were seated in the rear hall. When they saw Wen Shan enter, they all stood up and bowed to her to greet her.
Wen Shan smiled and told everyone not to stand on ceremony. She then walked to the left with Consort Yi. The first seat was specially reserved for her, and Consort Yi sat down to her right.
Today, Consort Niohuru is celebrating her birthday, so she is seated at the head of the table next to Emperor Kangxi.
The princes from the tenth prince forward were all taken to the front hall by Kangxi, while the remaining younger princes and princesses stayed with their mothers.
Therefore, Wen Shan only had Yin Xiang by her side.
Wen Shan has been enjoying great popularity in the harem recently. She has gained a son, and the Fourth Prince has won the imperial marriage proposals by a large margin. In addition, Wen Shan has been staying at home and rarely seen by others. As a result, as soon as she sat down, concubines and ministers' wives kept coming over to chat with her.
Wen Shan was somewhat weary of these social situations. She could politely decline some by simply nodding and smiling, but there were a few she couldn't be so perfunctory about.
For example, the wife of Ma Qi, Yinzhen's future in-law.
Lady Fucha was not too surprised that her daughter had been chosen as the primary consort of a prince. Given their family background, it was more than enough for her daughter to be the primary consort of a prince. It was not unexpected that she was chosen to be the fourth prince, since they were of similar age.
However, since the marriage also included two concubines from good families who could be considered primary consorts, Lady Fucha was a little worried that her daughters would have difficulty managing the household after marriage.
It just so happened that it was the birthday of Consort Niohuru, and the Emperor ordered a grand celebration, which gave her the opportunity to say a few words to Consort Xuan.
If Consort Xuan could show more care for her daughter, life would be much easier.
While Wen Shan and Lady Fucha were chatting, Ma Qi in the front hall was also looking at his newly minted son-in-law, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen, who was sitting upright opposite him.
Ma Qi and Tong Guowei were high-ranking ministers in the Imperial Study at the time. Since they were of similar rank, they were seated together. After Tong Guowei took his seat, he congratulated Ma Qi.
"Lord Ma Qi, I haven't yet congratulated you and the Emperor on becoming in-laws."
Ma Qi was also filled with mixed feelings. He was naturally happy that his daughter was marrying the Fourth Prince as his primary consort, but the Emperor had also designated Fei Yanggu and Nuomin's daughter as his secondary consort, which put him under considerable pressure.
Fei Yanggu was alright; he had already retired two years ago and now only held the honorary title of a first-rank official and no longer served in the court. However, Nuomin was the real Minister of Justice, and Ma Qi often had to deal with him, not only in daily meetings but also in official business.
Now that her own daughter is ahead of Nuomin's daughter, Nuomin is not happy at all. Ever since the imperial decree was issued, she has not given him a kind look.
"Lord Tong, we've been colleagues for many years, so don't make fun of me. Haven't you noticed that Nuomin has been treating me like dirt lately?" Ma Qi said with a wry smile.
“This is an imperial edict, the Emperor’s will. If there is any dissatisfaction, let Nuomin speak to the Emperor.” Tong Guowei said dismissively, “You should just prepare your daughter’s marriage and wait for her to get married. Why bother with him?”
Ma Qi naturally understood this principle, but no one likes to see others' cold faces, and he was also worried because he thought that things might not be peaceful in the household after his daughter got married.
Overall, however, Kangxi was quite pleased with his marriage to Ma Qi.
Not only did they become in-laws of the Emperor's children, but the Fucha family also gained an advantage over the Magiya and Ulanara families, which was naturally a great honor.
Thinking of this, Ma Qi smiled and said, "Speaking of which, the Fourth Prince was raised by Empress Xiaoyi for several years. So, in that sense, Lord Tong and I are related."
Ma Qi was exaggerating when he said that, but people don't always speak so politely in private. The Fourth Prince did indeed live under the care of Empress Tongjia for a few years, so it's plausible if you insist on making a story about it.
Tong Guowei was obviously there to improve his relationship with Ma Qi, so he didn't say anything that would spoil the mood.
What he was really thinking was that the Eighth Prince and the Fourth Prince should be raised together under Consort Xuan's care. Although it seemed that the Fourth Prince was closer to the Crown Prince now, and it was unclear whether the Fourth Prince knew the Eighth Prince's feelings, they had grown up together since childhood. It was possible that the Fourth Prince would support the Eighth Prince in the future, and then Ma Qi, as the Fourth Prince's father-in-law, would naturally be on their side.
Therefore, after deciding to support the Eighth Prince, Tong Guowei began to deliberately befriend Ma Qi.
Emperor Kangxi and Consort Niohuru, who was celebrating her birthday today, had not yet arrived. Everyone in the hall was chatting in small groups, including the princes.
