marriage
More than a month later, the emperor returned to Beijing.
Li Qingping led everyone to welcome the emperor. The moment she saw the bright yellow ceremonial guard, she took a deep breath and went forward to greet him. When she was about to kneel down, a hand helped her up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Qingping stood firm and took a short moment to assess the expressions of the people on the southern tour.
Emperor Yongping and Empress Li were both doing fine. Concubine Ke was very happy to see Li Qingping and didn't seem to be affected by the riots in Suzhou City, or perhaps she had gotten over her emotions in the past month.
Concubine Yi had lost considerable weight and looked quite lifeless. She no longer dressed as flamboyantly as before, and though she tried to maintain her demeanor, it was clear she was deeply traumatized. Prince Gong's pulse was reported three times a day, and the imperial physician's response was a single sentence: Yang deficiency and marrow withering, life expectancy unlikely beyond thirty.
Everyone who knew about this pulse case knew that this was tantamount to sentencing Prince Gong to death.
Prince Gong was Concubine Yi's eldest son, and she had devoted the most care to him. The news of this tragedy made her feel dizzy and almost faint from tears. If she hadn't been thinking about the Sixth Prince Hexuan and the Seventh Princess Yujun in the palace, and the tragic fate of Hesheng and Su, Concubine Yi would have fallen ill on the spot.
How could Concubine Yi not resent a woman who had played her son around like that? She wished she could tear He Sheng and Su into pieces.
The most proud person was Concubine Le. Her father had made great contributions on this trip, so the emperor was happy to favor her more. Compared to when she fell out of favor, she was now radiant and full of vigor.
Emperor Yongping's palm was still clasped on Li Qingping's elbow, and he gently pressed his fingertips on her sleeve and said with a smile: "In the past few months, the palace has been very grateful to Concubine Ding."
Li Qingping smiled and said, "I have done my duty as the Emperor and the Empress instructed me to do before they left the capital, and I have not let them down." Her voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for the concubines, civil servants and officials around her to hear.
However, they also knew that after this incident, Concubine Ding's weight in Emperor Yongping's heart was different again.
"My beloved concubine, you are too modest." Emperor Yongping gave her a meaningful look. "If you hadn't carefully discovered the conspiracy between Prince Duan and the Su family when you checked the accounts, and calmly thought of a countermeasure, the consequences would have been disastrous if the traitors had succeeded."
Li Qingping could only bow and thank the emperor for his praise.
After returning to the palace, I have to deal with He Sheng and others.
He Sheng was very stubborn at first, but the evidence was irrefutable.
Emperor Yongping ordered Hesheng stripped of his title and imperial surname, demoted him to commoner status, and stripped of his royal family records, forever barring him from re-entering the imperial clan. He was handed over to the Imperial Clan Court and the Three Judicial Departments for trial. Because of the imperial seal and iron certificate bestowed by the previous emperor, Emperor Yongping, out of filial piety, could not personally execute Hesheng, so he had him imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court. Upon his own death, his body was preserved intact, and he was buried with simple commoner rites. His wives, concubines, and children were all demoted to commoner status and exiled to the smoky, malaria-ridden regions of Lingnan. For three generations, their families were forbidden from returning to the capital.
As for the Hu woman Su, she was sentenced to death by slicing for the crime of "inciting the emperor to commit treason and aiding rebellion." On the day of her slicing, her head was hung at the Meridian Gate, and a blood-stained notice was posted for ten days; her body was thrown into the crematorium and no one was allowed to collect it.
Although Prince Gong was a victim, it's undeniable that he was incredibly foolish, lusting after women without knowing right from wrong, allowing himself to be fooled, and even endangering his own health. Emperor Yongping didn't strip his eldest son of his title, but he placed him under house arrest in the palace. No one in the palace was allowed to enter or leave without a direct order from the palace.
As the biological mother of Prince Gong, Concubine Yi was reprimanded. Although her rank remained unchanged, her share of expenses returned to the rules she had enjoyed as a concubine. She was also required to kneel and recite the "Instructions for Women" for an hour outside the Cining Palace at dawn and dusk each day, rain or shine. On weekdays, she was confined to the Yongshou Palace.
Finally, there are Empress Qianyuan, Princess Yurong and others.
Before He Sheng was imprisoned in the clan house, he kept emphasizing that his family knew nothing about it and asked Emperor Yongping to show mercy to them.
"He is quite filial," Emperor Yongping sneered. "But it's the father's fault for not educating his child properly. If it happened to anyone else, it would be a crime that would implicate the entire clan. If I don't punish him, where will the law be?"
