Setting up a game
As everyone knows, the person with the best temper in the palace now, besides Concubine An and Concubine Jing, is Concubine Ding. Although her face looks a bit cold, she is indeed a kind person.
Apart from paying respects to Empress Li and chatting with Concubine Ke, Li Qingping was looking after a few children in Yonghe Palace. At most, the Yonghe Palace would become lively only when Princess Mingjing or the wife of Prince Yue came to pay respects to her.
But Li Qingping also adheres to the principle of not offending others unless they offend me.
A dragon has a reverse scale; touching it will lead to death. The child was Li Qingping's reverse scale. Regardless of whether others were genuinely visiting the patient, as long as they at least made a gesture, Li Qingping wouldn't mind. But since Concubine Rong didn't want to visit the patient, and felt it was unlucky to come, don't blame Li Qingping for turning against her.
Before the next day, the news that Concubine Rong was "politely asked to leave" Yonghe Palace by Concubine Ding's personal maid Yun Zao had spread.
Rongpin felt ashamed, so she returned to Jingren Palace and announced to the public that she would not see anyone for the time being.
It was rare to see Li Qing being so magnanimous in his life. Even Emperor Yongping had heard of it and specifically mentioned the matter when he came to Yonghe Palace.
Li Qingping's eyebrows immediately raised, and she turned sideways and said angrily, "I knew that the emperor was here to make the decision on behalf of Rongpin. I am old and ugly, and naturally cannot compare with the young and beautiful sister Rongpin. The emperor usually favors me, so I have no objection. But if the emperor asks me why I am giving Rongpin the cold shoulder, I will be speechless at this time."
If someone else dared to speak to him like this, Emperor Yongping would have turned against him long ago.
But Li Qingping is different. When a person who is usually cold and well-behaved suddenly throws a tantrum at you, it doesn't mean he is angry. Instead, there is a rare sense of freshness. It seems that Rongpin did something wrong.
Emperor Yongping first smiled at the palace servants below and said, "Look, look, your Concubine Ding of Yonghe Palace is so majestic now. I can't even ask her a single question."
Knowing that Emperor Yongping was not angry at all, the palace maids below were all laughing secretly. Li Qingping glanced at them, and they quickly suppressed their smiles.
"I'm really speechless." Emperor Yongping leaned on the couch, playing with the jade pendant around Li Qingping's waist, and coaxed her, "I don't even know what happened, and yet you come up and accuse me of making the decision for Concubine Rong. Am I that clueless?"
Li Qingping glanced at Emperor Yongping, seemingly unconvinced: "Is what the Emperor said true?"
Emperor Yongping laughed and said, "I don't know your temper. If you weren't really pissed off, why would you give Rongpin such a bad look? Tell me, you said you were here to visit the patient, but what did Rongpin do wrong?"
Li Qingping knew his limits well. He turned around and told the story of what happened that day without adding any extraneous information.
She continued, "Hechang is ill. As a mother, how could I not hope for his quick recovery? Xiaojiu is the younger generation, and the sisters in the palace are the elders. I naturally cherish their friendship by visiting me. But if they are not sincere and are only trying to save face, why bother using Hechang's illness as an excuse?"
Li Qingping finally flicked her handkerchief and said, "Anyway, I cannot stand Rongpin's behavior. Your Majesty, if you wish to favor Rongpin, I cannot stop you. But if you want me to bow down to Rongpin, that is absolutely impossible."
Emperor Yongping immediately scolded him: "What are you talking about?"
This friendship with Li Qingping has lasted for more than 20 years. To be honest, this is the first time that Emperor Yongping knows that she has such a bad temper.
"You're still mean to me."
Li Qingping hadn't slept well in recent days. Hechang was ill and easily woke up at night, requiring constant presence. Even the wet nurse and the nanny were useless. Li Qingping's eyes were red from working so hard to care for Hechang. She felt aggrieved and aggrieved, as she hadn't felt for a long time. "I only care about Hechang getting better soon, and I don't have the energy to deal with my sisters. You don't seem to be sincere when you come to visit me, so why should I give Rongpin face?"