Tong Guowei coldly observed that the Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, and Tenth Prince seemed closer to each other, chatting and laughing, while the Fourth Prince was pulled away by the Third Prince to speak with the Crown Prince.
Tong Guowei didn't take the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince seriously, as one was not talented enough and the other was disabled.
The marriages of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince have been arranged, and after their weddings, they will both be able to enter the court to govern. As the princes grow up, many of them are making plans behind the scenes.
Surprisingly, the Crown Prince remained remarkably calm and unresponsive to the marriage of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, and even offered his congratulations to Yinzhi and Yinzhen in a rather cheerful mood.
"Father Emperor intends for you two to get married together. We'll definitely have a big celebration then," the Crown Prince said with a smile, patting Yinzhen on the shoulder.
The Third Prince initially thought that the Crown Prince would also be dissatisfied with Yinzhen's marriage, but he was somewhat surprised by the Crown Prince's magnanimous attitude this time.
The reason why the Crown Prince was so calm was because Kangxi had privately confided in him. The reason why the marriage arrangement bypassed the Crown Prince was because Kangxi had chosen the daughter of Shi Wenbing, a first-rank military commander, for him. The daughter of Shi Wenbing was from the Guarjia clan. Her mother's surname was Aisin Gioro, and her maternal grandfather, Chang'adai, was the grandson of Prince Li Lie, Daishan, and the eldest son of Prince Xun, Mandahai. With two princes in one family, they were exceptionally noble in the imperial family.
The Guarjia clan was a deeply rooted Manchu noble family, so after much deliberation, Emperor Kangxi finally chose the Guarjia clan.
However, since Lady Guarjia was several years younger than the Crown Prince, they had to wait two more years for the marriage to be arranged.
Moreover, not only the Crown Princess, but also the concubines were all considered by Emperor Kangxi, and he had a general idea of who they were.
Although the Crown Prince was a bit impulsive, he wasn't stupid and naturally wouldn't show any dissatisfaction, since his father was so thoughtful in planning for him.
Moreover, both Yinzhen and Yinzhi were considered by the Crown Prince to be his own people, and the Emperor's favor towards them was partly due to his own influence. As long as it wasn't a reward for the eldest prince who always disagreed with him, it would be fine.
Speaking of the eldest prince, his brothers are growing up and each has their own thoughts.
The Crown Prince looked around and, apart from a few younger children who were with their mothers, the rest of the group was clearly divided into factions.
The eldest brother always disdained associating with his brothers. The third and fourth brothers talked to him, the eighth, ninth, and tenth brothers huddled together, and the fifth and seventh brothers were best left unmentioned, as they were good-natured and got along well with all the brothers.
Yinzhi, the Ninth Prince, and the Tenth Prince chatted on the side. These two, who were born in the same year, are now seven years old and understand many things much better than before.
“Eighth Brother, Thirteenth Brother will be three years old next month. Shouldn’t he be coming to the Imperial Study?” Ninth Prince suddenly asked.
The Tenth Prince, who was eating fruit nearby, looked up at Yinzhi with a puzzled expression when he heard the Ninth Prince's words. He wasn't very familiar with Yinzhi, but he knew that this was the younger brother who had been raised in Consort Xuan's palace with the Eighth Prince.
"Eighth Brother, you can't show favoritism to the Thirteenth Brother now that he's here," the Tenth Prince said urgently.
Yinzhi chuckled: "You are all my brothers, so naturally we are the same."
“Eighth Brother definitely still likes us the most. Look, Fourth Brother and Thirteenth Brother grew up together with Eighth Brother, but Eighth Brother still prefers to be with us.” Ninth Prince said, raising his head.
It was as if Yinzhi had become some rare treasure, and it was an unparalleled honor for anyone to be even glanced at by him.
Yinzhi thought to himself that these two really loved him consistently; perhaps this was fate.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Yinzhi interrupted the topic with a wry smile and asked, "Have you prepared the birthday gift for Consort Niohuru?"
Since they were seated in the front hall, they couldn't receive birthday gifts from their respective mothers. They had to prepare their own gifts for their father and Consort Niohuru when they arrived.
"It's all prepared by Mother; it's pretty much the same every year," the Ninth Prince said, seemingly unconcerned.
This is just a formality.
The Tenth Prince nodded in agreement. Today was his own mother's birthday, so naturally, the gifts presented at the banquet were decided by Consort Niohuru herself.
As they were talking, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Niohuru entered hand in hand, and everyone quickly rose to greet them.
Emperor Kangxi walked to the head of the table and sat down, saying, "Please sit down, everyone."
Consort Niohuru also sat down beside him. She would first receive their birthday gifts, and then Consort Niohuru would go to the back hall to celebrate the birthday with the concubines and their families.
