Chapter 62 Wen Shan heard this news...
When Wenshan heard the news, she had just woken up from her afternoon nap and thought she was dreaming.
"What did you say?"
Pearl hurriedly repeated, "The Crown Prince and Princess Yun Dai... were caught by the First Prince."
Yinxiang was on the couch sorting out the gifts Yinzhen and Yinsi had given him for his birthday a few days ago when he heard about this. He jumped down, his eyes wide, and hurriedly asked, "Where are they?"
"It's in Yuhua Pavilion, where Princess Yundai lives," Pearl said. "The eldest prince went to visit the princess and unfortunately bumped into her."
"Consort Hui and Consort Ping have already gone there. Noble Consort Niohuru has sent someone to inform Your Majesty that you are also invited to go and take a look."
Of course she had to go and see such a big event!
Yinxiang also insisted on going, so Wenshan took him along. As soon as they entered Yuhua Pavilion, they heard Consort Hui scolding the Crown Prince for being so indecent and doing such a thing in the palace. Consort Ping spoke up for the Crown Prince, saying that Princess Yundai had seduced him.
Consort Niohuru was so annoyed by what she heard that she couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"Her Highness the Imperial Concubine has arrived!"
As soon as Wen Shan arrived, Consort Niohuru's eyes lit up and she quickly got up and pulled her over: "You've finally arrived. We've been arguing for almost a quarter of an hour."
Consort Ping and Consort Hui also temporarily stopped arguing and bowed to Wen Shan to greet her.
"I'm completely confused about what happened," said Consort Niohuru, pulling Wen Shan to sit down and ordering the palace servants to serve tea.
Before Consort Niohuru could speak, Consort Hui spoke first: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince and Princess Yun Dai were engaging in illicit affairs in broad daylight when, unfortunately, Yin Ti caught them. Enraged, the Crown Prince punched Yin Ti."
"Huh?" Wen Shan's forehead was practically overflowing with question marks.
The Crown Prince still hasn't changed his bad habit; he's liked to fight with his brothers since he was a child.
"Ahem." Consort Niohuru coughed twice, reminding her, "Consort Hui, your words are too vulgar, such as 'shameless matters'."
Didn't you see the Thirteenth Prince still standing there?
At this point, Consort Niohuru gave Wen Shan a wink: "Why did you bring the Thirteenth Prince along?"
Why bring a child to a scene of "catching someone in the act"?
“Yinxiang can’t be without me, he’s been insisting on coming along,” Wenshan said. “It’s alright, he’s still too young to understand.”
The ignorant Yinxiang pretended to be stupid.
Since she was already there, Consort Niohuru couldn't say anything more and could only continue to investigate the case.
After Consort Hui finished speaking, Consort Ping was not to be outdone: "Who in the entire palace doesn't know that the First Prince and Princess Yun Dai are the closest of friends? They swagger in together every day, and today he even came to the Princess's boudoir to look for someone in full view of everyone."
"Who knows if such illicit affairs also take place in private?" Consort Ping insisted that the First Prince also had an improper relationship with Princess Yun Dai.
Consort Hui became agitated upon hearing this and pointed at Consort Ping, saying, "This is utterly absurd! It is clearly the Crown Prince who has acted improperly, yet Consort Ping insists on blaming Yinti. In the end, it is the Crown Prince, not Yinti, who is being apprehended today!"
Consort Ping, too lazy to argue with Consort Hui, only addressed Consort Niohuru and Wen Shan, who were seated at the head of the table, saying, "I beg Your Highnesses to see clearly that Princess Yun Dai deliberately seduced the Crown Prince, and it's even possible that the First Prince conspired with the Princess to frame her!"
After listening for a while, Wen Shan realized that Consort Ping was indeed just making trouble and trying to muddy the waters, insisting that the First Prince and Princess Yun Dai had conspired to frame the Crown Prince. Consort Hui, who was always slow to think, was almost led astray by Consort Ping. The two of them were practically arguing in the street.
Wen Shan peeked into the inner room. Layers of curtains hung down, obscuring the view inside. Incense was burning in the room, making Wen Shan feel a bit nauseous.
Consort Ping and Consort Hui were still arguing when Wen Shan nudged Consort Niohuru, who was also having a headache from listening, and whispered, "Are the Princess and the Crown Prince still inside?"
"How could that be?" Consort Niohuru was speechless, completely exasperated by the three people in front of her. "Song'etu just sent someone to say that he had something urgent to report to the Crown Prince, so he has already left. The Princess is trapped inside, and Consort Ping and Consort Hui are not letting her leave."
