The news of Yinreng's return and the reward he received from Emperor Kangxi quickly spread throughout the palace.
When Yinqi entered the palace to pay his respects to Consort Hui, he overheard her say something that made him furious.
Consort Hui said, "When the Crown Prince went to pay his respects to the Emperor, the Emperor generously gave him two cucumbers. There were ten cucumbers in total: two for the Crown Prince, five for the Empress Dowager, and three for the Emperor. Neither of us green cucumbers saw any."
Yinti never liked the taste of cucumbers.
But they are both sons, so why does the crown prince have one while he doesn't?
The next day, when Yinreng went to court, Yinti asked in a disapproving tone, "Your Highness, how does the cucumber taste?"
Yinreng's smile was gentle, much better than Yinti's confrontational and provocative manner.
“Father’s loving heart is naturally good. If elder brother likes it, he can taste it in a few months,” Yinreng said.
Originally, few court officials knew about this matter, but after Yinqi shouted it out in a hurry, everyone knew that the Crown Prince's favor was long-lasting, and they could not take sides randomly.
Yinzhen stood in the crowd, chuckling to himself. It was rare for him to be so kind and not join in bullying Yinti.
Yinti is impulsive. If he were to be repeatedly provoked by his two cunning brothers, he would probably faint from anger.
The 29th year of the Kangxi reign is coming to an end. It is now the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are only a few days left until the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month.
At this time, the harem would usually hold a major ceremony to bestow titles. Now, with only three concubines in the harem, there is no leader, and the position of empress is coveted by many.
After the anniversary of the Empress Dowager's death, memorials requesting the conferment of the title of Empress were sent to Emperor Kangxi like snowflakes.
Therefore, when Emperor Kangxi went to court, he dropped a bombshell by bestowing the title of Imperial Noble Consort on his concubine Niohuru.
When Lady Niohuru gave birth to the tenth prince, Yin'e, in the twenty-second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, she should have been made a Noble Consort. However, she remains a concubine, causing unrest within the Niohuru clan.
She was the younger sister of Empress Xiaozhaoren and the daughter of Grand Tutor Guoyi Gong Ebilun. Her family background was illustrious, the best in the Kangxi Emperor's harem.
Now that Emperor Kangxi has bestowed a title upon her, the members of the Niohuru clan are praising the emperor's wisdom with great enthusiasm.
Regarding the position of Empress, Kangxi said, "I do not wish to bestow the title of Empress during my lifetime."
Three empresses are already dead, why must a fourth die?
Moreover, if the newly appointed empress gives birth to a prince, who can guarantee that the new legitimate son will be as loyal and obedient to Yinreng as Yinzhen was?
Yinti felt a pang of pain in his heart again; his imperial father was truly biased towards the crown prince. To ensure the crown prince's position was secure, he was even unwilling to bestow a title upon the empress.
On December 20th, the imperial edict conferring the title of Imperial Concubine was officially issued.
As Consort Yi watched as Consort Niohuru received the Imperial Consort's Register, the lingering fantasies in her heart transformed into a sense of relief and security.
She has two sons, so it's impossible for her to take the position of Imperial Concubine.
Fortunately, because of the good relationship between Yinzhen and Yin'e since birth, she also had a good relationship with the Imperial Concubine.
Previously, when she was in charge of the inner palace, she showed a lot of favoritism towards the Imperial Concubine. Now, in return, the Imperial Concubine is in charge of the Phoenix Seal and is showing the same favoritism towards the Consort Yi.
Consort Hui felt bitter inside, but this time she didn't complain to Yinti, lest her foolish son act impulsively.
Yinzhi got excited and urged Consort Rong to send several pretty young ladies to Emperor Kangxi, which angered Consort Rong so much that she refused to talk to him.
His own son asked him to find women for his father. Even if all the high-ranking concubines in the harem did this, it was still something he shouldn't have been able to say out loud.
Consort Rong fell into self-doubt, convinced that she had corrupted her only son and caused him to develop a distorted character.
Amidst the diverse reactions of the people, Emperor Kangxi officially ceased writing and sealing the imperial seal on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, finally able to rest during the 365 days of the year.
With nothing to do, Tong Wanyan learned to cut paper flowers from Chunque.
Around this time last year, her belly was so big that she couldn't even look at scissors, let alone touch them.
This year, she was finally able to learn it and satisfy her curiosity.
Paper-cut window decorations may seem complicated, but there are always some tricks to them.
Tong Wanyan was clever and skillful, and quickly learned to do it well, even creating some new tricks on her own.
After looking at it, Yinreng suddenly said, "My darling, why don't you write the Spring Festival couplets this year?"
Tong Wanyan's cursive script was so unrestrained and free that he felt inferior to her.
"Don't trick me into doing things for you, sir. There are so many Spring Festival couplets, it's too tiring to write them all. I won't write them, I won't write them." Tong Wanyan shook her head and refused.
Yinreng said, "This would be an exciting opportunity for others, but you're avoiding it like the plague. Alright, alright, I'll take care of it."
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