Travel
At the end of June, the weather became increasingly hot, and the emperor decided to set off for the Chengde Palace to escape the summer heat.
As the eldest son, Prince Xuan was naturally on the accompanying list.
It was actually quite a coincidence. If the Emperor had gone to the frontier as in previous years, he would have been forced to depart in April, or at the very least, in May. It couldn't be any later. Concubine Li hadn't given birth yet, so Prince Xuan wouldn't have been able to rest assured and might not have gone. Fortunately, the Emperor had no interest in going to the frontier this year, so he delayed his departure for the Chengde Palace until June.
In the past, when going out, Princess Xuan would definitely go with him. But this year, Erlang was still young, not suitable for long journeys, and he needed someone to stay with him, so Princess Xuan had to stay behind to take care of him and not go.
Concubine Li didn't go either, and she couldn't go at all. When the news came out, she hadn't even finished her confinement yet.
Concubine Zhang couldn't go either. The doctor had just diagnosed her as two months pregnant, so she decided to stay in the capital to take care of the baby.
Madam Wan stayed with the eldest son. Although he was already one year old, he was not suitable for the tiring journey. She was also worried about him being left alone in the capital, and she didn't know if he would cry or make a fuss if he was suddenly separated from his mother. So Madam Wan asked to stay.
As a result, only Li Qingping, Concubine Yang, Zhao, Liu and two concubines could accompany him in the backyard.
The number of people you could bring depended on how many concubines were accompanying you to escape the summer heat. After all, it was unacceptable to bring more people than the emperor did. Wouldn't that give others an opportunity to criticize you for being dissolute and disrespectful to the emperor?
Prince Xuan made some inquiries and found out that the Queen was going to the palace with her, as well as Concubine Qing, Concubine Ying, Concubine Hui, and Concubine Gong. He did not bring any of his father, who was of lower rank.
In addition, the Crown Prince brought the Crown Princess and the two concubines in the backyard.
In this way, in order not to cross the line between the emperor and the crown prince, Prince Xuan would only have to bring two or three people.
This time the eldest daughter was also going, so Li Qingping would definitely be brought along. As for the rest, Prince Xuan was thinking of taking his concubine Liu with him.
Prince Xuan hadn't considered the two concubines from the beginning. Wu had already deeply offended him; if it weren't for the eldest girl, she would have been dead somewhere. Ding had never been favored by him, and they might only see each other once a year in the main courtyard during the New Year holidays. She was even worse than Li Qingping before.
After all, the second girl is still young, so it would be better for Zhao to keep her and take the mother and daughter with her when there is a chance in the future.
As for Consort Yang, Prince Xuan disliked her the moment he realized she was forced into the palace by Consort Xian. He considered visiting her quarters once a month a courtesy to Consort Xian. Furthermore, Yang was known for her ulterior motives and unpleasant personality, so it was best not to bring her to the imperial palace without causing trouble.
The list still needed to be reviewed by Princess Xuan, who was extremely satisfied. If for no other reason, Liu was a simple-minded woman, and her status was lower than Li Qingping's. This trip revealed that Li Qingping was the one who made the final decision regarding Prince Xuan's affairs in the palace.
As for what Concubine Yang thought, Princess Xuan would never let her make a fuss and ruin the good thing.
So it was settled. Prince Xuan only took Li Qingping and Liu to the Chengde Palace and sent someone to inform them to pack their luggage.
When Concubine Yang heard that she was not on the list, she made a scene in her courtyard. But she also knew that Prince Xuan had made up his mind and would not change it easily, so she was very discouraged.
Not to mention that Princess Xuan, knowing she'd thrown several tea sets in a fit of rage, summoned them to the main courtyard and reprimanded them, saying she wasn't in a good mood. Furthermore, Concubine Yang's throwing had already exceeded her monthly allotment. All expenses in the palace had to follow the rules. Otherwise, everyone would throw things when they were upset, then recklessly demand a replacement, as if they were about to empty the treasury. How could that be possible? Princess Xuan told Concubine Yang to make up the extra money herself, then go back to copying sutras and meditating, and not to wander around unless otherwise requested.
Isn't this just a disguised form of house arrest? Concubine Yang pinched her nose and made up the money. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. When she returned, she was so angry that she fell ill. The servants were trembling with fear, not daring to breathe, and even serving her medicine was afraid of being scolded.
But this was none of Li Qingping's business. She packed her own and the eldest girl's luggage, patted her buttocks and followed Prince Xuan to the Chengde Palace.
As Li Qingping walked, she felt relieved. Fortunately, Concubine Xian wasn't accompanying him this time, otherwise, she would have had to bring the eldest daughter and Liu to pay her respects at the temporary palace. Once before, Concubine Li had accompanied him to the frontier, and when she came back, she had privately complained to her that Concubine Xian was acting so arrogantly when she shouldn't have. She had to pay her respects every day, and the other three concubines didn't have as much trouble as she did.
