A few days later, the Fourth Prince, accompanied by his wife and Lanqin, once again entered the palace for a banquet to welcome Princess Wenyi. Because she was a princess, no ministers' wives, namely Consort Rong's maternal relatives, or Kangxi's sons and daughters were invited. Naturally, the concubines of the harem were also present; it was more like a family banquet.
The family banquet was held in the Changyin Pavilion. To the Emperor's left sat Consort Rong, and to his right, Princess Wenyi—clearly a banquet for the mother and son. The concubines from various palaces were arranged according to their rank, to Kangxi's left and right. Following the eldest prince's status, Consort Hui sat first on the left, followed by Consort De, Consort Liang, Consort Cheng, Consort Li, Noble Lady Chen, Noble Lady Qi, Noble Lady Xiao, and so on. On the right, Consort Yi was the head, followed by Consort Wan, Consort Mei, Noble Lady Wang, Noble Lady Zheng, Noble Lady Niu (Holland), and so on. Most of them had received some favor from Kangxi. As for those who had no children and no favor, they had long been forgotten by Kangxi, forced to live a life of quiet desolation in the harem, their youth slowly fading away in the silence.
Starting with the eldest prince, the princes naturally sat behind their mothers, while the primary wives and secondary wives sat behind their fathers, clearly distinguishing between them.
Emperor Kangxi recounted a few things about Wenyi's childhood, prompting everyone to reflect on events from years ago.
"I remember when Baoqing and Baocheng came to me together, asking me to teach you archery and horseback riding. Almost twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. You have all grown up, while I am now in my twilight years." Kangxi sighed as he looked at the room full of his concubines and children.
"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and your sons and grandsons still need to enjoy the company of your father," the eldest prince, Prince Zhi, quickly replied when Kangxi mentioned his childhood with the Crown Prince.
"Your Majesty is in good health, and your son would like to have a bow-drawing contest with you," the Crown Prince added.
"Good, you're all grown up now, but your bow-drawing skills might not necessarily surpass mine," Kangxi said with a smile.
Seeing that her son had won the Emperor's favor, Consort Hui couldn't help but smile and whisper to Consort De beside her, "Sister, I heard that the Emperor punished you and Consort Yi because of Consort Rong?"
Consort Hui said this only to show off in front of Consort De, who always had the upper hand over her. Consort De said calmly, "There are some problems in Consort Rong's palace. It is my fault for not sending people to repair them in time. I wonder if there are any problems in Consort Hui's palace? Why don't you tell me now and have someone repair them as well?"
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui was stunned with embarrassment. What did Consort De mean by that? She was clearly implying that she, like Consort Rong, had not seen the Emperor for so long that the paint on the palace railings had become faded.
Seeing Consort Hui's embarrassment, Consort Liang said softly, "I never met Princess Wenyi when she was young. However, it was Consort Hui's sixth princess and Consort De's fourth princess who were the most favored by the Emperor and were not married off to those desolate places."
Consort Liang's words were truly the most comforting, and exactly what Consort Hui and Consort De wanted to hear at that moment. Seeing Consort Rong, who had long been out of favor, sitting beside Emperor Kangxi again, the high-ranking officials were not entirely comfortable, let alone seeing her daughter being elevated in such a way!
"So Consort Liang is quite the comforter. You should visit her more often in the future." Consort De smiled at Consort Liang from the side.
Previously, when Consort Liang was favored by the emperor, Consort De was also in the limelight. However, because Consort Liang came from the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for convicted slaves), her status was never elevated. Emperor Kangxi never paid much attention to her, even though she was extremely beautiful, arguably more beautiful than any other woman in the harem.
"Thank you for the invitation, Consort De, but I am ill-fated and spend my days with medicine. If I go, I fear I will pass on my illness to you." Consort Liang declined. Since she rose to power, she had been dependent on Consort Hui and had never interacted with the other concubines.
"Then my sister should take good care of herself," Consort De said with a faint smile, turning her head away without saying another word.
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui remained silent, quite pleased with Consort Liang's behavior.
The play on stage, "Havoc in Heaven," was chosen by Wen Yi and was quite lively, suitable for all ages. Lan Qin sat quietly beside the Fujin, listening to the play and eating the imperial meal, definitely not wanting to stand out in this setting.
She looked at the princess who was most favored by Emperor Kangxi and thought to herself that being a princess was not really a matter of being a beautiful and delicate woman. For more than ten years, she was kept in her boudoir and treated as a golden branch and jade leaf, but the husbands she chose were often not up to her own choice, and she was even far away from her homeland. Their respective fates were truly unpredictable.
Suddenly, Lanqin thought of her daughter, Wuxiha. One day, she too would be a princess of the Qing Dynasty. Would the Fourth Prince, for the sake of so-called ethnic harmony, send her to those barren lands?
"I hereby issue this decree, bestowing upon Princess Wenyi the title of Heshuo Princess, and granting the Changchun Garden to the Third Prince Yinzhi for his diligence," Kangxi suddenly announced. Ma Jialunge, seated at the end of the banquet, was overjoyed. Looking at her elder sister, Consort Rong, seated high beside the Emperor, she felt that her sister's years of hardship had finally paid off.
One sentence immediately startled everyone present, but no one dared to say anything.
Princess Wenyi's promotion to the rank of Heshuo Princess was already quite remarkable, but now even the Third Prince has been granted the Changchun Garden, which has led the princes present to speculate about Emperor Kangxi's intentions.
"Your subject thanks Your Majesty." Wen Yi stood up and bowed gracefully to Emperor Kangxi.
“Your son thanks Your Majesty, but I dare not accept the Changchun Garden. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree,” said the Third Prince Yinzhi.
"Why wouldn't I dare? I have already issued the decree, how can I change it? The two books you have compiled for me and for the Qing Dynasty over the past two years are of great merit to the nation. As for this matter, my mind is made up, you do not need to postpone it," Kangxi said.
Prince Zhi stared at the Third Prince for several moments before lowering his head and pouring himself a cup. The Crown Prince pretended not to hear and didn't glance at the Third Prince at all. The Fourth Prince remained seated in his place, seemingly oblivious to what Kangxi had said. The Fifth Prince didn't react, the Seventh Prince was invisible, the Eighth Prince couldn't help but frown, and the Ninth Prince couldn't sit still. The Tenth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Princes were all still young and simply stared at the plays on stage.
"You've compiled two books and already received such a huge reward from Father Emperor. Eighth Brother, let's go to the Hanlin Academy to compile books too!" Ninth Prince said indignantly.
"Shut up! Father Emperor means to elevate Wenyi. Her return this time is really suspicious." The Eighth Prince gently reprimanded the Ninth Prince, but in his heart he was wondering why Kangxi had successively bestowed honors upon Consort Rong, the Eldest Princess, and the Third Prince.
Suddenly, the already waning power of the Ma Jia clan showed signs of a resurgence.
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