"Yin'e, what birthday gift did you prepare for your mother today?"
As soon as Kangxi sat down, he called out the name of the Tenth Prince.
Consort Niohuru had prepared everything in advance, and all the Tenth Prince needed to do was say a few auspicious words. So the Tenth Prince congratulated Consort Niohuru on her birthday in a proper manner, and then presented a piece of translucent Kunshan jade carved into the character for longevity.
"I was wondering what you'd been up to lately, secretly working on something. Turns out you were carving this jade." Consort Niohuru smiled and looked at Emperor Kangxi, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This jade was a gift from you to Yin'e for his birthday this year. I didn't expect this rascal to find it and carve words on it."
Since the Tenth Prince was still young and had no way to prepare birthday gifts, Consort Niohuru specially chose a piece of Kunshan jade that Emperor Kangxi had bestowed upon the Tenth Prince and then slightly carved it.
Everyone below understood perfectly well that this made the Tenth Prince appear filial while subtly flattering Emperor Kangxi.
As expected, Emperor Kangxi gave Consort Niohuru face and praised the Tenth Prince for his filial piety. Consort Niohuru then took the opportunity to call the Tenth Prince to sit beside her, as she was always afraid that her son would cause trouble if she didn't keep an eye on him.
After the Tenth Prince presented his gift, it was the Crown Prince's turn. Then, everyone stepped forward one by one according to their rank. The birthday gifts they presented were all pretty much the same: precious jewels, antiques, jade, and jewelry—all valuable and auspicious, so there was no chance of anything going wrong.
When it was Yinzhi's turn, he presented him with a calligraphy piece.
This calligraphy scroll is a full six feet long. When unfolded, it does indeed contain auspicious words of congratulations on birthdays, but it is clear that it was written by dozens of people, with varying quality of calligraphy, and at first glance, it looks somewhat messy.
"Yinzhi, what did you send as a gift?"
Emperor Kangxi was also a little puzzled, wondering what Yinzhi was up to.
"Your Majesty, I have found thirty elderly people over sixty years old in the countryside who are blessed with many children and grandchildren and enjoy the happiness of family life. They wrote a congratulatory letter for the Imperial Concubine." Yinzhi said, "When I went to the countryside to find people, I heard that there was a locust plague in Henan. I felt deeply for the people's suffering, so I distributed porridge to the disaster-stricken area for three days in the name of congratulating the Imperial Concubine on her birthday."
"Is Henan suffering from a locust plague?" Kangxi frowned slightly and looked at Tong Guowei. "Why hasn't the Imperial Study sent the news up?"
Tong Guowei quickly stood up and replied, "Your Majesty, this locust plague is mainly concentrated in Nanyang County and is not considered severe. Nanyang Prefect Tian Wenjing submitted a memorial a few days ago, and Henan Governor Yan has been providing relief to the disaster victims according to regulations. The disaster is now under control. We had planned to wait for the relief memorial to be submitted before reporting back to Your Majesty."
"Oh, it's Tian Wenjing." Kangxi seemed thoughtful but didn't say anything more.
When Yinzhi presented his congratulatory gift, the expressions of the eldest prince and the crown prince were quite interesting. They all gave gold, jade and antiques, but Yinzhi not only gave a congratulatory letter that wasn't very valuable but had a very good intention, but also provided relief to the disaster victims in Nanyang.
They are filial to their parents and do not forget the people's livelihood.
This level of status immediately surpassed all the other princes.
Emperor Kangxi was also very satisfied with Yinzhi's gift, saying, "Yinzhi's gift is quite good; he put thought into it. What does the Imperial Concubine think?"
Because of the Tenth Prince, Consort Niohuru already liked Yinzhi quite a bit. Now that she was getting older, she also hoped to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren and enjoy both happiness and longevity. She was really quite pleased with the congratulatory message from Yinzhi.
"Of course I like it. The Eighth Prince's intentions are unique, and what's rare is that he also has a kind heart," Consort Niohuru said with a smile.
The Eighth Prince's actions also caused various thoughts among the princes and ministers below. Emperor Kangxi had repeatedly expressed his fondness for Yinzhi in public, and now, after seeing what happened today, many people were thinking to themselves that this Eighth Prince, who had just turned ten, seemed to have an exceptionally high level of intelligence.
Tong Guowei was secretly pleased, thinking that he hadn't made the wrong choice.
The birthday banquet of Consort Niohuru ended with Yinzhi stealing the show. When Wenshan heard about this, she had already returned to Xianfu Palace from Changchun Garden and was changing out of her heavy and cumbersome court dress. While Pearl was taking off her headdress, she told her how the Eighth Prince had won the Emperor's praise and stood out among all the princes.