If you want to say that the wife goes to pay respects, that's fine, but why bother with the concubines all the time? After all, no one knows what Concubine Xian is thinking. This time, Li Qingping is not with the emperor and is happy to be alone.
The convoy moved quickly and arrived at the Chengde Palace in a few days.
After Li Qingping settled himself and the eldest daughter, he went to see Liu personally. After all, they were the only two people who came out from the backyard of Prince Xuan's mansion this time, but Mrs. Li Qingping's status was higher than Liu's, so she must be arranged.
Liu was a well-behaved woman and there was nothing wrong with her. Li Qingping took a look around and then went back to his own yard.
The eldest girl lived in a courtyard of her own at the palace, right next to Li Qingping. However, she still ate with Li Qingping and went back to bed. Li Qingping went out to look around and came back to see a little tail following the eldest girl, staring at her eagerly.
"Princess Eleven."
According to seniority, Li Qingping is the concubine of the eleventh princess's eldest brother, so a simple ceremony will suffice.
The eldest girl said to Li Qingping, "Aunt Shuyi came to ask me about my homework."
The imperial princesses of this generation were of the Shu generation, and the eleventh princess' maiden name was Shuyi. After the eldest girl got to know her, she no longer called her the eleventh aunt but Aunt Shuyi.
Li Qingping knew that the clan school had reserved some homework for the royal family members accompanying him, but he didn't expect the Eleventh Princess to rush over to ask the eldest daughter about her homework as soon as she arrived. Is the Eleventh Princess so studious?
The eleventh princess' temper had been tamed by the older girl over the past six months, and she could no longer act willfully. She said impatiently, "Finish writing soon so we can go out and play."
Although Concubine Qing doted on her youngest daughter, she had her own principles. As long as her schoolwork wasn't completed, the Eleventh Princess couldn't have fun at the palace. But the Eleventh Princess loved to play, so wasn't her mother's actions really just a poke at her? One-third of the homework assigned by the clan school was math, which the Eleventh Princess dreaded the most. She hadn't even come with her study companions this time. Concubine Qing had also ordered her two brothers, who were born to the same mother, not to take sides with her. So, the Eleventh Princess had no choice but to seek help from the eldest daughter.
It was indeed the nature of a child. Li Qingping felt amused and asked the eldest girl and the eleventh princess to go to the study to do their homework.
In addition to asking Yunsu and Madam Hu, who came with her, to pay attention to the needs of the two children and not to delay in serving snacks and tea, she also began to prepare what to eat tonight.
Unsure of the chef's specialty, Li Qingping sent someone to ask. Undeterred by her mere status as a princess, the chef quickly returned with a menu. Different chefs prepared different dishes. Li Qingping reviewed the menu and ordered a few savory main courses tailored to her and the young lady's tastes. The rest followed the usual order.
Just after they had ordered the dishes, and before the eunuchs from the NPC kitchen had even left the courtyard, Liang Pei'an came over and said, "The prince is coming to dine with the lady today."
What could Li Qingping do? He could only call people back, change a few dishes, and ask Qian Guang, who came with him, to prepare the cold noodles that Prince Xuan liked.
Today was only his first day at the palace, so there wasn't much to do. It was just that when Prince Xuan was crowned, he was given the job of Commander of the Nine Gates. Now, he was responsible for the security of the Chengde Palace. After the Emperor had given him his orders, Prince Xuan returned early and asked Li Qingping, "Where's Yu Jin?"
Li Qingping told him that the Eleventh Princess was looking for the eldest girl to do homework with her.
Prince Xuan smiled and said, "Why are you so diligent now?"
Of course, he wasn't talking about his daughter, but the Eleventh Princess. After all, he had heard how pampered Princess Shuyi was.
"The princess wants to go out and play."
"I'll tell you." Prince Xuan nodded and knew what was going on.
A food box came over from the main kitchen, and Li Qingping asked Yunsu to call the eldest girl to prepare the meal.
The eleventh princess had happily followed the eldest girl to the flower hall, but when she saw Prince Xuan, she was like a mouse meeting a cat. She called out "brother" with a stiff face, and then said that my mother called me home for dinner, and ran away in a hurry.
Li Qingping: “……?”
She asked curiously, "What happened to Princess Eleven?"
Prince Xuan sneered angrily, "She's afraid of me. The fourth and seventh sisters are afraid of me, and this little one sees her two brothers avoiding me, so she follows suit. A few times, her two naughty brothers were caught making trouble in the palace and I gave them a good beating, and she's even more afraid of me now."
Hearing this, Li Qingping and the eldest girl both laughed.
