gossip
Empress Li gave birth to this baby prematurely. After a full day and night of pain, Empress Li finally gave birth to a little boy.
Empress Li suffered greatly when she was pregnant with the Fourteenth Prince, suffered during the birth, and suffered even more after the birth. Because of his congenital deficiency, the Fourteenth Prince was even weaker than the Crown Prince at the time. Empress Li felt the pain of confinement while worrying about her youngest son was unavoidable.
Fortunately, perhaps with God's blessing, the Fourteenth Prince safely passed the full moon, hundred days, and one year old. Seeing that he was established, Emperor Yongping finally gave his youngest son a name.
The fourteenth prince's name is Hehuang, which means light, just like his brother the crown prince.
After Hehuang turned one year old, Kunning Palace finally resumed its daily greetings.
Concubine Yi seemed reluctant to pay this long-awaited visit. Firstly, she had been accustomed to being flattered for over two years and naturally did not want to have to constantly look after Empress Li's mood. Secondly, this visit meant handing back the palace power she had enjoyed for two years.
Queen Li originally wanted to take back the palace power as soon as she was over her confinement period, but He Huang's situation made her too busy to think about other things, so she delayed it until now.
Moreover, what happened during the Mid-Autumn Festival before the Fourteenth Prince was born was still vivid in her mind. Concubine Yi knew that it was absolutely impossible for her and Queen Li to live in peace.
After all, Concubine Yi sat in Kunning Palace with eyes that were not eyes and nose that was not a nose.
Queen Li came out soon.
Giving birth at an advanced age is ultimately not the same as giving birth in youth; no matter how careful you are, you can't restore your prime. In the two years between her pregnancy and Hehuang's first birthday, Empress Li not only lost considerable weight, but her appearance also began to age. Despite her meticulous care, fine lines appeared around her eyes, and a few silver streaks appeared at her temples. But Empress Li had been a prince's consort for over twenty years and empress for eight. Her demeanor no longer needed to be expressed in her looks; rather, these traces of time made her even more imposing, reserved, and steady.
The concubines below the rank of noble ladies didn't dare to even glance at her secretly.
"I heard that the Eleventh Prince has reached the age to attend the Upper Study and learn horseback riding and archery?" Empress Li first asked Concubine Wan. "The Upper Study has its own teachers, but do you have a choice of candidates for the Prince's study companion? Or has the Emperor already made a choice?"
Because Emperor Yongping now favors young talents and beauties, Concubine Wan has not enjoyed the same glory as she once did. However, she still has five or six days of sleep a month, so she is still among the favorite concubines.
After noticing that Emperor Yongping's affection for her had faded, Concubine Wan became less arrogant. She now had two princes, and to protect them, she had to take care of everything. Furthermore, with these two princes, Concubine Wan would definitely not be left out of the next imperial promotion, so her expression became much more respectful. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. I was thinking of bringing this up with the Emperor and His Majesty. I will follow their advice."
Empress Li nodded in satisfaction. "If that's the case, I'll discuss this with the Emperor and then send someone to Zhongcui Palace to have you take a look."
Concubine Wan hurriedly bowed to express her gratitude.
Empress Li added two more words, "With the recent change of seasons, people are prone to illness. The twelfth and thirteenth princes must also be carefully cared for and not neglected. Therefore, Imperial Physician Zhang will specifically check the pulses of these two princes every day. The other princes and princesses will also be checked every three days, and the palaces will be checked every ten days."
The concubines hurriedly agreed, especially Concubine Ke, Noble Lady Wan, and Noble Lady Qi, who expressed their gratitude specifically on behalf of the two little princes.
Concubine Wan had the privilege of personally raising and caring for the prince, but Concubine Qi did not. The Thirteenth Prince and He Wei were nominally taken to be raised by Concubine Ke, the head of Chengqian Palace.
After saying this, Empress Li turned to Li Qingping with a smile on her face and said, "He Xuan should be looking for a suitable family this year, and marry a prince's consort next year. As his mother, I have to pay more attention to him."
I feel dazed when talking about Li Qingping.
Before she knew it, her three children had grown up one after another. First, Yuxi got married, and now Hexuan was about to get married, and in a few years, Hechang would be the next.
After a brief moment of absentmindedness, she smiled and said, "Don't mention it, Madam. That boy didn't even look at the portraits of noble ladies we found a few days ago. He was just busy taking his brother out to play. He always feels like he hasn't grown up yet."
Queen Li smiled and said, "She hasn't grown up yet, but she will be sensible once she gets married."
Li Qingping sighed sincerely, "I hope so."
After paying their respects, Queen Li asked the Imperial Concubine and the two concubines to stay. The other concubines all knew what was going on and didn't want to get involved, so they quickly found excuses to leave.
Li Qingping and Concubine Ke had a very pleasant exchange of words. Concubine Yi held her breath and slammed the cards representing the power of the palace on the purple sandalwood table.
Empress Li gestured for Huixin to put away her cards. She sneered inwardly, then smiled warmly, saying, "I haven't congratulated Noble Concubine Yi yet. I heard that Princess Gong has given you another granddaughter?"
Speaking of this, Concubine Yi became even angrier.
Looking at the slightly cold smile on Queen Li's face, she knew that the Queen did it on purpose!
Princess Gong had previously given birth to a son, the eldest grandson of the Emperor, and she was very proud of it. But later, the Crown Prince also had a legitimate son, and Emperor Yongping was naturally attracted to the legitimate grandson.
