After Liu Momo and Zhang Momo returned to the palace, they told Consort De everything about Lanqin's childbirth. Consort De already knew that the Fourth Prince favored Lady Niu, but she never imagined it would go this far, and she couldn't help but feel worried. Although she didn't particularly like Lady Ulanara, she was still the Fourth Prince's personally chosen wife by Emperor Kangxi. If she allowed the Fourth Prince to continue favoring his concubine and neglecting his wife, wouldn't that be displeasing to Kangxi?
Although the Ulanara family didn't wield much power in the palace, they had produced a concubine and several noble ladies. It's possible that there were spies from their family around Emperor Kangxi, and if they found out, it wouldn't be good.
So, as soon as the Fourth Prince entered the palace, Consort De sent someone to tell him to come see her immediately after court.
The Fourth Prince originally planned to go see Emperor Kangxi after court to request a title for Lanqin. However, after seeing that Consort De had sent someone to give him special instructions, he thought it might be better to have his mother speak to Emperor Kangxi personally.
So, as soon as the court session ended, the Fourth Prince stepped over the high gate of the Hall of Preserving Harmony and prepared to walk towards the Yonghe Palace.
"Fourth brother, wait a moment!" The Crown Prince called out to the Fourth Prince from behind.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Fourth Prince could only turn around, clasp his hands in greeting, and bow his head in response.
"I heard that Consort Niu in your household gave you a little princess? Lady Li in the lonely palace gets along quite well with Consort Niu, and she really wants to go and see her after hearing about it," the Crown Prince said.
"Thank you for your concern, Consort Li. Lady Niu is doing well, except that she lost a lot of blood during childbirth and is still resting in bed," the Fourth Prince said respectfully.
"How about when the baby is bathed on her third day, Lady Li can represent me to deliver some gifts to the little princess?" the Crown Prince suggested.
The Fourth Prince was startled and quickly bowed his head, replying, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness and Consort Li. I will be at the residence to welcome Consort Li upon her arrival."
The Crown Prince laughed heartily, patted the Fourth Prince on the shoulder, and then walked past him toward Minqing Palace.
The Fourth Prince looked at the Crown Prince's retreating figure with complicated emotions. He understood that the Crown Prince wanted him to get closer, but recently the Emperor's attitude towards the Crown Prince had been fluctuating, and he didn't know what the future held.
After a moment's thought, the Fourth Prince tried to put aside his thoughts about the Crown Prince, as he had more important matters to attend to when he met with Consort De.
Yonghe Palace hasn't changed much; the people responsible for sweeping the courtyard seem to have never changed at all.
As soon as the Fourth Prince entered the palace gates, someone rushed to inform Consort De. He walked through the corridor and arrived at the council hall where Consort De usually received guests.
The palace was completely dark, except for the woman sitting in the middle, who was surrounded by bright lights.
It was Consort De. Today, she was wearing a purple-red cheongsam embroidered with peony patterns, and the gold phoenix hairpin with pearls on her head shone brightly at her temples, where her hair had turned a few gray.
"Your son greets Mother!" The Fourth Prince had already noticed the Consort De's displeasure, so he could only respectfully bow.
"Rise," Consort De said, looking at the Fourth Prince.
After Fourth Master got up, he asked, "Mother, is something the matter? You seem a little unhappy."
Consort De smiled with satisfaction and said, "Fourth Prince, do you know why your mother summoned you here?"
The Fourth Prince shook his head, waiting quietly for what Consort De was about to say.
"Your mother wants to remind you that it's okay to favor a woman, but everything should be done in moderation. I won't interfere with your favoritism towards Lady Niu, but if you're willing to disregard the rules set by our ancestors for her sake, then I must say something about it," Consort De said sternly to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince was speechless for a moment, and could only listen to Consort De continue: "The Princess Consort is out of favor, and you are showing too much favor to a concubine. This might not be good for her. If the Princess Consort harbors ill intentions, it will be your household that suffers. Moreover, the Ulanara family has some influence in both the court and the inner court. What if your Imperial Father hears a few wrong words and becomes distant from you?"
The Fourth Prince listened silently and roughly understood what Consort De meant.
After elaborating on her family's influence and how he was perceived by Emperor Kangxi, Consort De finally managed to express everything she wanted to say.
"I understand what Mother means. Please rest assured, Mother, I would never really do such a thing. Lady Niu is kind and intelligent, and quite suits my taste. I only want her to be a happy and wonderful secondary consort by my side, to raise my children. I have never thought of anything else." Fourth Master knew that it must have been the two maids who came back to report on Lanqin's delivery.
Consort De knew that her son was always very opinionated. She had just heard him say that he wanted to ask for Lady Niu to be made a secondary consort. It seemed that none of her worries had reached his ears.
"It seems you haven't listened to your mother's words. Fine, perhaps I'm just worrying unnecessarily. You may leave now," Consort De said angrily.
The Fourth Prince knew that Consort De was angry, but he wouldn't break his promise just because of her few words of concern. He also couldn't bear the thought of giving Ushiha to the Fujin (Prince's wife) to raise.
"Your Majesty, I take my leave. I hope you will not be angry. I am unfilial, but I am not without reason. Please be at ease, Your Majesty." After saying these words, the Fourth Prince bowed to Consort De again before leaving.
Consort De knew that whenever the Fourth Prince addressed her as "Your Majesty," it meant he was also angry. She never imagined that something concerning a mere princess would cause such a rift in their mother-son relationship.
Thinking of this, Consort De became even more dissatisfied with Lanqin, believing that she was a vixen who had caused the Fourth Prince to bear the infamy of favoring a concubine while neglecting his wife.
"De Momo, do you think I'm getting old? I can't even speak ill of my own son, you see? The Fourth Prince is still distant from me." After the Fourth Prince left, Consort De breathed a sigh of relief and said helplessly.
“Your Majesty, please rest assured. Fourth Prince has always acted according to his own principles. In my opinion, he is not the kind of man who would make matters worse than romantic relationships. Everything Your Majesty said just now makes sense, but reason cannot withstand changes in reality. Fourth Prince is currently treating Lady Niu well. Your Majesty should wait and see how much favor Lady Niu receives before making any further decisions,” said Demomo.
"Alas, you heard it too, he even wants to ask her to be made a concubine," Consort De sighed.
"The position of Consort has not been filled for a long time, and it is not impossible for the Fourth Prince to promote Consort Niu to a higher position. Please take it easy, Your Highness. Children and grandchildren are the only ones who can have good fortune. If Your Highness worries too much, it will not do them any good," said Demomo.
"Never mind, it's none of my business anyway. I just wanted to remind him so he won't regret it later," Demomo said.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince was striding briskly toward the Qianqing Palace.
Along the way, people kept bowing and paying their respects, but he paid no attention to them and headed straight for the place where Kangxi handled the affairs of the Japanese court.
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