Even though the Crown Prince is involved in this scandal, he is still overseeing the country, and state affairs cannot be neglected.
"Alright, you two, quiet down for a while." Consort Niohuru finally stopped the farce.
Consort Ping, still unwilling to give up, knelt down with a thud and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor is currently not in the palace and has appointed the Crown Prince to oversee the country. However, the Crown Prince has been framed, which is disregarding the fate of our Great Qing Dynasty. You must seek justice for the Crown Prince."
Consort Ping's ability to argue and twist things is truly second to none; she can turn black into white in just a few words.
Consort Hui wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Consort Niohuru.
"Alright, Consort Hui, what are you making such a fuss about? It's not the First Prince who's in trouble." Consort Niohuru, unusually showing kindness, gave Consort Hui a word of advice.
It was the Crown Prince who was caught having an affair with the Princess, not the First Prince. Besides, the First Prince was a witness to this scandal. Why did Consort Hui jump out at this time to argue with Consort Ping? Wasn't she just waiting for Consort Ping to throw the blame on the First Prince?
Consort Hui was reminded by Consort Niohuru that the Crown Prince was beyond redemption and couldn't escape, so why was she arguing with Consort Ping?
So Consort Hui glanced at Consort Ping haughtily and took her leave, not wanting to waste time with her.
"Consort Ping, you should get up too." Consort Niohuru had the maid beside her help Consort Ping up and said earnestly, "You have always been close to the Crown Prince and are also his aunt, so I understand that you are anxious. However, please don't keep making unfounded accusations that involve other princes."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I know I was wrong." Consort Ping hurriedly asked, "Then... what do you two think we should do about this?"
Consort Niohuru and Wen Shan exchanged a glance, pondered for a moment, and said, "Such a big matter should have been reported to the Empress Dowager, but the Empress Dowager is old and I am worried that she might suffer a heart attack from the stress."
Wen Shan added, "What my sister is considering is that the Empress Dowager recently secluded herself to pray for the Emperor, and it would be inappropriate to disturb her with something like this."
Consort Ping was getting increasingly anxious as they talked for a long time without getting anything out of the way. Consort Niohuru was also genuinely at a loss as to how to handle the situation. One of the people involved was the Crown Prince, who was currently overseeing the country, and the other was the orphan of a meritorious official who had just been sent back to the capital by the Emperor for the Empress Dowager to settle down properly. No matter how they were dealt with, it was not appropriate.
Consort Niohuru pursed her lips and pondered for a long time before saying, "The Crown Prince bears the heavy responsibility of overseeing the country. This is a major matter and cannot be acted upon rashly. Let's discuss this matter when His Majesty returns. As for Princess Yun Dai... we can only confine her to Yuhua Pavilion for the time being."
Consort Niohuru asked Wen Shan for her opinion, and Wen Shan nodded. For now, they could only delay it like this.
They can't very well arrest and imprison the crown prince as well.
Consort Ping was fairly satisfied with this treatment, as it did not result in any substantial punishment for the Crown Prince. Since the Emperor would be back for some time, Suo'etu would likely come up with a way for the Crown Prince to extricate himself.
Having finally managed to temporarily resolve the matter, Consort Niohuru was exhausted and wanted to return to the palace to rest. Wen Shan hesitated for a moment and said she wanted to go in and see the princess. Consort Niohuru didn't stop her, only telling Wen Shan to handle it, and then left with Consort Ping.
Although Yinxiang was still young, it was not appropriate for him to enter the princess's boudoir, especially since such a thing had just happened. Therefore, Wenshan left him in the outer room to be looked after by Zhenzhu.
When Wen Shan entered the inner room, she saw a mess. The tables and chairs were piled up haphazardly, and the items on the tables were scattered all over the floor. Wen Shan was somewhat shocked by what she saw.
So the eldest prince rushed straight into the inner room?
I reckon that's where they fought with the Crown Prince.
There were no servants in the room, so the things on the floor were left untidy. Princess Yundai, with her hair down but dressed neatly, was sitting in front of the only relatively clean dressing table, combing her hair.
Princess Yun Dai was also surprised to see Wen Shan come in. She was slightly taken aback before getting up to greet her.
"Get up. I just came in to see you." Wen Shan hadn't expected this situation and was a little embarrassed, unsure of what to say.
At this moment, Yun Dai actually smiled calmly: "Is the Imperial Concubine here to see me because we are both of Mongolian origin?"
"Yes and no, I suppose." Wen Shan hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happened today, was it the Crown Prince..."