It's said that an eldest brother is like a father. The emperor was always tolerant and loving toward the younger princes and princesses in the palace, and their biological mothers were even less likely to criticize them. At this moment, the silent and stern eldest brother, Prince Xuan, was the "strict father" figure, wasn't he? Not only the Eleventh Princess, but all the other younger ones were afraid of Prince Xuan.
Prince Xuan waved his hand, signaling the palace servants to serve the dishes, and then he started eating without saying a word.
The Eleventh Princess was afraid of returning home and Prince Xuan, but she still insisted on coming to the eldest girl to do her homework every day, so that she could go out and play as soon as possible.
After all, Prince Xuan has official duties to attend to, so it is impossible to see him every day.
After a while, the Eleventh Princess and Li Qingping were able to speak to each other. Furthermore, the eldest princess had heard that Li Qingping was quite good at math, so one day, she shyly asked him questions. Li Qingping, bored at the time, was helping the eldest princess weave hay animals. Although surprised, he patiently taught her. Finally, noticing the Eleventh Princess's curious look, which he thought was well hidden, he found an excuse to give her a straw butterfly.
Whether it was due to the influence of her older sister or something else, the Eleventh Princess really liked Li Qingping. After all, who wouldn't like a beautiful sister who could do math, make a lot of small handicrafts, eat and drink well, and was quiet and not make trouble?
She would always shout a few words every day when she returned home, which made Concubine Qing extremely curious about Li Qingping.
In fact, even back when Prince Xuan first married, who in the palace hadn't heard of the three Li sisters? Sisters sharing a husband was not uncommon in every dynasty, and even now, there was a pair of sisters in the palace, Huipin and Lanpin. However, most of these were entered into the palace one after another to consolidate the emperor's favor, and it was rare for them to enter the palace together as concubines like the three Li sisters.
In fact, the custom of having concubines as companions is not so popular nowadays, but it was a common thing in the previous dynasty.
There were many reasons why the Li family chose two girls as concubines.
The most senior member of the Li family today is Princess Xuan's father, a second-rank official. Three generations before him, there were also many officials, but unfortunately, none of them were particularly prominent. Furthermore, the Li family possessed no noble titles, so their family background was not particularly prominent.
Princess Xuan's background was considered the lowest among the imperial daughters-in-law. Honestly, even Lady Wan, the wife of Prince Xuan's harem, was comparable in family background to Princess Xuan's. Look at the wives of the Crown Princess, Prince Su, and Prince Yue, and so on. Which one of them didn't have a family with a high-ranking official or a distinguished ancestor?
Prince Xuan was the emperor's eldest son, and being granted a wife of such a prominent family would inevitably put him under pressure. After all, Prince Xuan had already made military achievements, was the first prince to be crowned a king, and had a powerful Yue family. It was hard to say whether the younger prince could keep his power stable.
It is also possible that the emperor felt that he was indebted to his eldest son for marrying a legitimate wife with an unremarkable family background, so he issued an edict allowing the Li family to accompany the concubine. The concubine was married off with a standard lower than that of a wife but higher than that of a concubine, and was also recorded in the jade dish as the concubine married by Prince Xuan in a formal ceremony.
So in a sense, Concubine Li's position as a concubine is much more important than that of Concubine Yang.
However, Li Qingping's appointment as a concubine was indeed somewhat hastily arranged, with the announcement made hastily, the appointment made hastily, and the marriage carried on in haste. Prince Xuan had originally been assigned another concubine, from a prominent Jiangnan family, but tragically, she died of a sudden illness. He had originally intended to marry three, but in the end, it was reduced to two. The emperor, feeling somewhat indebted, remembered the Li family's daughter, who was still waiting to be married, and so issued another decree, allowing that daughter to marry as well.
At that time, people in the palace said that Li Qingping was both lucky and not so lucky.
After all, both sisters married into the royal family, and Li Qingping would also benefit from it. She could find a good family and marry into it as the mistress of the household, which was better than being a concubine in the palace. This concubine was a lucky find. The two sisters had one legitimate wife and one concubine, and she was just a bystander. No one would be happy about it.
Fortunately, she had a good relationship with the Xuanqin Princess and her sister. They didn't care whether they were wives or concubines. The three sisters lived happily together. The first two sisters always gave Li Qingping a share of the good things. She didn't need the prince's favor or the mistress's favor. The mistress even took the initiative to protect her. Li Qingping was so happy lying in the back.
Concubine Qing loved the eldest daughter. She had taken care of her several times she had been in the palace, not to mention that she had managed to tame that mischievous Eleventh Princess, which made Concubine Qing even more cherished. It's said that a child's upbringing depends entirely on the adults around them. Since Li Qingping had raised the eldest daughter so well, he must be no less capable. Now, hearing Princess Eleven's constant mentions, Concubine Qing wanted to meet her in person.
I just didn't expect this opportunity to come so soon.
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