As leaves twirl and fall from the branches, bringing with them the breath of winter, the most important festival for the Manchus, the Banjin Festival, has arrived.
This is the anniversary of the birth of the Jurchen tribe, a festival promulgated by Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty, Aisin Gioro Huang Taiji. Every year on the anniversary of the promulgation ...
For the women in the prince's residence, this festival was similar to the Spring Festival. The master and his wife would enter the palace to pay their respects to the emperor and celebrate the Golden Gift Festival with him. Women of lower status, such as concubines, were not qualified to enter the palace, so they stayed in the residence to gather together. Regardless of their usual relationship, they would get together to play cards, eat and drink, and celebrate for a few days.
The Fourth Prince had already gone to the main courtyard to give instructions, instructing her and Lady Li to accompany him to the palace on the day of the Golden Festival, naturally including the princes and princesses. Apart from the eldest princess, the second princess, the third prince, and the fourth prince were all born to Lady Li. The rest could hold their own small banquets in their own residences.
Lanqin was aware of the Manchu's Golden Gift Festival, and she had specifically asked the Fourth Prince for permission to go out on this day. A few days ago, Lady Dong from the Seventh Prince's residence sent a special invitation, wishing Lanqin to come to the residence for a gathering on the Golden Gift Festival. Lady Dong was already six or seven months pregnant and had difficulty moving around, so Lanqin decided to go see her in person, and also because she herself wanted to go out and have some fun.
The Fourth Prince agreed, but stipulated that she must return to the manor by late afternoon, with no room for negotiation. The Fourth Prince knew Lanqin's temperament; if he didn't emphasize this point, he wouldn't allow her to sneak out to the streets to enjoy the night view after leaving the Seventh Prince's manor.
On the day of the Golden Banquet, besides the celebrations in the palace, there were also celebrations in lively places among the common people. Naturally, there were activities in the capital city right under the emperor's nose. Lanqin actually really wanted to go out for a stroll after seeing Lady Dong; she was incredibly bored staying cooped up in the mansion every day. Besides, she felt that since the Fourth Prince had gone to the palace to celebrate, she should at least go out for a walk, see the excitement, and entertain herself a little.
On the day of the Golden Offering Festival, the Fourth Prince had stayed in the main courtyard the night before, and they got up together. After putting on her court attire for the day, the Princess Consort had Granny Li bring out the Eight Phoenix Hairpin that she hadn't used in a long time. It was made of gold and blue jade, with eight golden phoenix beaks and a pearl, making it look exceptionally luxurious and elegant.
The Fourth Prince looked at the Princess Consort's headdress and said, "You have a lot to do with me today. Have Li Shi take the children to see Mother. Prepare some things on your knees. When you offer sacrifices to the ancestors with Father Emperor, you will kneel for at least an hour. Your legs are cold, and it's already getting cold outside in December."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was concerned about his knees, the Princess Consort said softly, "It's alright, I've prepared a cushion. You can use it when the time comes. On the contrary, Your Highness should also find Qiao'er to rest, otherwise kneeling on the bluestone for too long can easily damage your knees."
The Fourth Prince nodded, opening his arms to allow Su Peisheng to fasten the belt representing his status as the Fourth Prince around his waist. He felt guilty towards his wife; after all, the First Prince was gone, and although he wanted to give her another legitimate son, he was ultimately powerless to do so.
After learning that she would be entering the palace with him, Lady Li had already asked Mingyan to prepare the clothes and headdress she would wear on the day of the Golden Offering Festival. At this moment, she was getting dressed with the help of her maid.
"Just now, Su Peisheng's apprentice sent word that the concubine should be in charge of looking after the children in the palace today. The master and the concubine are going to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to pay homage to the ancestors with the emperor!" Xiangqiao said softly while adjusting Li's skirt.
"Go, pick out the rarest items from my storeroom!" Upon hearing this, Madam Li turned to Mingyan and said.
How could I miss such a wonderful opportunity to get close to Consort De?
Although the Fujin (Prince Consort) was the principal wife, her eldest son had already passed away, leaving her childless, while she herself had two sons and a daughter. By all accounts, her situation was better. Within the Manchu community, the position of Fujin was not unshakeable. During the reign of Huang Taiji, there was a prince who deposed his principal wife and made a concubine his principal wife. As long as the Fujin could not bear children, she would never have a legitimate son, and if she were to commit further moral transgressions, it was not impossible for her to be deposed.
As for Yan Yu, upon learning that the Fourth Prince had only brought his primary wife and secondary wives into the palace, she felt somewhat uneasy. She was currently pregnant; shouldn't the Consort De or the Emperor have summoned her to show some consideration? After all, she was the younger sister of the primary wife, not just any ordinary princess. However, the Fourth Prince only sent someone to deliver a single message: "Take good care of yourself." Nothing more was said.
"Let's go see the Fujin (wife of the deceased). They shouldn't have left yet, right?" Yan Yu was wearing a light wine-red cheongsam, and her hair was styled in a bun. Because of her pregnancy, her hair looked particularly shiny. In addition, her skin was very good. Although her belly was already slightly protruding, she looked even more pregnant.
"Princess, shall we go now?" Yun Yuan was at a loss. Going now was really inappropriate. The Fourth Prince and his wife were about to set off, and might have already left.
"What, do I need your permission to go anywhere?" Yan Yu raised her eyebrows and said.
"That's not what I meant, please calm down, Your Highness." Yun Yuan knew she had said the wrong thing again, so she could only apologize repeatedly.
Yan Yu reached out and took Fang Yun's arm as they left. Fang Yun turned her head and smiled slightly at Yun Yuan, her smile clearly showing smugness and disdain.
"Hmph, it's just a horse that's used to riding for the princess, what's so great about it?" Yun Yuan said unwillingly when she saw Fang Yun's mocking smile.
"Yes, she just likes to please her master, but she doesn't do anything in private," Chun Tao muttered softly.
"It's a pity that the princess favors her, what can we do?" Zhui'er said unwillingly.
"Just you wait and see, this Fangyun will cause a huge disaster for the princess sooner or later. When that happens, none of you should plead for her," Yun Yuan said angrily.
"Sister Yun, how could we talk to her? We'd love for her to be kicked out by her mistress." Chun Tao and Zhui'er were assigned by the Fujin to serve Yan Yu along with Fang Yun, but now Fang Yun is a big favorite of Yan Yu, while the two of them are practically nowhere near her.
"Let's go and clean up the places in the house that need cleaning, so that Gege won't come back and say we're not doing any work," Yun Yuan said.
Chun Tao and Zhui'er naturally agreed and went down to do the work with Yun Yuan.
When Yan Yu and her maid arrived at the main courtyard, they happened to see the Fourth Prince and his wife walking out of the main room together. She immediately stepped forward, curtsied, and said, "This concubine greets the Prince and his wife!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