The Crown Prince's legitimate son was intelligent and clever, earning him the favor of Emperor Yongping. The eldest son of Prince Gong, however, was mediocre, with nothing to impress Emperor Yongping except his status as the Emperor's eldest grandson. Although Concubine Yi doted on this eldest grandson, she also hoped for another intelligent son to rival the Crown Prince's.
But things got worse after the eldest grandson of the Emperor. One of Prince Gong's concubines and two other wives became pregnant, and all of their children were daughters. Concubine Yi suddenly felt a bit unbalanced. What's the point of having all girls? In the end, they were still given the title of Princess or County Princess and married off. After three daughters, Prince Gong's mansion had no good news. After years of waiting, Princess Gong finally got pregnant again. It would have been nice to have another legitimate son, but who knew that the baby would be a daughter again! The reputation of "born to be the father-in-law" when Emperor Yongping was still a prince now fell on Prince Gong.
The most hateful thing is that not only the Crown Prince, but also Prince Dun and Prince Yong have several young men in their houses, but she and He Yan are the only ones.
Concubine Yi really felt that everything had gone wrong in the past few years and she had no energy to confront Empress Li.
Concubine Yi angrily left with a wave of her sleeves.
Concubine Ke watched the show well, pinched Empress Li's shoulder and said with a smile: "Sister, you are deliberately poking her in the heart."
Li Qingping also frowned: "After all these years, she finally had someone to cheer her up for, but it wasn't the grandson she had been dreaming of. Of course, Concubine Yi was furious."
Empress Li sneered, "It's all right for her to endure for a while, but she'll naturally give up after a while. She may think she's holding her ground, but to outsiders, she's full of holes. Noble Concubine Yi has endured for decades, so it's not easy for her to reveal her true colors now. But I imagine she's getting anxious since Prince Gong still hasn't found a second husband."
Li Qingping thought of the gossip Yuxi had told her when she came back to the palace to pay her respects: "I heard that a concubine got pregnant once, but she lost the baby at six months, and it was a full-grown boy."
Concubine Ke clapped her hands and said, "I've heard about it too! It was the Hexian family who told me."
"There is such a thing?" Queen Li raised her eyebrows.
Li Qingping nodded and lowered his voice: "The concubine's identity is not glorious either. She was originally a concubine and entered the palace when she was pregnant. But later, somehow, she was discovered to have secretly met with many men. It is hard to say whether the baby in her belly is Prince Gong's. So..."
Queen Li understood.
If a prince is cuckolded and has to take over, then no matter whether the child is Prince Gong's or not, he cannot keep it. But if the child is Prince Gong's, then he has lost a son in vain.
"But from what you said, the concubine is still alive?"
"She's alive and very much loved. That's why she's so abnormal. Even my daughter-in-law, who doesn't like gossip, has heard about it!" Concubine Ke nodded heavily. "It's because he favors that vixen that no one else has had a chance to succeed in the past few years. Princess Gong is really capable of getting pregnant under such circumstances."
Empress Li pondered and said, "No wonder so many people have come to Prince Gong's mansion in recent years, but none of them have made any progress."
These low-brow gossips wouldn't reach the ears of busy people like Empress Li. To put it bluntly, Prince Gong could favor whomever he pleased, and it wasn't like he had no children, so there was no need to disturb the great Buddha in the palace.
Li Qingping could tell that Yuxi simply loved to listen to and share gossip. She simply delighted in bringing a mountain of gossip into the palace to annoy her mother. Concubine Ke knew it was simply her own personal preference for gossip, but since everyone in the palace was always talking about the same old gossip, she could only ask her son, daughter-in-law, and daughter, who were allowed to visit the palace regularly, to tell her about things happening outside the palace and in the capital. Prince Dun, his wife, and Princess Shuhui, who typically disliked gossip, couldn't stand their mother's nagging and paid more attention, naturally learning about what was happening at Prince Gong's mansion.
Concubine Ke knew even more, otherwise she wouldn't have casually called someone a fox charmer: "Ever since that fox charmer appeared, Prince Gong has been like a drug addict. All his food, clothing, and other expenses go to the front yard, and even Princess Gong can't interfere. He stays in her room every night and ignores everyone else.
But it's also strange. Both the Princess of Gong and the Concubine have certain family backgrounds. How could they be willing to be suppressed by a seductress who climbed up from the concubine's family and dare not speak out? "
Especially Princess Huo of Gong County, as she is from a military family, she shouldn’t be so cowardly.
Empress Li pondered and asked, "Does Concubine Yi know about this?"
"Neither Prince Gong nor his wife would have let her know about this." Concubine Ke paused and said, "I just don't know if Concubine Yi has arranged for someone to stay at Prince Gong's residence."
Li Qingping shook his head and said, "Noble Concubine Yi probably doesn't know about this. Given her personality, she would never tolerate such a person continuing to exist."
Queen Li raised an eyebrow. "Yes, after all, she still wants more grandchildren. That concubine is not only suspected of having an affair with a man outside her family, but she is also the only one favored by her yet she still hasn't gotten pregnant. If Concubine Yi knew about this, she wouldn't sit idly by."
After Li Qingping and Concubine Ke left, Empress Li summoned Wang Rongqing, the chief eunuch of Kunning Palace.
Wang Rongqing kowtowed as per protocol, then heard Empress Li coldly ask from above, "Did you hear what Concubine Ke and Concubine Ding just said?"
"Yes. I heard everything."
"Go and investigate, and investigate thoroughly." Empress Li stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist and sneered, "I want to see how seductive she is."
This matter is neither big nor small. It would be very interesting if it could be brought to the attention of Concubine Yi and the Emperor.
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