Chapter 348 Yixiu 26
"I've known you're young and inexperienced for a long time, but it was fine before. Now you've been in the mansion for some time, and you're a concubine officially listed in the imperial edict. When the new person arrives in half a month, those young girls will be even more ignorant. By then, they'll need your two younger sisters to teach them the rules of the mansion."
Rouze slowly dropped a thunderbolt on everyone. Nian's expression was still the most obvious among the crowd. She couldn't help but ask, "There will be a new person coming into the mansion. How come I didn't hear the news before?"
"This is all the grace of the Emperor. Besides you, my sister, everyone else in the palace's backyard is an elderly person who has followed the Prince. After all these years, you and I have only two sons and one daughter. It's indeed a bit thin."
Rouze spoke for a long time, paused to catch her breath, took another sip of tea, and after admiring Nian's expression for a while, she continued slowly, "I heard from Consort De that the two girls who entered the palace this time are both well-behaved and fertile. I am now hoping that they and you, my sister, will soon give birth to children for the prince, so that we can have more children together."
That was interesting. She only hoped for the three new couples to have children. What about the older ones? Those who had given birth were fine, but for those like Geng and Qi, who had never had any children, was there really no hope?
Fu Jin's words seemed a bit inappropriate, but the next second Nian Shi chuckled, looking very proud: "Don't worry about it, Fu Jin. I'm still young, and I will have children sooner or later. Why should I be anxious?"
"But if you are truly so virtuous, you should take good care of yourself, or you will be sick every other day. I am afraid that if you continue like this, when the new bride arrives, you will be dragging your sick body to take care of our entire family, and you won't be able to bear it any longer."
"Don't worry about that, Concubine. I must remind you today that the prince has conferred the title of Prince Yong this year, a sign of the emperor's great favor. But you should also be aware of what the next two years will hold. Our palace may appear to be in great esteem now, but if anyone truly loses their composure and decorum, not only me, but even I will not tolerate it in the slightest."
Rouze's words were so righteous that no matter what they thought, everyone stood up quickly with a solemn expression. Even Nian Shi reluctantly straightened up and said, "I will follow the instructions of the Lady."
After coming out of Ninghua Hall, Yixiu, Baifulou and the other two went west. Nian walked past her without saying a word. The two of them were clearly separated but did not disturb each other.
Yixiu glanced at the arrogance revealed from the other person's back and just found it amusing.
When Nian Shilan first entered the mansion, she actually directed her spearhead at herself. After all, as a concubine, Nian Shi only thought that Yixiu was only half a head taller than her because she entered the mansion a few years earlier than her and gave birth to a prince. Therefore, she was always eager to verbally pressure Yixiu.
Before Yixiu could make a move, the first battle took place, with Rouze trying to snatch the person from Nian Shilan, and then the two of them confronted each other. From then on, Nian Shi didn't even mention targeting herself. In her eyes, apart from the prince, there was only the concubine.
The three-day greetings have become their favorite repertoire of the West Band. In Li's words, "Whether the west wind prevails over the east wind or the east wind prevails over the west wind, it has nothing to do with us, Hongzhong. This is much more exciting than the Li family's performance."
After returning to Chixinzhai, Yixiu ordered people to clean up the west wing.
Jianqiu took the tea offered by Xiuxia and saw that everyone in the courtyard had started to get busy after receiving the order. He thought for a moment before asking tentatively, "Do you think Fu Jin will force the newcomer into your house?"
"It's just a precaution. Besides, she specifically asked us two concubines to teach the new couple the rules today. If they don't live in my courtyard, is she going to ask me to go and teach them?"
Yixiu curled her lips as she sat on the couch. She feared the new arrivals would be the future Consort Jing, Feng Ruozhao, and Consort Li, Fei Yunyan. Judging from Rouze's intentions today, it seemed she was planning to place one in each of her and Nian's courtyards. She wondered how she planned to divide the two.
According to himself, it would naturally be better to have Feng Ruozhao as a neighbor, as he is cautious and will not easily cause trouble. Of course, Fei Yunyan doesn't mind either.
After running the business for a few years, if we talk about affection in this mansion, I am afraid I can only be ranked second, but if we talk about the weight in Yinzhen's heart, Yixiu is confident that she can be compared with Rouze.
In addition to her character and actions gaining Yinzhen's trust, her son was also an indispensable help.
Especially in the 47th year, when Crown Prince Yinreng was deposed and the emperor ordered his ministers and relatives to recommend a new crown prince, Yinzhen chose to support the reinstatement of the crown prince. Not only was he not affected by the turmoil, but he was promoted to prince after Yinreng was reinstated as crown prince this year.
Despite this successful political investment, Yinzhen has become even more cautious and low-key. The winds in the court are turning sour, and if he is not careful in this murky water, his fate will be no better than that of his brothers who were previously imprisoned.
It is not enough to just keep to one's simple ways, so Yinzhen gradually began to package himself as "the most idle man in the world" to the outside world, showing his love for Buddhism and Taoism. At the same time, he was pragmatic in political affairs and maintained harmony with his brothers.
However, in his attitude towards the emperor, who was also his Han father, Yinzhen had a greater advantage: "son diplomacy."
Last May, during his tour of the Great Wall, the emperor did not bring along Fourth Prince Yinzhen, but instead appointed ten-year-old Honghui to accompany him, doting on him. This was especially true after his youngest son, who had just turned seven, passed away from an acute illness. Honghui's performance pleased the emperor greatly, and even under the complex circumstances of the time, he never fell out of favor.
After the crown prince was reinstated this year, the emperor was still unhappy, so Honghui had been accompanying his royal family in Nanyuan.
With this son, Yinzhen's image as a filial son was more in line with the emperor's wishes, and he relied on him more.
Under such circumstances, Yixiu, as the biological mother of Honghui and a concubine listed in the imperial genealogy, held a significant position in Yinzhen's heart.
Rouze, who used to be able to talk to him about anything, is now immersed in the grief of losing her son, and her already frail body has become even more seriously ill; although he likes his new love Nian, he is wary of the not-so-obedient Nian family behind her, and he also seems to be sensitive to Nian's willful personality.
So now he is more willing to discuss political affairs with Yixiu, and the two of them will occasionally reveal their true thoughts when chatting.
"Xiuxia, go tell the kitchen to prepare the pear soup. For dinner, I'll have a sour bamboo shoot and duck soup, and fried lotus root dumplings. Also, ask if the marinated crabs are still available. If so, prepare some, and have them prepare the rest according to the season."
After Yixiu gave this instruction, Xiuxia and Jianqiu understood that the prince would probably come to their courtyard today.
Xiuxia responded and hurriedly gave orders. Sure enough, not long after, she heard Jiang Fuhai's reply that the prince was coming towards us with his men.
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