Wenshan only gave one comment after listening.
She is so virtuous.
That was indeed Yinzhi's style.
Moreover, this gift truly touched the heart of Consort Niohuru. It is said that after returning to the palace, she had the congratulatory letter properly framed and hung up somewhere, so that she could share in the joy.
After attending the birthday banquet, Yinzhen and Yinsi had to rush to their classes in the Imperial Study, keeping them extremely busy. Only Yinxiang returned with Wenshan, enjoying his remaining time off from school.
When Wenshan came out after changing her clothes, she saw Yinxiang's restless little hands poking at the koi fish she was raising, which weighed almost three or four pounds.
When Prince Yinzhi was selecting these koi, he specifically chose those that were both beautiful and easy to raise. Over the years, they have grown from small fry into plump and healthy koi.
"Yinxiang, don't kill the fish."
Wenshan went over and took his little hand out.
Yinxiang smiled sheepishly, not expecting to be caught red-handed.
Mother always raises animals that are plump and healthy. Take Fuqi and Laifu for example; if she didn't make them run around the Imperial Garden every day, they would have become fat dogs that are too lazy to even walk a few steps.
In a few days, Yinzhi will officially move to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi. Wenshan's top priority recently has been packing Yinzhi's things. She almost runs to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi three times a day to see how the packing is going.
When Yinxiang saw Wenshan starting to scribble the list of luggage to take away for her son, he said helplessly, "Mother, you've almost moved half of Xianfu Palace for my son. He's a grown man and can take care of himself."
"Don't let your good temper fool you, my eighth brother is actually the most picky of the three of you." Wen Shan checked the items again to make sure nothing was missing. Hearing Yinxiang's words, she said without looking up, "He won't sleep well if the bedding isn't right, he won't sleep well if the sachet or pouch isn't right, he even has to pick and choose the comb. He's incredibly picky. It's taken me a lot of effort to raise him."
After listening and thinking about it, Yinxiang realized that it was indeed true. He immediately snuggled up to Wenshan and said, "Then Mother, you don't need to raise the Eighth Brother anymore. My Fourth Brother and I are easier to raise."
"Your fourth brother isn't much better off."
Wen Shan checked the things again before feeling at ease. She turned around, rubbed Yinxiang's little face, and kissed him: "Our little thirteenth is the best. He'll do anything and won't be picky about anything!"
As Yinzhen and Yinsi grew older, the distinction between men and women had to be respected, so now only Yinxiang could enjoy Wenshan's kisses and hugs.
Yinxiang felt a little smug after hearing Wenshan's words. Sure enough, his mother liked him the most now!
The mother and son were cuddling together when Yinzhen and Yinsi returned from the Imperial Study.
As soon as Yinzhi saw the large and small boxes of things in the hall, he knew that Wenshan had been busy from beginning to end again.
"Mother, you don't need to go to so much trouble. If we really need anything, we can just have the servants prepare it."
Yinxiang mimicked Wenshan's tone and said, "There's nothing we can do. My Eighth Brother is the most picky of the three of us."
Yinzhi: "..."
Seeing that the two were about to start fighting again, Wenshan quickly separated them.
Just then, Pearl came in carrying the prepared tonic.
"Master, your tonic is ready for today. Please drink it first."
Wenshan looked miserable when she saw it, clearly not wanting to drink it.
Emperor Kangxi stayed overnight again last night, so this morning she drank the contraceptive medicine prescribed by Physician Zhang, and she will drink another bowl of tonic medicine tonight.
These two trips a day really took a toll on Wenshan.
On the other side, the three princes, including Yinzhen, were urging her to drink the tonic quickly. Wenshan pinched her nose and poured it down, feeling that her whole body smelled of medicine.
“This can’t go on forever,” Wen Shan thought, her mind wandering. “If only the Emperor could be infertile.”
"...!!!"
The brothers, including Yinzhen, were all stunned by her wildly imaginative idea.
Wenshan thought that sterilization would be painful and harmful to her health, so she decided against it and could only think of a solution from another person.
"Mother, you..." Yinzhen was both amused and exasperated, unsure of what to say.
Yinzhi, however, stroked his chin and thought about it seriously: "Father is in his prime now. If the harem does not have any offspring... tsk, that will be difficult to handle."
Yinzhen: "..."
Wen Shan was incredibly moved. It had to be Xiao Ba! It meant she hadn't raised him for nothing.
Wen Shan was obviously just saying it casually; even if she really wanted to do it, it couldn't be now. Fortunately, after Consort Niohuru's birthday celebration, Kangxi became busy and only visited the inner palace a few times a month.
The matter of the emperor personally leading an expedition against the Dzungar Khanate has moved beyond public discourse and is now officially on the agenda.
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