As he spoke, he actually started to cry.
Li Qingping was also shocked when she felt herself crying. How many years had it been since she cried because of feeling wronged?
Emperor Yongping looked at Li Qingping quietly for a long moment, then finally, resigned to his fate, he pulled Li Qingping into his arms and coaxed her gently, "Alright, I know you've been overworked lately due to He Chang's illness. If you don't like Concubine Rong, don't force yourself. After all, everyone has their likes and dislikes. You were personally appointed as the head concubine, didn't I tell you that? No matter how many concubines come after you, they can't surpass you. If you don't want to give Concubine Rong face, then don't give it to her."
On one side is Li Qingping, who gave birth to three princes and princesses, served as the adoptive mother of Princess Mingjing, and had a close relationship with the emperor. On the other side is Rongpin, who has been favored recently. It didn't take Emperor Yongping long to make a choice.
In the previous dynasty, despite the Qinghe Wang family's power, their control over the court was still inferior to that of the Li and Wei families, who had maintained their influence for many years. While Concubine Rong in the harem was childless, the princes born to the three Li sisters had all grown up, including the crown prince. If Emperor Yongping had to choose between the two, he would have chosen the Li family without hesitation.
Furthermore, if Concubine Rong really had no sincerity in visiting the patient, it would indeed be displeasing, especially since that person was the biological mother of the sick child.
It seems that Rongpin will be neglected for a while.
Li Qingping seemed unsurprised by Emperor Yongping's reaction. She stopped crying and asked someone to bring warm water to wash her face.
He Chang woke up from his nap and went to the main hall with his wet nurse.
He Chang's cheeks, which had finally gained some weight, became thinner again during this period. Emperor Yongping felt very distressed when he saw this.
No wonder Li Qingping got angry and got so upset.
He Chang had been coughing all the time before, and it was only in the past two days that he felt better. However, coughing too much would hurt his throat and lungs, so Li Qingping asked the imperial physician, and in addition to giving He Chang medicine on weekdays, he would also let Chang eat a bowl of pear and white fungus soup after a nap.
This soup was cooked by Li Qingping himself, and Lian Yunsu was not allowed to touch it.
Emperor Yongping watched her hugging He Chang and feeding him snow pear and white fungus soup, and finally he sighed.
That's all.
Emperor Yongping left Yonghe Palace only after Li Qingping had fed him a whole bowl of snow pear and white fungus soup.
Looking at the departing back of Emperor Yongping, Li Qingping covered his lips with a handkerchief and hummed softly.
Men...
Rongpin is likely to fall out of favor for a while. I wonder what Concubine Wan will do next.
Of the three newcomers to the palace, Concubine Wan was the tough one. While Concubine Rong was certainly insincere, Li Qingping also had an element of deception in her tactics. After all, Concubine Rong and Concubine Le had fallen from favor before Concubine Wan came into prominence. However, Concubine Wan was now pregnant with the heir, so she was acting cautiously. I'm afraid there's still a long way to go.
Alas, but I still feel angry when I think of Rongpin's appearance! Li Qingping silently clenched his handkerchief.
When the New Year arrived, perhaps because of the festive atmosphere, the Ninth Prince and Chang's health gradually recovered, and Li Qingping, who had been on edge, slowly relaxed.
The next year was the second year of Yongping.
This year, Emperor Yongping finally gave in and allowed the concubines and royal family who had children to leave the palace to live out their lives and no longer have to squeeze into Shoukang Palace.
Of course, Emperor Yongping didn't release all of them at once. How could he release them without showing him sincerity? The imperial uncles had been working hard in the government offices lately, and since the princesses couldn't work at court, they urged their husbands to behave themselves. The most important thing, after all, was to get their mother out of the palace.