He Sheng's mother, Empress Qianyuan, was stripped of her royal title and relocated to the White Horse Temple, where she was provided with a liter of brown rice daily and spent the rest of her life in seclusion. His siblings, Princess Yurong, Princess Yuhua, and Prince Liang, though not complicit in the conspiracy, were nonetheless guilty of negligence and were each stripped of their titles, becoming either Princess or Duke of a County. They were also fined and ordered to reflect on their mistakes for three years.
In the royal garden, the former Empress Qianyuan had been in fear ever since she learned about He Sheng's rebellion, but she was relieved when the imperial edict came down.
He Sheng was confused, but fortunately Yurong, Yuhua, and the others had survived. Three years of confinement was better than death. As for himself, there wasn't much difference between being in the garden and in the temple.
That's all.
After everything was settled, Li Qingping finally had the leisure to continue worrying about He Xuan's marriage.
Previously, the wife of the Marquis of Loyalty brought the portrait of Miss Cui into the palace. Li Qingping looked at it again and again and found that the girl was quite pleasing to the eye.
After showing it to Hexun, Hexun took a closer look, lingering on the girl's features for a few more seconds, but he still said the same old thing: "As long as mother likes it, that's fine. I'll listen to mother in everything."
Li Qingping was so angry that she wanted to hit him with a feather duster. He Xuan hid and ran out, saying, "Mother! Mother! Your son is leaving the palace to visit your sixth sister!"
Li Qingping put his hands on his hips, pointed the feather duster in the direction where He Xuan ran away, and sneered, "You're bringing up your sister again! You've been to Yuxi's residence seven times this month! Bringing her candied fruit, bird's nest, silk, gold bracelets, and the manor. And now you're not even making excuses, are you? Your sister's pregnant! You're capable of hiding at your sister's residence when you get married!"
Yun Su, holding back her laughter, handed over a cup of cold tea, "Master, calm down. Our Fifth Prince knows what's going on, but he's just being stubborn. Normally, you wouldn't even glance at the portraits of the noble ladies in the capital, but today, Your Highness has at least taken a closer look at Miss Cui."
He Xuan happened to hear his mother's angry scolding behind him. He turned around fearlessly and made a face: "Mother! This time, my son will stay at my sister's house and won't come back! Anyway, she is pregnant with my nephew and needs someone to take care of her."
"Ji Hexuan!"
He and Xiaoyi ran away.
Li Qingping was laughing in anger when he heard a chuckle behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Emperor Yongping who had stood at the corner of the palace road on the other side of Yonghe Palace.
"Why is the emperor here?" Li Qingping quickly put down the feather duster and saluted.
Emperor Yongping looked at her with a half-smile: "I didn't expect that my beloved concubine has such a tough side."
Li Qingping: "..."
Li Qingping silently hid the feather duster behind his back.
After entering the hall and taking a seat, Emperor Yongping looked at the pile of portraits of noble ladies on the table. "Why? Of all these ladies, none do you like?" He immediately took a liking to the portrait of Miss Cui at the top. "Cui Wenyi... this is so dignified and elegant, and he doesn't like her either?"
Li Qingping complained, "This is why I am annoyed."
Emperor Yongping smiled and said, "You have a good eye for the eldest granddaughter of Princess Jin Chong's family... I remember that my eldest sister had a good relationship with Princess Jin Chong."
Princess De'en? Li Qingping's eyes lit up as he listened to Emperor Yongping say, "I remember Princess Jinchong once brought her granddaughter to the capital, and the eldest princess hosted a banquet and invited her to attend. He Xuan should have gone along to see her, right?"
?
Li Qingping leaned forward and looked at Emperor Yongping: "Are you saying that He Xuan and Miss Cui have already met?"
Thinking of the time he and Xuan had just spent on the portrait, Li Qingping was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "That kid is just pretending to be his own mother!"
Emperor Yongping said leisurely: "I think this marriage is very good. This girl is just right for our naughty boy. Anyway, he has seen her. Marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers. In this case, I will just arrange a marriage for her--"
"Father!"
He Xuan came in hurriedly, his face flushed, and it was obvious that he was running excitedly: "Father! Mother! You can't be so casual! The brothers and sisters before you were not so casual, how can you be so casual with your son?"
Emperor Yongping and Li Qingping exchanged a glance, the latter unable to resist a laugh. "Didn't you just say you'd obey Mother? Then Mother obeys your father. Whoever your father wants as his daughter-in-law will be his, right? Huh?"
He Xuan was so anxious that he kept scratching his head: "Your son...your son..."
