The Eighth Prince had never been drunk before, but that night he returned home drunk and rested in his wife's room, constantly telling her that he was born into a lowly family and that he came from the household register of female criminals.
The Eighth Prince's wife entered the palace the next day to pay her respects to Consort Liang. She had never formally paid her respects to this mother-in-law before; usually, she would only pay her respects after visiting Consort Hui's palace.
When the Eighth Prince's wife appeared at the gate of Xianfu Palace, the palace guards were naturally puzzled to see her. Why was the Eighth Prince's wife here?
Since becoming a concubine, Consort Liang rarely went out or socialized, let alone associated with any other noble ladies or concubines. She spent her days sitting in the palace, sketching flower patterns and doing needlework with her trusted maids to pass the time. Like Consort Hui and the others, her official title had been revoked, but her health had deteriorated due to the constant consumption of contraceptive soup; she would frequently experience flare-ups, causing her excruciating pain in bed.
No matter what happened, she never dared to complain to Emperor Kangxi, so some servants would take advantage of her situation and often skimp on the supplies for Xianfu Palace. Consort Liang knew this, but she would just laugh it off and not take it to heart.
The only person she seemed to care about was Eighth Master; all the needlework she did was for his clothes, handkerchiefs, socks, shoes, and other items.
"Your Majesty, the Eighth Princess Consort has arrived," a palace maid called out from the doorway toward the main hall of Xianfu Palace.
Consort Liang was sitting in the warm pavilion with Lianxin, admiring the flower patterns, when she heard this. Startled, she quickly got up to greet them. She saw the Eighth Prince's wife, supported by her personal maid, enter the main hall.
"Daughter-in-law greets Mother!" The Eighth Prince's wife, unusually, bowed and greeted Consort Liang, her posture extremely dignified, her entire upper body squatting down.
Consort Liang had never seen the Eighth Prince's wife perform such a grand ceremony before, and she quickly took the Eighth Prince's wife's arm, saying, "Silly child, you can come here, why do you have to perform such a grand ceremony?"
The Eighth Prince's wife said emotionally, "It was all my fault before, I didn't pay my respects to Mother properly. Now I want to make up for it, but I don't know if it's too late?"
Consort Liang was surprised that the Eighth Prince's wife would suddenly speak so frankly. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she was so moved that she almost cried.
"It's not too late, it's not too late! You're my only daughter-in-law, how could I blame you? How is the Eighth Prince?" Consort Liang took the Eighth Prince's hand and led him into the warm pavilion.
"Eighth Prince, he..." the Eighth Princess Consort whispered.
"What's wrong with him?" Seeing the Eighth Prince's wife's hesitant look, and remembering that she had suddenly come here to pay her respects today, Consort Liang had a bad feeling.
"Mother, don't worry, Eighth Prince is just drunk," Eighth Princess Consort quickly said.
"How could he be drunk? That child has always had excellent self-control." Consort Liang was relieved to hear that nothing serious had happened.
"Yesterday, Eighth Prince drank with Lord Longkodo. Perhaps Lord Longkodo said something, because Eighth Prince has been unhappy ever since. Later, he got drunk, and when I saw him return, I was terrified. I have never seen Eighth Prince so drunk since I married him." As Eighth Prince's wife spoke, tears fell from her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Consort Liang became worried again and asked, "What's wrong with the Eighth Prince? Has he encountered some trouble?"
The Eighth Prince's wife, clutching her handkerchief, sobbed and glanced at the palace maids standing around her. Consort Liang understood and said to the palace maids around her, "You may all leave. Without my permission, you are not allowed to enter the palace."
Lianxin glanced at Consort Liang with concern, but seeing that she didn't care at all, she had no choice but to leave with the others.
"Alright, now you can tell me. What's wrong with him?" Consort Liang was completely preoccupied with the Eighth Prince and didn't even notice the deeper meaning in the Eighth Prince's wife's eyes.
“Longkodo said that the Eighth Prince is ‘born too lowly,’ so he will never be able to ascend to that position.” The Eighth Prince’s wife looked at Consort Liang, hardened her heart, and said these words. She had come today to provoke Consort Liang, hoping she would think of a solution. Consort Liang used to be very favored by Emperor Kangxi, and as her mother, she couldn't just do nothing for her son. What the Eighth Prince needed now was someone to speak on his behalf to Emperor Kangxi.
Consort Liang was so shocked that she stood there speechless. Her heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar in the dead of winter.
Too low birth weight! Too low birth weight!
Consort Liang kept thinking about these four words. What she was always worried about was that one day the Eighth Prince would despise her and his own mother, who came from the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for female slaves in the Imperial Laundry).
After a while, Consort Liang suddenly straightened her chest and said calmly, "Eighth Princess Consort, you may go back. I am tired and want to rest."
The Eighth Prince's wife, seeing that Consort Liang looked indifferent but was also a little unsure, had no choice but to stand up, bow, and take her leave.
Consort Liang slowly rose from the warm couch, staggering with each step, her heart feeling as if it had been torn apart.
He used to look down on me, otherwise why would he have his wife say these things to me?
A few days later, Consort Liang died from fasting. No matter how her personal maid tried to persuade her, she refused to eat and forbade anyone to report it to the Emperor. In addition, Consort Liang was already in poor health and had been taking medicine.
On her deathbed, she thought: this might be the only thing she could do for the Eighth Prince. Only when she, the lowly mother of a lowly palace maid, died would no one remember who the Eighth Prince's birth mother was.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry! After learning of Consort Liang's death, the Eighth Prince rushed to Xianfu Palace overnight. According to the palace maids, the Eighth Prince stayed by Consort Liang's body for a whole day and night.
The sudden death of Consort Liang truly reminded Emperor Kangxi of Wei Linlang. When he first saw her in the Laundry Department, she was as beautiful as a lotus flower in clear water. Even though the surroundings were so filthy, it did not diminish the beauty she exuded.
Despite the Empress Dowager's objections, Emperor Kangxi insisted on rescuing Lady Wei from the Imperial Laundry and bestowing upon her the title of Noble Lady. He had once doted on her, spending most of his time in her quarters. However, he refused to give her any more children. After giving birth to the Eighth Prince, she was given bowl after bowl of contraceptive soup until her health deteriorated and she could no longer serve him in bed.
According to the palace servants, when Consort Liang was being laid to rest, Emperor Kangxi suspended court for a day and stayed alone in his warm chamber for a long time, not seeing anyone.
The Eighth Prince and his wife personally held a funeral for Consort Liang. After everything was settled, the couple left the palace together and boarded a carriage to return to the Eighth Prince's residence.
"It was you, it was you who went to tell Mother, wasn't it?" The Eighth Prince grabbed his wife's hand and asked sternly. The Eighth Princess looked at the Eighth Prince with a pained expression in surprise. She had never seen such an expression on his face before, and she vaguely wondered if she had misunderstood this man's meaning.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