However, not every imperial concubine or granddaughter with children could leave the palace to enjoy a comfortable life. For example, Concubine Gong's only daughter, Princess Yuyang, had already passed away. She could only watch with envy as the Imperial Noble Concubines Ying and Qing packed up their belongings and left the palace. Perhaps the only benefit was that Kangshou Palace freed up space, allowing the remaining elders in the palace to live more comfortably.
In March, the imperial palace reopened the selection process, leaving seven families with names of concubines. Of course, only two of the seven were admitted to the palace, with two of the remaining five being given to the crown prince, and one each to Prince Gong, Prince Dun, and Prince Yong.
Two newly selected ladies entered the palace, one surnamed Li and the other surnamed Ye, and were both initially given the title of Beauty. However, because there were three high-ranking empresses of the Li clan in the palace, the servants in the palace simply referred to Beauty Li as "Beauty Master" to avoid any taboos on the part of the three Empresses Li.
On the day Concubine Li and Concubine Ye entered the palace, Concubine Wan became pregnant and gave birth to the eleventh prince. The child looked healthy, so Emperor Yongping named him Hexu.
It is said that the baby in Concubine Wan's belly is good at choosing the right time. It was originally diagnosed the day before the emperor's birthday, and now it was born on the first day the new baby entered the palace. It attracted the attention of Emperor Yongping, and he didn't even summon the two new beauties to the palace to sleep with him.
Because of the disruption caused by Concubine Wan and the newly born Eleventh Prince, Concubine Li and Concubine Ye hadn't been in the palace for a week before they began serving the emperor. However, it was clear that Emperor Yongping wasn't particularly interested in them; after a few days of excitement, he rarely thought of them.
After Concubine Wan came out of confinement, Emperor Yongping showed her even more favor. With the prince's favor, Concubine Wan suddenly became extremely popular.
However, Emperor Yongping still seemed to have no intention of promoting her to the rank of imperial concubine. Even Concubine Wan, who initially felt she had a sure win, began to get anxious. Although she had been aiming for the rank of imperial concubine since she became pregnant, it would be inappropriate to not promote her until she was given the title.
Her chief maid, Bi Tao, consoled her, "Don't worry, my lady. According to palace rules, only the head of a palace can personally raise a prince. But you see, the little prince is still being cared for by your side, which shows that the emperor has a plan in mind. Perhaps the time has not come yet."
Concubine Wan looked at the Eleventh Prince and calmed down. "You're right. Besides, the Emperor's previous two promotions to the rank of Queen were all for the six concubines, never for any individual promotion. Perhaps it's not time for a major promotion yet."
However, Concubine Wan waited until the Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Day, and the Spring Festival, and until the third year of Yongping, the lowest-ranking beauties in the four palaces of Ding, Wu, Li, and Ye were all promoted to talented people. After the new year's selection was over, Concubine Xue and Concubine Guan also entered the palace, and even Concubine Rong was restored to favor, but she still did not receive the imperial edict to promote her to Concubine Wan.
Who in the palace and outside the palace didn't laugh at Concubine Wan's joke? Especially Concubine Rong, Concubine Le, and Concubine Qi, who secretly mocked her wishful thinking every time they came to pay their respects.
You have to know that only two people in the palace were allowed to use things beyond their allotment: Concubine Ding of Yonghe Palace, and Concubine Wan. But how could these two be compared? Concubine Ding was personally promised by the Emperor, and except for the title, everything else was the same as a Concubine. Even the ceremony of conferring the title followed the rules of a Concubine, and she could receive audiences from women of higher rank. When Concubine Ke was promoted to Noble Concubine, she would truly become Concubine Ding. But Concubine Wan? She was acting like a Concubine before she was even conferred the title, and the Emperor didn't say anything. It was all Concubine Wan's wishful thinking.
On the contrary, some people said that Emperor Yongping seemed to be more inclined to promote Concubine Qi to Concubine Qi. After all, Concubine Qi was an old lady who had been in the Qiandi Palace, and Concubine Qi's father and brother had recently done a good job for the Emperor. Who knows, the Emperor might consider these two points and promote Concubine Qi.
Concubine Wan could no longer sit still.
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