Li Qingping finally couldn't help laughing. "Alright, alright, get up quickly." She nodded at Miss Cui's portrait. "Tell me yourself, Miss Cui, are you satisfied?"
He Xuan muttered, "At least I know this one, better than those I don't know."
Li Qingping didn't hear clearly: "Hmm?"
He Xuan took a deep breath, suddenly knelt down, and said loudly: "I wish to marry Miss Cui! I beg my father, the emperor, and my mother to grant my wish!"
Emperor Yongping smiled and said, "I understand." He then said to He Xuan, "But I have two conditions."
He Xuan hurriedly said, "Father, please speak!"
"First, you are not allowed to use your sister as a pretext in the future." Emperor Yongping said with a stern face, "Yuxi is pregnant and can't stand your torment."
Emperor Yongping reached over and lightly kicked his son. "Second, do not make your mother angry again. Anger is harmful to your health. I have never seen your mother blush like this in all the ten or twenty years we've been together."
He Xuan's ears turned red and he nodded repeatedly.
Soon the news that the fifth prince was going to marry Cui, the granddaughter of Princess Jin Chong, spread.
When Concubine Zhuang in the palace learned about this, she came to Yonghe Palace specifically to talk to Li Qingping. She was still a little dazed until she returned to Qixiang Palace.
Coming back to her senses, she said to Mammy, "But forming an alliance with Yonghe Palace doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it?"
Facts have proved that it is indeed a good idea for Concubine Zhuang to rely on the marriage between Cui and the prince to get back to Yonghe Palace.
In the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, an imperial edict was issued from the Qianqing Palace to the six palaces.
"Promote Consort Ding of Yonghe Palace to Noble Consort Ding, Consort Jia of Xianfu Palace to Consort Jia, Consort Rong of Jingren Palace to Consort Rong, and Consort An of Changchun Palace to Consort An; confer the title of Consort Wan to Consort Wan, granting her residence in the main hall of Zhongcui Palace; confer the title of Consort Qi to Consort Qi, granting her residence in the main hall of Chuxiu Palace; confer the title of Consort Le to Consort Le, granting her residence in the main hall of Jingyang Palace. Choose an auspicious day for the conferment ceremony."
When the news came out, the six palaces were shocked.
Everyone assumed the next Imperial Concubine would be Concubine Ke of Chengqian Palace, but unexpectedly, Concubine Ding of Yonghe Palace had been directly promoted thanks to the Southern Tour Incident a few months prior. Furthermore, with Concubine Yi now out of power, Concubine Ding was the highest ranking official under the Empress! Furthermore, this highest ranking official, like the Empress, was from the Li clan, ensuring a close blood relationship between them.
After hearing the imperial edict, Concubine Zhuang heaved a sigh of relief. She was not favored, and could only survive in the palace by relying on her family background, but it was a bit difficult for her to live a comfortable life.
Especially now that the four concubines are full, with Concubine Ke, Concubine Jia, Concubine Rong, and Concubine An each occupying one position. It is impossible for Concubine Zhuang to be promoted before any of them is promoted or dies, so it is better to find a backer.
Among the concubines, Zhuangpin is now second only to Jingpin. Zhuangpin is a given. Jingpin at least has Princess Yong'an. She is not favored and has no children, so she cannot compare to Jingpin. But being able to step down Wanpin, Qipin, and Lepin is already quite good.
Wanpin and Qipin both felt that they had finally made it. Especially Wanpin, who had enjoyed the status of a concubine for many years and now had her rights and authority, was so happy that she drank a few more pots of wine.
Concubine Le, Jin, was a mixture of joy and worry. She knew her position was due to her father's meritorious service in protecting the emperor, and without a prince, she couldn't secure the position. Furthermore, Jingyang Palace was once the residence of Concubine Jin, which was a bit unlucky. However, there were no more palaces available, so Concubine Le would have to have it renovated before moving in.
Yonghe Palace was filled with joy. The master's promotion to Imperial Consort was a truly joyous occasion.
Li Qingping was also happy. He rewarded everyone in Yonghe Palace according to the rules and ordered delicious dishes to celebrate.
But lying on his bed in the dead of night, Li Qingping looked at the top of the tent and felt a sense of unease deep in his heart. This unease had actually been there since the Southern Tour Incident.
Wang Rongqing's appearance at that time was such a coincidence. Queen Li clearly noticed it, so why didn't she take action first?
It wasn't that Li Qingping was unwilling to doubt the Queen, it was just that it was strange to think about it. It was as if... he was paving the way for her.
Paving the road...?
Li Qingping's eyes trembled, and he forced himself to close them and not think about it anymore.
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