“It wasn’t the Crown Prince who forced me,” Yun Dai said. “It was my own choice.”
Wen Shan: "..."
Why is she a little confused?
Didn't Yinzhi say before that the eldest prince was her savior?
Why are you getting involved with the Crown Prince again?
Moreover, she was caught in the act by the eldest prince who came looking for her.
Looking at Wen Shan's bewildered expression, Yun Dai suddenly revealed a hint of envy: "Your Highness, of all the ladies in the palace, I envy you the most."
Yun Dai was very surprised when she first entered the palace and met Wen Shan.
A woman who has risen to the rank of Imperial Concubine and has three sons, and who has been in the palace for over a decade, still possesses such innocent eyes.
Especially after meeting the other concubines, Wen Shan's leisurely temperament became even more prominent.
This shows how comfortable Consort Xuan's life in the deep palace had been for more than ten years.
"I just came in to see you. I'm glad you're alright." Wen Shan didn't have much to say to her, since the two weren't exactly close.
At first, she thought that the Crown Prince had taken advantage of Yun Dai out of lust and felt sorry for the girl. But when she found out that Yun Dai had consented, she had nothing more to say.
"The Empress Dowager and Consort Niohuru intend for you to recuperate in Yuhua Pavilion for a while. This matter is too important for us to decide on our own. We will wait for the Emperor to return before making a decision," Wen Shan relayed the outcome to her.
This was within Yun Dai's expectations. She nodded and said nothing.
Wen Shan sighed. At that moment, Amber brought in a bowl of medicine, and Yun Dai's eyes immediately became wary.
This was also what Consort Niohuru instructed when she left: to have Yun Dai drink the medicine for preventing pregnancy.
Although the Crown Prince is not yet married, it is possible that the Emperor will arrange for Yun Dai to marry him, but since this matter is not honorable, it must be handled with care.
"Your Majesty, can I not drink it?"
Yun Dai looked at Wen Shan pleadingly; she didn't want to drink this contraceptive soup.
"Have you thought this through? If you really get pregnant, there's no going back." Wen Shan looked at the bowl of medicine. Although the probability of getting pregnant on the first try was a bit low, if there really was such a possibility, then the matter would have to be brought to the forefront. Otherwise, if Kangxi didn't pursue the matter, it could be easily covered up.
Yun Dai insisted on not drinking Wen Shan's drink and did not force her. She sent someone to inform Consort Niohuru. Consort Niohuru did not say anything, only that they had done their best so that they would have an explanation if the Emperor asked in the future.
"Your father died fighting for the Qing Dynasty, so the palace will certainly not mistreat you. Your food and clothing will be provided as usual, but do not go out until the Emperor returns," Wen Shan instructed before leaving.
"Your Highness, please rest assured, Yun Dai will stay here obediently." Yun Dai smiled and said, "I hope Your Highness can send me some flowers. I like peonies, the more vibrant the better."
Wenshan left the inner room and took Yinxiang back to Xianfu Palace.
"Mother, what's the situation inside?" Yinxiang asked.
"I'll tell you when we get back. Your mother is a bit confused right now." Wen Shan shrugged and led Yinxiang back to Xianfu Palace, where they saw that Yinzhen and Yinsi had also returned.
Wen Shan exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you two back? It's not time for school to end yet!"
“Father isn’t in the palace, so he’s not that strict,” Yinzhi said, helping Wenshan up. “Mother, how’s things at Yuhua Pavilion?”
Sure enough, these two sneaked back for this reason.
"How could you not know that your spies are all over the harem?" Wen Shan teased Yinzhi with a smile.
Yinzhi said, "The incident happened suddenly. When my fourth brother and I received the news, the Crown Prince had already returned. Then Consort Niohuru went over, so I had someone withdraw first."
Later, when they heard that their mother had taken their thirteenth brother there, they were even less anxious.
"The matter is simple. The eldest prince went to Yuhua Pavilion to look for Princess Yundai, but unfortunately he ran into the crown prince inside," Wen Shan said. "Then the crown prince and the eldest prince got into a fight, but it wasn't serious."
"What Consort Niohuru means is that the Crown Prince is currently overseeing the country and it is not advisable for him to act rashly. Therefore, we should place the Princess under house arrest for now and wait until the Emperor returns."
Yinxiang added from the side, "Consort Ping and Consort Hui also went. The two of them were pulling and tugging, trying to drag the eldest prince into it as well. Consort Ping kept saying that the eldest prince and the princess set a trap to frame the crown prince."
"I think this is pure nonsense." Wen Shan took a sip of water. "How could this be a setup? Who could force the Crown Prince to do such a thing?"
"It's hard to say," Yinzhen said after thinking for a moment. "I met the Crown Prince once, and he did look quite embarrassed and almost fled in panic."
Yinzhi was peeling a pear and cutting it into four pieces, which he handed to Yinzhen and Yinxiang.
"Father will not be back for more than a month. Soetu will find a way."
"I don't think he'll be able to do anything this time, no matter how busy he is." Yinxiang took a bite of pear and said, "He's already been cornered by the First Prince, how can he let this go so easily?"
Today, Consort Hui's attitude towards Consort Ping will, to some extent, mirror the First Prince's attitude towards the Crown Prince.
Wen Shan also told Yinzhen and a few others about her conversation with Princess Yun Dai in the inner room.
After listening, Yinzhen suddenly understood, and many things he couldn't figure out before became clear.
"So that's how it is."
Yinzhen and Yinsi exchanged a glance, and Yinsi smiled knowingly: "It turns out that a woman has managed to make the First Prince and the Crown Prince run wild."
"To be honest, I also think that Yun Dai wanted to marry the Crown Prince to find a way out for herself." Wen Shan also sighed, "It's understandable that she was thinking about herself."
Yinxiang suddenly realized something: "Eighth Brother, do you mean that the First Prince was summoned by Princess Yundai on purpose?"
"My eighth brother and I felt something was wrong when we first heard the news." Yinzhen washed his hands and said, "It's too much of a coincidence that my eldest brother would suddenly go to Yuhua Pavilion at this time."
Yinzhi continued, "When I heard Mother say that the First Prince went straight into the inner room, I was certain that the Princess had summoned him specifically. Otherwise, how could the First Prince have entered the inner room without any hindrance?"
Surely someone should be assigned to guard the Crown Prince if he's doing something like this inside. Even if he's really unlucky and happens to be caught, the palace maids and eunuchs outside can easily find an excuse like the princess is unwell and resting to keep the eldest prince out.
It turned out that the princess had specially allowed the eldest prince to go in.
“In that case, this matter will be impossible to suppress and will definitely reach Father Emperor,” Yinxiang thought to himself. “If Father Emperor finds out, there is a real possibility that he might arrange a marriage for them.”
After all, family scandals should not be aired in public, and the princess was the descendant of a meritorious official.
Wenshan rarely gave this matter serious thought, and felt there were some loopholes.
"Your imperial father is such a proud and shrewd man. Even you can't hide Yun Dai's tricks from him, let alone the emperor."
Emperor Kangxi could probably see through her little scheme at a glance.
How could Kangxi possibly betroth such a scheming woman to the Crown Prince? Yun Dai may have succeeded in her scheme, but she probably didn't leave a good impression on Kangxi.
"So this was a risky move," Yinzhi sighed. "She may have thought of it, but she just didn't have a better way."
"Father Emperor probably won't change the choice of Crown Princess; he'll probably just hastily arrange a marriage for her as a concubine," Yinzhen said, trying to discern Kangxi's intentions.
However, even Yun Dai, the Crown Prince's concubine, probably felt that it was better than Kangxi arranging for her to marry a leisurely member of the imperial clan as his principal wife.
If the crown prince were to ascend the throne one day, she would have finally made it through.
“This has never happened before.” Yinxiang fiddled with a small spinning top that Yinsi had been whittling on the table, resting his chin on his hand and said, “I never expected that a princess would suddenly appear and get both the Crown Prince and the First Prince involved.”
Regardless of how the Emperor ultimately handles this matter, he will inevitably be dissatisfied with the Crown Prince and the First Prince.
Both of them lacked moral character.
However, this incident reminded Wen Shan of a plot in a classic TV series that also tells the story of the struggle for the throne among nine princes.
Since Yinzhen and Yinsi had skipped class today and weren't planning to go back to the Imperial Study, Wenshan talked to them about it. As they listened, the three of them had expressions that were sometimes distorted and sometimes bitter smiles.
"Mother, this is the most exaggerated story I've ever heard from you." Yinzhi sighed, admitting defeat to the imagination of later generations.
The Crown Prince and the Emperor's concubines had an affair, this is truly...
Even today's events involving the Crown Prince and Princess Yun Dai were enough to shock them.
But none of them were as shocking as having an affair with the Emperor's concubine.
After all, the Crown Prince and the Princess were both unmarried, and at most they were just a little... unconventional.
However, having an affair with the Emperor's concubine is a different story.
Moreover, the Emperor caught him red-handed. What's most outrageous is that the Emperor actually let the matter go in the end. If this had really happened, given the Emperor's personality, he would have definitely deposed the Crown Prince.
Wen Shan said that this was nothing, and that they had seriously underestimated the imagination of later generations regarding this legendary struggle for the throne among the nine princes.
Then Yinzhen was overjoyed to learn that one of his concubines had an affair with his younger brother and the imperial physician, and that they had even given birth to a child.
Yinzhen: Feeling slightly tired.
Yinzhi's expression was also quite interesting; relatively speaking, it seems that later generations were relatively lenient with him.
Yinxiang, standing to the side, also rubbed his forehead and smiled wryly: "Seventeenth brother... he's alright, at least it's not me."
Having narrowly escaped disaster, Yinxiang was afraid that his mother would say something shocking again, so he quickly changed the subject and pulled Yinzhen and Yinsi aside, saying that he wanted to go fishing together.
This incident created a strange atmosphere in the palace. Everyone except Consort Ping was eager to hear about it, but the two main characters were either under house arrest or the Crown Prince. The matter was so private that it was difficult to discuss it in public, which was suffocating for everyone.
In particular, Consort Niohuru strictly forbade gossip in the palace, especially concerning the Crown Prince; anyone found doing so would be immediately expelled from the palace.
There was also a minor incident in between. The Fourteenth Prince was three years old this year. After his birthday, according to the rules, he should have entered the Imperial Study for his early education. However, since Emperor Kangxi was not in the palace, Consort De delayed the matter, wanting to wait for Emperor Kangxi to return before making a decision.
After Consort Yi found out, she privately complained to Wen Shan that Consort De was spoiling her son so much that she was blinded by love. After the Sixth Prince went to the Imperial Study, she got the Fourteenth Prince and spoiled him so much that he was completely out of control. She guessed that it was because the Fourteenth Prince himself did not want to go to the Imperial Study, and Consort De let him have his way.
“When the Sixth Prince was still alive, Consort De doted on him, but she never let him do as he pleased when it came to his studies, and she was quite strict with him,” Wen Shan said.
The weather was nice today, so Wenshan and Consort Yi went for a stroll at Changchun Garden together.
Consort Yi, fanning herself with a graceful smile, said, "It must have been tough for Consort De. So many of her children died young, and this one prince was all that remained. Of course, she cherishes him like the apple of her eye."
"When you have a lot of kids like me, it's really hard to treat them all equally."
Wen Shan teased her, "I see you dote on the Ninth Prince the most. Everyone says that the youngest son and the eldest grandson are the most favored. Why are you different?"
Consort Yi glared at her: "Come on, of my three sons, Yinzhen is the most troublesome. Yinqi is a bit naughty, but he is obedient and has the Empress Dowager to take care of him, so I have nothing to worry about. As for Yinzhi, he has been well-behaved since he was a child. I have never seen such an obedient child. In the end, there is only Yinzhen who makes Yikun Palace a mess all day long. Fortunately, we are about to move to Qianxi Wusuo, so I can have some peace and quiet."
Although Consort Yi said that, her face was still full of happiness and satisfaction when she talked about her three children.
Since the birth of the eleventh prince, Consort Yi has indeed stopped focusing so much on vying for the emperor's favor. She has devoted most of her attention to her three children, and her temper has become much milder and less explosive.
It's a pity that the eleventh prince didn't grow up to adulthood and passed away at the age of twelve. Wen Shan even asked Yin Si and Yin Xiang how the eleventh prince died. Now, seeing that the eleventh prince is in good health and very active, and he's already twelve years old, I'm afraid Consort Yi would be heartbroken if he passed away at this time.
Yinzhi thought for a moment and told her that the eleventh prince had suddenly fallen ill with an acute illness, but he passed away in just over a month.
This is really not easy to defend against.
"Mother, what is destined to happen will happen eventually. Don't get too involved in these matters of life and death," Yinzhi instructed her.
Although many things have changed greatly since they returned to this world, no one can escape birth, aging, sickness, and death. Although Yinzhi is not a devout Buddhist, he still avoids these matters and hopes that Wenshan will not interfere.
Wen Shan didn't continue discussing this matter with Consort Yi. The two were talking about how beautiful the Changchun Garden was now and how they would come to visit more often when they had time, when Bao Quan suddenly came looking for them from the palace.
"Your Majesty, Consort Yi, Noble Consort Niohuru requests that you two return to the palace immediately, as Princess Yundai has just been diagnosed as pregnant."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com